Image by: Jamie Wdziekonski

Welcome to the new music review where we connect you with some of the best new music from Sydney, Australia, and around the world.

Here’s what we’re spinning on Breakfast, The Daily and Drive programs. Read on, click through to our Spotify playlist and enjoy it all on 2SER!

ALBUMS / EP:

Michael Kiwanuka – KIWANUKA (FEATURE ALBUM)
Ausecuma Beats – Ausecuma Beats EP
Ben Salter – The Mythic Plane
DJ Shadow – Our Pathetic Age
Grace Cummings – Refuge Cove
Milk! Records Project – Milk on Milk
The S-Bends – Nothing Feels Natural to Me
Vetiver – Up On High

SINGLES:

Dro Carey – Act Like Your Home (feat. Beni Moun & Julietta)
Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Our Quiet Whisper
Lorelei – Skylight
MissGenius – I Don’t Wanna Be
Olga Solar – Actor

Melbourne’s Grace Cummings has more than a hint of Bob Dylan and Greenwich folk referenced across her debut album ‘Refuge Cove’, though setting it well a part is her vastly unique, and powerful vocals. Tapped by Flightless Records for this release, there is something to be envied in her gusto and conviction in delivery which pairs perfectly with an all acoustic arrangement, and includes a harmonica. With all respect, it’s also what I imagine Nico would’ve sounded like if she sung with a Celtic punk band, instead of The Velvet Underground.

Ausecuma Beats also released their self-titled, debut EP. The 9-piece ensemble has members hailing from Australia, Senegal, Cuba and Mali (AU-SE-CU-MA), preaching the joyous message of unity, and making it a mission to celebrate diversity in music while being anchored in the shared commonality of rhythm and dance across their backgrounds. Find this one out on the brilliant Melbourne based label and initiative Music in Exile, who recently brought Gordon Koang’s music to this side of the world.

And we’ll also hear from The S-Bends’ debut album ‘Nothing Feels Natural to Me’. While the Sydney 5-piece certainly, and admittedly, take influence from The Go-Betweens, Paul Kelly, and the rich lineage of 80s/90s Australian guitar pop, they’ve brewed a version of that which is entirely their own, and something really special. Catch them launching the album on Saturday, November 30th at 82A Space.