Five acts not to miss at Bigsound
It’s almost that time when the Australian music industry focuses its attention on Brisbane for Bigsound, the yearly event which sees three days of lively debate and two nights of the abso-bloody-lutely awesome new music. The music line-up this year is seriously magnificent.
There are so many acts to see – including the likes of Alison Wonderland, Deep Sea Arcade, Kingswood, Jack Ladder, Little May, Major Leagues and Tin Sparrow – that it would be foolish to try and pick a top five.
But we are fools, so here are the five artists that we insist you don’t miss.
BANOFFEE
Potentially one of Australia’s most exciting musical exports, Banoffee is the new solo project of Melbourne-based singer and producer Martha Brown (Otouto, Dreamy and Delicious). Seemingly as minimal and raw as her previous projects, Banoffe’s recipe sees new wave R’n’B, meshed with gliding synths, syncopated beats and textured, effected vocals.
LUNATICS ON POGOSTICKS
We loved Slug Cat and Snail Dog, the new EP from teen-rapscallions Lunatics On Pogosticks, which they gave away for free, by the way (find the link on their Facebook Page). Their show at Bigsound will be a total blast. Be there.
EVES
Eves (pictured, top) is the moniker given to the songwriting experiments of Brisbane-based Hannah Karydas. Even though she is just 19, she has released a debut single, played all over the UK, written and recorded in Los Angeles, toured Australia, grabbed the attention of triple j (who named her a Next Crop of ones to watch in 2014) and has played at Groovin the Moo. Pretty damn impressive.
MAMMALS
The dreamy Northern Beaches outfit recently released their new EP, Animalia. With triple j describing the band as having “the same level of emotion and beauty I would expect from someone like Bon Iver,” this is certainly an act to take notice of at Bigsound.
STEVE SMYTH
We’ve been in love with bearded genius Steve Smyth since we first saw him supporting Howling Bells yonks ago in Sydney. We’ve since seen him perform in London and bumped into him while swimming in the sea at Coogee. This has taught us two things. He looks good without his shirt and his live show is mesmerising. He’ll be playing some new material at Bigsound too, so be there to check it out.
Bigsound happens in Brisbane from September 10-12 and there are heaps of other great acts to see. Grab a Bigsound Live ticket from Oztix and check out the full line-up at the Bigsound website.
Words by Bobby Townsend.
