HI I’M RECLUSIVE AUTHOR THOMAS PYNCHON - EP
New songs from one of Adelaide’s most recognisable and distinct musical and songwriting voices, here it’s laid out in all its 90s slacker rock glory.
Socially conscious hip hop driven by a neat balance between male and female voices, plus an emphasis on breezy live instrumentation.
THE WILD THINGS - AT THE CROSSROADS
A serious archaelogical exercise in recovering crunchy 90s guitar solos and Britpop melodic turns from wherever Noel Gallagher buried them in 1998 with his cache of leftover Be Here Now-era coke, interspersed with some truly affecting moments of reflective pop folk.
Just in case Doe was a little too mnstrm for you with its rhythm section and the occasionally conventional song arc, here’s an EP of blindly hypnotic droning synth by guitarist Dave complete with sampled mouse clicks.
TRAVELLER & FORTUNE - LITTLE PLASTIC PEOPLE
T&F reimagine one of their earlier delicate folk songs into a jaunty banjo and drums hoedown.
Take home message of HPs LP #3:
All the smartly written Beatles-Strokes influenced pop in the world can’t match the power of an extended spoken word monologue about being an unemployed, heartbroken wino.
Exactly the kind of dreamily anthemic post-Vampire Weekend safe pop (with a hint of Bon Iver in the chorus) that a certain youth broadcaster would cream itself over. If only they lived in Sydney or Melbourne.
Avoids rehashing the golden formula of SS EP with less emphasis on polyrhythmic looping and more on jerky lead guitar lines, boppy bass and bubbles. And trampolines.
FIRE! SANTA ROSA, FIRE! - CODEBREAKER
Sia Furler fronting Franz Ferdinand produced by a sax-loving, Off The Wall era Quincy Jones.
HAWKS OF ALBA - Dear Punk Rock…
The 1990s called and wanted their music back, but then paused for a moment and realised it sounds a whole lot nicer in Hannah/Sara/Aiden’s hands.
Having shed their “girl band” tag if not the “sounds a lot like Warpaint” one, Gold Bloom shirk the hype with a restrained, slow-burning debut with a smattering of instrumental jams.
HORROR MY FRIEND - Lifeblood/Too Good For The Age To Be
Well executed Bloc Party style Alternative Rock with a grunge edge. NB: need to outgrow non-descript teen angst as a lyrical theme asap.
Lightly bobbing along on a sea of pleasant folk with waves of lady harmonies lapping at the hull.
Background music for a stoner porn film set in Twin Peaks.
Listening to this album (or reading its liner notes) without a giant grin is a sure fire indicator you must be a particularly realistic looking robot.
