Tommy Dynamite
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The Curlers
Curlers are bringing their new wave/lo-fi, deep overthinking PMS post-punk
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HighSch00L
Currently based in London, Melbourne locals HighSchool have had quite a year over there – playing sold-out headline shows, supporting the likes of CHVRCHES, NewDad and Wet Leg, and appearing at a whole host of UK and European festivals. Fresh from supporting Sam Fender on his Australian tour, today they’re excited to finally be announcing their first ever hometown show, when they’ll headline Melbourne’s Corner Hotel on Wednesday 14 December.
The trio of Lilli and Rory Trobbiani and Luke Scott, HighSchool made quite the introduction late last year with their infectious six-track debut EP, Forever at Last, released to much acclaim:
‘A sprawling and gorgeous thing, overflowing with ideas and gothic excess. A monument to unbridled creativity’ – NME
‘Deliciously dark dance numbers that’ll be stuck in your head for days’ – DIY
‘Potent indie pop that recalls early Beach Fossils, aspects of The Cure, while channelling elements of The Go-Betweens, but really they are forging fresh paths, and laying claim to a sound of their own’ – Clash Magazine
As the EP continues to find fans, they recently recorded live favourite ‘Only a Dream’ with in-demand producer Dan Carey (Black Midi, Fontaines D.C., Wet Leg) being released on his ever-excellent Speedy Wunderground record label. A gloriously catchy track, it’s currently on the BBC 6Music playlist and the limited, one-time press 7” is long sold out.
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Bench Press
Melbourne/Naarm’s Bench Press are excited to announce the release of their third LP, Personal Best – their first new album in more than five years – out Friday 30 August via their long-term musical home, Poison City Records, along with sharing the second album cut, the angular single ‘Filter’. Pre-order the new album via Poison City's e-store here.
The third album from Bench Press – the band that arrived in 2016 bringing with them an essential dose of oddball, new-wave garage punk, who went on to share stages with IDLES and influenced the slew of proceeding bands that helped shape Melbourne's idiosyncratic punk sound – has been a long time coming.
After a global pause, an international exchange and a regrouping that welcomed two new members, Anna Lienhop (Moody Beaches) and Paolo Junior on drums, Bench Press re-emerged after their extended break with a catchier, rhythmic, and more textured sound, with Anna’s additional guitarwork facilitating the band’s multi-layered approach and contributing to the group vocals that heighten lead vocalist Jack Stavrakis’ absurd lyricism.
New single ‘Filter’ continues down this path. It’s a quick thrill of dynamic, pulsating rhythms cut with shard-like guitars and anguished vocals lamenting the fact that the quiet part is always said far too loud.
“‘Filter’ is about having no filter and telling everybody, everything, all the time. It's the constant reminder that I'm the loudest person in the room," Jack offers.
"But really, ‘Filter’ is about the stomach-churning interaction between being the loudest person in the room, having no filter, loudly spewing forth every dumb thought that comes into my head, regretting it later and then, and only then, forcing myself into silence”.
Personal Best, the band’s third long player, continues to meditate on themes of self and mental health lyrically but through a new lens, as the album follows Stavrakis’ journey of making a career change into mental health social work.
Where Stavrakis has previously dwelled on the politics of personal action, he now looks outwards and critiques what and who he sees in our increasingly chaotic world.
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Shady Nasty
Shady Nasty, comprised of Kevin Stathis, Haydn Green and Luca Watson, have backgrounds in jazz and classical music yet are more recognisably affiliated with the alt-punk genre. This association does not determine the group, the trio incorporate elements of hip-hop and electronica. With a genre-bending sound, the group are transgressing the elements of what is considered modern alt-punk.
Shady Nasty’s influences have previously been evident in tracks such as "Get Buff" featuring a monotone dialogue resembling King Krule. Yet, in "CHEST HEIGHT", there is a real feel of experimentation and uniqueness. The group have incorporated a slight distortion in the vocals and an almost disorientation whirring backing to reiterate the internal conflicts of the lyrics.
Reflecting on the track’s meaning, the group explain that it “is about our collective experiences of dating app logic. It explores the temptation to see dating as a game with fixed rules, one which can ultimately lock you and your perception of others into cheap and isolating, yet extremely powerful categories.”
The band’s modern-day commentary appears to be a recurring theme within the trio’s discography. Their 2021 EP CLUBSMOKE dissected topics such as vlogging, clubbing, and clout. Their breakdown of modern culture, alongside rock-heavy elements allows for a listener to be immersed in their analytical expressions.
"CHEST HEIGHT" suggests a new era for Shady Nasty. Previous releases demonstrated the band’s capability to instantly switch from a melancholy almost peaceful song to a ferocious roar of guitars and bellowing vocals. However, "CHEST HEIGHT" has added a new string to their already pretty full bow, the introduction of vocal distortion demonstrates the malleability of the group’s sound, yet still leaving room for the intricate lyrics to be fully taken in.
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Andrew Pendlebury
(born 1952) is an Australian guitarist-songwriter. From 1977 to 1981 was a member of The Sports and from 1986 to 1988 he joined Slaughtermen. He has undertaken other projects and issued four solo albums. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, Pendlebury's solo work, Don't Hold Back That Feeling, won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. From 2003 he has been a member of The Mercurials.
Johnny Hunter
Johnny Hunter is equal parts unfiltered anarchy and cabaret. Matching high energy musicality with st
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ROMCOM
Band from Melbourne's west side. A unique brand of post-punk with elements of noise, shoegaze and post-rock.
Playing regular shows around the Naarm and Wadawurrung/Dja Dja Wurrung country, you'll be sure to catch ROMCOM at a show soon.
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Supermodels
Melbourne four-piece Supermodels play roots-inspired post-punk that draws on folk rock, 60s pop, blues punk and new wave. Oscar Sergeant and Callum Elvins' lyrical songwriting is backed by Callum's Telecaster twang and the hulking rhythm section of Rehn Smith (drums) and Fraser Elvins (bass), to create driving and melodic rock and roll that pays homage to it's influences while forging a path of its own.
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AUTOMATIC (USA)
Automatic is a rock band from Los Angeles. Automatic’s members are Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), Halle Saxon (bass, vocals), and Lola Dompé (drums, vocals).
The three band members met while immersed in L.A.’s DIY music scene and started playing live in 2017, taking their name from the track "Automatic" from The Go-Go's album Beauty and the Beat.[4] The group signed to Los Angeles label Stones Throw in June 2019.[5]
Dompé is the daughter of Bauhaus drummer Kevin Haskins[6] and joined her first band, art-rock outfit Blackblack, when she was 13.[7]
Automatic announced their debut album Signal with the release of their first single "Calling It" on 3 June 2019. The band put out two more singles, a cover of Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business"[8] and title track "Signal", before releasing the album on 27 September 2019. Pitchfork described Signal as "an exercise in post-punk and no-wave galvanism".[9] The band released Signal Remixes on 26 March 2021, which included reworks from artists such as Peanut Butter Wolf, Sudan Archives, Peaking Lights, Osees' John Dwyer and Bauhaus' Kevin Haskins.[10]
On 8 March 2022, Automatic announced their new album Excess with their first single "New Beginning". Stereogum described "New Beginning" as "’60s pop kitsch".[11] The group followed it up with their second single "Venus Hour"[12] on 7 April 2022. Excess was released on 24 June 2022 on Stones Throw.
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