After an incredible year of new Australian music in 2014, we have an incredible array of records in the pipeline for the new year. Some are from bands who we've been waiting to hear from again for years... some for the first time... others are continuously pumping out incredible music and we have no desire for them to stop! In no particular order, here are the fifteen Australian albums (some confirmed, some still to be...) that we can't wait for (or at the very least are hoping for...) in 2015:
Gang of Youths The Positions
Due for Release: March 2015
In a recent Facebook post, the group who have spent much of the last couple of years jumping between the US and Australia, heralded their excitement at the imminent release of their much anticipated debut record, calling the record "...the culmination of years of pain and trial and error and misery and hope and catharsis... We saw our lives fall apart and rebuilt, lost everything and gained everything in the two years it took to make this recording." And this March we'll get to hear what that sounds like. Having seen these guys live so many times over the last couple of years, we know we're in for a treat...
POND Man It Feels Like Space Again
Due for Release: 23rd January 2015
It's hard to believe, but the forthcoming record from Pond is the Perth group's sixth full length release. Made up of a pile of musicians who seem to be in every music project coming out of the West Coast capital city - Nick, Joe, Jay, Jamie, Lukas and Cam - the group made the record over a couple of months last year in Collingwood, Melbourne, where frontman Nicholas Allbrook recently re-located after leaving Tame Impala. The release of the album later this month is timed comfortably alongside their forthcoming shows as part of the Laneway Festival lineup.
Tame Impala TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
A recent e-mail from label Spinning Top confirmed that, as well as the upcoming Pond record, we have a new Tame Impala record to look forward to. No further details are available at this time, but if their past work is any indication, this is very much a record to get excited about. The inclusion of Cam Avery in the project in place of Nicholas Allbrook should lead to interesting new vibes - though considering how comfortably he fit into the group (both being members of Pond after all), perhaps it will prove inconsequential... we can't wait to find out one way or another!
Jackie Onassis TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
Raph's various influences and ear for colourful, engaging beats, and Kai's smooth, seamless flow has been unstoppable ever since they started this project. Free mixtapes showing off their diverse, highly spirited style is all well and good, but we need these boys to drop their long awaited debut album this year.
Their sense for melody and great balance between pop sensibility and hip hop credibility place them as one of the brightest Aussie hip hop acts around, and definitely a reliable duo that can produce a future classic. Listen to our interview with the boys about the forthcoming release HERE.
Thelma Plum TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
Thelma's 2014 has been huge off the back of the Monsters EP release, most recently with "How Much Does Your Love Cost?" ranking as the 25th most played song on triple j for the year. The now-Melbourne based artist has developed into such a brilliant song writer and both on record and on stage has bloomed one of the country's most interesting musicians to be watching at the moment. We know studio time is coming up, so hopefully we will see Thelma drop her debut LP at some point perhaps near the end of the year.
Dappled Cities TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
The Sydney legends are currently recording album number 5 (not counting the rarities/unreleased material Many Roads record) at Studios 301 in Byron Bay, as their Facebook is detailing! It's hard to believe it's been so long since Lake Air dropped back in 2012, so we suppose the timing of this album is probably normal, relatively speaking. Still, it's exciting to see the boys are back in the studio, especially with members of the band having branched out into their own various music projects in 2014.
Philadelphia Grand Jury TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
After heading around the country on a run of shows featuring the original line up of the Philly Jays, the group were inspired to get back together to make the follow up for Hope is for the Hopers. The trio headed over to Berkfinger's Golden Retriever Studios in Berlin to begin work. As of now, the recording of the album has finished, with an ETA on the final product still up in the air. Still, it's undeniable that the popularity surrounding the Philly Jays hadn't waned any in the time they'd been away, as their reunion tour proved. We can't wait to see what they've been working on.
The Jungle Giants TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
The Brisbane band is currently in the process of mixing their second record, the anticipated follow up to their impressive debut, Learn to Exist. Having toured a large amount through 2014, The Jungle Giants have become such a great live act and it was an energy which came through well as the Learn to Exist album transitioned from studio to stage. It'll be interesting to see how the last few tours especially have influenced the music they've been recently making and how it all comes together for album number two!
Twerps Range Anxiety
Due for Release: 23rd January 2015
Single "I Don't Mind" has already been doing the rounds off this one and it's setting us up for a fantastic release. The self-titled debut release from the Melbourne quartet set tongues wagging back in 2011, and we've been looking forward to their follow up ever since. They didn't rush it, which in itself leads us to expect some great things. No pressure guys. Range Anxiety is out on January 23 on Chapter Music in vinyl, CD and digital, with Merge Records releasing the album on January 27 outside Australia and New Zealand.
RÜFÜS TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
We've seen that RÜFÜS have been concentrating on their sophomore release since the tail end of 2014, posting some snaps from their studio set up online back in December. Obviously, with the success of Atlas propelling them into 'best of' lists around the country and pulling in the love abroad through 2013 and even last year, there's been a considerable amount of hype building for new RÜFÜS material. Hopefully it's not long before we start seeing the fruits of these studio sessions.
SAFIA TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
Canberra trio SAFIA have certainly been building demand for more new material, with the success of "Listen to Soul, Listen to Blues" and "Paranoid, Ghosts & Other Sounds" especially bringing the band national exposure and since they've been playing shows around the country in 2014, we've been left wondering when the lads are going to drop a full album or at the very least, a debut EP. The collaboration with Peking Duk in "Take Me Over", as well as their other remixes of some great tracks released last year, have proven SAFIA's production talents alongside Ben's clear vocal talent, so we can't wait to see all of the above pooled into a full-length music release.
Holy Holy TBC
Due for Release: TBC 2015
Another band who were burning up through last year is of course, Holy Holy. EP release The Pacific was a brilliant introduction to the partnership of Tim and Oscar and the full band's presence as a strong live band to be watching out for made them not only a stand out at events such as BIGSOUND, but their own steadily growing list of shows around the country. Holy Holy most recently gave us "The History", which they recently toured in the final months of 2014, so we can only assume that there are some more goods in store looking to the near future.
The Temper Trap TBC
Due for Release: Q2/3 2015
After getting to hear songs like "Burn" and "So Much Sky" in their recent Australian shows, the band are showing no signs of a creative slump. The new songs fit comfortably into their repertoire and are notably the first songs we've heard that have been created without the influence of Guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto, who left the band a year and a half ago and was, musically, the driving force behind many of their hits.
The newer material seems to take us back to the days of Conditions - not straying from the formula they've created for themselves, while still seeming to move them forward. How it actually sounds on record though is yet to be seen, but we can't wait to hear it. It's expected towards the middle of the year, though no exact details on its release have been announced.
Fanny Lumsden and The Thrillseekers TBC
Due for Release: Q1 2015
Fanny Lumsden has been bringing an authentic Country sound to the Sydney music scene for years now, and we've long awaited a debut record. She first announced her intentions for the release by way of a Pozible campaign for its recording last May, and after surpassing the target, she's looking to release the album "early this year". We're expecting great things.
The Rubens TBC
Due for Release: Q2 2015
After heading to New York to work on their sophomore LP, The Rubens returned home to give us a taste of songs new and old at Falls Festival in Marion Bay. Though we weren't at that event ourselves, we heard nothing but positive things - and given how long it's been since they released their debut LP, we're itching to hear it ourselves. The band are promising that the album will attempt to capture how the band sound live, which can only be a positive thing.
And the rest...
We really do have an impressive year of music forecast for Australia, with new music from Alpine, Courtney Barnett, Emma Louise, Little May, Sarah Blasko, Meg Mac, Daniel Johns, Sally Seltmann, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Touch Sensitive all either confirmed or just likely. We know this barely scratches the surface of what 2015 may bring, and no doubt by the end of this year a pile of new artists we haven't heard of yet will have broken through and have the industry excited. That's the great thing about Australian music - and we can't wait to hear all of it!
