End of year lists have always seemed pretty arbitrary to me, and so much great Australian music was released this year that rather than trying to narrow it down to three favourites, I thought I’d focus on some bands that didn’t get as much exposure in 2013 as they deserved. Shout outs to the always on point Crawlspace Magazine for keeping me abreast of these things and to the busy kids up in Brisbane – keep moving down to Melbourne, thanks.

 Sadglint – ‘Sadglint‘ (Spartak’s Love Like Fire reduxxx)

Brisbane’s Rohan Cooper put out his debut EP as Sadglint in December 2012. Cooper is a multi-instrumentalist whose solo work is based on loops that spiral and float, with drums and horns provided by Jacob Hicks and Richard Thayil. Feral Media, which has had a swag of great releases this year, including the Winter and Spring instalments of its Seasons EP series and Nimble Animal‘s Bleak Moments LP – picked up the track ‘Sadglint’ for its remix compilation Strain of Origin III. The reworking by Canberra duo Spartak is expertly restrained, stripping back an already stately track and making a centrepiece of the horns that crest the original.

 

Primitive Motion – ‘Colours’

Another product of Brisbane’s lively experimental scene, Primitive Motion released their first LP, Worlds Floating By through Bedroom Suck in September. Comprised of Leighton Craig of Deadnotes and visual artist Sandra Selig, Primitive Motion describe their sound as ‘neanderthal pulsewave’. With drum machines ticking propulsively, the constant oscillations of euphonium, melodica and analogue synths, and Selig and Craig’s sub-lingual wailing, their music recalls the proto-punk of bands like Suicide and Silver Apples. Check out the video for single ‘Colours’ below.

 

Wonderfuls – ‘Change’

Cousins Robert Vagg and Danny McGirr have been making music together as Wonderfuls since about 2004 – around the time that Vagg began to undergo a series of psychiatric treatments, including hospitalisation, after moving to Brisbane from rural Queensland. Their first full-length release, Salty Town, can be tough going. The songs, built from McGirr’s scattered tremolo and tape hiss, have an icy sheen, and there’s a vacant, damaged quality to Vagg’s vocals that starts to burrow under your skin. ‘Change’ is a  song that bursts from the record with a shimmering riff that, for me, has to be one of the standout moments of underground music in Australia this year.

The ever-prolific Wonderfuls have just put out a collection of tunes recorded in the period between 2004-07 which you can get on Bandcamp, and they’ll be releasing a 7″ of new material on No Magic Man Records soon.

This Newcastle duo’s debut is an album about small cities and big ambition; a punk record that’s catchier than pretty much anything you’ll find on a Top 40 list. Featuring one of the most impressive new vocalists in Australia in Leroy McQueen, whose knockout wail recalls old school Aus Rock without ever feeling stale,  Novos is brimming with scrappy charm and rough pop genius.

Obvious? Maybe, but this long awaited EP well and truly proved Brisbane’s Jeremy Neale worthy of his massive hype.The singles are so great it’s almost not fair; ‘Swing Left’ especially brings super slick production and a stomping, sultry kind of mood that turns epic as soon as that soaring vocal in the chorus kicks in, but the album tracks are equally impressive – the super smooth ‘Lone Tiger’ and emotionally raw ‘Merry Go Round’ are standouts.

A lot’s been written about these guys and this album lately as they continue to (most deservingly) top almost every local list around, so I’ll just say I love this album because it’s beautiful – it speaks to me in the voice of my friends, with lines we all wish we were smart enough to come up with. This record is smart, subtle, and effortlessly cool; the kind of album you always feel like listening to.

(read more below….)

(more…)