New Noise: Brat Farrar, Leure, Naked, Rainbow Chan

It’s an even split between the dreamy and the abrasive in this week’s roundup of Soundcloud and Bandcamp offerings.

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– It’s tough keeping up with Brat Farrar at the moment. Following last year’s self-titled debut album, Sam Agonstino’s latest band (in a long line including Digger & The Pussycats, Kamikaze Trio and Russian Roulettes) has already released a split 7” with Arcolas, of which only five copies remain. Now comes the 300-run 7” ‘Burn Everything Down’/‘Punk Records’ on Nashville label Total BS, with more singles reportedly on the way before year’s end. Credited with “an early New Wave vibe,” the no-nonsense A-side can be snatched up for 50 cents if for some reason vinyl isn’t your preference. Brat Farrar launch the 7” next Friday (August 2) at the Curtin Bandroom with Batpiss, Mesa Cosa and Bad Vision. It’s $10 on the door from 8:30pm.

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– Wolves at the Door’s Ash Hendricks made quite an impression as Leure with last year’s Hollow Sky. Now comes the linked-by-title ‘Hollow’, a similarly unmoored and rhythm-flecked single. Hendricks has recently collaborated with Flight Tonight and had her track ‘Tired’ remixed by Tame Impala’s Dom Simper. She’s off to Europe in October for the Waves Festival & Conference in Vienna and some gigs on the continent after that. ‘Hollow’ is out digitally in August through Inertia Access.

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– Last we heard of Naked, the DIY Hobart project was visiting Melbourne and had dubiously reworked The Magnetic Fields. The new and free Pot Plant is no less scrappy, with mainstay Kieran Sullivan continuing a definite outsider abrasiveness on tracks like ‘See Your Face Against My Forearm’. It’s sort of like Xiu Xiu, without the over-the-top screaming.

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– Premiered on The Huffington Post, of all places, Rainbow Chan’s new free single ‘Haircut’ tackles the classic post-breakup act of chopping one’s locks. (See also: ‘Caroline, No’). The self-produced badge of empowerment is another promising taste of the Sydney artist’s debut EP Long Vacation, out next week through Silo Arts. Chan says of the track: “Its beat is playful but is mellowed out by the warped harp and detuned synths. The rest of Long Vacation is a similar affair by combining electronics and organic sounds, with vocals narrating failed romances at the fore. Aesthetically, I was inspired by various Japanese TV dramas from the ’90s. Their soundtracks are often saccharine but have a great groove.”

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To nominate new music for this column email us at news@messandnoise.com.