The festival lights are being turned on, and the mad dash to the end of the year has begun. This week we have added ten new tracks to our Discovery Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. Our track of the week goes to Melbourne singer/songwriter Clio Renner, with her new track “Running Circles”.
It examines the push and pull between hopefulness and despair. In such polarising times as these, there are many that will resonate with the message within. There’s a rich beauty, a lushness and depth to Clio’s songs that carry an emotional weight to them.
The track comes ahead of Clio’s sophomore album, Don’t Hurry the Dance, set to be released in February 2025. We fell in love with her 2020 debut, Nothing Breaks, Nothing Mends, so expectations are high for the follow-up.
New single “Brother” sees hip-hop artist Birdz and Butchulla songman Fred Leone join forces for their first new music since hit single “Bag-La-m Bargan”. The track which pays homage to the duo’s shared identity, roots, and traditional language is the first taste of their forthcoming debut project GIRA. An empowering blend of sharp poetic lyricism and bilingual vocals, “Brother” is a modern day civil rights anthem, with Birdz explaining ‘“Brother” for me is really about Blak control over Blak affairs.”
One of the stand-out artists of 2024 has to be the Sydney-based artist total tommy. A handful of singles have been released this year, and we’ve been crushing on each one. The latest is “Amsterdam”, a guitar-driven emotive banger written after a big night in Amsterdam. Good news for fans that it’s off tommy tommy’s debut album, bruises, that has been released today.
Melbourne-based pop artist LASHES returns this week with her immersive new single “Tangerine Sidecar”.LASHES is no stranger to a bit of extravagant world building, her previous single “Avalanche For You” was inspired by an RPG, “Tangerine Sidecar” takes its inspiration from a futuristic world where everyone has a perfectly tailored AI companion and their lives are enhanced off world. It’s a playful and inventive slice of pop music, with a bright sugary soundscape that’s tempered by a subtle undercurrent of nostalgia and longing.
Boy & Bear’s Tim Hart has just released his stunning new single ‘Kingdom By The Sea’. If you are a fan of Boy & Bear, then this will tick your boxes. It’s the first track from an upcoming 2-EP series. A beautifully crafted folk gem, with gripping introspective lyrics, it has some early Bon Iver vibes to it.
As we head into the festive season, a new tune to crank up at your party is “Big Summer” from Paul the Kid. Written in jest at the complete lack of sunshine and heavy rainfall throughout the Kiwi summers of ’22 and ’23, this one is an absolute ball of fun. It features vocals from Anita Jane.
We were excited when it popped up on social media that Kathleen Halloran was about to drop her debut single and scrambled to get an early listen. The name might be unknown to many, but that’s because she has been out of the spotlight, masterfully adding her incredible guitar work and backing vocals to some other well-established stars, such as Kate Ceberano, Katie Noonan, Felix Riebl (The Cat Empire) and others.
Kathleen’s debut single, “Free With Me” has lived up to lofty expectations. It’s an empowering guitar-driven pop-rock song. It’s packed with a flowing melody, a stirring guitar solo and has a passionate live performance feel to it. If you are in Sydney you can catch her at the Trocadero Room on the 5th December, and Melbourne peeps can catch her at the Gasometer Hotel on the 11th December. Get along if you can. Support live music!
“Taking Care Of It” is the new single from Australian singer-songwriter Phoebe Go – her first since the release of her critically acclaimed debut record Marmalade back in May. It also comes off the back of a recent support slot opening for Chet Faker in Melbourne and heralds an east coast tour which kicks off next month. Introspective and undeniably emotive, according to Phoebe “Taking Care Of It” is ‘about being tough in a weak moment… It’s about being the hero. It’s about keeping it together for the people ups love.’ It’s beautifully delivered, heartfelt and will undoubtedly tug at the heart strings – especially at this time of year.
Also added to the playlist are new tracks from Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Rory Newman (“Make That Train”) and Belgian artist Dressed Like Boys “Joauad”.
Catch all the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music:
and on Spotify:
Here’s the complete list of new additions this week:
Clio Renner “Running Circles”
Birdz & Fred Leone “Brother”
total tommy “Amsterdam”
LASHES “Tangerine Sidecar”
Tim Hart “Kingdom By The Sea”
Paul The Kid “Big Summer”
Kathleen Halloran “Free With Me”
Phoebe Go “Taking Care Of It”
Dressed Like Boys “Jaouad”
Rory Newman “Make That Train”
