Tagged By Sydney

INTRODUCING: Vigilantes

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Angela Ford and David Jenkins are a pair of vigilantes. The Sydney duo don’t fight crime per se, but they do fight the good fight of producing great music. Vigilantes have created an immaculate and imaginative tune with ‘Circles’ – a glossy, New Wave-y melody built on danceable beats. The duo have also recently put forth a brand new cut, creatively entitled, ‘<3’. Believe me, these songs ooze style.

‘Circles’ seems to lament or grudgingly accept the cyclical nature of things. Recurring mantras and looping synth progressions help to round out this feeling. Angela’s vocals are particularly special, moving across angelic peaks from chorus to verse.

‘<3’ has a bit more pop and bounce. This one focuses heavily on David’s sculpted vocal tones; smooth, yet not over the top. He sings about devotion, eternal love and other happy things but without sounding cheesy – no mean feat when you specialise in effervescent electro-pop.

Both Angela and David are accomplished musicians, having previously performed with Bertie Blackman and Kirin J Callinan. I’ve been told by the pair that the creative process is rarely linear, but things manage to come together with ideas and fragments recorded over time. If ‘Circles’ is any indication, I’d say the process works perfectly.

No EP or album is planned at this stage, but expect more singles that will assuredly help spread the word of this daring duo.

Facebook / Soundcloud

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LISTEN: Unity Floors and Chook Race – Cheap Split 7″

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I mean, this was inevitably going to happen, right? Of course two of the country’s most underrated guitar pop bands were going to combine forces and go multi-platinum on a split single! It seems ridiculous that it’s taken this long for it to occur.

For those unacquainted, Gus and Henry are Unity Floors. Best mates from Sydney, these guys are basically the Marrickville share-house equivalent of Pavement. The kind of music Unity Floors play can best be summarised by the bummed-out, hunched-shoulders riff of their contribution, ‘Hold Music’, with the accompanying line of ‘C…CBF/I couldn’t be fucked/but I’ll do my best’.

From here, ‘Hold Music’ just gets better and better, with buzzing and frantic guitars and lines that prove Unity Floors’ fantastically irreverent lyrics didn’t peak with ‘Nice Fit’. ‘Hold Music’ packages itself nicely as a song to be chucked on between The Replacements and The Go-Betweens on the Sunday BBQ mixtape.

Flip the side, and you’ve got another group that’s severely underrated in the scheme of Australian music – Melbourne band Chook Race. These guys are pure pop with a little bit of scuzz lurking around on the fringes, like a lo-fi version of The Preatures. Their new song ‘Numb’ ranks as one of their finest, and those who have heard ‘Pop Song’ know that Chook Race pack some punches.

Unity Floors and Chook Race are teaming up for the Sydney launch of Cheap Split real soon – and it’s free! Check ’em out on Friday, 12 September at the Standard Bowl.

Unity Floors – Facebook / Bandcamp

Chook Race – Facebook / Bandcamp

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INTRODUCING: The Primary

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Melbourne band The Primary have been kicking around the scene with their brand of noise-laden ferocity for a few years now, and have now offered the first preview of their soon-to-be-released EP The Gift with the straight-shooting lead single, ‘What You Leave Behind’.

A two-versed bombardment of alternating chaos and restraint, the track certainly is a tense listen. With vocals channeling John Lydon in full PiL mode and a gnarly, warped guitar stabbing repeatedly throughout, the trio very quickly prove their chops in the noisier side of post-punk. The track is anchored by an unrelentingly rhythm section whose firmness works to emphasise the discordant wails of the guitar. There’s little room for trickery here – ‘What You Leave Behind’ is simply the sound of a strong live band tracked well.

The hypnotic repetition and eastern guitar lines will have you feeling like you’re being willed to stare into a set of serpentine eyes and await instructions. By the time you’re fully submitted to its command the track abruptly ends, leaving you questioning if you’re really in control of your life.

The Gift comes out on 29 August. The band will celebrate the release with their first interstate show at Brighton Up Bar in Sydney, with support from Jugular Cuts, Beast and Flood, and more.

Facebook / Bandcamp

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INTRODUCING: Main Beach

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Newly formed Sydney garage-surf-slackers Main Beach have been hard at work in their short existence, releasing no less than half a dozen singles since February. Their Bandcamp reveals a band driven by nostalgia for simpler times and endless summers, with music that walks the line between sugar-coated and bittersweet.

‘Down By The Wall’ features a lazily strummed guitar, bright and snappy drums and a healthy measure of distant ‘oohweeoohs’. The song’s sleepy, jangle-y vibe will make you long for the sea and won’t leave your head all day. The vocal hook is frankly heartbreaking, and the wash of reverb reflects the glare of the summer sun or the haze of sea spray at your favourite secret surf spot.

Main Beach will release a video for ‘Down By the Wall’ early next month. If the band’s first six tracks don’t satisfy the need in your life for garage surf jams, their debut album is due out on 12 September.

Main Beach will play a series of shows in their hometown over the next few weeks. Here are the dates:

21 August – Captain Cook Hotel, Surry HIlls

24 August – Valve Bar, CBD

12 September – FBi Social, Kings Cross

13 September – Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst

20 September – Tokyo Sing Song, Newtown

Facebook / Bandcamp

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INTRODUCING: Yoke

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Yoke are a young Sydney trio, featuring Kyle Linahan (vocals), Julian Boswell (guitar) and Corin Ileto (synth/keys), who have put out some pretty sweet New Wave sounds on their debut single ‘Burden’.

The track consists of vast spaces of warped keys bridged by Linahan’s smooth RnB vocals and a pop-ballad chorus that takes the edge off the track’s sparseness.

They’re one of a stable of bands currently referencing Prince and early 90s new jack swing, but Yoke’s easy melodicism goes a long way to distinguish them from the nostalgic-for-the-sake-of-nostalgia synth revivalists.

If Yoke can keep developing their sound, ‘Burden’ displays vision and talent that makes me very keen indeed to hear their EP, Jabiluka, which is due out later this year.

Facebook / Bandcamp / Website

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WATCH: We Are The Brave – ‘Your Ghost’

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Sydney duo We Are The Brave have just released ‘Your Ghost’, a glistening synth pop track off the back of their debut EP Noctua. Vocalist Jess Chalker channels a combination of pop powerhouse Annie Lennox and the smooth and subtle Jessie Ware, pulling off the balance needed to keep any synth pop track from entering the cheesy badlands.

Hip hop producer Ox Why (Nathan Cunial) completes the duo, the pair sharing production duties to craft a rhythm section replete with hand claps and bongos and a Blood Orange inspired guitar lick tying it all together.

I expected the clip for ‘Your Ghost’ to be a well-choreographed troupe of leg-warmer and leotard-wearing dancers shimmying out their heartbreak (cheers again, Dev Hynes). The actual clip is heavier on the face paint, but it does feature some pretty badass broken-hearted dancing.

WATB are playing this Friday, 25 July at the Beresford Hotel, and they’ve got a second EP slated for release later this year.

Facebook / Bandcamp / Website / BUY

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INTRODUCING: Staunch Nation

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Something odd is happening in Australian hip hop at the moment. No, I’m not talking about Milwaukee Banks, who have sent local blogs into a spin with their steezy, Southern-style rap . There are no false American accents from the blokes I’m thinking of; they’re true blue, rapping about V8s, warm beer and Dunhills, and heading out in the Holden, balaclava clad, to hold up a 7-Eleven. There’s profligate use of the C-bomb, and it seems they spend everyday “punchin’ cones with hoses and stealing munchies from the grocers”.

Ray Chanel, MCGC, J-Willy, J Palm, T-Billz and John Savage (AKA J Saavy) are Staunch Nation, a crew hailing from the outer suburbs of Sydney and the nation’s capital (presumably from out Tuggeranong-way). They might sound suspiciously like the popular front of the Southern Cross Soldiers, but don’t worry – these fellas are #based as. Staunch Nation are just spreading the good word about how sweet it is to be in western Sydney sipping Rio Bravo in the summertime. Their overriding message, as told to Noisey’s Kane Daniel, is that “Everyday is a celebration, so inhale deeply and get broccolized like we’re back in the Triassic doing gymnastics”.

These guys don’t pay much heed to the usual rap signifiers. Their Tumblr features Warney and Russell Crowe pretty heavily, as well as the Footy Show, Plucka Duck and, for some reason, the Gympie IGA. They’ve also got a kind of unsettling fascination with Steven Seagal.

They’re not much interested in the traditional hubris of the genre, either. Here’s Staunch Nation on swag:

“My dress code is strictly polo and thongs”

“I’m Prince Charming with a gap in my teeth/Cassanova with a bum bag and poise like a sheik”

On their stacks:

“I’m covered in bling and when I take a shit/I hear ka-ching, ka-chingy, ka-chingy-ching-chingy”

On b*tches:

“Feel slightly sexual, melt her like lava/then go to the plaza and buy myself a fur coat/made from 100 per cent llama/then say ‘I love ya’”

Staunch Nation’s flow might be a bit clunky, but – the best surprise here – the tracks are underpinned by some very appealing production. Fizzy and bold, with innovative little plays on trap, it references the warm, minimal beats of early 90s hip hop.

Hear Staunch Nation’s first single, ‘Summa Crusin’, below.

If, like me, you can’t get enough of Ray Chanel et al, you can follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Soundcloud. A second video, for the single ‘Mainies’, will drop on 27 July, and debut mixtape Finesse is due out in August.

Sydney-siders can catch them playing alongside Milwaukee Banks, Moonbase Commander and Mike Who at Goodgod on Wednesday, 13 August. It’s one of those VICE ‘free with RSVP’ parties, so get in on it here.

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