Tagged By Sydney

PREMIERE: Nathan Roche – ‘Call Back’

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nathan roche

Next month Nathan Roche will deliver the second instalment of his glorious ‘Newtown Trilogy’. It comes only five months after the release of part one, his first solo effort, Watch It Wharf. This guy is as prolific as he is self-deprecating: he’s played in seven different bands from Townsville to Sydney (most recently Camperdown and Out, alongside members of Royal Headache, Dead Farmers and Raw Prawn) and has described earlier albums as “shambolic, poorly recorded, unstructured and rapidly conceived”. He’s also written a couple of books (there’s a sterling promo video for the latest), with red pens provided at one launch party “for those who wish to personally edit” his work.

He may be underselling himself, but Roche’s breezy, piss-taking attitude sure is charming. It’s all over Watch It Wharf, a record packed with Lou Reed-channeling tracks set around the pubs and docks of the (formerly) blue-collar inner-city Sydney.

Follow-up album Magnetic Memories wears its influences proudly, drawing on Brian Eno’s early pop output and the Americana-laced oddities of post-Big Star Alex Chilton. Mind you, it’s still pretty dinky di, with tracks celebrating the Hollywood Hotel in Surrey Hills and contemplating the relative merits of Walsh and Gordons bays.

Magnetic Memories is smoother than the predecessor album, with woodwind from Millie Hall (Destiny 3000, Bridezilla) and Caroline de Dear (Day Ravies), and cello by 2SER’s James Newman. Roche seems stuck at a point on the cusp of the 1970s and 80s when old-style rock’n’roll was taking a second glance at the saxophone. So you can just relax and let the arrangements on the title track lick you behind the ear while Roche huskily croons, ‘Magnetic memories/I got a tropical disease’.

New single ‘Call Back’ is even better – a punchy number that rails against the lifestyle impositions of the modern mobile phone device. It’s got bouncy, Roxy Music-style keys and back up vocals drawn from Lou Reed’s seedy take on American soul music.

Magnetic Memories is coming out in April via Glenlivet-A-Gogh (which has taken over Roche’s own Fartpound Records imprint) on vinyl, CD and digital.

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INTRODUCING: Food Court

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Food Court band

I met the guys from Food Court at a Halloween shindig in Redfern last year where they were playing support for Bad//Dreems.

Anyway, I was struck by how nice the guys were, as well as their drummer’s Prince costume, crucifix earring and everything. And when they hit the stage, by which I mean the living room, they blew me away so hard I thought there was a gale force wind tucked into their amp or something.

Thankfully, Food Court can capture their live nature pretty easily on tape. In fact, there’s almost no noticeable difference, besides the considerable lack of guitarist sweat. Food Court’s debut EP Smile At Your Shoes (now available for free from their Bandcamp page), is a rag-tag slice of ordinary guys doing extraordinary things.

New single and the final track from the EP, ‘She’s Away’ is a strong reminder of what makes these guys so great. Why dig for your old Screamfeeder and Jebediah records, when there’s amazing Aussie rock like this popping up?

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INTRODUCING: Retiree

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retiree

Retiree have just dropped the film clip for ‘Together’, the lead single from their self-titled debut EP. These Sydney-siders make house music for your leisure days. It’s cool and slow, featuring acoustic and electronic instrumentation – plus just the right amount of cowbell. There are notes of an upbeat Arthur Russell in the muffled synth tones, airy vocals, disco-inflected rhythms and easy melodicism here, but with a deliberate Australian bent – check, for instance, the skip who introduces the video.

There’s also a suggestion of what Client Liaison might have been if they were born in the present day instead of shot into the future, mullets and all, from a cocaine-infested 1980s in which Ansett was a going concern and corporate Darwinism was à la mode. Appropriately, Client Liaison have done a remix of Retiree’s ‘Rain’ – or should I say an overwrite, taking the slippery original and producing a kitsch pop banger.

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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: The Cathys

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the-cathys

The Cathys could be called a supergroup, in the same way that Boomgates or Total Control are a super group. In reality, they’re just a bunch of mates fucking around, and it just happens to be noted that these mates spend their free time in amazing bands.

The bands that The Cathys share members with Day Ravies, Oprenda and These Vagabond Hours. But don’t get into that frame of mind where you think you can expect something that sounds exactly like the bands previous outputs. It’s not exactly sterling shoegaze but it is humorous rock ‘n’ roll . The Cathys debut EP Long Lend, recorded by Day Ravies honcho Sam Wilkinson, could be considered a bunch of spiritual Mac DeMarco demos that were perhaps lost.

Three songs long, there is nothing on Long Lend but cool silliness. The Cathys are basically just strumming along with a couple chords and the deepest, weirdest jizz-jazz voice in Sydney. Right now, that’s a great thing.

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INTRODUCING: Territory

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Territory - Territory EP - cover

Here’s something close to my heart: this EP was forwarded to me with the words ‘Dolewave from your hometown’. Of course, Territory (despite the nomenclature) recently moved from Canberra to Sydney – and apparently they’re forming bonds with the inner-city set, one of these elegiac tracks going by the name of ‘Cleveland Street’.

The attachment to place is one of the most endearing things about the Territory EP. The short set is rounded off with a delicate instrumental called ‘Narrabundah’, and the cover art depicts one of those generously proportioned backyards that characterise this stretch of the capital’s inner south, with its vintage telephone poles, bleached back fences and non-committal winter sun.

Territory make dolewave feel pretty agile, with gorgeous riffs that would give Matt Mondanile a run for his money.  Opening tracks ‘Distant Night’ and ‘Raincoat’ are the sharpest, but each song is lovely – kind of like dozing on a Sunday midmorning, feeling fairly pleased with your lot even though there’s another week and a bit till your next Centrelink payment comes through.

Stream the whole EP below.

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LISTEN: Sarsha Simone ‘Gold’ EP

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I feel there could be a turf war between Melbourne and Sydney soul soon. Down here, we’ve got a knack for big brass; as Saskwatch, Clairy Browne, and The Cactus Channel have gone on to reflect the city’s penchant for gritty live shows. And in true form, Sydney’s hit back with something slick. That person behind it all is Sarsha Simone.

Previously front woman of Dojo Cuts—a revivalist funk outfit—Simone has brought out the Gold EP: five tracks that serve up a mix of neo-soul, hip-hop, and contemporary RnB. But, Simone’s voice is hard to place.  It’s raspy in part, but it’s smooth as well — almost like Winehouse’s raw voice on her debut Frank. You can her this more clearly on Jazz Soul Scent, Simone’s recent collaboration with French artist DJ Moar. And, in the vein of your neo-RnB revivalists, she can rap to boot.  This could raise ire in others, but she seems to rap in a style that’s akin to spoken word poetry on tracks like ‘All Night’. And of course, you could look to the likes of Candice Monique for further comparisons.

The EP ticks all the boxes of the RnB tragic. Gold presents themes of lust, sensuality, and sultry nights out in language of the genre. You’ve got your usual dose of heavy bass, with Simone directly addressing you on tracks like ‘Move’.  And while it’s safe to say that Hiatus Kaiyote has broken the ceiling for local neo-soul, this EP doesn’t seem to following its direct path. On ‘Gold’, the EP ramps up the electronica, with vocal lines distorted and melodies that break out of RnB’s DNA.

But, ‘Goin On’ seems to be the front-runner. With a bass line that subtly references funk, this track illustrates why future soul has become as big as it is now. This reminds me of ‘Everytime’, a track from British producer Eric Lau, precisely because production takes a back seat to vocal agility. Here, Simone’s voice is allowed to fully branch out as you’re enveloped in her vibrato.

On the whole, Gold is a tight release that knows how to play to its strengths. Considering the sheer amount of acts that have spawned from the neo-soul trip, Simone’s yet another welcome addition to a scene that’s hitting its stride.

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