Discipline Reaction is the much anticipated debut LP from Melbourne based post-punk industrial unit Bitumen. This free-standing document was recorded at Magnet Studios in Coburg, and produced by the band with the help of Alexander Anglias (The Faculty, Ill Globo) - the phantom fifth member.

Experiencing their mesmeric live performances is to engage with a tense yet assured force.  This year, the band have supported the likes of iconic UK post-punk group The Chameleons, and the needs-no-introduction Lydia Lunch, both in Melbourne and in Hobart as part of Dark Mofo.

Discipline Reaction is an apt title reflecting the band's sincere sense of drive and earnest audacity. This monolithic record faithfully portrays their electric dynamism and sheer conviction.

Release: October 10th, 2018, Vacant Valley
​Words: Vacant Valley  

Spiral Kites are a 4 piece pop/rock/indie/surf inspired band based in Hobart.

Drawing influence primarily from Pop & Rock of the 60s and 70s, the band’s intention is to not only play a style that is uncommon in the current climate, but also to just write fun, fresh and honest songs that inspire people to get up and get their bodies moving to the rhythms and sounds that are uniquely Spiral Kites.  

The Wayback Machine is Spiral Kites' debut album and first release since their self-titled EP of 2013. 

Release: October 13th, 2018, Independent​

Moaning Lisa is the product of four Canberra-based music grads/dropouts who find purpose in making loud noises together. Their music operates on the edge of the grunge genre: somewhere between composed restraint and fuzzed-out, life-affirming  alternative rock.

Do You Know Enough? is the journey of a queer girl navigating her early 20s. It follows the organic passing of milestones like yearning, love, heartbreak, self-assurance and reinvention. Each track plays a crucial role in the forming of an emotional narrative, leaving no stone unturned.

The songwriting was organic and gradual; dipping into punk, shoegaze, and heavy alternative rock across the five tracks.
 
Each song harnesses their own anthemic qualities; “Carrie” being a punk call-to-arms of queer women; ‘Good’ a rich feel-good shoegaze love song; “Lily” a heart-wrenching rock ballad; “Comfortable” a momentous ode to single life, and “Sun” a mammoth adventure into seizing the next chapter.
 
Do You Know Enough? poses a question that seems obviously answered throughout the five tracks, but leaves yourself open to the possibilities of the future. 

Release: October 19th, 2018, Hysterical Records
​Words: Hysterical Records

Christine and The Queens has released her already highly acclaimed second album Chris, courtesy of Because Music / Caroline Australia.

Chris was written, arranged and performed by Christine and the Queens. It is the follow up to her already-iconic debut record Chaleur Humaine, released to near-universal acclaim in France in 2014 and the rest of the world in 2016.

“Chaleur Humaine was about teenage years, most of it,” says Christine. “Loneliness, really true feelings, and there is a softness in the way I wrote as well, because I was properly introducing myself.”

Chris arrives on different terms. “It gets to be a bit more exhilarating, because I get to say, okay, I've been introduced now. I get to be more confident, and it matches what happened in my life as a woman.”

She says the first record turned her from a reclusive, bookish young woman writing for herself into “an athlete performer, which is something I always wanted to live, but it happened. Then suddenly I'm out in the open and I'm having more experiences, meeting people, having relationships, and stories are happening to me. All of a sudden, you're a real grown-ass woman.”

“The second album could have been me finding a fancy producer in LA and doing the pop shit,” she laughs, “but actually, no. I wanted to make it even more personal, if it’s possible.”

Release: September 21st, 2018, Because Music/Caroline Australia
Words: Because/Caroline