Further solidifying their position as one of the premier independent Australian labels, Geelong’s have announced simultaneous releases from three of their finest – (Sydney), (Geelong) and (Bendigo). In case you had any doubt about adding them to your collection, have a listen to the three tracks below.
HOUSEWIVES – ‘Fuck You or Fuck Yeah’
Obnoxiously heaving out of Marrickville’s fervent DIY scene, Housewives are following up their debut 7”, released earlier in the year on R.I.P Society Records , with another four tracks of loud, snarling punk rock. This is punk indicative of unaffected and disenchanted youths, who’ve no doubt spent their days meticulously pouring over the best Killed By Death compilations. It has all the nihilistic fun and sardonic humour of the best Australian murder-punk bands – think Razar or Chosen Few for the closest reference points. This is one of those releases that you’ll be telling your kids about as they uncover it in a bargain bin of some megalopolis-esque shopping centre. By that time you, much like the band, will have sold the few remaining copies for Melbourne Bitter and paint thinner. Fuck yeah.
AUSMUTEANTS – ‘All Talk’
Yet another descendant from the fertile Geelong waters that has brought us The Living Eyes , The Frowning Clouds and Hierophants , Ausmuteants have re-recorded four tracks from their Split Personalities for an upcoming 7”. 100 Ausmuteants Fans can’t be Wrong….100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans can has already eclipsed the more prestigious Australian releases on name alone, and if ‘ All Talk ’ is anything to go by, these four tracks may resuscitate the oft butchered art of New-Wave. It sits comfortably within the short overlap between 1978-1980 alongside the American contingent of post-punk/new-wave ( Devo or Pere Ubu ) coupled with their British counterparts (especially Howard Devoto ’s post Buzzcocks band Magazine ), and is marinated in that parochial larrikinism that probably results from being from the second biggest city in Victoria. Gake Robertson has also succeeded in writing one of my favourite lines of 2013 – “everyone in town thinks they’re so big/they think they are a tree but they’re a twig”. Very, very crucial.
THE CLITS – ‘22 Past 5’
The Clits are riding a seemingly meteoric high at the moment, receiving an inordinate amount of publicity for such a young band. Praise that is, in my opinion, absolutely deserved. This release will be their first foray into vinyl, after a limited split cassette with fellow label-mates The Living Eyes . ‘22 Past 5’, the first track taken off the single, seems far more mature (for want of a better and less condescending descriptor) than previous offerings. It’s probably not too much of a stretch to suggest that Lucas Heenan owns some of the best pipes in Victoria. Fantastic upbeat guitar pop that at times reminds me of one of the myriad K-Records twee bands – if twee didn’t carry such a pejorative connotation – and the early Able Go-Betweens singles.
You can follow all these groups via their Facebook profiles:
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WORDS BY James Webster
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