Blog: all i do is listen.

Last month, New Zealand's Opossom released the clip to their track 'Blue Meanies'. I'd have to say this is going to rival Kirin J Callinan's 'W II W' for clip of the year for me. The animation in 'Blue Meanies' is seriously dripping with LSD influences. Check it out. Also, clips from Joe McKee (Ex- Snowman ), Summer Flake and Nantes. Cheers.

Photo by Mclean Stephenson Sydney's Seekae have a lot going on at the moment. They are playing at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday night as part of Vivid Live Festival , the coming week they will be in Melbourne supporting The Temper Trap on their national tour and have also just released a limited edition 12" single that contains two remixes for '32, the lead single from last year's excellent +Dome . On top of all this, the trio have been writing some pretty excellent new [...]

Catcall has spent a long time in the lab developing the sounds that have surfaced on her debut LP The Warmest Place . Beginning her musical career in punk band Kiosk , Catcall (aka Catherine Kelleher ) departed the group to write and release her solo, hip-hop inspired EP Anniversary . Since then, her sound has progressed and bloomed into more of an 80s pop persuasion, peppered with the ferocious attitude and edge of her previous musical life. Opening the album is title track 'The Warmest Place'; a hauntingly sincere lament to Kelleher's [...]

Sydney group I Know Leopard are well known for being able to intertwine their arms in a four-way drink off. Coincidentally, they are also quiet talented at creating smooth, layered pop-rock tracks. Their first release 'Embers' is a sign of what is to come from these four young lads. Word on the street is they have a huge amount of ear arousing material that is soon to be released. It's a blistering first release, so if this is an example of what's to come, get use to hearing their name around the traps. Anyway, [...]

All standouts. Jonathan Michell , Lower Plenty , Bitch Prefect and one from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard .

For a band that is interested in "alpine sports, diplomacy, Australian literature, foreign affairs and swimming" it's understandable that Client Liaison produce such an incredible Australiana sound. Think of some great Australian pop band from the 802s, and times that by close to a million. Driving percussion, lyrically, is basically a history of everything Australian. Don't miss the Bob Hawke clip in the video to 'End of the Earth'. Harvey Miller & Monte Morgan are the full squid. Client Liaison FB / Soundcloud

• clientliaison - End of the Earth

After securing one of the best line-up of the year, it was a real shame to see the third Castle Music Festival 2012 had had the carpet pulled from under its feet. Everything seemed to be set for this one, the first round of tickets sold out and just as the second round was poised to hit the streets, things went from a blossoming-under-the-radar festival to panic stations. With a number of great appealing festivals going underground or being forced to cancel due to poor ticket sales, or promoters biting off more than they could chew, this was not the [...]

Photo by Mclean Stephenson The enigma that is Kirin J Callinan has just released his first single of his forthcoming debut solo album. The track, 'W II W' (Way to War) delivers a strong industrial soundscape, haunting in Kirin's trademark sparse, sprawling style. The record will be out later on in the year through Terrible Records (Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor) and Siberia Records (Midnight Juggernauts). The video accompanying 'W II W' is nothing short of a masterpiece. Featuring Kirin in a pair of [...]

Andras Fox 's mini-LP Daydreaming has arrived at the perfect time; while Melbourne is dangling on the brink of a fiercely cold winter, here we can dive into the audible summer of some old vinyl crackle and hiss spread throughout this warm, sample-laden record. Released through prolific local label and sound collective //THIS THING// , producer Andras Fox (aka Andy Wilson ) has supplied us with a brief introduction to his burgeoning talent. Daydreaming stands unique against most other sample based tracks around today, evident in the quirky and unusual selection of sounds [...]

Some really intricate sounds coming out of Melboune electronica/folk duo Brightly. You may be familiar with their track ' Tokyo ' which was accompanied by a great clip made out of old footage from war times. Brightly, which is made up of Charlie Gleason and Nic Lam , have just released two new tracks, 'Sarah' and 'Doubt'. Both starkly different, 'Sarah' displays the more pop side of brightly whilst 'Doubt' shows off the more ambient soundscape that Brightly bring to the fore so to speak, including some killer sax work. You can catch [...]

• wearebrightly - Sarah

Words by Alean Penaflor As Hayden Calnin and I step out of the Workers Club for our chat, a small huddle of people start cheering at the nearby tram stop. It's apparent they'd also witnessed this incredibly talented young man perform minutes before. Taken back and even slightly embarrassed by the attention, Calnin chuckles and politely asks around for a light. One of the girls from the tram stop approaches with lighter in hand and admits in awe, "your music warms my soul". For discerning passers by this may [...]

Everything these guys churn out, I love. Drunk Mums have just dropped their latest track 'Rubbing Your Guns' and nothing has changed. Fulled by driving guitar and a great chorus of vocals, it's best to put this one on and turn it up, rather loud. These guys pull off a ripping live show and if you are lucky enough to have scored tickets to Castle Music Festival in June, I bet my bottom dollar these guys will be a standout act.They have thier debut record coming out later in the year, so keep your eyes peeled [...]

I hadn't heard of Darren Cross aka The E.L.F since Mess+Noise featured him in their round up of new music. A really interesting listen, dark, folk kind of sound. Quite beautiful actually. Sound as if it's perfect for some great moving scene in a film. He has also apparently teamed up with a Sydney based artists Jessica Cassar , together they make up the duo Jep & Dep . Check out the the stuff below from the respective projects.

Photo by David Payne . I am really proud to kick off this new segment, Hi-fivn', with one of Australia's most talented beat makers. Wooshie, aka Dylan Michel is co-founder of Melbourne based collective //THIS THING// . If you were lucky enough to make it to their showcase quadruple launch / last Saturday night, you will know quite well the mind-bending quality of artists and beats that are streaming out of the entourage that is //THIS THING//. Wooshie releases his EP titled Boyfriend [...]

Photo by Luke Byrne From the first listen, the split record that Peak Twins released with label mates Scott & Charlene's Wedding falls somewhere in between an LP and a EP. Spinning for just under eighteen minutes, it's just enough to reel you in, only to slap you in the face when the needle is abruptly taken from the wax. Peak Twins are Joel Carey (Wolf & Cub) and Liam Kenny (Kitchen's Floor, Bitch Prefect) from Adelaide. The split LP was [...]

Melbourne-based label and sound collective //THIS THING// has developed a quick word-of-mouth cult following since its recent inception. Comprising of several local DJs/electronic acts, the group have put on stellar live sets across Melbourne (including a seminal collaborative show at Golden Plains) in the past year. The Phoenix Public House opened its doors to celebrate the debut release of not only one, but four of the acts involved in the collective; Max Crumbs , Wooshie , Andras Fox and Galapagoose . Warm-up came from RRR presenter Simon Winkler, churning out the [...]

Video-Philes has had a bit of a nap. So many great clips coming in at the moment. Where to start? Lowlakes have given us an ultra-cool clip to 'Buffalo' that features beautiful animation by a talented lass by the name of Lacey Whelan. One duo I can't possibly stop putting on repeat of late is Melbourne's own Wizard Oz , check out the clip to 'Pull Out Slow', it's trip central, worth a watch. Brisbane's The Art of Sleeping released the clip to 'Empty Hands' along with local legends Ross de Chene Hurricanes [...]

Devoid of any detailed information apart from where they come from, The Blue Mountain natives Castratii are known more of a musical collective rather than a group or band. Names of founding members are only hearsay and much of the mystery that comes with their hidden identities is well and truly consolidated into their dark, sprawling, gloomy-gaze sound. 'Kingdom' is the first single of their debut record titled Eora , it's a definitive industrial sound, Liela Moss provides vocals that resonates with the likes Austra and a much darker Bjork . The [...]

It's sure going to be interesting to see how the major radio stations battle when announcing the name of Dune Rats latest treat. 'Fuck It' 'Fuck It' will be officially released tomorrow and is the lead song from the bands upcoming EP due for release in June. The duo are fresh off the road after spending a great deal of time touring around the nation with the likes of Bleeding Knees Club , The Drums , Cults , Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and Best Coast . 'Fuck It' is [...]

When I first heard 'Sun Come Up' by Melbourne's Sans Gras I must admit I wasn't initially taken, yet like seeing them live, it took me a few songs in to realised these guys were seriously bringing some full blown rock n' roll to the table. Good news is, their upcoming EP Shed Your Woes is going to feature much of the same. "A paean to the festival of plenty, Meredith Music Festival, 'Sun Come Up' captures its subject in all her glory. A song in three distinct movements, 'Sun Come Up' ramps up [...]