Handsome – No Cowards
For fans of: Olympia, Robyn, Lorde
In an early incarnation, Caitlin McGregor released two stunning albums under the name Caitlin Park, records which split the difference between Animal Collective and Holly Throsby to arrive at something thoroughly singular and inventive. Her latest project, Handsome, finds her writing more straightforward and glittery pop – less folk-based than her previous work and more technicolour – while keeping the same homespun production flourishes that adorned her 2011 record Milk Annual. The international success of Lorde hasn’t yet paved the way for similar Antipodean acts to follow; hopefully McGregor is the first of the next batch to find wider success. This hooky tune deserves to be heard.
For more: Handsome’s No Hat No Play EP is out through Remote Control Records
The Goon Sax – We Can’t Win
For fans of: The Go-Betweens, Oh Mercy, Courtney Barnett
Fittingly for a Brisbane band that contains the son of the Go-Betweens great Robert Forster, the Goon Sax feature two songwriters who trade vocal and songwriting duties, and a female drummer. The DNA doesn’t stop at the lineup configuration either, with a breezy, wholly Australian sound, and an unhurried air to their craft offering up unavoidable comparisons to not just the Go-Betweens, but also acts such as the Twerps, Oh Mercy, Crowded House, even Frente – bands who trade on songs and not sounds. “It seems to come to us so easily,” they sing. We hope the Goon Sax keep winning, despite the title of this defeated, beautiful tune.
For more: The Goon Sax’s album We’re Not Talking is out through Chapter Music
Paul Kelly – A Bastard Like Me
For fans of: Archie Roach, Bob Dylan, Don Walker
The debate over our national anthem shouldn’t be “should we change it?” but rather “which Paul Kelly song should we change it to?” Granted, his latest single A Bastard Like Me probably wouldn’t be on the shortlist, but it is a stunning addition to Kelly’s rich songbook of Australiana – and yet more proof of his incredible third act, which finally saw him score his first #1 album in Australia: last year’s Life Is Fine. This song details the life of Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins, who was key in the 1967 referendum to include Indigenous Australians on the census. Important backstory aside, this song shines with the best of Kelly’s output – a remarkably rich and darkly strung tune.
For more: Paul Kelly’s album Nature will be released 12 October through EMI
E^ST - Alien
For fans of: The Naked and Famous, Drake, Jhene Aiko
E^ST’s music manages to ride the zeitgeist of dark minimalist pop without sounding like a mere facsimile. Superficial comparisons can be made with Lorde’s Melodrama, but also with Charli XCX’s pure pop and the more claustrophobic moments in Drake’s catalogue. Alien is a singular track, standing on the merits of both E^ST’s easy command of her voice and her complex songwriting. The production is perfection – detailed and layered without taking up too much real estate, while the vocals are unhurried and confident. This is world-class music.
For more: E^ST’s debut EP Life Ain’t Always Roses is out on 26 October through Warner Music Australia. She’s touring Perth and the East Coast through November
Kira Puru – Molotov
For fans of: Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, early Madonna
Snoop Dogg may own the musical rights to the drink “gin and juice”, but it is a testament to Kira Puru’s penchant for an earworm that she can drop this term in the first line of the slinky, attitude-laden song – and then start the chorus with the word “rolling” – without it seeming like an easy reference or a Snoop lift. Molotov is another in a series of cracking singles by Kira Puru: a slow-motion dance song, a seduction anthem, an atmospheric party starter. “The party don’t start ‘til they see me walking in.” she sings in the bridge, and I believe her.
For more: Kira Puru is touring in November
Holy Holy – Faces
For fans of: Simple Minds, Tears For Fears, Cyndi Lauper
Holy Holy’s breakthrough single True Lovers was a widescreen 80s-soaked pop gem that sounded like it belonged in a John Hughes movie. It was urgent and important, and thankfully they haven’t strayed far from these twin elements on the hooky Faces. Robbie Williams may be a dirty term in some quarters, but this recalls Robbie at his peak, sounding like what may have happened if he’d chosen to go down the MGMT route, rather than chasing the role of bland balladeer. Holy Holy make the type of music that is equally at home in teenage bedrooms and sold-out stadiums – a rare quality.
For more: Holy Holy tour Australia through the rest of 2018, with an album out next year
Katie Noonan’s Elixir and Michael Leunig – La-La Land
For fans of: Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra
It has been 20 years since Katie Noonan’s band George released their first EP, and although the group were Triple J favourites, scoring a No 1 album along the way, in truth Noonan’s music belongs more in smoky jazz clubs and classy lounges; at dinner parties and on cruises. La-La Land is her latest single with jazz trio Elixir, and it’s a warm bath of a tune – all dancing horns and honeyed vocals. Noonan’s performance is unsurprisingly rich and sublime – by now it should be clear she is among Australia’s most skilled vocalists from any era – and the song floats by on a cloud, longing for a Kubla Khan-style land that she may already be soundtracking. As for cartoonist Michael Leunig’s billing: the song uses lines from one of his poems. For a tune with such simple, sparse lyrics, it’s quite well-drawn.
For more: Gratitude and Grief, a full album of collaborations between Elixir and Michael Leunig, is out now on Kin Music through Universal
Bleeding Knees Club – No Strings
For fans of: Green Day, Wavves, WAAX
Musical trends tend to cycle in 25-year loops, and the bratty pop-punk sounds of early Green Day and other bubblegum-infused skate-friendly bands are firmly back in vogue – which is great news for Bleeding Knees Club, who have been loyally pedalling this sound for close to a decade now. Despite finding national success straight off the bat, it has taken the Gold Coast band a few records, and a number of lineup changes, to fully arrive at their sound – and No Strings is the perfect trade-off between craft and attitude. Younger listeners might hear the likes of Californian kings Wavves, or local snotty upshots Dune Rats; there’s no denying the energy, the craftsmanship, the hooks – and you just know this one goes down a treat live.
For more: Bleeding Knees Club’s new album Fade the Hammer is out on 5 October through Inertia Music
Clare Bowen – Let It Rain
For fans of: Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton
Channeling both Scarlett (her doe-eyed, lovelorn character from Nashville) and Dolly Parton, Sydney-born Clare Bowen’s debut album is filled with twangy affairs of the heart, all delivered straight down the line in her pure, rich vocal and thankfully unadorned by cluttered production. Let It Rain, the latest from her debut album, is built on a sturdy bed of tremolo-drenched guitar, a wordless choral vocal hook, and Bowen’s nuanced delivery. An effortlessly wonderful addition to the great country songbook, it’s clear Bowen used her time in Tennessee to absorb the rich musical tradition there. The soulful keyboard that enters towards the end recalls Billy Preston’s work on Let It Be, adding a much welcome gospel kick at the 11th hour.
For more: Clare Bowen’s self-titled album is out now through BMG, and she’s playing this week in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne
Caiti Baker – Gimme
For fans of: Amy Winehouse, Sam Cooke, Portishead
Neo-soul is a tough genre to nail, but Caiti Baker confidently melds Ella Fitzgerald and Portishead on this classy tune. The warmly distorted vocals crackle like an op-shop vinyl, while the beats sit back far enough in the mix as not to pull focus from the undisputed star of the show: Baker’s vocal performance. An impressively high falsetto in the final seconds showcases her outstanding range without clubbing the listener over the head with it, Mariah-style. It’s a subtle, brilliant and effective moment, as is the song itself.
For more: Caiti Baker’s album Zinc is out now through Perambulator Records; Gimme is the second of three B-sides being released this year