New Releases 24/10/17

​Hoy! We’re hitting into another week which means it’s time to drop in on the latest tracks from at home and abroad. Four of our standouts come courtesy of Grimes, Terry, RVG and Hockey Dad but local independents are also hitting home this week with Sydney’s Archy Punker and Melbourne’s Face Face both dishing up excellent new tunes. For those with a taste for the psychedelic, there's also two mind-bending inclusions from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Connecticut’s Headroom. 

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KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD - CRUMBLING CASTLE (FLIGHTLESS)

If this ten-minute odyssey is anything to go by The Gizz will be busting out some proggier chops on their third LP this year. Stygian vocals encircle pounding rhythmic builds while lysergic guitar lines spill thick and fast. Sprawling, kinetic and utterly ridiculous.   
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TERRY – HOLD ON HARRY (THIRTY DAYS OF YES)

More yes! We’re approaching the close of the Thirty Days campaign, but things aren’t over just yet. This latest bop comes courtesy of Melbourne’s Terry and carries their gift for hypnotic simplicity. Here the quartet takes aim at the mainstream media, venting their collective disconnect with typical flair.
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ARCHY PUNKER – ANOTHER DYING DREAM (INDEPENDENT)

Striking a darker chord than debut EP Mates Rates, ‘Another Dying Dream’ sees this Wollongong outfit juxtaposing an ever-building mass of buzzing guitar licks against the emotional scratches of frontman Kyle Willoughby’s angst-ridden vocals. 'Another Dying Dream' inhabits an unlikely space between You Am I circa "Berlin Chair' and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. All compliments intended it’s an impressive leap into a bleakly compelling headspace.  
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​TOUR DATES:
Wed 25 Oct - Rad Bar, Wollongong w/ RAAVE TAPES
Fri 10 Nov - Oxford Art Gallery, Sydney w/ Crocodylus
Sat 11 Nov - Landsdowne Hotel, Sydney w/ Ruby Fields
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RVG – A QUALITY OF MERCY (OUR GOLDEN FRIEND)

Having dropped earlier this year RVG’s debut LP has been kicking around for a little while now, but there’s been no shortage of excitement surrounding this Melbourne act. With the group recently signing with Our Golden Friend and their debut record being re-released, it's as good enough excuse as ever to revisit this title track. ‘A Quality of Mercy’ showcases the Melbourne group at their finest, delivering a shimmering mass of expressive guitar play, provocative lyrics and gut wrenched sincerity. RVG deliver something potent without falling into cliché. 

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FACE FACE – LAW SCHOOL (INDEPENDENT)

We’ve all been talked down by some self-anointed genius who thinks they know better than anyone else. Face Face’s ‘Law School’ captures these moments of burying frustration in song. The first helping from this Melbourne trio’s latest record, the track veers between pared-down indie rock and rumbling Queens of The Stone Age riffs. Frontwoman Lauren Perkins anchors these sonics in emotional heft, venting a muddled mass of anxiety, sharp observation and vulnerability.
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TRASHIQUE (GRIMES X HANA) – DARK COME SOON (WARNER)

Operating under the alias Trashique Grimes has teamed with HANA to rework Tegan and Sarah’s ‘Dark Come Soon’. Appropriating the indie duo’s 2007 original, Boucher applies her own distinctive vocals to strike deeper into its darker undercurrents. The cover comes as part of The Con X: Covers LP which not only celebrates the ten-year anniversary of Tegan and Sarah’s benchmark recording but also sees the pair alongside label Warner committing their net proceeds to a new project established to support LBGT+ rights. 
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HOCKEY DAD – HOMELY FEELING (FARMER & THE OWL)

It’s an unwritten rule in the world of music that the follow-up to a breakthrough album will necessarily be about touring. ‘Homely Feeling’ rings true with its loose narrative coming from an enveloping sense of homesickness born from life on the road. To their credit, the NSW outfit spins this feeling into pummelling blend of grunge and pop. Even at their most paranoiac, “They follow me with guns”, the joint efforts of Zach Stephenson and Bill Flemming cuts across blissful and catchy as hell.  
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HEADROOM – MILLERS POND (TROUBLE IN MIND RECORDS)

These textured psych sounds come courtesy Connecticut’s Headroom. The second track on their Head in The Clouds EP, drifting guitar interplay pairs with the mesmeric swirl of murmuring vocals. Raw and uniquely weird.