Deep Sea Arcade – ‘Lonely In Your Arms’ (mp3)

Deep Sea Arcade made quite a splash with their last single ‘Don’t Be Sorry,’ a retro-pop outing that sounded a lot like The Zombies mixed with more recent Blue Mountain troupe Belles Will Ring. ‘Lonely In Your Arms’ is a return to the ’60s aesthetic they evidently love, but is less dreamy and washed out – the guitars are set to treble-y surf-rock over the shimmering chime that characterised other material. The bare, melodic, and almost naive chorus is most reminiscent of early Beatles (sans glorious backing harmonies). It’s definitely one to get stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

These guys aren’t bringing anything new to the pop canon, but they are exploring a specific and fruitful part of it and doing a pretty great job. To my ears, this track betters their previous stuff and so should generate more well-earned attention.

www.myspace.com/deepseaarcade

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Brain Slaves – ‘Ethereal Sunrise’ (mp3)

Brain Slaves – ‘Sash and Jack’ (mp3)

Brain Slaves are a nifty Auckland five-piece who’ve landed the support for Miami Horror at the Oxford Arts Factory on the 13th of this month. From the demos we received, the only umbrella statement I can make about their output is that it’s incredibly varied but generally includes intensely modulated guitars. As if to illustrate the point, I’ve included two different but rad jams.

‘Ethereal Sunrise’ is a more krautrock-via-Screamadelica inspired dirge for two thirds of its running time, and then the lock-groove beat and bassline give way for jangly guitars and a synth pop denouement. ‘Sash and Jack,’ on the other hand, sounds like an Australian pop-rock single from the ’80s, with the catchy if not slightly camp vocal melody obscured by just enough reverb to keep things from sounding too clean.

www.myspace.com/brainslaves

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The Sophisticants – ‘Roughness’ (mp3)

My first impression of The Sophisticants came when I stumbled into a Melbourne club and looked up at the stage to see four rough looking (possibly alcoholic) dudes wailing like there was no tomorrow and about 30 punters who had rushed the stage dancing and trampling all over their equipment.

If you’re looking for a ‘tight’ band or even a well recorded band, then perhaps these guys aren’t for you. But if you’re looking for a band who plays some pretty great straight up rock and roll and who throws all they have into their live show and is above entertaining as all hell – check them out!

The Sophisticants are playing a Wednesday night residency at the Old Bar in Melbourne this month, get down and take your drinking hat.

www.myspace.com/thesophisticants

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TST – ‘Halfhand’ (mp3)

Recently saw Melbourne lads TST perform an impressive support slot at Neon Love’s EP launch a few weeks ago. TST disperse a myriad of cavernous sounds onto a enigmatic canvas which lingers in the brooding shadow between pop and post punk.  Although this sort of sound isn’t anything overly new to bands sprouting up across town, TST still run command over tiers of angular guitar frames, stark bass lines and reverberating drums – all which each shift between seperate power plays and moments of accord. Without a doubt, you can hear layers of Dardanelles and Sugar Army echoing through TST’s musical Jenga block.

While TST comprise a milder, more restrained sound than erratic counterparts Bachelor of Arts (TST Frontman Kevin Mc Dowell does vocals/bass for BOA),  there is still evidence of the same distinct jabs of acute guitar riffs synonymous in both. There’s an assurance of brilliant ideas resonating from the Melbourne four piece, but still scope for the promising musicians to broaden their sound even further.

TST support Sugar Army on the 3^rd of December in Melbourne at the Evelyn.

www.myspace.com/tst

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Children Collide – ‘Skeleton Dance’ (Ladytron remix) (stream only)

I’m quite a fan of the FIFA soccer series. I’ve been playing FIFA ’95 (or was it 96) when the opening song for the game was Blur’s Song 2. The thing with these games is that you end up spending hundreds of hours playing them, and the playlist becomes your favourite radio station. That’s why there so much value in getting a song in because the exposure is just enormous, even if its a localised version of the soundtrack. EA Games have been very active in putting the latest music in their games and this year’s is another great soundtrack. There’s a few notable artists that we support that’s on the game this year, including Cut Off Your Hands and Children Collide.

www.myspace.com/childrencollide

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