Los Angeles duo Girlpool, comprised of Harmony Tividad (she/her) and Cleo Tucker (he/they), has released their new album, What Chaos Is Imaginary, out February 1st, 2019 via ANTI- Records.

The music Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad release as Girlpool occupies a transient space. Their constant evolution makes it perfectly impossible to articulate exactly where their project falls within the contemporary musical canon; this is one of the many reasons Girlpool’s music is so captivating.


Never before has a group’s maturation been so transparently attached to the maturation of its members. This is due in large part to the fact that Girlpool came into existence exactly when Girlpool was supposed to come into existence: at the most prolific stage of the digital revolution. Both online and in the flesh, Tividad and Tucker practice radical openness to the point where it may even engender discomfort; this is exactly the point where it becomes clear why theirs’ is such a special project: they accept the possibility of discomfort and show you how to figure out why you might feel it. 

The growth they have fostered in one another over the years explains the project’s disparate discography; each record is a photograph of Girlpool, growing over time. Their roots are a certain shade of punk—organized chaos dressed as earworms. 

Where Harmony embraces chaos, Cleo organizes it. “It’s hard for me to feel completion without achieving a vision that I have. I’ll imagine the kind of climate I want to create inside a song,” says Cleo of his process. “Once I fall in love with the direction, it’s getting there that can take time.” Finishing a song may take time and even prove to be difficult for him at times, but the product is invariably polished. Considering the near-perfect balance in the songs on What Chaos is Imaginary, their dynamic makes sense. “It took a really long time to record this record. It feels like a photograph of a very transitional time.”

What Chaos is Imaginary is a collection of songs unlike any Girlpool songs you’ve ever heard, exactly what Powerplant was to Before The World Was Big. For the first time, it is clear who wrote what song. 2019 will see drum machines and synthesizers and beautiful/new harmonies and huge guitars and at least one orchestral breakdown by a string octet.

“It was invigorating playing stripped down and raw when Girlpool began. As we change, what gets us there is going to change too.”

Release: February 1st, 2019, ANTI- Records / Cooking Vinyl Australia
Words: ANTI-

Tasmanian three-piece Al The Weathers have offered their new album ...For The Worms, an art-punk commentary on life above ground. Should David Walsh get his face on a coin? Do dogs need jobs? ATW question political rhetoric and cultural discourse. They have their own ideas for hairy ears.

Since forming in 2014, the band has performed at festivals, homes, political rallies and, on at least one occasion, a petrol station. Members Gigi Lynn, Georgia Lucy Ingall and Callum Cusick are known for incorporating hand-made art pieces, outfits and props into their vibrant live sets.

The band's third album follows the success of 2016 release Tactile Textiles, and the band's 2015 debut 6 for Gold. ...For The Worms showcases the group's uniquely playful approach to song writing and performance. The album contorts a guitar/bass/drums set-up with elements of spoken word, storytelling and improvisation.

...For The Worms was recorded in Grove, by avid rock-climber Kim Walls, and mastered in Melbourne by Hobart expat Simon Maisch (Bitumen, Wasted Idol).

Release: January 21st, 2019, Rough Skies Records
​Words: Rough Skies Records

Hobart’s rapid growth is made evident by construction cranes, closed highway lanes and crowded houses.
 
The city’s thriving underground music scene has emerged amid the chaos.
 
While punk, art-punk and eclectic music styles have appeared and established themselves firmly in the local Hobart soundscape identity, underground electronic music has largely gone unnoticed as a unique facet of the music scene.
 
The compilation CD ‘Synthesthesia 7000’ is a collection of songs by contemporary underground electronic artists based in Hobart.
 
The idea for the CD came to musician Graham Meredith (Atomic Deluxe, Warning Will Robinson) over a beer at a gig with fellow band member Craig Clarke
 
In early November 2018 Meredith and Clarke began approaching artists interested in recording songs for the CD release.
 
With the help of Cubbyhouse Records’ founder Peter “Pit” MacPherson, Clarke and Meredith collected and mixed 29 tracks of local electronic artists for the CD by the first day of December 2018 - a remarkable completion time of just three weeks.
 
‘Synthesthesia 7000’ feature tracks by post-modern progressive rabble rousers Dreamcast, darkwave deep-thinker Starklane and ambient solo producer Slumber. Beautiful ambient instrumentals from Arrdhu, Raymond Scottwalker and Soil bring the Chill to the vibe. Renowned artists such as Filthy Little Star and Baltimore have taken an opportunity to develop music divergent of their usual sound for the CD.
 
Soundscape tracks from Sisters Akousmatica and Julia Drouhin bring the sounds of radio waves, village sounds and ambient places in a wonderful collage of stereo spatiality. Energetic buzz saw night club tracks from Pixius, hdot and tVitch get the joint pounding, as well as D&B experimental tracks by others to increase the heart rate. There is something here to please everyone on this collection.

Release: January 12, 2018, Cubbyhouse Records
Words: Imogen Elliott