New Noise: Deep Space Supergroop, Hot Palms, Jukai Forest, Heads.

This week’s roundup of new music makes detours in Berlin, Hong Kong, New Zealand and … Woodend.

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– There are people who labour over their music for months and years on end, and then there’s Rob Crompton. The leader of Sydney quartet Deep Space Supergroop has posted 10 releases via Bandcamp since mid-2012, including a double album, and he made the latest one alone on his laptop during a single week spent in Woodend, Victoria. The name-your-price White Heat at first taps a dancier side of the project’s self-evident space-rock but soon explores far beyond that. As Crompton admits, these are songs that could never work for the live band. “The record moves through a bunch of different genres I’ve never played with before,” he adds. “Industrial ambient noise, psychedelic disco, horror soundtrack, post-rock, Krautrock, spoken word and whatever else I felt like doing each day.” Deep Space Supergroop support Bored Nothing at that band’s Sydney farewell show – Fergus Miller is retiring the entire project – this Friday (Jan 9) at The Landsdowne. It’s free, with Bare Grillz kicking off the night.

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– Hot Palms are always great, but especially live, as proven by their mid-show recording of ‘Muss Blues’. The three-minute instrumental is the Melbourne ensemble’s half of a new split 7” with Soda Eaves, and it radiates Dirty Three-style serenity. Played by Alec Marshall (Emma Russack’s lead guitarist), Jake Core (Soda Eaves), Ashley Bundang (Zone Out), Jordan Ireland (ex-The Middle East), André Vanderwert (André) and Zahra Khamissa (Pencil), it was recorded by Astral Traveller. Soda Eaves’ side, ‘Lolly Water’, was also captured live, featuring overlapping sampled voices against slinking guitar passages. The 7” is a joint release between Hong Kong label Metal Postcard and Marshall’s own imprint Why Don’t You Believe Me?. It’s limited to just 100 copies, with handmade sleeves.

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– Fresh off a timely version of ‘Silent Night’ played at the recent live tribute to Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift For You, Jukai Forest have been gigging around Melbourne behind their six-song debut EP. South Meringue came out last month, recorded in the trio’s lounge room and mixed with Raul Sanchez (River of Snakes, Magic Dirt). It’s all syrupy melody, offsetting the familiar jangly and distorted guitars with more cosmic leanings. The band, comprised of two-thirds Kiwi expats, will support countryman Hamish Kilgour (The Clean, The Mad Scene) at The Old Bar on Wednesday, January 21 along with Palm Springs and DJ Ricky Maymi (Brian Jonestown Massacre). It’s just $5 at the door from 8pm.

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– Can we call Heads. Aussie? They’re a Berlin trio fronted by Melbourne expat Ed Fraser, who enlisted two German members to flank him. They’ll release a debut album around March or April through German label This Charming Man, and the lead single ‘A Mural Is Worth a Thousand Words’ certainly grabs – and proceeds to throttle – our ears. It’s thunderous yet stripped-back, complete with a perfectly dramatic pause in the middle. Hardy, hard-bitten stuff done right. Recorded in a heritage-listed building in the Swiss Alps and mixed with Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna), the forthcoming LP has been likened to The Jesus Lizard, Shellac and My Disco. Check out a teaser video for it.

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