I believe it was Socrates who first coined the phrase “Flaunt it if ya got it” and there’s no a doubt in my mind that he’d appreciate it’s application in regards to this brand new Ojikae number. It’s the mantle under which Italian-Australian Matt Cicero operates and it’s one you’ll hear roll out the mouths of presenters and pundits across the tail end of 2017. The dude has pipes on pipes and ‘Existentiality’ toes the line of vocal showcasing without quite falling into the realm of cheesy balladry. It still feels raw as guts and even though its production is clever, paralleling the lyrical feeling well, it doesn’t feel spit-shined into oblivion. Got a hunch that this is one of those ‘debut singles’ that are actually not really the debut single but more of a relaunch but it’s effectively the same thing innit? Hell, what do I know? If you’re a fan of Timberlake or contemporary neo-soul types like JMSN you’re gonna vibe this. Lots of feelings and a trigger warning for anyone whose girl just left them. Apologies for lamely including two Socrates quotes in one post but as the great philosopher once said, “This thing bangs harder than a pneumatic hammer”.

It’s the first signing to the newly minted THANK GUARD label imprint, a brand name that found its feet putting on hip-hop nights in Melbourne.
Get him on triple j unearthed right here.

There was a time when the local blogs were plenty. There was a time when Pedestrian.tv could run a music blog prize and have over 15 entrants, all of them strong. Even then, there were good blogs un-nominated. It felt like blog culture might never go away because music fans wanted new music and who better to deliver it to them than those who could write and listen well both. What that booming blog culture didn’t seem to foresee however, was that among the sheer quantity of new songs released weekly, punters would eventually decide that they didn’t really have time to see that music qualified. They would eventually decide that they wanted the audio without the commentary.

So readerships lessened, blogs faded back and playlists boomed. Algorithms put songs into ears quicker than scroll-heavy mp3 sharers could and they did it semi-successfully without any of the copy. I’m being incredibly reductive of course and there are plenty of reasons blogs lost their stronghold but that was among them. So when once the street was walled with stalls labelled ‘All I Do Is Listen’ or ‘East To West’, it’s now marked mostly by multi-storied ‘digital publications’ which all seem to have “Music” in their name. A few of the windows still show signs of life inside but the sphere aint what it once was. It’s these thoughts that bid me keep this one open. Every year, my domain name and hosting fees come around for renewal and I delay payment as long as I can, thinking that perhaps this is the year I save myself a cool hundo and let the lights go off for the last time. But I can’t. I like writing about music but sometimes it’s also good to write about music. Sometimes you just want to single out a song more intentionally than through a playlist and maybe you’ll see them profit. What else can I offer? Words are my coin. And though the readership is limited and the effect is small, I’m gonna keep writing about songs like this one from Didirri, songs that strike home with emotional resonance.

It’s the second from the Warnamambool-now-Melbourne ‘folk dandy’ (his words) and in my earlier, holier-than-though days, I might’ve turned up my nose and something so melodic and beautiful. But I’ll tell you friends, I’ve had a bunch of children and I’ve gone soft as brie. This song nails me with it’s lowhearted lyrics (touch on family and I’m levelled) and the chorus melody. When that chorus comes back for the second time and the vocal thickens with company there are hints of lowkey Smashing Pumpkins songs like ‘To Sheila’ or ‘Disarm’. But let’s say what we’re here to say, there’s also a big bag of Robin Pecknold in the vox, innthere? The way the chorus takes an extra two bars to hit is going to confuse festival punters, ruining their singalongs but it’s also another fruit of Didirri’s creative instincts. Sometimes it’s the technical or experimental that pique my ears but sometimes it’s just a record with some real-ass feelings, you know?

‘Blind You‘ was got me on the structure but ‘Jude’ gets me in the gut. Feelings and family and all that. The good stuff.

I probably forgot to tell you because last time we hung out we spent the whole time playing Goat Simulator in complete silence but I actually went and got a new job? I’m over at triple j Unearthed dot com now which means I’m actually listening to Too Much Australian Music and I sure as hell don’t have time to tell you about all the amazing new songs I’m coming across because it’s something in the vacinity of a million(ish) per day which, you’d have to admit, is quite a few. So I’d like to introduce you to a new segment. It’s called Discover and it’s where I’ll hit you with ten songs that I’ve found on unearthed that are hitting me right in the sound doc regions (just above the groin but below the waist still). So why don’t you read ahead and maybe you’ll learn something for once in your life you big dunce. It’s tune time my friends!

As a rule of thumb, I don’t write about anything signed to my baby label TEEF on Sound Doctrine. I guess you might say I’ve got too much integrity or that I’m too credible or maybe that I’m too smart or gorgeous. Frankly, it could be any or all of those things, but the upshot is that the artists that I work directly with, those that I obviously like more than most others releasing music in Australia, don’t get championed through my main championship medium. Which is sort of crazy, when you think on it.

Not today though chaps, we’ve found a loophole! One of those same special few signed to TEEF has gone and remixed himself a version of Bilby’s Stingray and before you hit me with your dumb old questions, here are the sparknotes. Arthur Wimble is an anonymous producer slash vocalist from Brisbane with a seraph’s throat. Bilby is quite honestly one of the most interesting rappers in the country and dropped one of the standout local records of 2016 in the form of Botanicals. Slam the two of them in an e-room together and you’ve got yourself a time. Outcome: Woozy synths jumping on and off key and vocals brought right to the top on a track full of lyrical keystones and remarkably flippant melodies that whip and change ad nauseam.

It’s the first dose from Strain of Origin VI, a compilation series that sees artists paired off and remixing each other. It’s part of the long term community building that label Feral Media has dedicated itself to for a bunch of years now and an inspiration to a character like me who’s only been a short term addition to the local label landscape. The full record will be out real soon and will feature Aphir, Bilby, Artie Wimble, Tangents, Pendant, Lovely Head, Aphir, Reuben Ingall, Hence Therefore and Rebel Yell all flipping each others’ tunes. That’s something worth getting excited for.

I haven’t been as taken with a local EP this year as I have been with this Stella Donnelly EP (amazingly titled Thrush Metal). She’s fresh outta Perth, or more accurately fresh in Perth as she’s still there. She’s released Thrush Metal via one of my two favourite local record labels, the wonderful Healthy Tapes (the other is Spirit Level, FYI). Healthy Tapes is, true to its name, largely focused around cassette releases and Stella has bumped out no less than five pressings now as the damn things keep selling, a testament to the magic on those tape spools. Truly she channels the holy trinity of lyrics, voice and performance and I just don’t even know what to do anymore because I like it so much and maybe there’s a Stella Donnelly AA-like meeting where we can all talk about how we ended up here and make amends for the things we did to other people and look this is a tangent we don’t need to follow any further so come on let’s just have another listen just one more listen please I need this you don’t understand. There’s no production tropes tweaking your ears but rather very earnestly delivered ideas, sung wonderfully with just the slightest hint of vibrato and thoughtfully positioned acoustic guitar.

As the best artists always do, SD makes it tough to pick a favourite song from the record. ‘Grey’ has my favourite vocal melody that hugs the acoustic guitar line like a pair of teens cuddling their way down a grassy slope. Then there’s ‘Mean To Me’ which is sad and sweet in equal measure, playful but hurting all the while. And then dammmmmn, this has gotta be the one that drives you gut first into the zone of no return but ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ is utterly ruinous. It’s a song about sexual assault and it’s societal perceptions (our collective penchant for victim blaming) and Stella’s voice will completely tear you apart. Somehow she manages to talk directly to survivor, perpetrator and perpetrators father while changing person occasionally to callous bystander. I can’t quite say how she coherently navigates these different voices but Donnelly, you’re a special sort of artist and we need you right now.