This week’s Discovery playlist brings together ten of our favourite new tracks, including three premieres we were thrilled to share earlier in the week. As always, we cover plenty of ground, from artists just beginning to make their mark to long-time favourites returning with brilliant new music.
Our Track of the Week is the dark new anthem “Endless Summer” from Full Flower Moon Band. Sometimes the rock world can feel like a sea of beige. That is never going to be a problem with Full Flower Moon Band. They are forever inventive, unpredictable and utterly compelling, with frontperson Kate “Babyshakes” Dillon quite simply outta this world. Their live shows are incredible too, so run, don’t walk, if you get the chance to see them perform.
“Endless Summer” is the first taste of the band’s newly announced fourth album, After Dark, due out 26 February via Impressed Recordings. Written over a single month in New York after Dillon received Q Music’s Grant McLennan Fellowship, the album finds her turning the lens inward and imagining what might come next. The single itself is darker than its title might suggest, driven by what Dillon describes as a kind of “hopeless, frantic optimism”, giving the track an uneasy tension beneath its swagger. We can’t wait to hear more.
Five years since the release of their last album acclaimed Scottish trio CHVRCHES return this week with “Roses” their bold, caustic new single. A lot has changed over the last five years, and it’s fair to say the band are pretty pissed off about the state of the world. “Roses” is a delightfully scathing critique of contemporary Britain and its murkier undercurrents; with a more industrial feel seeping into the synth-pop sound they’re known for. Immediate, affecting, “Roses” hits hard – a banger!
Nick Ward gives us “Jenny”, an upbeat, flowing, lovestruck odyssey, the latest taste of forthcoming sophomore album Year Of The Snake, out on the 13th of November. It was written with longtime collaborator Lucian Rice during a writing trip to Auckland. It has a lovely looseness; it’s vibrant, very danceable, and carefree. At its heart, it’s a fantasy about meeting someone and wanting to disappear with them, before you’ve even quite worked out who they are. Check out the video as well.
This week sees Sydney singer-songwriter Azure Ryder release her debut album, Even Flowers Can Bruise. Her music blends elements of folk and country, with a nostalgia tinged style dream pop; and the album is no different. It’s an emotive exploration of vulnerability, relationships, and personal growth. Melancholic and deeply felt, it is often undeniably beautiful, and “Josefine” is no different. Gorgeous fingerpicked guitar feature alongside Ryder’s warm, rich and vocals. Sublime.
Also on the playlist this week is “Slow Cosmic Demise”, the latest single from Tasmanian-based artist Chamberwoman (Natalie Cardoza). The single, which is from her forthcoming debut album, is nowhere near as bleak as the title would suggest. Instead it’s being billed as a “deceptively bright entry point” into the album (make of that what you will). That said, it’s still grappling with the existential upheaval of modern life, just through the lens of psych tinged alternative folk. Cardoza’s vocals throughout are just stunning – ethereal, chant like, and captivating. Meanwhile, there’s really lovely understated guitar work throughout.
“Waiting Out The Rain” is the new single from Perth ‘pop’ artist Harriet Hawthorne, and the second release from her debut EP, Beginner’s Luck? (Out November 6th). It showcases a more unguarded, heart-on-sleeve aspect to Hawthorne’s songwriting. She describes the track as “the kind of song that I think only a 19-year-old going through their first heartbreak could write”. It’s really good pop songwriting, it’s toes the line between familiar and fresh perfectly, and to this ear draws upon touchstones from across the eras, and has all the hallmarks of a hit song.
Naarm-based singer-songwriter Kook Joey releases “Miracle” this week, the title track from her forthcoming third EP (out December 4th). “Miracle” is quite frankly a vibe. It captivates right from the opening notes, with these gorgeous retro flourishes and this undeniable groove. It’s like an explosion of colour and joy. The perfect pick me up!
Finally, we have premieres from Lucy Burke (“Meet Me There”), Damien Binder (“I Can’t Believe My Mind”) and Vault Hill (“Wadeye”).
Catch all the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music:
and on Spotify:
Here’s the complete list of new additions this week:
Full Flower Moon Band “Endless Summer”
CHVRCHES “Roses”
Nick Ward “Jenny”
Azure Ryder “Josefine”
Chamberwoman “Slow Cosmic Demise”
Harriet Hawthorne “Waiting Out The Rain”
Kook Joey “Miracle”
Lucy Burke “Meet Me There” [Exclusive Video Premiere]
Damien Binder “I Can’t Believe My Mind” [Exclusive Video Premiere]
Vault Hill “Wadeye (ft. Mark Ninnal)”[Exclusive EP Premiere]
Header image credit: Sinead Leigh@moonstrikken
