WHEN punk band Indigo Bloom were brainstorming ideas for their latest music video earlier this year they decided they wanted to showcase the diversity of Newcastle.
The video for the single Smile My Way has everything from Newcastle's iconic coastline and industrial harbour, to its lesser known nooks and crannies.
"The weirdest one was probably the [stormwater] drain shot that Tim [Kent] our guitarist did," vocalist Bradley Mott said. "One of the other wacky ones would have been the velodrome. There were some people riding bikes down there and we happened to know two of them, so we asked if they could ride their bikes in the background."
Smile My Way also introduces a dramatic shift for the five piece, which also features Joshua Nickisson (drums), Nikola Jokanovic (bass) and Ryan Sage (guitar). The heavier punk sound of their previous EPs Late Nights, No Sleep (2018) and & Everything Changed (2019) has been replaced by more dynamism, influenced by bands like Balance & Composure and Trophy Eyes.
"When we were in the studio we switched up a lot of little things and wanted to make it heaps lighter and softer and more marketable and towards a different dynamic," Mott said.
Smile My Way is out on Friday and Indigo Bloom have plans to release a third EP in early 2021.
SILVERCHAIR PAIR
THERE were plenty of excited Silverchair fans on Sunday when footage emerged on social media of the band's rhythm section jamming in a studio.
Drummer Ben Gillies and bassist Chris Joannou have remained close friends since the Frogstomp legends broke up in 2011. Gillies released his debut solo single Breathe In, Breathe Out in September.
SURF'S UP FOR YEV
IT took Noah Church four years to release a debut album, but just three months to produce a second.
In August Newcastle's dave the band, who Church fronts, dropped their long-awaited album Slob Stories. On November 27 Church will release his debut solo album, Joy Is A House Made Out Of Tears,under his moniker Yev Kassem.
Yev Kassem, named after the Seinfield "soup Nazi", allowed Church to explore mellower acoustic songwriting on last year's homemade EP Kitchen Soundz.
Joy Is A House Made Out Of Tears promises to expand the indie-folk sound.
The first single Surfclub, and it's accompanying video filmed on a road trip to Airlie Beach, is released on Friday.
THIS THAT'S COMING
WRITE down next Tuesday, November 10. That's when the line-up for the return of the This That Festival will be unveiled.
Wickham Park is scheduled to host This That on February 20, but that's reliant on the easing of COVID-19 restrictions on music festivals.
