! Tame Impala may have put Aussie psych-rock on the map, but Sydney act The Laurels seem destined to join the Perth boys at the summit of homegrown retro-rock. Gigging since 2006, the band only released their debut EP, Mesozoic, in July; nonetheless, The Laurels have established themselves as one of Sydney’s most impressive live acts, and are regarded by many as one of our best-kept secrets. Showcasing a driving, groovy, distorted psychedelic rock... read more

Melbourne electro trio Clubfeet are a hot topic at the moment. Their first single ‘Teenage Suicide’ was remixed by a bunch of household electro names (The Glass, Eli Escobar), they’ve been named number three on Hype Machine’s Most Blogged Artists chart; and most recently, Clubfeet paired up with Sydney videographer Alex Goddard for a pretty special artsy collab.

Titled ‘Gold on Gold’, it sees video releases from Alex based on Clubfeet’s debut album... read more

Darkness Falls are Josephine Philip and Ina Lindgreen; a Danish rock duo who have the support of that other great Dane, Anders Trentemøller, who, lucky for them, agreed to produce their debut EP.

Packed with haunting synths, distorted guitars, and drums gritty enough you’ll need a shower afterwards, their tunes sit somewhere between atmospheric post pop and traditional rock, with striking vox and some pretty intense lyrics. Add some reverb and stylistic touches from Trentemøller, and... read more

Nantes are an Australian band, named after a region in western France, playing the sort of icy post-punk you’d normally attribute to Britain in the 1980s Britain and New York City in the early 2000s. Confused? Try not to be; because you’re sure to be hearing a lot more about Nantes this year.

Built on a jangly, garage-rock base (a la The Strokes) with a massive dollop of LCD Soundsystem-like down-tempo electronic elements; the finished product comes out like Joy Division would sound... read more

Speaking to Groupie from her car, parked on top of a hill in Melbourne’s rainy inner suburbs, Sophia Brous is in high spirits despite the weather and the trek she’s had to make in order to take our phone call. “I thought, rather than have eighteen conversations that cut out from bad reception, I’d drive up here!” she laughs.

It’s with this light-hearted, good-natured and joyful spirit that Sophia, recording under the moniker of Brous, infuses... read more

‘Shit-pop’ is how Sydney duo The Gooch Palms classify their music; but if you get past that unwelcoming description, and their ungainly name, you’ll find one of the true gems of the harbour city’s burgeoning retro-punk scene.

Along with acts like Straight Arrows, Circle Pit and Mother & Son, The Gooch Palms are bringing rock’n’roll back into vogue in Sydney. Just two members, it’s a girlfriend-boyfriend duo that play scuzzy, fuzzy garage-rock. It’s simple, loud, brash... read more

It’s not often that an Aussie band gets snapped up by a big international label like pioneering US punk stable, Epitaph. That’s what makes the story of Adelaide band Dangerous! so exciting.

Blasting out a brand of thrashy garage-rock in the vein of The Hives, infused with the energy of The Vines’ early work, the four-piece have been building buzz both here and abroad due to their powerful live show and proper rock’n’roll outlook. It’s dirty, raw, raucous and LOUD; the sort... read more

!When your band is just you and your mates, when you’re not driven by fame or money, when you play for little but the joy of it – and the beer – then you can pretty much do what you want, and have heaps of fun doing it. This is the simple story behind La Mancha Negra, as told by guitarist Simon Trick, who, along with his band of brothers, have been belting out their raspy brand of swamp rock for a couple of years now. “We never turn down gigs, we travel to Melbourne a bit... read more

‘In Heaven’ is the debut LP from five piece Long Island gleaming poppers, Twin Sister. Lucky for us, we don’t have to wait til it’s officially out to sample it; their latest track ‘Gene Ciampi’ is available to stream right now, so you can dip your toes ever-so-slowly into the Twin Sister pool and decide whether these guys are for you or not.

Listen to the colourful, slightly oddball single – lead by front woman Andrea Estella’s breathy high-pitched vocals (almost reminiscent... read more

17-year-old Elen Levon (pronounced just like you would ‘Ellen’) has just been signed to Nufirm, a brand new label project from Ministry of Sound. Crossing over pop and dance, the teenager’s debut single ‘Naughty’ was produced by Australian urban pop singer Israel Cruz, and quickly caught the attention of the label, who signed her promptly after.

The video for ‘Naughty’ is yet to drop, but in the meantime, here is some cute behind the scenes footage of the making of the clip,... read more