On The Player
What’s on your player? There’s plenty of great music out at the minute, here’s a selection of what we have been playing…
Martha Wainwright is beginning again. The beguiling performer and songwriter makes a most welcome return with Love Will Be Reborn, her first new album in five years, released August 20th on Pheromone Records/Cooking Vinyl.
It’s her first album since 2016’s Goodnight City, and the first since 2012’s acclaimed Come Home To Mama to feature so much original material. All eleven songs on Love Will Be Reborn are written by Martha. She wrote the first song, and what would become the title track, a few years ago in what was a very dark time for her personally.
The title track Love Will Be Reborn is out now and hints at the ache of recent years while capturing a sense of optimism for the future. She wraps her wondrous, trademark vocals around the heartbreak to dizzying effect.
“I wrote the song in its entirety within ten or fifteen minutes,” she admits.” I was bawling.”
Martha began to play the song live before she recorded the album and it became something of an anthem, giving her hope when it was most needed. The song, and the entire album, was produced by Pierre Marchand, best known for his work with Rufus Wainwright on Poses, the McGarrigle’s on Heartbeats Accelerating and much of Sarah McLaughlin’s 90’s catalogue.
Seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette released, Rest, which she originally performed at the Chester Bennington tribute at the Hollywood Bowl in 2017. The song has not been available until now. Get it here! Co-written by Alanis and Michael Farrell and produced by Alex Hope, Rest is being released in support of Mental Health Action Day and will encourage donations to NAMI in support of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Melbourne electronic producer Sissysocks aka Tom Briglia releases the evocative new single Augsburg & clip!
Augsburg, written in the aftermath of an ill-fated European adventure, is heavy with emotive atmosphere and lush synthesis, a world rich in texture and plaintive pall.
“I’d just come home from a trip to Europe. It was my second trip there – my parents had moved there. The first trip was six months earlier – six weeks over Christmas and New Year with my brother and my cousin, and I think of that period now as the best experience of my life. This second trip was a couple of weeks, just myself, hoping to recapture that feeling, but I ended up bewildered, embarrassed, frazzled and flustered. Augsburg is about repeatedly looking for things in the wrong places”
The accompanying clip for Augsburg was directed by Ursula Woods and shot on location in Tasmania featuring cinematography by Jacob Collings, Gill Person is played by Dana Endelmanis with performance from EWAH.
Sissysocks explains the forthcoming album Slink Away, as being about, “learning and accepting that you are a fallible human being who will make the same mistakes again.”
The Sea Gypsies return to the spotlight after a two year hiatus releasing their new single Daydream. Their new offering will show a side The Sea Gypsies fans are yet to see, all the while honouring their musical roots.
Speaking to the inspiration behind Daydream, the band says, “Daydream is a love song, without being an ‘in-your-face’ love song. On the surface, the lyrics are indicative of our vocalist’s (Luke Marlin) relationship experiences, however, the music leaves the listener feeling as though this song is built upon layers of relational failures and triumphs.”
Recorded at The Grove Studios in Somersby, New South Wales, The Sea Gypsies created the new single with Producer Jack Nigro (DZ Deathrays, The Delta Riggs) and the track was mastered by Darren Ziesing (RUFUS DU SOL, Tina Arena). “We loved Daydream from the moment our vocalist (Luke Marlin) began penning the lyrics into his worn, black notebook. The chorus is catchy and it’s not just the phrase: ‘Life is like a daydream. Honey, when you’re with me.’ Luke energised it with a singable melody that feels familiar, yet somehow, has a fresh, Sea Gypsies flavour to it.” The Sea Gypsies
Sydney’s Johnny Manuel has unveiled a new incarnation of his current single Lost In The Music, with the infectious Lost In the Music (Sgt Slick Remix).
The synth layered, bass-forward single explores the highs and lows of lovers in turmoil with Manuel’s smooth vocals guiding the way. He explains, “I’m very excited about teaming up with Sgt. Slick for the Lost In The Music remix! It’s so fun. He added the perfect combination of funk, soul and disco that I’ve enjoyed my entire life whilst still maintaining the energy of the original version. I feel like everyone will love getting lost in it in their cars, at the club and even just at home having a private dance party. I know I do!”
Originally inspired by a romantic relationship, Manuel discovered meaningful parallels within his career and relationship with music. The track, produced Michael Fatkin and writer David Ryan Harris (ZAYN, James Bay), delves into the importance of rediscovering passion and letting it guide you through rough patches.
Lost In The Music is the first in a series of new singles to come from Manuel, as he enters a new era, defining his own artistic vision and writing and recording music that is true to lifelong commitment to his craft.
Grammy nominee Hiss Golden Messenger has just released the new track Glory Strums (Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner) from the highly anticipated album Quietly Blowing It (Merge Records), out on June 25th. The video for Glory Strums (Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner), directed by Vikesh Kapoor, premiered at Consequence as part of their insightful Origins series.
Hiss Golden Messenger bandleader, songwriter and lead vocalist M.C. Taylor says of the new song: “‘Glory Strums’ was written in the chaotic green spring of 2020 as a hymn to finding the places and spaces that make us human.”
Quietly Blowing It was written, arranged, and produced by Taylor and is the follow-up to 2019’s critically acclaimed release Terms of Surrender, which received a 2021 Grammy Award nomination for Best Americana Album. Special guests and contributors include Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, Tony Award–winning artist Anaïs Mitchell, Zach Williams of The Lone Bellow, Nashville guitar great Buddy Miller, and producer/musician Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman.
Earlier this year, PRICIE made her grand debut with the release of her powerful and charismatic single too dang good, leading the rapper, singer-songwriter to be labelled as one to watch. Now the Australia/Nigerian talent gives fans another taste of her fresh, slick and soulful sound, releasing FRIENDZONE, featuring one of Australia’s most in-demand talents, Genesis Owusu. FRIENDZONE is another step in the right direction for this budding newcomer, showcasing PRICIE’s deep, raw and emotive vocals, complemented by Genesis Owusu’s infectious lyricism, and contrasted by a minimal and refined hip-hop beat.
Known for her attitude towards self-love and appreciation through her music, PRICIE continues to shed light on female empowerment. Speaking to the meaning behind the lyrics on the new single, she shares “‘FRIENDZONE’, the title no-one wants. It’s something a lot of us have experienced (I actually haven’t though, cause I’m a pimp). I wrote this track about a situation I spectated, where a friend of mine was playing the friendzone game basically pulling a female along and adoring her and everything about her, but not putting a title on it.”
Melbourne-raised, New York-based producer, songwriter and artist, Nick Murphy unveils the latest single from his Chet Faker project; Feel Good taken from the forthcoming album, Hotel Surrender, out July 16 via Detail Records/BMG.
Released alongside the single is a stunning music video, an unbroken single shot with Murphy rollerblading in the golden Californian desert sunset. Produced by globally acclaimed production company FREENJOY (previous works include The Weeknd, Ariana Grande/Doja Cat, Travis Scott et al), the video unearths Murphy’s relatively unknown passion for rollerblading, a hobby that nearly derailed the entire production on the first take. Murphy explains: “I broke my hand filming this last week and I don’t regret one bit of it.”
Feel Good appears on Hotel Surrender, a 10-track LP written, recorded and produced by Murphy and mixed by Dave Fridmann that reintroduces the swaggering bass lines and electrifying melodies that made fans fall in love with Chet Faker across the world. After Murphy finished the majority of tracks in March 2020, he then saw the record’s completion process take on an even deeper new meaning as he sought to find happiness in the throes of the global pandemic.
Murphy goes into further detail about Feel Good; “The song is called ‘Feel Good’. The song is about feeling good. The video is me feeling good. Anymore talking is just gonna kill the vibe.”
Prolific hit-making trio Cheat Codes, popularly known for their smash single No Promises (feat. Demi Lovato), have released their new, self-produced music video for Lean On Me featuring the multi-talented music sensation, Tinashe. Lean On Me is the standout track off the group’s debut album, HELLRAISERS, PT 1.
The feel-good video shows the value of friendship and its ability to help pull you through a difficult situation. The beginning of the visual finds Tinashe experiencing heartbreak but after joining up with Cheat Codes, the group has an adventure to help raise her spirits. They help out a friend at his classic diner who needs someone to lean on, cruise around town in a classic convertible, mingle with friends and professional skateboarders in an empty swimming pool and end the night with a wild junkyard party.
The Cheat Codes-produced visual ends on a high note with everyone dancing and vibing until ominous music builds as Trevor and his date leave the junkyard party alone. The pair stop for a kiss and what follows is a surprise ending you won’t want to miss!
Sydney trio I Know Leopard are back with Lover Automatic, their first new music since their acclaimed 2019 album Love Is A Landmine. They’ve also announced June live dates to launch the single in Sydney and Melbourne.
Lover Automatic sees the band shifting to a sugar-coated, hyper-coloured take on alt-pop that flirts with an almost lo-fi hip-hop aesthetic but their knack for timeless infectious pop hooks is as strong as ever. They may have moved from their previous ‘70s soft rock inspired sound but the band’s other trademark elements remain present: Jenny McCullagh’s violin provides gilding to the melody and brilliant decorative flourishes while Rosie Fitzgerald’s fluid bass playing adds extra rhythmic bounce (which helps explain why she is fast becoming one of Australia’s busiest session bass players). Luke O’Loughlin’s falsetto vocal sings of being defenceless in the face of new love regardless of how acquainted we are with its perils.
“Can’t you tell
That I’m ready for a new kind of hell
if you are as well”
The song was co-produced and mixed by Konstantin Kersting, who has found success with his work with Tones & I, The Jungle Giants, Mallrat, The Rubens, Tia Gostelow and WAAX. The animated video by Sydney designer Luke Saunders sees Luke, Rosie and Jenny reborn as vampires travelling through a sweetly psychedelic landscape that’s something like a 1980s Japanese remake of Yellow Submarine (but with vampires).
Yorke returns with her new single Window Shopping and the announcement of her East Coast tour. The Window Shopping Tour kicks off July 15th in Sydney before heading to Melbourne and Brisbane, celebrating a brand new era for the artist.
The disco-tinged Window Shopping premiered on triple j’s good nights with Bridget Hustwaite tweeting the track “her best yet”. Window Shopping is effortless, playful alt-pop moment that arrives with the official video, directed by Melbourne’s Kyle Caulfied.
Yorke says, “For me, when writing ‘Window Shopping’, the visual universe that the song existed was just as vivid as the track itself. I’ve been a fan of Kyle’s work for a while now and the way that he creates such a visceral cinematic experience, so I was stoked he wanted to be involved. The video was shot in 2 massive days in Sydney with the most amazing crew and Kyle’s patience and attention to detail really brought out the best in the vid. It feels like my own little Yorke world and I’m so proud of how it all turned out.”
Sydney singer-songwriter Taj Ralph releases his new single Something From Nothing, the final instalment from his forthcoming EP Walls 2 Break to be released August 13th.
Premiered on triple j’s Home & Hosed, Something From Nothing is an emotive and contemplative track that encapsulates the feeling of not doing enough to make your dreams come true, one which is perfectly sound tracked by Taj’s smooth vocals, retro-tinged chords and rhythmic jazzy drum grooves.
“I was experiencing writer’s block and struggling to make anything of substance. ‘Something From Nothing’ came from overcoming that through a shift in perspective” Taj writes. “This was one of those songs that seemed to write itself, smoothly and effortlessly, despite the previous writer’s block, I think I had something I needed to get off my chest in the process. Lyrically ‘Something From Nothing’ is one of the most cohesive and stronger songs that I’ve written, with a clear motive‘.
It is this honesty and vulnerability which is highlighted through Taj’s poignant lyricism and in lines such as “So I’m praying that the world is mine, and slowly I’m moving ahead” a line that in Taj’s opinion captures the essence of the song and learning to acknowledge when you’re trying your best to pursue something you believe in and trusting the process.
Genre-blurring global superstar Marshmello teams with dancefloor destroyer Carnage on the nostalgic rave anthem Back In Time. After a year of quietude and isolation, this new single is a well-timed return to the club—an ecstatic ode to long nights and good times. The track also arrives alongside a light hearted, time-traveling video.
With hits like Happier and Alone nestled in his boundary-pushing discography, it’s clear that Marshmello has always been interested in the emotional possibilities of dance music – a theme that Back In Time furthers. Calling back to the energy of ‘90s rave tracks, the propulsion of classic techno, and the gleaming refractions of Eurodance, the song is energetic and nostalgic, perfect for creating new dancefloor memories while remembering all your favourite nights out.
Back In Time drops just in time for one of Marshmello’s biggest gigs in recent memory – he’s set to play the opening ceremony of the UEFA Champions League Final on May 29 with special guests Selena Gomez and Khalid. This new single is part of a productive streak for the masked producer. In 2021, he’s already been a part of a handful of beloved singles, both on his own and with esteemed collaborators. He teamed up with Ali Gatie and Ty Dolla $ign on the heart warming ballad Do You Believe, and with Benny Blanco and Vance Joy for the introspective You. He’s worked with 2KBABY on the low-key banger Like This, and with G Herbo and Wacotron on the epic Umbrella. Both as a producer and a DJ, he’s always kept a busy schedule, but songs like “Back In Time” prove he’s more than just prolific – he makes some of the most moving songs in dance music.
Modern music’s alternative mad scientist K.Flay drops TGIF, a spinning carousel of a rock song that critiques society’s trend of tuning out the bullshit of the world when the weekend arrives. It features guitar work by the one-and-only living legend Tom Morello, and is a cut off the GRAMMY-nominee’s forthcoming EP Inside Voices, dropping June 11th via BMG.
Of the song’s origins, K.Flay said “I started writing this when Donald Trump was president, a time when I felt so acutely that my government didn’t represent me, that my government was filled with lunatics and criminals. And I was simultaneously fixated on the absurdity of the work week — this notion that Fridays are inherently a day of celebration. TGIF. It feels like a rallying cry for capitalism when you take a step back and really consider it.” Of the collaborative nature of the track, she adds “The song came together in this amazing way, from me writing alone in my studio, to working with Tommy English and JT Daly (my long time collaborators) on production, to asking Tom Morello to record the guitars and rip a solo. The word I kept using during the process was DEMENTED. I wanted the track to feel demented, unhinged, insane.”
Of the collaboration, Tom Morello added “K.Flay is smart, powerful, honest and unafraid in her music and in her life. As co-survivors of the Northern Illinois suburbs, we have a kinship and a friendship that makes for great synergy when we rock together, as is on full display with the beautifully caustic TGIF.”
A brand new year of music for Sydney’s Inklines has kicked off strong already with the release of Blossom back in February. And now, the trio returns, backing it up with another strong dose of indie rock in All Gone.
As an indicator of the band’s new EP, coming out later this year, All Gone is Inklines at their finest. The first song written as part of new sessions laid down with producer Lachlan West, All Gone is rich in its guitar and melodic arrangements. The band has always thrived within the alt-rock space and here, we can hear those influences fusing easily with more contemporary notes.
“‘All Gone’ fell together pretty quickly in the studio as we had been gigging for a few months beforehand, and we were all ready to get back into the writing process. It definitely helped that this track is on the mellow side of things, as it really allowed us to let the song flow and take its own course.” Inklines
Jackson Browne released the video for My Cleveland Heart. The single, co-written with his long time guitarist Val McCallum, comes from Browne’s forthcoming album Downhill From Everywhere due out on July 23, worldwide through his label Inside Recordings.
The My Cleveland Heart video was directed by Alissa Torvinen (Phoebe Bridgers, Pink, Melanie Martinez – K12) and includes a cameo by Phoebe Bridgers along with Browne’s bandmates Val McCallum, Greg Leisz, Jeff Young, Mauricio Lewak, Bob Glaub as well as Pete Thomas and Dave Faragher.
“What an honour to collaborate with Jackson,” said Torvinen on the making of the video. “His creativity is inspiring, not solely in music, but in everything he puts his energy into. We came up with a script for the video very serendipitously, and Phoebe joining us was a wonderful surprise. The way she received Jackson’s heart and the shot of her watching from the wings . . . perfectly dark and poetic and Phoebe.”
Liz Phair is thrilled to release a new song from her new album, Soberish, which is out via Chrysalis Records/PIAS. The track, entitled In There, is a percolating, simmering song about vulnerability, with the sort of incredible wordplay and melodies that only Phair can create.
In There, which follows the release of album single and opener “Spanish Doors,” as well as the song “Hey Lou,” is another stand out track from Soberish, Phair’s first collection of original material in eleven years. Produced by Phair’s long time collaborator Brad Wood – known for helming Phair’s seminal albums Exile In Guyville, Whip-Smart, and whitechocolatespaceegg – Soberish is a portrait of Phair in the present tense, taking all of the facets of her melodic output over the years and synthesizing them into a beautiful, perfect whole.
Australian singer/songwriter, Odette releases Trial By Fire – the fifth single to be lifted from her critically acclaimed album Herald. Produced by Damian Taylor, Trial By Fire is the follow up to previous singles Herald, Amends, Dwell and Feverbreak with Hermitude.
Says Odette of the song:
“Trial By Fire is a song I wrote to spark a sense of clarity and power in myself. The layers of natural instruments ebb and flow between light and polite to dark and heavy synths. This song is about the struggle to remain strong and not give in to fear in the thick of situational instability.”
With their May/June Australian tour dates selling out fast, Hollow Coves have come through with brand new music for fans to get around.
They announce their new single, fittingly titled Hello. Following on from their track Lonely Nights released earlier this year, Hello is Hollow Coves at their peak. Captivating and heavy on the evocation, both Matt and Ryan flex their best song writing muscles when they’re utterly in tune with one another. Here, we get to hear the shining results of that process.
Written at their home on the Gold Coast as everyone found themselves plunged into lockdown, Hello speaks to their experiences of being isolated from their normal day to day.
“We ended up recording it and self-producing it at our little home studio…It’s about the mundane day-to-day life of being stuck inside alone and going a bit stir crazy. We think a lot of people will be able to relate to this one after the past year.” Hollow Coves
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