Quadruple Shot Of New Music
SG Lewis ft. Dornik with All Night
Liverpool producer SG Lewis has had a remarkable winning streak. His previous track Shivers has surpassed 4 million plays on Spotify and his other track Warm was featured on HBO and the pointless ‘Point Break’ remake. He’s been co-signed by Disclosure and Pharrell Williams, who called him a “white boy with soul”. To follow up this run of peculiar successes SG Lewis has teamed up with PMR Records label-mate Dornik to craft the 80’s stylised track All Night.
SG Lewis has wielded the heavy use of side-chain compression as if it were his own wavy signature. Here it’s coupled with smooth, retro-inspired synthesizers for his most up-beat track that invoke images of neon-lit cities and late night driving. The heart of the track is the vocals provided by RnB artist Dornik, his vocals resembling a calmer Michael Jackson. Dornik’s own material is certainly worth looking into.
It’s easy for songs that are heavily inspired by certain eras, commonly the 80’s, to dip into (unintentional) caricature or novelty. SG Lewis and Dornik’s entry to the throwback-pop foray steers clear of this trend. SG Lewis’ new EP is slated for release this summer and if All Night is anything to go by, is one worth looking out for.
Summer Heart with The Forbidden
Sometimes a band or an artist has a name that perfectly captures what their vibe is about. Of course Bones would make the songs that Bones does. Of course Gucci Mane makes the songs Gucci Mane does. When listening to Summer Heart you think “of course!”. The familiarity that comes with Summer Heart comes across as intentional.
The dream-pop staples are there; reverb coats everything, vocals are obscured yet they delicately float above the track, synth pads softly drift throughout, and the drums are intricate in their own subtle way and dampened to the point where the snare comes across as gentle. Every aspect of The Forbidden comes across as sun-bleached, hazy, and nostalgic.
The solo-endeavour of Swedish multi-instrumentalist David Alexander, Summer Heart has been his sepia-toned project since 2009. If the glazed, muffled, washed out tones of The Forbidden is something that you find alluring, Summer Heart has an abundance of bedroom dream-pop to occupy your time.
Gypsy & The Cat with Inside Your Mind
Melbourne indie-pop duo Gypsy & The Cat have been renowned for their light synth-pop and hook-laden melodies. Inside Your Mind continues the trend of catchy pop and provides the first taste of their forthcoming album that’s yet to be titled.
The track was mixed by Dave Fridmann (Tame Impala, MGMT, Neon Indian, The Flaming Lips) and mastered by Mike Marsh (Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, Depeche Mode). The song tends to come across as a lost MGMT song: the percussive claps, the warm bass, and the bouncy use of acoustic guitar. In fact, the main acoustic riff sounds an awful lot like Electric Feel. I don’t want to insinuate anything unsavoury, but perhaps they’re too influenced by MGMT.
The eccentricity of Inside Your Mind’s film clip only helps to further the MGMT comparison, utilising the work of artist Housetu Sato’s giant felt cathead. The film clip, shot on location in Japan, encapsulates the track; vibrant, colourful and just atypical enough. If you’re looking to party like it’s 2009, Gypsy & The Cat have a four-show tour this March.
Gypsy & The Cat ‘Inside Your Mind’ Tour
Sat Mar 19
The Foundry, Brisbane
Thu Mar 24
Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney
Fri Mar 25
Howler, Melbourne
Sat Mar 26
Rocket Bar, Adelaide
Sun Mar 27
Jack Rabbit Slims, Perth
Loose Tooth with Sherry
Slacker rock has had something of a revitalisation recently, likely due to the popularity of Mac DeMarco and Courtney Barnett, acts that attempt to follow the musical footsteps of bands like Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, and Silver Jews.
Melbourne trio Loose Tooth’s latest single Sherry is a fuzzy, lackadaisical track that sounds like a sleepy, suburban afternoon that’s been fed into a tape deck. The bass guitar’s warmth rumbles along, while the highs of the guitar seem to carelessly plod and create, in the nicest way possible, a raucous dirge.
Sherry is their latest single following Bites Will Bleed, an equally fuzzy, dissonant guitar pop tune. Both singles are lifted off of their upcoming EP ‘Saturn Returns’, out on Friday 1st April. Those who are interested can pre-order a limited edition 12-inch vinyl released through Courtney Barnett’s label Milk!
Loose Tooth ‘Saturn Returns’ EP Launch Dates
Fri 22 April
The Gasometer, Melbourne
Fri 20 May
Tokyo Sing Song, Sydney
