Features
New Noise: Standish/Carlyon, Hunting Pictures, Black Vacation, Shining Bird
By Doug Wallen
Valentine-appropriate vibes (pretty much) mark this week’s roundup of Soundcloud offerings.
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Devastations offshoot Standish/Carlyon finally have a debut album on the hazy horizon. Originally slated for release last year, it’s called Deleted Scenes and is due in mid-May through Chapter. Judging from the new ‘Nono/Yoyo’, it’s going to be an all-absorbing marvel of romantic magnetism. Yesteryear funk and electronics are dissected and reconfigured for maximum sultriness in the song, complete with synth tones worthy of Donny Benét. It’s the kind of single that’s likely to hang around soundtracking our lives all year – unless it’s threatened by the album’s other tracks for our finicky affections. Standish/Carlyon play ATP at 4pm this Saturday (Feb 16) before headlining Gasometer on Friday, March 1 with Roland Tings and Perfume Production.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Standish/Carlyon - Nono/Yoyo by Chapter Music
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
–Hunting Pictures is singer/guitarists Steven Smith (Scul Hazzards) and Sarah Hardiman (Deaf Wish) and drummer Nic Crawshaw (November Fleet). The bass-less Melbourne trio charge through spiky punk that still makes room for droning digressions and sweet vocal harmonies on tracks like ‘Your Family’. They’re very much kindred spirits of Deep Heat, whose Alicia Saye did the artwork for and assisted Smith in recording the band’s self-titled debut EP, available on CD or as a name-your-price download. It launches Saturday, March 2 upstairs at Gasometer, alongside Spite House, Sarah Mary Chadwick – and lo and behold – Deep Heat. Five bucks on the door.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Your Family by Hunting Pictures
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Brisbane quartet Black Vacation combine waggling surf-pop-isms with groggier leanings on last year’s name-your-price EP Scarred Glass. It’s murkier than their previous record, though still with those soft-sung charms. Hear the opening title track below, and see them support US wonder boys Wild Nothing at Brisbane’s Alhambra Lounge on Thursday, March 7.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Scarred Glass by Black Vacation
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Sydney “Valium pop” quartet Shining Bird call their single ‘Distant Dreaming’ “a euphoric journey through ’90s synth-pop, vibrant funk and hazy Australiana.” It definitely hits those marks but also bear-hugs a wealth of ’70s and ’80s vibes along the way. It’s not nostalgic for a single time and place; it’s a wide-open valentine for everything past and all the idealised dreams that evokes. An album is due in the autumn, but for now you can download the band’s 2012 Shade of the Sea EP for free.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Distant Dreaming (Single) by Shining Bird
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