This isn’t the first time I’ve written words about Cold Hiker. The last time was a momentary discussion of their track ‘Phosphenes’ which was very good indeed, though at the time I mentioned an excess of Radiohead influence. Well I’ve good news for you loyal readers, the band have grown. Not just physically and emotionally but technically too. The vocals on their newest single Arms have lost the frustrated edge and now have a gentle confidence that’s slightly at odds with the subject matter before that synth backing comes in so slowly that you don’t actually realise it’s ascending through the mix; Somehow then, the track is thick with it. Then as slowly as it came, it’s gone again in an instant. Whoever had that idea, GOOD ONE M8. I DAMN WELL ENJOYED THAT.

We’ve exchanged a few emails in the lead-up to this post and it came out that we’ve a mutual admiration for the work of fellow Melbourne act I’lls (another staple of the Sound Doctrine experience). The direct quote was “talented musicians who know how to complement each others’ parts really well” which I read in a really teenage way, but ignoring that minor underlying innuendo, he/they went on to make a compelling case for I’lls and in particular: “I remember hearing the bass line in ‘Speak Low’ and nearly defecating”. So there’s that. It makes excellent sense then that these gents went on to ask Simon Lam (involved in this, this this and this) to produce this.

It’s subtle enough so that Lam’s fingerprints aren’t all over the thing and I can imagine the demo might not have sounded a world apart from this recording right here. Across the breadth of the track, subtlety is probably the resounding adjective. Nothing overbears, nothing intrudes and everything resides within its appointed measure. Worthy of your time and more than worthy of mine.

It’s all rather impressive given that the band met on Chatroullete*, you’d have to think. This’ll be the first single from a forthcoming EP they’ll have out early to mid next year. Meanwhile you can catch them every Wednesday of October at the Grace Darling for a mere five dollar bill.

*probably untrue.

A quiet, introspective one from Jack R Reilly that sounds like the closer to a Jimmy Eat World record and I mean that in the most flattering possible way. Also bonus points for reminding me that Bright Eyes still exists and that I should be listening to I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning right now. Well not right now, after this song, but almost immediately. As far as I can tell it’s the first track from the Sydneysider but then the dude has listed this as his official website so there’s every possibility that he’s hidden his tracks across the internet as some sort of interactive digital treasure hunt. Update, it seems like this isn’t the first track but it’s still the only one I can find currently available so it may as well be. “Finding it hard to tell you we’ve lost our way”. Fan. Meanwhile you can see this ditty done live on September 19 at Oxford Art Factory.

Meanwhile there is no photo attached to this post because my one month trial of photoshop has now expired.

Hello friends, followers and family (divided into a clean 10-10-80 percent split), today I share you Tim Fitz’s most recent body of work which is actually his fourth EP. When did that happen? It was only after reading this most excellent mess + noise piece on Fitz (who I have never met and am now reviewing from an impartial and objective setting) that I realised how prolific an EP producer he is but if it took four EPs to get him to the point where he could accomplish this most recent endeavour then damnit Fitz, you did good son. As a complete work it’s superior to all he’s released prior and I think it’s because he’s wrinkled out some of the creases that kept showing up across his previous output.

Instead of feeling disjointed (technically, thematically) these six songs flow through like a river undammed. The sound palette has some uniformity and the record opens with a proper opener and ends with an proper ender. You know? Also, few artists can navigate between organic sound and electronic burst with the surefootedness that Fitz shows in The Wanderer (Fleet Foxes meets Animal Collective) and Fracture (my personal favourites).

He’s also reinforced the hook in songs like Hospital (and to a lesser extent Happiness Is Tugging At Your Heart) so that there’s a strong pop foundation over which he can apply the snap beeps and trills that typify a Fitz record. In terms of straight up songcraft, these are the best evidence.

This release takes itself more seriously. It’s always felt as though he didn’t see himself as a worthy contender when placed side by side next to, well, any other artist but there’s a sense of confidence and seriousness now that has been previously absent. There’s no technically impressive yet conceptually ridiculous outbursts (see Huhuhuhuhu) and again, I refer you to the resounding structural uniformity to this release as a whole.

That said, I just listened to his exceptional Beforetime EP (now see my best Aus releases of 2011) and I realise that he’s been mental-good all along, so uhhhh….

The big news in all this is that one of my favourite Australian music blogs Skydreams is evolving from music blog into an outstanding record label / music blog hybrid. It’ll probably be a long time before they start releasing (inevitably excellent) music though, so we sh- WRONG! They’ve jumped the gun! They haven’t waited, not a day, not a second! The first Skydreams mixtape is here and I don’t overstep my bounds when I say that it’s the best new thing on the entire internet right now, including this reddit thread that ruined my whole day thanks alot Reddit #goodonereddit. Anyway, I’d be remiss not to throw up my favourite from the mixtape as it’s been an absolute revelation to me and a capital-J Jam. It’s the project of a dude named Luke who is from a little band you might have heard of MAYBE, ONLY THE LAURELS! Yahztee! I bet you’re grinning from ear to ear right now, I know I am! Everyone is looking into my office (I’m a suit!) being all “why is Tommy smiling so much while he does his TPS reports?” but they don’t even know, THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW! We know though. We know that this is excellent and we’re going to share it with absolutely every connection we have via social media and word of mouth. Do it for me, do it for Luke, hell, do it for Skydreams cause those dudes have worked a long time to set this label up.

Just so that you don’t think our Skydream pals are a one trick pony though, here’s some Bonetwister to keep you guessing. Who? EXACTLY! Magic.

Stream the rest of the mixtape here and keep your ear to the ground and your eyes to the skydreamsies

Seems like this race has been run and I’m just vernturing forth to the starting line but not to worry, it’s not about reaching the finish line first [I hope]. In fact it’s not even about the delivery, it’s just about the tune. Sometimes I forget that I guess. This new one from The Smiths Camden is an easy affair consisting of lazy Saturday guitar brushes and lax bass rolls. Technical terms the lot of those. You’ll hear more of the Morrissey reference if you’d delve into the Camden back cat (at your leisure) which, while not an unpleasant experience, is a little too derivative for my liking. Still, to sate your curiosity, you’ll find a less recent tune below though has more than a little in common with The Kooks’ Frankie’s Gun. Shouts to Hugh for being across this over eleven years ago. On drums you’ll hear the same man who sits behind the skins for Food Court whilst the rest of the band have performed in various other Sydney incarnations. If the songwriting continues to improve then I see no reason why Camden couldn’t swell ever larger as a known outfit. Let it be so.