August 2023 - Noteworthy New Releases
Our favourite releases of the month.
Rocky’s Pride and Joy – ‘So Said the Roach’
Purveyors of fine doom since 2020, Rocky’s Pride and Joy keep going from strength to fuzz-laden strength. Having signed to Electric Valley Records this year, ‘So Said The Roach’ is the band’s second release with the heavy label. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a band that formed in a haunted railway cottage. The track opens with a disorienting fade-in that sounds like a swarm of robotic locusts, setting the tone for four-and-a-half minutes of pure but accessible darkness.
Pounding drums and dirty, driving bass form the landscape for Brenton Wilson’s sneering Billy Corgan-esque vocals. The lyrics, written by bassist Dominic Ventra, take the perspective of a cockroach doomed to be stung by a wasp. It’s scary stuff. The track and our unfortunate cockroach friend chug ominously along until a screeching lead guitar slices through, triggering an unhinged scream of vocal delivery. It all winds up with a brief wailing guitar solo before coming to a no-nonsense end.
Dark, heavy and unsettling, ‘So Said The Roach’ is a shining black jewel in the crown of Rocky’s Pride and Joy, and an absolute triumph for Adelaide’s heavy scene. The overall effect is undoubtedly worthy of a slow headbang.
Sounds like: The end of the world.
Words Timothea Moylan
Srotmy-Lou – ‘Eggshells’
Indie foursome Stormy-Lou’s latest single, ‘Eggshells’, hits hard – not that you’d necessarily guess its trajectory from the get-go. The track opens with understated guitar that sits under Mikaeli Stoker’s gentle vocals, as she tenderly pleads with the subject of the song to find it in themself to be a better human.
It builds slowly but surely, coming into its own at the halfway point. Palm-muted guitars and urgent drums swell into a wistful, instrumental break that redirects the song to an angsty finish line. There’s rage in Stoker’s vocal delivery now as she belts: ‘Stop slamming doors and change your tone’. It felt like a request in the first chorus – now it’s a demand.
‘Eggshells’ is an emotional journey of a song, carried by a catchy, anthemic chorus that’s reminiscent of Melbourne-based favourite, Bec Stevens. Its uniquely-Australian sound feels nostalgic and refreshing, and with only a few releases under Stormy-Lou’s belt to date, we can only hope there’s more where this came from.
Sounds like: The exhausting realisation that some people might never change.
By Timothea Moylan
Jen Lush – ‘Icon – Song 1’
What do Carol Anne McGowan’s ‘Mad Girl’s Love Song’ and Thursday’s ‘Cross Out The Eyes’ have in common? The two different releases from two very different sounding musicians have all utilised poetry from another writer in their songwriting. They use Sylvia Plath and Michael Palmer respectively, and the outcomes are breathtaking.
Local songstress, Jen Lush, adopted a similar technique for her single ‘Icon - Song 1’, a poem originally written by famed Melbourne writer Maria Zajkowski. Ms Lush drew upon five stanzas in the draft manuscript of Ms Zajikowski’s book that (fascinatingly) were not used in the final print, about Maria’s father, Eugienuisz Zajkowski, who passed from Alzheimer’s disease. Used in a different medium from their original form, they are beyond remarkable.
There is an uncanny and beautiful resemblance to the folk charm of Beth Orton with Jen Lush’s darkened balladry and tender delivery. Think significant memories invading the mind during a cold sea breeze at the beach – overwhelming the listener with joy, despair, longing and gratitude.
Music really is a universal language.
Sounds like: Patty Griffin warming everyone’s soul during a storm by candlelight.
Words Will Oakeshott
The 745 – ‘Mesh’
“Where there is young people and vitality, you’re going to find punk rock” – Henry Rollins
This statement from one of the pioneers of punk rock could be printed on The 745’s next run of t-shirts. The local quartet are exactly what Mr Rollins defines: drummer Marcus Anthony is only 16 years of age; Ari McGregor (guitar), Cooper McEwan (bass) and vocalist Ruben Williams are only marginally older. The quartet are named after their self-proclaimed ‘party bus’ that navigates the Seaford circuit and their lyrics discuss their youthful mischief. The ingredients are all there for punk rock and that’s what the four-piece do to enthralling effect.
‘Mesh’ is an impressive single from the band’s debut album and it has the power to trap the listener in the best way. Blending the infectious garage grasp-ability of The Chats with an injection of classic punk motivated by the Germs and the urgency of Amyl & The Sniffers, The 745’s brand of ‘Monsoon Rock’ is also one you can’t stop.
“I want to, I need to, I want to get away,” Ruben Williams yells, with all the repetitive angst ‘Mesh’ embodies. Let the punk rockers of Australia hail this bus – it’s going worldwide.
Sounds like: A re-imagination of the Rolling Thunder Revue documentary with the royalty of punk rock along for the ride.
Words Will Oakeshott
