Plenty of music to suggest you in our
discoverer series after holidays! But first goes first, so let's pay a visit to our dear
Antipodes to see (and hear, of course) what's going on with this
trio of wonders!
Chook Race. Again (just virtually, damn it!) in Melbourne, Australia, to meet this trio
formed by Matt Liveriadis, Carolyn Hawkins and Rob Remedios in 2010. Initially a garage surf band, soon their sound evolved towards a jangly, guitar-driven pop reminiscent of the
Flying Nun bands and other lo-fi legends. Debut 7", self-released and
self-titled, arrived in 2012, with highly limited tape 'Power Nap' and the '
Cheap Split' 7", alongside with Unity Floors following in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Again self-released, first LP ‘
About Time’ came a year later. And now they return with sophomore album ‘
Around The House’, out just now via
Trouble in Mind (Tenth Court in AU, NZ & Japan). Hard to
resist, it has boy-girl harmonies, simple yet urgent jangle
riffs to keep you going all day, these sunny vibes melted with the
Antipodean trademark melancholia...
Another one to fall in love from down under, folks. Keep it coming!
The Wild Poppies. "Short" jump to Wellington, New Zealand, to talk about a long-time disbanded & forgotten combo that, thanks to the love and care for great music by unmissable independent labels. has revived, at least for a while.
The Wild Poppies formed around 1986 and recorded the debut LP '
Heroine' and a single called '
Where Is Wellington?'. They relocated to Oxford, UK, toured for a few years with well-known local contemporaries such as
Ride and Swervedriver, and released the (sadly, prophetic or ironic?) '
Out of Time' EP dissolving in 1989, when the rave culture emerged. But last year, thanks to
Manufactured Recordings and our dear friends at
Pretty Olivia Records '
Heroine: The Wild Poppies Complete Collection' appeared, compiling, for the first time ever, their long out-of-print aforementioned releases as well as demos for many latter-day tracks (both released and unreleased). It's a
stunning collection of music. Warm, breezy jangle-pop with hints of a more experimental, shoegazy sound. You now have the chance to
(re)discover a lost gem.
Bloodhounds On My Trail. Still in Melbourne, but now getting into the burgeoning shoegaze scene to introduce you this quartet
formed in 2013 (based on the fact they played their first gig in February 2014) by Johnny Green, Chris Donaldson, Che Walden and Nik Donaldson. Quickly making some noise locally, they received the support from Tonedeaf and Gabe Lewis from Lowtide, allowing them to record with Matt Hosking their debut EP '
Escape' in October 2014, receiving the overwhelming praise of the blogosphere and shoegazing lovers. A year later got revamped and expanded for a international release by
Moon Sound Records, entitled '
Escape II' (including the a remix by the dreampop duo Ummagma), while the group shared slots live with acts like
Flyying Colours or
Day Ravies. With a new EP about to surface, expectations couldn't be higher with
BOMT: their combination of hazy atmospheres and rhythm tension immediately recalls to
Ride and
Slowdive, with a very appealing nod for that "Velvetian" edge.
Big soundscapes for a-soon-to-be big band.
Hatchie. And we return to Australia to meet Harriette Pilbeam, a very young artist from Brisbane who is making a lot of "good noise" over the blogosphere thanks to her debuting EP 'Sugar & Spice', out since May. Formerly part of Blog favourites Go Violets, her current incarnation has been properly active since 2016, the 25 year-old musican's tunes are an inmediately catchy coalescence of dreampop landscapes and the poppier side of shoegaze, with a stunning knack for penning the definitive pop hook. Yeah, it might have a bit of that everywhere now 80s sound and the "sugar", or the Sky Ferreira-Carly Rae Jepsen (ugh) could easily "win" in forthcoming releases. But there's no point in creating future bad vibes as, for now, we can enjoy this addictive five tunes summoning the spirits of The Sundays of Cocteau Twins. Lot to love.
