Get your jug of beers (ears) around the veritable bops we have scoured the earth (triple j) for this week. In curating a mixed bag of hits from relatively low key Aussie artists we hope you can get that lovely smug glow when later, you can tell your friends you were fans of these guys before they made it to the mainstream. Happy Halloween and happy listening.
Matahara – 'Missify'
With her name translating to 'sun' in Indonesian, you'd expect Matahara to deliver some sort of dreamy pop hit, and though she does, the absolute individuality and creativity infused alongside it in 'Missify' was totally unexpected. The second single from the 20-year-old feels like you are swimming inside a veritable potion of distilled lazy happiness, listening as it brews to the popping bubbles that sparkle up next to you. The silky vocals are layered over itself into a lush, intricate and wildly interesting tune.
for fans of: Babe Rainbow, Mallrat, Marlin's Dreaming
$ENT – 'Green Ting'
Having met in church, it's fitting for WHOISMAYO and Mzila Killa to have come together as $ENT (standing for sent from god) and bust out 'Green Ting', a steady paced hip hop track that shows an impressive maturity and composition know-how – a feat wildly more impressive when you realise they are both only 16 years old. Undercut with an ominous electro piano beat, 'Green Ting' has the boys rapping about money, girls and corn on the cob – the regular trifecta.
for fans of: Kanye West, Migos, Internet Money.
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Matt Welch – 'Two Reasons'
This man of many hats (and bands) created a hit that is absolutely destined for a blockbuster's rolling credits, capturing that oddly placed sense of nostalgia and displacement always felt when you walk out of the movies and try to remember who exactly you are. Full of drama and 80s-esque suspense, 'Two Reasons' dissolves into a symphony of vocals from Welch and guest features Mia Bee and Ppalepinkk, dipped in a heavy dose of reverb that makes me wonder when we'll be hearing this on Stranger Things.
for fans of: Simple Minds, IceHouse, FM-84
Morgues – '2006'
Sydney natives Cath Connell and Celeste Dao comprise this indie dream duo and have so carefully crafted this hazy wonderland you wouldn't believe its only their second release. Floaty vocals drift seamlessly in and out of an otherwise already floaty soundscape, and although you can't quite decipher what it is they're saying, you're sure it's something magical.
for fans of: Alvvays, Hatchie, Girlpool
Rich Road – 'Waking Up'
The WA foursome's fourth release of 2020 is a groovy summer breeze and a cruise-y slice of anticipation for the coming months (which will be – I say with hesitance – good? fun? do we dare to dream?). Warm, gritty guitars and laidback acoustics hide the more despondent nature of the message, which the band describes as "the perspective of ones future self, looking back on life as if it is a tangible product, and how the anxiety experienced during that time shapes you to be the person you are." Nothing like a beachy bop to disguise ones existential turmoil.
for fans of: Spacey Jane, Great Gable, Hippo Campus
Jimmy Harwood – 'Blessing in Disguise'
Freshly 21-year-old Jimmy Harwood continues to impress with this smoky bedroom hip hop track from new EP Electric Daisy. Heavily layered across a smooth electronic plain is the punctuation of an interestingly asymmetrical pulsating beat and Harwood's rawly accented vocals. Jimmy's certainly scooped out a segment of Melbourne's music scene and budding genre and firmly planted himself in it.
for fans of: Horrorshow, Cosmo Pyke, Allday
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