New Noise: Crepes, Reuben Ingall, Packwood, Tam Vantage

Ambient microwaves, ambitious chamber folk, blasé indie rock and brash pop all crowd into this week’s roundup of new music.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

– With last December’s languidly catchy ‘Ain’t Horrible’, Crepes drummed up a whole lot of attention on the basis of a single song. Now there are two, thanks to the equally well-calibrated ‘Stages of Fear’. It’s indie rock both spacey and rubbery, bouncing right along to Tim Karmouche’s blasé vocals. Mixed and mastered by Mikey Young, the self-recorded tune even sneaks in some Murlocs-style harmonica towards the end. It’s a very enticing second taste of a forthcoming EP from the Melbourne five-piece, who originally hail from Ballarat and include members of Hollow Everdaze. Crepes launch the single this Friday (Feb 27) at the Grace Darling basement with Lehmann B Smith, Pure Moods and Jealous Husband. More info here.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

– Canberra sound artist Reuben Ingall maps out wavering, eroded ambience on his aptly titled new cassette, Microwave Drone Ritual. Its two 10-minute sides comprise excerpts from four gigs he did last year, using a microwave (among other things) to improvise noisescapes – and make an actual meat pie, as he notes at the start of each side. Limited to 50 tapes through Moontown, the tape boasts cover art by Danny Wild and is also available for $3 download. Ingall is presenting a lecture about slowed-down music at 9pm on Wednesday, March 18 as part of Canberra’s You Are Here festival. He’s also been collaborating with saxophonist Rhys Butler and recently put together an exclusive all-Canberra comp for his radio show.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

– ‘All Smoke Must Find Its Way Home’ is the dizzyingly gorgeous new single from Packwood, the outlet for Australian songwriter Bayden Hine. It’s an infectious folk ballad that makes a series of striking turns for the lushly embellished, feeling at once ambitious and totally organic. The song heralds the five-song EP Autumnal, which comes out this Sunday (March 1) digitally and on limited CD. The EP is the first in a planned “four-part seasonal epic,” which follows 2012’s self-titled debut. Packwood is launching it with a four-city East Coast tour; dates below and tickets here.

Sat, March 28 – Jive Bar, Adelaide, SA
Wed, April 15 – Bella Union @ Trades Hall, Melbourne, VIC
Fri, April 17 – Smith’s Alternative Book Shop, Canberra, ACT
Sat, April 18 – Hibernian House, Sydney, NSW

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

– Pop Singles and Stevens expat Tam Matlakowski now leads a band of his own under the name Tam Vantage. After last September’s single ‘The Boy Who Always Wins’ comes the debut six-song EP Setting Sun. It’s both more whimsical and more brash than expected, making full use of a cracking four-piece band while standing weirdly outside of any one musical era or genre. The EP launches this Saturday (Feb 28) at The Evelyn in Melbourne, with support from White Walls, Bad Family and Leah Senior. More info here.

+

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