This year, for the first time since 2004, Triple J’s Hottest 100 won’t be held on 26 January.
After a long campaign by Indigenous activists and supporters, and a nationwide survey of its listeners, the broadcaster announced in November that the date of its annual countdown would be moving permanently to the fourth Saturday of January. Conservative media was outraged. Triple M, somewhat embarrassingly, launched its own Australia Day countdown. But, by and large, the world continued to turn.
Hotly tipped to take out first place in this year’s poll is the US rapper Kendrick Lamar with HUMBLE., the lead single from his widely acclaimed 2017 record, DAMN. In 2015’s Hottest 100, Lamar’s King Kunta was bested only by the Australian group the Rubens; this year, if anyone can beat him, it’ll be Aria champs Gang of Youths.
The band’s second album, Go Farther In Lightness, was one of the station’s most-played records of 2017; expect to hear a lot of frontman Dave Le’aupepe’s voice come Saturday.
The Hottest 100 has historically been unkind to women but last year’s top five included Amy Shark, Tash Sultana and Montaigne – and in a year when some of the highest profile women of the Australian music industry said #MeNoMore to discrimination and harassment, you could be hearing more female voices in this year’s countdown too.
As ever, we’ll be hearing a lot from rising Australian stars. Here are notes on five of them, to help you bluff your way through the barbecue.
Methyl Ethel
Track: Ubu
Perth’s Methyl Ethel broke through to the big leagues early last year with their single Ubu, which, according to the Hottest 100 predictors at 100 Warm Tunas, is a favourite to place in the top 10. Comprised of Jake Webb, Chris Wright, Thom Stewart and Hamish Rahn, Methyl Ethel had a banner 2017, including multiple sold-out shows in Sydney and Melbourne off the back of their second album, Everything Is Forgotten.
Ubu is a five-minute piece of psych-pop that hinges on one of the catchiest (or most monotonous, depending on who you ask) Australian pop hooks in recent memory: the phrase “Why’d you have to go and cut your hair?” repeated in a wormy falsetto. The track is one of the weirder songs set to place in the countdown and lives up to the strangeness of its namesake: Alfred Jarry’s 1896 absurdist play Ubu Roi.
Key lyrics: “Why’d you have to go and cut your hair?”
What’s next: With no shows planned for the immediate future, Webb is already at work on the next record.
Camp Cope
Track: The Opener
The Melbourne three-piece Camp Cope made headlines over new year’s, after calling out Falls festival for not having enough women in key spots on their line-up – while on stage at Falls festival.
The trio, comprised of frontwoman Georgia Maq, drummer Sarah Thompson and bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich, make raw, fiery punk music that feels of a piece with our current moment in culture and politics. In many ways, they have become the unofficial faces of the Australian music industry’s fight against sexism.
The Opener, the lead single from Camp Cope’s sophomore record, rallies against sexism and misogyny in the industry, taking shots at the men who have dared to question their credibility as a punk band. Much like AB Original’s January 26 last year, it feels like The Opener’s political bent could also attract voters who might not ordinarily listen to music like this.
Key lyrics: “It’s another man telling us we can’t fill up the room / It’s another man telling us to book a smaller venue”
What’s next: After the March release of their second album, How To Socialise & Make Friends, Camp Cope will tour Australia with US band Chastity Belt.
Baker Boy
Track: Marryuna (featuring Yirrmal)
Known as the “fresh young prince” of Arnhem Land, the Melbourne-based rapper Baker Boy, born Danzal Baker, hit the ground running in 2017 with his tracks Cloud 9 and Marryuna: two tracks uploaded to Triple J Unearthed that resulted in wins at the National Indigenous Music Awards, heavy radio play and a contract with the prestigious booking agency Select Music.
Baker, a professional dancer, began rapping when he noticed that there were few Australian hip-hop artists who rapped in language. Marryuna, a collaboration between Baker and his cousin Yirrmal, has racked up nearly 500,000 Spotify plays in little over three months; will his huge fanbase land his first two singles in this year’s countdown too?
Key lyrics: “I’m a proud black Yolngu boy with the killer flow / Listen to the yidaki, listen to it blow”
What’s next: Baker is set to play the Melbourne edition of Laneway festival next month, before two huge national support slots – opening first for 50 Cent and then Dizzee Rascal.
Alex Lahey
Track: I Haven’t Been Taking Care of Myself
While the Melbourne singer-songwriter Alex Lahey isn’t exactly a newbie (her single You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me placed at 97 in last year’s Hottest 100), she’s due for some big wins this year.
Known for her witty, heart-on-sleeve lyrics and pop-calibre hooks, Lahey’s star has risen quite significantly in the past year, with indie bellwethers Pitchfork and Stereogum praising her debut album, I Love You Like A Brother, and Canadian sibling duo Tegan and Sara hand-picking Lahey as support for their European tour.
There’s something deeply endearing about Lahey’s music, which doesn’t feel beholden to what’s cool. Instead, her songs can be funny and relatable, or, on a song like I Haven’t Been Taking Care of Myself, kind of devastating.
Key lyrics: “I’ve gained weight and I drink too much, maybe that’s why you don’t love me as much”
What’s next: Lahey is set to embark on her Huge and True national tour later this year.
Angie McMahon
Track: Slow Mover
The Melbourne singer-songwriter Angie McMahon could be one of the freshest voices in Saturday’s countdown with Slow Mover, her debut single, released just a few months ago.
McMahon has a deep, clear voice that’s immediately striking, recalling Angel Olsen and Missy Higgins, and Slow Mover sounds like an Australian classic, likely to appeal to older listeners as well as Triple J’s core demographic. And for a debut single, it’s done great numbers: just under 1.4 million Spotify plays already.
She might be just on the bubble’s surface at the moment but, if Slow Mover cracks tomorrow’s top 20, McMahon could find herself squarely in the centre of it.
Key lyrics: “What are we doing in the street? / I don’t want to buy fried chicken / I wish that I was going to sleep”
What’s next: McMahon is set to play Melbourne Laneway festival, before heading out on a 17-date tour with Angus & Julia Stone through April and May.
.png?w=600)
