Fake Beach – Day Ravies
Plenty of grungy, Sonic Youth-esque nihilism-tinged cool in the new song from Sydney four-piece Day Ravies. Fake Beach sees clattering drums and synths that whine and wheeze and meet in a bath of fuzzy guitar. The song comes from new album Liminal Zones, out 10 July, and follows their acclaimed 2013 debut Tussle. Catch the indie rockers touring the country, kicking things off at the Newtown Social Club in their hometown on 25 July.
Done – Frazey Ford
This terrific break-up anthem finds the one-time Be Good Tanyas singer, Frazey Ford, in much more mainstream pop territory. The folksy charm of the Canadian’s old band is replaced on this new single with a driving, soulful sound overlaid with some great brassy licks recorded in Memphis to great effect with Al Green’s backing band, the Hi Rhythm Section. It’s quite a departure for Ford and is topped off with a sassy hoot of a video in which she struts around Vancouver’s streets with her mates.
My Future Wife – the Walking Who
There’s something spooky about My Future Wife from Sydney rock trio the Walking Who. A thumping drum opens the song like a march into darkness and a carefully plucked guitar sings from the mists. Half-spoken, half-sung vocals add to the fairytale feel, in what sounds like a nod to Modest Mouse. The band play Bondi’s Beach Road hotel in Sydney on 24 June before they jet off to Italy and the UK for a European summer tour.
Duggu – Madd Again!
Veteran UK garage producer Zed Bias has teamed up with three MCs – Killa Benz, Trigga, and Specialist Moss – to produce the Manchester outfit Madd Again!. Their new-ish track Duggu is easily the catchiest dance tune of this year, with bashment and dancehall vibes meeting upbeat UK funky and 2-step influences. In an interview Trigga made clear they have hopes the song will kickstart a new dance craze – “something that children, adults and grandparents can get involved in”. Duggu “brings the essence of Jamaican dance and carnival culture together”, he said.
I For an Eye – Waax
Brisbane punk rock outfit Waax has a ripper of a song opener in I For an Eye, with lead vocalist Marie DeVita delivering an ear-splitting wail: “I’m just a girl, I’m just a girl!” The song hangs off DeVita’s adolescent angst and riot grrl defiance, sandwiched between a barrage of drum rolls and noisy guitar. The four-piece are gracing the stage of Maroochy Music and Arts festival in Maroochydore, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast come 22 August and have a debut EP on the horizon.
