New Releases 28/11/17

The year's almost out, but the good music keeps rolling in. This week we’ve pulled together newbies from local legends Sunrose, Vacations and No Mono as well as internationals Ty Segall, Prettiest Eyes, Chromatics, and Anna Burch. Rounding it all off is a new clip arriving courtesy of Tired Lion.  
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VACATIONS – MOVING OUT (HUMAN SOUNDS RECORDS)

There’s plenty of jangly indie pop peppering Australia’s musical landscape, but with ‘Moving Out’ Newcastle’s Vacations establish themselves as a cut above the rest. A lonesome sense of melancholy spills between the track’s vocals and its shimmering fretwork as the whole thing is nailed to the floor by a throttling rhythm. Swoon or cry it’s your choice.  
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NO MONO - VIOLENCE BROKEN (PIEATER)

Minimal electro-soul from Pieater duo No Mono. Defined by their gentle intensity, Tom Snowden’s vocals swim in a sea of gently swelling pads and crackling rhythm. “…the song is about living violently, or against your own nature, and the tumultuous process of moving through this to a place where there is no fear, to live more in line with your truer self” bandmate Tom Lansek explains in the accompanying press release.

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ANNA BURCH – ASKING 4 A FRIEND (POLYVINYL)

Another fast favourite, ‘Asking 4 a Friend’ follows on from Michigan local Anna Burch’s ‘2 Cool 2 Care’. Here Burch’s narcotic vocals and expressive guitar lines guide the listener through the paranoia and emotional twists of a drug-addled haze. While her previous single bathed in the twisted ecstatics of interpersonal tumult ‘Asking’ sees her angelic delivery spiralling back to earth.
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PRETTIEST EYES - POOLS (CASTLE FACE)

Hypnotic and sludgy, LA trio Prettiest Eyes throwback to a thundering sound that may sit alongside acts like Chrome but could just as reasonably be their own invention. The unrelenting ‘Pools’ hits hard with heavy riffs, calamitous synth elements and echoing vocals. High energy all the way, ‘Pools’ can’t help but stick itself to the inside of the brain.   
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TY SEGALL - THE MAIN PRETENDER (DRAG CITY RECORDS)

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard may be turning out new music every second month, but Segall seems to be dropping music by the week. Here his sound continues its stormy mutation into a world of fuzz-fried sonics and gritty anthemic statements. Finger pointing lyrics belt out in the company of blistering alto sax and raw rocking instrumentation.  
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SUNROSE – SALVADORS ARMY (GAGI DIGI)

Byron’s Sunrose have dropped a new EP. Across its five tracks, Cosmic Horizon showcases the group’s affinity for swirling psychedelia as well some bluesier inclinations not too far removed from those of The Growlers. Closer ‘Salvadors Army’ sees the four leaving off in a towering collision of lysergic lyricisms, pounding percussion and searing riffs.
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TIRED LION – DUMB DAYS (UNIVERSAL)

There’s little question that the breakthrough success of Violent Soho in 2012 left a door open for another ambitious outfit to seize the grunge-pop mantle, work the triple j ladder and turn out a year-defining album. Through a mixture of savvy and gut wrenched sincerity, hardworking Perth natives Tired Lion have done exactly that. As 2017 draws to its close there can be little doubt debut Dumb Days is headed for modest Hottest 100 acclaim. But seeing as it’s a little too early for a valedictory speech, the four have helped fans to some visuals to accompany the album’s title track.
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CHROMATICS - WHITE LIGHT (ITALIANS DO IT BETTER)

​With the soundtrack to Twin Peaks long-awaited third season bringing the brilliance of the Chromatics mastermind Johnny Jewel firmly back into focus, it seems like the LA producer is making the most of things by unleashing a torrent of unreleased and hard-to-find material. Jewel may be as unpredictably eccentric as ever, but some of these tracks appear to be paving the way for a deluxe re-issue of the Chromatics’ sublime 2012 LP Cherry next year. Rumoured to be arriving on Valentine’s Day the re-release looks to be compiling a number of tracks that hadn’t initially made the grade. Listening to the lush sonics and subtle grandeur of ‘White Light’ begs the question how the gem of a track has languished in obscurity this long. 
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