Local Artists:

Adele Pickvance: My White Rabbit (Del Marie)
- Adele Pickvance (former Go Betweens bassist) has released an EP of explorations true to her roots. It’s a light offering of jangly pop buffed with electronica that gives credence to her as a songsmith in her own right. (Nick Rodwell)

Orlando Furious: Wildcard (Single) (Indie)
- Local curiosity, Orlando Furious, is openly self-reflexive and self-congratulatory over this cheap and trashy beat. Which, in turn, makes the rarely approachable realm of outsider art seem rather attractive. Hip hop in the vein of Simo Soo if you need a reference point. (Nick Rodwell)

Sampology: Natural Selections (Single) (Soul Has No Tempo)
- Sam unloads African thumb pianos, flute chirps and synth horns and robot voices blatting away toward a big climax before plateauing into a funky afro-pop, the sort of thing that you'd be ready for if you'd been listening to a producer like Ribongia, lately. Gosh knows what we'll get from the very-soon-to-be-released EP, but I'm pretty curious to find out. (Chris Cobcroft)

Space Hørse: Glass House (Single) (Indie)
- There is no shortage of pscyh-rock these days but local groove-explorers Space Horse incorporate a lil’ of that Funkadelic soul, bringing out touches of cosmic light to illuminate the fun. (Nick Rodwell)

Australian Artists:

Ali Barter: Girlie Bits (Single) (Inertia)
- A subversive slice of pop-rock from Melbourne’s Ali Barter. It’s superficially sweet sounds give way for a deceptively anthemic message, which is probably the best way to nurture young women. (Nick Rodwell)

Anfa Rose: T.I.W.H (Single) (WVS)
- Sydney MC Anfa Rose has teamed up with Dopamine (He’s produced for B Wise) to release a cut off the back of new imprint WVS. It’s a hazy new-guard rap, mixing that Travis Scott haunt with Drake’s personal touch. (Nick Rodwell)

Bangbang: BB1 (Indie)
- Bangbang is the dual project of Aussie native Criz and her English boyfriend Ryan, who have created their debut EP, BB1, within the walls of their home studio in London. BB1 features four dance tracks in a charmingly easy-going nu-disco style, twinkling synths set to easy listening, one-and-two-and beats. Criz delivers echoing and dreamy vocals to the mix, all in all helping to create an EP that makes one feel as though they are spinning around in a snowglobe, surrounded by glitter. (Clare Neal)

The Cannanes: A Love Affair With Nature (Chapter Music)
- A new reissue of the Sydney band's jangly Australian classic. The original hails from 1995 and even this reissued version -which is more than double the size of the original, loaded with all sorts of weird and wonderful oddities and festooned with strings and horns- has itself become something of a lost classic, out of print for years. Now thanks to the very thoughtful folks at Chapter it's available on vinyl and even CD, once again. (Chris Cobcroft)

Chook Race: Around The House (Tenth Court)
- Chook Race serve up ten delightful little jangly tunes, reminiscent of that very brief period in which New Zealand had the best music in the world (The Bats, The Clean, etc). The interplay of both deep male and Carolyn's angelic vocals makes for very pleasant listening over the no frills guitar work. Remarkably inoffensive, but consistently enjoyable, the virtuosic moments are slim here but this album might just be the perfect companion to simply hanging 'Around The House'. (Harry Rival Lee)

Closet Straights: Closet Straights (Cobra Snake Necktie / Love & Theft)
- The self-titled debut album from Closet Straights comprises ten poppy janglers that fuse together elements of country, alternative and sparkly pop into one sigular, warm and fuzzy listening package. The talented, if scrappy, team of musicians hail from other various Melbournian bands and have united as one for the conception of this project, which features songs about love, life and the various pitfalls of youth. With dreamy vocals from frontman Alex Lashlie and rhythms that will have you cruisin' for a boogy, Closet Straights have made an excellent first impression with this album. (Clare Neal)

Fascinator: Skin Within (Single) (Spinning Top)
- Australian-born but proudly New York-based artist Fascinator teases three different genres in the first minute of Skin Within. A rock bassline is given a hip hop beat, which soon animorphs into an otherworldly Madchester-eque dance groove similar to that which Venus II have cooked up on their record. The bouncing, swaggering bassline is the omnipresent foundation of the song, upon which a heap of psychedelic guitar textures are stacked. It's 2016, pick up your non-psychedelic dance records and throw them on the floor. (Harry Rival Lee)

The Goods: ninja trolls ft. Black Tree (Single) (Personal Best)
- Sydney’s future funk duo really stretch it out here with this hyper-spaced energetic jam. What starts out with slinky slaps on the backbeat, it slowly unfurls into the wobbliest of kinetic electro grooves. (Nick Rodwell)

The Hard Aches: I Freak Out (EP) (Anchorhead / Warner)
- Straight out of the same school that instructed The Smith Street Band comes The Hard Aches. Earnest, melodically ocker and heavily rockin’ this two piece really deliver the anthems. (Nick Rodwell)

Last Quokka: Last Quokka (Indie)
- Rocking their way into the music scene of Perth, Australia's most isolated city, comes Last Quokka. With a seven track EP lamenting the mediocrity of Perth -amongst other things- the band has delivered a project that gives of the grarliest of DIY punk vibes with an added taint of humourous irony. Well worth a listen, particularly keeping an eye out for track five, Beautiful, which contains the simply stellar line "You look like Pocahontas f^!@#d a Mongolian Monk". (Clare Neal)

The Lock Outlaws: Just Go Home (Single) (Indie)
- The incredibly gimmicky single issue band that was Until Abbott Gets Gone might have brought down a prime minister, but there are other issues, a whole bunch of them. Accordingly, AAGG mastermind Joe Gould is back and you can probably guess which issue he's incensed about right now, yeah? It's not like a lot hasn't been said about this already and Mike Baird seems to be getting comfortable transitioning from Mr Popular to Mr Oh God Not Him Again. Can one band reverse an evil legislative regime? Who can say. I can tell you that this is a pretty sweet song. Bluesy shuffle-rock holds sweaty hands with stoner-psych and slurs 'one-punch-one-punch-one-punch', like ZZ Top had saved it till very late in their career to get political. (Chris Cobcroft)

Mere Woman: Drive (Single) (Poison City)
- Another slice of moody post-punk from the Sydney band. Not exactly breaking their mould, but who wants them to? Also, after persistent badgering from fans, available for a free download from bandcamp. (Chris Cobcroft)

Mezko: Trust (Single) (Indie)
- Laura Bailey & Kat Harley's electro, ebm thing as Mezko is pretty goddamn convincing. Heavy, punchy, sweetly melodic and as slick as a Lotus Esprit Turbo. Added bonus: the video is FULL of glitter. (Chris Cobcroft)

Mike Noga: King (Cooking Vinyl)
- You might forget that Mike Noga has three solo full-lengths to his name, when The Drones get mentioned as soon as his name comes up. King isn't much like the work of those famous bile spewers though and that's despite its dark subject matter. Based on the Georg Büchner play, Woyzeck, which explores a man crumbling under the pressures of social degredation, poverty and love. The resultant madness, despair and murder might seem very suited to a Drones style treatment, but Noga heads instead for classic rock, more along the lines of his collaborator here, Paul Dempsey. You'll hear a narration from Noah Taylor too and the combination of all these unexpected components is nothing if not pretty damn intriguing. (Chris Cobcroft)

Nucleust: Resistivity (Rockpit)
- Perth prog-metallers Nucleust have released Resistivity, a gutsy EP that screams about a plethora of angsty topics. The band's musicality and consistency is evident through all four tracks, with synchronicity between smooth guitar progressions and crisp drums working together to compliment aggressive lyrics. The band hits the criterion for quality heavy music but with an experimental twist to reflect their various influences across multiple musical genres. Still relatively young, with just three years spent together, surely there will be great things to be seen from Nucleust as time progresses. (Clare Neal)

Paper House: A Certain Kind Of Now (Indie)
- A Certain Kind Of Now is the debut album from Paper House, a Melbournian four-piece that has no qualms about bending the conventions of genre. Citing the likes of Björk, Radiohead and Wilco as as some of their musical influences, the band incorporate a myriad of instruments not commonly thrust into the same melting pot, such as whimsical violins, staunch electric guitars and even the novel trace of a Guiro Shaker. The overall mood of the album is a dark and mysterious pop, but with capacity to pull a raw energy out with unexpected grit and fire, kind of like halfway between a Melbourne coffee shop and an outdoor rock show. Interesting to your eardrums and well worth it's forty or so minutes. (Clare Neal)

Rainbow Chan: Spacings (Silo)
- There was a time when i struggled with Rainbow Chan, the sonics never lived up to the concepts. Until now. With the release of Spacings you’re able to be fully encompassed by her grand alt-pop confidence - think FKA Twigs or Jessy Lanza. Now is the time to embrace Rainbow Chan and all her sweeping melodies, turbulent textures and elusive rhythms. (Nick Rodwell)

Taylor Payne: The Jungle Talks (Single) (The A & R Department)
- Taylor Payne is a young white-haired, bluesy-voiced songstress with a serious knack for melding the laidback with the energetic. In her new single, The Jungle Talks, she meets her velvety vocals with a jungle-ish kick drum and fierce piano chords to create a tune that steadily crecendos into a celebration of what the artist is. This being said, the song maintains a sense of composure and coolness throughout: a reflection of Payne's own personal style. Keep an eye out for this youngster, as this is only her second single release. (Clare Neal)

Twelve Point Buck: Grazes (Indie)
- This is probably one of the most dense fogs to descend from the Blue Mountains of NSW. These lo-fi rabble-rousers share the free-spirited abandon of Ty Segall and the melodic leanings of Royal Headache. (Nick Rodwell)

Overseas Artists:

Allah-Las: Calico Review (Mexican Summer / Rocket)
- LA's Allah-Las return with their third full-length effort, and with a slight reboot of their surefiring '60's psychedelic surf rock formula. An ominous undercurrent pierces the songs, and it feels like the Allah-Las summer of love has reached Altamont '69. The jangly summer vibrations are omnipresent, reminiscent of the Kinks and The Zombies, but as we all know there is not yet a found cure for the summertime blues. Tunes like 'Famous Phone Figure' and 'High and Dry' are mellow, bluesy, and ready-made for solo siestas. 'Could Be You' and 'Satisfied', however, are head-nodders delivered with an ice-cold coolness, beckoning existing Allah-Las fans into a new season. (Harry Rival Lee)

Anna Coddington: Apples (Single) (Loop)
- A single from the forthcoming full-length Luck/Time. In it Coddington takes a funky, disco rhythm section and blends soul, r'n'b and folk sounds atop it. It's subtle and slow-moving but funky and emotive too. A clever bit of songwriting. (Chris Cobcroft)

Brain Tentacles: Brain Tentacles (Relapse)
- Funky jazz, mathy metal and occasional explosions of noise. You might hate this, but shame on you, there's so much that's ridiculously celebratory about Brain Tentacles. Latest single, Fruitcake, also folds in shrieking Middle-Eastern harmonies. It's music that demands you move and I bet this band are a whole lot of fun live. Given that its members are from across the US I bet they have trouble getting together at all, never mind coming out to Oz, but here's hoping. (Chris Cobcroft)

Dan Deacon: Change Your Life (You Can Do It) (Single) (Domino / EMI)
- There's often been a bit of a disconnect between Dan Deacon's live shows and the stuff he records. If you ever wanted to recapture the insane euphoria (if not the crowd participation) of one of those cultish events this single will be as close as you're ever likely to get. Completely over-the-top hi-NRG beats and the endless repetition of "youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit" is made -thankfully- quite bearable by Deacon's lush even ambient synthwork. (Chris Cobcroft)

Dent May: Face Down In The Gutter Of Your Love (Single) (Stop Start)
- If you like Brian Ferry, whether ironically or genuinely, you’ll like Dent May. His yacht-rock is pristinely self-aware. Above the water is that ridiculously white fiberglass hull and magnanimous sail. What lies beneath, though, are all the barnacles, disintergrating paint and the rust of taking yourself too seriously. (Nick Rodwell)

Givan Lötz: MAW (Other Electricies)
- South African troubadour, Givan Lötz, has procured a mysterious set of songs on MAW. His songs are slow and sparse to a point of being burial hymns and as such there is a heavy gothic vibe strewn through his guitar-based musings. Nevertheless, his dark folk is captivating for its raw ability to be intimate. (Nick Rodwell)

Jamie Lidell: Building A Beginning (Single) (Jajulin)
- It's a slow-burn start in the lead-up to Lidell's new full-length. The gently funky psych lilts in, just ebbing and flowing as Lidell lights the fuse on the soul that makes the track catch fire. Lidell's experimentations can really keep you guessing and they don't always deliver, but this straight-up, old-school, blue-eyed soul makes me keen to hear the rest of the record. (Chris Cobcroft)

Kim Gordon: Murdered Out (Matador/Remote Control)
- Kim Gordon has always been an impressive and vital figure in rock. Here on Murdered Out, with lashes of noise and a big groove, her stature seems to increase. She exudes classically rebellious non-chalance that if this gets synced with an ad, it’ll break my heart and kill a veteran of cool. (Nick Rodwell)

King Creosote: Astronaut Meets Appleman (Domino / EMI)
- With decades of musical experience under his belt, singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson, otherwise known as King Creosote, is back at it again with his newest album release "Astronaut Meets Appleman". The nine track album features a broad scope of various stringed instruments from violins to harps, as well as more novel sounds such as bagpipes, djembe drums, accordions and, in one track, the slightly creepy sample of a child's voice.Each song is diverse and the album is a homage to Anderson's skills as a songwriter and the skilled musicians lending their talents to each recording. In terms of genre, "Astronaut Meets Appleman" ranges from folk-rock to almost chamber-like in parts, with an overarching tang of the experimental. A well balanced and unfailingly interesting listen. (Clare Neal)

Kishi Bashi: Sonderlust (Joyful Noise / Inertia)
- Seattle's Kishi Bashi isn't like too many things that come out of Washington State. His third full-length illustrates that with his usual ebullience, even if it covers up a core of emotional struggle. Surging starbursts of synth build impeccable glam-pop anthems starring K's sweet falsetto, neatly orchestrated with chamber pop strings (he's a violinist too and worked on the record with Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor). It's all rounded out by that Kishi Bashi prediliction for weird, experimental flourishes. K speaks of relationship dramas while making Sonderlust and perhaps it fuelled his music-making, because this is some of his best work. (Chris Cobcroft)

Molly: Molly (Ratbag)
- Hey I don't even care that this 'album' is two old EPs stitched together. Danish rockers Molly bring together the glory of the '80s and '90s, echoes of Hüsker Dü and Dinosaur Jr and other things too. It's warm and enveloping alt-rock that's good for the soul. Have a listen if you haven't heard it before or even if you have. (Chris Cobcroft)

The Ramones: Ramones (Remastered) (Rhino / Warner)
- This year marks the 40th Anniversary of punk legends The Ramones' debut. Recently it was named “Greatest Punk Album Of All Time” by Rolling Stone, if you needed that kind of official imprimantur. To celebrate one of the most influential albums of all time, Rhino has released a remastered edition of the album, meticulously mastered by the album's original producer and mixer, Craig Leon. May the punk rocker's name and iconic sound live on. (Marli Blanche)

Sankt Otten + N: MÄNNERFREUNDSCHAFTEN UND METAPHYSIK (Denovali)
- When you freely improvise a slab of drone, doom and ambient there's a non-trivial risk of ending up with something very self-indulgent. German instrumental duo Sankt Otten, collaborating with another doicher-dude, experimental guitarist N, have created something much better. They give separate space to all those sounds and more, including krautish synth beats, which help to give the enormous volume of noise shape and direction. The result is a varied, even kaleidoscopic record and there's even a couple of numbers which wind things up quickly enough to be called singles! Oh and the title translates to 'male friendships and metaphysics'. I hope that sounds good to you. (Chris Cobcroft)

Soft Hair: Lying Has To Stop (Single) (Domino / EMI)
- This is the first single off the self-titled, collaborative record created by New Zealand psych-oddity Connan Mockasin and another equally freaky guy, Sam Eastgate, who you probably know better as LA PRIEST or from his former band, Late Of The Pier. That pairing has the potential to be very strange indeed, but through the gassy, bubbly distortions through which the song is filtered, you can detect that easy-going psych-pop charm you were almost certainly looking for. Here's hoping the whole record can be as pleasant. (Chris Cobcroft)

Street Sects: End Position (The Flenser)
This is wild. These electro-punks out of Texas are on onto something rad. It’s horror, industrial, thrash and hardcore in an assemblage that is refreshing. It’s always a gratifying when the punks turn out something revitalised. (Nick Rodwell)

True Widow: Avvolgere (Relapse)
- This Texas band have always been interesting because of their willingness to blur heavy music boundaries: flipping between sludge and shoegaze, stoner and alt-rock flip, male and female vox and all the sorts of things which have genre purists putting their heads in their hands. It makes them the perfect band for the ever experimental Relapse Records, for whom this is their second release. Having said all that, Avvolgere is a bit light on the 'gaze, preferring to mix up sludge with a '90s alt sound and ... it needs a few listens to get through the mopy mood and really hook into the music lurking in the sludgey mood. Stick with it! (Chris Cobcroft)

Young Thug: Jeffery (YSL)
- Maligned for being a part of the “mumble-rap” phenomena and lauded for breaking down stereotypes, Young Thug is a divisive rapper. His latest tape, Jeffery, continues to confound, with each track named after his idols it’s a lot more accessible than his previous efforts this year. The mumbles are more audible, the fashion further out and the vibes heavier. (Nick Rodwell)