A special edition of Homegrown Fire this week…

Well, we’re getting stuck into the year now, and through it all, we’re getting absolutely swarmed with new releases. It’s getting impossible to keep up with it all, but it’s a responsibility we’re more than willing to take on. So much so that this week we’re going a step beyond our usual Homegrown Fires, adding an extra two tracks to our normal five-track lineups.

And so, we won’t waste any time. SEVEN fire tracks by local artists, coming right up. Check it below.

Hotel (Sydney/Eora) – ‘These Days’

Hotel crafts a summer jam in his latest offering ‘These Days’, the eclectic Eora muso continuing to experiment with rhyme and reason for a cruisey narration about maintaining hope through life’s struggles.

The track sees Hotel lean into his strengths as a vocalist and arrange, utilising a laid back guitar line upon which he drops some attitude-filled vocals. As a result, he strikes a nice contrast between pop, indie and his signature brand of Avante-Garde rock. It all culminates on the hook “These days I just don’t understand”, the airy harmonies and whistles that surround his vocals helping to craft a hazy collage of optimism and youthfulness.

It’s another quality offering from Hotel, one that just goes to show he’s incapable of missing. Get familiar:

Salarymen (Sydney/Eora) – ‘Rerun’

Salarymen venture within in their latest single ‘Rerun’, the inner west indie rock duo following up recent release ‘All In Vain’ with equal measures of feeling and nostalgia.

The track utilises light guitar lines and hazy synths reminiscent of the dream-pop soundscape, lead singer Renee De Le Motte’s air vocals perched on top with total ease and comfortability. As a whole, the various textures of the track find a nice synchronicity with one another, one that becomes more immersive with each bout of vocal acrobatics Renee performs for us. The accompanying video is just as enchanting as the sonics as well, the duo taking our hands for a fauna-filled visual as they perform the song with the aid of vibrant backdrops and visual effects.

Salarymen seem to be on a hot streak as of late, one that we don’t see ending any time soon. Thank us later:

First Beige (Brisbane/Meanjin) – ‘Different To You’

First Beige indulge in plenty of devilish desire on ‘Different To You’, the acclaimed groove shamans conjuring a whirlwind of feeling, soul and vibration on their latest release.

The track is definitely on the slower end of the six-piece’s discography, warbling horns and flickering guitar licks meshing with pastel synths in what’s a concoction of allure. Again, like many of First Beige’s work, the track doesn’t care for convention or structure, rather leaning into whatever feels grooviest and taking us all along for the ride. As a result, the mid-tempo creation alternates between revelling in its vocal sweet spots and following their instrumental inclinations through every peak and valley

Another stellar track from the funk lords that can be heard in both a low-key jazz bar or a fine-dining escape. It’s essentially mandatory listening:

Fungas (Newcastle/Mulubinba) – ‘Temporary Escalator’

Fungas are full of hazy sweetness on ‘Temporary Escalator’, the psych-rock outfit crafting a twisted world of punchy sonics and resonance that stays faithful to the Newy music scene.

The track draws on the dark and dangerous from the opening synths, slightly anxiety-inducing synths setting a warped mood that excites and intrigues. The scene is perfectly set for those emotive falsettos to swoop on in, the utterances intermingling with the instrumentation in a nice call and response that pushes the sonics into its next phase. The instrumentation and arrangement as a whole is wildly immersive, reminiscent of early Khruangbin as the various guitar lines take on a life of their own throughout the two-minute runtime.

It’s definitely one of Fungas’ most enchanting works yet, one that listens as a comforting thrill ride that’s both foreign and familiar. Dig in:

Didirri (Melbourne/Naarm) – ‘Begin Again’

Songbird extraordinaire Didirri is full of passion and rigour in his latest creation ‘Begin Again’, the old soul shedding light on his recent rebirth and all of the evolution it entails.

The slow-burn utilises tender piano chords that listen like a mid-noughties power ballad, along with plenty of acoustic inflections and organic sampling that grounds it in the natural world. Didirri’s vocals are up to their usual antics of serenading and mesmerising, a sense of wisdom tinging them as the Naarm upstart reflects the growth from various his years in the public eye.

It’s especially apparent on the hook “Begin again”, Didirri flexing the resonance of his tone with total ease. Whether you’re after a high-octane pick me up to start your day or wanna bask in your feelings for a minute or two, Didirri cuts through it all on ‘Begin Again’, rather offering a musical reset of the finest variety.

ZHR (Melbourne/Naarm) – ‘Something Ain’t Right’

Northeast Party House frontman Zachary Hamilton-Reeves is branching out under his own banner ZHR this Friday morning, releasing his solo debut ‘Something Ain’t Right’ into the world

The track oozes funk and soul, throwing it back to OG The Internet and Steve Lacy as he utilises tangy guitars and ember-like synths in conjunction with laid back lyrics about catching a vibe and the feels that result when energies are off. ZHR lives up to the vocal prowess he’s become renowned for as part of Northeast Party House, showcasing agility in both tone and range in the hook “Something ain’t right”.

It’s a slow-burn that captivates, intrigues and most importantly, excites, and if ZHR keeps up this calibre of songwriting, it looks like we might have the next funk sensation on our hands.

Jesse Madigan (Newcastle/Mulubinba) – ‘Time Falls’

Jesse Madigan makes a thrilling return to the music scene with his first single in two years, ‘Time Falls’.

An interstate creation that pulls from the beauty of the Aussie landscape, the track is in intimate slow-burn set atop a melancholic 12-string guitar, organic sampling and inflections peppered throughout. Madigan’s haunting falsetto takes residency in the track’s two-and-a-half-minute runtime, shifting, extending and retracting in full force as we get a full snapshot of his abilities as both a vocalist and storyteller.

Accompanying the track is a fauna-focused clip that makes use of lo-fi sensibilities, the 8mm visuals featuring Madigan as he ventures throughout Bellingen, guitar in hand as he revels in the aura of the natural world. It’s a solid way to return to the Aussie music scene, and much to our delight, there appears to be plenty more on the way.