Welcome to the Madhouse, the debut from Victorian born, Byron Bay ‘discovered’ Tones & I is certainly one of the albums of all time. Released following the global success of her song ‘Dance Monkey’ and The Kids Are Coming EP, largely fuelled by a tidal wave of Australian media support, Tones & I makes a decisive yet unimpressive attempt at creating an aesthetic. On first impression, Welcome to the Madhouse isn’t far removed from her EP. Tones & I’s vocal delivery remains as aggressively nasally, even if she doesn’t fill these tracks with vocal cracks, which has been a trademark of ..read more

Formerly Brisbane based, now a Melbourne turncoat, Locust Revival has been consistently releasing records over the last few years. His self-titled 2019 release saw him embrace bright and euphoric instrumentation to contrast the dark and dreary vocals and thematic weight of his sound. In his 2020 record, Partially Here, released in the early days of COVID-19, his grim sound grew naturally. In his newest album, a more explorative, less rigid record titled Mistakes, Locust Revival takes a step back, reflecting on his discography, and the dystrophic years passed. The album kicks off with ‘Modern D ..read more

One of the strangest new bands emerging from London, a city that sure does pump out a lot of bizarre acts, Squid excel in a debut that feels spontaneous, edgy and humorous all at once. In the lead up to their album Bright Green Field, Squid released the nearly nine minute long banger ‘Narrator’ as their lead single. Clearly not concerned with putting their most accessible foot forward, ‘Narrator’ launches the record with a wild and unconventional approach. As the track continues, guest vocalist Martha Skye Murray’s charming vocals dissipate into sullen spoken word and into screaming. There’s a ..read more

Entering ‘Melbourne 2’ is stumbling into a noisy grey hellscape, with fuzzy walls of crushed drums and chaotic, flickering synths crashing like thunder through a nuclear fallout zone. This is a nightmarish hip hop soundtrack to the dystopia that seemed so close just a year ago.   Too Birds is a collaborative project composed of three labelmates at X Amount Records:  experimental rappers Teether and Realname and producer savant Mr. Society.  But don’t let the rapper/producer combination lull you into any preconceptions of what this record should sound lik ..read more

Of the few things that Australian producer and singer-songwriter Kučka has wrestled with in a decade-long career so far is striking a sound for her solo music. As a vocalist and producer, she’s collaborated extensively with Flume and worked alongside Vince Staples, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, and even the late SOPHIE. Her highly anticipated debut album Wresting is a tranquil, yet kinetic homage to the many genres and innovative projects she’s explored. Long before her work on Wrestling began, Kučka kicked off her foray into music with an experimental self-titled EP that presented a hybrid of t ..read more

After a two record-long dirge into melancholia, the “best boy band since One Direction” are back with an album that is as bold and assertive as their best. With a new decade and yet mostly the same world issues as always, Brockhampton have embraced collaboration and camp to cope. Their new album ROADRUNNER, subtitled with NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE is named half after the Looney Tunes character and half to reference their new perspective. Brockhampton’s light is no longer on dim, their songs are their most interesting since their 2017 Saturation trilogy, and with features from Danny Brown, JPEGMAF ..read more

To begin to describe the elements that make up a Xiu Xiu record feels contradictory at heart. Over their past eleven studio albums, they’ve embraced disturbing post-rock, irresistible industrial dance, melancholic singer-songwriter, and in the case of last album Girl With Basket of Fruit; the harrowing hybrid of doom folk and noise music. Their twelfth album and their second as a duo, OH NO, find odd reassurance in the aftermath of its tortured predecessor, opting for a refreshing new approach. At its heart, OH NO is an album of duets. Over its elaborate hour-long runtime, Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stew ..read more

Ghana-born, Australian based rapper Genesis Owusu is Canberra’s most exciting new export, (though there may not be stiff competition), and his new project, Smiling with No Teeth, is a versatile rap record. It’s 2021’s equivalent to the magnum opus The Return by Sampa the Great, and the phenomenal Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 by Tkay Maidza. Following up a series of noteworthy singles, most notably ‘Wit’ da Team’ produced by The Free Nationals, Genesis Owusu’s work here is experimental yet succinct. Smiling with No Teeth’s opener ‘On the Move!’ is a distorted and surreal track that sees Owusu ch ..read more

Across his debut EP, Brisbane dream-pop producer RINSE feels wholly in his element. Here he channels his work from previous bands, expanding his sound in a stargazing fashion. Before forming his solo project RINSE, Joe Agius fronted Brisbane rock band the Creases. So much more than just the landfill variety indie pop-rock that so many bands of their nature fall into, their eventual debut Tremelow, released in 2017, took refreshing inspiration from emo-tinged, jangle-pop of Wilco and the sunshine pop of Kylie Minogue. ‘Back Into Your Arms’, Wherever I Am’s folky opening track, fe ..read more

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