There was a moment in musical history, right before the release of his 2014 album Carry On The Grudge, where fans of the entirely singular Jamie T (Treays) wondered if he would ever return to studios and stages. The roar which rattles the Croxton’s bandroom as he takes to the stage – which has been warmed up nicely by Hockey Dad – for a headline sideshow while in town for Falls Festival, makes it seem as though he never left at all. Perhaps it’s the intimate setting of a sticky carpet venue, maybe it’s the fact that without aircon, the room rises to at least 35 degrees, or maybe it’s the knowledge that a final show of a tour is the kind of one where a band leaves everything they have left on a stage. Whatever the case may be, tonight is that last show of his run of Australian dates and from the moment the set starts up with Power Over Men, it is clear that tonight’s show will be the kind to set all others against for years to come.
There’s a very particular effect Jamie T has and it’s one that sees him (and band) able to play tracks from more recent albums alongside what are now classics and have it all work together seamlessly. That isn’t to say they’re more of the same, rather quite the opposite, but it works. The strut of Power Over Men ebbs into Tescoland, showcasing the growth of Treays’ songwriting over the years. The singalongs began with the very first song, but nothing sounds quite as wonderful as the collective shout of “I ain’t no abacus, but you can count on me!” as Operation flings itself around the room in all its youthful, animated passion. Operation captures precisely the vibe of a Jamie T show – and this one in particular. There’s an inherent jovial sense of togetherness between the bustling of the dancing crowd and the band up on stage, as cool, casual and brazen while remaining polished and entirely insync.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEQXJQn8LZg
Dragon Bones brings us back to the latest album, Trick, in a wonderfully self-assured, hazy waltz before we slip over to Salvador, one of the stand out singles from debut album, 2007’s Panic Prevention. Ten years after its release and the track still resonates as it reverberates around the room, seeping into the very bones of every king and queen in the club pub. There’s a shot interlude during which The Prophet (and the entire set) is dedicated to drummer Vicky Smith, whose birthday it is this week, along with Jamie’s, quickly before the song starts up “there’s fire in her eyes… you’re like a fucking hurricane next to me” is a fitting testament and the song itself a wonderfully winding reprieve from the fast-paced set as it prompts lighters to lift to the ceiling and bodies to sway gently in a chorus of “oohs”.
The eerie, lamenting Don’t You Find quickly follows with slinky, sliding guitars echoing around the room. It’s hypnotic – all haunting harmonies under blue lights, for an incredible rendition of one of the best songs in Jamie T’s entire discography. Energy is shot back into the crowd with If You Got The Money, 368 and Man’s Machine – a triple threat of nostalgia, inciting excitable sing alongs and some of the most intense movements of the entire evening. It’s Sheila, however, that tugs at the heartstrings, cries of “London!” ringing out as the, quite frankly iconic, track delves into the the space we first met Jamie T: singing of real people and real life – both their bleak and their beauty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-L7Cadb-c0
Tinfoil Boy follows, shaking the place down and leaving Sticks and Stones to close out the main set, leaving the room buzzing and rowdy. It’s testament to the kind of performer Jamie T is, that he can slip newer tracks into his set alongside what have become classics, and everything is seamless, each track gaining different but equally excited reactions. Sticks and Stones however, with cries of “three fingers down, the other two up” promoting the crowd to flip off the band gloriously as every ounce of energy is left out on that floor with a messy mix of emotions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9APEZMeH0o
Somehow, both band and punters manage to restart the fire, greeted by Jamie and his acoustic bass for Back In The Game as an encore. There’s one thing missing from the night, and it’s been saved for the very end. The drawl of Zombie starts up and by the end of it, the crowd is left sweaty and sated. The band leaves the stage to a roar of appreciation and adoration and it’s few moments before the lights to turn on. As everyone spills out onto the street to catch the 86, there’s that sensation of camaraderie in the air, as though this has been a particularly memorable summer’s night.
Image: Epitaph Records
At 24 years young, Falls Festival continues to be a staple event for some of the biggest names in electronic, indie, hip-hop and beyond. Spanning three major locations along the East Coast, with a fourth premiering in Fremantle, WA early next year, the festival has well and truly solidified its status as one of the go-to summer events.
Freshly added to the 2016-2017 edition includes Northeast Party House, You Am I, Hockey Dad, Moonbase Commander, Hein Cooper, Spit Syndicate, Olympia among others. This second announcement builds on an already blazing lineup that will see Childish Gambino, London Grammar, The Avalanches, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Ta-ku and a bunch of other amazing artists ring in 2017 across Australia.
Falls Festival kicks off in December in Byron Bay, Lorne and Marion Bay, and in January in Fremantle.
Here’s the full 2nd lineup:
Marion Bay, TAS
YOU AM I
DOPE LEMON
KINGSWOOD
NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE
SPIT SYDNICATE
MOONBASE COMMANDER
MALLRAT
Lorne, VIC
NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE
HOCKEY DAD
HAELOS
HEIN COOPER
OLYMPIA
JUST A GENT
KILTER
THE MIDDLE KIDS
KARI FAUX
SPIT SYNDICATE
GENERIK
BARO
KLP
WILLOW BEATS
JACK RIVER
DARREN MIDDLETOWN
BAYTEK
MOONBASE COMMANDER
MALLRAT
GRETTA RAY
BEL
GOOD BOY
SAHARA BECK
FEKI
I OH YOU DJs
Byron Bay, NSW
NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE
HAELOS
HEIN COOPER
THE MIDDLE KIDS
SPIT SYNDICATE
DENA AMY
MALLRAT
Fremantle don’t freak out – Falls Downtown will be announcing more acts for you guys shortly.
Official dates for Falls Festival 2016-2017:
Lorne VIC: Dec 28, Dec 29, Dec 30, Dec 31
Marion Bay TAS: Dec 29, Dec 30, Dec 31 (ALL AGES)
Byron Bay NSW: Dec 31, Jan 01, Jan 02
Fremantle WA: Jan 07, Jan 08
With Byron Bay and Lorne already sold out, you may want to hustle to grab tickets. You can suss out your options at the official website here.
Round up the tents and tinnies folks; your New Year celebrations are looking mighty fine!
Image: Supplied
It’s cold this week and if you can’t tell, we’re not happy about it! To shake off those blues, we’re getting lost in some clips that emanate those good old summer vibes. Put your bikinis and budgee smugglers on in preparation and get clicking below!
Hockey Dad – Jump the Gun
Sit back and take a tour of the beach side suburb of Windang as the latest clip from Hockey Dad treats us to a behind the scenes look into the town that the foursome call home. A little patch of coastline on the Southern tip of the Wollongong peninsula, its suddenly very apparent where the lads lazy, sun drenched vibes originate. Inspired by surf classic Endless Summer II, drummer Billy Fleming says he started to pen lyrics when he heard the line: “on any day of the year, it’s summer somewhere in the world.” Radiating all that warmth, Jump The Gun is a scorcher, with plenty more to come from album Boronia, out August 12th.
https://youtu.be/mtNK4EI2XN8
Mac Miller– Dang! Feat Anderson Paak
The pairing of Mac Miller and Anderson Paak is about as smooth and splendid as you could imagine. The video for single Dang! off the upcoming album The Divine Feminine laments the struggles of holding on to that special girl, with Miller following his love interest across the city while .Paak forlornly watches as his counterpart packs her bags. But it’s not all doom and heartbreak, there is dancing that would make Pharrell Williams smile with the force of a thousand Happy videos and a hint at a happy ending after all. I think we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of this one.
https://youtu.be/LR3GQfryp9M
Spookyland – Discipline
I’m not even sure if this is cheating, but it was hard not to include the official lyric video released by Spookyland this week for track Discipline, because the track itself is just so captivating. If affected lyrics and anthemic builds are your thing, then your going to be all over this. Think Gang Of Youths and DMA’s and you’re on the right track. Once you’re done memorising the lyrics with the video on repeat, you can grab their debut Beauty Already Beautiful here or check them out at their upcoming shows.
https://youtu.be/OlMmeWNj0G8
NAO – Girlfriend
Soaring and ethereal, the voice of London’s NAO is like being wrapped in a cocoon made up of the night sky. Single Girlfriend has been doing the rounds and making waves and the video to accompany is appropriately divine. The spacious, soulful funk of the track overlays visuals of feminine diversity and those little moments of domestic bliss that can twang even the most cynical heartstrings. NAO is a stand out new kid on the block of 2016 and you’d be doing yourself a favour to hear more from her 18 track mega debut For All We Know here.
https://youtu.be/sisOw0Y822U
Hanni El Khatib – Mondo and His Makeup
Shot in a Mexican restaurant that looks like a strip club with a mariachi player and some sequined dancers, how could we not watch this one through? It’s the kind of place you just wish you could stumble in after a few sneaky tequila shots before slithering into a booth for some solid people watching. The rocking track comes from El Khatib’s THIRD collection of tracks this year, but don’t fear, he’s got both the quality and the quantity boxes ticked. I’ll be spinning this to start off my weekend, thank you very much.
https://youtu.be/TGUFw4yo_YI
Phia – Open/Closed
A song for everyone who needs to check that the stove is off and the door is locked three times each before leaving the house, Open/Closed an anthem for the perpetually uncertain. The sweetness and fragility of Phia’s vocal sentiment is touching and when coupled with an African beat it’s infectious as hell. The singer/songwriter wears her heart on her sleeve as she swirls across a central Australian landscape with clouds spinning overhead. Stay tuned for news of her debut album!
https://youtu.be/nJE5zJm6xHw
Photo credit: Daniel Radburn
Here we are at yet another tail-end of what’s been a horribly cold week in most of Australia. But while the weather might be freezing our toes, the tunes are still flowing freely and warming us right up like a hot cuppa. We do our best to cover as much great new music as we can each week, and here’s a playlist of some of our favourite new tracks that we haven’t shared yet.
Enjoy!
- Rumours, So Bad
We’re starting this week’s playlist with So Bad, a gorgeous, soulful track from the trio of Norwegian and Italian artists, and features on their new EP Shapes. The track particularly highlights the marriage of male and female vocals; Mark’s low voice is rich and full of deep-seated sensuality, while Marion’s is glistening and smooth, traipsing from note to note with honeyed fluidity. - Hockey Dad, Jump the Gun
Hockey Dad return with the perfect track to get the weekend started. as explained by drummer Billy Fleming, “this was written in my room while staring at my Endless Summer II poster, one of our favourite surf movies all the time. The lyrics spiraled off the line “on any day of the year, it’s summer somewhere in the world”. - Vacances, Only You
Vacances (pronounced ‘vacancies’) new track is bright and immediately catchy, with big, bold vocals and warm guitars that ring out and fill up the soundscape, occasionally inflected by synths and bustling percussion. This is their first single, and will be followed up by an EP later this year. - Alice Ivy, Almost Here ft. RaRa
Melbourne’s Alice Ivy returns with a HUGE new track, laden with incredibly funky saxes, wicked guitars and brilliant vocals from both herself and guest artist RaRa. Every single pocket of air is filled with sound, making for one damn enjoyable song from the electro-soul artist. I love absolutely everything about this track, and can’t wait for more. - Litche, Look Up
The opening notes of this song are immediately, powerfully magnetising, crawling right under my skin as new layers of percussion and synth loops slowly build the atmosphere. It breaks into an incredibly smooth, syncopated beat, and continues to play with sound, space and rhythm throughout. I absolutely love instrumental tracks like this. - Thelonious Martin, Bomaye ft. Joey Purp
This week’s Adult Swim Single comes from Savemoney producer Thelonious Martin, atop which Joey Purp shows us what the hype’s all about. The production is brilliant – big, bold and brash, with temperate beats making for a cool contrast against Purp’s wildly impassioned bars. There’s a nice little sample breakdown midway, and once we’re back on board, Purp really flexes his flow – this is a remarkably impressive song. Martin’s dropping his own project, Late Night Programming, later this year – do not sleep on it. - BV, Huh
Formerly known as Black Vanilla, BV return today with their first song of 2016. Huh is a big, many-layered tune that I’ve now spun for about half an hour straight and I still can’t get enough. Deep and seductive, the huge beat and trappy vibes are softened to perfection by Marcus Whale’s stunning vocals. In their own words, the song “is about the world we surround ourselves in. Somehow, while we’re passively summoning our own destruction, we can be optimistic by making ourselves collective, creating solidarity.” - Porsches, Blood to a Shark
Sydney duo Porsches are back with a thumping new tune, Blood to a Shark. I’m not usually a fan of dance stuff around this tempo (a strange comment, I am aware), but the track is packed with shimmering melodies,airy, stretched out synths and a dance-floor ready rhythm that you can’t help but bop along to. It’s already stuck in my head and I feel like it’ll be there for a while. - Flyying Colours, It’s Tomorrow Now
I’ll be honest: I have never listened to Flyying Colours before. But now that I’ve heard this phenomenal new track, the Melbourne band have themselves a huge new fan. Straight away you’re thrust into a heavy as fuck riff, before breathy vocals and a psychedelic melody take centre stage. And that solo? Screeeeech! I can’t wait to explore more on their newly announced debut album, due out in September. This is definitely my favourite track of the week. - Safia, Over You
Finally this week comes a brand new tune from Canberra’s own Safia, and I gotta say, it is damn good. Their sound continues to refine as they progress as a group, and this is one of their best tracks yet. The vocals in particular are spooky and theatrical, a great contrast to the big, bumpin’ bass. They’ve also finally announced their long-awaited debut album Internal, and if this is anything to go by then we’re in for an incredible Australian release come September 9.
Note this track isn’t in the playlist below – listen here.
Image: Flyying Colours – Supplied
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:
Shabazz Palaces – Dawn In Luxor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j6TcLiANW8
Starting in Seattle this week with experimental hip-hop duo Shabazz Palaces and their latest video for Dawn In Luxor. It’s a track from all the way back in 2014 and their second album Lese Majesty, and majestic is definitely the operative word here. This is hip-hop soaring with wings, clever bars over a thick backbeat and a wall of noise that’s almost suffocating.
The visuals are an equally stunning accompaniment, gorgeous scenic shots of mountains and raging rivers, sunsets and the great unknown of outer space. The footage comes courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Hubble and Cassini missions, which is all so unbelievably cool. The entire experience is just utterly immersive.
Lese Majesty is out now on Sub Pop via Inertia.
MOSSY – Ginsberg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H10z83zcE4
MOSSY has been quite the regular in our video roundup since signing to I Oh You not so long ago and proceeding to drop jaw-dropper after jaw-dropper out of the gate. With his debut EP having just touched down, the Sydney producer has this week released another single in Ginsberg and he hasn’t disappointed.
A slow-burning jazzy backbeat and MOSSY’s gentle crooning create a smoking lounge atmosphere, his pipes soar skywards over the chorus with unexpected power. It’s dark and dusky and yet another solid outing from MOSSY. The video finds the producer suiting up and cutting some proper shapes in a completely blanketed living room before the world’s most adorable baby makes a cameo at the end and yanks on every one of your heartstrings.
MOSSY’s self-titled debut is out now via I Oh You.
Pantha Du Prince – In An Open Space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ8QWAIjLiQ
German producer Pantha Du Prince has shared his latest in the lead-up to his next album The Triad. It’s called In An Open Space and it’s just gorgeous. A discordant opening slowly blends into a shimmering backbeat under some whisper-soft vocals. It’s a beautiful melody that is perfect for dim lights on a cold night.
The video follows the trail of three mysterious masked figures (who have made previous appearances in Pantha Du Prince’s other videos) who traipse an overcast countryside before meeting and unmasking. It’s a tad creepy and ritualistic in parts (especially those stony-faced reflective masks) but with moments of light-hearted humanity and all wonderfully shot by Cedric Reitzmann.
The Triad is out today via Rough Trade/Remote Control Records.
Foursix – Favors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRuXFSCRsm4
Over to the Big Apple for this next one from music and art collective Foursix. Favors is the name of their debut single and video. Seven members make up Foursix but just two of them feature on Favors in Verdé Madera and J-Payso. Deliberate production anchored by simple piano chords and off-kilter trap beats form the tapestry over which Madera and Payso cleverly flow about the daily grind.
The video is fantastic, a look at Madera and Payso’s initially shitty workaday world before their tight-buttoned office all of a sudden lets their hair down and gets Wolf Of Wall Street messy. It’s as slick a debut as you could ask for and there’s something about these guys that is just magnetic.
Looking very much forward to what the rest of the Foursix collective can do.
Highasakite – Golden Ticket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2NopIx3sTg&feature=youtu.be
Over the Atlantic to Norway for this next one with dream pop outfit Highasakite. Their new record Camp Echo is out this week and they’ve squeezed out one last single and video before that bomb drops in the glittery Golden Ticket.
It’s an up-tempo electro pop number, driven by a pulsating beat and leading into that absolutely heavenly chorus that will shoot you to the stars. Pop distilled to it’s purest form, I can’t stress enough the near cocaine-effect of that chorus. The video will grip you just as hard, gold and electric purple hues coating some mesmerising contemporary dancing. The entire thing is incredibly satisfying on both sonic and aesthetic levels and it certainly does appear that Highasakite have the golden ticket to spend the rest of 2016 lifting right off.
Camp Echo is out today via Caroline Australia
Tired Lion – Not My Friends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNKzInyG9n4
Music video homages are always great and this week’s effort from Perth upstarts Tired Lion is no exception. For the appropriately titled Not My Friends, Tired Lion have reimagined the iconic opening credits scene from the mother of all sitcoms in Friends as well as a whole bunch of your other favourite shows of all time including That 70s Show, The Office, Home Improvement and a whole lot of others we won’t spoil, just watch and enjoy.
The song goes all kind of hard (frontlady Sophie Hopes is rock and roll as all fuck) and the gargantuan grimy riffs and lyrical subjects are a heavy pairing, but its all juxtaposed amazingly with the sheer amount of fun the band are having emulating all these classic television moments. It’s videos like this that make these roundups such a joy to write and big ups to Tired Lion for killing it in both audio and visual formats on this latest tune.
You can catch the guys on their headlining Australian tour happening right now before they head to the UK and Europe for a jaunt and then get back here in time for Splendour. 2016 is absolutely shaping up to be the year of the (Tired) Lion.
The Last Shadow Puppets – Miracle Aligner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPsyynjHpbY
Rock super-duo Alex Turner and Miles Kane, also known as The Last Shadow Puppets made their triumphant return in 2016 with their massive sophomore record Everything You’ve Come To Expect. The latest single from that album is the silky smooth Miracle Aligner, gentle crooning over pure rock and roll. Picture mum-rock artists of yesteryear like Bread and Air Supply but with a somewhat dark modern twist.
Looking to emulate the aesthetics of that era, The Last Shadow Puppets set their spray tan guns to ‘kill’ and donned suits and hairdos for their choreographed slow motion dance routine that would make Countdown dancing extras beam with pride. It’s all a bit of a poke at the shallow world of the famous and it’s up there with previous visual efforts Aviation and Everything You’ve Come To Expect for excellence.
Everything You’ve Come To Expect is out now via Domino.
Hockey Dad – So Tired
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xjAS7Q0fmY
Surf punk might be the favourite genre of this writer and there are few practitioners of it in this part of the world more proficient at it than Windang dynamic duo Hockey Dad. That statement rings especially true of their latest single, the hook laden, fuzzed up summer jam So Tired.
Catchy as the clap, frontman Zach Stephenson’s wail is refreshingly unique and hooks you as much as the chugging melody. The video will make you long for summer, awash in pink hues with Hockey Dad and friends jamming out on a sun-drenched beach and having what looks like the single best time ever (while you’re probably watching it from a cold, heartless office desk).
It’s tunes like So Tired and bands like Hockey Dad that have us so excited for the future of Australian rock, and we’re thoroughly fiending for their debut record. It’s called Boronia and it’s out August 12th on Farmer And The Owl via Inertia.
Hockey Dad
Art of Sleeping
The Jungle Giants
BIGSOUND is once again upon us here in Brisbane, and soon The Valley will be swarming with delegates and punters trying to catch a glimpse of the next big thing. Two nights, 12 stages, over 150 bands and too many beers; it’s safe to say this is our favourite time of year. But, it’s a pretty hefty task to take on that timetable, so we took it upon ourselves to give you our top 10 must see acts for this year. Take it from us, you CAN’T miss these acts!
Green Buzzard
One of the great unknowns of this year’s Bigsound, they’ve scarcely played any gigs together and the only song they’ve released is the (utterly ridiculous) Brit-rock garage throwback Zoo Fly. They’re freshly signed to I Oh You though, who are behind relatively unknown acts like, oh, Violent Soho and DMA’s, so they aren’t known for being here to fuck spiders and I’m happy to assume they’re bringing the goods once again with Green Buzzard.
Wednesday September 9th, The Winn, 8:50pm
City Calm Down
Speaking of I Oh You, City Calm Down are also a recent addition to that label. If you’d dig some kind of a love child between The National and New Order then City Calm Down are the stork, bringing you that baby real hard. They create an immense wall of post-punk meets electro noise and they should be a bloody joy to catch live.
Wednesday September 9th, The Winn, 11:20pm
Skegss
These Byron Bay dudes are Dune Rats-endorsed (they’re the first artists to sign with old mates Dunies’ very own Ratbag Records) so you just know they’ll be an absolute mental party of a live show. Their sun-drenched surf punk is utterly perfect to boogie down to and they should be well worth a look.
Thursday September 10th, Ric’s Bar, 11:30pm
Holy Holy
If you missed their disgustingly good set at Splendour this year then you should be ashamed, but whatever blows your fur back I guess. These Melbournites bring gargantuan throwback riffs and songs that are larger than life and their live show will knock your socks straight off, guaranteed.
Wednesday September 9th, triple j Unearthed stage (Oh Hello), 11:30pm
Gang Of Youths
Son of a bitch. SON of a bitch. I am absolutely fiending to see these guys live for the first time ever, with their debut LP The Positions still on insanely high rotation in my life. Monstrous guitars, gorgeous synths and, above all else, heartfelt lyrics that cut to the bone, their set promises to be full of absolute belters like Magnolia, Radioface and the raucous Poison Drum. Miss them at your absolute peril.
Thursday September 10th, The Zoo, 11:30pm
Pearls
Melbourne indie outfit Pearls has been on high rotation in my house, my work, my car, and well everywhere, with their debut album Pretend You’re Mine. Their foot stomping glam rock is more infectious than the common cold, and you would need to be a little bit insane not to see them play.
Wednesday September 9th, Elephant Hotel, 9pm
Banff
Benjamin Forbes might just be one of the most exciting names in Australian indie music right now, with debut EP Future Self out last month. With stellar production and languorous vocals his set will be a moment to catch your breath and soak up those blissful atmospheric vibes.
Thursday September 10th, Elephant Hotel, 8:20pm
Big White
Big White make you feel like you have been transported into a John Waters film with 80’s drenched melodies aka The Psychedelic Furs. I am very much looking forward to throwing my hair back to their infectious throw back ditties. Who doesn’t love a good old bit of pan flute?
Wednesday 9th September, The Zoo, 8:10pm
Hockey Dad
Hockey Dad make fun, boisterous garage surf anthems ala Wavves or Cloud Nothings with a distinct local flavor. As this years Unearthed winners there is a lot of hype surrounding these guys, and I’m pretty sure they will more than deliver even in a timeslot directly competing with Gang of Youths.
Thursday 10th September, The Alehouse @ The Wooly Mammoth, 11:20pm
Tiny Little Houses
With only a single track that I have been able to track down, this might just be my most anticipated act. These lo-fi bedroom guitar melodies have been swimming in my head for days and it’s pretty exciting to imagine what else the set my hold.
Thursday 10th September, Black Bear Lodge, 10pm
I dare say few Americans could locate the coastal town of Wollongong on a map, but it seems they’ve taken a liking to one of the region’s best young bands.
Since releasing their debut EP, Dreamin’, last year, surf-rock duo Hockey Dad have been garnering fans across the country and, indeed, the world, with news that US college radio stations have been playing the EP to immensely favourable reviews. The lads have reportedly charted consistently in the top 20 at a number of core stations, joining the likes of Courtney Barnett amid the ranks of popular Australian acts.
This is huge news for a band who continue to improve; their current single Can’t Have Them – the video for which was released earlier this week – is testament to that. The clip sees frontman Billy Fleming and drummer Zach Stephenson rocking out in a world of erratic movement and colour. It’s a fun, rather charming reflection of what this duo from the ‘leisure coast’ are all about.
2015 is set to be an enormous year for The Jungle Giants, with the affable Brisbane four-piece announcing their sophomore album and a string of tour dates.
The album has been granted the curious title of Speakerzoid, which seems a suitably peculiar choice given the band’s recent musical direction. Both singles released from the album – Every Kind of Way and, more recently, Kooky Eyes – have showcased a bold, quirky and inventive side to The Jungle Giants, of which only shades were present on 2013’s Learn to Exist.
Speakerzoid is set to be unleashed on August 7, with the accompanying tour kicking off in Fremantle about a month later. Support comes from two very talented Australian bands – Art of Sleeping (who will have an album out themselves by then) and larrikin surf-rock duo Hockey Dad.
Tickets go on sale Monday the 29th June, and are available here.
