Tagged By New Music

INTRODUCING: Adults

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adultsgronkcity

Sydney trio Adults was formed in mid-2012 by former members of Step Panther and Joystick, and debuted last April with the coarse blues of lead track ‘Ominous’. A year later they have followed up with their first EP, Gronk City, which is out now on Bechamel Records – a Popfrenzy offshoot specialising in 7” releases and run by Adults’ own Greg Clennar.

The band’s sound sits somewhere between post punk and C86 jangle, the twee vocals underwritten by scouring guitar and a rhythm section that’s forever to the point. Thematically, Adults embrace a punk notion of the intellectual degenerate. On the lurching peripatetic fantasy ‘Freight Ship’, for example, the protagonist, stowed away with criminals and lunatics, has a taste for the high brow: ‘got me a copy of Rimbaud/got me a copy of Miller’.

In their mix of aesthetic threat and thoughtfulness Adults resemble the gentle punk of Television Personalities. Closer to home, their music has an affinity with the Stevens’ concise interpretations of the Dunedin sound – a relationship that’s particularly clear on Gronk City highlight ‘Rain’.

There’s some genre hopping on the EP, which skips from the twee pop of the opening track to aggressive closer ‘Snail Woman/Women’ with its Sonic Youth-inspired interludes. Adults’ work, however, is extremely satisfying in its bare bones construction, tunefulness and wit.

Stream Gronk City in full after the jump, along with the video for first single ‘Ominous’.

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INTRODUCING: Heart Beach

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Heart Beach

There’s something uncompromising about Heart Beach. Their music is spare but rough, its few elements swiping at you from a blank background in the way a Malevich claws at your vision. The songs all feature Jonathon McCarthy and Claire Jansen’s intertwining vocals – his a caterwaul, hers a disarming coo; a guitar sound like shredded sheet metal; and the restrained, ever-patient drumming of Daniel Butcher.

So far the Hobart three-piece have four releases to their name. The first, 2013’s Holiday/Weather, has a hint of surf rock, but as though it were soaked through by the chilly Antarctic waters that creep up to meet the Tasman. The stark, droning vocals of ‘House’ sit atop an icy layer of feedback that gives the song an illusion of industrial echo. ‘Record’ is short and sharp, a punk tune that’s the closest Heart Beach have come to sounding optimistic. And, from January this year, the insistent, driving ‘Hours’ has to be the band’s most emotive track to date.

Heart Beach have just returned from a stint in New Zealand playing Camp a Low Hum. For now they’re taking a little time to recuperate, but we’re sure to hear more from them soon.

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INTRODUCING: LUCIANBLOMKAMP

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lucianblomkamp

Watching television the other day, I had the most depressing thought. All the athletes on screen – you know, the ones poised to make millions and millions of dollars – are younger than me.  At 21, I’m past it; I’m old news. I’m never gonna grow those few inches in height over summer.

And then comes LUCIANBLOMKAMP, a 19-year-old straight out of the heart of inner-city Melbourne. LBK, besides making me question my life’s accomplishments (I mean, my Arts degree was supposed to get me somewhere, right?), is quickly coming up in the world. Having supported the likes of XXYYXX and Rat & Co, the kid’s already got an EP to his name and a debut album coming out soon.

His sonic palette might not be revolutionary, but the eponymous five-track belies LBK’s age. In lesser hands songs such as ‘Lehsan’ could easily fall into mindless club fodder, but when that smooth, R’n’B inspired beat comes in alongside a cut up acoustic guitar sample it’s evident that LBK is taking his music in directions that few others have the imagination to do.

There’s also a deep sense of patience to the EP. The piano sample in ‘Rooms’ is enough not only to hook you right in but to carry the entire track – and it doesn’t even appear until well over a minute into the song. Even on ‘You and Me’, where the vocal line is front and centre, LBK adds subtle, unexpected turns to the production. As he intersperses the more pop-oriented track with pitch-shifted vocal harmonies and well-timed points of silence, it’s clear that this young producer isn’t content to let his melodies do all the heavy lifting.

There are more than a few electronic artists out there right now relying on a formula. In some ways that works: knowing when the fat beat is going to drop is part of the fun. However, that style also lends itself to lazy repetition and copycats, leading to a multitude of tracks that seem to blend into one. LUCIANBLOMKAMP, thankfully, is not part of that crowd. It takes time (and good headphones) to notice all the subtle touches on this EP. Above all, it shows potential and a willingness from LBK to push his craft.

Do yourself a favour, and get the whole EP as a pay-what-you-feel download on Bandcamp. And keep your eye out for new music from Lucianblomkamp dropping real soon.

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SEQUENCE: D.D Dumbo

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8_M_042

For those of you unacquainted, Castlemaine is a country centre that’s about an hour’s drive west of Melbourne. Situated between Ballarat and the Victorian capital, it once was a town fuelled by gold, then left to fend for itself after the hordes of new money left.In 2014 it still remains as a country centre, but it’s evaded the plastic re-hash of most urban centres. It isn’t mall-i-fied, and nor does it rely upon an antiquated mirage of ‘colonial heritage’ to get tourist dollars in. It is this town that now lays claim to DD Dumbo (aka. Oliver Hugh Perry).

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INTRODUCING: DMA’s

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DMA's

DMA’s are one of those bands lucky enough to have been caught early by label reps (in this case, from Sydney’s I Oh You) and sent into the world more or less fully formed – with a single, a video clip, a website, a ton of gigs and, dare I say it, the beginnings of a ‘brand’.

Billed as a band of ‘three frontmen’ – the pleasantly assonant Tommy, Matt and Johnny – DMA’s started out in Johnny’s bedroom studio in inner-western Sydney. Don’t worry though – this is definitely not homemade laptop pop.

Urgent and earnest, DMA’s sound like WU LYF on those rare occasions when Ellery Roberts chose to sing in words rather than wolf noises. And these boys have got the Madchester threads to boot.

The band’s first single, ‘Delete’, is a love song for the digital romantic (‘Don’t delete my baby/Don’t defeat her now/In the quiet of nothing/ To the hands of grace…’). It’s got a staggering outro that makes my chest constrict, the cathartic refrain coming loud: ‘Just let it all out’.

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These guys might seem a bit self-satisfied in that video, but one listen and you’ll start to see why. DMA make guitar-led balladry in the 21st century feel absolutely vital.

Their EP is due out on 28 March; you can pre-order it here. They’ve never played a gig before, but they’re certainly about to – I hope they’ve been practicing.

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INTRODUCING: Edward Francis

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phia&francis

Edward Francis is the lyric-based songwriting project of Melbourne-born, Berlin-based composer and sound designer, Edward Gould. In October last year, Gould dropped a two-track album, Saxophone: the first part, on Bandcamp. Though it received some attention in Germany, the release was almost completely passed over by the Australian blog machine, and it’s only now beginning to get some serious plays on triple j.

Recorded and arranged on Gould’s laptop, the tracks are made primarily for guitar, vocals and, unsurprisingly, saxophone. They evoke the work of Blood Orange in their restraint and downright steeze, as well as the chamber instrumentation of Rhye’s smooth, organic R’n’B.

Single ‘This City’ features fellow Aussie expat Phia (Sophia Exiner) on vocals. (The beat programming also appears to make use of some of her trademark kalimba loops). My favourite track here is the pensive opener, ‘Hose Rock Love Song’ – if only because I find the romantic overtures to Berlin on ‘This City’ a little cloying. Both tracks, however, are intelligent and light of touch, focusing on the play of tension and release rather than on any conventional pop structure.

Gould has also released a minimal house track as Francis George called ‘Float This’, which, like Saxophone, uses a palette of woody timbres and muted beats. His Soundcloud profile also features some conceptual sound art pieces and cello-based compositions, including a remix of Gabriel Prokofiev’s ‘Float Dance’, as performed by celebrated cellist Peter Gregson.

The most recent upload is an Edward Francis reworking of the lead single, ‘Do You Ever’, from Phia’s forthcoming record. Gould’s version is delicate and expansive, opening the original song up and taking it from sweet to graceful.

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