Jeremy Neale’s ‘Darlin’ is going to be big. He’s cut his teeth in Velociraptor and come to the obvious conclusion that the next career step from a moderately successful garage-rock outfit is a doo-wop throwback project. Neale’s crooning vocals are smoother than the output of a broken softserve machine and that sax- THAT SAX. It squeals and screeches antagonising, yet never compromising the melody. Given the current situation of the Australian music market one might wonder if there’s any further room for tunes this historically derivative but I say ‘yay’. There certainly is. The strength of that melody serves as guarantor against any other criticism that might be levelled at the track but there’s also unmistakeable technical ability. I think the single has been about for just a few days but word is travelling, chins are wagging. Also included for your listening pleasure is his first single ‘Winter Was The Time’. Download both tracks courtesy of Triple J Unearthed.

Here’s a set of Melbournites that are pushing the artistic envelop. Think a drum and bass Seabear without that much drum and bass, but still with a little bit of drum and bass. Then minus the drum and bass, throw in the ocassional breakbeat and some well rounded bass rumblings and there you have it, I’lls. It’s a grammatical nightmare of a name but when you think about it, and you will, it’s actually a pretty great way of spelling Aisles/Isles etc. And I know, I know, I know I say this all the time but please believe me, you won’t understand the quality of this act until you listen to it with suitable auditory apparatus – this means apple headphones, laptop speakers, ringtones, those eskies with built in speakers, they’re all off limits. Maybe just wait until you get home if I’ve mentioned something relevant to your current circumstance.

The vocals are serene and caringly layered behind the wash of sound (I would have liked to hear them a little higher in the mix) made up of those earlier mentioned drums, the regular quick finger trill of delayed electric and a piano melody that is often lost underneath all the rest ( though it comes to the fore at the end of ‘Thrice’). If you’ve ever listened to any Radiohead (at all, ever) you’ll have trouble listening to ‘Take higher Ground’ on it’s own merits, but do try as I’lls are definitely more than the sum of their influences. As far as I’ve discovered, there are member connections to other Melbourne bands such The Ocean Party and Kins and no doubt a few others I’m oblivious to so we’re not talking about fresh to the game upstarts here.

Their 7 track Thread EP is available here or there’re two tracks up for free download on their unearthed page for the frugal.

After last month’s false start we’re now officially underway with the Tallest Man’s third full-length There’s No Leaving Now, due out June 11. The Dylanesque vocal tones that we’ve grown so found of are here even complimented by a Dylanesque delivery. I like this so, so much. I truly wonder if anyone will ever touch me the way The Tallest Man does, and though that couldn’t sound any creepier, I assure that I mean it in the least gropey way possible. Big Krisso’s done it again.

I’ve heard that the new record is going to have an added country twang to compliment his familiar acoustic folk riffery and I’m open to it. I’m even open to his reported use of a full band on this record. What I’m not open to, and I’ve said this before, is the delay on his ‘Once A Year’ soundtrack songs. WHERE ARE THEY!?

The Tallest Man On Earth – 1904 [DOWNLOAD]

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Your already great day is about to get even better with the introduction to a song you’ll be hearing time and time again on Triple J over the next few months. This song is called ‘This Song Is Called Ragged’. See what I did there? It’s far less abrasive than Trounce (which, to make clear, I loved). I like that you can hear the rumbling guitar underneath it all still, which makes me think this will be a guitar driven record in a way that his first was not. His self-titled debut was all about those big, big drum sounds. The base level tribalism that also characterised the first record is still here but the undertone is stonier. You might even say… rockier? I’ve close friends that hated the production on Boulet’s debut but I’m going to stand strong here and say I’m all about this. The weight garnered when those gang vocals come in is undeniable. Let the public rejoice.

Don’t forget to hit the download button over there to get a copy for keepsies. We Keep the Beat, Found the Sound, See the Need, Start the Heart, will be out on June 11 through Modular.

Here’s a gentleman worth keeping an eye on courtesy of his apparent ability to make music within any chosen genre. Have a listen to the pair of songs streaming below and you’ll have to agree, you’ll just have to agree that they are quite dissimilar, am I right? I’m right and I’m astute and that’s why I’m a viable music media node. Respect me. The one song sounds like an under produced Justin Timberlake, with the light sprinklings of an Oscar + Martin jam. There are some organic sounds in there that thanks to my well honed ear, I’ve been able to identify as the jingling of car keys and the clinking of a vintage collectible spoon on an empty jar of Cottee’s jam.

The other, the more recent ‘Selma Blair’ from his third record Home, has this chorusey bit that comes in around the 1:00 mark that is sure to set your heart a-flutter. Rollicking banjo? Don’t mind if I do. It’s a far folkier affair and it’s a better representation of the album in which it resides which is, incidentally, free. He’s from Melbourne too, just by the by.

Yeo – ‘Two sides Of A Door’ [DOWNLOAD]

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Yeo – ‘Selma Blair’ [DOWNLOAD]

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