The best new Australian music to listen to this month
Naarm's (Melbourne's) underground music scene can feel like a deranged pot-luck dinner – club rats, art punks and rap surrealists seasoning their demented bone broth with unknown spices pinched from ziplock bags. Teether and Kuya Neil come bubbling out of that soup's peak-boil with their debut album, Yearn IV.
Neil, one of the country's most visionary producers, sets the vibe on album opener Scratch the Flea Point with a murky Enter Sandman -esque guitar line and added breakbeats; Teether pokes fun at his hometown on Cosplay ('Half of the club cosplay low class/ How you got all that designer on?'); and on Dial Up (featuring Stoneset) he conjures his trademark feverish imagery ('Who filled the city with rats? Breathing the hottest of breath/ Pig on my bag, down my neck, screaming').
Yearn IV locates its energy in Naarm's community, cultures and creativity, pokes fun at its class contradictions and hedonism, and isn't afraid to embody the present moment's existential dread in Neil's swampy but nonetheless electric production. Teether's tongue is on fire, but ultimately Yearn IV' s a bisque to burn the brain. Nick Buckley
Montaigne, it's all about the money
If you had to guess which local pop artist would manage to work the lyric 'I am renouncing the monetary system' into a gleefully pinballing art-pop track, your mind may have drifted to Montaigne. It's all about the money is the fourth single from Montaigne's upcoming fourth album, and it's a return to their best: piercing and funny, with a delicious sticky melody that will bounce in your head for days. The production, by Montaigne with assistance from talented dance producer Wave Racer, bursts with bright guitars and jaunty electronic effects.
The Sydney artist's new album, it's hard to be a fish, will land on June 19, and it marks their first as a fully independent artist after splitting with major label Sony a few years back. They recently joked on April Fool's Day that they had re-signed, which is perhaps an indication of how little love is lost between the two parties.
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a day ago
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Merpire — Milk Pool
Four years on from her Double J featured debut album Simulation Ride , Merpire dives into her second , Milkpool. Armed with a natural gift for hooky indie-rock that's emotive, memorable and comfortable, her songs are often playful yet mature, capable of tension and tenderness, and very relatable. Observe how she renders the simultaneous thrill and fear of a crush that develops into something serious in three unique ways across the album's opening triptych — easily some of the Melbourne/Naarm artist's strongest material to date. 'Leaving With You' instantly snares you with its grunge-laced, earwormy riff and killer chorus: 'I only stay in the hope of leaving with you I run away with the thought of it coming true' Following that strong opener, 'Premonition' rewires similar feelings into sensual synths and gorgeously restrained atmosphere. 'When we hug/And f**k around/I get a premonition' , Merpire sings, twisting the expletive into a magically melismatic flourish. She's called it her "horniest song" yet, but then along comes 'Bigger' and its saucy chorus regarding fingers in mouths and rebuffing of romantic advances "going south". The vivid lyrics are perfectly pitched against catchy melodies and full-band groove that's fun rather than merely flirtatious. 'Fishing' is a charismatic, crunchy ode to community, specifically the local music scene in which Merpire (real name Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt) is firmly planted. Her roots spread from co-founding successful COVID-era streaming series ISOL-AID, to being one half of indie-pop duo Wilson's Prom, and opening shows for the likes of Fanning Dempsey National Park, Magic Dirt, Ball Park Music, and more. Milkpool takes a darker turn on the elegantly brooding 'Rosanna', which captures the fatalism of a disintegrating relationship with understated plucks and moody keyboards. ' No matter how good we get, I think we're in trouble' , Merpire laments, her vocals eventually digitally fractured against restless drums and wiry guitars. Meanwhile, the introspective, acoustic 'Cinnamon' demonstrates her songwriting is just as effective when working with just a few key ingredients. Back-to-back, these tracks show how Merpire has developed from Simulation Ride . She's now as confident leaning into bigger, more layered arrangements — alongside co-producer James Seymour — as she is paring back, such as the raw closer 'You Are Loved' where the scrapes of acoustic strings cuts as sharply as her yearning refrain of ' I am trying to remember I can be loved '. Late album stand-out 'Internet' is a tender, piano-led number where the lovestruck singer punches questions into a search engine — both banal and profound. Between the song's blooming dynamics nestles a canny interrogation of how being online risks eroding meaningful connection: ' Wait … don't worry, my algorithm's working this one out.' It's a great example of how the album smartly tows the line between serious and humorous. After all, Milkpool is named in honour of Merpire trusting her artistic instincts while wading into the unknown. And a classic joke from The Simpsons. These 11 tracks possess immediate charm, but the more time you spend with them, the more their sincere takes on familiar subjects — love, lust, self-worth — reveal themselves to be unique. Fans of Mitski and Japanese Breakfast will find plenty to love about Milkpool, which makes a convincing case for enshrining Merpire in a lineage of talented homegrown artists, from Courtney Barnett and Julia Jacklin to Angie McMahon and good friend Ruby Gill. Milk Pool is out now. Catch Merpire at the following dates: Friday August 15— Junk Bar: Turrbal Jagera Land, Brisbane Saturday August 16 — Lazy Thinking: Gadigal Land, Sydney Sunday August 17 — Smiths Alternative: Ngunnawal, Canberra Thursday August 21 — Merri Creek Tavern: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Melbourne (sold out) Thurs August 28 — Merri Creek Tavern: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Melbourne (sold out)
ABC News
2 days ago
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pvrtal
Naarm/Melbourne's pvtral takes over with euphoric rave sounds in his Mix Up debut. Loading If you're a fan of artists like KETTAMA and X CLUB. then you're gonna love this set!pvrtal is a proud Gunai, Yorta Yorta, and Waywurru artist based in Naarm/Melbourne who you can find spinning hard house, trance and techno across the hottest clubs in the city including tubo422, Glamorama and Revolver top of working as a curator and event organiser, he's also a founding member of the Tjum Tjumba record label, where he continues to push for stronger Blak representation across clubs, labels and festival lineups, while carving out a distinct identity in the city's electronic mix from pvrtal goes hard, and you're gonna catch a whole heap of trance, hard house and groove-driven sounds across his hour of power. Tune in and turn it up!
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4 days ago
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Wild One: Meghna - Road Rage
It's pedal to the metal for this week's Wild One with 'Road Rage', a crash course in alt-electro pop from Naarm based artist Meghna. Directed by Park Avenue Media's Jack Craig, the clip explores the theme of being totally overcome by rage (relatable). 'I wrote Road Rage from personal experience' Meghna. 'It's a cautionary tale about what happens when you let your anger get the best of you! When I'm angry, I transform into a completely different person. I wanted to use the music video to express the devil and angel that sits on my shoulder; the Jekyll and Hyde of it all, the juxtaposition of good and evil.''When Meghna first reached out to us about the video, we were super excited to get involved' says Jack. 'Like many self-funded projects, resources were limited, but that's often where creativity thrives. Constraints push you to be more resourceful, and for us, this became an exciting creative exercise in making do with what we had.' Shot over two days across vastly different locations (with a mix of location shoots and studio setups), 'Road Rage' taps into a few different techniques and vibes as the track flows through its own exploration of emotions. Each production scenario came with its own ups and downs, as Meghna explains 'the scene in chains was so hard to film because of the heels I chose to wear. My feet were LITERALLY dying, so that's why I'm standing still and the dancing is quite… arm-centric! It was so funny running on the street. You could tell the people passing by were so confused as to who this unit was. Someone I knew drove by, and texted me 'Why are you running down the street with an axe?'… watch the music video to find out, I guess?'
