New Releases - 12/09/17

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​Phew! BIGSOUND is done and dusted for another year but if you think Rabbit is done with music puh-leeze! There's plenty of great new tracks to keep September rolling. This week we've pulled together killer cuts from Peter Bibby, St. Vincent, Rostam, Carla dal Forno, Phia and more! 

PETER BIBBY – MEDICINE (SPINNING TOP/CAROLINE AUSTRALIA)

We haven’t heard new music from Perth’s Peter Bibby since 2014 but ‘Medicine’ is worth the wait. Hard rocking and confessional, Bibby waxes lyrical about waning health with disarming and uninhibited honesty. “I didn’t come here for advice/I came here for medicine” he growls. Gold class storytelling from a man of little pretension, it’s music which hits you straight in the middle of the chest. 
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SPINNING COIN – SLEEPLESS (DOMINO)

‘Sleepless’ comes as an endearing slice of melodic guitar pop from Glaswegian unit Spinning Coin. Bright, catchy and raw, it takes cues from the escapist romance of Scottish forebears Teenage Fanclub with which Spinning Coin have also supported on tour. Rolling guitar riffs carrying the track forward. Cutting in at a little over two minutes It’s a sweet throwaway moment with lingering feelings of warmth. 
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CARLA DAL FORNO – THE GARDEN (BLACKEST EVER BLACK)

For those looking to slip into something a little bleaker, sink no further than the downbeat mires of Carla dal Forno ‘The Garden’. Cast across a minimal soundscape, Carla’s subdued vocals open doors to a world of resignation and hypnotic minimalism. This Melbourne native’s 2016 debut You Know What It’s Like was a critics favourite and it seems like her follow up Ep will be taking things up a step with some lavish hi-fi production. 
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ST. VINCENT – LAS AGELESS (VIA LOMA VISTA RECORDINGS/CAROLINE AUSTRALIA)

‘Las Ageless’ pulls the listener in with a hook which could easily be mistaken for the opening of a tortured Depeche Mode classic. Within the arpeggiated grit Annie Clark turns out something which is one part down-and-out ballad and another part cinematic rocker. While ‘New York’ lionised a city, 'Ageless' takes another down. Personifying LA it surveys dark feelings of frustration, oppression and exploitation. Within its closing moments comes the revelation of the songwriter's true intent. “I tried to write you a love song/ But it comes out a lament’ Clark whispers in resignation. Here St. Vincent delivers her conceptual audacity as slickly and flashily as ever. 
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Pre-order St. Vincent’s MASSEDUCTION here. 
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​ROSTAM – HALF-LIGHT (FT. KELLY ZUTRAU) (NONESUCH)
Formerly one of the key creative forces of Vampire Weekend, Rostam Batmanglij has dropped the final single from his first solo recording since exiting Vampire in 2016. An enveloping pocket symphony, ‘Half-Light’ is a formidable piece of music. Within its sweeping grandeur, an ever-ascending piano figure trades places with a kaleidoscopic array of supporting instrumentation. Rostam and guest vocalist Kelly Zutrau deliver aching, surreal and stream-of-consciousness lyrics. 

​SUPER ORGANISM - SOMETHING FOR YOU M.I.N.D. (DOMINO)
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Super Organism are a shady internet 8-piece spread across the UK and US. Destined for viral obscurity, their latest helping carries a hint of oddball charm akin classic Flaming Lips. Chugging synth funk, meme clichés and cut-up vocals cohere into a tapestry of dense weirdness. It's something which shouldn’t be as catchy as it is. With casual pop brilliance, these weird-outs birth a definite earworm. 

​LINA TULLGREN – GET LOST (CAPTURED TRACKS/REMOTE CONTROL)
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US artist Lina Tyllgren merges smouldering atmospherics and jangly indie pop. The end result is ‘Get Lost’, a track which lays bare the songwriter’s innermost struggles and deliberations. Hysterical and tense, yet inherently relatable. 

PHIA - OXIDE (INDEPENDENT)

These cosmic extrapolations come courtesy of Melbournian Phia. With plenty of pulverising rhythm with which to please, the expansive track’s scuzzy riffs take its mood to stratospheric heights. The artist's vocal presence remains an anchor, delivering lyrics which brush past gender and rock cliché. 
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The Woman Who Counted The Stars Australian Tour 2017
​Thursday November 30 – Melbourne – The Old Bar
Saturday December 2 – Sydney – The Newsagency
Sunday December 3 – Adelaide – The Grace Emily
Friday December 8 – Brisbane – The Flying Cock
Saturday December 9 – Canberra – Smith’s Alternative
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