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Last week we skipped out on The Soundcheck's "Soundcheck" segment because we were up in Brisbane celebrating at the Australian Women In Music Awards.
But with so much good music out of late, this week we're making up for last week's absence by delivering a bumper Soundcheck edition: yep, it's 10 x of our favourite releases that have dropped of late, from new singles through to videos and albums.
Earlier this week we covered the epic new tune from Sunk Loto, which we highly recommend you get around here if you haven't already. But for this week's round up we've got a sublime ballad from Ocean Grove, a rousing refrain from Dear Seattle, PENI PARKER lights shit up, Press Club get back to their roots, Make Them Suffer serves up a heaving ode to Machiavellian control, Cult Of Luna cover a Refused classic, Lacuna Coil leave us gasping for air, Spiritbox unveil a cinematic visual masterpiece, Those Who Dream take aim at a lack of support for musicians, and Balance and Composure's new album is simply divine.
Ocean Grove - LAST DANCE (Single)
Ocean Grove have always been an exceptionally balanced band. For a group that deal in all things Oddworld, their own artistic ecosystem where curiosity, passion and weirdness reign supreme, the band have remained one of the most innovative and exciting bands on the heavy scene. Whether crafting nu metal bangers or Brit-pop hued gems, each new release oozes with pure originality, and their impending new album, the aptly titled ODDWORLD, is proving to be the band's most evolved material yet.
This week, the OG collective unleashed yet another peek into ODDWORLD via LAST DANCE; an emotive and truly stunning cut that balances the heavier shades that preceded it with FLY AWAY and MY DISASTER, or the more propulsive stylings of most recent single RAINDROP.
LAST DANCE is unbridled elegance and authenticity tied at the hip, stripping Ocean Grove to their core and showcasing the nuanced talent of each individual member. Between the blissful vocal interplay of Dale Tanner and Twiggy Hunter and the stalwart outing from drummer/producer Sam Bassal, there seems to be nothing that Ocean Grove can't do stylistically - and it also offered the band an opportunity to tap into some significant narrative territory.
“We knew this song was going to be a really important opportunity for storytelling. We felt the impact of how powerful the music was before any lyrics were written and this warranted an equally powerful motif. We all sat down in the bunkbeds of the farmhouse we had converted into a home studio, with a setting sun and determination to not leave the room until we had an arrangement of words proportionately epic. LAST DANCE emerged as an apocalyptic symphony of sorts. It grapples with this idea of facing the death moment, whether that be of the planet or a loved one, and how we can be presented with one last opportunity for a loving embrace, and a conscious presence in that confronting reality. It’s the anthem for any listener to find solace and deeper meaning in the inevitable impermanence of everything.” - Dale Tanner, Ocean Grove vocalist
LAST DANCE is out now. Watch the video here.
ODDWORLD is due out November 22 via ODDWORLD Records/SharpTone Records.
For more Ocean Grove info, head here.
Dear Seattle - Evergreen (Single)
Vulnerability can be a difficult thing to capture creatively; it's not something easily faked and it can sometimes be a fine line between relatable and cloying. For Sydney alt-rockers Dear Seattle, they've consistently been able to strike a balance between concocting fresh earworms laced with raw subject matter, and on their latest single Evergreen, they once again weave some Aussie, infectious charm into an ode to struggling with emotional honesty.
Arriving alongside the announcement of the quartet's third full length album TOY, set for release in early 2025, Evergreen is an affable anthem; one you can easily picture crowds roaring along to in a festival setting while also striking with some straight up personal reflection. The unwitting toxic trait for many of us to avoid emotional honesty with ourselves and/or overthink as a result is all too real, and hearing it channeled alongside fluctuating textures, balanced pop and punk, and soaring choruses truly drives home some extremely refreshing self-awareness; something entirely within the Dear Seattle wheelhouse.
"Evergreen sits in the centre of my struggles with emotional honesty. To others, yeah, but more importantly to myself. It’s all too common for people, men especially, to bottle up their emotions and avoid confronting the way they feel, because we were never really taught how. So we sit and we stew and we wallow in our thoughts far longer than we ever should. Be it love, fear, anger, guilt, or lust occupying us, learning how to honestly and vulnerably communicate the way we feel is the most useful tool we can master. I’ve always struggled with a feeling of inadequacy, which led me down the path of perfectionism and forever being my own worst critic. For me, learning to open up and let it out was the sole difference between melancholy and evergreen." - Dear Seattle
Evergreen is out now.
TOY is due out Friday 17 January 2025. Via Domestic La La.
For more Dear Seattle info, head here.
PENI PARKER - set my world alight (arise) (Single)
Alt-rock alchemist PENI PARKER has been busy in 2024, recently supporting Scene Queen on an entirely sold out Aussie tour, as well as ticking off local supports alongside the likes of Tonight Alive, Against The Current and Ocean Grove. And most recently, PARKER has unleashed a sizzling new track, with set my world alight (arise) boasting gritty guitars, a criminally catchy chorus and PARKER herself effortlessly commanding proceedings.
An artist heavily inspired by politics, pop culture, and comics (with the latter definitely no surprise for anyone familiar with Marvel Comics), PENI PARKER also brings plenty of compelling grit to the table, with her self-described "angry alt-rock" hinting at the genre-defying wizardry of Poppy and the present-day era of Bring Me The Horizon fused with nostalgic leanings into My Chemical Romance, The Used and beyond.
set my world alight (arise) follows PARKER's most recent 2024 single Curse, and the lady herself recently shared some insights into her new track with the legends over at Wall Of Sound upon release:
“This song is completely self-indulgent. I finished a few episodes of Solo Leveling and wanted to write a song about the main character’s journey. Sung Jin-Woo initially perceives himself as this powerless nobody but as you follow along that quickly changes. I guess I related to the themes around ‘leveling up,’ sometimes you have to lose a part of yourself, a necessary evil to endure adversities that life throws your way.” - PENI PARKER via Wall Of Sound
set my world alight (arise) is out now.
For more Peni Parker info, head here.
Press Club - Champagne & Nikes (Single)
This week Aussie punk faves Press Club released their first new music for 2024, busting out a stirring yet full-blown energy jolt in the form of Champagne & Nikes. Harking back to some of their earlier sonic roots (in the absolute best way possible), Champagne & Nikes is an explosive delight, carried in pulsating fashion by a dynamic rhythm section and driven with conviction by lead vocalist Natalie Foster.
Starting life as a bass-only voice memo, Champagne & Nikes evolved into a joyful and instantly iconic punk anthem - and it's one that has also been independently released by the band. But the track's backstory is equally as enjoyable as, with Champagne & Nikes stemming from an experience when Foster and bassist Iain MacRae were buying a bottle of Guinness for the band's album recording sessions, with the worker behind the counter erupting into mania publicly - and thus, Champagne & Nikes lyrics were born.
"When we set out writing Champagne & Nikes we wanted to create something that had a similar energy and feeling to some of the songs we wrote when we first started writing together for Late Teens. I think we nailed that intent. It was pretty fun to just blow the barn doors open and get back to the bare essentials of what I think Press Club is." - Iain MacRae, Press Club bassist
Champagne & Nikes is out now. Watch the music video here.
For more Press Club info, head here.
Make Them Suffer - Mana God (Single)
Opening with percolating electronic menace, the latest single Mana God from Aussie metalcore faves Make Them Suffer switftly erupts into a blistering affair, dipping at times into deathcore alongside its neon undertones.
Swiftly approaching the release of their self-titled full length, due out November 8, Make Them Suffer continue to one-up themselves as they barrel towards what is undoubtedly set to be a career-defining album. Since re-launching in 2022 with new band member Alex Reade and releasing the caustic track Doomswitch, Make Them Suffer have since unveiled follow up singles Epitaph, Ghost Of Me and Oscillator, while also supporting the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and Sleep Token nationally in Australia, ticking off their biggest headline tour, and plenty of overseas adventures thrown in for good measure.
As to Mana God; this track is undeniably one of the heaviest cuts to come out of Make Them Suffer HQ in a while, and it's a refreshing dose of savagery that also lyrically nods to some all-too-familiar concepts of Machiavellian control.
"Mana God is a song about control. The control that the media can have over our thoughts and views. The control that religious organisations can have over people's lives. The level of control that governments are able to enforce and most importantly the control that we are often held under by our own technological devices and their algorithms. Most people today would know at least one or many who have been driven to the brink of madness by the echo chamber of their phone or computer. I notice many of these people being shunned, ostracised from their communities and held prisoner by their own confirmation bias, force-fed to them through their phones. I don’t see the people as the issue, rather the devices, for the breakdown of human connection." - Sean Harmanis, Make Them Suffer vocalist
Mana God is out now. Watch the music video here.
Make Them Suffer is due out November 8 via Greyscale Records/SharpTone Records.
For more Make Them Suffer info, head here.
Cult Of Luna - Tannhäuser / Derive (Single)
Sweden undeniably has something incredible in the water when it comes to heavy music, and recently the Swedish gods smiled upon us with Refused tapping Cult Of Luna to cover Tannhäuser / Derive as part of Refused's 25th anniversary celebrations of their 1998 album The Shape Of Punk To Come (with the upcoming tribute compilation dubbed: The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated).
With carefully curated artists given the task to "rearrange or deconstruct" a song from The Shape Of Punk To Come (with artists ranging from Cold Cave to Touchè Amorè), Cult Of Luna's take on Tannhäuser / Derive is a deliciously dark and atmospheric take on the original opus. In classic Cult Of Luna fashion, we are treated with undulating textures and a more brooding, submersive version than Refused's 1998 original, but it's a sonic match made in heaven - and the chance to reinterpret rather than carbon copy was right up the alley of Cult Of Luna legend Johannes Persson.
“I hate covers and I usually am very reluctant to spend any time listening to one band playing another band's songs. However, I’m very excited by the opportunity to dive into another artist’s writing and see how I can contribute my own creative style. For me that’s the only way to justify making a cover, it needs to have the musical mark of the original artist. You need to take what is someone else’s and make it yours by adding, not merely copying. We felt very honoured when Refused asked us to cover one of their songs. Not only are they a band that we grew up listening and looking up to but they also were the pinnacle of Umeå hardcore. The scene that was the birthplace of our band. After the recording of "The Shape Of Punk To Come" I remember Dennis boasting about this 6 min epic song, their “Tannhäuser”. That’s the reason why I picked the song. If you want “epic” Dennis, we’ll give you epic!!! And thanks for the trust." - Johannes Persson
Tannhäuser / Derive is out now.
Refused's The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated is due out November 8 via Epitaph Records.
For more Cult Of Luna info, head here.
Lacuna Coil - Oxygen (Single)
Back in 2022 I had the pleasure of interviewing Lacuna Coil not once, but twice (ahead of their appearance at Good Things Festival here and also on site in Melbourne here) - and it's safe to say they absolutely blew the proverbial roof off every single show down under, as they have throughout their entire career. Now in 2024, we are set to witness a brand new Lacuna Coil album, their 10th full length dubbed Sleepless Empire - and the latest single Oxygen is another formidible outing from the Italian masterminds.
Previously releasing singles Never Dawn, In The Mean Time featuring New Years Day's Ash Costello, and Hosting the Shadow featuring Lamb of God's Randy Blythe, Oxygen is a sublime mix of menace and crystalline charm, flexing between a soaring chorus and rumbling instrumentals permeating in between, with an ethereal bridge that sees vocalist Cristina Scabbia transcend; a clever contrast to her at-times submerged visual performance in the track's accompanying video.
“‘Oxygen’ is a powerful exploration of emotional struggle and inner conflict. The lyrics convey a sense of drowning in a toxic environment... where attempts at salvation, represented by ‘oxygen’ are somehow futile. This song encapsulates the feeling of struggling to break free from what holds us down, when the journey is filled with difficulty. It’s a raw anthem of vulnerability, resilience and the courage to face what seems insurmountable." - Cristina Scabbia, Lacuna Coil vocalist
Oxygen is out now. Watch the music video here.
Sleepless Empire is due out February 14 via Century Media Records.
For more Lacuna Coil info, head here.
Spiritbox - Soft Spine (Video)
Earlier this year Canadian metal mainstays Spiritbox surprise dropped a brand new track Soft Spine; a snarling bounce-fest complete with a chant-ready chorus and vibrant chaos. And this week while the quartet are currently on tour supporting Korn, Spiritbox have unleashed the accompanying video for Soft Spine - and it's not hyperbole to declare that it's a cinematic feast for the senses.
Directed by Orie Mcguinnes, Soft Spine's visuals place vocalist Courtne LaPlante front and centre in a black and white spectacle, emerging as a goddess-like character and beast mode-ing in a battle against cloaked warriors. Simultaneously feeling like a sci-fi showdown set in a Sin City-esque backdrop, Soft Spine also shows off the entire band throwing down in a perfect blend of angst and staggering dexterity.
While we don't have direct words from LaPlante about the new track or single, please enjoy some of the lyrical fare from Soft Spine - and go check out this new clip if you haven't already!
“String of pearls to keep the bind / Twisting tighter, is it fine? / A constant voyeur in my mind / Insidious by nature / Rewarding sick behaviour / “Soft spine / Ascending up to meet my eyes wide / I am a witness to your regicide / The dissolution of your soft spine / You all deserve each other.”
Soft Spine is out now. Watch the music video here or below.
For more Spiritbox info, head here.
Those Who Dream - IT SURROUNDS (Single)
Perth emo-pop-rock duo Those Who Dream are back with another cut taken from their upcoming sophomore EP, releasing IT SURROUNDS in the lead up to the release of Therapy Machine on October 18.
An anthem squarely aimed at the lack of support for musicians in the creative industries, IT SURROUNDS is a glossy yet hard-hitting tune, balancing sleek production and mixing courtesy of Josh Meyer (The Amity Affliction, AViVa, Chez) and mastering by Ted Jensen (Green Day, Deftness, Post Malone).
With pop melodics lining dynamic beats and enduring urgency, IT SURROUNDS firmly and authentically also details the very sad reality for many creatives in an age of immediacy, consumption and underfunding.
"The creative industry is one of the most underfunded, overlooked industries I can think of. Whether it’s lack of government funding towards creative arts, artists forced to give up music or take on double jobs to fuel their creativity, venues taking merch cuts, Spotify pulling back on revenue streams or airlines making travel a nightmare for every touring artist. Everybody consumes art, but as soon as that industry cries for help it falls on deaf ears. People need creatives in the same way they need sunshine to feel awake. IT SURROUNDS is a heavy reminder that if we don’t start nurturing this fragile industry, the world will loose a valuable lifeline, and nobody will understand the weight of that until it’s too late.” - Josh Meyer, Those Who Dream vocalist
IT SURROUNDS is out now.
Therapy Machine is due out October 18.
For more Those Who Dream info, head here.
Balance and Composure - with you in spirit (Album)
Listening to a band like Balance and Composure, you truly couldn't think of a better moniker for an act who quite literally balance so much engrossing light and shade with measured composure via their sonic creations. Releasing their fourth full length last week, with you in spirit, it had been eight long years between albums following the group's 2016 record Light We Made, with the latter not entirely celebrated upon its release by both fans and critics.
In defence of Light We Made, that album followed not only the band's beloved 2013 release The Things We Think They're Missing, but also the harrowing van accident that left members and crew literally crawling out of a ravine; expectation and a near-death experience are definitely things that will impact art, as any musician can attest to. Announcing their disbandment in 2019, 2023 suddenly saw Balance and Composure return and surprise release some new tunes. Teaming up with Will Yip, a longtime collaborator and owner of Memory Music, the band also went on to release multiple singles that built towards a brand new album: with you in spirit.
Time, a global pandemic and the obvious enduring chemistry behind Balance and Composure has clearly given birth to something special, with the 10 tracks lying in wait on with you in spirit glimmering with heart-rending atmospherics, and an immersive push and pull between post hardcore intensity and sparse ruminations.
A reincarnation as much as it is a reintroduction for the Doylestown five-piece, there's beauty, heartache, heaviness, and hope throughout with you in spirit, wrapped up in raw tension and introspection. with you in spirit is an intimate and emotionally accessible affair that also instantly emerges as one of the band's best releases to date.
with you in spirit is out now.
For more Balance and Composure info, head here.
BY TIANA SPETER