“Maybe Tomorrow ft. Lilian Blue” is the second single from Chance Waters’ soon-to-be-released sophomore album Infinity. The Australian hip-hop artist – previously known as Phatchance – has been working hard on drumming up support for the impending release, and if this is anything to go by, the album is going to be a strong one. Filled with bright keys and Blue’s excellent chorus vocals, Chance takes small cracks at hippies, vampire dramas, and technology. The resulting juxtaposition only adds to the song’s charm.
Take a listen to it below, and if you click through to YouTube, you can check out the lyrics in the description.
jj are a Swedish pop duo, and “Beautiful Life” is the name of their newest track. As the title suggest, it’s quite beautiful. jj are known for their blissful, floating, hazy pop music, and that’s exactly what they deliver here. It manages to sound so unaware and spontaneous, yet still retain that crafted drive and pulse.
The single – titled jj n° 4 – is set for release on May 8 digitally and on 7″ via Sincerely Yours and Secretly Canadian, and will contain another new track called “Burn”.
You thought “Simple Man” was good? Daniel Merriweather sure did an excellent job on the guest vocals for that one, but wow – take a listen to this!
Hearing “Running It” for the first time is almost akin to the first time I heard Underworld’s “Scribble” – it’s a pretty special feeling. The production sounds so crisp and balanced, thanks to the work from Styalz Fuego. The composition lands on this beautiful divide between toe-tapping dance and a subtle melancholy. This has so much potential to be a hit for 2012 – and if it isn’t remixed the hell out of by the end of the year, I’ll eat my metaphorical hat. You’d do well to get on it now.
They’ve also announced the “Running to Shine Tour”, alongside Joelistics (also of renowned hip-hop group TZU!), and will be going all around the country in March! Check out the dates below.
To celebrate the launch of their latest single and video, “Battlesong”, Aussie rockers Jebediah have just announced a few more dates around the country (yes, more! They’re touring right now too!). That’s dedication. Check out the tour details below.
A short while ago, Perth’s bright indie rockers known as The Panda Band released their sophomore effort Charisma Weapon. An even shorter while ago, they announced a whole range of tour dates in support of their new album. I’m a bit slow on this announcement, but there’s still quite a few dates left. You can expect a full review of their live show up after I see them at ANU!
Until then, grab free single “The Fix” over here at their BandCamp page. It’s a poppy, fun little track, and it’s free so you can’t really go wrong.
Check out the remaining dates and venues below:
Wed 10th August – The Brass Monkey, Cronulla, NSW
Thu 11th August – The Vault, Windsor, NSW
Fri 12th August – Northern Star, Newcastle, NSW
Sat 13th August – The Gaelic Club, Sydney, NSW
Wed 17th August – ANU, Canberra, ACT
Thu 18th August – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
Fri 19th August – Barwon Club, Geelong, VIC
Sat 20th August – Hotel Metro, Adelaide, SA
Fri 26th August – Rosemount Hotel, North Perth, WA
Fri 2nd September – Player’s Bar, Mandurah, WA
Brisbane rockers Drawn From Bees have only just released their latest single “Of Walls and Teeth”, and you can take a listen to it right over here! It’s the first single from the bands sophomore album, The May King and His Paper Crown, which is set for release in 2012. Drawn From Bees bring together some fairly conventional guitar sounds on this single (the solos are neat though), but it’s the cool use of vocal melodies and harmonies that really make it stand out.
You can pre-order the single on iTunes from the 12th of August, and it’s officially available on the 26th.
Lately the band have toured the US (even got in a few shows at SXSW!), and they’ve just announced a set of Australian dates throughout October.
Check them out on tour if you get a chance.
Sat 1 Oct – Yah Yahs, Fitzroy
Sat 8 Oct – Masquerade Ball @ The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Sun 9 Oct – Caloundra Music Festival, Caloundra
Sat 15 Oct – Oxford Art Factory Gallery Bar, Sydney
Fri 21 Oct – The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba
Sat 22 Oct – Restless @ The Loft, Gold Coast
Wed 26 Oct – Nanna Night @ Vinyl Bar, West End
Sat 29 Oct – The Railway Club, Darwin
Just to whet your appetite with another song of theirs (this is one of my favourites), here’s a great video from the band.
So I may be almost a month late with this, but the new single from Taking Back Sunday has been released. It’s called “Faith (When I Let You Down)”, and I’m pretty excited.
It sounds like one of the most anthemic songs I’ve heard from them, and for once some of the YouTube commenters have a point – some of it does sound 30-Seconds-to-Mars-esque, which is interesting for two reasons.
After returning to the 2001 lineup that crafted Tell All Your Friends, there was talk of the band returning to their “roots”, and moving away from some of the poppier sounds found on their latest LP New Again.
The first track to premiere from the new album was “El Paso”, and it certainly sounded much more raw and vicious, strengthening my belief this would be a completely new record.
But then “Faith (When I Let You Down)” changed that. I’m personally cool with both sides of the band, so this isn’t really bothering me, but it should be pretty obvious to anyone who listens that both tracks are very different.
Is it possible to get both worlds with this new release? I wouldn’t be complaining.
Take a listen yourself below. Taking Back Sunday’s fifth LP (which is self-titled by the way) comes out on the 28th of June.
Those of you who cherish your Aussie hip-hop will no doubt be familiar with Illy – one of the newest and fastest growing names in Australia. Well he’s released another single, which also happens to be the title track from his latest album – “The Chase”.
For me, as much as the the catchy hooks and melodies contribute to a song, hip-hop really shines with the messages it sends. In fact, so does a lot of music to be honest. It’s a combination of the two, because usually both are needed to make a good song. No matter the topic, if an artist can express themselves in an interesting way, and send out something worthwhile, then their work becomes instantly more appealing. There seem to be so many artists that can create a catchy melody, but only a select few that can write engaging and great lyrics.
Illy is one of them.
Welcome to the chase, thats life man / What you can hold up in your left and your right hand / And it could change overnight with the right plan / With little more than a MacBook and a micstand, look where I took it.
Lights blurred, no safety belt / I’m on the chase, hard out man, success aint gonna make itself / And I ain’t gonna wake when I’m old / And regret that I woke out of a dream, just to chase the gold.
The clip is shot really well. Definitely worth checking out. Illy has the ability to rival the top of Australia’s scene, and with time he could just get there.
Don’t forget, you can check Illy out on his national tour if he hasn’t already passed you by! Details below!
ILLY – THE CHASE TOUR – REMAINING DATES!
FRIDAY 1 APRIL – FOWLERS LIVE, ADELAIDE (Lic AA) With guests: Pagen Elypsis, Mase & Matic
Tickets from Moshtix 1300 438 849, www.moshtix.com.au and Moshtix outlets
SATURDAY 2 APRIL – THE CEMENT EVENT, KALGOORLIE (AA) Tickets from www.ckb.wa.gov.au
THURSDAY 7 APRIL – MANNING BAR, SYDNEY (18+) With guests: Dialetrix and The Tounge
Tickets from www.manningbar.com, Oztix 1300 762 545, www.oztix.com.au and Oztix outlets
FRIDAY 8 APRIL – ANU BAR, CANBERRA (18+) With guests: Raw City Rukus, Purpose Motive & DJ Hacksaw
Tickets from Ticketek on 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au
WEDNESDAY 25 MAY – PRINCE OF WALES, BUNBURY Tickets from the venue, Oztix 1300 762 545, www.oztix.com.au and Oztix outlets, Heatseeker 08 6210 2850 www.heatseeker.com.au
THURSDAY 26 MAY – PLAYERS BAR, MANDURAH Tickets from Star Surf Mandurah 08 9353 4500, Oztix 1300 762 545, www.oztix.com.auand Oztix outlets, Heatseeker 08 6210 2850 www.heatseeker.com.au
FRIDAY 27 MAY – STUDIO 146, ALBANY Tickets from Vibes Surf 08 9841 7577, Oztix 1300 762 545, www.oztix.com.au and Oztix outlets
SATURDAY 28 MAY – AMPLIFIER BAR, PERTH Tickets from Oztix 1300 762 545, www.oztix.com.au and Oztix outlets, Moshtix 1300 438 849, www.moshtix.com.au and Moshtix outlets
SUNDAY 29 MAY – THE NORFOLK HOTEL, FREMANTLE Tickets from Star Surf Perth, Mills Fremantle; Planet Mt. Lawley, Heatseeker 08 6210 2850 www.heatseeker.com.au, Oztix 1300 762 545, www.oztix.com.au and Oztix outlets
Operator Please have new album "Gloves" slated for release on the 26th of April, with the new single "Logic" available now as a free download (that is, in exchange for an e-mail address).
A pounding descending bass riff opens the track, but Logic seems to have lost that kind of urgency or vibe inherent in the singles from their debut album. Not a massive problem, perhaps on the whole they’ve matured as a band. In fact I hope they have. That ping-pong song was alright as a novelty at first, but ended up getting on my nerves rather quickly. To be perfectly honest, it feels like "Logic" doesn’t go anywhere fast. The chorus is at least a bit of relief from the slightly-better-than-mediocre verses, which just don’t have any redeeming qualities for me. I was hoping I’d like this single, and initially the bass-riff really caught me by surprise. It was good, but the rest of the song just doesn’t hold up for me.
I wonder if the commercial radio stations will pick up this single for some airplay or not, sometimes it’s hard to tell.
Score: 2/10
If you’re interested, you can grab a download here.
The 5th of April. New single “Rules” will be released from their new album “Barbara” (due out June).
I can’t wait. We Are Scientists hooked me with a few singles from their album “With Love and Squalor”, which is full of typical, yet brilliant indie-rock riffs and melodies. Refining their style with “Brain Thrust Mastery”, where they seemed to mature and branch out in their own direction whilst retaining the infectiousness inherent in their music, I can’t wait for this new album to drop.
Brisbane rockers Drawn From Bees have only just released their latest single “Of Walls and Teeth”, and you can take a listen to it 
On The Tune 