With Alice Worley
Hey all! So what’s new? Well, heaps as it turns out. We are so chockablock with new releases right now, and some cracking shows as well, so let’s get stuck in.
First off, congrats to Highland Light for their release of Absolute and the launch they had in early April at The Basement; definitely the latest I’ve been out on a school night for a while, but well worth it, what a fun time! Well done, also, to supports Parrots With Piercings and THYME; always a blast watching Dave and Khial do their thing, and holy crap THYME were a great way to kick off the night. This was my first time seeing them and they looked so comfortable on stage, threw some cracking covers into their set, and had an infectiously positive energy that they projected onto the crowd. Nice job!
Sally Chicane had their Oh by the way, which one’s Sally? EP launch on the Sunday, 18 April at The Basement and what a wonderful way to spend a Sunday arvo. Accompanied by NTT and Tennessine, they gave us a really energetic, bubbly show. Was super awesome on top of that to see Box Dye frontperson, Mel Sullivan, called up on stage to sing a cover of Green Day’s Basket Case with the Sally Chicane crew. I really love it when local bands collaborate!
Also have to mention that NTT’s singer and guitarist Georgia was an absolute firecracker on that stage. So much vigor and attitude with some amazing vocal talent that was giving me everything I love about ’90s rock ‘n’ roll. My hat is off to you, and thanks for putting on such a great set.
Sydney rising stars FANGZ stopped by on their tour to launch their new single Self Medicate at The Basement. By far the most high-octane show I’ve attended in a long while, the guys absolutely left their blood, sweat and spilled beer all over that stage. I always appreciate when touring bands don’t discount Canberra and give us the best they can, and that’s what these guys did. Born performers, every one of them, we all had such a great time moshing and crowd surfing in their presence. It’s very obvious why they’re getting some attention and being added to festivals like Inverted with the likes of Spiderbait, The Chats, and Skeggs (very interested to see when that show will be rescheduled on account of COVID, cos it’ll be a cracker).
So great to see you guys, look forward to having you back in the capital next time around!
In terms of upcoming gigs, The Dirty Sunflowers have a new track, called Reel Love. A musical love letter to Quentin Tarantino movies, they’ll be celebrating its release on Friday, 21 May at Smith’s Alternative with Nora, Box Dye, and Parrots With Piercings. Congrats guys on another cracking track; Clouded was so fantastic and you’ve totally done it again!
Punk veterans A Commoner’s Revolt have at long last released their debut album, Social Distancing Since 1983.
As far as debut albums go, it’s damned impressive and if you’re in the mood for Canberra’s answer to The Dropkick Murphys, I highly recommend. Once this album has you geared up, go and grab yourself a ticket to check them out in the flesh when they play Gang Gang Cafe on the Friday, 8 May with Sic Parvis Magna (Wollongong) and WILSN of Red Door. Gonna be a fab night.
Phew! Look at all those new releases! So much great stuff being made and put into the scene at the moment, I encourage all of you to keep your ear to the ground cos there’s just going to be more and more stuff that’s been put together during COVID that all these talented artists have now refined and are eager to share with you.
Again, I would like to spruik The Noise Floor’s Canberra New Music playlist; it’s being added to all the time and it’s my number one go-to when I wanna check out what’s being thrown into the mix of our Canberra music collection.
Get. On. It.
