With the vibrant indie music scene in Australia and New Zealand constantly outshining much of the output from their British and American cousins, Little Indie picks our weekly bunch of some of the best new tracks on offer.
PRINCESS CHELSEA - WASTING TIME
Second single - after 'I Love My Boyfriend' - from Auckland, NZ's Chelsea Nikkel's upcoming album 'The Loneliest Girl', out September 7 via Lil' Chief Records. The alt-pop number melds hazy retro synths, a snare drum, off-kilter keys, trombone, and a choir for good measure. Catch live at her one-off UK date on September 9 at London's Shacklewell Arms.
KANE STRANG - IT'S NOT THAT BAD
This new number from the Auckland via Dunedin, NZ singer-songwriter's 'Two Hearts and No Brain' album, released last year, is definitely not bad at all. The alt-rock guitar track with grungey overtones is, he says, "kind of an intense, sort of heavy, dark sounding song, instrumental but the lyrics are kinda positive. I’m not being sarcastic when I say 'it’s not that bad'. I really mean it."
MOODY BEACHES - WEIRD FRIENDS
Credit: Scott Cherry
Title track from the post-punk-grunge Melbourne-based female trio's (which features members of La Bastard, Hot Wings and Sugarfiend) debut EP, released August 3 via Poison City Records. Anna (vocals/guitar), Jess (bass/vocals) and Julia (drums) follow their split 7" 'Guns' (w/ Bench Press), to channel some raw, brooding and at times, scathing, lyrics loaded with harmonies and hooks.
ESSIE HOLT - BETTER FOR YOU
Featured earlier this year with ‘Magnetise’, this new single, released last week, from the Melbourne-based indie pop artist, is a worthy follow-up. Produced by Mark Zito (Fractures), it is guided by shimmering synths, subtle percussion and Holt's emotive vocal delivery. "I wrote it after a fairly heavy time where I had hurt someone pretty badly," she says. "Mark and I went through quite a few production ideas before reaching how it is today. So glad we persisted cos I love every single layer that has gone into it - and there’s a lot!"
LOSER - LOSER
Credit: Tori Styles
The Melbourne outfit - comprised of Tim Maxwell (Apart From This, Grim Rhythm), Chris Cowburn (The Smith Street Band), Craig Selak (The Bennies) - make their entrance with this eponymously titled first release. A raw 90s grunge essence is punctuated with alt-rock intensity, and a surprising amount of melody. "The song is about trying to navigate the current social climate, feeling isolated, overwhelmed and conflicted between what you feel is right within yourself, and what everyone else is constantly telling you," they say.
THEIA - BAD IDEA
After her critically acclaimed self-titled debut EP last year, Christchurch, NZ singer-songwriter Em-Haley Walker follows last year's debut 'Roam' with this latest single, co-written with Grammy Award-winning Emily Warren. Produced by Sean Turk in New York, it is a defiantly personal song that draws on her struggle with self-harm, set against a soundscape of uplifting synths and rolling bass.
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