Angie McMahon – Pasta
For fans of: Liz Phair, Lou Barlow, Lana Del Rey
With a feel reminiscent of the classic Crimson and Clover, and lyrics that speak of the loneliness that becomes all too apparent as you realise much of your time is spent eating empty carbs and doing little else, Melbourne’s Angie McMahon has served up another delicious gem. McMahon has just come back from SXSW, where she won the Grulke prize for developing non-US artist, and in her latest song the structure meanders and weaves, often lumbering like the lethargic pasta-filled narrator, while her smoky vocals and striking gift for melody help ease the listener around the sharper turns that come mid-song. The way McMahon’s voice is produced here – distant, analogue, slightly echoed out – only makes you believe her more as she confesses, “I’ve been lost for a while”.
For more: Angie McMahon is playing at Groovin The Moo. Her debut album Salt is out this year.
Tame Impala – Patience
For fans of: ELO, Ariel Pink, Michael McDonald
“Has it been that long?,” Kevin Parker asks during the opening verse of Patience. “Did I count the days wrong?” If you go strictly by the Gregorian calendar, it has been quite a while since the Perth wunderkind released anything under the Tame Impala name, but time is relative when you are sonically surfing through old Todd Rundgren concept albums, Off The Wall-era Michael Jackson, and every prog record and yacht rock single from 1971 onwards. For a project so seemingly mired in pastiche, Parker has long formed his own lane with Tame Impala by mashing together disparate sounds from fellow explorers of old, while not remaining married to vintage production. Patience is a mature and measured work that even Hall and Oates would die to have written.
For more: Tame Impala headlines Coachella on 13 and 20 April, and will play many of the northern hemisphere’s winter festivals, including Pukkelpop, Primavera, Lollapalooza and Glastonbury.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Boogieman Sam
For fans of: T-Rex, Daddy Cool, Hush
King Gizz have unleashed an appropriately titled slice of full-tilt boogie that recalls great Aussie acts of days past, such as Daddy Cool and Spectrum, while borrowing the glam swagger of Marc Bolan. As with all tunes that rely on feel first and foremost, the groove is the thing here, and it’s a testament to how seasoned a band they are – they are by far Australia’s most prolific recording act – that they lock in from the first and never let up. Spacey keys and a scotch-soaked harmonica trade lazy licks while the band boogies on.
For more: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s 14th album, Fishing for Fishies, is released on 26 April. They will tour the US, UK and Europe later this year.
Middle Kids – Real Thing
For fans of: Stone Temple Pilots, Magic Dirt, Rilo Kiley
Many love affairs are leapt into by those who are sure they’ve found the real deal – right up until the point when they become certain they haven’t at all. Anyone with an over-anxious mind knows the feeling of lying awake questioning their romantic choices, and Middle Kids’ latest single masterfully chronicles this rollercoaster of doubt. A slice of slick yet sludgy grunge, Hannah Joy’s wordless vocal hook swoops and glides across guitars that belong on a 90s Hottest 100, while the memorable chorus proves that Middle Kids can write hits for days.
For more: Middle Kids are currently touring Australia, and will release a mini-album New Songs For Old Problems on 24 May.
Coda Conduct ft. Nyxen – The Monologue
For fans of: Chance the Rapper, Lily Allen, Princess Superstar
This is an anthem for those who have felt like their entire role in a relationship is as an unwitting audience to an ill-informed series of terrible TED-esque lectures. “You only ask about me when you want me to ask about you,” guest vocalist Nyxen sighs in the chorus, while the two members of Coda Conduct trade hilarious lines about Elon Musk, Twitter opinions, poseur DJs and everything in between. Musically, the tight reggae-lite rhythm is slightly too late for summer, but the song’s breezy vibes will certainly find favour on the airwaves, before the chorus is repeated back to Coda Conduct en masse at various festivals throughout the year.
For more: Sally and Erica from Coda Conduct host Weekend Arvos on Triple J. Nyxen tours nationally in May with Crooked Colours.
The Veronicas – Think Of Me
For fans of: William Orbit, Kylie Minogue, Dua Lipa
There were years spent in record label limbo, a shelved album and the type of public infighting that only siblings could survive. For a while it looked like the wheels had fallen off the Veronicas’ wagon. A third album finally emerged in 2014, seven years since their second, and although a handful of singles have dribbled out in the four and a half years since, it’s hard to shake the sinking feeling that another Veronicas album may never emerge. Yet here we have Think Of Me, the strongest single the twins have released in a decade, and suddenly all bets are off. A bitter kiss-off with a chorus that recalls Seasons Of Love from Rent, with darkly humorous and risque lyrics, this song should see the Veronicas back on top of the charts and back in the tabloids.
For more: The Veronicas’ long-awaited fourth album is due out this year.
Flume ft. Reo Cragun – Friends
For fans of: Disclosure, Mura Masa, the Neighbourhood
After going widescreen on his second album, Skin – to international hype – Flume has retreated into the more experimental shadows of his debut album with a new mixtape, Hi This Is Flume, and this stand-alone single, Friends. Where the mixtape is truncated and wonky by design, Friends is a pocket symphony: a whirlwind of ideas compressed into 3min 45sec of club-friendly beats and radio-friendly hooks. Like Kanye, Flume is a master of recognising and using the talents of rising artists. On Friends he unleashes rising American rapper Reo Cragun, who lends his vocals to this exquisite piece of patch quilt pop. Flume has said his plan is to continuously release music this year, and if his first-quarter output is any indicator of future quality, we remain all ears.
For more: Flume’s mixtape Hi This Is Flume is out now.
Dan Sultan – Nali
For fans of: Cat Stevens, Vika and Linda, Colin Hay
Some songs simply sound like they are being carried along on the ocean breeze. The warm and brief Nali is one of them. Over his career, Dan Sultan has dealt in bar-room blues, stirring soul and furious protest songs, and now, like Regurgitator before him, he has recorded a children’s album – a risky proposition for any artist. Luckily, the appeal of the gentle lead single Nali quickly proves ageless. “You can fly as high as you want,” he sings, and as the percussive shuffle lends an unhurried quality to the two-minute tune, Sultan’s honeyed voice is central to its calm appeal. Sultan aims squarely at the younger generation but gets to us all.
For more: Dan Sultan’s record Aviary Takes is out now, and he’s touring it across Australia. His children’s album Nali & Friends is out 12 April.
Allday – Protection
For fans of: Drake, Jhené Aiko, Frank Ocean
Allday’s music invites easy comparisons to the self-involved balladeering of Drake or Frank Ocean’s insular Blonde record, but more apt parallels might lie with the likes of Craig David, Sugar Ray or Janet Jackson at her Ventura Highway-sampling best – which is certainly not intended as a slight. The 28-year-old Adelaide native came up through the city’s rich hip-hop scene, but his sound is too expansive to fit too neatly in one genre. There’s an effortless nature to Allday’s music: charmingly unaffected vocals, plenty of air in the production and guitar riffs that sound like lazy afternoon noodling.
For more: Allday’s third album, Starry Night Over The Phone, will be out this year.
Kirin J Callinan – The Whole Of The Moon
For fans of: Alex Cameron, 1980s Bowie, the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack
With a solo career that leans heavily on performance art and a wholehearted embrace of the enfant terrible tag, Kirin J Callinan was not earmarked to release such an accomplished and palatable single as his cover of the Waterboys’ 1985 classic. Yet, The Whole Of The Moon is an undeniable home run. Sonically, it echoes the best of David Bowie’s 80s output or – for a comparison closer to earth – his sometime collaborator Alex Cameron. Sun-warped instrumentation and sincerely cheesy keys add to the second-generation VHS quality, and Callinan’s easy command of his ravaged croon makes this a woozy, Vaseline-lensed masterpiece worthy of any yacht trip or high school disco.
For more: Kirin J Callinan is currently on tour in the US.
