GRAND CENTRAL - FRESHMAN

A 4 piece out of Western Australia from what I can make out, Grand Central's sound is not unlike a number of different bands who have come out over the last few years, but instead of the pseudo punk of some bands, this clever outfit decided to go slightly more pop oriented than some of their contemporaries & it's to their credit that we have some very cool songs on this 4 tracker.

Particularly different in sound is the opening cut "Nine Times Out Of Ten", which is certainly not quite what I had expected after hearing the first couple of seconds, as the band went slightly off-kilter, but the sound works so well. Highlights for me though are the closing pair "Running Around" & "City Lights", which are very cool & groove very nicely indeed. Definitely worth checking out if you get the chance.

Freshman is out now through MGM. hEARd rating 8/10

HEIFER - BLACK SKIES BLUE

An increasingly aggressive sort of sound keeps coming from these guys & it's one that a lot of people will easily latch onto. With their debut a few years back, Mark Mark, a very interesting ep, Heifer have been gradually making their presence felt & this latest effort is the best yet. Filled with 6 fairly angry tracks, Heifer have definitely matured the already impressive sound you may already have been familiar with.

There are elements I could easily reference back to other bands like A Perfect Circle or Tool here, but the band's music definitely stands on it's own & the vocals are the best the band have done on any of their previous releases. Pick tracks are fairly hard to go for here, but "Get Up" & "Drive Me Away" are most likely the tracks I'll be heading back to. With sounds like this, it's really a wonder they haven't yet gone the full length album, so we'll have to wait a little longer for that.

Black Skies Blue is out now through MGM. hEARd rating 9/10

HIP ‘MO TOAST - BIGBAND

Yet anjother variation of West Australian music that audiences in that state have been heavily into for a while now & with good reason. While the old big band style (hence the name of the album), isn’t generally in my listening range, this is one album which could definitely turn your interest with little difficulty. There’s a lot to like here & with some great instrumentals from the 14-piece outfit, the sound is as big as the album title.

The whole feel of the album ranges from that aforementioned big band era of music, which featured in many a Hollywood musical, on tracks such as the brilliant opener “My Wee Bonita” & “Mischievous Girl”, to my personal favourite, “Clean & Easy”, a smoky old jazz club style, fronted by frontwoman Libby Hammer, whose overtones suit the sound here very nicely indeed, showcasing a brilliant vocal talent to great effect. If you like something that’s removed from the pop scene, then this will certainly prick your ears.

Bigband is out now through MGM. hEARd rating 7.5/10

HYSKE - (SELF TITLED) EP

A very interesting ep this one, with Hyske’s sound reminiscent just a tad of The Cranberries, though this is only a fleeting instant on “I Remember You”. For the most part though, the band’s sound is one quite clearly of their own making. The band pretty much consists of a male & female duo Dean & Saara, who has a wonderful voice, made evenm more impressive with the outstanding instrumentals.

Opener “Broken Wings” is most liklely the more familiar track here, as I’ve come across it quite a few times before & there’s a lot to like about the sound. The pick for me though is the less trodden ground of “Mother Dear”, which to me is the best sounding song, though it’s not something you could easily pick. As a debut, this is extraordinary lisetning, so we can only wait in wonder for what might be ahead on any speculative album.

Hyske is out now through Warner. hEARd rating 8.5/10

SULO - WESTERN GLARE

Quite some time ago. I wrote about Sulo, who were at that time one of the few angry Australian rock bands around & this latest release shows that they’re still maintaining that in spades, which for my liking is no bad thing. This, from my limited knowledge, is the band’s 3rd release & is another outstanding effort on their behalf, scoring some more very cool riffs, backed by aggressive percussion.

The opener as expected “Sorry”, is a brilliant piece of work, starting off a little different in style than I had remembered the band, but by tthe time we’re into the middle of that song, the band are well in full swing. Picks on this ep include “Wash”, “Maralinga” & my personal favourite “Turn It Off”, though closer “Leave It” is also fairly awesome. Just where the band will head from here (hopefully on a full length album) is anyone’s guess. If they keep on their current tack, then we’ll certainly be the winners.

Western Glare is out now through Razorblade / MGM. hEARd rating 9/10