It’s that time of year again when rain, shine and music collide to bring us the ultimate summer experience at Falls Music and Arts Festival. One of the largest events happening across the New Year period, Falls has been going strong for a quarter of a century and still never fails to amaze. The bill for the 2017/2018 tour included a bunch of stellar international names including Fleet Foxes, Run The Jewels, Vince Staples, Liam Gallagher, Foster The People, Glass Animals and The Kooks, as well as homegrown favourites like Flume, Angus and Julia Stone, Methyl Ethel, Allday, The Jungle Giants and Julia Jacklin. And that’s just a preview.
Of the four idyllic locations the festival plays, we made our annual pilgrimage to Byron Bay which delivered its usual medley of hot, balmy weather, rainy afternoons and… mud, lots of mud. Clearly it’s our favourite way to ring in the new year.
Day III saw sets from West Thebarton, Dave, Ecca Vandal, Bad//Dreems, Winston Surfshirt, Methyl Ethel, Angus and Julia Stone, Liam Gallagher and The Kooks.
Photos by Dani Hansen.
Check out our galleries for Day I and Day II!
West Thebarton
Dave
Ecca Vandal
Bad//Dreems
Methyl Ethel with Stella Donnelly
Angus and Julia Stone
Liam Gallagher
The Kooks
Photos: Dani Hansen/Howl and Echoes
The raucous night of nights finally arrived with Queens of the Stone Age rolling through Sydney on their way to Splendour in the Grass. The iconic five-piece were last in the country on a double headline tour with Nine Inch Nails in 2014 so this solo return Down Under is as sweet as ever. While they’ve been busy with their various side projects since then, their highly anticipated new album Villains is set for release in exactly one month from today.
Melbourne electro-punk outfit Ecca Vandal took the room first and damn-near nuked the stage with their signature abrasive, eve-of-destruction steeze.
QOTSA shortly followed, each member striding onto the stage with singer Josh Homme taking the rear; a silhouette hobbling out with a cane in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. They themselves ooze unadultered coolness but their music takes it to a whole other level. It was a truly unforgettable night.
Read our full live review here.
Ecca Vandal
Queens of the Stone Age
Photos: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
The last time I saw Queens Of The Stone Age live was back in 2014, when they played a stadium co-headline show with Nine Inch Nails. It was wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but experiencing a rock show while sitting a million miles away in a massive arena is an entirely different experience to standing amidst a sweaty crowd at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion. This week’s concert felt like my first true QOTSA experience. It’s the way you’re supposed to see a rock show.
In town ahead of a headline set at Splendour in the Grass, and a month away from their highly anticipated new album Villains, there was a raucous energy in the air from the moment you stepped inside.
In the time since their last visit, the band has been incredibly busy with side projects; among other things, bassist Mikey Shoes last visited us with side project Mini Mansions in late 2015, while Josh Homme released his Iggy Pop collaboration Post Pop Depression as well as performing with Eagles Of Death Metal, and guitarist Troy Van Leewen also toured with Homme and Iggy Pop, released an album as rock supergroup Gone Is Gone this January, and is set to feature on Chelsea Wolfe’s forthcoming album Hiss Spun. So, for them to finally be performing together once more as Queens of the Stone Age, is thrilling to say the least.
Melbourne’s Ecca Vandal warmed the stage with a three-piece band, her uniquely cacophonous concoction of electro-fuelled punk hitting the mark across the fast-filling venue for half an hour ahead of the main event.
When the band took to the stage after a break, there was an immediately electrifying energy that neither decreased nor disappeared once for the remainder of their set; it took hold, and controlled the crowd for the remainder of the show. It was the opposite of sedate.
There was something genuinely fresh about the performance, perhaps because they haven’t played together much lately, perhaps because their nightly setlist varies wildly from show to show. That they kicked off with a track from 2007’s Era Vulgaris, Turnin’ On The Screw, was an wonderful surprise, and there was no shortage of career-spanning favourites to follow.
A little under half the set came from their last album, 2013’s …Like Clockwork. The album’s peaks and troughs served similar purpose to the movement of their stage show, such as the powerful boom of If I Had A Tail, and the lighter, more top-heavy Smooth Sailing. Elsewhere came tracks from Era Vulgaris, Lullabies to Paralyse and Rated R, with a seriously bugged out, drunken, extended version of Feel Good Hit For The Summer, marking the gig’s woozy halfway point — and I think they added a brief Amy Winehouse, Rehab, reference in the middle there, for kicks.
Those hoping for a set plied with new music may have been left for want, with only two new tracks, The Evil Has Landed and The Way You Used To Do coming through. With a catalogue this stellar though, it’s hardly a bad thing, and both tracks were at once brash and fresh, leaving me even more excited to hear Villains in full.
To everyone’s delight, the tail-end of the night was an affair strictly soundtracked by Songs For The Deaf’s biggest moments, only made heavier in the live setting. Homme and co. roared through Go With The Flow and No One Knows, before returning for a final encore rendition of its title track.
The set was peppered by bits and pieces of audience interaction, not much, just enough; this isn’t a band you come to see for the conversation. Their performance is unequivocally what a rock show is meant to look, sound and feel like; they serve up their tracks on a guitar-shaped platter with power and fervour unmatched by almost anyone else in 2017. It was refined and breathless – not rushed, but impressively tight. They know what they’re doing, and they know what their audience wants. It was a phenomenal night, one well worth the wait.
Images: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
Melbourne Music Week is in full swing, celebrating the diverse and rich musical culture that this country (and this city in particular) has to offer. One of the standout events of the entire week is the Her Sound, Her Story exhibition, a collection of portrait photographs and documentary footage of some of the country’s most celebrated female musicians, music journalists and beyond.
As diverse and talented as this country’s music industry is, women have long been under-represented, and that diversity is rarely reflected to its full extent when it comes to festival line ups, award nominations, best-of shortlists, paid work and more. It’s this under-representation which photographer Michelle Grace Hunder found to be startlingly clear when she was working on her hip-hop photo-documentary, Rise, two years ago. The end result was an extensive photography book filled from cover to cover with Australian hip-hop artists and visionaries – but only a small handful of all the portraits featured in the book were of women. Enter the idea for her new collaboration with filmmaker and long-time friend, Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore, the launch of which helped to kick off the Melbourne Music Week events.
Her Sound, Her Story is a celebration of women in the Australian music industry and features over 40 female musicians all in different stages in their careers. A visual representation of the very diversity we need to continue to nurture, support and celebrate, the photographic exhibition features women of colour, of various sexual orientations and from a wide range of musical and cultural backgrounds and manifests. What connects them is their love for music, their support for one another (and other women in the industry) and the stunning portraits that light up Melbourne’s Emporium shopping centre.
Walking into Emporium though the side entrance to the official launch of the exhibition, there is an undeniable, palpable excitement in the atmosphere. Rounding the bend, the exhibition space, Emporium’s main entrance, is completely transformed. While it does often house art installations and sets, this one seems different. More special somehow in that it is placing some of Australia’s finest female musicians right in one of the busiest CBD locations. It is bold and unabashed; the lightboxes displaying the vibrant photographs at the front and centre of the room. The series features over 40 of the country’s most revered and renowned artists, from Kate Ceberano and Tina Arena, Missy Higgins and Julia Stone, Montaigne and Ecca Vandal, Sampa The Great and Mojo Juju.
In addition to hosting many of the faces immortalised in the portraits, the intimate launch event featured an introduction from the National Treasure and one of the featured portrait subjects, Ella Hooper. Having stressed once more the significance of the project, not to mention the fact that following the launch, it would launch Melbourne Music Week at the State Library the following night. Speeches from the creators made it very clear that from concept to conclusion, Her Sound, Her Story focused on not simply photographic the subjects, but getting to know them – quite literally, it marries music with narrative effortlessly. Ahead of the MMW launch event, guests were treated to the frankly (fittingly) surreal experience of a brief but no less soulful live performance by Nai Palm right in the middle of the Emporium Entrance. The Hiatus Kaiyote singer’s incomparable vocals filled the entire space accompanied only by her guitar as she closed the event out to awe and applause.
Her Sound, Her Story is not simply a reminder that we, as a community, need to focus on bringing greater diversity to the forefront. It is all well and good to have the conversation, but this exhibition, which features over 40 artists and tells their stories through their photo concepts and documented interviews, is action being taken. A testament to art, music, film, story-telling and sheer passion for all four, Her Sound, Her Story goes further than simply acknowledging the problem – contributes to the solution in a most bold and beautiful fashion.
Her Sound, Her Story is showing at the Emporium Shopping Centre in Melbourne until Sunday, November 19th. More details can be found at the official website.
Welcome to The Soundtrack, a column where we plumb the depths of our musical knowledge to bring you the best* (subjective) music to listen to for very specific life situations. This week, we got your back with music to revive a dead Halloween Party, because it falls on a freakin’ Monday this year so any sensible person will be waiting till next weekend. If you’re not big on the dedication/cleanup that comes with an actual *party* there are plenty of Halloween-themed gigs around for you to attend after you’ve had your fill at home as well. And like last week, each and every track in this Halloween edition of The Soundtrack is from Australia-based artists.
I know there are a lot of people out there who recoil in disgust at the idea of Halloween IN AUSTRALIA. “But that’s an AMERICAN thing!!!!” they gasp, hands over their mouths and feet itching to scurry away from anything that might be kinda fun. And sure. Yes, the USA has the market on commercially-driven Halloween activities well and truly cornered. Besides, it’s not like we celebrate any other Pagan-origin holidays in this country, like Christmas or Easter. But what is truly flabbergasting about these people is that this is the only situation in living memory where Australians have not only turned down, but outright BALKED at the opportunity to get shitfaced with their mates. TLDR; Get over yourselves and learn to have fun.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s take a closer look at what Halloween parties are actually like. People in stupid costumes (“going as yourself” counts as the stupidest of all costumes), check. Free-flowing booze, check. Music – erm. Sort of check? The music selection at Halloween parties tends towards the camp, the overplayed, the cheesy and regrettable. The same damn twenty songs on repeat. You know what I mean. Thriller. The Monster Mash. Ghostbusters. Anything from Rocky Horror. It’s fun the first time this happens, but if I don’t think I’m alone in saying if I have to do the time warp again this year I’ll jump to the left straight outta that party. Don’t let it happen. I don’t care if you’re the host or not. Grab this playlist on Spotify and snatch the AUX as fast as you can.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand
Nick Cave’s music is full of creepy AF themes, some downright disturbing and yuck. This is probably his least #problematic of the songs in that particular vein (I wouldn’t advise putting a song that discusses sexual violence on at a party for many reasons, all of which should be obvious). The tolling bells and rich, descriptive narrative in the lyrics make this track feel like you’re being told a ghost story by your weird uncle. Except this ghost story is actually kinda scary, because it doesn’t start with a chaste couple in their car at Makeout Point or end in something about a hook hand. This is a good ‘un for when guests are still trickling in. A real mood-setter, if you will.
Ecca Vandal – End Of Time
Anyone who hasn’t gotten on board the Ecca Vandal train is missing the hell out, my dudes. She’s an unapologetically powerful presence and a genuinely innovative musician and we are so here. for. that. There are so many seriously disquieting musical elements to this track – her snarling vocals that trail out in a threatening whisper, the shadowy pulsating synths, the eerie twinkle of keys. Even the artwork for Ecca Vandal’s EP (of which this is the title track) houses some pretty blatant nods to Halloween-y themes. Skulls and B&W aesthetics and creepy font-faces, oh my!
Nightcrawler – Planète
Okay, time to step back and remember this is a party, not a dedicated “spookiest Aussie tracks” listening sesh. Although hey, if that’s what you’re all about then more power to you. But every party needs a solid, driving electro track with no pesky words to distract you from whatever that kind of obnoxious but admittedly really funny dude over on the couch is saying now. (There’s always one. At every single party.) You also don’t want the ~spooky~ vibes to dissipate, though, so it’s not like you can chuck on something euphoric like Wave Racer, so get the goods from Melbourne producer Planète instead.
Violent Soho – Son Of Sam
This crunchy, grungy Soho track from their eponymous first album is a fittingly brutal number that is also named after a serial killer. That serial killer terrorized New York City in the late 70s until he was caught because he went to a police station to pay a parking ticket and they recognised his handwriting. So, you know. Not the brightest serial killer in the world. But a pretty fun Party Anecdote (TM) for you to share with everyone while you let this track simultaneously energise you and make you sorta uncomfortable with its loud/quiet/loud dynamic. It’s also pretty fun to chuck on early Soho tracks and just ruminate on how far they’ve come. That’s not to say that their early work feels lacking or unfinished in any way – far from it. But the sound has definitely morphed into something less heavy, in a traditional sense. Not knocking that, though. Look where it’s got them. Bloody legends the lot of them.
LUCIANBLOMKAMP – Help Me Out
This is best left till everyone is basically completely off their heads, because it doesn’t start out sounding like a party track but hooooo boy is that build worth it. Atmospheric and tense till a meticulous, dark release, Help Me Out is the brainchild of LUCIANBLOMKAMP (yes that is actually his real name), who won FBi’s coveted Northern Lights competition some time back. I caught him at my very first BIGSOUND a few years ago and he blew my goddamn mind. There’s something truly unsettling about the way this song unfurls – is it the pitched-down vocals? The building synths? Who knows/cares, all that matters is this is the perfect post-midnight addition to your Halloween playlist. Just try not to lose vital parts of your ~super topical~ costume as you thrash around like an actual possessed person to this one.
Image: Know Your Meme
Pandora, Australia’s go-to source for music lovers, held its inaugural Warehouse party in Sydney recently and of course we tagged along to capture all the action. With Seth Sentry, Ecca Vandal, Nicole Millar, Ladyhawke, and The Griswolds all hitting up the stage, it turned out to be one heck of a party.
Ecca Vandal
The Griswolds
Nicole Millar
Ladyhawke
Seth Sentry
All photos: Danielle Hansen / Howl & Echoes
The Easter weekend always throws a spanner or two in the works when it comes to organisation, so you’ll have to forgive us for skipping last week’s playlist. However, because we know you clearly wait on this to come every Friday, we have collected the best songs not only from this week, but last week too to form one big, mega, super duper playlist overflowing with stellar musical gems. Enjoy!
Thomston x Wafia, Window Seat
Newcomer Thomston has teamed up with rising star Wafia for this brand new track, and it totally blew us away. Sharp beats pierce the hazy synths, ticking away whilst a bed of atmospherics oozes below. It’s got some beautiful and passionate lyrics and vocal efforts from both artists, and shows them both off so well. It’s a pretty intoxicating blend of RnB and electro, creating a gorgeous song that will hold both artists in great stead as they continue to blow up.
Meredith, How Could You Believe That
Just listen to that voice! I was hooked from the get go, but got weak at the knees around 47 seconds when things really kick off. Meredith has been kicking around for a while, but this song is something else all together. It’s powerful, and demands you to sit up and listen- but she makes it sound so easy. Her voice almost has a hint of “I told you so” smugness as she asks the song title over swelling harmonies and explosive synths and cymbals. She’s got the experience behind her, and now she’s got the single to truly break through. Go girl!
Lupa J, Numb
Lupa J doesn’t always release new music, but when she does it’s truly something else. More than worth the wait, she has now returned with Numb; just under 4 minutes of a dreamy, electro kaleidoscopic. Turning and spinning unpredictably, Lupa J keeps you on your toes with this enchanting track. Her breezy voice is sublime as it glides across her shifting bed of noise, calming and hypnotic as it goes. Fresh from supporting none other than Grimes and taking out triple j’s Unearthed High competition for the second year in a row, it’s safe to say Lupa J is the real deal.
Nearly Oratorio, Occlude
You may recognise these vocals as those of I’lls or Kllo, due to the fact that the man behind the voice, Simon Lam, is a prodigal music wizard. Nearly Oratorio is yet another project of his, and it too doesn’t disappoint. Occlude is the latest single from his forthcoming EP, Tin, and is a snapshot into just how precise and meticulous Lam’s mind is. A more intricate song released in recent times, you probably can’t find. Layers of delicate keys intertwine whilst an almost tribal like drum beat quietly comes into play, before Lam’s Grizzly Bear-esque voice falls soft above it. It all kicks in around the 1:30 minute mark, and the gentle but hypnotic concoction of all of his elements tied together with some expert production is almost too good. Bring on the full release of Tin, because we need more of this in our lives!
Verge Collection, Class Of ’09
I really like this song because I think along these lines more often than not. Tackling spoilt brats who think they have it hard, Verge Collection ask us all to check our privilege a bit with the tongue in cheek hook, “Wasn’t high school hard?” Talking about still sucking a silver spoon whilst pretending otherwise, Verge Collection sound pretty fed up with these folks, but they make it sound so damn good with their Aussie indie sounds. Tight guitars and drums, a catchy hook and a searing guitar solo to really take things to the next level, Class Of ’09 is a fantastic track following on from the release of their debut album, Our Place. Here’s hoping we hear more of these guys soon.
Feki, Thankful
I CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF FEKI! Every single time he releases a new song, I am blown away by it again and again. Thankful once again has outdone anything he has released prior to this, making me question just how good someone really can get. Clearly working hard to hone his skills more and more with every track, Feki is quickly becoming one of the most hyped artists in the country, and it doesn’t take long to see why. Thankful is a slow burner, with atmospheric synths slowly climbing to exhilarating heights, where his signature rolling drums and vocal samples come into play. The synths and atmospherics bloom gracefully, swirling around the almost trap-styled percussion, creating a gorgeous build before the real fun begins. Thankful is probably Feki’s most beautiful track yet, delicate and gentle as it rises and falls. Don’t say we didn’t warn you that he’d take over the world!
Big Wild, Aftergold Ft Tove Stryke
Aftergold was previously released just as an instrumental from Big Wild, but now he has teamed up with Swedish pop star Tove Stryke to breathe new life into his already stellar track. Playful and fun, Stryke turns Aftergold into a sassy, boastful, confident jam. Sounding right at home over Big Wild’s jangly chimes and synth sounds, as well as his rolling drums and hard hitting booms. In fact, this new take sounds so good we wouldn’t be surprised if Big Wild didn’t venture further into the pop realm thanks to Stryke. Previously released on ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective, we can only expect bigger and better things from Big Wild, but we can’t help hoping it’s more material with Stryke. Match made in musical heaven!
Anna Of The North, Baby
Reminiscent of James Blake, Anna Of The North’s new single, Baby, is an intimate and fragile number that gives you a vulnerable feeling almost instantly. It’s slow, smooth and forlorn as Anna pines after an uncertain lover. It’s got traces of 80’s electro with her drum machines and synths, but has been brought into the future thanks to her forward thinking production. It’s got that on edge feeling you get when you don’t know where you stand with someone, and although that’s not an easy feeling to experience, Anna Of The North captures it so well. A truly beautiful song.
Skies, Speed Boy
Now this is a jam. Adelaide synth pop trio Skies have teamed up with acclaimed producer Steven Schram (San Cisco, The Cat Empire, Paul Kelly) to lend his musical know-how for their latest single Speed Boy, and they’ve pulled it off in spectacular fashion. Sexy, smooth, and explosive in all the right places, this smoky pop/RnB number is inviting and seductive as they pull you in, bewitching you with their tight drums and excellent synth work- not to mention that falsetto. The guys have supported the likes of Tkay Maidza and SAFIA last year, and judging from the sounds of this track here, they’re ready to give it their all this year. We can’t wait to hear what they do next.
Colourwaves, Night Boat
Sydney artist Colourwaves has been doing his own thing for a little while now, so I guess you could say he’s been making waves of his own… All puns aside, this latest track sounds like a fantastic blend of the likes of M83, Neon Indian or Washed Out, melded together with his own flair. It’s woozy and lush, and takes me back to the late 00’s when things were much easier. His vocals soar gracefully over his 80’s synths and pulsing atmospherics, whilst a muffled drum beat keeps things coasting along very nicely. Night Boat is the latest taste of his fourth EP, which is set to drop this month, so be sure to take my word for it and keep an eye out for that!
Nina Las Vegas, EZY
Yassss Nina! The queen of Australian dance music strikes again with this banger. Delving further into that Jersey bounce, big room stuff we’ve heard from her in this past, this track absolutely bangs – and bangs hard. Skittering synths and huge beats combine to make it a total ear worm; a hugely exciting move from the legendary radio host/DJ. Out now on her own label, NLV records, Nina is continuing to slay making her own way as an artist in the industry, and it’s tracks like this that really bring home the message of just how good she is.
Huntly, We Made It
We recently premiered a stunning video for this Melbourne band, and they didn’t waste any time pumping out another utterly sublime track not long after. Titled We Made It, this song is just perfect. From the heavenly vocals of lead singer Elly, to the lofi RnB beats, the gentle blooming synths and more. It’s just beautiful, and wins best track on this list by far. Huntly are onto a really good thing here and I am so excited to watch what they do next. They’re launching their single on April 14 at the Gasometer in Melbourne, with Mondegreen, Corin and our favourite, Squidgenini which promises to be an unreal night. Get along if you know what’s good for you.
LDRU, Keeping Score (The Meeting Tree Remix)
This track was already huge, but The Meeting Tree just took it to the next level. With bass that would blow your speakers, they go in, taking the already dance floor friendly track into the dark, dingy club. These guys are notorious for just having fun, and that’s exactly what they’ve done here. Hitting the road again this June, LDRU is set to play some of his biggest venues yet, as he continues to acquire an almost cult-like following. Fingers crossed the Meeting Tree show up to rip into this bad boy!
Deeds, Dream Song
New Brisbane band Deeds are really fresh on the scene, but the combined years experience of each of the members puts them at veteran status- and their latest single proves it. Dramatic pianos, big crashing drums, stunning vocals and more, Dream Song is as impressive as they come for a new band. Vocalist Beau Lindsay sounds incredible, his voice bellowing as he cries his gorgeous lyrics. I think what I love most about this song is you can really feel how much time and effort has gone into it, and it really shows in how well it has come together. Deeds is a name you had better remember.
Holy Fuck, Xed Eyes
Amazing band name aside, Holy Fuck are actually so good it borders on ridiculous. Xed Eyes is the latest release from their forthcoming album, Congrats, which is out in May, and is just under 4 minutes of weird, glitchy, industrial electro punk. With heavy effects on just about everything, the band have really played around with their sound on this one, and it had me hooked from the get go. Things get really hectic with about a minute to go, and you can practically imagine the heaving crowd that would be whipped into an absolute frenzy when this one would be played live. They’ve just announced some overseas dates, so fingers crossed they set their sites for Australia VERY soon indeed!
River Tiber, Illusions (Ft. Pusha T, Prod. River Tiber, Kaytranada, Doc McKinney)
River Tiber is the latest signee to local label Good Manners, who won’t fall in the “local” category much longer thanks to their knack for signing acts that really are something else. Illusions sees River Tiber team up with none other than Pusha T, who lends a fiery verse for the otherwise blissed out track. It also has production credits from none other than living legend Kaytranada, as well as Doc McKinney, proving that sometimes more hands are better. Illusions is lofi heaven, and a rare occurence to hear King Push on such a chilled out number. Thankfully, Pusha T must have seen what Good Manners saw, and the world is beginning to see- and that is a very talented artist just about to hit his prime. Stay tuned for this guy!
Gypsy & The Cat, I Just Wanna Be Somebody Else
Gypsy & The Cat continue their triumphant return with yet another outstanding single, I Just Wanna Be Somebody Else. Providing the perfect soundtrack for that impending existential crisis, Gypsy & The Cat take things down a few levels from their all out synth jams to delve into a kind of chillwave area – an area they actually sound great in. As dynamic as you can get with a track this chilled out, the thick, buzzsaw synths of the hook paired with the quiet verses creates a back and forth not unlike the feelings and thoughts you’d be having if you were the protagonist of this track. It makes me feel okay to want to be somebody else, as long as I get to listen to this bad boy while I’m doing it.
Jenny Broke The Window, Airport Love
Jenny Broke The Window are one of those bands that you may say you’ve never heard of them before, and you’re met with a chorus of “Really?! You’ve never heard of them?!” Well, that happened to me anyway, but I’ve since learned my lesson and they quickly earned a permanent place on my radar. If you haven’t heard of them either (Seriously?!), let their latest single serve as the perfect introduction to them. Airport Love is a perfect slice of alt-pop, with breezy, airy vocals and a slowly rising bed of sounds that is added to bit by bit until you’re presented with a fully fledged indie pop tune to boogie to. They’ve locked in some pretty impressive support slots over the past few months, and by the sounds of this, things are only getting bigger and better for them in the very near future- for very good reason.
Boys Noize, Starchild (Ft. Polica)
Fresh off the press just today, Boys Noize has shared a brand new track today through Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show. Being heralded as Lowe’s latest “World Record”, this time we see the legendary techno wizard team up with Polica for some absolutely stunning vocals. Titled Starchild, this track has a dramatic build, twinkling atmospherics and underground techno/footwork sounds that show Boys Noize is really on his A game with this new material. The track also comes with the announcement that a brand new album is on its way, and will be out in late May. Titled Mayday, it’s meant to be his “most dynamic album to date”, and judging from this and his previous track Euphoria ft Remy Banks, I’d say we are all in for a real treat come May 20!
Ecca Vandal, Truth To Trade
Ecca Vandal rules. Everything she touches rules. Her songs are so badass and unashamedly confident, she makes me want to get up and kick the day ahead in the face. Truth To Trade is no exception. With a guitar that stirs in your loins and her punk vocals not holding back even for a second, she once again gives it her absolute all here. Taken from her End Of Time EP released earlier this year, this track was a true stand out on that record, so it’s only fitting it gets its own single treatment, with a kickass clip to boot. Check out the video below, with footage taken from her Sydney show on her recent tour, and try not to break anything as you thrash around to this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X-YsbqXNUw
It’s video roundup time! Once again, Howl And Echoes are coming in hot with the freshest, most eyeball-stimulating music videos to be dropped by the artists you love and some of the artists you don’t know you love yet this week. We do all the dirty work and herd them all into one convenient web-based location for you to enjoy every Friday so that you don’t have to. Have yourself a good old gander at the latest offerings from:
White Denim – Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4cenKeu2FI&feature=youtu.be
What better way to kick off this week’s edition than with one of Austin, Texas’ best bands White Denim doing what everyone not in Texas assumes people from Texas spend all their free time doing. Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah) is the newest single from White Denim, taken from their hot off the presses seventh studio album Stiff released just last week.
Rippling with foot-tapping soul vibes coupled with smoky Southwestern guitars, it’s like Motown meets early Kings Of Leon (before they sucked). The music video only makes it more infectious, a ten gallon hat-wearing modern day cowboy line dancing his way around the Austin nightlife. Seriously, try watching this and not wanting to immediately join him.
Stiff is out now via Downtown.
MOSSY – Electric Chair (live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuKNQvAuUHw
The newest member of the ever-growing (and consistently successful) I Oh You family is Sydney producer MOSSY. We loved his magically twisted debut single Electric Chair and its haunting accompanying video when it was released back in February. Where that video was ambitious fantasy, MOSSY has this week released a live video of Electric Chair grounded in the real.
Just the man and his piano on a dimly lit stage (he’s so good he can play it without even looking at it at one point). Stripped back and mesmerising, this will only continue to build anticipation for his forthcoming EP.
MOSSY is out May 13th via I Oh You.
Yak – Harbour The Feeling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igrbjz6EQ0A&feature=youtu.be
Winning this week’s award for ‘Man, I Wish I Could Have A Go At What Those Guys Are Doing’ are London trio Yak, having all sorts of mechanised fun in the video for their latest single Harbour The Feeling. Coming from their inbound debut album Alas Salvation, the hype behind Yak is very real following lauded spots at SXSW and being named to tour with supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets across the UK and Europe.
Harbour The Feeling is a straight grit and grind rocker, guitar riffs coated in a layer of scuzz, the percussion cacophonous. The chorus is an absolute foot-stomper, vocalist Oliver Burslem sneering and wailing over the top of it all. The music video is simple but a barrel of fun, an assortment of Yak’s friends giving a mechanical yak a red hot go. It’s shaping up to be a promising debut, and it’s good to see that rock and roll is still alive and kicking (and screaming) across the pond.
Alas Salvation is out May 13th via Octopus Electrical.
Great News – Secrets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU11E2esnRQ&feature=youtu.be
Coming from a region that doesn’t get a lot of coverage here are Great News out of Norway. They’re a three-piece from Bergen and their latest single is Secrets; a shimmering indie pop track that harkens back heavily to early Fleetwood Mac and draws parallels to what The Preatures are presently kicking up a storm doing. Layers of synths, scuttling basslines and dreamy vocals aplenty here, it’s a killer tune.
The video is a lo-fi complement, a live performance from the band obscured by shadows and stage lights, only adding to the ethereal quality of the song.
Look for more great news about Great News (I had to, I’m sorry) in the very near future.
PUP – If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IM472k0Md8&feature=youtu.be
And winning the award for ‘Most Aggressively Threatening Song Title’ this week are Toronto noise punks PUP, who have simultaneously announced a brand new album and released its first single. If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will is as straightforward a title as it gets, the band collectively venting their frustrations at spending so long on the road with the same faces. It’s from the upcoming album The Dream Is Over, apparently what frontman Stefan Babcock’s doctor told him upon looking at his shredded vocal cords. The raw emotional tone has definitely been set.
The single starts off nice and jangly over some truly vitriolic lyrics before going all the way in and letting out that frustration with primal screams and frenzied guitars that crash together like a freeway pileup. The chorus ‘why can’t we just get along?’ just begs to be shouted back at them onstage some day very soon. The video is violent, full of broken bones and missing teeth and showing life on the road at its bloodiest and nastiest.
The Dream Is Over is out May 27th via SideOneDummy Records
Gold Panda – In My Car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YVhAILmqyo
Chelmsford producer Gold Panda has a new record coming this year and has this week released its second single. In My Car is off-kilter and multilayered, a myriad of instruments colliding and melting into one another to create an oddly satisfying soundscape.
The video tugs at the heartstrings throughout, with the Chelmsford-born producer visiting his grandmother and enjoying a day out with her (if you haven’t got a lump in your throat when they visit his grandfather’s grave you’re a robot).
Good Luck And Do Your Best is out May 27th via Inertia.
Sneaky Sound System – I Ain’t Over You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORIspkTP-LU
Remember Sneaky Sound System? Remember how they all but soundtracked the end of the 00s and ripped apart the 07 ARIAs off the back of their self-titled debut LP? They’re back with their first major release in almost half a decade in brand new single I Ain’t Over You.
They’ve pretty much picked up where they left off, a story of defiant independence told through huge vocals from long-time vocalist Miss Connie over a driving electro-pop backbeat that harkens back beautifully to the mid-90s. The accompanying video is bedaubed in colour, Miss Connie almost floating across a lurid desert backdrop.
Welcome back anyway, Sneaky Sound System. Looking forward to what’s next.
Ecca Vandal – Truth To Trade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X-YsbqXNUw
Ecca Vandal is a name that has been tearing up Australian airwaves of late. Punk to her core, she’s taken a genre that all too often has stagnated in the hands of her male counterparts and breathed new and innovative life into it. End Of Time is her debut EP, released earlier this year and riding a wave of hype, the eponymous lead single exploding in popularity.
Truth To Trade is another standout from the EP, opening with an almost industrial backbeat and distorted vocals before a wall of grimy guitars and Ecca Vandal’s own soaring voice come roaring in (and the heights hers can reach are in the upper atmosphere). Judging by the footage spliced in to the music video, it is an absolute bonecrusher in a live environment.
End Of Time is out now via Dew Process/UMA. Catch Ecca Vandal on her Australian tour kicking off this Friday!
Image: YouTube
Photos by Nicole Zicchino
WAAX
Ecca Vandal
To cap off one of the biggest weeks for new music releases in recent memory, one of our favourite Aussie rising stars, Ecca Vandal, has just surprised fans by releasing her brand new EP End Of Time.
The five track release features previous singles End of Time and Battle Royal, as well as three new tracks – Truth 2 Trade, Divided and Running At People Exiting. Combining elements of everything from electro-pop to hip-hop to punk and rock, the Melbourne wild child has quickly crafted a unique and seriously exciting sound and identity, and you can hear that tangible originality, not to mention variety, on the EP.
Watch the video for End of Time below, and download or stream the full EP here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ6MeHRskFE
Having just opened for Young Fathers on tour, Vandal is heading out on a headline tour of her own next month, with support from WAAX.
Ecca Vandal Tour Dates
Friday, 19th February 2016
Party In The Paddock, Burnscreek
Saturday, 20th February 2016
Jack Rabbit Slim, Perth
Tickets
Thursday, 25th February 2016
The Foundry, Brisbane
Tickets
Friday, 26th February 2016
Rocket Bar, Adelaide
Tickets
Saturday, 27th February 2016
Howler, Melbourne
Tickets
Thursday, 3rd March 2016
The Small Ballroom, Newcastle
Tickets
Friday, 4th March 2016
Newtown Social Club, Sydney
Tickets