Welcome to The Weekly Riff, where every Friday arvo, BLUNT looks back at five of the sickest and spiciest happenings from the week that was!
FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES TEAM UP WITH LYNKS FOR A BOUNCY NEW BANGER
The eccentric punk-rocker has returned with a brisk and bassy new jam bursting at the seams with bright, dancefloor-ready liveliness. It’s called ‘Go Get A Tattoo’ (we would if we could, Frank, but we’re based in Sydney, so we can’t even go get a fucking haircut right now), it features a downright fucking sick guest spot from Bristol pop upstart Lynks, and it’s our third taste of what’s shaping up to be Frank’s most exciting and experimental album yet, Sticky. The album lands October 15th – in the meantime, give this newie a crack below!
THE BETHS ARE TURNING THEIR TOWN HALL EPIC INTO A LIVE ALBUM AND CONCERT FILM
Our favourite Kiwi pop-rockers celebrated their second album, Jump Rope Gazers (check out our interview with frontwoman Liz Stokes from when that dropped last July), by playing a whole bunch of tracks from it in Auckland’s stunning Town Hall. The monumental hometown headliner – to which they played in front of around 1,500 local fans, and thousands more around the world via livestream – will come to CD and vinyl in the form of ‘Auckland, New Zealand, 2020’ on September 17th. It’ll also be released as a full-length concert film exclusive to streaming (take your pick of Vimeo or Apple TV+), filmed by The Beths’ longtime collaborators Sports Team.
“Watching the film for the first time brought back all the emotions of 2020 for us,” Stokes said in a presser. “Sports Team have done such an amazing job of capturing the mix of anxiety and simple joy that was touring music in NZ at the time. We are so grateful that it happened, and grateful to have it documented with so much love and care.”
The news came alongside a video for the live version of ‘Future Me Hates Me’. Give it a suss!
SLY WITHERS ARE TAKING GARDENS ON THE ROAD WITH TEENAGE JOANS AND NOAH DILLON
We have been dying to see Sly Withers take to the stage with their jaw-dropping new album, Gardens, and they’re finally doing it! They’ve got 12 dates lined up for November and December, where, pending this pesky little lockdown sitch we’re all in right now, the band will hit up venues in Darwin, Perth, the Margaret River, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Leederville and Fremantle. What’s more, they’ll be taking Teenage Joans (who, as you’ll see in this here interview, we are frothing hard right now) and Noah Dillon out on the road with them – what a lineup!
JULIEN BAKER FLIPS HER LITTLE OBLIVIONS INTO A SLICK NEW REMIX EP
The indie-rock luminary minted her riveting third album, Little Oblivions, back in February. This new, selective redux takes five of its best tracks and shines them through the idiosyncratic lenses of Half Waif, Helios, Gordi, Jesu and Thao. We’ll be able to soak in the full slate of silky indietronica fusion vibes on September 1st, but for now, Matador have swung us the Helios remix of ‘Bloodshot’. It’s not the kind of fare we’d usually highlight on BLUNT – a soft, glittery and ambient affair – but it’s too magical for us to simply ignore. Especially on the last business day of what’s ended up a brutally hectic week. Brew up a tea, sink into the couch and crank this one up high.
MOANING LISA DROP A NEW JAM AND TEASE THEIR MIGHTY RETURN TO THE STAGE
The new tune is called ‘Cold Water’, and in a stark contrast to their typically ripping hot, adrenaline-fuelled indie-grunge anthems, this one is a little more subdued and open-hearted. Screaming electric guitars and gnashing percussion still flood the mix, but there’s a big wallop of emotion in Charlie Versegi’s restrained lead vocal, and the tempo feels more like a stomp than a sprint. It’s the second track Moaning Lisa have dropped from their forthcoming debut album, Something Like This But Not This, which is due to land on October 8th via The Farmer & The Owl.
Alongside their new cut, the Canberra quartet have announced a national headline tour in support of their first full-length effort. Come October, they’ll be hitting stages in Brisbane, Byron Bay, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Ballarat. They also have dates lined up for Sydney and Wollongong, but fans in those cities will have to wait ’til next February to get amongst the action.
LOCAL BAND OF THE WEEK
Mum Friends, a fierce and fiery alt-rock duo from Adelaide, have been keeping our fists raised high and our shoulders sore from nonstop boogie-ing with their riotous sophomore single, ‘Woke Fuckboy’. Give it a spin, then help the gals hit 1,000 likes on Facebook – because c’mon, with tunes this wicked, the fact they have 700 and not 700,000 is total bullshit.
NEW SONG OF THE WEEK
It’s gotta be that new Moaning Lisa joint, right? But we already showed that off, so let’s go with the new Turnstile jam, ‘Fly Again’. It comes as our seventh taste of the genre-fucked hardcore trailblazers’ forthcoming third album, Glow On (out in full on August 27th), and just like the last six, it absolutely fucking slaps. We start with this dusty, drab grand piano lick, then kick straight into a wall of thick, driving lead guitar and glossy clean vocals slathered in reverb. It’s also one of the more lowkey tracks on the new album, which should give you some indication of what to expect come the 27th.
ALBUM/EP OF THE WEEK
Fueled By Ramen newcomers (and longtime BLUNT favourites) Meet Me @ The Alter just dropped their explosive third EP, Model Citizen. It serves both as a sepia-toned throwback to the glory days of pop-punk’s mainstream reign (circa 2002) and an unforgivingly boisterous leap into the genre’s future. Running just shy of 20 minutes long, Model Citizen is jam-packed with the exact type of raw, youthful energy we need to power through the weekend.
