All quality picks…

Happy Thursday fam. Normally we start these articles by marvelling at how beautiful it is outside. But we’re not gonna front, it’s straight up miserable hours. Rain’s pounding down by the bucketload, keeping us indoors as we attempt to bunker TF down until this fucker passes. It’s a lot, but hey, at least it gives us more time to go bonkers on these tracks by local artists.

And we’ve got a pretty special crop of tunes for you all today, all of whom just begging to be bumped on repeat.

Check it below.

Lawson Hull – ‘Cowboys’

Sydney Indie-rocker Lawson Hull is painting mesmerising canvases of nostalgia in his latest tune ‘Cowboys,’ getting reflective on his journey in the music industry and the perils he’s faced along the way. The tune sees the veteran rocker begin with gentle fingerpicking guitars, providing a soft backing for that lush story-telling tone as he lets us know we’re in for a voyage-and-a-half in the next three minutes. He also manages to integrate vibrancies of dream-pop and throughout the tune, each chorus embedded with colourful synth lines and ornamentation to compliment the folky verses.

The metaphor of the music industry as being the Wild West is the perfect heartbeat for the tune as well, with Lawson dubbing him and his fellow singer-songwriters cowboys, all of whom are just trying to survive and thrive in the ionosphere of music creation. It adds an edgy gun-ho aspect to the singer-songwriter this, with artists songs and instruments being the tools they use to survive in the harsh realities that is the music world. Get acquainted with cowboy Hull below.

Kinder – ‘Bus Stop’

Ghanaian-Australian sibling duo Kinder melt your mind with their explosive new track ‘Bus Stops,’ crafting a ravenous celebration of life that burns with magic and mysticism. The tune sees the multi-talented siblings get tonally vivid in compositional flare and lyricism, capturing the fiery energy that defines their live shows and peppering it throughout the track’s three minute run-time. 

Every piece and layer is tuned to ridiculous precision, from those driving kicks to the chant-like harmonies and fierce vocals. That drop is just totally euphoric as well, minimal in composition but bombastic and totally exuberant in execution. The drums attract an extra layer of rawness, each snare hitting harder than the last as the siblings show off their wicked production prowess. The track just listens like the type of high you get when you party well into the hours of the morning, abandoning all sense of responsibility as you lose yourself to endless dance, feeling and enchantment. Check it below.  

Miccy ft. Charbel – ‘Long Run’

Brisbane-based R&B spark MiCCY demands your attention with her latest tune ‘Long Run,’ grandiosely announcing to the world that she’s dedicated to the game, that she lives and breathes the hustle. Linking up with the Boomchild OGs for an electrifying beat that acts like a sonic inferno of soul, the Cape Town-born sensation vocalises with an unfiltered attitude that’s made up of the exact right amount of poise and grace; a concoction that’s a pretty good description for the tune overall.

And we’d be going straight to hell if we didnt mention Boom MC Charbel as well, who features on the track with a stank-face inducing verse along with some super breezy melodies. Of course, that instantly-recognisable tone just shines in the mix as well, equal parts gritty and soulful as he matches MiCCY in all of her energy and magnetism. A tune that’ll motivate the fuck out of you whenever your spirit may be dampened, we’re backing it hard. Check it below.

Abby Bella May – ‘Wish We Could Be Friends’

Sydney-based dream-walker Abby Bella May puts you at ease in the most cathartic way in ‘Wish We Could Be Friends,’ healing your mind and heart with a tender tune that’s literally impossible to get tired of (talking from experience here). The track sees her emanate some super-sweet vocals atop a bubblegum beat vivid in colour and orchestration, backed by some colourful AF guitars & keys that have a Clairo ‘Pretty Girl’ vibrance to them.

Singing about wanting to have a platonic relationship with a former love, but knowing that it’s straight up not possible, the tune sees Abby mourn the loss of connection, getting super vulnerable with us in intimate lyrics like ‘You and I could never be that close/  Without feeling like we’re all alone.’ The tune is just this unfurling hub of sweet vulnerability, and is totally mesmerising in its delivery. Check it below.

Borderland State – ‘Rushing’

Sunshine Coast-based talent Borderland State is a burning fire of groove in ‘Rushing’, crafting an ethereal well of sonics that bubbles and brews with allure. The tune sees the coastal-residing producer get vividly-transcendent with his EDM palette, the various synths swirling and oscillating beneath the falsetto vocals as they burn with lush oranges and yellows.

Made as the world went into lockdown in 2020, the tune captures the raging desire to break free of isolation infused with the warmth that comes from solitude, no doubt reflective of the process behind the track’s creation.  It just listens like a progressive house journey into the cosmos, a spaceship running off pure euphoria as it hurtles toward the next frontier. And call us crazy, but we’re hoping old mate starts selling off seats on his Magic School Bus real soon. Get a taste of the stardust-heavy tune below.