Melbourne music

Flicker Vertigo: “Midnight Fantasies Upon Prospect Hill”

As an unabashed Pink Floyd fan, I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to firing up the Atmos mix of Animals on my home theater setup when the BluRay drops next month. Sure, the full record’s been etched in my memory forever now, but through the lens of the latest mix an full surround encoding, it’ll be like hearing it for the first time. And that’s a safe bet for most modern psych fans, right? Far out, effects-dense arrangements with a little bit of digital polish to make the mix pop more?

At least that’s what’s been doing it for us with Flicker Vertigo, the near decade-old project of multi-instrumentalist/producer/engineer Nathan Nicholson. Brought up in Melbourne and now based out of Bournemouth. this walking enpsychlopedia of ’60s sounds and techniques flashes between dream pop, shoegaze, house, and of course psych rock for a feverish experience. Flicker Vertigo’s full discography has been great to dissociate to, so as we approach the post-eclipse era, we’re greeted with the news of more meditations.

On June 14th Flicker Vertigo unfurls their sixth full-length Infinite Verve. And this morning we got the first dose of IV with “Midnight Fantasies Upon Prospect Hill”. Despite its mouthful of a title, there’s a pleasant simplicity to this cosmic cacophony as it strobes through a dizzying drone of delay-drenched vocals, like if Kevin Parker ditched the day disco of The Slow Rush in favor of an all-night lo-fi dance frenzy.

Elle Shimada: “RESOLUTE”

All-day unofficial hangs, boozy activations, and making new friends with your line neighbors are great and all…but for us the biggest joy of SXSW is that fast influx of international acts. Artists who might not ever consider the U.S. Southwest for their previous tours instead flood our city with tons of show options, which always makes staying in Austin this week well worth it.

So we gotta give a big shoutout to Elle Shimada, who, on top of juggling vocals, dance routines, turntables, and several instruments, also has her hands full with in-town appearances over the next few days. The Tokyo-born, Melbourne-based multi-hyphenate has been coming up quick in the Australian underground scene thanks to her infectious flirtations with drum n bass, nu jazz, R&B, electronic, and beyond, not to mention a bold Takashi Miike-esque aesthetic to her releases’ artwork and unwavering allegiance to the dancefloor. And since SXSW is so often a catalyst towards superstardom, this week may turn out to be one of those pivotal leg ups in terms of international exposure.

Elle Shimada plays 4:20PM tomorrow at Empire Control Room, Friday afternoon at Lucille (Australia House), 7:50PM Friday evening at Lefty’s Brick Bar, and wraps it up 8:30PM Saturday night at Shiner’s Saloon…plenty of opportunities to tap into Shimada’s unique pulse in-person. So while a proper introduction to Elle is the quick trip through her discography, Shimada does shimmer supremely on her latest single that dropped at the top of the month. Between sweeping synths, soaring guitar, and a rhythm section that cranks the chillwave vibe up a big notch, “RESOLUTE” is the perfect score for a super-stylized sci-fi crime romance epic, like if one of those massive Blade Runner holograms was swapped out with Shimada’s striking visage and shintai-ascending voice.

CIVIC: “Born in the Heat”

We’ve gotten drenched by several “South By Soaking Wet”s in the past, but rest assured, despite gloomy weather, there’s a lot going on. And any precipitation aside, CIVIC sure as hell is in that mix. Founded in 2017, this Melbourne quintet has continued to follow old school punk rock’s first rules: 1) Don’t overthink it, 2) just have fun, and 3) play what gets the people going. And while we suspect CIVIC’s circle pits are a prime place to get bloody and bruised, the band’s pandemic-era full-lengths have found the five-piece broadening their scope to more inclusive, higher-fidelity, and controllable elements of rock, albeit all high-octane.

That said CIVIC‘s already begun bringing the low-light grit of the “Aussie music experience” to our city limits. They wrapped up the first quarter of a dozen shows yesterday afternoon at Hole in the Wall and just hopped off stage at Mohawk for Flood-Fest a few minutes ago. They’ll be back at Hotel Vegas today at 2PM for Levitation Party before a 5PM set at South By San Jose. Tomorrow’s options are 12:15PM at Chess Club, 2:15PM at Australia House/Lucille Patio, and 5PM in the Waterloo Records parking lot. CIVIC’s final Hotel Vegas appearance is Saturday at 2PM, before Do512’s “The Big One” 6PM at Far Out Lounge and 11PM at Valhalla.

With that many gigs (both official and unofficial) at that many venues, you won’t need to be Taken By Force to see CIVIC in person. So why not brave the elements to throw elbows with some of Australia’s finest? Because as much as us Texans like to poke fun at those who complain about the sun, these Melbourne badasses were “Born in the Heat”. Catch the fire while it’s close by…

Hiatus Kaiyote: “Red Room”

You’ve probably caught “Get Sun” a couple times on our airwaves and recently wondered, “when is HK gonna drop a new LP?”. Well, today, commemorating their first full decade together, Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote just issued their third full-length, Mood Valiant. True to its name, Mood Valiant hears Hiatus Kaiyote taking a concentrated approach to their jazz-funk chill-out symphony, with each extended jam showing as much forethought as their more concise companions.

All in all, Mood Valiant is best experienced in its entirety, so that Hiatus Kaiyote can score you in and out of conscious thought, but if you need a quick intro to what may very well be your favorite record of 2021, look no further than “Red Room”!

Armlock: “Power Of A Waterfall”

In their salad days of jazz standards, Melbourne multi-instrumentalists Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell first connected over a mutual disgust in the genre they rehearsed academically. Fast forward a full decade, where, following shared endeavors with experimental electronic in I’lls and Couture, Mitchell and Lam are now tackling a lo-fi indie-shoegaze sound as Armlock.

Armlock released their debut Trust today, a seven-song whose delicate sonics imply an air of simplicity, masking how masterfully produced this record truly is. The poignant lyrics’ll tear straight to your core and the soft-spoken melodies (like those heard on “Power Of A Waterfall”) will leave you feeling melancholy in the best way possible.

Maple Glider: “Good Thing”

Throughout this whole pandemic thing, Australia’s been on their game pretty much the whole time…and not just in terms of quarantine conditions. No, we’ve heard some pretty incredible music come from Down Under in the past year, including the ascending songwriter Maple Glider.

Glider began establishing herself in Melbourne at the start of her twenties, eventually co-founding the duo Seavera before relocating to Brighton, U.K., where she cemented some of her most personal compositions under her own name. Now back in Melbourne, Maple Glider seems to be in full swing with her budding career, and having only released her sophomore single (and music video) in the past month, her music has proved be an especially “Good Thing” to keep on your music radar.

Purient: “Memories”

Happy International Women’s Day! To celebrate, we’ve got a voracious producer-vocalist to keep on your radar. Melbourne’s Kate Durman just premiered her musical persona Purient, doing so with high ambitions and a killer sense of balance. Purient’s found a middle ground between soft pop vocals and abrasive electronic soundscapes, and she’s set to share it on her upcoming debut EP, Memories.

Featuring three originals and a couple remixes from international artists, Memories is sure to stick in your head well after it drops on March 26th, and to get those mnemonic wheels turning, turn up the bass on the record’s title track (and music video)!