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Anne Briggs - Standing on the Shore (1971)

Perhaps more legendary and influential than actually well known, Anne Briggs stopped singing at age 27. Here's a haunting version of an Irish traditional song that she learned from Sweeney's Men.

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6/8/25.

Well, this was a surprise. Not the new release by Brisbane, Australia's Greg Brady and the Anchors. I've known about that for months. What surprised me is that this release comes not only on vinyl, but also on CD courtesy the prolific (and usually more indie pop oriented) label, Subjangle.

Greg Brady has roots in indie pop - he was, after all, a member of The Zebras. But his solo work tends more to The Moles/Richard Davies style of pop. "I'd Rather Walk" (and his previous solo work covered here in April 2023) is poppy, but it meanders and throws curveballs. In 2023, we said, "Bands like Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Ducks Ltd. owe a debt to Greg Brady."

It should be mentioned that the Subjangle CD comes with Brady's "Little Victories" album from 2020. I always appreciate how Subjangle uses all the storage space offered by the CD format to maximize the amount of music we get.

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I dunno much about Dr Sures Unusual Practice. This one is a banger tho. There's a heap of bands that kind of sound like I, dunno...Devo? XTC? Whatev e r. Like intellectual art punk or whatever. Exek and Eggy and what have you. Not that that's a bad thing. Cause: listen to this

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Promaja have kinda a typical post punk sound.

I got into an argument with a girl at a gig about whether "post punk" actually meant anything and whether the term could actually be used in a useful way to define contemporary bands. And I kind of get what she meant.

For one thing, post punk is an amorphous term. It means "after punk" the definition only in relation to being not punk, something after punk? But what is it?

I associate it loosely with DIY, with the democratisation of the band. With not needing to be skilled or play rock music in a traditional way or with any nod to Blues which Rock music before it was attached to. In post punk u saw people experimenting. You didnt have to be able to play your instrument and lots of people who might otherwise not got the traditional realm of rock music. Women got into it. Bands like The Coathangers, The Slits, Young Marble Giants, Au Pairs became influential. People experimented with the band format, trying out configurations like 2 bass players (like in Delta 5). One of the most enduring stylistic innovations of post punk in my opinion was guitars and bass players playing intersecting melodic or rhythmic parts, almost like call and response (Gang of Four, Josef K etc). Odd song structures, sometimes no designated lead singer, sometimes singers sharing intersecting vocal parts. Experimentation with drum machines, synth. One part of post punk branched into the goth (think Siouxie Sioux and the Banshees, Joy Division).

Anyway I don't fuckin know is the short answer. Sometimes I find contemporary bands influenced by post punk kind of boring. Like they're too tight, or too gothy and sombre. There's not enough sweat, not enough emotion, not enough experimentation or frenzy.

I'm interested whenever I hear it tho. I want to know what happens next.

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Deeply underrated and underappreciated band from Sydney. Doing egg punk before egg punk, but ignored through egg punk. Sounds like devo/ b52s or Melbourne's ausmuteants kinda I guess. Once saw them play to a crowd of 5, which included the members of the support band

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image i am in love with

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Hooper Crescent are kind of slept on imo. The band name is kinda wrong. Makes em sound like a dolewave band. They list Devo and Pylon as influences which makes sense.

This song Staring at the Post is sick. Hypnotic and pop but like, rockin

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There's a lot of post punk revival bands in Australia presently. Especially ones with women as creative driving forces. Which makes sense given the history of post punk.

Gut Health are one of the bigger ones. They evoke Suburban Lawns to me. And also like XTC? There's a frenetic musical tightness paired with a silliness. They seem dead serious about it thoo

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G2G from Sydney. In between post punk and garage punk kinda. Occupying a space somewhere in between Kleenex/Liliput and Amyl and the Sniffers.

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Okay so Billiam and the Split Bills seems like the hardest working band in Melbourne. They are grinding it out like a 9 to 5. You could see them like 3 times a week if you wanted, it seems like.

They are really enjoyably chaotic tho, they're not giving pro at all. I got obsessed w this song when they played it 2 times cause the guitarist was having some kind of broken strings then couldnt get his guitar to tune crisis.

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7/20/24.

I saw this morning that Tropical Fuck Storm is touring the U.S. The San Francisco show at The Chapel will feature Michael Beach (Melbourne, Australia) as support. I've seen Beach play twice, and both were memorable.

This 7" single will be available exclusively at shows for the tour. After the tour, the remainder will go on sale. "The Sea" sounds more late 1980s Flying Nun than anything he's ever made (my first thought was Able Tasmans). "De Facto Blues (Demo)" sounds more like quintessential Beach, but really, both songs are outstanding examples of the exemplary sounds created by Michael Beach.

25 Diamonds (Minneapolis) is releasing the 7". The last time the label was included in a post was in 2016 - the Failed Flowers demo tape.

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5/18/24.

The Cat's Miaow have been experiencing a bit of a renaissance. First was the great 7" split with Rocketship. Now, London based label World of Echo is releasing this 2 LP (bonus cassette) behemoth "The Cassette Years: '92-'93". World of Echo previously released the compilation "Songs '94-'98".

The Cat's Miaow were based in Melbourne, Australia. Members went on to form great bands like Hydroplane, Bart and Friends (both of which have been covered here previously).

The Cat's Miaow must have drawn inspiration from the C86 and Flying Nun sounds. They definitely set the stage for bands like Belle and Sebastian.

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Fucken sick song by 90s Australian band Snout. Reissued on vinyl recently too, available on bandcamp, x

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The Cannanes were on that long list of Kurt Cobain's favourite bands that was in his posthumously published journals.

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I saw The Stress of Leisure in 2019 in Brisbane. I had no prior knowledge of them and I was kind of blown away by how much I liked them and how good they were!

They tick a lot of boxes for me musically, with post punk influences. Their name is a Gang of Four reference, it's also possible to make B-52's comparisons. Especially in when their song I Wanna Be Adult seems to have a reference Song For a Future Generation. I have also seen someone compare them to Magazine!!

Having said that they are a unique band with a unique perspective and balance their influences well into something different.

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39 minutes of what is currently best, can that be refused? Amyl & The Sniffers make you sweat. I love them, as I love current Australian rock, especially female rock. If you're curious, try Cable Ties or Glitorix. The wind can be cool when everything is warming up.

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Bit by Bit from Mat Clarke

Mat Clarke is a singer songwriter with an enviable knack for pairing transcendent melodies with plain spoken lyrics. Perhaps a little comparable to iconic and beloved Australian singer songwriter Paul Kelly. Listening to these songs sometimes gives a bittersweet feeling about the everyday.

I reccomend the song "Out of my Head" as my highlight!