Audrey Powne - "Flowers"

I've only made brief mention of Melbourne, Australia act Leisure Centre here on RR, but the contemporary soul group and Hopestreet Recordings roster member have found their way into my playlists and heart.

Despite the group being on my radar, I missed the fact that band-member Audrey Powne released a solo single earlier this year, but thanks to a Bandcamp article about the Brownswood comp Sunny Side Up, I discovered this gem.

It begins with a glissando harp run and then a swelling horn line and by 0:05, I'm completely won over because these things check some psychological boxes for me. All this before the drums kick in and Powne intones "When you bought me roses / I should've questioned your motives." That first five seconds might not be enough for some people, but if you're not all in by the 30 second mark, by all means close the tab on your browser and walk away because I don't know what to say.

I've always looked forward to more from Leisure Centre and the Hopestreet label, but I've added Powne to the list of Melbourne music I'll always press 'play' on.

Julia Jacklin - "Body"

The Jacklin is Back(lin)! Aussie RR fave Julia Jacklin dropped a new track last month and it seems fitting that it took til now for me to come across it as the tune itself is a slow burner that demonstrates Jacklin's laconic delivery and storytelling capabilities in equal measure.

Ross McHenry - "The Outsiders Part 3"

YESSSSSSS.

Opened up my email to discover an update from Bandcamp that Ross McHenry is set to follow-up Child of Somebody with The Outsiders, due out November 10 on First Word Records.

Only the one track streaming so far, but it's another sweet slice of jazz from the Australian multi-instrumentalist. I'm definitely keen to hear it in the context of the three part suite in the middle of the record. Love the way this one builds.

Sagamore - "Pearl of the Sky"

It pays to amble around the pages of Bandcamp and click on things with interesting album art. Granted, it's a bit of "judging a book by its cover" but it can certainly lead you to check out something from an act you'd never heard of before. I didn't know a thing about Sagamore (who turn out to be from Melbourne much like a lot of other artists I've enjoyed of late) before seeing their cubist cover art and checking out "Pearl of the Sky."

Ringing guitar lines set the table for a dream-pop song, but then the percussion goes all Afro-beat, in service of slackadaisacal vocals. Maybe this is Australia's answer to Vampire Weekend.

Jen Cloher - "Regional Echo"

 I started typing "Jen Cloher" into Google to look up info on her after receiving a digital submission of her self-titled album and auto-fill inserted "Courtney Barnett" as soon as I hit the space-bar after the "H" in Cloher. So, yeah, apparently the Melbourne, Australia singer-songwriter and co-founder of Milk! Records is inextricably tied to her co-founder Barnett. But hopefully, with the release of the new album on August 11th, she'll step into the limelight on her own. "Regional Echo" (below) is certainly my favourite on first pass, but Jen Cloher is front-to-back good.

Ross McHenry - "Sketch"

There's only one track out from Ross McHenry's new album Child of Somebody, but I don't need to hear more than "Sketch" to know it's gonna be another stunner. I've written about the Aussie auteur in the past, and if he keeps making music, I'll keep beating the drum for all of you to listen to it!

Kerbside Collection - "Red Clay" (Trash Or Treasure)

Not sure what it is but Down Under seems to be on top these days. I thought James Chatburn's covering Prince was pretty cool, but jazz-funk act Kerbside Collection taking on Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay" has upped the ante. Trash or Treasure's out now on the always reliable Legere Recordings.