We've rounded up Adelaide's best new music for the month of March, including Busseys, DEM MOB, Jackulson, Pest Control and West Thebarton.
March 28, 2024
Culture
Adelaide’s best new music
Arxhie Low — ‘Wsg’
The heavy base of Arxhie Low’s latest track holds the intensity of the entire song. Clocking in just two minutes, ‘Wsg’ is still powerful enough to leave us wanting more from the 18 year old. Arxhie has a prominent voice and a strong rap dialogue complaining about girls hitting up his phone, but Arxhie says “I don’t owe you nothing…I’m just doing my thing“. With a video clip that drips in finesse, we can expect more rawness and hardcore rap from this young, upcoming artist.
Remarks
Listen to this playlist on Spotify.
If you’re a South Australian band or musician, join our Artist Network, and let us know about your new release.
Busseys — ‘Drawn Back’
Any track from Busseys reminds us of summer road trips with the windows down. This song seems to easily fit with the rest of the Bussey’s catalogue, and highlights their vocal harmonies and distinct baseline. ‘Drawn Back’ is about the physical connection between two people, and constantly being drawn back to one another despite it not being the most logical option as they sing: “Woah, it seems so dumb for us to shy away from all this but is it worth it just to try”. It’s catchy, it’s fun and it’s stuck in our head forever, but we don’t mind.
Canino Drive — ‘Absinthe Eyes’
With a subtle tap of the foot and a sway of the head, CityMag labels this song as a bop. It’s a song we want to chant and scream in a mosh at the Cranker as it has a repetitive baseline with heavy guitar strums. The story follows a band member and an intense love for their partner moving to London as the band sing: “I think it’s love and nothing in between / and I’ve been all around the world that’s how I know about my girl”. A true rock track that we can’t get enough of. This is the band’s debut track and it took two years to finalise. We hope this means there will be more from the alt-rock band as we can’t seem to get enough.
Choosing Sides — ‘Penelope’
We don’t know what Penelope did, but Choosing Sides isn’t happy. Nevertheless, we want to personally thank Penelope for being the reason this bop exists. The band chants: “You were so sweet Penelope, then you let me down, let me down, oh sweet Penelope”. It’s kind of giving early 2000s, rom-com, opening movie song but with a 2024 Australian alt-rock touch.
DEM MOB — ‘DIP’
‘DIP’ by DEM MOB gives us a look into the realities black Australians constantly are living through, with a film clip that physically shows us as well. DEM MOB wrote this song as a representation of the greater Aboriginal experience, and is “an anthem of survival” while showcasing the dangers of “being in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
They say this narrative style of song is the group’s personal message as DEM MOB member Elisha Umuhur says “Talk of equality and promises to treat Aboriginal people better are prevalent, yet we find ourselves judged as suspects unless we conform to certain expectations”.
Endless Loss — ‘Taversing the Mephitic Artery
Endless Loss are a bestial black/death two-piece best known in Adelaide’s underground scene for savage live shows since they hit the scene in 2015. Nine years on and their debut album, ‘Traversing the Medphitic Artery’ is here. CityMag’s pick is the closing track, “Impenitent Draconian Triumph”. Think heavy riffs, sharp percussion and pure rage.
Jackulson – ‘Glitter Dimension’
Jackulson really hit the nail on the head with the title of this track, as it sonically sparkles. This track is from their latest release, Crystal Swingset, which as a whole is giving MySpace soundtrack vibes. ‘Glitter Dimenson’ feels like someone put an ethereal filter over an early 2000s emo track. This song sounds to CityMag like a sparkle emoji-encrusted message of ✨angst✨.
Pest Control — ‘Misogynistic Prick’
Pest Control is a five-piece fem punk band that writes about their experiences with patriarchy, relationships, mental health and other curveballs. On first listen, ‘Misogynistic Prick’ sounds like an exercise in catharsis, something you’d scream from the rooftop bar with your besties after one too many pushy encounters with a bloke who won’t take no for an answer when you decline his free drink and circular conversation about politics. Lyrics like “Agree to disagree, you don’t ever want to see eye to eye with me” are catchy and relatable. Turn this one up in the car and let it out.
SwapMeet — ‘Ceiling Fan’
‘Ceiling Fan’ by Swap Meet is what this CityMag reporter would describe as indie folk rock/dreampop. The dreamy lead vocals are complemented by the instrumentals that alternate between a gentle and grungy sound. The song is in a 6/8 time signature and starts with a single chord on what sounds like an organ. An acoustic guitar is then introduced, before eventually giving way to a heavier rock sound and finally returning to the gentleness of the beginning.
Sweeney — ‘Try To Be Truly Alone’
CityMag included Sweeney’s album Ageism in our February edition of “Adelaide’s best new music” and the singer-songwriter is already out with a new compilation album, Failures and False Starts, released on March 1. Many of Sweeney’s songs explore queer themes, with titles such as ‘Queerness Is A Virtue’ and ‘A Gay Divorcee’. One of our favourite songs included on the new album is “Try To Be Truly Alone’, with its ‘80s-inspired synths. Described elsewhere as “goth electronica”, the danceability of the song contrasts with the sombre lyrics, including the refrain “Try to be alone/Now try to be truly alone.”
Teddy Mars — ‘Rad Heart’
Teddy Mars describes itself as a “soda-punk” band. We’re not exactly sure what that means, but the band’s new song Rad Heart is totally “rad”. Written by lead singer Aidan Moller, the upbeat tune includes a particularly cool bass line by Casper Hawksley. Also playing on this track is Doug Connolly on guitar, Toby Johnson on drums and Matt Hills on vocals and tambo. CityMag looks forward to hearing more from Teddy Mars.
TUSHAR — ‘Peaches and Wine’
Describing himself as “an Indie(an) artist residing in Australia”, Adelaide musician TUSHAR has released his new single ‘Peaches and Wine’. The 2 minute 34-second indie pop song is infectiously catchy, with its jazzy chord progression and funky drums. TUSHAR has been making waves on the music scene, having recently played at the NYE On the Hill music festival alongside Ball Park Music. Keep up the good work TUSHAR.
twinlite — ‘Attention’
If CityMag were going to give a label to twinlite’s new single ‘Attention’, we would call it IDM (Intelligent Dance Music). As pretentious as this name sounds, some great artists like Aphex Twin produce songs in this genre. ‘Attention’ is the kind of song CityMag can imagine listening to at the end of an illegal rave somewhere in the Adelaide park lands. We can neither confirm nor deny that we’ve been to one.
West Thebarton — ‘Desire’
This CityMag reporter has seen West Thebarton (affectionately known as West Thebby) perform live a couple of times. Both times, the crowd was digging their fun, high-energy and slightly chaotic performance. The SA-based pub rock band has recently released their newest 13-track album, Mongrel Australia, which includes ‘Desire’ as a lead single. This head-banging rock song definitely feels very Australian, with lyrics like “Hey Ray, take me on a fucking holiday/Somewhere down by the sea, but some green/Good food, good booze, with the two dogs and good tunes.”
Share —
