Local Artists:

Adriaan Raimund Duda: EP (Indie)

- I have no idea where this came from, or who made it, or why. This can’t be found anywhere online. I do know, however, that it was made by someone local between the years of 1981 and 2015, and that there is nothing quite as dumbfounding and captivating than the sound of him yelling “HOT LAND AUSTRALLIA!!! AUSTRALIAAA!! AUSTRELLIAAAAHH!!” only to be abruptly cut off by a disturbingly sparse Christmas carol demanding presents for the unfortunate. These are some shockingly sincere lo-fi songs, of which You Deserve is the most mind-blowingly beautiful. If anyone has any information on Adriaan Raimund Duda, please get in touch 0400070254. (Joe Saxby)

Kenzie Fromwelly & Knovell Capote: Sunny (Single) (Indie)
- Jazzy boom-bap is the right sort of warm accompaniment for Kenzie Fromwelly's big, rounded rapping on a conscious and slightly cosmic theme. Nice double-time guest from Knovell Capote too. (Chris Cobcroft)

The Stress Of Leisure: Achievement (Tsol)

- Feverish indie rock experiments from self-aware local stalwarts. Off-hand throwbacks to Television, Pavement, Bowie, and Wire. Envelop-pushing, bohemian self-help street poetry set to angular guitar work and gorgeously recorded groove doesn’t get more tasteful and face-level charming than this. (Joe Saxby)

Vulture St Tape Gang: Hung Phat Jewellery (Wondercore Island)

- An incredibly comprehensive beat tape by one of the most legendary Brisbane kollectivs happening at the moment. Hung Phat’s sheer volume is a fairly standalone source of impressiveness, but pretty much every single one of these seventy-eight beat sketches encapsulates the vibe and brilliance of the Tape Gang’s ethos perfectly, and that’s beyond impressive. Their thirst for creation seems to know no real bounds. Walk around West End with this in your ears and try not to see everything in a new, weirdly consolidated light. (Joe Saxby)

weakling: pullup (Single) (Indie / Mammal)

- The cruelly named weakling recently dropped this #turnt single, and one thing you definitely wouldn’t be able to say about it is that it’s weak. Heheh. At its core, it’s just a ridiculous piece of music. It reminds me of when some nobody once called Todd Terje’s Inspector Norse ‘elevator music’, and how Terje then proceeded to fervently agree and let out the immortal quip, ‘elevate your body!’ And while pullup ain’t no Norse, it’s got that same casj, giddy nature that makes you feel like snapping out of it and just moving bruh. (Joe Saxby)

Australian Artists:

All The Weathers: 6 For Gold (Wrong Place (Right Time))

- A Hobart punk band shows us their ability to produce a unique combination of soft, jangly guitars and loud punk vocals delivered by a girl who sounds like John Lydon, definitely a band to watch out for years to come. (Jacob Hastings)

Ali Barter: Hypercolour (Single) (Ronnie / MGM)

- There's enough here to drench the listener in a sea of indie pop candy floss, and enough guitar/synth action to enthral your average 1970s stadium rock listener. (Rob Steel)

Ciggie Witch: Look Of Pain (Single) (Lost And Lonesome / Osborne Again)

- The discordant opening to this track is a total fuck-around, but it’s totally necessary to cheekily delay the gratification that these fantastical Melbourne cig fiends typically bring. “Don’t even worry yeself!” quip Ciggie Witch. It’s true, don’t. Clearly, that’s their job. “I’ve got a look of pain / smeared across my face”… “My days are still the same / I go to the shop ten times a day.” Pure dread and ennui distilled through luscious, jangly, pop viscosity. Get stuck in m8. (Joe Saxby)

Datura4: Demon Blues (Alive Natural Sound / Redeye)

- Fremantle Dom Mariani's Datura4 full-tilt boogeying, psych-bluesing band are stoner as a pair of very bloodshot eyes. Oz needs more of this, free the weed. (Chris Cobcroft)

Davey Lane: Davey Lane’s Duo-Monophonic Explorations Vol. 1 (Shake Appeal)

- These two tracks are actually quite difficult to listen to. Not because they’re bad, but because of the way they’re laid out; two mono tracks panned hard left and right, with nothing in the centre. Sometimes stuff gels, sometimes it doesn’t. To me, it’s all really interesting. It’s a good kind of confronting. What Davey Lane’s doing involves kicking it old school – but in a nice, modern, explorative way. (Joe Saxby)

Department: One And One / Souls Go Down (Single) (Indie)

- Loud and very authentic sounding garage-rawk out of Melbourne. (Chris Cobcroft)

Dianas: Good Enough Girl (Single)(Indie)

- The Perth trio's loose indie-alt-rock underwrites the wispy, dreamy girl vocals with a bit of muscle. A classic formula well executed. (Chris Cobcroft)

Diger Rokwell: Travel To The Outer Reaches (Single) (The Community)

- The place Diger Rokwell’s music seems to call home lies somewhere in between the niche land of Sample-Based Beats and the densely populated province of Guitar-Centric Psychedelia. Travel To The Outer Reaches ushers you inside this locale with a drawn-out swarm of languid sci-fi synth-lead noodling, and then very suddenly transfigures into a hazy space jam that pretty much corners you into unknowingly nodding your head along to it. (Joe Saxby)

The Double Shadows: I'm Gone (Single) (Indie)

- Do you listen to much voodoo psychedelic blues music? Didn't think so. Give these guys a chance though. Not only are they soulful and packed with rhythm, your friends won’t know who the hell they are. You dirty hipster. (Rob Steel)

Emlyn Johnson: Quendlandian (Indie)

- First up, this is admirable for the somehow simultaneously careless and careful way in which it’s recorded. It’s most admirable, though, for the seamless way in which Emlyn Johnson captures what it means to be disenfranchised, but never discouraged. It’s always so beautiful when you hear someone’s dusty, yet perfectly robust worldview expressed in such a strange, matter-of-fact way. In that sense, it brings Daniel Johnston, or The Microphones to mind. But more importantly, these songs are great, and unlike anything else I’ve heard this year. (Joe Saxby)

French Rockets: ARC (Indie)

- Come on a journey of whimsically dark alternative electronica from some baguette-eating, space-loving Perthlings. Lead single Pulling Metal pulses in and out of focus, much like that feeling you get after one too many rum and diet cokes. This is of course the healthier and much safer alternative. PSA over. (Rob Steel)

Jackie Brown Jr: Dud Street (Single) (Evergreen)

- Funny and bouncy and loaded with sax appeal. Sydney's indie funsters deliver the goods with their latest offering, a raw yet danceable club-filler. (Rob Steel)

Mezko:Golden (Single) (Indie)

- Female duo from Sydney. Hazy, synthy, whispery. Slightly krauty, slightly shoegaze / dreampop. All stylish, lots to like. (Chris Cobcroft)

Retiree: This Place (Single) (Rhythm Section / Plastic World)

- This Place is a calm, dubby, bouncy fiesta. It has an urgent pleasantness to it. Those quirky synth sounds up in the background sound kind of like toys, or if that doesn’t totally make sense, like they’re treated with the same enthusiasm as that of someone losing their shit over a super cool toy. The lyrics are beautiful in their own way as well: “Do you think it could be safe / to jump without checking the depth?” Probably a dumbass question, but one that sits really perfectly within that blithely tropical soundscape. (Joe Saxby)

SEX TOURISTS: SEX TOURISTS DEMO TAPE (Trackside)

- Everything about SEX TOURISTS’ DEMO TAPE seems to scream, “go fuck yaself.” And I really appreciate that. The misanthropic nature of the music should just alienate you, but it doesn’t - it feels inclusive. It’s the kind of thing that validates your misery. Plus, the drum machine sounds are ridiculous. You’ll notice that immediately on Birthday Party. There’s some very memorable imagery in the lyrics too: “I spent all night at a stranger’s birthday party / I’ve never felt so alone.” Respekt. (Joe Saxby)

Tame Impala: Eventually (Single) (Interscope / Universal)

- Eventually is jarringly specific in its articulation of mutual heartbreak, so it’s bound to resonate very strongly with anyone who has dealt or is currently dealing with that kind of thing. Those bashed-out chords at the start seem to replicate the kind of brutal mind-clouding that only impending relationship breakdowns can bring, before the sorrow and tenderness with which all the thoughts and fears and admissions need to be expressed finally shine through, like cold bits of rain on a lonely, dried-up paddock. Then everything just fades away, and you’re moving off by yourself into a vague new chapter. Pretty devastating really, but its genius and beauty lies in how undeniably life-affirming it manages to be. (Joe Saxby)

Uncle Bobby: My Mind Is Already Gone (Single) (Deaf Ambitions)

- Uncle Bobby does something really interesting to the idea of bedroom-produced psychedelic music here. This track is really charismatic in a way, and just doesn’t take itself too seriously. Which is a good thing for a song as potentially bleak as its title might suggest. His mind isn’t gone as in “gone”, like, “dead” or “depressed”. It’s just “gone”, like, “spacing out”. Recommended. (Joe Saxby)

Warpigs: Natural Philosophy (Bleemo)

- You might say that you’ve heard everything you need to hear when it comes to intense avant-garde post-rock. And to a certain extent, you’re completely right. There’s no harm, though, in checking out this new LP from Melbourne’s Warpigs. It is, of course, all the adjectives you’d expect – fierce, dramatic, brooding – but it has some legitimately beautiful textures, and manages to be really interesting. (Joe Saxby)

White Walls: Afterthoughts In Limbo (Pet Moth)

- Melbourne's White Walls deliver another impassioned and comprehensive shoegaze album that isn't afraid to both stun and delight. This, their sophomore effort, takes the form of an 18-track double-album, allowing them ample room to broaden their crushing shoegaze scope. (Jake Wilton)

New Zealand Artists:

MATTHEW YOUNG: Loveblind (Single) (Sony)

- Now getting a wider Australian release, the bowl-haircutted, lily-white, Kiwi r'n'b crooner isn't afraid of trap beats or midi-slap-bass, because he knows how to whip all that cheese up into an r'n'b anthem of heart-bursting proportions. (Chris Cobcroft)

Silicon: Burning Sugar (Single) (Domino / EMI)

- As soon as I heard this I thought, Ruban Nielson must have had something to do with this. And, for the first time in my thankless life, I was right about something. Silicon is Ruban’s brother Kody’s project. Just as interesting, just as funk, just as simultaneously lo and hi-fi as UMO, Kody delivers vibes, confusion, and lyrics as elliptical as a hug from a familiar stranger. The upcoming record (Personal Computer) is one to hang out for. (Joe Saxby)

Overseas Artists:

Akay47: Papuan Black (Fuzzy Wuzzy Vinyl)

- This delectably diverse new album from Papuan artist Akay47 is a personal must listen. With Various styles of dance and world music feeding into a reggae whole the album is a relaxing experience (surprising for a guy called Akay47) of global culture. (Hamish Deeth)

Andreya Triana: Lullaby (Shigeto Remix) (Single) (Counter / Ninja Tunes)

- Shigeto’s beats are the aural equivalent of hallucinating from behind the eye of a prawn, in a forest made out of the ocean. Naturally then, this rework of the new Andreya Triana track is like that, but with extra vibe. (Joe Saxby)

Boxed In: Boxed In (Nettwerk)

- A recent NME feature claims that this album “will enhance your life”. Statements as hyperbolic that can often send you into an experience with a staunch determination to disagree, but in this case, I can’t. It’s really very nice. With pristine production work clearly influenced by James Murphy and songs lusher than the insides of a well-made pancake, Boxed In’s self-titled record is a feel-good affair of the most quality order. (Joe Saxby)

Broen: Iris (Single) (Propeller)

- Norwegian outfit Broen are exactly the kind of band you’d want to go to a log cabin and have a pajama party with. And I mean that in the purest way possible. The synths in this song are blissfully well-meaning and tasty. It’s nice too, because so many pop bands think they’re doing everyone a favour by writing huge, anthemic choruses, when they’re actually just being a drag. Broen are one of the only bands doing it well. I hope they pls continue. (Joe Saxby)

Butcher Babies: Take It Like A Man (Century Media)

- A unique combination of death metal, thrash and metalcore from the female-fronted LA outfit. Definetly a recommendation if you're into the heavier style of music. (Jacob Hastings)

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes: Juggernaut (Single) (International Death Cult / KOBALT)

- Gallows frontman Frank Carter is back to his angry self in this explosive new single. (Jacob Hastings)

Gardens & Villa: Fixations (Single)

- Imagine, if you can, a world in which nothing actually sucks. The feeling that would result from such a perfection would nicely approximate that of this taut, sprawling new single by Gardens & Villa. Literally nothing about or within it sucks. The guys just sound happy to be there, singin’, vamping away, living it up. Sunshine pop for the cynical among us. (Joe Saxby)

Giorgio Moroder: Déjà Vu (Feat. Sia) (Single) (Sony)

- This old Italian with the porn-star mo' knows his stuff. If this isn't a mainstream radio hit, then I'm a 12-year-old Albanian orphan child named Pauly, with the power to brainwash small rodents into doing my bidding. Moroder, best known for co-writing and producing stellar radio staples such as Blondie's Call Me and Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone, brings in Aussie singer-songwriter, turned hair-faced weirdo megastar, Sia, to plunder the charts like it's 1979. (Rob Steel)

Jaill: Brain Cream (Decorated / Burger / Sub Pop)

- Jaill are still going strong, still doing OK. Still writing hooky indie raawwkk songs with a strange tropical flavour, straight out of Milwaukee. Highlights on here are the acoustic quirk-fest Slides And Slips, quick little jingle Picking My Bones, and the oddly emotive Chocolate Poison Time. Seriously, do yourself a crime and go to Jaill. (Joe Saxby)

Ken Camden: Dream Memory (Kranky)

- A beautiful album that, while very much uniformly ambient, manages to travel all around the place sonically. Camden made a name for himself in Chicago band Implodes, but establishes his solo artist cred here with a distinct, almost vaporous sound. A lot of Eno-esque analog synth exploitation goes on. Well worth diving into in these (sort of) cold months. (Joe Saxby)

LA Priest: Inji (Domino)

- Sam Dust returns to the musical atmosphere with an album of futuristic/symphonic love jams that shoot to maim, not kill. Party Zute / Learning To Love has many ridiculous moments, and seems to go on forever, but is a brilliant experience overall. That kind of sums up the album too. (Joe Saxby)

The Legends: It’s Love (Cascine / Red Eye)

- Just the kind of supremely chilled, achingly tender music that almost always succeeds in making you feel like crying. Gentler than the touch of a dove made out of tissues. It’s an extremely short, breezy listen for an LP too (only seven tunes), but I think that really works in its favour/flavour; it doesn’t explore a very broad range of colours, but it does everything it can and does it well. Beauteous and cool. (Joe Saxby)

Lera Lynn: The Only Thing Worth Fighting For (Single) (Indie / EMI)

- Don't know how I feel about the new season of True Detective, but the music curation is, again, impeccable. The very gothically tinged country songstress Lera Lynn actually appears in the show, looking kinda awkward, strumming away across the bar from Vince Vaughn. Be that as it may, she sounds great. Sharon Van Etten, Chelsea Wolfe, Alela Diane fans, this is for you. (Chris Cobcroft)

Low: No Comprende (Single) (Sub Pop)

- If you want to, you can now, once more, welcome Low back into your life. They’re one of those bands that never seems to go away or give up or anything. That’s such a sweet thing. No Comprende is a great track, with grit, suspense, and some kind of seething rage behind it that never seems to want to come out and make itself seen. (Joe Saxby)

Mac DeMarco: Another One (Single) (Captured Tracks / Spunk)

- Mac DeMarco is a goofball, wrapped in your old college toga, wrapped in an enigma. For every meathead interview he does and every time he brings his Mum on tour, he writes a dozen love songs. In Another One, DeMarco gets as minimal as possible with just pluck-strung chord line, sultry keyboard licks and his own reverb-drenched voice. (Jake Wilton)

Maribou State: The Clown Ft. Pedestrian (Axel Boman Remix) (Single) (Inertia)

- Maribou State gets the nice treatment from the Smooth Swede Axel Boman on this crystal-pure rework. Creamy and danceable, but also sad enough to not dance to if you don’t feel like it. Very wholesome. (Joe Saxby)

Raury: Devil's Whisper (Single) (Loverenaissance / Sony)

- Raury has risen from his slumber to bring diehard fans another single, Devil's Whisper. It features an array of styles (spiritual, hip hop, singer-songwriter, edm) that all fit together like a soulful jigsaw puzzle, perfectly reflecting Raury's Georgian roots. The perfect song to listen to when you’re running from the devil. (Hamish Deeth)

RP Boo: Fingers, Bank Pads & Shoe Prints (Planet Mu)

- RP Boo’s bud and main protégé Jlin has already put out one of the year’s most scintillating releases in Dark Energy, so it’s only convenient that Fingers, Bank Pads & Shoe Prints feels like that album’s still-really-messed-up-but-in-a-different-way older sibling. It’s just as good too. These are some classicistic, snappy, no-frills footwork constructions that, while projecting the feeling that they weren’t sweated over that much, pack an intensity and immediacy that most dance producers simply can’t. (Joe Saxby)

Seven Davis Junior: Good Vibes Ft. Julio Bashmore (Single) (Inertia)

- Personally, I’m all about good vibes. Which is why I dig this song. (Joe Saxby)

Siv Jakobsen: The Lingering (The Nordic Mellow)

- Ridiculously gorgeous folk songs on here by the Norwegian songstress. Perfect for lonely yearning and maybe doing some sketches of nature, while in a hammock. That said, it still holds up as art. (Joe Saxby)

Slaves:Are You Satisfied? (EMI)

- Coming out of Europe, Slaves show us their version of dirty, grungy punk. Despite only having two members - a guitarist and a drummer - they’re still extremely loud and heavy. (Jacob Hastings)

Soul Liberation: Touch Me Again (Single) (Re-release) (BBE)

- It struck me as odd that anyone would bother to re-release this. But then I thought again. We live in a ridiculous world, and this is a great song. The only thing cheesier and more desperate than the words “take my cup and fill me up again / let’s be friends / and touch me again”, is the chord change that happens at 2:30. So wrong, yet so good. (Joe Saxby)

Swahili Blonde: Deities In Decline (Neurotic Yell / Noisy Ghost)

- Quirked-out popsperiments from a total pioneer. Bubbly textures and confused upper-register ramblings abound. Maybe right on the cusp of being a little self-indulgent, but I guess that’s half the fun. (Joe Saxby)

Thundercat: The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam (Brainfeeder / Inertia)

- The age of retro electronic funk has begun again and Thundercat is one of the more amazing artists leading the revolution. The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam features intoxicating and progressive tunes that will lead you deep down the rabbit hole. The question is, do you want to go there? (Hamish Deeth)