New Music Monday #61

Running Out

by Avaberee

Grab a free download at triplejunearthed

When I first hit play on this track from Brisbane girl trio, Avaberee, I certainly wasn't expecting this. I was probably busy trying to figure out how to pronounce their name (I've since found it's aye-va-ber-ee) when I noticed the sweet harmonies and pleasant sounding synths. Soon enough I found myself swaying along and desperately searching for more information on this group of glorious sounding girls. While I didn’t find that much, I decided the rich harmonies of the three members, Aimee Cavanagh, Genevieve Bufalino and Irena Lysiuk were probably a little addictive. The fact that they’ve clearly paid tribute to the best bits of 80’s lightweight synth pop and therefore somehow sounds familiar without sounding copied probably adds to the addiction, as do the rich layered warm vocals. I can see myself loving this song on a lazy Sunday afternoon as easily as I can hear it remixed for a Saturday night. Whatever it was I was expecting when I first hit play, I’m glad I didn’t get it, because my thoughts surely weren’t as good as this.

Jo Michelmore gives 'Running Out' four Michel Hutchence heads out of five

Lost Track of Time

by MTNS

MTNS are a new electro act hailing from Brisbane consisting of members Tom Eggert (vocals/guitar), Joseph Thiang (drums) and Robbie Hellberg (keys). Cool, breezy, confident and bubbling with a quiet sense of optimism, Lost Track Of Time feels like a reflective stroll down a long winding road at sunset. A lush atmospheric soundscape creates a daydreamy feel and doubles as a natural alternative to Valium or other such medications with a sedative nature. Tom Eggert’s surprisingly angelic voice is endearing and warm, meshing beautifully with sparse beautiful instrumentation and the simplicity of the track makes it a perfect tune for a cruisey Sunday afternoon.

Great things are happening in Brisbane’s music scene of late and MTNS seem to be another name of the ever-growing list of musical kids to keep an eye on.

Nayt Housman gives 'Lost Track Of Time' three Roisin Murphy heads out of five...

Heavy
by Hannah Karydas

There’s a little story that needs to go with this review. I stumbled across this song on someone else’s computer a couple of days ago and forgot to email myself the link of where I found it. The name of the artist escaped me but the song had been stuck in my head for days so when it came time for me to start my reviews for this week I was determined to find it again. It took me almost an hour of googling various combinations of words but I finally found who I was looking for and it’s a name I’m determined not to forget: Hannah Karydas. Her track; ‘Heavy’ is an incredible journey of beats, guitar and an eerie, enchanting vocal and her self-made clip is strangely spooky, fabulously simple and just slightly unnerving, exactly as the song demands it to be. I hear bits of Sarah Blasko and I hear bits of Washington, to name only two other Australian girls and these are good things. If this is just the beginning of Hannah’s career, with songs like this she is already proving it was worth searching the internet for hours for her. I’ve done all that hard work for you though, now all you have to do is remember her name: Hannah Karydas. If all is right in the world, you'll definitely be hearing more of her.

Jo Michelmore gives 'Heavy' four Kylie Minogue heads out of five...

Flatline

by Mutya Keisha Siobhan

Album: TBA (???, 2013)

They debuted as the Sugababes all the way back in 2000, making a big splash into the pop world with the single 'Overload', then one by one Siobhan left, then Mutya, then Keisha. The new Sugababes are still going and now the original three have reformed as MKS for an old fashioned showdown, with their new single 'Flatline'. Do they still have the magic?

Flatline sees the girls treading fairly familiar pop territory but this time round it sounds like the focus is on letting their personal styles shine within the group. Siobhan's silky vocals sound stronger than ever, Mutya shines with her sultry voice and as always Keisha is still the sexy queen of sassy. “Stay gone, darling I won’t hang on, I can feel a flat-line, that ought to be a wave.”

Full of the pop hooks and beautiful harmonies that made them so special in the beginning, 'Flatline' pulses along driven by the beat, with a catchy melody as the girls warble about an impending break-up. While it’s an enjoyable experience, it’s a slightly cautious option for their first single, as if testing the waters of reception. All things considered it’s worthy of a top 20 hit and lets the world know these three talented women are back with what it takes to win back the crown of girl group glory.

Nayt Housman gives 'Flatline' three Britney Spears heads out of five...

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS OF THE WEEK:

Reckless

by Georgia Potter

Grab a free download at Bandcamp

 

Music clips are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Some of them tell a story, some of them are clearly advertisements for something other than a song, some of them are almost hypnotic, some are so dull you wonder why anyone bothered when a fan could just make something and stick it on YouTube. Then there are clips like this one.  Georgia Potter first released ‘Reckless’ digitally earlier this year and it was good then, but after seeing the clip released this week, I’m even more enamoured with the beauty that is Georgia and her gorgeous vocal. Shot in the beautiful northern New South Wales, it’s part cloudscape, part slow motion, part darkness and part light, it’s the type of clip that draws you in and forces you listen to the music, in a good way; the shots perfectly choreographed with every rhythm and Georgia is beautiful dancing and singing her way through the gorgeous scenery. Music clips are a funny concept and clips like this one remind me how awesome that funny concept can be.

Jo Michelmore gives 'Reckless' four Lady Gaga heads out of five

You Are New

by The Trouble With Templeton

Album: Rookie (August 2, 2013) 

The Trouble With Templeton are 3 for 3 as far as videos for the singles from Rookie are concerned. 'You Are New' separates itself from 'Like A Kid' and 'Six Months In A Cast' by bringing the colour back into Thomas Calder's world, while maintaining the high quality cinematography and slightly camp/kitschy vibe we've now come to expect from the band's clips. Just like TTWT's previous visual offering, you can tell a lot of hard work has been put into creating and shooting this video. The sets are so perfectly constructed that you should be able to get a feel for what's going on, but you'll still find yourself surprised with the 'telling' moment towards the end where you go, "yeah, totally knew something fishy was going on there." The clip compliments 'You Are New' the track beautifully and there's not much more you can ask for than that.

Matt Bond gives the video for 'You Are New' four Michael Hutchence heads out of five...  

QUICK HITS:

The Blessed Unrest

by Sara Bareilles (out now)

She's best known for the chart smash 'Love Song', but we haven't really seen Sara Bareilles make an impact on the charts since then. It's a shame, because she's one of the finest songwriters of her generation. This week she's back with her fourth LP, The Blessed Unrest which is sure to satisfy the needs of those that appreciate lyrical importance as much as the music itself. 'Brave' is the somewhat compulsory attempt at hitting the charts and embracing the inner you anthem. Baby, you were born that way or something. Everyone's doing it, right? Moving past that, we get into the goodness. 'Manhattan' and its bluesy balladry present our first heartbreaker. Don't expect it to be the last. Oh, there you go... next up is 'Satellite Call.' Guess what? It's kinda another heartbreaker, distorted vocals and all. It's not all doom and gloom; 'Little Black Dress' and 'Catch the Sun' have an empowered feel. The second half of the album deviates from the standard pop singer-songwriter mold to varying degrees of success, rebounding in time for the final two tracks 'Islands' and 'December'. Sara Bareilles fans are going to love The Blessed Unrest. Whether it will gain this talented lady any new ones is another question entirely. 

Matt Bond gives The Blessed Unrest three Karen O heads out of five...