It’s that time of year again. The time where we break off the shackles of winter and wander around Sydney’s Inner-West seeking out live music, the time when don’t feel bad about being a little tipsy before 3pm. That’s right, King Street Crawl is just a couple of weekends away so it’s time to start preparing yourself.
With performances at over 25 spaces and over 100 artists on the bill, scheduling your Crawl is essential. You don’t want to be held back by that one friend who somehow always needs to go to the bathroom when you’re leaving a venue, or miss out on one of your fave acts because you’re pouch is empty and you’re on a tobacco run – preparation is key.
Though we understand that spotlighting some standout artists might actually make deciding who to see even harder, here’s 10 acts (so far) that we reckon you should definitely get along to see at KSC 2018:
Throwing it back to the heydays of garage-psych, Wollongong’s Pinheads will get you shaking in your boots (in the best kind of way). Witnessing the seven-piece take over the stage at The Sly and busting out tracks from their 2017 self-titled is something we highly recommend – event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdDzNoGlqUc
Nothing like a bit of dreamy alt/pop to blow the cobwebs out, and MOODY BEACH have all the trimmings of 90’s rock with a shiny pop finish that will warm your disaffected heart. Having caught them supporting fellow Crawlers Rosa Maria a couple of weeks back, we can vouch for their live show too – event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6OjpIfS79g
It’s easily to imagine WAAX’ being on of the most watch bands at this years crawl, with the Brisbaner’s anthemic ‘Labrador’ surely inducing some mass sing-alongs. Clearly one of this years ‘marquee’ acts, KSC is probably one of the last chances you’ll have to see them for free at an intimate venue – event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuh3Fq8zS0
People are coming to expect big things from the Doogs. With the Mandurah surf/punk lads having earnt plenty of triple j spins and a slot at Groovin’ The Moo, it’s safe to say they are well on the way to proving their growing legions of fans right – event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Z9XsRp4ho
Sick of getting your head blown off by punk/indie rock acts? Sydney’s eüsh will remedy that with some of their hauntingly beautiful folk. Having recorded their fourth album completely live at 107 Projects, we can promise you that this band is capable of producing and capturing magic, even if we can’t tell you how they do it.
Having been unable to get their track ‘Vincent Van Gogh’ from their debut A Quality Of Mercy out of our heads for the last couple of months, Melbourne’s RVG are on our must see list for KSC this year – event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-oMMbgzf-o
When is it not a good time to catch the Crocs? With the lads having dropped one of the best videos all year, featuring their unique take on aqua aerobics, as well as selling out The Lansdowne and the Tote back in May, you could say snapping up (see what I did there) the opportunity to see them would be well worth your while – event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJIpVCiYeJs
Returning to KSC this year, local lads 100 have been slowly building a reputation as one of Sydney’s most hard-hitting punk acts, and with an explosive live show to back it up, you’ll see why they were the natural choice to back up post-punk revivalists SHAME earlier this year – event here.
With ‘Make Time 4 Love,’ the first single from their forthcoming sophomore LP, Brisbane’s Goon Sax have further taken their Talking Heads-esque directness and upbeat indie to a new level of melancholy pop that we highly recommend checking out – event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktNFKAV5gII
Fancy catching some emotionally-driven electro-pop this year? Then look no further than Bares. Having caught our attention with their debut EP Over The Ocean in 2017, the group’s ability to deliver infectious dance tunes backed with deeply personal lyricism has got us hooked – event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ-eaM58cSI