English singer-songwriter Paige Kennedy is celebrating the announcement of new EP Babylotion [out Oct 11] with the release of quirky cut ‘What Does Your Girlfriend Think?’ Nestled somewhere between new wave and top 40 on the pop spectrum, this observation on infidelity and its impacts twists and turns in both the melody and lyrical implications. Bass’d out synths and trippy percussion bits build an eccentric club aesthetic while the wonderfully weird creative channels an avant-garde aura for their untraditional verse and hook. The end result is this playful commentary and lasting listen. [via Digital High]

Brisbane/Meanjin psych rockers Nice Biscuit bring us their cosmic new single, ‘Fade Away’ from their forthcoming sophomore album, SOS — out October 4 via Bad Vibrations. ‘Fade Away’ launches straight into Nice Biscuit’s signature thunderous, fuzz guitars and plays with waning intensity throughout the track, teasing you with big build ups that drop back into lush, hypnotic grooves. Grace Cuell and Billie Star’s duel vocals are tinged with 90s nostalgia as they chant in harmony; “I want to fade away”. The song explores the apathy that lies in the depths of physical and emotional burn-out, with the lyrics moving through the metaphor of a star that has exhausted its brightness and wants to fade into the background and disappear — guilt-free. Co-frontwoman, Grace Cuell notes; “Both Billie and I have the kind of people-pleasing tendencies that land us in trouble from time to time. This song is about accepting that sometimes you just have nothing to give, and that’s ok!”. Like the other songs on the upcoming record SOS, the Nice Biscuit guys (Nick Cavendish, Jess Ferronato, Kurt Melvin) recorded the instrumental tracks first at Swan Pond Studios and after trialling a few melodies, Billie and Grace lifted the opening line and melody for ‘Fade Away’ from a different track that didn’t make it on the record — it was the missing piece of the puzzle.

piri & Tommy return with new single ‘99%’. The duo met up after matching on Tinder, and sparks immediately flew. Achieving bona fide viral success, breakout mixtape froge.mp3 was followed by a string of standalone singles. Continually creative, the two would work separately, combining forces to collaborations with the likes of salute, MJ Cole, and more. ‘99%’ opens their next chapter – a new EP is incoming, and this single leads the way. Tapping into that late 90s liquid DNB sound so beloved by Gen Z ravers, piri & Tommy add a delicious pop touch to those club tropes. Moving with real velocity, ‘99%’ is an all-out system mover. The duo comment… “Our message has always been to have fun with music and get people dancing, so it feels very full circle for us to come with a new track all inspired by partying and UK student basement culture. The world needs to party now more than ever, and this is our humble offering back to the scene that inspires us constantly and keeps us going.” [via Clash]

Naarm/Melbourne punk-meets-dance outfit Gut Health have been gaining surges of plaudits with each passing release. The impressive six-piece have now announced news of a forthcoming debut album, Stiletto, set to be unveiled on October 11 via Highly Contagious/AWAL. With the record set to sky-rocket the group further into a lane of their own, they’ve tease us with another riotous single plucked from the LP. ‘Cool Moderator’ ends as quickly as it begins; it’s a full-throttle, meticulous and throughly entertaining affair, full of rhythmic intricacy shaped as groove. The vocal performance from Athina Uh Oh cuts through the slick, snappy percussion and sharp, cutting guitar lines, as she spikily serenades a sprawling lyrical narrative atop the moody sonics. Wonderland premiered the accompanying video from the band, on which they tell them: “We always want to access a space that is unadulterated and free with our sound. Director Renee Kypriotis (Almanac Productions) and Athina worked together to create a kaleidoscope of images that invite playfulness and brattiness – the kind of freedom reflected in our music.” [via Wonderland]

Jakarta-born, LA-based singer-songwriter and producer NIKI firmly plants herself as one of the most dynamic artists of today with the release of her new album Buzz via 88rising, out now. Accompanying the release is the music video for title track ‘Buzz’, directed by Isaac Ravishankara. The video, a cheeky line-by-line depiction of the lyrics, encapsulates the rush of raw emotion and bittersweet nerves of a budding romance – glimpses of buzzing bees, a crackling guitar amp, and longing looks between two people, all signaling towards the start of something new. NIKI was initially inspired to name the record after the budding growth she observed in her garden every spring. Across thirteen tracks on the album, the singer encapsulates the feeling of being on the precipice of something undiscovered. [via FEMMusic]

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Written in the wake of devastating bushfires and floods, ‘Rain’ grapples with climate anxiety and the confusion of begging for respite as climate fluctuates rapidly between extreme events. A slick fusion of psych and garage, it blends driving rhythms with crunchy guitars and soaring above the gritty and dynamic instrumental backdrop are the iconic, ethereal vocals of frontwomen Billie Star and Grace Cuell. Their voices intertwine to create a hauntingly beautiful melody that echoes the dual nature of the song’s message: a desperate plea for respite and a hopeful call to action.

“We began to work on ‘Rain’ again after a catastrophic flooding event occurred in Meanjin (Brisbane) in 2022, after weeks of constant rain,” explain the band. “We felt trapped in this feeling of helplessness. The song then became a reflection of the psychological impacts of climate change, where you are at first wishing for rain and then begging for it to stop. We changed the lyrics to reflect this, alternating between ‘stop the rain’ and ‘please don’t stop the rain’. We live in a system where action to mitigate climate change is ignored – so in this song we imagined a rainbow ‘cracking through the concrete’ to break free from the shackles of the system to bring change and… the rain. It’s a positive take on a situation that can make us feel powerless – to encourage us to keep going and to not lose hope when everything is uncertain.”

Released with ‘Rain’ is a 7 minute video clip directed by Josh Tate and features Nice Biscuit as scientist. Frustrated in their search for answers, the film clip follows the band from science lab to out in the field as they frantically look for Rain.

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