Features
New Noise: Cull, Methyl Ethel, Simona Kapitolina, Mightiest of Guns
By Mess+Noise
Stadium techno-pop, bass-bumpy gooiness, alien abduction and bushranger murder ballads fill out this week’s roundup of new music.
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Last time we heard from Cull, they were covering Pavement in the most transformative of ways. The Sydney quartet have returned with the single ‘Magi Fuel’, up for a mere dollar download. Like most of the band’s work, and no doubt drawing parallels to Tame Impala, the new tune was recorded, performed and mixed entirely by band leader Chumpy Ly, who also did the cover art. The rest of the band, meanwhile, help bring the songs to life at gigs. As gooey and bass-bumpy as ever, if not quite as hooky as last year’s ‘World Inside Your Head’, ‘Magi Fuel’ is the title track of Cull’s upcoming second EP. Catch the band live supporting Howling Bells at Oxford Art Factory on Friday, September 12 and at the Building Bridges for Refugees Fundraiser at Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday, September 13. The latter also features Dick Diver, Holy Balm, Day Ravies, The Ocean Party and many more; more info here.
– Methyl Ethel is the work of Perth’s Jake Webb, who plies bedroom dream-pop sometimes solo and sometimes with collaborators. Starting with lyrics about drinking oneself to sleep, the new single ‘Rogues’ is really quite nice on all fronts, dripping with sincerity despite mentions of alien abduction. You can grab it for a dollar here, and check out its no-budget video. It heralds the band’s forthcoming debut album, which follows a pair of 2013 EPs. In a bit of a coup, Methyl Ethel will open for visiting US garage weirdos The Hussy and Nobunny next Friday (Aug 29) at Amplifier Capitol, along with Kitchen People. More info here.
– Simona Kapitolina’s new album is all too personal. In fact, it documents the Melbourne synth-pop artist’s firsthand experience of gender transition. Exotic Ladies of Birobidzhan tackles all “the extremities, isolation, and abandonment” you might expect, but not so expected is the triumphant, resilient vibe beaming across the album’s self-described “stadium techno-pop.” Delve into it below, and watch the video for ‘Still’. The self-produced album is out now through Kapitolina’s own queer-minded label, Girls Who Smoke Poke. She launches it next Thursday (Aug 28) at Lounge in Melbourne.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.]– Mightiest of Guns are cut from the same grimy, blood-stained cloth as Graveyard Train, The Death Rattles and Twin Beasts. True to form, the Melbourne trio’s latest single brings a morbid, murder-ballad-style strain of storytelling to the life of bushranger Frank Gardiner, leader of the Weddin Mountain Gang. ‘The Regrets of Darkie Gardiner’ is the first taste of their new album, Drink Open Your Grave, which will come out on vinyl and CD in late 2014. Produced by Saint Jude’s Brooke Penrose, the album follows the 2013 EP Strange Birds. As for the new single, it’s up for free download. Mightiest of Guns play this Saturday (Aug 23) at The Eastern in Ballarat with The Yard Apes and Pork Chop Party.
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