Welcome to the new music review where we connect you with some of the best new music spinning on Breakfast, The Daily and Drive programs.

ALBUMS:

Kurt Vile – Watch my moves  FEATURE ALBUM
Brightness – Black Ocean
High Pulp – Pursuit of Ends
Horace Andy – Midnight Rocker
Kween G – ‘Sensible Rebel’ EP
Loch Lamond – The Young
Mylar – Elsewhere
Sam Buckingham – Dear John
Soft Powder – Somewhere Like Paradise

SINGLES: 

Carlton Jumel Smith – Devoted to you
Dorsal Fins – Criminal
Frightnrs – Always
Jenny Berkel – Kaleidoscope
Loose Fit – Stupid Drama
Melody’s Echo Chamber – Alma
Monophonics – Love you better
Monta at Odds – Hands Trace The Miles
Oliver Sim – Fruit
Palm Skin Productions – Afterdrop
Rubi Du – Back up
Wet Kiss – Nobody has to know

Taree-based Brightness’ self-titled album from 2019 was a previous Feature Album on 2ser. His latest, Dark Ocean is a marked stylistic re-direction, featuring a sonic template filled with classical instrumentation (wind, harp and cello), exploring sounds on a chamber-pop, folk and new age tangent. With a keen sense of space and openness, this is a captivating new full-length from singer songwriter Alex Knight.

Just a bit further north, the third album, Dear John,  from Byron Bay’s Sam Buckingham can be heard regularly throughout the day on 2SER, and is a fine indie/folk and Americana album, with a personal lyrical sensibility, which shifts between rhythmic loop-based songs and raw, honest ballads.

Back in Eora, local rap stalwart Kween G ‘s latest EP “Sensible Rebel” delivers right on point,  conscious hip hop. Sensible Rebel is charged with political directness and sharp, poetic lyrics, while exploring themes such as community and heritage.

Since breaking through in 1970 with his evergreen hit, “Skylarking”, Horace Andy has followed a wide arc across a 50-year career, he has collaborated with the likes of Massive Attack, Coxsone Dodd (of Studio One), Lee Scratch Perry and many more. Produced by Adrian Sherwood, the latest album from the Jamaican stalwart  is out as well and on regular play at 2SER.
Midnight Rocker features eleven tracks of roots and dancehall with modern production qualities, which explore themes political and social justice, as well as love. Andy’s vocals hold court over bass heavy grooves, guitar skanks, and cascading delayed drums.

Also playing from today on your humble community station, select tracks from the debut album by Melbourne’s Soft Powder, the solo project of Andy Szetho. One of the things that immediately grabs you is his production style. Warm, reverb laden guitars soar over steady rhythms,  lo-fi synthesiser melodies that convey beautiful emotive context. Lyrically, this revolves around themes of identity and belonging, and explores the continuing influence of growing up Asian in Australia. Bedroom productions rarely arrive this refined.

Spinning throughout the on 107.3 from today, is the latest single from Sydney’s post-punk firebrands Loose Fit. Entitled Stupid Drama, it is a wild and upbeat final taste of their upcoming album due next month. Also with a new album coming up in May are Melbourne pop-experimentalists Dorsal Fins. Their latest single, Criminal is top-shelf soul music that swells with rhythm, subtle steel drums and well measured vocals.

Performed in a style reminiscent of New Romanticism, Oliver Sim’s (of the XX) newest single Fruit is a beautiful new one from the London artist, and written as a moving letter of acceptance to his younger self.

The standout track from Carlton Jumel Smith’s latest EP on Finland’s Timmion records label, Devoted to you is a powerful deep soul track from the veteran singer, meanwhile Palm Skin Productions dropped a taste of his upcoming beat-tape LP on Tru-Thoughts. All this and much more going onto rotation at 2SER from today. Tune in throughout the week to hear.