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:

Loose Fit – Social Graces  FEATURE ALBUM
1300 – Foreign Language
Halfheads – One Two Few
Harvey Sutherland – Boy
Honeyglaze – Honeyglaze
Melody’s Echo Chamber – Emotional Eternal
Seratones – Love and Algorhythms
Toro Y Moi – Mahal

SINGLES:

100% – Abandon
Fontaines D.C – Roman Holiday
Halfway – Ghostline
Helado Negro – Ya No Estoy Aqui
Ibeyi – Rise above
Iceage – All The Junk On The Outskirts
Manor – How to live with you
Memory Motel – Breathe in breathe out
Nessick Berwick – Alissa
Telenova – Why do I keep you
Warpaint – Hips

2SER’s hot pick for Feature Album this week is from none-other than Sydney’s own post-punk trailblazers Loose Fit, coming off the back of their self-titled EP released back in 2018 they’ve brought us a Covid-era anxiety driven and explosive 11 track debut album Social Graces. The Sydney four piece have delivered us a no holds barred fusion of dub influences, horn laden tracks that pick you up and soar through a new sonic landscape of Loose Fit. Dealing with deeply human themes the lyricism across Social Graces holds up a mirror to our contemporary climate; delving into love, hope, fear, weather patterns and the mundanity of daily routines. All with the flair of pumping drums and the intoxicatingly punchy vocals of singer/sax player Anna Langdon.

Another new release that fully understands the importance of vocals that refuse to be ignored comes from fellow Sydneysider 1300. The Korean rap quintet have managed to masterfully combine the energy, vibe and creative expression of experimental Soundcloud rap music with the glitz and glamour of K-Pop. Their debut album Foreign Languages delivers us with a high tempo, cross pollination of languages spinning in and out of English and Korean seamlessly. Dripping with swagger, raw and swift electronic beats elevated by trap aesthetics that give way to a world of endless creative possibilities. 

Next up is another highly anticipated debut album, this time from Austin TX based artists Seratones aka Stephanie Hunt. Ambitions of Ambiguity takes you on a cosmic tour of romance and isolation in the computer age.Taking elements of R&B and funk blended with heady synths and cinematic arrangements, Ambitions of Ambiguity skyrockets you into a cosmos of ambient introspection and relationships. Leaving the cosmos now and into the depths of a numinous shed, Australian hobby rockists Halfheads have released their debut album One Two Few. The self proclaimed “haunted dads” deliver a rapid fire, tongue in cheek rock vignettes that encompass a sense of fuzzy warmth across the album, shining through its lo-fi recording style. 

Melbourne’s multi-dimensioned producer and funk synthesist Harvey Sutherland has finally debuted an album after years of anticipation in the form of Boy. A meditation of funk infused and highly melodic disco, boogie, house and soul Sutherland has managed to produce an album that exemplifies the duality of introspection and observation. Backed by zesty sax solos and rich honey backing vocals courtesy of producer Mike Katz, Boy has created its own genre aptly named ‘neurotic funk’.

This must be the season for highly anticipated debut albums as Honeyglaze has delivered their self-titled debut LP. The South London trip provides a first class demonstration of songwriting, masterfully shifting styles and tones between rock and pop throughout, all to tripped out sonic interludes that demand your attention. Melody’s Echo Chamber also demonstrates her ability to create an attention grabbing cinematic atmosphere throughout her third studio album Emotional Eternal. An airy yet encapsulating psychedelic folk and rock album with heavy influences of Turkish funk fused throughout, singer/composer Melody Pruchet takes you through the whimsical and fantastical forests of Sweden in Emotional Eternal. 

Speaking of long awaited sonic gems, Toro Y Moi returns for the first time since 2019 with his utterly infectious groove driven 7th album Mahal. Loaded with unrelenting psych and post-rock elements, Mahal takes you into a carefully curated sound world of reflection into the all encompassing phenomenon humanity finds itself in, the world we have created within our screens. Mahal begs you to critically look at social media culture, modern technology and how to tackle it in a unique way.