SNIPPETZ: THURSDAY APRIL 2, 2026
This week’s Snippetz includes: Chemistry Plays Mondo Rocks, Bachelor Girl, She/Her Records, Dylan Wright, Tilly Vickers Willis, Skinny Living, Madigan’s Wake, Blvd of Eyes, Big Delicious, Crow, Black Label Society, Michael Paynter, August Burns Red, YNG MARTYR, Danielle Spencer, Moodring, Eva Under Fire, Don Broco, Sarah Carroll, Cody Simpson, Neil Murray, Asteroid B-612, Dimmu Borgir, Monotonic, Nick Barker and the Reptiles, Stormflower, Cry Club, Milk Carton Kids, Headsend, Anna Jeavons, Kincade Stevens, FISHER and Tones And I, Bagful of Beez, Cass McCombs and more
CHEMISTRY PLAYS MONDO ROCK LIVE IN CONCERT
Love these songs? “Cool World”, “Come Said the Boy”, “State of the Heart”, “Chemistry” & “Summer of ’81” then don’t miss this show. Featuring Eric McCusker the Mondos guitarist and Hit songwriter.
Bookings now open https://www.trybooking.com/DKFXQ
SAT 25 APRIL ANZAC DAY from 7PM – special filming and recording event.
Featuring Mondo Rock original member and hit songwriter Eric McCusker in The Chemistry playing all the amazing tracks from the Mondo Rock Songbook. Book Now for Anzac Day Night at Empire Music Studios. Eric McCusker is a songwriter/guitarist who has been involved in the Australian music industry for over 50 years, most notably with Mondo Rock. He wrote six Australian Top 40 hits with that band, including “Come Said the Boy”, “State of the Heart”, “Chemistry” and “No Time”. He has also had songs covered by artists such as Paul Rodgers, John Farnham and Tex Perkins. Rick Springfield even covered “State of the Heart” in the US. Eric is backed up with a first-class band including Glenn Roche, Michael Emmerling and my long time great mate Rick Daniels on keys. Tickets $99 including table seated show and delicious sweet & savoury buffet meal before the show and during intermission.
Bookings now open https://www.trybooking.com/DKFXQ
Book a table of 8 or more guests and receive a free bottle of wine or champagne to the value $75
SHE/HER RECORDS ANNOUNCES SOPHOMORE COMPILATION ‘TDoV Compilation 2’
She/Her Records is proud to announce its sophomore compilation, TDoV Compilation 2, will be released on March 31st, Transgender Day of Visibility. This day is dedicated to celebrating the trans community and amplifying the visibility of trans individuals. Likewise, this compilation brings together 17 diverse tracks from transfeminine-led projects from across the globe, including the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Compared to their first compilation, everything is different now. This compilation explores a far darker, more disturbed terrain compared to their TDoV Compilation 1, in reflection of (or retaliation to) the current state of the world.
Following their first year in operation, She/Her Records boasts 1 best record label nomination by Femme House in Billboard, 2 TDoV compilations, and 3 solo releases! At the same time, the transgender community has suffered increased stigma, loss of rights and loss of access. We would be honored if you would consider writing a feature or review about TDoV Compilation 2 for Australian Musician. Your platform’s support in sharing their stories and talents would mean the world to us, and to the artists involved, during such a crucial time.
Tracklist:
01. Fashiongore – Home Is Where I Don’t Belong
02. LUNA LIAS – Figlix
03. vividnestavy – po rozklade opekniem
04. олень – поздно ночью
05. hi maya – skating on that psychedelic mirror
06. Liza Plants – Garden of Delights
07. Four Limbs Six Hands – tucked out
08. Lust Hag – Stifled Glare
09. Skylar Conover – The Altar
10. Taylor Shields – Bread Ha
11. Powderpaint – Gargoyles
12. SARCOMA vs. LUNA LIAS vs. YZBL vs. Letania vs. Cloggy Slutge – Cursed Noise Lesbians Attack!
13. Letania – Dicha
14. Cloggy Slutge – Kimchi Hotdog
15. pity bullet & Spin Cycle Pups – Song for Nia
16. Alien Flower – Cibo
17. pseudo-antigone – gracia
Release date: March 31st, 2026 (Transgender Day of Visibility)
Available on Bandcamp, Ampwall and Apple Music to purchase or stream on all major platforms except Spotify.
Pre-order available on March 17th, 2026 on Bandcamp and Ampwall.
Pre-order link: https://album.link/tdov-compilation-2
She/Her Records sheher.website // bandcamp // bluesky // instagram // tumblr
DYLAN WRIGHT ANNOUNCES NEW RECORD CROSSROADS OUT JULY 10
Dylan Wright has announced that his new record, titled Crossroads, will be released on July 10 and is available to pre-order now HERE.
“Crossroads is the space between who I was and who I’m becoming”, Dylan muses. “It’s a collection of songs about times I nearly broke, it’s me reflecting on the past and looking inwardly, but overall it’s about how I didn’t give up on myself”.
The release includes his most reflective single to date, ‘Those Nights’, which Dylan performed on Australian Idol last night. Watch HERE.
Lassoed by Dylan’s unmistakable soaring vocal, ‘Those Nights’ is a glowy track that invites listeners to reconnect with their own memories of growing up. It is a reminder that the friendships, freedoms and late night moments of youth never fully leave you.
The stage is where Dylan’s artistry truly shines, so excitingly fans will be able to hear ‘Those Nights’, as well as his classics on The Songs & Stories tour across Australia, spanning 21 dates, kicking off on May 8. Tickets are on sale now via www.dylanwrightmusic.com.au – see full dates and locations below.
It’s been a monumental 12 months for Dylan. He has been consistently touring around the country including his own solo headline tour, multiple shows with his band Sons of Atticus, opened for Tina Arena on her massive theatre run, joined Busby Marou on their national tour plus appeared at CMA Fest in Nashville and played multiple shows around Europe with Australian dance outfit Breathe.
Most recently, Dylan won his first Golden Guitar award for Bluegrass Recording of the Year with Sons of Atticus.
BLVD OF EYES Feat Chloe Trujillo & Mark Dalbeth Explore The Collective Experience In Powerful New Video “We Are Human”
Alt-metal powerhouse BLVD OF EYES are proud to announce the release of their latest music video for the hard-hitting single, “We Are Human.”
Bringing together a raw, industrial grit with soaring melodic hooks, the track serves as a visceral anthem for a world seeking connection.
More than just a performance piece, the video for “We Are Human” is a tribute to the band’s growing global community. It features a curated collection of fan-submitted photographs, weaving a tapestry of faces and stories from around the world into the song’s narrative fabric.
To complement the personal fan imagery, the video showcases explosive live footage captured during the band’s recent tour of Australia, capturing the high-energy stage presence that has become their trademark.
Listen to We Are Human here
https://lnk.to/GwQcNh
Watch the video here
https://youtu.be/JIezAXXCUKM
Of the track the band comment; “We Are Human” is a driving, anthemic track built around the core message that the creative imperfections, emotional grit, and tangible effort of humanity are irreplaceable, even as AI integration dominates the world. It’s not a dystopian warning, but a defiant celebration of the beautiful flaws that define life.”
Catch Blvd Of Eyes next on
Friday, April 3: House of Blues, Anaheim CA
with Breaking In A Sequence
Get your copy of We Are Humans at
https://lnk.to/qwOLQ2
Physical Orders for We Are Humans along with merch bundles and tickets are available now
https://xmusiclabel.bigcartel.com/blvd-of-eyes
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Formed in 2021, Blvd Of Eyes is led by the magnetic Chloe Trujillo, wife of Metallica bassist, Robert Trujillo, whose eclectic artistry blends rap, metal, gypsy and Blues into a sound that’s as bold as it is unique. Chloe’s fearless creative spirit to the band is matched by her co-founder, Mark Dalbeth, the New Zealand-born multi instrumentalist who previously made waves in Australia with the acclaimed rock act Bellusira.
Blvd of Eyes is completed by guitarist Kevin Hicklin (3 by Design, Weapons of Anew) and renowned Brazilian drummer Marcelo Moreira. With a long list of live shows under the belt a recent successful tour of Australia, Blvd of Eyes have just released their strongest record to date We Are Humans.
MADIGAN’S WAKE Melbourne Irish Folk-Punk Outfit Release New Single ‘Easter’ A Song of Memory, Sacrifice and Irish Identity
For Irish communities across the world, Easter carries a weight far beyond the calendar. It marks a moment in 1916 when ordinary men and women took an extraordinary stand, setting in motion events that would ultimately reshape Ireland’s future.
Melbourne Irish folk-punk band Madigan’s Wake honour that history with the release of their single Easter, to coincide with the anniversary of the Easter Rising, a defining moment in Ireland’s path to independence and a story that continues to resonate deeply within the global Irish diaspora.
Easter reflects on the events of the 1916 uprising in Dublin and the courage of those who took part. Far from a history lesson set to music, it stands as a tribute to memory and identity.
It is a reminder that the stories of those who fought and fell continue to echo across generations and oceans.
Blending traditional Irish instrumentation with the urgency and spirit of punk, Madigan’s Wake have built a reputation for songs that draw from Irish history, migration and the enduring pursuit of justice and belonging.
Their debut album earned London Celtic Punks’ Best Debut Album of the Year in 2023 and established the Melbourne five-piece as a powerful new voice within the global Celtic punk community.
Listen to Easter here
www.submithub.com/link/madigans-wake-easter
With driving rhythms, fiddle and mandolin set against raw, direct storytelling, Easter captures both the defiance and the cost of the 1916 Rising, a moment when Ireland, weary of centuries of British rule and broken promises, seized its chance at sovereignty. Though the uprising itself was short lived and brutally suppressed, the execution of its leaders shifted public sentiment and ignited a movement that would ultimately lead to Irish independence.
For Madigan’s Wake, the song is not simply a retelling of historical events but an act of remembrance. In cities like Melbourne, home to one of the largest Irish communities outside of Ireland, the legacy of 1916 remains deeply felt and is carried through family histories, music and a shared cultural memory.
As with all Madigan’s Wake music, the message is clear and powerful. History is not to be put on a shelf and forgotten and Easter honours those who stood for Irish freedom and ensures their stories remain part of the living cultural fabric.
Follow Madigan’s Wake
https://linktr.ee/MadigansWake
BIG DELICIOUS ‘HOLD ON TIGHT’ (SINGLE)
Ever thought “There should be more songs where some bloke shouts a list at you?” Well, here you go.
Hold On Tight tells the story of a fine upstanding pillar of the local community who seems, though no fault of his own, to have made a few enemies. Mining a similar sonic vein to Bob Dylan in his “thin, wild-mercury sound” / ‘Bringing It All Back Home” period, this song clatters around hairpin bends on perilous mountain roads like Neal Cassady driving a brakeless bus full of Merry Pranksters.
May appeal to fans of Ryan Adams, The Highwaymen, Uncle Tupelo and Hayes Carll.
Credits:
Artist: Big Delicious; Songwriters: John Palmer; Pat Devery; Producer: Dave Rogers; Tracking Engineer: Laura Hancock; Mixing Engineer: Dave Rogers; Mastering Engineer: Justin Perkins
Musicians: Lead Vocals: Pat Devery; Backing Vocals: Dave Rogers, Amy Bennett, Katie Jacobs; Keys: Amy Bennett; Drums and Percussion: Dave Kleynjans; Guitars: Dave Rogers, John Palmer, Bass: Tim Reid; Harmonica: John Palmer
About the Artist: Big Delicious know songwriters who use subtext, and they’re all cowards. Big Delicious traffic in simple, old-fashioned tunes that do what they say on the tin.
Featuring far too many musicians and singers from Melbourne acts including Klinger, Sophie Koh, Slow Fades, The Glorious North, Michael Meeking and the Lost Souls, Georgia Fields, Cheezelkane and more, this 9-piece band serves up a hearty stew of all your musical comfort foods: high-lonesome pedal steel, honky tonk piano, old-timey fiddle and the kind of guitar solos that make you want to do burn-outs in a Holden Torana, all on a tasty bed of Wilco-esque indie-rock.
Connect with Big Delicious
www.instagram.com/bigdeliciousmusic/
https://www.facebook.com/BigDeliciousMusic/
CROW PREMIERE VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE “YOU CAN’T TURN AWAY” AHEAD OF RARE MELBOURNE SHOWS THIS WEEKEND
Legendary Sydney band Crow, who were feted by Juice magazine when they emerged in the early ’90s as “the best band in Australia since the Birthday Party”, have premiered a video for the new single “You Can’t Turn Away” ahead of their first album in over 15 years, which will be entitled Hold Sway, and released later in the year on Cheersquad Records & Tapes.
“You Can’t Turn Away” is available now from
https://crowtheband.bandcamp.com/track/you-cant-turn-away-2
Crow will be heading south for a few rare Victorian shows this holiday weekend, including a big Cheersquad night at the Workers Club, Fitzroy on Easter Thursday, April 2. The band also plays Balnarring on Good Friday and the St Kilda Bowls Club on Easter Saturday. Details for all shows below.
The album release will come around Crow’s Peter Fenton’s involvement, alongside Dave Graney, Richie Lewis and Hugo Race, in the national Celebrating Tom Waits tour, in June.
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Crow comprises songwriters Peter Fenton and Peter Archer on guitar and vocals, with bassist Jim Woff, and Andy Marks on drums.
The band’s angular, lyrical and volcanic soundscape has attracted widespread audience recognition and profound critical acclaim.
Crow’s debut release, My Kind of Pain (1992) engineered by the legendary Steve Albini, turned heads internationally, seeing Crow guesting for acts like Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, the Breeders, Pavement, Sebadoh, Nick Cave, You Am I, and the Verlaines.
The band’s creative verve deepened with subsequent releases, Li-lo-ing (1995) and Play with Love (1998). A hiatus was broken in 2010 with the long player, Arcane.
A 2024 reunion of the Li-lo-ing era line-up sparked a creative renewal, with the band simultaneously returning to its roots and navigating fresh terrain with a new recording.
The band’s upcoming release and live performances promise something new and something rediscovered, combined to create a soundtrack for the subconscious and ruminations on the unspoken.
Veering wildly from skewered rock and roll to soulful ballads, invite Crow into your ears and fly.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Easter Thursday 2 April
Cheersquad Records & Tapes present…
CROW with Bagful of Beez + Grace Mitchell + Billy Peril
The Workers Club, Fitzroy, Vic
– Tix
Good Friday 3 April
CROW
with DJ Centipede & the Earthworms
+ Billy Peril
Social Club, Balnarring, Vic
– 3-6pm, free entry
Easter Saturday, 4 April
CROW with Hugo Race and Michelangelo + chEEsEs
St Kilda Bowls Club, St Kilda, Vic
Tix
cheersquadrecordstapes. bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/CheersquadRecordsTapesMGMT
www.instagram.com/cheersquadrecords/
www.youtube.com/channel/UCnjniTJZiFfmw8JlsLZU7Bg
soundcloud.com/cheersquadrecordsandtapes/
Tilly Vickers Willis shares entrancing new single ‘Aching Never Leaves’; debut album Silver Halide Film out April 17
Naarm/Melbourne musician Tilly Vickers Willis (TVW) has shared entrancing new single ‘Aching Never Leaves’, taken from her upcoming debut album Silver Halide Film out Friday, April 17, independently.
The brooding, Portishead-reminiscent track, created in collaboration with Morgan Wright of Acopia and produced by Dean Tuza (Stella Donnelly) is about someone completely snowed under by grief, desperately holding onto the feeling because the ache is proof that love was once there.
TVW shares, “It’s written in the moment of grief, from the perspective of someone who’s really in it. They’re trying to hold onto that, to stay in the heightened state of love and connection, but it’s not a sustainable thing. You have to find a way to let go.”
She adds, “I was interested in Fado music, which is a style of Portuguese music centred around the word ‘Saudade’ (which translates ‘music as a sweet longing/longing you love to feel’).”
‘Aching Never Leaves’ joins Silver Halide Film album singles ‘Do You Know’, a song about the moment of intuition returning, that wouldn’t be out of place on Jeff Buckley’s Grace, piano ballad, Circuit, which revels in the beautiful back-and-forth exchange of energies involved in stimulating, life-affirming conversation, and slinky, trip-hop track ‘Silver Halide Film‘.
Tilly Vickers Willis – Silver Halide Film
1. Prelude
2. Murmuration
3. Do You Know
4. Silver Halide Film
5. Aching Never Leaves
6. In My Body
7. Staring at the Sun
8. Unfolding
9. Circuit
To produce an analogue photograph, silver halide crystals are suspended in gelatin, and exposed to light, creating an image composed of metallic silver. Melbourne musician Tilly Vickers Willis’ beautiful and haunting debut record, Silver Halide Film, which is about the depths of detachment and the sublimity of embodiment, is made up of similar elements. There is the shiny, icy tang of trip-hop, shimmering pockets of art pop, and TVW’s’ smoky vocals, which bind the whole record together. Here, every track is like a newly developed photograph, its own distinct, mysterious world, inky and wet to the touch, full of gorgeous, granulated textures.
The songs were written during a period of travel and exploration, after years beset by pandemic lockdowns and creative blockages. The album toggles between these states—downtempo, dissociative detachment and the almost mystical, but certainly magical, feeling of connection; not only with others but with one’s own body. “I’ve come to realise that the album is less about a journey to embodiment, and more an exploration of all the different points within those two extremes.” says TVW. “It’s not about the destination of joy, or a cathartic resolution, it’s more an interplay between these emotional states.”
The recording process was slow and meticulous, with TVW working with long-time collaborator Dean Tuza to create a sonic tapestry of gloomy organs, woozy guitars and ghosty falsettos.
Silver Halide Film is out Friday, April 17, independently. You can pre-order the album via Bandcamp or your local record store.
Stay up to date with Tilly Vickers Willis.
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY Releases Highly Anticipated Album ENGINES OF DEMOLITION + Music Video for ‘Ozzy’s Song’ a homage to Ozzy Osbourne.
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, led by Zakk Wylde, has released ENGINES OF DEMOLITION across all major streaming platforms and retail stores worldwide.
Get the album here: https://blacklabelsociety.ffm.to/enginesofdemolition
The band has also unveiled the official music video for the closing track, ‘Ozzy’s Song,’ Zakk’s deeply personal and standout moment on the record via YouTube. The track has already generated significant anticipation among fans and serves as a fitting and emotional finale to the album.
Watch ‘Ozzy’s Song’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ1HKpu_BFk&list=RDhZ1HKpu_BFk&start_radio=1
“[Black Label Society] delivers the hard-rockin’ riffs, bluesy grooves and soulful ballads that have consistently marked the heavy metal outfit fronted by Zakk Wylde for nearly 30 years.” 4/5 – Associated Press
“…this is the most sure-footed and focused Wylde has sounded for a long time…this is plainly their strongest album since ‘The Blessed Hellride’,” – 8/10 Blabbermouth
“…the final result is as bold and bombastic as anything BLS fans could want. – Spin Magazine
“Zakk Wylde doing exactly what he does and doing it brilliantly.” 9/10 – Maximum Volume Music
“Their breed of relentless rock is a welcomed rarity among the modern landscape, making Engines of Demolition a true tour de force that is bound to stay on repeat.” – Spill Magazine
About Black Label Society:
Zakk Wylde will tell you that everything Black Label Society begins and ends with the riff.
For more than 25 years, Black Label Society has stood as one of heavy music’s most unshakeable pillars, delivering album after album of blues-soaked grooves, hard-hitting riffs, and soul-baring ballads. “Engines of Demolition” makes no exception to the steady rule of unrelenting commitment to pure, uncompromising, hard rock.
In 2022, Wylde was invited to honor his fallen brothers, the late great Dimebag Darrell Abbott and his brother Vinnie Paul, as part of the Pantera Celebration. Writing and recording with Black Label Society over these last four years is when Engines of Demolition was born.
Engines of Demolition follows the release of four singles, ‘The Gallows’ (2024), ‘Lord Humungus’ (2025), ‘Broken and Blind’ (2025) and ‘Name In Blood’ (2026) and marks the first full-length album release since DOOM CREW INC. (2021).
Black Label Society is the pure expression of the paradox of Zakk Wylde’s darkest, loudest riffs and softest soul-crushing ballads. BLS is a relentless, heavy, bluesy, unhinged hard-rock-metal circus quartet summoning caffeine-fueled cacophony on records and the stage. BLS songs are odes to celebration and mourning from the darkest depths to the highest of highs.
A charismatic hard rock and metal marauder recognized as a living legend and guitar icon, Wylde rose to prominence when Ozzy Osbourne chose him as his loyal axe man. Multi-platinum albums, countless guitar magazine covers, World-wide sold-out tours, his own guitar and coffee brands add to Wylde’s ever-growing legacy. He gets as much joy from fronting his Black Label Society as he did playing on stage with his hero, Ozzy Osbourne, in his Black Sabbath cover band, Zakk Sabbath.
“Less is more with everything, “Except the guitar solos and coffee!”
Black Label Society and Zakk Wylde online:
Instagram: @ZakkWyldeBLS
Facebook: Black Label Society
Youtube: @ZakkWyldetv
TikTok: @zakkwyldebls
UK Alternative Soul Band SKINNY LIVING Announce Epic 14 Date Australian Tour for October 2026
Including Two Special Performances at The Airlie Beach Festival of Music
UK Alt/Soul band Skinny Living will make their long-awaited Australian live debut in October 2026, bringing their raw, harmony-drenched sound and reputation for unforgettable shows to their antipodean fans for the first time.
The tour will take in much of the east coast, culminating with three incredible performances at the Airlie Beach Festival of Music in the stunning Whitsundays.
With over 90 million global streams, a UK No.1 Independent Album (Day by Day, 2024), sold-out UK tours and support slots with Noah Kahan, Calum Scott, James Arthur and Gabrielle already
under their belt, Skinny Living arrive off the back of their boldest release yet, EP 9, the final chapter of a visionary trilogy inspired by Nikola Tesla’s 3-6-9 theory.
Known for blending soul, alt-indie and modern grit, Skinny Living echo the timeless warmth of
Bill Withers, Van Morrison and Paolo Nutini while remaining unmistakably their own. Frontman
Ryan Johnston’s haunted-yet-hopeful Irish voice intertwines with the intricate guitar work and soaring harmonies of Danny Hepworth, creating songs that feel unpolished, deeply human and built to linger.
The band’s name says it all: “Skinny Living is a term that describes the financial reality and lifestyle of the working class. Hard graft on a low income, with a lust for life, passion for family and an optimistic attitude about the future.”
After a decade of relentless hard graft, a chance meeting at an open-mic night and word-of-mouth growth, Skinny Living are ready to share their story of struggle, resilience and glorious soul music with Australian audiences.
With Sydney and Melbourne sitting inside the band’s Top 5 most-streamed cities worldwide, demand is massive and venues are intimate.
These debut shows are long overdue and tickets are limited. Be quick!
TOUR DATES
Fri, Oct 16: Eureka Hotel, Geelong VIC
Sat, Oct 17: The Espy, Melbourne VIC
Wed, Oct 21: The Baso, Canberra ACT
Thurs, Oct 22: The Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW
Fri, Oct 23: Heritage Hotel, Bulli NSW
Sat, Oct 24: Drifters Wharf, Central Coast NSW
Sun, Oct 25: King St Hotel, Newcastle NSW
Wed, Oct 28: Woopi Brewery, Woolgoolga QLD
Thurs, Oct 29: Miami Marketta, Gold Coast QLD
Fri, Oct 30: Wallaby Hotel, Mudgeeraba QLD
Sat, Oct 31: Lefty’s Music Hall, Petrie Terrace QLD
Sun, Nov 1: Kings Beach Tavern, Kings Beach QLD
Sat, Nov 7: Airlie Beach Festival Of Music, Airlie Beach QLD
Sat, Nov 7: Airlie Beach Festival Of Music AFTER PARTY, Airlie Beach QLD
Tickets available from
skinnyliving.co.uk
Michael Paynter Releases ‘Gethsemane’ After Global Fan Demand
Fresh from winning the Green Room “Best Actor In A Leading Role” Award for his acclaimed portrayal of Jesus in the blockbuster Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar and ahead of stepping into the shoes of another iconic Australian ‘Jesus’, when he stars as music legend John Farnham later this year in Sydney Theatre Company’s Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical, vocal powerhouse Michael Paynter is answering the prayers of fans: releasing an official studio recording of “Gethsemane,” the song from Jesus Christ Superstar that went viral around the world, arriving on Spotify on March 31.
The overwhelming fan response to his live performances fuelled global demand for a studio version. Since his time in the show, fan-captured and live videos of Paynter’s staggering performance have gone wild around the international musical theatre community, clocking millions of views across multiple platforms, drawing him high-profile fans across the globe. Now, fans all over the country who have been pleading for a way to relive the experience are finally getting their wish. “Ever since I started ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, I’ve had literally thousands of people crying out for a cast recording, begging me over and over again to have a version of Gethsemane that they could take home and listen to,” Paynter says.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MICHAEL PERFORM “GETHSEMANE”
This April will mark the arrival of the first Easter since the show’s conclusion, and Paynter says the timing to answer those prayers is undeniable. “I can’t think of a better time to release a song about the most important moment of Easter, Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane, than now,” he explains. He notes the release acts as a “thank you to the whole country for coming out to see me in the show, and for all the incredible messages they sent.”
To ensure the recording remains utterly faithful to the live Australian Jesus Christ Superstar experience that fans are hungry for, Paynter took on the massive task of producing it himself. “I painstakingly recreated the entire song,” he points out. “I played every French horn part, every viola part, I programmed every hit of those drums. It took me weeks. I recreated every single element by ear to capture the live magic we found in the show.”
While he brought in his Superstar bandmates, lead guitarist Simon Hosford, bassist Ben Rodgers, and associate musical director Damon Wade on piano, the rest of the track’s massive orchestration was meticulously crafted by Paynter “on my laptop in my home studio.” Capturing the raw, breathtaking emotion of his stage performance was paramount. “The entire vocal was recorded in pretty much one take, with some small drop ins, to make sure it was the best version of the song I could manage to produce” Paynter reveals. “I just really wanted to put something down, you know, for forever. So, people could remember it and we could always look back and be proud of what we did in that show.”
In addition to the highly demanded new single, Paynter has begun rehearsals to take on the most anticipated role in Australian theatre and the mantle of “The Voice”. He is also currently on the road with his Great Australian Songbook Tour 2026. The intimate solo tour sees him stripping back the layers to reimagine some of the nation’s most iconic hits with just a guitar and piano. Demand has been unprecedented, with several dates already completely sold out, including stops in Perth, Adelaide, Frankston, Sydney, Avoca Beach, Brisbane, and a massive four-night sold out run at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre. Limited tickets are still available for select upcoming dates, including Perth at the Astor Theatre along with stops in Canberra, Geelong, and Tasmania.
Here’s what the critics are saying:
“His voice carries a luminous clarity that seems to refract emotion rather than simply deliver melody. It moves easily from velvet softness into a muscular belt without losing shape or intention. To say it is truly remarkable is not only an understatement but also borders on being disingenuous”. Beyond The Encore
CLICK HERE TO STREAM GETHSEMANE FROM MARCH 31
THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN SONGBOOK IS TOURING NATIONALLY WITH TICKETS VIA MICHAELPAYNTER.COM
Saturday 11 April Matinee: The Foundry, Sydney, NSW – SOLD OUT
Saturday 11 April: The Foundry, Sydney, NSW – SOLD OUT
Sunday 12 April: Avoca Beach Theatre, Avoca Beach, NSW – SOLD OUT
Wednesday 22 April: The Foundry, Sydney, NSW – LIMITED TICKETS
Thursday 23 April: The Foundry, Sydney, NSW – LIMITED TICKETS
Friday 24 April: The Regent Theatre, Richmond, Sydney NSW – SELLING FAST
Saturday 2 May: Lefty’s Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD – SOLD OUT
Sunday 3 May: Lefty’s Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD – SOLD OUT
Friday 8 May: Playhouse Theatre, Canberra, ACT – SELLING FAST
Friday 15 May: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne, VIC – SOLD OUT
Saturday 16 May: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne, VIC – SOLD OUT
Sunday 17 May: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne, VIC – SOLD OUT
Friday 29 May: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne, VIC – SOLD OUT
Wednesday 3 June: Astor Theatre, Perth, WA – SELLING FAST
Saturday June 13: The Story Theatre, Geelong VIC – SELLING FAST
Friday 10 July: Festival of Voices, Hobart, TAS
AUGUST BURNS RED ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM SEASON OF SURRENDER OUT JUNE 5 VIA FEARLESS RECORDS. BAND SHARES LYRIC VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE THE NAMELESS
August Burns Red — Jake Luhrs (vocals); JB Brubaker (guitar); Brent Rambler (guitar); Dustin Davidson (bass); and Matt Grenier (drums) — need no introduction. For over two decades, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based act has been crafting its own unique brand of metalcore that has established ABR as one of the foremost acts in the genre. Their career milestones speak for themselves: Multiple placements in the top 10 on the Billboard Top 200; tours with everyone from Bullet For My Valentine to A Day To Remember; and an accumulation of 600 million streams.
However, the band — nominated for Best Metal Performance Grammys in 2016 for the song Identity and again for Invisible Enemy in 2018 — has never stopped pushing the limits of their sound.
And that fact has never been more prevalent than on their forthcoming new album SEASON OF SURRENDER, which will arrive on June 5 via Fearless Records, the label to which they recently returned. Pre-order it here.
ABR have also just shared the lyric video for new single The Nameless.
Stream The Nameless here and watch the music video here:
The Nameless accomplishes more in under three minutes than most heavy bands do over the course of an entire album. The track boasts the band’s signature complex rhythm section, alongside dark and moody guitars, with an unrelenting vocal assault. This song is ABR stripped down to the absolute core of their sound: Intricate, crushing, and ferocious.
“The Nameless is a hard-hitting, heavy bruiser that doesn’t let up for one moment,” states Davidson. “It combines classic ABR elements with dark moody technical rhythms, and fast paced vocals to keep the intensity up for the full three minutes of the track. To me it showcases our roots of where we’ve come from, and the future path of where we’re heading.”
Luhrs follows, “Lyrically, The Nameless is a song about not wasting your life away for the sake of acceptance and comfortability. Sometimes it takes detaching from what you’ve been told, or from the beliefs you are no longer aligned with, in order to face your own weaknesses. In doing so you can break free to live a life you are proud of.”
Season of Surrender features guest appearances from The Devil Wears Prada’s Mike Hranica, Polaris’ Jamie Hails, and Make Them Suffer.
ABR will hit the road on a co-headline run with The Amity Affliction this April and May in North America.
THE NAMELESS – OUT NOW
https://agstbrnsrd.ffm.to/thenameless
SEASON OF SURRENDER – DUE OUT JUNE 5 http://seasonofsurrender.net/
YNG MARTYR RELEASES SOPHMORE ALBUM CHALANT
LISTEN TO ALBUM HERE
SHARES VIDEO FOR ‘BODYCOUNT (FEAT. 1900 RUGRAT)’
WATCH VIDEO HERE
One of Australia’s most exciting rising forces in rap, YNG Martyr returns with his highly anticipated sophomore album CHALANT, alongside the chaotic, high-energy official video for ‘BODYCOUNT (FEAT. 1900 Rugrat)’.
LISTEN TO CHALANT HERE
Marking a defining new chapter, the album sees YNG Martyr step away from the detached cool that often dominates hip-hop, instead inviting listeners directly into his world – unfiltered, playful, and unapologetically himself.
“CHALANT is about owning the things I grew up on and not filtering myself to fit into what rap is ‘supposed’ to be. It pulls from gaming, internet culture, and everything that shaped me, but pushes it into something that still hits hard in a modern context.”
Where 2022’s Lovesick introduced his world, CHALANT expands it – built from a place of confidence, clarity and creative freedom. The album leans into underground sounds like rage and jerk, while sharpening the lyrical edge and cultural awareness that have become his calling card.
Leading the release is ‘BODYCOUNT (FEAT. 1900 RUGRAT)’, one of the album’s most explosive moments – loud, synth-heavy and designed to hit at full volume.
“‘BODYCOUNT’ is one of the most high-energy moments on the album. Loud, synth-heavy, and built to hit hard in the whip which is where we listened to it the most. Getting 1900 Rugrat on it was crazy too, because he contrasts me in almost every way; delivery, accent and energy, but we both sit in that same space of flex and f****** around with our bars, which makes the record feel more unique to me.”
The accompanying video dives even deeper into the CHALANT universe, a chaotic, nostalgia-fuelled, gaming-inspired world anchored by a surreal, Halo-inspired visual concept.
WATCH VIDEO FOR BODYCOUNT (FEAT. 1900RUGRAT) HERE
“With the ‘BODYCOUNT’ video, we went all in on the CHALANT world; gaming, nostalgia, and being unapologetically into what you’re into. Halo felt like the perfect backdrop because it’s so iconic, and flipping it into this performance-driven, absurd version of itself was insane. Getting 1900 Rugrat to pull up and be in the video just made the whole thing feel even more chaotic in the best way. It’s not what people would expect, and that’s kind of the point. It’s fun, it’s weird, and it fully leans into the world we’ve built with CHALANT.”
CHALANT pulls from everything that’s shaped YNG Martyr – gaming, internet culture, and the references he’s grown up on – and turns it into some of his most fun and authentic music yet. From flips on Kelis’ ‘MILKSHAKES’ and Kelly Clarkson’s ‘SINCE U BEEN GONE’, to fan favourites like ‘GEEKD’ and ‘REAL GEEK’, it all feeds into a world that feels both nostalgic and completely his own.
The album was crafted alongside longtime collaborator and producer/engineer REYKO!, who played a central role in shaping its sound. It brings together a global cast of collaborators, with production from Synthetic (Yeat, Lil Uzi Vert), 4x Grammy Award-winner Joey Barrios, Trenton Kyle (Destroy Lonely, ian), and Ukrainian producer Shipy, while Grammy Award-winning mix engineer Teezio (Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow) delivered the final polish – resulting in a project that feels as global in its creation as it is cohesive in its vision.
The album arrives off the back of a strong run of singles, all of which signalled a shift away from mystique toward a more open, front-footed era for Martyr. Support has followed across CADA, triple j and iHeartRadio’s TikTok Trending, alongside media support from Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Ones To Watch and more.
Looking ahead, 2026 is set to be his biggest year yet, with the momentum continuing globally – marked by an iconic performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre alongside bbno$ and Oliver Tree.
At its core, CHALANT is a statement of self, a reminder that leaning into who you are will always land harder than playing it safe.
“When people hear CHALANT, I want them to learn something about themselves. You don’t need to be super cool to do super cool things. You don’t need to try to be anything that you’re not.”
FOLLOW YNG MARTYR TIKTOK | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE
AUSTRALIAN SONGSTRESS DANIELLE SPENCER’S FIRST ALBUM IN 16 YEARS, ‘REGENERATE’ – OUT NOW! LISTEN TO ‘REGENERATE’ ALBUM HERE
“Regenerate is a remarkable album that is more than just a collection of music. It is a journey, a sermon, a celebration of resilience and an anthem of self-love and empowerment. Sixteen years after her last album, Spencer has arguably hit a creative high with Regenerate, and it is undoubtedly one of 2026’s greatest music moments”.
Beloved singer-songwriter Danielle Spencer has just released her anticipated third studio album titled “Regenerate”. It comes after a 16-year gap since her last critically acclaimed album Calling All Magicians (2010), and prior her impactful album debut White Monkey (2002).
Written entirely by Danielle, Regenerate marks a bold new creative chapter for one of Australia’s most compelling and consistently evolving artists. The album explores themes of rebirth, growth and self-discovery, embracing electronic textures, theatrical performance and a renewed physical presence on stage. “You can be anybody, I can be anybody, we can be anybody,” She says — a philosophy that sits at the heart of the record.
Born into music as the daughter of Don Spencer, Danielle began singing and learning piano at just four years old before building a successful career across music, film, TV and theatre. She has starred in numerous landmark Australian dramas including The Flying Doctors, Home and Away and All Saints.
The comeback era began in late 2024 with the release of the first title track Regenerate, which introduced a more electronic, experimental and visually ambitious sound. The single earned strong critical praise and led to Danielle’s first-ever performance with a remix version at the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras in 2025 and ended the year with another coveted Stellar Magazine cover feature. Follow-up single releases “Hummingbird” and most recently “Older” found audiences in unexpected corners of the world, further cementing her growing international reach and celebratory return to music.
With Regenerate, Danielle Spencer delivers her most confident, adventurous and emotionally rich body of work to date — an honest, intelligent and thought-provoking album that reflects an artist fully embracing reinvention and creative freedom, while concurrently feeling like her most accessible and pop-oriented work.
FOLLOW DANIELLE SPENCER: Apple | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube
MOODRING RELEASE NEW ALBUM DEATH FETISH OUT NOW VIA SHARPTONE RECORDS
BAND SHARES VISUALIZER FOR STFA – WATCH + LISTEN
Moodring symbolizes transformation.
The musical entity’s name hints at volatility — color, emotion, and temperature in flux. Nowhere is that more evident than in death fetish, a defining album for a haunting and defiant new chapter. For founder and frontman Hunter Young, this is more than a record.
It’s survival, reflection, and metamorphosis. It is art made from the raw materials of pain, purpose, and persistence.
The album, steeped in nu metal, alt, and industrial influences is out now via SharpTone Records. Get it here.
The moment is big for Moodring, whose sole goal was being as real as it gets. That might cause some discomfort, sure, but it’s also the raw material for an incredibly genuine record.
“I just want to make authentic records,” says Young. “I don’t care about trends. I’m a producer, so I know when something’s fake. I know when the drums are programmed, when the vocals are tuned to death. I didn’t want to put out an album about the most human experience —losing control of your body and mind — and have it be fake. We did the whole thing with real amps, drums, and takes. I just wanted to make a dark, honest record, and if people don’t like it, I don’t really care. I had to do it for myself.”
The Moodring origin story puts the timber and tone of the music in clear view.
Young conceived Moodring alone, in his bedroom, an exercise in catharsis through art. The resulting debut EP, 2021’s Showmetherealyou, resonated with a surprising number of diverse listeners. That connection inspired Moodring to evolve into a creative outlet that transcended its simple origins. Both sensual and suffocating, the Stargazer album followed in 2022. In a glowing review, Kerrang! praised the full-length as “hefty from the get-go” and likened it to “a cool wave of water lapping over you.” The album’s “vivacious” vocal work and vibe made new Moodring fans around the world.
The following year’s EP, Your Light Fades Away, expanded the palette further, fusing ferocity, shimmering melody, and nü-metal groove into something equally cinematic and claustrophobic. The “black-velvet nu-metal melodies and bleak-booming breakdowns” (Revolver) of 2025’s half-life were, sadly, inspired by a life-changing medical diagnosis that left Young unable to tour with Moodring or his accomplished deathcore outfit, SharpTone Records labelmates PSYCHO-FRAME.
Unable to tour and unwilling to compromise, Young focused on writing and recording new music. death fetish is the sound of transcendence—an artist refusing to disappear, even as the light fades.
For all its darkness, death fetish is not a surrender. It’s a reclamation. It’s Young taking back control of his narrative — body failing, mind racing, still creating, still here. “I just wanted to make a dark, honest record,” he says. “And if people don’t like it, I don’t really care. I had to do it for myself.”
Moodring, once a more traditional “band”, now exists as something far more elusive and infinite: A vessel for transformation, a mirror for mortality, and a living testament to pain and creation.
DEATH FETISH – OUT NOW https://bfan.link/death-fetish
EVA UNDER FIRE Announce New Album Villainous Out July 10 via Better Noise Music
Epic Video For Title Track Feat. In This Moment’s Maria Brink Out Now
Listening to EVA UNDER FIRE is quite literally hard rock therapy, turning scars and demons into anthems of inner strength. As a licensed therapist and singer-songwriter, Amanda Lyberg blends emotional insight with powerful songwriting, delivering lyrics and performances that connect deeply and hit listeners right in the feels.
Today, the Detroit quintet announce the July 10 release of its new album VILLAINOUS via
Better Noise Music. It follows their 2022-released debut, Love, Drugs & Misery.
To herald the news, Eva Under Fire have also shared the video for the title track and first radio single, both of which feature In This Moment’s Maria Brink.
Listen to the song
https://evaunderfire.lnk.to/villainous
Watch the video
https://evaunderfire.lnk.to/villainous/youtube
The track is laced with crunchy industrial elements that defined late ’90s and early ’00s-era rock, but Eva Under Fire add a modern punch with the dual-female vocal interplay between Lyberg and Brink.
“They thought I would always be compliant, but they pushed me too far,” declares a defiant Lyberg about the song’s deeper meaning. “I make my own rules now. Standing up for myself, owning my truth leaves me looking like a villain to those I have left behind.”
Regarding the collaboration with Brink, Lyberg enthuses, “I’ve been a Maria Brink fan for years so this is a full-circle moment! Her vocal on this track gives it the energy it needed. I honestly can’t think of a better feature given the song’s message. Two fierce women’s voices on a hard rock song about taking your power back? A match made in villainy for sure.”
Brink weighs in, as well, saying, “I am excited to be a part of the new Eva Under Fire track ‘Villainous.’ When I first heard the song and saw the video, I knew right away I wanted to be involved. I can’t wait for everyone to experience both the music and the visuals.”
In honour of Mental Health Awareness Month (May), and in honour of the themes explored on Eva Under Fire’s new album, the band has added a “DONATE” button to the “Villainous” video released today. By clicking the button, fans can directly donate to To Write Love On Her Arms — a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and invest directly into treatment and recovery.
“I’m excited to give back to an awesome organization actually doing the work,” Lyberg offers about the decision to partner with To Write Love On Her Arms. “TWLOHA describes themselves as a non-profit dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, and self-injury. Those are the same demons being fought in the ‘Villainous’ music video so it’s honestly a perfect fit.” This fundraiser will be active through the end of May.
VILLAINOUS TRACK LISTING:
“Awakening”
“My Own Name”
“Survive My Scars”
“Villainous” (Feat. Maria Brink)
“The Words You Say”
“Don’t Say I’m OK”
“Hello Hollow”
“Dark Soul”
“Gasoline”
“Murder Scene”
“Safe Word”
“Teeth”
“A Violent End”
Pre-order Villainous here
https://evaunderfire.lnk.to/villainousalbumCONNECT WITH EVA UNDER FIRE
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | TikTok
CODY SIMPSON RETURNS WITH NEW MUSIC “BABY BLUE” + “WHEN IT COMES TO LOVING YOU” – LISTEN HERE. WATCH THE “BABY BLUE” MUSIC VIDEO HERE
SIGNS WITH BMG FOLLOWING A 6 YEAR HIATUS TO PURSUE ELITE COMPETITIVE SWIMMING IN AUSTRALIA!
Singer-songwriter Cody Simpson has released two brand new singles “Baby Blue” and “When It Comes to Loving You” via BMG – listen HERE. The upbeat tracks are an unabashed expression of joy, emblematic of Cody’s excitement to be back in the studio after a long hiatus. The songs are co-written by Cody Simpson and produced by Harrison Borts and have already seen huge engagement across socials since he first started teasing. The new music marks just the beginning of what fans can expect to be a big year from the singer.
“Baby Blue” is accompanied by a music video HERE, directed by Antony Muse. The video follows Cody as he embarks on a journey across Los Angeles on foot, performing and dancing the entire way as he meets strangers along his path. As the song ends, Cody walks into a darkened building and the screen cuts to black. The video will be followed by a forthcoming “When It Comes to Loving You” video, conceived as a second act to “Baby Blue,” together bolding announcing Simpson’s return to music.
“In my return to music, I had been experimenting in the studio for almost a year when one day I came in extremely open hearted and open-minded, sensing something vibrant and new wanted to come through. I intended to create something that felt like the coming of spring, like a pure expression of joy whilst sounding cool enough to throw on driving down the highway with your mates. I grabbed a guitar next to my friend and producer Harrison Borts on synths, and this is where the sound that birthed ‘Baby Blue’ and ‘When It Comes to Loving You’ was born. I hope everybody enjoys listening to them as much as I enjoyed making them. I’ve been buzzing ever since!” – Cody Simpson
In 2020, Simpson made international headlines for his choice to step away from the entertainment industry to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming an elite competitive swimmer. After moving back to his native Australia to pursue the sport at the highest level, Cody earned a coveted spot on the Australian National Team in 2022 and went on to compete for his country in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he earned a where he reached the 100m butterfly final and claimed Gold and Silver medals in the 4x100m men’s freestyle relay and 4×100 men’s medley relay respectively. He also captured multiple Australian Short Course Titles and a Silver medal in the 100m butterfly at the 2023 World Cup in Athens. After narrowly missing qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Team, Simpson announced his retirement from competitive swimming and his triumphant return to music.
A pop legend in his own right, Cody Simpson began his music career at just 13 years old after the covers he performed in his bedroom went viral on YouTube. Nearly overnight, Cody became an international sensation and signed his first record deal with Atlantic Records on his 13th birthday. He went on to tour with Justin Bieber and landed his sophomore album Surfer’s Paradise in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. His collab with Justin Bieber, “Home to Mama,” hit number one on the Billboard Social 50 and Trending 140 charts. A true multi-hyphenate, Simpson made his Broadway debut in 2018 as the male lead in Anastasia and most recently starred as Sky Masterson in Opera Australia’s 2025 production of Guys and Dolls.
ABOUT CODY SIMPSON
Australian-born Cody Simpson is a true multi-hyphenate: recording artist, singer/songwriter, guitarist, performing artist, theatrical star, and champion swimmer. As a pre-teen, Cody began recording songs in his bedroom and posting them to YouTube. These clips quickly garnered millions of views and led him to a deal with Atlantic Records which he signed in New York City on his 13th Birthday. Emigrating to the U.S. with his family, he went on to create two Eps, ‘4U’, and ‘Coast to Coast’ and in the wake of his first full-length album, ‘Paradise’, the next year saw his second album ‘Surfer’s Paradise’ crack the top 10 of the Billboard Top 200. Simpson went on to tour with Justin Bieber in the U.S., Europe and Australia. In 2015, he went independent and launched his own label, Coast House Records. He released his third studio album, ‘Free’ which marked the beginning of his departure from pop and into mature musical territory as a bonafide singer/songwriter and guitarist.
Possessing a keen interest in acting and musical theatre, he made his Broadway debut as Dmitry in ‘Anastasia’ in 2018 and closed the run in April 2019, for which he received rave reviews. 2020 marked a massive shift for Simpson. He most recently starred as Sky in Opera Australia’s production of Guys & Dolls at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour in 2025, marking his Australian musical theatre debut, and starred opposite Tanya Reynols in Stan Australia’s To Kill All Men.
A multiple-time Australian Age Champion swimmer as a youngster, Cody made international headlines in 2020 with his stunning return to his first love – swimming, dropping everything for 4 years to declare a noble commitment to what he described as “unfinished business”. He made the Australian Swim Team in 2022, and went on to make the 100m butterfly final at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. He won a Gold and Silver medal in the 4x100m men’s freestyle relay and the 4×100 men’s medley relay respectively. He has also won multiple Australian Short Course Titles and a Silver in the 100m butterfly at the 2023 World Cup in Athens. He released his fourth and latest studio album self- titled “Cody Simpson” in 2022, which he wrote and recorded in down-time from training. After narrowly missing qualification for the Paris Olympic Team in 2024, Cody announced his retirement from swimming and intent to return to the world of music and entertainment. He recently signed with BMG ahead of his highly anticipated return to music in 2026.
FOLLOW CODY SIMPSON:
Instagram / YouTube / X / Spotify
DON BROCO RELEASE NIGHTMARE TRIPPING ALBUM
“It’s the heaviest and most experimental the band has been and because of that they just made the album of the year…an absolutely monstrous and marvelous masterpiece.” – May The Rock Be With You
“While Nightmare Tripping is unquestionably Don Broco’s heaviest album yet, it never loses sight of what makes the band so special..fans of heavier music are going to love this album. Fans of Don Broco are going to love this album.” – Metal On Tap
“Nightmare Tripping is a solid offering that I believe will satisfy fans both old and new…it delivers in abundance and showcases the range and growth of this talented group.” – Wall Of Sound
“Don Broco have delivered a concise and clever album that demonstrates their rock abilities and skills in 11 tracks…Rock album of the year? I think so.” – No Barriers Au
“There is so much quality, so much diversity, within the tracks that with every listen sounds different from the last. It’s vibrant, infectious and compulsive listening.” – HiFi Way
“Albums are intentional and a lot of thought has gone into the story they are trying to tell you. If Don Broco is comfortable enough to blur the boundaries of consciousness with us through their music, then our only job is to sit back and enjoy.” – Heavy Magazine
UK alt-rock trailblazers DON BROCO have unleashed their audacious new album, Nightmare Tripping, out now via Fearless Records. Known for their genre-defying sound, the band pushes boundaries with this release, crafted alongside longtime collaborator and renowned producer Dan Lancaster.
DON BROCO have always defied categorization. Effortlessly merging metal, post-hardcore, funk, and electronica, they create a sound distinctly their own. With Nightmare Tripping, they dive into their heaviest and most nuanced work yet, embracing unexpected musical turns and deeper thematic explorations.
Nightmare Tripping features electrifying collaborations, including the previously released title track with Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake, which fans hailed as “the collab of the century” and VICE raved as a “collision of riffs, grooves, and a couple of killer breakdowns.”
With the release of their album, DON BROCO unveils the powerhouse collaboration True Believers featuring Sam Carter of Architects. The song delivers a high-octane punch, with Carter’s signature screams complementing Rob Damiani’s versatile vocals, ranging from gentle to raw intensity. Inspired by the alarming rise of far-right nationalism and societal brainwashing, the track explores challenging themes while balancing explosive energy with a melodic bridge, culminating in a crushing breakdown.
Stream True Believers ft. Sam Carter here and watch the music video here:
“We started writing this song back in 2024 during the Southport Riots. At the same time the Olympics were on, and flicking between them and the news was an alarming contrast between celebratory British patriotism and violent English nationalism. Over the last few years it’s been impossible to avoid the rise of the far-right across Europe and the United States, seeing politicians and people on the streets alike using the Nazi salute freely without consequence, and genocide apologist’s ideas embraced in the mainstream media. This song is about the brainwashing that’s led to this, to question what we’ve been brought up believing and the narratives that have been reinforced for generations,” shares Damiani.
Adding, “As soon as the initial ideas were fleshed out I wanted Sam on this track. We’ve been fans of Architects for a long time and the energy and aggression he brings to his vocals are unmatched. As a human being of planet earth he’s used his talents again and again to stand up for what’s right so to collaborate on this song with him was very special.”
The journey through Nightmare Tripping unfolded like an epic adventure, first single Cellophane brought sharp-edged nu-metal swagger, and Disappear revealed raw emotional nerve. Meanwhile, Euphoria captivated with electronic grooves and a massive, euphoric chorus. Each song charted an exciting course toward the album’s release, highlighting the band’s fearless experimentation and commitment to reinvention.
“For us, Nightmare Tripping is an album coming to terms with a new understanding of how to navigate the world. It’s about lifting the veil and accepting that life can sometimes feel like waking up from one nightmare straight into the next, and finding a way to be ok with that,” share the band.
As the dust settles on the second leg of their electrifying U.S. tour, DON BROCO are gearing up to set the stage ablaze once more. Starting with a string of album release shows and events the band announced will be happening this week throughout the UK. Additionally, this summer, they’ll join forces with Biffy Clyro in London, promising an unforgettable performance at Finsbury Park. With major festivals on the horizon, like ROCK IM RING and Rock For People, and more dates to come, fans across the globe will get to experience Nightmare Tripping as intended, as an exhilarating live show.
WATCH TRUE BELIEVERS MUSIC VIDEO FT. SAM CARTER HERE
NIGHTMARE TRIPPING – OUT NOW
https://donbroco.ffm.to/nightmaretripping
About DON BROCO: DON BROCO are a band that constantly defy categorization. Since forming in 2008, the British act—vocalist Rob Damiani, guitarist Simon Delaney, drummer/vocalist Matt Donnelly, and bassist Tom Doyle—have been creating innovative music that effortlessly merges elements of metal, post-hardcore, and electronica, into a unique amalgam of music all their own. “I love being surprised and I love music taking turns that you wouldn’t expect,” Damiani explains. Correspondingly, the band’s Fearless Records debut Nightmare Tripping is the heaviest and most nuanced album of their career.
The album also features some star-studded collaborations from the legendary rock act Nickelback (Nightmare Tripping) as well as Architects’ vocalist Sam Carter (True Believers). DON BROCO have already sold out venues like Wembley Arena and Alexandra Palace in the UK; performed to frenzied crowds at Download and Reading & Leeds Festival; headlined Slam Dunk Festival; and toured alongside Pierce The Veil, Bring Me The Horizon and 30 Seconds To Mars. With Nightmare Tripping there’s no limit to what they can accomplish.
https://www.donbrocomerch.com/
SARAH CARROLL PREMIERES VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE “LIFE IS SAD”, TAKEN FROM HER NEW EP GET LOW. NEW VIDEO FOLLOWS APPEARANCES AT THE PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL, GEELONG JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL AND AIREYS INLET MUSIC FESTIVAL
Sarah Carroll has released a video for her new single “Life is Sad”, taken from her new EP Get Low.
The video was made by Pete Ewing at Sarah’s home and local beach on Wadawurrung Country, Clifton Springs, Victoria, in February/March 2026. Pete not only made the video, he sung harmony on the track!
Released a couple of weeks ago, Get Low debuted at #5 in the AIR Independent Label Singles chart.
***
Get Low is the new EP from revered Victorian songwriter and musician Sarah Carroll; an intelligent and adventurous 5 song trip which takes listeners from the intimacy, playfulness and pain of love to a wide-screen view of life itself. The title track is a rocksteady ode to self-belief. Recorded at Zac Barter’s beautiful studio in Highton, Victoria, performed by a tight gang of Sarah’s dearest friends, Get Low is presented with pride by Cheersquad Records & Tapes.
Get Low is available as a 5 track CD and digitally.
https://sarahcarroll.bandcamp.com/album/get-low
The EP was released just days ahead of Sarah’s appearances at this year’s Port Fairy Folk Festival, and little more than a week ahead of her appearances at the Geelong Jazz & Blues Festival and the Aireys Inlet Music Festival.
Sarah Carroll is an individual who simply oozes musicality: a gorgeous, soulful singer, a beautiful instrumentalist, and someone who has an intrinsic understanding of all manner of roots music. Her songs chime with sincerity and deal largely with her experiences as a teacher, mother, wife, political animal and touring musician.
Following the release of her 6th studio album, NQR&B on Cheersquad Records & Tapes, in mid 2024, Sarah and her 4-piece band The Big Fuss toured Victoria and NSW, with keen interest and support from radio and print media. Sarah was invited to open for Tim Rogers on his regional Vic tour in December 2024, and in between, launched a new album with her band The Cartridge Family. More recently, Sarah has been testing her new material over summer while touring with her longtime guitarist Shannon Bourne supporting Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows!
The release of NQR&B followed Sarah’s stint as Australian Musician Magazine’s Musician of the Month and was celebrated with a lengthy feature in Rhythms. NQR&B was 3PBS FM Feature Album of the Week and part of 3RRR’s Soundscape and was in several Top 10s in Rhythms Magazine’s readers and writers’ polls at the end of 2024.
In addition to her solo work, Sarah is known for her contribution to bands such as GIT, The Pirates Of Beer, Soft Gold, The Left Wing, The Settledowns and The Junes, her work with her late husband, the legendary harmonica player and singer-songwriter Chris Wilson and their sons, the acclaimed singer/songwriters Fenn Wilson and George Carroll Wilson, as well as her decades of broadcasting and music writing experience.
https://linktr.ee/SarahCarroll67
cheersquadrecordstapes. bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/CheersquadRecordsTapesMGMT
www.instagram.com/cheersquadrecords/
www.youtube.com/channel/UCnjniTJZiFfmw8JlsLZU7Bg
soundcloud.com/cheersquadrecordsandtapes/
NEIL MURRAY RELEASES NEW SINGLE “STILL HERE BY MY SIDE”
THE SINGLE WILL BE LAUNCHED APRIL 17 AT THE MEMO IN ST KILDA
THE NEW SINGLE IS THE FIRST NEW MUSIC FROM THE WARUMPI BAND CO-FOUNDER AND WRITER OF THE ICONIC ‘MY ISLAND HOME’ SINCE 2023’S ALBUM THE TELLING
One of Australia’s finest songmen, Neil Murray, co-founder and songwriter for the Warumpi Band, writer of the iconic “My Island Home” and one of Australia’s finest songmen, has today released a powerful new single “Still Here By My Side”, his first new music since the release of his acclaimed tenth solo album The Telling in 2023.
Neil and band will launch the new single at the Memo Music Hall in St Kilda on Friday April 17, with support from Clare Cowley. Doors open at 7PM, show starts at 8PM. Tickets are available now from
Neil Murray & his Band “Still Here By My Side” Single Launch | Memo Music Hall
“Still Here By My Side” finds Neil on acoustic guitars and vocals and adroitly accompanied by Peter Marron on drums and Craig Kelly on bass. It was recorded and mixed at Union Street studios by Roger Bergodaz and mastered by Adam Dempsey.
This new offering – a call from “the long and lonely road” will be welcomed by long-time fans and interest new listeners alike in its driving urgency and declarations of solidarity and union despite separation.
As a founding member of the pioneering, and ever popular Warumpi Band and a much respected, award winning singer songwriter in his own right, Neil Murray is now a long way down the road on a four decade plus recording career and is well placed to weigh what we may continue to carry with us, long after relationships, places or experiences have transpired.
NEIL MURRAY BIO Maverick songman Neil Murray originally sprang from Victoria’s western district, but in the late 1970’s with guitar in hand he set course for the Northern Territory. He emerged at Papunya in 1980 as a founding member of the pioneering Warumpi Band, which over three albums (Big Name No Blankets, Go Bush and Too much Humbug) and twenty years of performing thrust contemporary indigenous music into mainstream Australia, yielding such classic songs as My Island Home, Blackfella Whitefella, Fitzroy Crossing, Jailanguru Pakarnu, Stompin Ground, From The Bush and Waru.
“One of the finest songwriters this country has ever produced.” – Rhythms
He has since become one of Australia’s finest singer/songwriters, enjoying a solo career since 1989. He has released a remarkable string of albums – the latest being The Telling, which marks a recording career of four decades.
His song writing is diverse- from the rollicking Good Light in Broome, the prayerful Native Born, and healing Myall Creek, the roots groove of Long Grass Band and Eddie Mabo, the journeyman monologues of Lights of Hay and Where my people go, the contemplation of place in Burrumbeep Hill, Whispering Casuarina and Bring Thunder & Rain and Fine Open Country (with Sammy Butcher) to the current single Broken Land.
Collectively, Neil’s work has done much to deepen Australia’s contemporary music heritage.
In 1995, Neil Murray was awarded the APRA song of the year for My Island Home originally written for the Warumpi Band and re-recorded by Christine Anu. My Island Home featured in the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the opening ceremony of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
In 2007, Jailanguru Pakarnu (Out From Jail), the Warumpi Band’s debut 1983 single, which was co-written with guitarist Sammy Butcher in the indigenous Luritja language- was honoured by the National Film And Sound Archives- “Sounds Of Australia” series- as a significant recording in Australia’s heritage- (credited as the first commercially released pop rock single in an indigenous language.) In 2016 My Island Home- as recorded by Christine Anu- received the same honour.
In recognition of his influence, Neil Murray was awarded the 2017 Port Fairy Folk Festival Artist of the Year.
“There’s no shortage of substance or integrity in his songs.” – The Australian
Neil Murray’s songs have been recorded by Mary Black, Jimmy Little, Missy Higgins, Liz Stringer, Christine Anu, Peter Denahy, Carus, Adam Brand, Amy Saunders, Powderfinger, The Tiddas, Ursula Yovich, Peter Brandy, Emma Donovan and the Warumpi Band.
Neil released, The Telling, his tenth original solo album, in 2023.
https://www.facebook.com/NeilMurrayMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/islandhomemusic/
https://www.youtube.com/user/NeilMurrayMusic
ASTEROID B-612 ANNOUNCE NEW SINGLE ‘FALLEN SLOW’
Following their long-awaited return in June 2025 with their first new music in over 25 years, seminal Australian rock ’n’ roll outfit Asteroid B-612 are back with another dose of high-octane rock. Their brand-new single, ‘Fallen Slow’, will be released on April 10 via Golden Robot Records and is available to pre-save now on all major streaming platforms.
Fresh off the momentum of their 2025 album Roads, Stars, the band found themselves with a rare few hours to spare during rehearsals for their recent Australian tour. Wasting no time, they headed into the studio and did what they do best, writing and recording new music.
Watch the music video for ‘Park Bench Gods’ HERE
The result is ‘Fallen Slow’, an electrifying track that captures the unmistakable Asteroid B-612 sound. Driven by a pounding backbeat, pulsating guitars, and a soulful vocal performance, the song delivers a raw, energetic groove with a “soul train” feel – rock ’n’ roll with heart, grit, and swagger.
Backing the single is a spirited take on ‘St. Louis’, the classic track originally recorded by legendary Australian band The Easybeats. In true Asteroid B-612 fashion, the band kept things spontaneous, stepping outside the studio to huddle around a car stereo, working out arrangements on the fly before returning to lay the track down, completing the single before sundown.
Pre-save ‘Fallen Slow’ HERE
ASTEROID B-612 – ‘Fallen Slow’ b/w ‘St. Louis’
Line-up:
Johnny Casino – guitars, backing vocals
Grant McIver – vocals
Ben Fox – drums
Juancho López – bass
Xabi Garre – guitars
Track Details:
‘Fallen Slow’ (J.A. Spittles / G. McIver) – 4:11
‘St. Louis’ (Vanda / Young) – 4:44
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ben Johnson at The Factory Studios, Mona Vale, Sydney, Australia.
Produced by Johnny Casino.
ABOUT ASTEROID B-612
Emerging from the Australian underground in the early ’90s, Asteroid B-612 carved out a reputation as one of the country’s most uncompromising rock ’n’ roll outfits. Fusing Detroit punk energy with the grit of Aussie pub rock and the swagger of garage rock, the band built a loyal following through relentless touring, sweat-soaked live shows, and a sound that hit with raw power and conviction. From dive bars at home to cult status across the U.S. and Europe, Asteroid B-612 became a defining name in underground rock, driven by explosive guitars and unapologetically honest song writing.
With their 2025 hit album Roads, Stars, Asteroid B-612 returned with the same fire that made them essential listening, only sharper, louder, and more defiant. Continuing that momentum, the band’s latest single ‘Fallen Slow’ showcases a more expansive edge to their sound without losing any of the grit. Balancing melody and muscle with the kind of authenticity that has always defined the band.
This isn’t a reinvention; it’s a continuation of everything they’ve always stood for: pure, unfiltered rock ’n’ roll.
https://goldenrobotrecords.com/pages/asteroid-b-612?mc_cid=6ff7fd21b5&mc_eid=677ab1a28d
DIMMU BORGIR Announce New Album GRAND SERPENT RISING Watch the Epic Video For ‘Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel’
Eight years after the release of their critically acclaimed album Eonian, Norwegian symphonic black metal titans DIMMU BORGIR return with a towering new opus: Grand Serpent Rising. Set for release on May 22 via Nuclear Blast Records, the album delivers thirteen punishing yet remarkably diverse tracks that reaffirm the band’s status as one of the most formidable forces in extreme music.
Shagrath comments: “I truly feel we’ve outdone ourselves musically on this album. It’s been a long and demanding process, but seeing how it all came together makes it incredibly rewarding. Grand Serpent Rising reflects every era of Dimmu Borgir — This album carries echoes of every chapter of Dimmu Borgir’s legacy — I believe our fans will recognize that and find something within it that truly resonates.”
Even the sheer weight of the album title speaks volumes.
“It fits perfectly,” guitarist Silenoz explains. “Dimmu Borgir is a leviathan of a band on a grand scale and we are rising once again. While the serpent represents evil to some, for us it symbolizes something else: renewal, growth, knowledge, and liberation. Shedding our skin, so to speak. And let’s not forget that February 2026 marks the end of the Year of the Snake, roughly the same moment this album was completed.”
Grand Serpent Rising was recorded in Gothenburg with acclaimed producer Fredrik Nordström, whose legacy with the band includes landmark releases Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia and Death Cult Armageddon. The collaboration once again captures the band at their most expansive and ferocious, blending orchestral grandeur with unrelenting black metal intensity.
Alongside the album announcement, the band unveils a cinematic video for the track ‘Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel’. Sung in Norwegian, the song stands as a punishing epic rooted in themes of heritage and bloodline — the passing of something essential from one generation to the next.
Watch the video for ‘Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel’ here: https://youtu.be/1oOgpticdu0
Listen to ‘Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel’ here: https://dimmuborgir.bfan.link/ulvgjeld-blodsodel
Pre-order Grand Serpent Rising here: https://dimmuborgir.bfan.link/grandserpentrising
The album comes in following formats:
CD Jewelcase
2LP + 1CD, 24-Page Mediabook, Transparent Green with Black + White Marble Vinyl
2LP Gatefold Black Vinyl
2LP Gatefold Dark Green Vinyl
2LP Gatefold Gold Vinyl (Norway Exclusive)
2LP Gatefold Crystal Clear Vinyl (Sweden Rock Exclusive)
2LP Gatefold Pearl Flip Waterfall Vinyl
2LP Gatefold Gold with Black Marble Vinyl (Revolver Exclusive)
LINE UP:
Shagrath – vocals
Silenoz – guitars
Damage – guitars
Victor – bass
Gerlioz – keyboards
Daray – drums
DIMMU BORGIR ONLINE:
https://www.facebook.com/dimmuborgir
http://www.instagram.com/dimmuborgir
https://www.youtube.com/user/dimmuborgir
https://x.com/dimmuborgir
BACHELOR GIRL SHARE REIMAGINED VERSION OF TREAT ME GOOD FEATURING JESSICA MAUBOY
FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM WAITING FOR THE DAY: ARTIST SESSIONS
Australian pop icons Bachelor Girl return with a bold new take on their 1998 hit, Treat Me Good, teaming up with beloved powerhouse vocalist Jessica Mauboy for the release, out today. Originally unleashed on the duo’s debut album, Waiting for the Day, this mammoth new version is the first taste of the band’s anticipated forthcoming redux album that will feature an epic haul of acclaimed household name artists who bring their prowess to the reimagining of the tracks.
Slated for a June release, Waiting For The Day: Artist Sessions is a complete reinterpretation of the double Platinum album that captivated the world. “We (somewhat audaciously!) began to ask some of our favourite Aussie artists and friends if they would lend their voices and/or instrument to our bucket list project,” beams Tania Doko. “What started with one, became 13 artists on this 15 track Redux album, and we could not be more chuffed they enthusiastically said yes.”
The duo has today also announced their Waiting For The Day Redux tour which will kick off in their home town of Melbourne at Brunswick Ballroom on August 8, before moving through Brisbane, Adelaide and finishing off in Sydney at The Factory Theatre on October 18. Tickets are on sale now from www.bachelorgirl.com.
Treat Me Good with Jessica Mauboy offers a reimagined version of the earlier classic, bringing a modern edge, and blending its nostalgic grooves with Mauboy’s soulful intensity to deliver a vibrant anthem of empowerment and self-worth. It’s a collaboration that proves timeless songs can evolve with heart, purpose and renewed spirit.
Genuinely so gracious to have Jessica Mauboy gifting her voice to this iconic song, Doko said, “Treat Me Good was written 3 decades ago, and we *still mean it. It’s been reinvigorating to create this full circle moment. Jess Mauboy’s contribution is the prize here, with the song now taking on an added sisterhood narrative – standing for the self, AND each other. It’s been humbling to learn how much the song meant to Jess, from her busking Bachelor Girl tunes in Darwin, to singing her face off with us in the studio while 7 months pregnant with Mia. It’s a ‘pinch us’ moment all round.”
“The first twenty seconds of Jess opening her mouth to sing was gob smacking,” adds James Roche. “We all looked like the kid from ‘Home Alone’.”
For Mauboy, one of Australia’s most celebrated and versatile artists, the collaboration adds another milestone to an extraordinary career spanning nearly two decades. A multiple ARIA Award winner and the first Indigenous Australian solo artist to debut at No.1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, she has amassed six Top 10 albums, 16 Top 20 singles and more than 30 combined Platinum and Gold accreditations. Beyond music, she has starred in acclaimed productions including The Sapphires, Bran Nue Dae and served as a coach on The Voice Australia. In 2025, Mauboy was inducted into the NIMAs Hall of Fame, further cementing her legacy as an enduring force in Australian entertainment.
“Treat Me Good has always been one of those songs that instantly takes you back,” says Mauboy. “I grew up hearing Bachelor Girl on the radio, so getting the chance to re-record such an iconic Australian song with them felt really special. What I love most about it is how real it feels, its message about respect and love still resonates today. Recording this new version together was a beautiful way to honour the heart of the original while sharing that emotion with a whole new generation.”
Tania Doko and James Roche of Bachelor Girl have proven their enduring, beloved status in Aussie music culture. Their debut Buses and Trains earned James APRA Song of the Year in 1999 and remains one of the most played Australian compositions since its release. The iconic hit also made waves in Asia, Scandinavia, Europe and the US, including a signing by legendary A&R Clive Davis, Arista records. Their critically acclaimed ARIA winning Waiting for the Day album spawned another four releases still on rotation today, including Treat Me Good, Lucky Me, Blown Away and Permission to Shine. With a catalogue defined by exceptional songwriting and soaring vocals, the duo continue to captivate audiences, recently touring alongside legendary acts including Simple Minds, Icehouse and The Corrs.
Treat Me Good featuring Jessica Mauboy is out today.
STREAM: TREAT ME GOOD FT. JESSICA MAUBOY
BACHELOR GIRL – WAITING FOR THE DAY REDUX TOUR DATES
SAT 08 AUG | BRUNSWICK BALLROOM, BRUNSWICK VIC | 18+
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SUN 23 AUG | THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
FRI 28 AUG | THE GOV, ADELAIDE SA | 18+
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | | All Oztix Outlets
FRI 04 SEP | CUBE 37 FRANKSTON ARTS CENTRE, FRANKSTON VIC | ALL AGES U15s W ADULT
Tickets available from https://geelongartscentre.org.au/whats-on/ | 1300 251 200 | Geelong Arts Centre Website
SUN 18 OCT | THE FACTORY THEATRE, MARRICKVILLE NSW | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.factorytheatre.com.au/ | (02) 7208 4482 | Century Box Office
Perth psych trio MONOTONIC release debut album ‘Heavy Metal’ Out Now on Hidden Shoal
Perth / Boorloo’s own purveyors of heavy psychedelic sorcery, Monotonic, unleash their long-awaited album debut ‘Heavy Metal’. The record is being delivered (with a limited vinyl run) care of revered Australian label Hidden Shoal and label head Cam Merton. The culmination of the band’s singular vision, ‘Heavy Metal’ is an exercise in mind-altering sonic experimentation, the audio equivalent of a one-way journey to the outer reaches.
Across eight tracks, the album delivers a masterclass in psych rock minimalism, where hypnotic repetition and distortion blur the boundaries between groove and atmosphere. It’s a heady fusion of early ’70s dub, space rock and acid rock, with a healthy dose of motorik pulse and lysergic psychedelia. Vocals drift through the mix functioning as a fourth instrument, saturated in as much delay and distortion as humanly possible.
“The broad ambition was to make the entire record literally as minimal as possible in the compositional or structural sense,” explains the band’s Liam Coffey, “but sound-wise completely unrefined, to the point of sounding even a bit obnoxious, hopefully, or at least insouciant. A soundtrack for distractedly picking your teeth on public transport while gazing absently into the middle distance.”
That ethos carries through the entire record. Rather than a collection of disparate songs, ‘Heavy Metal’ unfolds as one cohesive sonic environment, a continuous exploration of texture and tone.
“We very much consciously wanted the sound of the whole album to be of one cohesive, integrated piece, in the sense of arriving at an identifiable sound and pursuing it in a linear way over the course of eight tracks,” Liam says.
Monotonic was formed during the pandemic by veterans of Perth’s golden alt-rock era: Liam Coffey (Header), Allan Balmont (Ammonia), and Jack Lucas (Yummy Fur/Six Mile High). Reuniting decades after their respective bands made waves in the ’90s, the three longtime friends found a fresh creative spark in loose jam sessions that continued to evolve into something greater than intended. Jams turned into songs, and while there were no initial plans to record, they became so committed to the music they were creating that an album eventually became an inevitability.
The album was recorded in 2024 at Aerial Recording, a secluded studio in the Perth Hills owned and run by Ronan Charles, who also engineered and mixed the track, with production by Liam of the band. It was mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios, known for his work with Joy Division, Mogwai, Blur, and Scott Walker, among others.
Watch the video for ‘Lazers At Dawn’ here
Listen and download the album here:
SoundCloud | Vinyl | Spotify
MONOTONIC is – Alan Balmont (he/him) drums, percussion. Jack Lucas (he/him) guitars, electric bouzouki. Liam Coffey (he/him) bass, guitar, Hammond A100
MONOTONIC ONLINE Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Website | Spotify | AMRAP
NICK BARKER AND THE REPTILES RELEASE NEW EP ‘LOOSE VOL II’
Listen to ‘Loose Vol II’ for review HERE
Nick Barker and the Reptiles was and always will be a bar band at heart. Most comfortable in the type of small sticky-carpet rooms that were the heart and soul of the Australian live music scene in the 80s and 90s. Now in 2026 they officially release a “bookend EP” – Loose Vol II.
Nick says “I found an old cassette marked rehearsal in biro and when I finally found a cassette player, I realised it was one of our very early sessions. Made me realise how much I missed the guys and that we really were a band that was the some of its parts, no one particularly brilliant but together something just clicked”
‘Loose Vol II’ is available to stream now on all major streaming platforms. A limited CD is available to purchase now via Golden Robot Records HERE.
Stream ‘Loose Vol II’ HERE
ABOUT NICK BARKER AND THE REPTILES
Formed in 1988, Nick Barker and the Reptiles decided they needed to play shows. From sheds to backyard parties to bars, university campuses, big suburban beer barns and even stadiums. They played boat cruises, radio stations and record stores, some times 3 shows in a day. They even played in Pentridge Prison on Christmas.
In 1989, their cover of Cockney Rebel’s ‘Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)’ was something of a hit, reaching the top 30 on the ARIA singles chart and earning them widespread acclaim. The band followed up with two albums – Goin’ to Pieces (1989) and After the Show (1991) – the latter recorded in Memphis, Tennessee with Joe Hardy – and finally the Loose EP (1992).
Nick Barker and the Reptiles worked the end of the golden age of Australian Pub rock, touring hard, when you could play 5 nights a week, when a 1989 Toyota Tarago was pretty much home and the people in it were your surrogate family. With the fights, the stupid things that you found funny, the partying and inevitable hangovers all leading to the 90 minutes at the end of the day when it all made sense.
Now, Golden Robot Records is proud to both reintroduce the back catalogue and brand new releases of Nick Barker and the Reptiles, and celebrating another Australian rock ’n’ roll story.
CONNECT WITH NICK BARKER AND THE REPTILES
BLOKBSTR NEW SINGLE & VIDEO ‘NO MORE CELEBRATIONS’ OUT NOW
LISTEN HERE | WATCH VIDEO HERE
ANNOUNCE BLOKTAPES ’99 MIXTAPE ALONG WITH SYD & MEL LAUNCH SHOWS
Sydney alt-dance punk outfit BLOKBSTR start a dystopian party with their latest release, ‘No More Celebrations’. The bass-heavy track comes as the band announces their latest mixtape, BLOKTAPE ’99 set for release Friday May 8, along with a series of east coast launch dates.
LISTEN TO ‘NO MORE CELEBRATIONS’ HERE
‘No More Celebrations’ sees the duo of Jimmy Heathwood and Sam Barron lean heavily into their dance music influences, with pounding Daft Punk-esque drums bouncing between guitars that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Talking Heads tune.
The real star of the tune comes from the vocals, as the band sings with a warped children’s choir – reimagining “Another Brick In The Wall” or even PNAU’s “Baby” if they were singing about the over-policing of Sydney’s live music that has led to countless nightlife businesses being forced to close their doors. “No more celebrations, this is not the time for fun” being sung through the voices of the young would be quite depressing if the instrumentations weren’t fit for a Summer festival slot.
The video for the track is a Guy Ritchie inspired fever-dream rave. Equal parts manic and playful, it includes everything from a kidnapping, a dance battle and enough chase scenes to make Tom Cruise weep.
WATCH VIDEO FOR ‘NO MORE CELEBRATIONS’ HERE
The track is the latest in a string of storming singles the band started releasing from September 2025 and followed up their debut BLOKTAPES EP, which included live favourite and future cost-of-living anthem, ‘Apartment’.
Melbourne and Sydney will be lucky enough to catch the energetic live set that has seen the band share the stage with Yard Act, The Terrys, Le Shiv, Mel Blue and Boo Seeka to name a few. They hit Yah Yah’s in Fitzroy on May 9th before a hometown show to launch the new mixtape at Vic On The Park, Marrickville on May 29th.
Joining the band on both dates is the genre bending Marty Rotten. Taking inspiration from acts as varied as Beastie Boys, Underworld and Turnstile, he has teamed up with BLOKBSTR on an upcoming EP for a new sound aimed for a high energy, ass-shaking dancefloor. Launching this new project after a decade fronting hardcore bands that saw him supporting the likes of Trophy Eyes and Neck Deep, his live show syphons the energy of a punk rock show with quirky dancefloor energy.
BLOKBSTR LIVE SHOWS 2026
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
SATURDAY MAY 9 | YAH YAH’S, FITZROY VIC
FRIDAY MAY 29 | VIC ON THE PARK, MARRICKVILLE NSW
FOLLOW BLOKBSTR
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | TRIPLE J UNEARTHED
STORMFLOWER Sydney Experimentalists Release New Track, Human From Their Equanimity EP
Sydney based experimental rock act, Stormflower present, Human, the 5th and final single from their recently released EP Equanimity.
Quickly building a strong reputation for their genre-defying sound that fuses powerful riffs with emotive depth. Stormflower’s music delivers a dynamic blend of intensity and vulnerability, designed to stir the soul and provoke the senses.
With a combined video view count of over 800 000 for their music videos, the EP features the killer singles, Coda, All The Way, SOME-BODY and Addicted
On the track, the band comment: “Human exposes the fragile nature of sharing space with each other. We are willing to sacrifice the lives of so many innocent people often born into conflict and fear just to feed a different point of view. How can we see ourselves as one when such shameful acts of humanity exist within the same species.”
Listen to Human at
https://lnk.to/jGuR15
Equanimity is out now
https://lnk.to/MWI9Su
Catch Stormflower next at
Saturday, April 4: Truck Trailers, Sydney
XMusic Rocks Your Easter Saturday
Sat, May 2: The Den, Newcastle
XMusic 5th Anniversary show
Keep an eye on their website for dates
https://stormflower.band/
Great new merch from Stormflower is available at
https://xmusiclabel.bigcartel.com/stormflower
Follow Stormflower
Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube
CRY CLUB move through moments of tenderness and ferocity on third album High Voltage Anxiety out now
Featuring singles ‘High Voltage Anxiety’, ‘For Your Health’, ‘This, Forever’, ‘Retaliate’ & ‘Monster of the Week’
Upcoming shows in Wollongong and Sydney with Alter Boy
Today, Naarm-based industrial-pop duo Cry Club share their eagerly awaited third album High Voltage Anxiety. Stream HERE and purchase HERE. Featuring previously released singles ‘High Voltage Anxiety’, ‘For Your Health’, ‘This, Forever’, ‘Retaliate’, and ‘Monster Of The Week’ plus seven additional tracks, the new record sees vocalist Heather Riley (they/them) and guitarist Jonathon Tooke (he/him) at their most self-assured in sound and message.
High Voltage Anxiety moves through moments of tenderness and ferocity as Cry Club delve into the state of the world and what it means to be human. Touching on themes of mental health, artistic burnout, wealth disparity, activism, and technofeudalism, the duo’s first self-produced album is threaded together with a passionate voice and a fearless hope for a brighter future. “We are (as we’ve always been) so angry because we love and care about this world so much, and that love drives us to demand better from the people trying to do harm to what we’ve all built,” says Heather.
Created in the duo’s now-signature “industrial-pop” sound, the record is a crucial listen with broad appeal, drawing inspiration from the disaffected irony of modern hyperpop, brash protest punk anthems of the 2000s, scathing disillusionment of 90s grunge and industrial rock, and the apocalyptic nuclear anxieties of 1950s sci-fi.
“This is truly the most “us” we’ve ever sounded, it’s wildly satisfying to feel like we’re in total control of everything and be so happy with where we’ve ended up,” says Heather. “While there’s a lot of fury and frustration across the record, we also got to acknowledge how much we’ve grown and the people who have touched our lives along the way.”
Jonathon adds “In a lot of ways, I think this one is the one that sets us up more clearly for things in future as it has given us the confidence in the self-produced sense but also in establishing a clear vision of what Cry Club can be – pop songs you can grind your teeth to.”
In a time of high tensions, global crises, and increasing divide, High Voltage Anxiety poses important questions about how we participate in, react, and respond to the world around us. From first single ‘High Voltage Anxiety’’s dissection of digital fatigue and ‘Retaliate’s pointed look at greed and class, to ‘This, Forever’s encouraging rallying cry to fight for a better world, Cry Club hope listeners “leave with a fire in your soul and the fortitude to push through to the world we deserve, and will build together for the future.”
Cry Club x Alter Boy
BOY CRY TOUR
Thursday 23rd April 2026 – La La La’s – Wollongong, NSW
Saturday 25th April – Metro Social – Sydney, NSW
Tickets HERE
About Cry Club: Over the past two years, Cry Club have ventured overseas for their debut European tour, joined iconic UK rockers The Darkness on their Australian tour, supported the likes of WAAX, FAKER, and Stand Atlantic, and created some of their most innovative and impactful music yet. Throughout their time as a band, Cry Club have generated over 2.5million streams on Spotify alone, received a generous amount of national and international radio and DSP support, and cemented themselves as one of the most exciting and original acts in the country.
GRAMMY-NOMINATED DUO THE MILK CARTON KIDS UNVEIL NEW SINGLE “I’LL GO HOME FROM HERE” THIRD OFFERING FROM HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM LOST CAUSE LOVER FOOL OUT APRIL 24
Critically acclaimed and much beloved folk duo The Milk Carton Kids—Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan—have shared their new song, “I’ll Go Home From Here,” today; Listen/share HERE.
“It’s so easy to feel disconnected, exhausted, like no matter how much we do it will never be enough and we’ll never be able to keep up. “I’ll Go Home From Here” is as much about the peace found in resignation, as it is about the redemptive power of love in the face of such impossible circumstances.”
“I’ll Go Home From Here” is the latest unveiled from the duo’s highly anticipated new album, Lost Cause Lover Fool, out April 24via Far Cry Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers(pre-save/pre-order HERE). Produced by Pattengale, Lost Cause Lover Fool is the duo’s seventh studio album, expanding on their signature minimalist sound while staying grounded in the intimate songwriting and understated arrangements that define their work. The new nine-song collection, including previously released tracks “Blue Water” and “A Friend Like You,” focuses on the small, quietly magnified moments that lie at the heart of the record.
“This album is, at its core, a collection of songs about transformation,” Pattengale reflects, “About the shifting terrain of consciousness and the stories we build to understand who we’ve been, who we are, and who we’re becoming. Each song takes a single moment, sometimes examined with microscopic closeness and sometimes viewed from a great distance, and lets it expand until it becomes an entire world. By enlarging small feelings until they’re inhabitable, the record looks for eternity not in the sweeping or monumental, but in the intimate specifics that usually pass too quickly to notice.”.
Album cover credit: Kenneth Pattengale
Founded in 2011, The Milk Carton Kids swiftly emerged as a major force in Americana folk tradition, blending ethereal harmonies and intricate musicianship with a contemporary songwriting sensibility. Renowned for their songwriting, folk sensibilities and vocal harmonies, the duo has earned four Grammy nominations, had their music featured in film and television projects, including Gus Van Zandt’s Promised Land and Tina Fey’s Girls5Eva, and collaborated with Joe Henry, Roxanne Cash, Sara Bareilles, and Josh Ritter, among many others. Their 2023 album, I Only See The Moon (listen/share here), received widespread praise, with Relix proclaiming, “A collection of songs bathed in warming eloquence and poetic nuance,” while Glide Magazine declares, “The eleven-song effort eases out majestically around the duo’s vocal harmonies and light acoustic instrumentation…listening to them [is] a joy.”
In October 2023, the pair founded the Los Angeles Folk Festival, with its first annual iteration earning accolades from Variety, The Bluegrass Situation, KCRW, The Orange County Register, and others. The festival has featured performances by critically acclaimed artists Emmylou Harris, Waxahatchee, Sierra Ferrell, Willie Watson, and more. Across all their endeavors, the duo remains dedicated to a single idea: music can help turn down the volume on a chaotic world and make room for what matters most.
HEADSEND RELEASE DEBUT EP ‘ANGEL GLANDS’ – OUT NOW
Byron Bay three-piece HEADSEND release their debut EP Angel Glands out today, following a run of already announced live dates, including Australian shows and slots at The Great Escape in the UK, with additional UK/EU tour dates to follow. The band will hit the road soon. More info HERE.
Built first and foremost as a live band, HEADSEND’s rise has been defined on stage. Over the past year, the trio – Rasmus King, Kyuss King and Bon Soric – have sharpened their reputation through relentless touring, supporting Wunderhorse on their sold-out Australian run and stepping onto arena and stadium stages with Tool and AC/DC. It’s a trajectory earned the hard way: loud, direct sets that prioritise feel over polish and leave little distance between band and audience. As Scenestr noted after seeing them open for Tool, “audiences are transfixed by the band.”
Their debut Angel Glands EP features the ferocious tracks ‘Stove’ and ‘Chugg’, alongside the recently released woozy anthem ‘And Angel’ and latest single ‘Do Do’.
Drawing directly from the raw onstage energy shown during these performances, the EP channels the unfiltered intensity of HEADSEND’s live shows. Recorded live in-studio by Nick DiDia (Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots), the EP preserves the dynamics and physicality that have fuelled their word-of-mouth rise as a live act.
With more than 40 + shows played across Australia in the last year alone, HEADSEND have built momentum the traditional way – in rooms, on stages and in front of crowds. The upcoming run of dates, including their first appearance at The Great Escape UK, marks the next expansion of that live footprint into the UK and Europe.
Angel Glands arrives as a snapshot of a band already operating at full intensity on stage, now pressing that energy to tape without diluting its scale.
HEADSEND – ‘ANGEL GLANDS’ EP – OUT NOW – LISTEN HERE
HEADSEND TOUR DATES – CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS/TICKETS
Friday March 27 – Howl and Moan – Byron Bay, NSW
Friday April 3 – Tracks Party – Torquay Surf Club – Torquay, VIC
Thursday April 16 – Dead Set – Sydney, NSW
Sunday April 19 – The Northern w/Helmet – Byron Bay, NSW
Thursday April 23 – The Curtin – Melbourne, VIC
Friday May 1 – Tracks Party – Coolangatta Hotel – Coolangatta, QLD
Friday May 15 – The Great Escape, Charles Street Tap (Official Great Escape Showcase)- Brighton, UK
Saturday May 16 – The Great Escape, Sounds Australia (Deep End Stage, Brighton, UK
Mon May 18 – Brixton Windmill, London UK
ANNA JEAVONS COUNTS DOWN TO THE RELEASE OF ANOMIE WITH EMOTIVE SINGLE ‘SMART CASUAL’
Ahead of the release of her studio album ANOMIE, Adelaide-based songwriter and musician
ANNA JEAVONS shares another powerful taster with new single, ‘SMART CASUAL’.
A song that speaks to Jeavons’ heartfelt and natural talent for songwriting and storytelling, ‘Smart Casual’ is emotive and high impact. Produced by Ben Stewart (Slowly Slowly) it locks listeners in, with commanding vocals and layered guitars building to a moving crescendo. Jeavons pours reflections on a turbulent time in her life into lyrics that feel both accessible and intimate.
“Smart Casual is a song about how we don’t grow all year round and, like plants, need light and time. Like a lot of songs on the album, it wrestles with existential angst; it’s an outpouring of loneliness, and yearning for meaning. In the lyrics I say: I don’t believe in anything; I am more alone than I have ever been’.
But it’s not all depressing. At the end you can hear me repeat the lyrics ‘it’ll be alright’, almost like a mantra. I think I wanted to believe I could tend to the parts of me that felt cold or buried – and eventually be ready to unfurl and grow again”
Indeed, “It’ll be alright”, may be the catchcry of the artist’s forthcoming album. A skilled lyricist, Anna carefully articulates commonplace anxieties. But it is hope, not self-pity, that’s left lingering in the listener’s ear. ANNA JEAVONS
Along with the release of ‘Smart Casual’, Jeavons is excited to share the song’s official music video, co-directed by Jeavons herself and Brendan Levi.
Anna, who lives with Bipolar 1 Disorder, wanted to visually capture her relationship with nature: one of her great comforts in times of crisis.
“Imagery like lying in grass, or being engulfed by the ocean, is an important visual for the album.
Reconnecting with the natural world, and listening to it, helps me slow down; to stop rushing headlong to my death. It makes me feel connected to something bigger, universal, eternal – to the natural order of things. Less alone. I can immerse my miserable, crushing individuality into something older and wiser – the earth, the long grass; a speck intermingling with an enormous universe.
The video was shot at locations between Brownhill Creek, Belair & Lynton Railway Station in Adelaide. Jeavons wanted to contrast the footage with imagery of lying in bed in a dark room doomscrolling, representing her depression.
“I recruited my friends Brendan Levi and Daniel Wise to bring this one to life. We focused on aligning match cuts between the bedroom and the nature shots, and capturing footage from above that pulls out slowly. I was hoping to create a feeling of expansion, like in the song. It starts simple, then builds and opens up at the end, becoming big and cinematic. We wanted to mirror that in the music video.”
ANNA JEAVONS
ANOMIE will be released on April 29 – the start of a much-anticipated new chapter for Jeavons, one of Adelaide’s long beloved storytellers. So far this year, the artist has released six stunning tracks each speaking to the themes of the album in their own way.
Featuring songs ‘Woo Me’, ‘On The Sidelines’, ‘Milky’ and more the growing collection has provided newcomers with a great gateway to Jeavons’ music. For longtime fans, it’s been a poignant reminder of her dedication to the craft. With the release of ‘Smart Casual’, we see Anna Jeavons take another step forward, offering more poetic and nuanced musings on what it means to be alive.
SMART CASUAL IS OUT NOW
ANOMIE IS RELEASED WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL.
ANNA JEAVONS: Official Website | Facebook | X | Instagram | TikTok | Triple J Unearthed | YouTube
KINCADE STEVENS ‘ONE TRACK MIND’ (SINGLE)
Kincade Stevens’ musical path winds through unexpected territory. He grew up in western Sydney, raised on the classic country storytelling of Alan Jackson, Clint Black and the soaring harmonies of the Eagles.
Later he would discover the raw authenticity of Americana outliers that became his major influences: Grant Lee Buffalo, The Jayhawks, and Richard Buckner. Add to that the anthemic, sing-along spirit of Australian rock—Hunters & Collectors, Crowded House—and you have the foundation of Stevens’ distinctive sound.
During the Covid lockdowns, Stevens channeled isolation into creativity, writing an album’s worth of country songs that kept burrowing around his brain. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever release anything” says Stevens. Those sessions became the catalyst for his debut album The Defeatist, co-produced with Nashville’s Caleb Hardin over zoom sessions and featuring world-class session players from across the globe.
His first single “Pride” tells the story of the highs and lows of lfe over a lost Tom Petty melody and multi layered harmonies with his sisters.
His latest single “One Track Mind” pairs Stevens’ blend of traditional country heart with alt-country edge, brought to life in a cinematic video directed by Nathan Burney of Burning Pictures and shot at the historic NSW Rail Museum.
“One Track Mind” is out now on all major streaming platforms
FISHER TEAMS UP WITH TONES AND I FOR NEW SINGLE ‘FAVOUR’
Two of Australia’s most globally celebrated artists, FISHER and Tones And I, unite for the first time on their explosive new single, ‘Favour’, an upbeat tech house banger that seamlessly fuses FISHER’s undeniable club energy and Tones And I’s genre-defying pop sensibility.
Already igniting dance-floors across the globe, ‘Favour’ first sent shockwaves through fans when FISHER teased the track during his record-breaking headline shows at San Francisco’s Moscone Center – the first of its kind at the venue. Across two nights, 40,000 fans packed the space, marking the largest solo headline dance event in the city’s history and setting the stage for one of 2026’s most anticipated releases.
BUY/STREAM: FISHER & TONES AND I – FAVOUR
FISHER, known for his wild sense of humour and high-energy DJ sets, has cemented himself as one of dance music’s most in-demand names. Since his Grammy-nominated breakout hit ‘Losing It’, which has amassed over half a billion streams, he has built a reputation for delivering some of the world’s most unforgettable parties, including his upcoming national tour of his own festival Out 2 Lunch. From Coachella main stages to sold-out global tours and his own festivals, FISHER continues to dominate both charts and dance-floors. Following a massive 2025, including his historic Moscone Center shows, he carries unstoppable momentum into 2026, once again proving why he remains a defining force in modern dance music.
On the other side, Tones And I brings her powerhouse artistry to ‘Favour’ Since emerging from the streets of Australia’s Mornington Peninsula in 2019, she has become a global phenomenon. Her record-shattering hit ‘Dance Monkey’, a 20x Platinum single in Australia and one of the most-streamed songs of all time, catapulted her into international stardom. With over 12 billion streams, multiple ARIA Awards, and back-to-back #1 albums, Tones And I continues to push the boundaries of pop music as a vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Her distinct voice and emotive delivery elevate ‘Favour’ into something truly unique within the dance space.
‘Favour’ is primed for FISHER’s return of OUT 2 LUNCH for 2026, with an expanded run across four Australian cities. After its history-making debut on Coolangatta Beach in 2024, and triumphant encore in 2025, the festival, will return in May with dates set in Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Sydney, and Perth.
Saturday, May 2nd
Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne VIC
Sunday, May 3rd
Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast QLD
Saturday, May 9th
Sydney International Regatta Centre, Sydney NSW
Sunday, May 10th
Wellington Square, Perth WA
Follow The Fish:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook I Twitter I Spotify | Apple
Follow Tones and I:
Instagram | Spotify | Apple | TikTok
REINTRODUCING LINK MEANIE’S DIY POP PROJECT BAGFUL OF BEEZ, NOW WITH PALS MEGHAN, MATT AND CHIP. NEW SINGLE, THE MEGHAN MAIKE-SUNG ‘FEVER DREAM’ OUT NOW
Bagful Of Beez ‘Fever Dream’ (Official Audio)
“Link is the Dr Seuss of music. Bending the beautiful, bizarre and brilliant around each other in creations I’m perennially in awe of” – Tim Rogers
Cheersquad Records & Tapes and Desert Highways are proud to present “Fever Dream”, the first single from the revamped incarnation of Link Meanie’s DIY pop project Bagful of Beez. Link explains the changes: “Bagful of Beez is now a full band, so no more glitching backing tracks and more band members which is handy for gang fights.”
Indeed it was most likely (linkly?) the glitching backing tracks that brought Bagful of Beez undone originally, when it was just a Link solo thing. Even when he first brought Matt into play drums, there were still backing tracks, and they still screwed up. Now it’s a full band – Matt Cotter (Even), Meghan Maike (Meghan Maike and the Cactus Flowers) and Chip Wardale (Snapshot, Rat Kangaroo and more) – and Link couldn’t be happier.
The first single off Bagful of Beez’ upcoming second album is the Meghan Maike-sung “Fever Dream”. Link explains what it’s about: “Fever Dream is a mass cry for help from the members of the human race who value logic and compassion over feral bloodlust. Have you ever poured thumbtacks into your car’s petrol tank and expect it to run and when it doesn’t you keep repeating the same action. Me neither. That is the mind bending reality of the desperate rats who choose to go down with the ship.”
***
Link Meanie – aka Link McLennan – of course has always been known for his love of pop, even when screaming his guts out and jumping around like a loon in the Meanies. Link’s Meanies songs have a pop heart, and it something he’s explored more overtly in bands like Tomorrow People, The Bakelite Age and even the heavier Sun God Replica.
The first Bagful of Beez album – which had the Phil Dick/Fab Four-inspired title of Do Androids Dream of Electric Beatles – was a brilliant and eclectic mix of classic pop styles, a sort of everything-including-the-kitchen-sink approach that studio-enamored pop savants have been known to take ever since Todd Rundgren recorded A Wizard, A True Star, albeit with a genuine DIY approach more akin to R. Stevie Moore or Martin Newell and The Cleaners from Venus or Andy Partridge’s home recorded stuff. Link recorded the album completely by himself, playing all instruments. He played out solo with a drum machine as Bagful of Beez a couple of times and then enlisted Even drummer Matt Cotter to ensure a stronger live presence. But the tech proved allergic to Link and the glitches kept happening, and so Link pulled the plug.
Recording once again completely solo, Link soon started work on another album and then had the bright idea to form a full band to play it live. Which is surely what musician friends are for anyway! Matt’s drums were later added, as were Meghan’s vocals.
And so Bagful of Beez Mk 2 (or M3?) was born. With the new single out today and the album on the way (a Desert Highways / Cheersquad Records & Tapes joint venture; stay tuned for more info on that), fans will have their first chance to see the new line-up this Thursday evening when they play a special Easter Cheersquad show at the Workers Club: Easter Thursday 2 April
Cheersquad Records & Tapes present…
Bagful of Beez with Crow + Grace Mitchell + Billy Peril
The Workers Club, Fitzroy, Vic
– Tix
www.instagram.com/deserthighways
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cheersquadrecordstapes. bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/CheersquadRecordsTapesMGMT
www.instagram.com/cheersquadrecords/
www.youtube.com/channel/UCnjniTJZiFfmw8JlsLZU7Bg
soundcloud.com/cheersquadrecordsandtapes/
Cass McCombs and Hand Habits Announce Split 7”
Watch The Video for McCombs’
‘Seeing The Elephant’ Now
Touring Across Australia in May for VIVID
and sideshows + New Zealand
Cass McCombs – whose work New York Magazine has praised as “smart, wise, playful, literary, and often funny” – has announced a new split 7” with Hand Habits, the project of Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Meg Duffy.
The release pairs two new tracks: McCombs’ ‘Seeing The Elephant’ and Hand Habits’ ‘Good Person’, and will be issued via Domino and Fat Possum.
McCombs’ ‘Seeing The Elephant’ arrives today alongside a video directed by Larry Unrein.
Watch the video for Cass McCombs’ ‘Seeing The Elephant’ here
Stream Cass McCombs’ ‘Seeing The Elephant’ here
Stream Hand Habits’ ‘Good Person’ here
A limited-edition 7” vinyl pressing will be available exclusively on McCombs’ Interior Live Oak Live North American tour.
‘Seeing The Elephant’ b/w ‘Good Person’ marks the second and final tour-exclusive 7”, following McCombs’ collaborative split with Interior Live Oak co-producer Chris Cohen, ‘Steel Reserve’ b/w ‘Ignis Fatuus, Hinkypunk, Sharkfins And Ambergris’, which is also available for pre-order HERE.
The Interior Live Oak Live tour kicked off March 19 in New York City. At the opening show, comedian Adam Friedland introduced McCombs with a bold declaration: “In my opinion, Cass McCombs is the greatest singer-songwriter in the world.” Stereogum was in attendance and later shared a live clip, writing: “The veteran musician made a compelling case for the superlative at LPR, delivering a revelatory two-hour set of psych-folk and indie rock to kick off [the tour].”
Cass McCombs will bring his tour to Australia and New Zealand in May, marking 10 years since he was last one these shores. He will be co-headling a show at the Sydney Opera House with Cate Le Bon, as well as performing headline shows in Melbourne, Castlemaine and Auckland.
The world tour run marks McCombs’ first since the 2025 release of his critically acclaimed album Interior Live Oak, which Pitchfork named one of the year’s best rock albums. Full routing is below, and tickets are on sale now.
Cass McCombs on Tour
Australia & New Zealand
Tues. May 26 – Auckland, NZ @ Double Whammy
Thurs. May 28 – Melbourne, VIC @ Thornbury Theatre
Fri. May 29 – Castlemaine, VIC @ Theatre Royal
Sun. May 31 – Sydney, NSW @ Sydney Opera House – Joan Sutherland Theatre w/ Cate Le Bon (VIVID Live)
US
Wed. Apr. 1 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater **
Fri. Apr. 3 – Boise, ID @ The Shrine Ballroom ^^
Sat. Apr. 4 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern @
Sun. Apr. 5 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater @
Tue. Apr. 7 – Petaluma, CA @ Mystic Theater @
Thu. Apr. 9 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall @
Fri. Apr. 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room @
Sat. Apr. 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour @
Sat. Apr. 25 – Austin, TX @ 29th St. Ballroom #
Mon. Apr. 27 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall #
Tues. Apr. 28 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada #
Thurs. Apr. 30 – Nashville, TN @ The Blue Room #
Fri. May 1 – Birmingham, AL @ Lakeview Marina Music Park
Sat. May 2 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl #
Sun. May 3 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle #
Tues. May 5 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
Thurs. May 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall #
Fri. May 8 – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis #
Sat. May 9 – Jersey City, NJ @ White Eagle Hall &
** with Mike Bones
^^ with Jens Kuross
@ with support from Hand Habits
# with support from Lael Neale
& with support from Garcia Peoples
EU
June 1-7 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera a la Ciutat
June 8 – Paris, FR @ Petit Bain
June 9 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix
June 11 – Rotterdam, NL @ LantarenVenster
June 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tolhuistuin
June 14 – Cologne, DE @ Artheater
June 15 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust
June 16 – Berlin, DE @ Lido
June 18 – Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil
Cass McCombs
Interior Live Oak
Priestess
Peace
Missionary Bell
Miss Mabee
Home At Last
I’m Not Ashamed
Who Removed The Cellar Door?
A Girl Named Dogie
Asphodel
I Never Dream About Trains
Van Wyck Expressway
Lola Montez Danced The Spider Dance
Juvenile
Diamonds In The Mine
Strawberry Moon
Interior Live Oak
Watch Cass McCombs’ Tiny Desk Concert
Watch the Lyric Video for ‘Priestess’
Watch the Lyric Video for ‘I Never Dream About Trains’
Watch the Video for ‘Missionary Bell’
Watch Cass McCombs perform ‘Missionary Bell’ on The Adam Friedland Show
Cass McCombs Online Website | Facebook | Instagram | X