Features
New Noise: Kharkov, Wintercoats, Going Swimming, Megastick Fanfare
By Doug Wallen
Pressurised dance and ambient pop meets surf punk and oddball indie in this week’s roundup of Soundcloud offerings.
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Kharkov is Melbourne electronic artist John Bartley, whose Fracture EP came out late last year via artist-run label Brother Sister. The seven-track “journey through clubland” is his fifth release and “plies a new sound with a strong move toward the dance floor and contemporary club culture.” The free-download ‘I’m Out’ starts out somewhat phantom-like before gradually stacking on more and more tightly coiled layers for a pressurised effect.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] I'm Out by Brother Sister Records
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– In the midst of supporting Beach House in multiple cities, Wintercoats returns with a taste of next month’s Heartful EP on Yes Please. ‘Halogen Moon’ sees one-man-band James Wallace as dreamy as ever, set against chiming repetition and sighing space. It’s pop given the attention-to-detail and depth-of-focus of ambient music. Catch Wintercoats with Beach House this Friday (Jan 11) at The Tivoli in Brisbane, at Spunk Tones in Bangalow, NSW the next day (Jan 12) and supporting Perfume Genius at Northcote Social Club in Melbourne on Wednesday, January 30.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Wintercoats - Halogen Moon by Yes Please
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Less than two minutes is all it takes Going Swimming to run through ‘Sharm el-Sheikh’, their smarmy, shouty, surf-damaged single. The newish Melbourne quartet have already supported The Vasco Era and Mesa Cosa in their first six months, and this month comes their debut The Shark Attack EP. It gets launched Saturday, January 19 at the Grace Darling with support from The Pretty Littles, Rayon Moon and Darts.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Sharm el-Sheikh by Going Swimming
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Sydney’s Megastick Fanfare will follow up 2011’s Grit Aglow with a bit of “post-album experimentation” called Fanfare EP 1. The first single from it is the intimate and off-kilter ‘Call Out’, recorded and mixed by the band’s Danny Keig before being mastered in Chicago by Collin Jordan. The four-song EP plays stopgap while the band record their second album in regional NSW with release planned for late this year. The EP will be a name-your-price Bandcamp release, available starting Feb. 5. ‘Call Out’ and other new tracks can be heard on FBi’s live feed from 2pm this Saturday (Jan 13) in the form of a set recorded last year.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Call Out by megastickfanfare
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