This band is full of ridiculously good-looking people.

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The Ruby Suns – ‘Cranberry’ (mp3)

Another fine New Zealand band here penetrating our loose definition of ‘local’ music (especially loose on my behalf it must be said). But hey, for an island with a population only %20 the size of Australia, they sure have an insanely large output of rad music. (See: The Mint Chicks, Bachelorette, Batrider, The Clean albums from ’09).

It won’t take more than a cursory listen to notice the similarities between the latest Ruby Suns track and the mega-in vogue likes of Animal Collective (ie. Beach Boys meets electronica meets tribalism). That said, this doesn’t just sound like a pastiche of indie music c. 2009. ‘Cranberry’ is a track that’s inventive and catchy in it’s own right, with the hooks suitably buried beneath a wash of reverb.

A good sign for the upcoming album, which is reported to feature a lot of guitar trickery and lots of bass. The latter element isn’t exactly on show here, but that description + ‘Cranberry’ + Ruby Suns’ last album Sea Lion = a good reason to get excited.

www.myspace.com/therubysuns

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Emma Russack – ‘Sex On The Beach’ (mp3)

New Emma Russack track from her upcoming EP on Spunk.

www.myspace.com/emmarussack

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Yacuna – ‘Bogota’ (mp3)

Yucuna are super fresssh. There’s little information about them floating about, no shows or release dates on the horizon and a Myspace less than a month old at the time of posting. That said, they clearly haven’t just materialised from nowhere – the quality and production of the above track suggests that these guys (how many I don’t know) have been quietly working together for some time.

Beginning with a lush bed of what I suspect are sampled or at least looped harp/guitar/piano/plucked string figures, the track soon introduces a distorted hip hop beat and floating, icy vocals that could be lifted from a restrained Sigur Ros track. Despite the obvious effort that went into the track’s production – replete with a shitload of digital reverb – the track sounds surprisingly organic, like it should be soundtracking a montage of landscape pics shot by some indie kid took on his vintage polaroid camera. This is fucking impressive. Look forward to some shows/releases one day.

www.myspace.com/yucunamusic

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Kite Club – ‘Royal Gums’ (mp3)

Like Jonathan Boulet, Kite Club (aka Nicholas Futcher) is a 21-year-old Sydney based solo artist with a penchant for large-scale production.’Royal Gums’ is one of those tracks that grabs you straight away and drags you along for three minutes without stopping to ask your permission. It opens with a beat lifted from Psychocandy and an explosion of layered vocals similar to Ernest Ellis or Boulet but with an extra twist of ‘crazy’ a la Yeasayer. After that, it stays relatively the same, letting the melody and harmonies carry the song. Where such an intense production can sometimes be detracting, Futcher marries the sound and the track perfectly. Kudos.

This will obviously be difficult to translate live but I’d definitely be keen to see him give it a shot. Not that he appears to have many live slots in the near future – I get the impression that this is a fairly new project. Looking forward to seeing where he takes it.

www.myspace.com/kiteclubclub

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The Spirits – The Other Half (mp3)

Amidst the clutter and tech-obsession of the Sydney scene, there is an uncomplicated quality and honesty in The Spirits music that has done well to make them a band apart.

“The Other Half” brandishes the typically dreamy, dark and cavernous indie sound you would expect from a band of their influence, yet the real exception here is the light that steadily pours in to become a bona fide flood by songs end. The ebb and flow of interweaving reverbed guitars is accompanied by a truly outstanding vocal delivery, yet the overall vibe is stripped of any excess sonic bramble and goes straight for the heartstrings first and foremost.

In fact, the romanticism here is so well executed that, very awesomely, it actually comes across as right proper genuine. Such sincerity in a young Australian band is so refreshing considering the palpable abscene of such sensibilities amongst their local musical peers. It’s even better to hear on record.

www.myspace.com/thespirits

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