Pain Is A Number – Nick Wales and Sarah Blasko
While some of you may be of the opinion Pain Is This Song, never fear, the rather experimental opening – in which composer Nick Wales and singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko have fun playing with found sounds, clicks and bleeps – quickly gives way to something less esoteric. Blasko provides eerie vocals that line a cacophony of distorted white noise and ghostly howling. The collaboration, commissioned by the Sydney Dance Company, will soundtrack a new dance work by artist director Rafael Bonachela called Emergence, one of three works to be performed as De Novo (14 July – 27 August, in selected states). The performance will also feature costumes by renowned Australian fashion designer Dion Lee.
Horus – Slumberjack
Joining Alison Wonderland as members of Australia’s EDM brat pack is Perth production duo Slumberjack (Morgan Then and Fletcher Ehlers). With its plodding, bass-heavy beats, Horus is chunkier than most clubhouse bangers, and comes with a touch of eastern flavour in the melody. Outside of Slumberjack, the pair are both at university, with Ehlers studying chemical engineering and finance, and Then also doing a finance degree and a diploma in classical studies. “Yes, I do perpetuate the Asian stereotype but my focus right now is music,” Then said in an interview. Slumberjack are currently on tour with dates in Bali and New Zealand, as well the final shows of their autumn tour in Adelaide (11 April), Melbourne (24 April) and Brisbane (25 April).
Don’t Worry Darlin’ – Daniel Lee Kendall
Not unlike fellow New South Wales coastal band the Beautiful Girls, or Hawaii’s surf rocker Jack Johnson, you can almost taste the sea salt in this new song from Daniel Lee Kendall. The track is taken from his album Daniel Lee Kendall Is Dead (a slightly ironic title given it’s his debut LP) and comes after several years of soul-searching, travelling the Middle East, ending up in university, before rediscovering his passion for music. “There was no heaviness that had previously weighed me down years before,” he has said, about finally finding himself ready to put the album together. “It was lighthearted, fun and I was enjoying immensely the hard work of rediscovering these songs that I thought lost.”
Julian – Say Lou Lou
Miranda and Elektra Kilbey, aka Say Lou Lou, are the Swedish-Australian identical twin daughters of Church frontman Steve Kilbey. Their album Lucid Dreaming, out on Friday, includes the dark, Bat for Lashes-esque single Julian. Pundits have theorised the titular Julian is none other than the Strokes’ Mr Casablancas; others point to the lyrics (“Oh Julian, once we get across the border ... I’ll mend your heart”) which allude to Julian being an international fugitive with “secrets” and “checkpoints” to cross, as proof it’s about that other Australian with Swedish, er, connections, Julian Assange. The twins insist it’s about neither fellas, telling Guardian Australia that Julian is just one of many Say Lou Lou songs about men who are “emotional cripples – they’re victims of themselves”. “I think the idea is that we’re saving a man from his own ways and his own disasters,” says Elektra. Whatever and whomever Julian is about, it’s a stunner of a song, only eclipsed by the Chainsmokers remix.
A Long December – Counting Crows
Counting Crows have always specialised in a slacker-ish take on life – many of their songs involving late nights hanging around in big Californian houses talking about this and that. It has always sounded like a rather glamorous way to go about your business, and never more so than on A Long December. Written by Adam Duritz when he was recovering from a serious accident, this song nevertheless finds him in rock star mode, waking up his female friends at 2am for a chat about the coming year. “Maybe this year will be better than the last,” he sings over the lovely opening melody. “One more day up in the canyon, one more night in Hollywood.” It’s classic Counting Crows, combining often introspective and melancholic lyrics with great tunes. And check out Courtney Cox – apparently a one-time girlfriend of Duritz – in the video. They play Perth, Sydney and Brisbane in the coming week.
