We've rounded up Adelaide's best new music for December and January, including Naomi Keyte, Pool Toy, The Meristems and Spirit Level.

Naomi Keyte — ‘Gillian’

‘Gillian’ technically launched in February, but it went live on Unearthed in January, so we’re counting it. Where Naomi Keyte’s last single, ‘Greenhill’, sounded like a descent from the Adelaide Hills at dusk, this new track has the pep of that other great Adelaidean pastime: heading south along the coast in the bright mid-morning sun, “salt in my mouth, music in my ears”. As the song builds, the production (by Naomi, Ben Talbot-Dunn and Nick Huggins) becomes more complex. By the first bridge, Naomi’s voice layers and the song expands like sight of the ocean appearing beyond the crest of a hill. Be sure to pack ‘Gillian’ for your next road trip.

Naomi is launching the single this weekend at The Gov. Find out more about the event here. _(JVE)

The Meristems – ‘I Want You To Stay’

New single by local five-piece The Meristems is delightfully soulful and rippling in sunshine-soaked funk. Rooted in a big, attention-grabbing guitar riff and Olivia Gates’ honey-soaked vocals, ‘I Want You To Stay’ is reminiscent of dazzling ’70s soul and disco cuts. The band’s album art riffs on that golden era’s aesthetic, too. _(AS)

Infinities — ‘LMK’

We were already overwhelmed by the many talents of Bianca Nilsson, the label owner we first met on our visit to Elizabeth hit factory Northern Sound System. Running an international music business leaves little time for anything other personal pursuits, we thought, but then we came across ‘LMK’, a trap-infused pop track from Bianca’s musical alter ego, Infinities. It’s calm and evenly paced, harking back to R&B pop of the Sean Kingston era. _(JVE)

Pool Toy – ‘Flat Earth Society’

Self-described as ‘soccer rock’, Pool Toy are the latest southern five-piece alt-rock band to refuse to be pigeonholed as surf rock. Their latest song, ‘Flat Earth Society’, features a chorus of singers rinsing through conspiratorial couplets topically ranging from the menacing threat of 5G to the ‘fake’ 1968 moon landing. It’s jangly, lo-fi and the perfect balm for creeping suburban paranoia. _(AS)

Ethanol Blend – ‘Chelby’

Almost two years since the release of the self-produced double album The Blend Part 1 and The Blend Part 2, Moana-based band Ethanol Blend have released a new eight-track EP titled Anodised. The group previously told us they didn’t want to be considered a token surf band, and this release represents a sonic shift, particularly evident on tracks like ‘Chelby’. Full of echo and reverb and venturing into darker lyrical territory, there are themes of jealousy and ennui that see EB slither comfortably into shoegaze territory. It’s Beach House if they were making music by the beach. _(AS)

Road Wings — ‘Chops’

Road Wings are a four-piece producing danceable blues rock tunes. ‘Chops’ is a tight two minutes of high-intensity drumming and fuzzy guitar. It’s a good time kick-starter and will be part of the band’s forthcoming debut long-player. _(JVE)

Hindsight — ‘Low Hanging Fruit’

Jackass is in cinemas, guitarists are palm-muting with fuzzy distortion and lead singers are yell-scream-singing again. Late-‘90s, early-’00s punk aesthetics are plotting their return to the mainstream, and Hindsight is doing its best to make that happen. ‘Low Hanging Fruit’, like its accompanying video, is fun, fast and brash. It is a song made for a Warped Tour stage. If only there was one available. _(JVE)

Spirit Level – ‘Hank Williams Is Dead’

“William S Burroughs is dead / Karen Dalton is dead“. Nihilistic and nudging at the outer corners of your consciousness is Spirit Level’s recently released track, ‘Hank Williams Is Dead’. The alt-rock dirge is one half of the two-track EP Morphet Vale Jazz Volume Three, released in January 2022. Backdropped by melancholic piano keys, the singer lists cult heroes who have passed into the great beyond (and some who have not) but not out of our awareness. _(AS)