Romeo Hits Hyperdrive Ace

Canberra label Dream Damage (TV Colours, Bare Grillz, Assassins 88) have been a strong purveyor of Australia's underground music scene, with some great releases from lesser known acts such as the likes of Slow Violence and Cat Cat shining through. Another release they have put forth is Hyperdrive by Ace Romeo AKA Andy Campbell, guitarslinger of The Fighting League. The album is awesome, if fairly eclectic. It starts off the way I expected things to be, and continue (thanks in part to the name, and to the cover art) - 'Heart To You' kicks off with a weird baroque Euro traveller synth disco pastiche - like Todd Terje was playing in a Balkan nightclub with the barest of Rolands and a Gameboy extension. Then the guitar rocks in, live drums, and a lick that feels like a muted hair metal riff - and this is in the first third of the song. The vocals drift through, playing on the same lines of Tame Impala-lite psych soul searching, but as guitars layer over each other, with a much more insistent beat propelling things forward, Ace Romeo isn't trying to emulate those types of glories. The rest of Hyperdrive is equally filled with thrilling curveballs - the throwback pub rock riffage of 'Move To Mars' that fits into the Sydney rock'n'roll set effortlessly; the earnest 80s stadium rock mania of 'Best Friend'; the urgent post-punk meets Sharpies-esque title track; the 70s chase scene cum yacht rock malaise that tears 'Total Riffage' apart... It is honestly like Campbell has grabbed his dad's record collection, thrown it into the dryer, hit maximum spin, scooped out the shattered remains and glued the albums together ad hoc. But it works. I really like this record, and I reckon you will too.

Colouring Beverly For The TV

From Canberra's Dream Damage stable comes TV Colours. A rather basic nom de plume, to be sure. But with members of The Fighting League, Assassins 88 and Danger Beach involved (all bands Sonic Masala would kill for), the title actually makes sense. Then the crunch of 'Beverly' bursts forth, a morass of speaker-shredding distortion, tight drumming and warehouse yelling, sounding like the 80s guitar thrown through an electronic woodchipper sound that compatriots Civil Civic or DZ Deathrays utilise, and just as much as a raucous, jubilant mantra in the chorus to allow for flailing hair and limbs, beers thrown in to the air, jubilance fuelled by devil-may-care attitude and a flagrant devotion to having fun with substances. Intoxicants for teetotallers; justification for junkies.

'Beverly' comes out on TV Colours' loooooooong-awaited debut LP Purple Skies, Toxic River - more about it as it comes to light, and these suckers tour north of the border.

Hits From The Box #40 - An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

I became a godfather on the weekend. Now, Ive always thought I was the centre of the universe, yet to be given an outright label to influence someone else's is pretty heavy. Despite my affinity with the Dark Side, though, I have decided to be a shining light in this child's life, especially when it comes to music. I will be Ruby's musical guardian, protecting her from the Auto-Tuners and Gleeks of the world, and turning her onto the various frequencies of distorted noise and feedback.

Plus, I look really good in frilly lace.

That said, although being called a godfather is pretty ace due to its connotations thanks to Puzo and Coppola, it is pretty redundant. My godparents are my aunt and uncle, one from either side of the family. My aunt bought me copies of The Babysitter Club when I was fourteen. My uncle is MIA after shacking up with his ex-wife. So I guess nothing really has changed, and this entire diatribe is worthless. Maybe I should take back the godfather mantle. Swan in wearing a trenchcoat and hat, flick silver coins to waiting paupers' outstretched palms, offering counsel, doling out justice. I'm certainly not subjecting my goddaughter to crap novels and albums, that's for sure. Bootleg ones, maybe, but not crap ones.


Maybe I should raise up Ruby's expectations on Hits From The Box - burgeoning talent just finding their sonic feet. Just like The Fighting League, Aussie label Dream Damage's latest signing. Hailing from Canberra (who since toning down their fireworks and porn allocations, has gotten a hell of a lot more boring in recent times), The Fighting League are taking tropical pop rock and punching it in the kidneys, due in no small part to their visceral live performances led by livewire frontman Dominic Death. Produced by Saints maestro Bruce Calloway, Tropical Paradise promises to be something snottily special, and will be on our doorstep next week.

The Fighting League - Guys You Want To Be


A change of pace here with Mirador, the music project of twenty-something Philadelphia resident Kyle Robinson. Combining the limitless instrumental palate of electronic music with live guitar, synth, effects pedals and percussion, Mirador build intricate worlds of sound for the listener to explore. Verdant is the EP, and it's bustling with free-range sound collages that jostle for attention in a sanguine yet elusive manner, a juxtaposition that sounds off-kilter until you imagine the times when Animal Collective try to rein in the mania. The calm is offset with the roiling electricity that slithers underneath. It's one that I haven't necessarily struggled with, but struggled to finger why I like it so much. The mystery, therein lies the solution... you can grab digital or physical copies here.

Mirador - Dance Of The Lantern People


Britt Teusink likes to make noise pop under the moniker deadCAT, a project that is fleshed out by whoever he can get involved on a semi-regular basis. The debut EP R.I.P. contains songs named after Teusink's past feline friends. Now that his moniker makes sense, and the title of the EP, but you just get a sense that he is doing it himself - killing the cats, I mean - to get his twisted muse on... No, this is not inherent in the tracks, which are warped in a sunny sense (although if you intend to call your cat Rosie O'Donnell, it inevitably has a horrific demise lined up...)

deadCat - Rosie O'Donnell


Glasgow based act Honey threw a nice curveball at me in the form of self-released debut EP Taste It And See (it's streaming below - it's also a free download from their Bandcamp!). The follow-up single 'Nowhere Floating' is a fine slice of spectral shoegaze pop,

Honey - Nowhere Floating



Heading to the other end of the UK, Bristol kids Mayans were a fan of our coverage on the band Spectres (and if you haven't heard their EP yet, rectify that shit immediately!) As for Mayans themselves, as their 'Fitzpatrick' track attests, they are all about melding droning rhythms with eruptions of noise, all with a perfect kernel of pop nestled within. This is early days for Mayans, yet 'Fitzpatrick' promises much more.

Mayans - Fitzpatrick


Finally we have Benjamin Shaw, who was "born to soiled genes in ‘80s Blackpool and loathed in soiled scenes of 2011’s London." Gritty indie self-loathing notwithstanding, his debut LP There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet - despite having a very true and prescient title - is one hell of a longplayer from a troubadour who aims for the side streets rather than the sunny boulevards of the singer-songwriter realms. There are a few singer-songwriters in Brisbane who are delving into this twisted narrative bent, but Shaw has rightly found himself making a few ripples at home. Revelling in lo-fi dissonance, fuzzy production, abstract and self-depreciative lyrical approach. His single 'Somewhere Over The M6' drops some of the rambling (mis)demeanour for a more aural assault, a perfect counterpoint to the ambiguous lyricism on display. Equally at home with making wicked wordplays as he is percolating noise bubbles, Shaw may be someone that will rock the status quo of the mainstream crowds - or at the very least, eat away at the foundations.



Happy Tuesday!