Hello and welcome to our fortnightly indie artists column. Head here if you missed the previous instalment, featuring The Psychedelic Freaks, Quivers and Flimsey Lohan.
Every fortnight, we’re rounding up the best new Victorian bands and artists making waves online, underground and on the airwaves.
For those looking to keep an ear to the ground with the best emerging acts, this column will have you covered every two weeks with Victoria’s finest.
Catch up on the latest music interviews, news and reviews here.
EXEK
Continuing the carpet trend this fortnight are veteran post-punks EXEK, who are back with their first new music in two years – an LP of tracks that date way back to the somewhat normal times of 2015. If Carpet Burn are a worn-in bushy burgundy carpet in a timeless sharehouse lounge, then EXEK are perhaps the slightly less hectic carpet in one of the bedrooms.
Their post-punk sound is dreamy, ethereal and somewhat ambient – but no less edgy. ‘The Theme From Judge Judy’ blinks itself awake like a computer booting up for the first time in years; Albert Wolski’s vocals crawling through as if filtered through VHS, cassette and floppy disk. There’s a real breadth of sounds on Good Thing They Ripped Up The Carpet, and those who enjoy the weirder, more leftfield side of punk – particularly ambient and krautrock (there are big CAN vibes throughout this LP) – will find a lot to love.
Good Thing They Ripped Up The Carpet is out now. They launch the record at Thornbury Bowls Club. More info here.
Carpet Burn
If you like your DIY pop music with a splash of humour, look no further than Carpet Burn. The band’s members are no strangers to the Melbourne indie scene, playing in bands such as Blonde Revolver, Permits and Gutter Girls to name just a few, and make excellent off-kilter pop music on their debut EP, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Carpet Burn.
The standout track has to be ‘Butterfinger Hands’, an anthem about dropping things on the floor for those who feel like their minds are elsewhere thanks to the year that was. It’s a wonderfully catchy guitar-pop song that takes the C86 sound and spins it through a rather menacing post-punk lens. One of the best indie EPs of the year so far? We certainly think so!
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Carpet Burn is out now on Spoilsport Records.
The Seven Ups
Happy release day to underground funk legends The Seven Ups, who are back with brand new album, The Old World. One of the many new records supported by the City of Melbourne COVID-19 Arts Grant, The Old World is a funky cinematic odyssey that is a proggier, chuggier take on the 1970s sounds that Surprise Chef recently explored on their LP, Daylight Savings.
The first thing you’ll notice about The Old World is just how prominent the brass is. Trombone and trumpet dominate this record, especially on ‘Hold Fast to the Void’ – an epic journey of psychedelic percussion and shredding guitar solos that quite frankly sounds like King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard going full jazz. It’s truly transportive stuff and another exciting release for Melbourne’s ever-burgeoning jazz scene.
The Old World is out now via Northside Records. They’ll launch the record at Howler and the Hotel Westwood in July and August.
Keen on another fun read? Join us as we look back at some of the best Melbourne gigs in recent memory.
