New Music

INTRODUCING: Prints

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prints

There are three things that dogs leave behind: poo, good times, and little prints that will lead you to both the poo and the good times. If you have access to the Internet and enter in the search terms “Sydney” and “band”, you’ll be led to another source of good times: the superbly pleasant foursome of Prints.

Having just released their debut EP Some People Will Listen to Anything, Prints have delivered a casual brand of power-pop garage that recalls the spritely likes of the Strokes having a delightful evening at home with Deep Sea Arcade. It’s well put together music for lovers of guitar and break-up songs.

Although Prints have been around for over three years, this EP is the first real taste of material from the band. They don’t have a heap of live shows under their belt either – which is a shame, because from their driving hooks to their preppy lyrics (“If you’re gonna let me go, I think you oughtta know, I’m gonna take it pers-onally”), Prints are looking to be Sydney’s own little Vampire Weekend.

Whilst we bop our heads to these sincere, torn tunes from Prints and wait for more material, we can at least comfort ourselves knowing that out there somewhere, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zach Braff are staging a cage-fight to the death to see who gets to use “Lady Penelope” in their upcoming indie film.

GIGS:

27 November – The Public Bar, Melbourne

13 December – Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Sydney

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INTRODUCING: The Emilys

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The Emilys – the very new side project by Mark Turner of the Eversons – are a ‘cartoon band’, featuring illustrations and animation from Ian and Rebecca Hart. Their first release is the video for ‘Play It Cool‘, a story following lead singer Shelley, who does almost anything but.

I need very little encouragement to get excited about anything related to the Eversons, and their defiantly happy music combined with a predilection for suicidal characters makes the transition easy. And, really, I need even less encouragement to get excited about a band of cartoon characters from New Zealand. With all that and a sound like the Cars getting into wacky vocal effects, what’s not to love?

More music (and plotlines!) are promised from the band very soon, and you can read all about the members over at their Tumblr.

They Emilys are playing their FREE debut show with support from the Eversons this Saturday, 29 November, at Portland Public House in Auckland.

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LISTEN: Love Signs – ‘Hold You Down’

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Love signs pic

One of the best things in the world for music writers/fans in general is when a brand new band you loved from the very start exceeds even your expectations – and Brisbane four-piece Love Signs have totally done that for me.

Their previous single, ‘Wish at Home‘, was a mood piece, dreamy and romantically downbeat. With ‘Hold You Down’ they’ve given us a real single, a beautiful jangly pop hit with guts as well as atmosphere. A lot of this comes from the added lead guitar (which they freely admit takes a lot from the Go-Betweens – but when has that ever been a bad thing?), which cuts a spiralling path towards the layered, driving chorus. Izzy Mellor’s classic breathy vocals also work really well against the cynical lyrics to create a bit of friction in all that prettiness.

It’s just so cool to see a band deliver on their promise and develop this confidently in such a short space of time. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on Love Signs.

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PARADISE MIXTAPE: ESC

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ESC

Next up in our mixtape series, featuring artists playing Paradise Music Festival on 28-30 November, are Melbourne post-punkers ESC, who have sent in their ideal soundtrack for the drive to the festival site at Lake Mountain. It’s a wonderfully eclectic mix, featuring everything from vapourwave to future beats – plus a cheeky little nod to the folks at Paradise tucked away at the end.

ESC are working up a new album as we speak, so keep your eyes peeled.

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LISTEN: Cull – Nasty Drought

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It’s here – the first taste from Sydney shoegazing wunderlords Cull’s debut album. They’ve been floating into our earholes with streamlined Deeerhunter-via-interdimension-travel-through-the-cosmos since early 2013, when their track ‘Good People Disappear’ first surfaced on the WTH waves.  Since then, they’ve dropped their gorgeous Ba Noi EP, and a fantastically ethereal cover of Pavement’s ‘Shady Lane’.

But not simply content with ruling our hearts with mere singles, Cull have decided upon an album release for early 2015, simply titled Aloft. The name rings surely with their sound, simple pop music that’s held mightily high upon swirling masses of pedal effects and distortion.

‘Nasty Drought’ is the first taste of the album, and it indicates the record will be a colourful and engaging one indeed. Sticky vocals ensue, before unfurling into the kind of unfurling shimmer that we all <3 Cull for.

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INTRODUCING: New Gum Sarn

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New Gum Sarn

If you slapped awake an early 2000s ‘indie’ band at 3am and forced them to play under duress, you may end up with something sounding like New Gum Sarn. Beautifully untidy but never sloppy, their track ‘Bad Soy’ is like a pop-song turned hazy comedown.

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Split in two right down the middle, the catchy low key vocals of the first half are countered by a second half where the band’s guitarists are set free to jam to their heart’s content. The accompanying video features disembodied hands caressing faces, half-hearted acrobatics and a healthy dose of general weird.

‘Bad Soy’ is one of two tracks released from the band’s album, which so far remains detailed only as forthcoming. Hear more at New Gum Sarn’s Bandcamp.

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INTRODUCING: Dictaphone Blues

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dictatophone blues

Dictaphone Blues is the bedroom project turned full band project of Edward Castellow, Auckland’s favourite southern adoptee. A new release is a reason to get excited, as Ed has managed to put out some of the most consistently righteous fuzzed-out guitar pop you’d be likely to find this side of your cool uncle’s record collection. Two albums on, Dictaphone Blues’ next album Mufti Day looks like it’ll go bigger and more ambitious than its predecessors.

Following on from lead single ‘Her Heart Breaks Like a Wave‘, heralding the release of Mufti Day is ‘365’, a catchy duet featuring guest vocals from Emily Edrosa (who also recently released an excellent EP). Under the guise of an upbeat summer jam the track escalates rapidly from themes of obsession to imaginary intrusion before a final meltdown.

Mufti Day is out on the 5th of December. The band will embark on national tour of New Zealand next month.

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