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.

Oscar Key Sung - "Simple Luv"

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With the release of a new track today, Melbourne neo-soul vocalist Oscar Key Sung announced the forthcoming release of a new EP, No Disguise, coming next month on Good Manners Records. If it's as hot as this first cut, I'm going to have to wear protective gear on May 25th for the fire.

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.

The Cactus Channel & Sam Cromack - "Sleep Demon"

Since the rise of Courtney Barnett I've been enjoying a lot of indie-rock coming out of Australia (Heart Beach, Julia Jacklin, anon.) but thanks to the folks at Hope Street Recordings, it's becoming a great source of soul music as well. My first discovery from the label was the country-soul of The Meltdown (think Jeb Loy Nichols) and now comes The Cactus Channel and Sam Cromack's collaboration, Do It For Nothing. Cromack's the guest vocalist and boy does he bring the heat. Torch-song level emotion throughout the EP, but particularly on "Sleep Demon" below.

Keep your eyes on Hope Street and your ears on their roster!

Oscar Key Sung - "Shallow"

A little romantic gift to all the music-lovers from Melbourne's smooth crooner, Oscar Key Sung.

#lotsoflove

Boats - "Shallows"

There's nothing flashy or attention-grabbing about the songs on Melbourne act Boats EP, Release. But they lap up against your ankles and as the tide rises over the course of the collection, they eventually wash over you.