BRAILLE FACE: Glow
There’s a rich movement amongst Australia’s promising crop of electronic producers in embracing emotion as a tool, but each artist seems to be doing so in a unique way. Braille Face delves into the intricate on Glow, which possesses an ambience to befit its title. The vocal work is spot on, dynamic without being showy. An aural treat.
CONTRAST: Livewire
There’s something direct in the delivery of Livewire, cutting through in places shoegaze doesn’t usually cut through, annunciating and augmenting, pushing everything in the right direction. The “doo-do-do” refrain seems like sardonic resignation, compounding ambiguity through apathy. First taste of an upcoming debut full-length from the Melbourne crew.
STONEFIELD: Stranger
Emerging from a mire of middling corporate rock, Stonefield continue in the right direction with Stranger, playing to their strengths while coming into their own. Nothing resolutely remarkable, but you could go a lot worse when it comes to current Oz rock.
THE TEMPER TRAP: Fall Together
God, this is a clunker. The ‘80s echo arpeggio works, everything else is grating. The theatrical falsetto would be ridiculous in The Darkness, here it’s fucked. The chorus thuds like a rancid eggplant emoji. The last single worked as sync-bait, this just doesn’t work.
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
MITSKI: Your Best American Girl
This is something special. There’s power in restraint, if you listen close, and there’s power in release, even if you’re not listening close. There’s an uncanny moment of blindside when the song really hits you, and you’ll feel the residual impact, if not the immediate impact. Mitski punctuates with chugging downstrokes, soars with a feather of tremolo in voice. The seeds are planted, now watch it grow.
