Australian TYF staff writer Georgia Anger returns with her monthly instalment of A Month in Aussie Music, taking a look back on the month of exciting news in Australian music from new releases, to new faces, to a festival of our dreams announced.
From Street to Stage: Tones and I
Young busker Toni Watson, professionally known as Tones and I, performed her stage debut on April 30 at Sydney’s iconic Enmore Theatre, to an audience that was her largest yet. May was a busy month for the Victorian musician, touring with AURORA, reaching 15.9K followers on Instagram, and released two original singles “Johnny Run Away” on March 1st and “Dance Monkey” shortly after. When asked about the meaning behind her boppy singles, Tones revealed on her website that “Johnny Run Away is about my best friend coming out to his disapproving father at a young age” and expressed her disappointment in the world of button-pressing and clickbait technology in Dance Monkey, “[Dance Monkey] is about how our appreciation of live performance diminished as we are being instantly entertained with a click of a button on social media.” Tones and I sold out her first headline show in Australia within days of its announcement, and we’re thanking the gods of music because there is an EP on the way, as well as an international tour announcement later this year.
Check out the official video for Tones and I’s debut single “Johnny Run Away” below.
🔥 Scorching New Releases 🔥
With Tones and I taking the reins for most successful month and two SCORCHING new releases, I take my hat off to two other up-and-coming bands that I’m really excited about and I KNOW will be the names on everyone’s lips in a years time. Queer duo Cry Club released their newest single “Two Hearts” which shows a stark contrast to their previously released single “DFTM” which can be described as a classic punk anthem, and in my wise words, “so fucking badass”. Two Hearts appears alongside DFTM (B-side), with a light and airy feel, appearing on triple j Unearthed’s Feature Artist of the Week on May 18. We can’t wait to hear what’s to come!
Listen to their newest release below.
It’s only going up for Wollongong based rockers The Pinheads, with the release of their sophomore album Is This Real on May 24, along with an announcement for an Australian and European tour. I was lucky enough to catch up with The Pinheads bassist, Tanya Avanus, to discuss their new album and the different approach they took as opposed to their previous recordings.
TYF: In regards to your new album Is This Real, what do you think is the most real thing about the album? Such as messages, identity, experimentation etc. Is there something you learnt from your previous albums/EPs?
Avanus: Hmm, great question! It’s not something I’ve considered before, but I guess the ‘realest’ thing about this album is it’s sonic value. The album was recorded completely live, bar the back up vocals and extra percussion. We’d started to record some songs from the album track by track in late 2017, but we had to take a break due to a tour in Europe. When we returned and listened back to the recordings, we realised it didn’t have the energy and cohesiveness that we usually present at our live shows. It’s always a strange experience to see a great band live, pick up their record only to find an immense difference in sound and energy. Hence, we took a lot of care in the process of recording- of which we do all ourselves in our home studio and is engineered by our singer, Jez- to make sure we captured everything that our band is when we play our songs right in front of you. And yeah, it might mean that imperfections are inevitable- but that’s almost the point.
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TYF: Just to quote The Music (Australia) this week, “If The Pinheads were more recognisable, this album would go down as a piece of punk history”. For a mag to applaud you guys at this stage is crazy awesome, so what would you hope for the future of punk and for The Pinheads when you do reach that point of familiarity and popularity?
Avanus: Well first of all, for someone to say such words about our work is so surreal. What’s funny is that we don’t particularly consider ourselves punk. Or any genre for that matter. We want everyone to listen to our music or come to our shows. Exclusivity in certain music genre scenes can divide people and we want to bring people together! No matter what kind of music you usually listen to, no matter how you dress, YOU are welcome and belong at a Pinheads show! For future Pinnies, I just hope that people still get joy out of what we do and that we still get joy out of writing and playing music. There’s nothing worse than going through the motions just to please someone else.
TYF: Finally, for a first time listener, what songs would you guys suggest as a good opener or first impression track for The Pinheads?
Avanus: From our first EP to our latest album, the songs are so vastly different. I’d say- if you want a song that encapsulates our early days- our very first single ‘I Wanna Be A Girl’ would be a hot one to start on. If you wanna taste of the new Pins then I’d say ‘No Time’. But don’t be fooled – we’re not always high octane. We have some slow burners out there for those that want it. We want it and that’s why we made ‘em.
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Is This Real is available on Spotify, Google Play Music and all analogue devices.
Festival of our Dreams? Thanks, triple j!
triple j and its other two platforms will be home to a unique ‘festival’ experience on June 22, titled the Dream Festival. The three platforms will be digital stages for local and international acts that we can listen to from the comfort of our homes. Similarly to triple j’s Hottest 100, this festival experience has the potential to be celebrated as a national holiday outing for young Australians whose only endeavour is to get drunk with good mates and good vibes. The festival allows listeners to relive some of triple j’s most prestigious live recordings from Aussie artists such as Powderfinger, Silverchair, and Tame Impala, as well as international acts such as Lana Del Ray, Beastie Boys, and Radiohead- just to name a few exciting names. I am beyond excited to tune in, and you can too on the triple j app on Saturday June 22 AEST. Check out the most iconic lineup below.
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