FLIP THE SCRIPT.
Yeah mate, seems everyone and their dog are doing the nu-hiphop vibe lately. With big wigs like Remy doing solid things and Milwaukee Banks and Baro perhaps being at the top of it, it’s the thing to do. And just like the ‘Australian sound’ EDM thing that happened a while ago, it’s becoming harder for the top kids to raise their heads up above the rest.
Flip The Script feel as though they’re doing things a bit differently. Young dudes, both sing and rap. Both have a pretty cool unique tone in their voice and their flow is undeniable. And to top it off, production is all 90s jazzy vibe. And it kills.
Latest single ‘Acting Profound’ below, and if you dig, download their tape crewsin’ over here.
Sick clip too!
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Miks
ESESE + HANCOQ.
New hip-hop vibes from Melbourne based collective ESESE.
The Eastern Seaboard Electric Sound Experience (fuckin’ rad name aye?) do them rap vibes, sing, make tracks and film. The first official release from ESESE as a collective comes courtesy of Hudson James Jr and features ace dude Hancoq on the vox. It’s called ‘AINTNO’.
As the local hip-hop game begins to ditch it’s aggressive in-your-face Australian vibe, it’s great to still see some of that bravado and forwardness but presented in a warmer sounding context. And sure, one day, that constant embracement of the jazzier 90s side of hip-hop will get old, but for now, when the production is this top-notch, it still represents something fresh in the Australian hip-hop game. Definitely keen to hear what more ESESE bring.
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Miks
[PREMIERE] YOUNG HYSTERIA.
Melbourne people may well have heard the name Jimmy Hawk before – he’s done a fair bit of solo work around town and had a band called The Endless Sea for a bit too. Jimmy’s latest project is Young Hysteria and is a collab with his mate Thomas Van Der Vliet. The guys have been kicking around for nearly two years now, and you may well recognise their single of last year ‘One Young Lover’. It was a pulsing r’n’b infused jam that was as equally dreamy as it was intricate and introspective.
Well, we’re lucky enough to be premiering the clip for that track this morning on this here site. It’s a kaleidoscopic night-time journey for the two fellas, complete with booze and babes and all those blurs and colours you end up seeing towards the end of the night. Sounds like my night last night/allmynights ohgosh 
Rad clip tho!
Keep an eye out for these guys around town this year.
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Miks
[PREMIERE] GRANDSTANDS.
Melbourne band Grandstands are back with their new single ‘Getting Out’. It’s a song ostensibly about breaking up and the realisation that getting out, is in many cases, the best thing. It’s also perhaps moreso detailing this strange fixation we now have on the mundane.
It’s a phenomena that has influenced nearly everything. Things like ‘normcore’; this fascination, at least within some fields of academia at investigating the everyday; and of course the whole idea of suburban guitar pop music. We’ve now reached a point where the only way to look is back in on ourselves, too aghast at the ridiculousness modern life has become. Grandstands manage to capture this feeling incredibly well.
This evening we’re lucky enough to feature the clip for ‘Getting Out’. Shot at Melbourne Zoo, it gets that whole everydayness to a tee. There’s a strange calm to the close up shots of zoo animals doing what zoo animals do.
Alongside the clip is a really wonderful three track single with ‘Getting Out’ as the lead. You can have a listen to that one below too. The guys also have a debut album in the works, due for release in early 2015. Featuring ‘Getting Out’, it’s been mixed and produced by Josh Bach who worked on Milk Teddy‘s wonderful debut and has been mastered by our mate Casey Rice.
If you dig ‘Getting Out’ and you’re down in Melbourne then we’re also pretty chuffed to announce that the band are playing a launch at the Workers Club on November 21. Details for that one here.
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Miks
TETRAHEDRA.
In the September tape, we opened with a track from new Melbourne 6-piece Tetrahedra. ‘Dried Up’ was a build of beautiful soft vocal layerings complicated by this stark tension that arises during that chorus. It was a great example of a band approaching pop music from an outside perspective.
The band have just launched a ‘live’ vid for another track of theirs ‘Circle My Heart’. Less electronic in it’s approach, ‘Circle My Heart’ showcases the bands more traditional training (they all met at the VCA down in Melbourne) – there is a strict funk and at times fusion feel to this track. It also messes with your sense of time and truly illustrates just how much a sense of context can develop in music. The opening piano riff gives you one interpretation, which after a while you feel comfortable sitting with. But then when that drum groove kicks in, you’re given a whole new way of understanding the track. And then, of course, that sax. I mean, move over Snowy.
It may be easy for some to give Tetrahedra a quick listen, and hear all that strangeness in the time signatures and the hard to place groove and write it off as something not accessible. I’d suggest however, that what makes Tetrahedra is the accessibility of their music. Underpinning the work of Tetrahedra is an undeniable pop aesthetic, and it works as a point of entry to their music.
If you dig the track, then make sure you jump over to the band’s bandcamp page and grab yaself a copy. Also make sure you give the guys a follow over on bandcamp as well as a like on the ol’ faceys.
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Miks
THE OCEAN PARTY.
I reckon in a couple of weeks you’ll be hearing ‘Australia’s answer to Real Estate‘. And although some of those comparisons can be pretty lazy, I feel as though this one is accurate, in a way. The Ocean Party aren’t an answer to anything in particular, especially not another band from a bigger country who music writers in Australia always seem to believe we play second fiddle to.
The band’s new album however does feel like a progression in sound. It sounds fucking confident, but not in a cocky way. Confident in the same way that Real Estate sound confident. It’s dreamy, but still really quite messy in parts too. Their last album was a big old fave of mine. I reckon Soft Focus will be too. It’s such a step up from anything else I’ve heard from them.
The new single from the album, due out October 31 through Spunk is ‘Head Down’. It’s dreamy and warm sounding and Lachlan’s vocals are complimented beautifully by Snowy’s guitar line and that lush rhythm section. And it’s a bloody great example of a band with a more pronounced and slightly elevated sound. And the clip? I mean, what’s better that watching five handsome fellas play the track with some marvellous shirts? It’s Snowy, standing solo playing on a Melbourne rooftop ripping that sax. What more could you want?
If you don’t end up loving this album, then mate, think there’s something wrong.
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[EDIT 9/10/14] Well, actually, this has been edited a little bit already coz the writing wasn’t too crash hot, but anyway. Spunk have since put the track up on soundcloud as a free download. Stream/download below.
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Miks.
SAN MEI.
San Mei has been a bit of a repeat offender over here on maamf. We wrote about ‘Wars’, her second single a little while ago, but now we got the clip. Granted, this has already been kicking around a coupla weeks and I been a bit late with it all, but when you get a young artist doing great things that are slightly off-kilter and forward thinking, you always gotta post it.
San Mei‘s work has always harnessed this idea of vulnerability coupled with a real strong sense of control and forward motion and this clip nails that.
YES!
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Miks.
MIGHTY BOYS.
Ohhh mate. Sometimes all you need is a big smack of irreverence. As I sit here using some of the worst internet I’ve used in a hell of a long time (cheers SLV), Mighty Boys and their thrashy punkishness are making things slightly better (apart from the fact that it took about 5 mins for the video to load).
Their ode to my fave Satdy evening show of yesteryear, Hey Hey It’s Saturday, is just like I remember it – strange, weird, and fun but in a way that you feel a little embarrassed by a few years down the track.
If you’re keen on this, then make sure you check out the bands debut EP Dole Cheque and Kabana. You can grab it here.
If you’re down in Melbourne, then make sure you also go jump around like a dick at their show – they’re playing the Tote this Friday (15th August). Deets here.
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Miks
JONATHAN BOULET.
After having a look through recent posts, I realised I haven’t really properly spruiked anything off the new Jonathan Boulet record. The first taste we got, ‘Hold It Down‘ showed a renewed guitar heavy Boulet sound, with less of that percussiveness and more of the shreds. I liked it. It made sense to me – if you follow Boulet’s other work, you’d know that he’s dabbled his lower body in the heavier side of things with Snakeface and Top People.
Gubba, the new album, isn’t as heavy as some of the other projects – there’s a few playful moments throughout the release. It is darker than some of the earlier Boulet albums though. I’m still working my way through it, but it’s holding up pretty well.
Anyway, we got the clip for ‘Hold It Down’ just here. ‘Hold It Down’ follows the travels of some rather bad bikies. It’s a cool clip, bit of fun, gives light to that playfulness i mentioned earlier.
Make sure you check out Jonathan Boulet as he heads on a bit of a tour in support of the new album throughout August. Details here.
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Miks.
LAURA JEAN.
I wrote about Laura Jean‘s ‘First Love Song’ a little while ago, it’s one that affected me a little. Coupled with the destructiveness of the lyrics was this real intimacy, a real sense of being still and being with, present even.
The clip furthers this stillness. It feels like home video, but isn’t captured in the way that most home video is. There’s no ‘oh hey man, how can we make this footage look all retro and stuff like we rescued it from an old camera that was stuck in the attic even though we only just recorded it the other day, and hey, isn’t instagram the best?’
Instead, it’s just footage. It’s just friends being silly and stupid with each other, and intimate in a very still way. It’s beautiful footage in that it captures all that is eery, strange, and close.
The clip was directed by Laura’s cousin Alice Englert, an Aussie actress/film maker now based in London. Incidentally, Alice is also the daughter of the director, screenwriter, Australian and international film legend Jane Campion – may come in handy at that next trivia night that is rather specific because it is about female auteurs from Australia and their children.
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Miks
[PREMIERE] COOL SOUNDS.
We’re lucky enough to premiere this new clip from those rad Melbourne guys Cool Sounds.
As a track, ‘Safe Flight’ is sort of a no-holds-bar approach to songwriting. There doesn’t feel like there’s any filler in here – everything, even the strumming patterns, the sax lines (provided by Mr Snowy Nasdaq), and those little synths at the end (provided by our mate Zac Denton of Ciggie Witch) feels done on purpose, and not just because that’s what happened when they jammed on a riff and thought it sounded good.
Similarly, the clip also takes that step above. We’ve seen clips like this before – that old VHS footage thing has been done forever, but there’s something about the way it’s all interspersed, and layered, and everything else. And although it most likely wasn’t done on purpose, the approach mimics the layers going on in the track itself rather nicely.
The track was mixed by Sam Wilkinson from Sydney guys Day Ravies and it comes from the bands new tape Melbourne Fashion due out next month on new label Whalesmouth which is run by JJ from the rad Bandcamp Hunter.
Really keen to hear more from these guys!
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Miks
TWIN BEASTS.
Very often you’ll find an obvious fine line between totally self-aware and owning, and, well, plain cringeworthy. I think the sheer amount of effort put into this new clip from Melbourne’s Twin Beasts puts it into the former camp. Just. It’s perhaps everything you need in a clip – part gaming, part awkward dancing, part fantastic green screen action.
‘Wasting Time’ is taken from the band’s latest full length, Badlove. It’s a great little track that sort of capitalises on that post-punk vocal chucked up against this sort of 60’s inspired instrumentation. On paper it looks weird, but when you hear it, you’ll get it.
You may have caught the band on a couple of dates as they head around the country launching the new album. Sadly, lagely due to my horrible management of the maamf inbox, I missed the show up here in Sydney…but if you’re in Queensland, then the lads are playing three shows up there next weekend. Full details here.
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Miks.
BLAQ CARRIE.
Man, this song is one of my faves of the year so far. The production nails it – HAMLEY, you sir are doing some freakin’ ace things. And the vocal…man. This flows so beuatifully – the way Blaq Carrie manages to carry her vocal – there’s so much energy in there without sounding manic and over the top and crazy and all the other things that make you feel all jittery and stuff. It’s also her take on the Australian music industry, and cutting a break in the local hip-hop world that seems to also ring true. Full props to her for owning that.
And the clip sits really well with all of this.
I bet you this track will still be in your head in a couple of hours. It’s got a way like that.
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Miks
AMAYA LAUCIRICA.
When I read that Geoffrey O’Connor had directed the new clip from Amaya Laucirica, I was a little intrigued. I never knew he directed clips as well as making those super romantic tunes.
But then, when I saw the clip, Geoffrey O’Connor’s name is the only one that came to mind. It’s full of those romanticised rainy images of cities (even if the majority of that ‘rain’ is actually caused by a car wash), and haze filled captures of both Amaya and her band performing to camera. The song itself also shows a different side of Amaya’s songwriting, this time veering less towards a traditional song structure and more so to creating a real soundtrack of mood. With those sliding single guitar notes and Amaya’s soft but commanding vocal, it really works.
‘Running Out Of Time’ is taken from Amaya’s third album Sway, which came out a couple of weeks ago.
Amaya is launching the album with a run of dates throughout May and June. Details here.
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Miks.
HOPIUM.
This here is a song about desperation.
HOPIUM are a duo from Melbourne, and although they’ve only one track to their name, and very little is known about them, they’re already hitting it up rather massive online.
Their track ‘Cut’ is about just that. It’s a track about the prospect of loss, a track about the intimacy and physical embodiment of human emotion. It’s dark and industrial sounding, but provides enough space for for just enough emotion to seep through.
And then there’s the clip. As a heads up, it is NSFW, so perhaps if you’re sick at home, like me, it’s fine. But not in the office. The clip captures that intimacy and dark nature of the track really bloody well.
If the clip reminds you of some gritty fashion clip, then you’d be sort of right. It was put together by Yoav Lester and Chris Mitchell at Floating World Films and Ribal and Gil @ Superteam Studios. These guys usually work in the fashion world, but are lending their expert skills to the music video world.
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Miks
SONS ET AL.
So this vid has been kicking around for a few weeks, but my gosh, every time i watch it, it manages to be mesmerising. It’s that slo-mo cut with the quick edits that make it, and mate, that songs a bit of alright too!
‘Day By Day’ is taken off Sons et al‘s new EP, Godspeed coming out in a week (pre-order here). Also, if you super keen, make sure you check ’em out on a brief run of dates starting tonight in Canberra. Check out their facebook for more details on those.
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Miks
TEETH & TONGUE.
New clip from Teeth & Tongue is a little nuts. Creepy, and nuts. Although, if you’re into workouts, then it’s probably your thing.
And I love work outs. And I also love the reference point Groove Armada. And I actually do really like this clip. If you can get past the nakedness and flexing of the two fellas in the background, then it’s great in that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. And that track, it’s bloody stellar. Featuring the additional vocal stylings of Laura Jean, ‘Newborn’ showcases exactly what Jess Cornelius is capable of. And if the already building hype surrounding her second album Tambourine is anything to go by, then she’s capable of a hell of a lot.
Tambourine comes out on March 21st through Dot Dash/Remote Control.
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Miks
CLIENT LIASON.
The aesthetic. If there is one thing I do miss from the times of old when big record labels were rich, it was that total commitment to an aesthetic. I don’t know exactly how they did it (money and cocaine were probably instrumental) but the attention to detail with the opulent sounds and visuals was astounding to my young self.
Nowdays we can all put blurry montages together on our friend’s Canon for almost $0 and overall it’s probably much better, but perhaps there’s still room in my heart for classic levels of rich-cocaine effort.
Enter Client Liason and their consistent delivery of these gems. Again their latest is funny and it’s nostalgically Aussie, but it’s so much more than an old joke. It’s real fun, smiling music.
‘Free Of Fear‘ is arranged with less drama in order to have more dance, but it’s still melodramatic and glowing. And somehow the clip is even a step up again from ‘Feeling‘.
Anyway, no more words or it will get weird. I don’t need to convince anyone to watch this. They’re also playing a bunch right now.
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Adam.
KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD.
I really don’t know what to say. This country’s best fun based psych band King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard are back. The guys are set to release their fourth album in 2 years. Yah. You don’t need those eyes checked. These guys nuts. But, the quality is always good. As I recently wrote, it’s hard not to include a King Gizz album in a top 10 list.
Their new one, ‘Vegemite’ has thrown me a little, but I gotta admit, it’s been on rotation all afternoon and I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow morning. The thing that people are obviously talking about are those eyes and mouths in that Vegemite. It’s creepy, but also, I’m told, a great exfoliant.
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Miks
PALMS.
I think Palms will do alright/I know Palms have done alright in quite a few end of year lists. Mine will come shortly, but man, these boys are just the best.
A little while ago they released a clip for their track ‘A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again’. It’s all grainy, black and white, and if you’re a local Sydneyite, then you’d recognise the setting being Brighton Up Bar. It’s a clip that doesn’t take away from the raggedness of the track. And that black and white really does complement the glimpses of hope that Al’s voice seems to capture.
The boys have also been nominated for an FBi SMAC Award for Sydney record of the year. Fingers crossed.
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Miks
SAN MEI.
I spoke about the introverted coolness of San Mei‘s ‘Brighter’ back in September. It was a track that took me a little by surprise, especially during the great female-fronted-indietronica-surge-where-most-of-it-wasn’t-very-good that seemed to be the second half of 2013.
The difference with San‘s work is that it is good. There’s a real sense of innocence and freedom to it all that nails, especially when so much of that ‘whimsical’ stuff has failed in the past.
The clip for ‘Brighter’ is exactly what the song needs. And although I’m not entirely sure of the significance of the burning drum, socks, jackets and jumpers apart from the references to ‘setting fire’ in the lyrics, it does have San singing in the back of a car/boat across some pretty fucking lovely backdrops. The clip feels incredibly intimate even though we’re out in the open – there’s something about us as the audience watching San Mei watch the world as she sings a song about love.
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Miks
PERTH.
Oh wow. Sometimes a clip comes your way that just fucking blows you outta the park.
perth are from Perth. They do some pretty nice subtle folktronica. Really kinda introspective, but really encompassing and luscious in the sound. The clip for one of their latest offerings ‘Quantum Chronological’ is done in MS Paint, but is easily one of the most beautiful clips I’ve seen in a while.
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Miks
MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS.
You like cats? I actually like dogs. But, yahno, cats are ok. Midnight Juggernauts also like cats. They like crazy cats.
Their clip for ‘Systematic’ from their album Uncanny Valley of this year features a lot of cats.
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Miks
YEO.
Woah. So it seems as though the world wide web has been going bananas for the new vid and track from Melbourne’s Yeo. This guy is a bit of a music making machine, dabbling his hand in quite a few different styles. And, he actually kinda nails every one.
This new jam ‘Girl’ is in that soulful electronic vibe, and yeah, that style has definitely been done to death, especially in Australia. But when you can rock such a smooth, laid back, sleazy-but-also-really-sophisticated vibe, then it doesn’t matter what fucking style it is.
This is an incredible track. Actually, really really incredible.
And that car trip hair in the breeze film clip – one of the best I’ve seen in a darn long time.
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Miks
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