Deep Sea Arcade – ‘Keep On Walking’ (mp3)

After the stunningly awesome ‘Lonely In Your Arms,’ Deep Sea Arcade are back with another slice of retro pop.  ‘Keep On Walking’ continues the motif of wire-y guitar lines and smooth, escalating vocal melodies. The organ stabs in the verses and the half-speed bridge differentiate it somewhat from their previous singles, and it definitely leans closer to straight rock than the harmony-laden pop. Ultimately they’re all very similar songs, if only because these guys know their strengths and apply them liberally – and you can’t fault a young band for playing their aces on every 7″ release. The have a sound that, although not entirely unique, has more cohesion than a lot of bands manage even after two or three albums.

‘Keep On Walking’ is probably the weakest of their three big singles, not because it’s a case of dimishing returns but because of the strenght of its predecessors. They’d probably need to mix things up on an album, but right now I’m happy for them to churn out a new pop jam every 6 months if it’s going to be this good.

www.myspace.com/deepseaarcade

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Surf City – ‘Teachers’ (mp3)

New Zealand’s Surf City have been bouncing around the blogosphere for a while now, mainly on the back of much love from Rose Quartz. But at the peak of surf rock’s reported revival, you can hear bands that sound like this on almost any Hype Machine top 50 blog. This makes it hard to get super excited about a band based on one track alone. Surf City were a bit different in that I actually remembered their name, but I still wasn’t totally sold on their wares until I heard their stuff packaged as an album. And this shit is tight. When listened to consecutively, the greatness of these tunes really starts to shine. The songs sound stronger and the strengths and quirks of the band become more distinct.

Those cunts bros over at POA beat me to the punch in posting album highlight ‘Icy Lakes,’ an eight minute collision of krautrock and beachboysripoffwave. In it’s place, I present ‘Teachers,’ my second favourite track on the album. It’s a shorter, tighter pop song – full of infectious “ooos” and the like. If you listen to both then you’ll have a pretty good idea of the awesomeness to expect from their debut Kudos.

www.myspace.com/killsurfcitygo

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How good are viral videos? They can do amazing things like make me site through two minutes of Yolanda Be Cool…

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Sweet Fawn used to be called The Dandilions, who I posted about yonks ago. Singer/guitarist Vanessa Hodgins is also a member of Brisbane folk collective Cascadeer.

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Awesome new clip for PVT’s ‘Light Up Bright Fires.’ The ‘one-take’ thing is still totes ‘in.’

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Kins – ‘The Bold Frown’ (mp3)

The top tune I’ve been spinning at the moment comes from the delightful Thom Savage (Oh Mercy) who now fronts Melbourne outfit Kins. I’ve been told that Oh Mercy is “sailing east as we sail west”.

‘The Bold Frown’ is more temperate and withdrawn than offerings of Privileged Woes, but still holds on it’s own. Those guitar hooks are bliss, while subtle nuances that loiter around the verse have some nice Thom Yorke undertones. A delicate, introspective gem with lazy Sunday afternoon charms. Worth lending an ear to.

www.myspace.com/hellokins

kins facebook page

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Heirs – ‘Burrow’ (mp3)

Here’s some Sunday morning hyperbole for ya –  Heirs are the best post-metal instrumental act to come out of Australia. Sure, maybe the local music scene isn’t exactly crowded with bands like them, but that doesn’t make them any less remarkable. Their aesthetic is dark without self-indulgent depression, and they’ve mastered the “product” side of music with aplomb. The release of upcoming album Fowl will see them tour Europe through October – let’s hope we can get them back.

http://heirs.bandcamp.com/

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