Words: James Frostick Band image: Gen Kay In August, Naarm/Melbourne-based aural agitators and power-punk pugilists Clamm will return to the spotlight to release Care – a new LP featuring 15 tracks of focused furore – through Chapter Music. The trio are getting the cogs of the hype machine cranking with lead single ‘Bit Much’, a sprinting spanker that funnels the anxiety associated with living in a collapsing society into a fiery three-minute fracas. Few things play a bigger role in tugging at the loose threads of my already fraying mental state than a good ol’ doom scroll. Endless headlines ..read more

Words: James Frostick Band image: Charlie Hillhouse Frosty synth-pop three-piece 100% has awoken from an elongated hibernation period with new sounds to share. Last week the Naarm and Meanjin-based group released ‘Abandon’, a composition imbued with the group’s signature coolly detached atmospherics and operatic, moonlight-clothed glamour. It preludes the release of the trio’s debut album, Clear Visions, which will be released later this year via esteemed underground hit factory It Records. The only thing more frisson-inducing than the actual music of 100% is the news that 100% is back with m ..read more

Words: James Frostick Artist image: Nicole Reed Naarm/Melbourne duo Vacuum sowed some sensational aural discord when they dropped their self-titled debut album through Heavy Machinery Records and It Records back in February. After letting our brains marinate in their brand of knotted industrial unce for just over a month, the duo is reaching out once more from the strobe and shadow to gift us with their self-directed and produced visual treatment for standout slice ‘I’ll Call You’ – an unsettling-yet-hypnotic montage that pairs perfectly with its sinisterly sneaking soundtrack.  It’s tak ..read more

Words: James Frostick Band photos: Anita Shao Some familiar faces from Naarm/Melbourne’s musical melting pot have thrown their talents together for form Skid City, an eruptive and disruptive quintet specialising in no-frills rock ‘n’ roll. Ahead of the April release of the group’s debut LP, Skid City are gifting the world a teensy taste in the form of ‘Blue’ – a masterclass in haywire, white-knuckled ruckus that sounds timeless and essential.  I think it’s gotta take a bit of talent to make a spot-on rock ‘n’ roll track. To the ears it all sounds pretty straightforward (rock is, by natur ..read more

Words: James Frostick Band image: Ben Salter Today Lutruwita/Tasmania-based trio Free Live Sports releases Stay Grounded, its first ever set of recordings put to tape. Over nine tracks the group cannily cobble together a collection of rough-hewn hooks, rickety riffs and rattletrap rhythms that belie the majority of the group’s neophyte abilities. Prioritising instinct over technique, Stay Grounded showcases the group’s keen sense for sound and ethos of placing fun over fidelity to engaging results.   I know – it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. Sorry, I guess. I have no ex ..read more

Words: James Frostick Band image: Gus Hunt Cover art: Jill Wilkinson In just over a month’s time, Eora Country/Sydney group Shrapnel will release its new long-play effort Alasitas. Lead single ‘Orpheum Protocol’ showcases a sonic departure for the group, which builds upon existing guitar-centric foundations and accentuates them with some charmingly off-centre instrumentation – hinting towards a newfound freedom and flexibility in sound. The near-decade evolution of Shrapnel from Sam Wilkinson’s solo vehicle to top-line underground mainstay has been terrific to witness. What started as so ..read more

Words: James Frostick Artist image: Aaron Claringbold Ela Stiles is today releasing a white-knuckled, adrenaline-fuelled remix of ‘Vilification Brunch’ – a similarly visceral number by post-punk foursome Voice Imitator. The remix swaps Voice Imitator’s motorik chug and echoing whispers for a wired pulsing synth thump, bringing the band’s deadpan and surrealist critique on modern living into sharp relief without lessening any of its minatory qualities.  Although I didn’t tell anyone here, I thought Voice Imitator’s bristly and bleak late-2020 LP Plaza was phenomenal. Thorny post-punk soni ..read more

Words: James Frostick Meanjin/Brisbane-based experimental-pop troika Spirit Bunny are today releasing the second track from their forthcoming album Uncanny Valley. Inspired and informed by relentless shellacking endured during sub-tropical summers, ‘Stomping’ sees Spirit Bunny maintaining composure even as sweat drips into their eyes and over their repurposed instruments. ‘Stomping’ is a track that caught me a little bit off guard. I wasn’t surprised by the track’s quality and craftsmanship – Spirit Bunny is a known quantity to me. Plus, I think the trio’s combined pedigree (its members also ..read more

Words: James Frostick Band image: Elizabeth Riley Following hot on the heels of previous single ‘Temporary Solution’, Naarm/Melbourne-based indie rock quintet The Vovos are saying good riddance to bad rubbish with follow-up single ‘Spring Cleaning’. This animated number showcases the group’s mature attitude to dealing with unrewarding friendships – consciously uncoupling from low-value folks in favour of more nourishing relationships. Severing a friendship is a terrifying thing but, like any necessary act, it’s best to do it quickly, resolutely. Rip the bandaid off and soon after you’ll reali ..read more

Words: James Frostick Artist image: Alex Gordon-Smith Kaurna Country-based collective Dom & The Wizards are mere weeks away from the release of forthcoming record The Australian Cyclone Intensity Scale (out on April 2 via Tenth Court), but are squeezing in one more appetiser in the form of new single ‘Classical Antiquity Sunsets’. The track sees bandleader Dom continuing his marvellous storytelling streak, weaving sinister tales set to the kind of sun-warped music that can only emanate from his corner of the continent. Is Dom Trimboli a songwriter or storyteller? After digesting much of h ..read more