The last time I saw Stuart Gray was in Adelaide in 1990, at a grotty pub on Brighton Road which is now another craft-beer haven for the smug and pointless, and Bloodloss were playing what would be their last Adelaide gig, and the final with that line-up. They'd been hanging out with Stuart, and he'd been persuading Renestair EJ and Martin Bland to join his band Lubricated Goat.

It was quite an evening, somewhat bereft of punters, and The Goat promised, at the very least, overseas adventures. And, possibly, more punters. Frankly, it was a better opportunity for them than slugging out the gigs and LPs of great music to an uncaring town, so Ren and Martin left ...

I'd seen Stu in several bands by that stage; The Bad Poets and The Brats, notably. Each time Stu joined an existing band, he'd lifted them mightily. Eventually, he left for Melbourne and Sydney, as all ambitious Adelaide artists did. I expect you know the rest; he was with Tex Perkins' outfit Salamander Jim and there was a stint with the Beasts of Bourbon.

I love Wolf 359. Excellent stuff. Determinedly analogue-y and old-school riffs and tendencies (if you describe that squelching-with-intent sound some synths make as a riff), it's like a musician visiting from 1978 and eyeing us all with amused disdain. 

And then, realising that this is their future too, snarling with all the repressed eloquence disgust can muster. Love the ’90s beat vibe, with the rippling, pounding synths... not quite yeah hup, but I'll stay here and throb instead.

It’s a digital single, available here.

Never became obsessed with that Oz Rock thump-clomp beat to the same extent as many, if not most, around me, but there’s no denying the global impact of the Alberts sound. This two-song CD single contains primo examples of the same, courtesy of the ubiquitous Simon Chainsaw (“SC”) and his new partner in rawk, Tony Currenti (“TC”).

For those about to confess ignorance, Tony Currenti was the session drummer on AC/DC’s seminal “High Voltage” and on hits for Stevie Wright (“Black Eyed Bruiser”) and, um, John Paul Young (“I Hate The Music”.)  He would have joined Acca-Dacca fulltime, too, but for the facts he already had a band and touring on the back of his Italian citizenship would have exposed him to that country’s military draft.

Tony owns a Sydney pizza shop (Torino’s at Penshurst) and plays on occasional AC/DC tribute bills. Globe-trotting Simon Chainsaw has relocated from Brazil to Australia and roped in Currenti for recordings and live shows over a chianti and Pizza Margherita. The result is a combo of that trademark Chainsaw punk-pop roar and good ol’ fashioned Oz Rock.

Currenti’s not big on dramatic fills but drives his big Ludwig kit (the same one he played for Acca Dacca) like a reliable old bus. He fairly nails the feel to the floor on the OK rocker, “Lick My Wounds”, but the second song is where it all comes together. “Firestorm” is wall-to-wall guitars with a seriously solid beat and a rocking hook. The drums were produced by Mark Scully (ex-Ratcat, Deadly Hume) and sound ace. It's a free download here or use the link on the Bandcasmp page to ask Simon for a physical copy.

1/2

In the truest sense of DIY, this bedroom-recorded EP comes with hand-drawn inserts or a cover either smeared in blood or bearing glued-on pieces of a smashed 45. Shades of The Psychosurgeons with the red and white corpuscle edition and the music’s of a similar mind.

Alien Nosejob is Jake Robertson (of Ausmuteants, Hieropants and Frowning Clouds) and the four songs are bedroom recordings, augmented by a full-blown horns section in one instance. “Caffeine OD” sound slike early Devo on a meth trip with its stuttering guitar and jerky rhythms fitting perfectly. 

The Cramps tackled the topic first but songs about flies should proliferate in Australia. We’re infested with them. “Flyblown” marries an odd juvenile melody to lyrics about wanting to be a fly. It’s equal parts aggravating and addictive. “Sydney Sizzles” and “Over The Bridge” are a pigeon pair of punk rockers; the former doesn’t do a lot for me before the horns kick in, a la “Prehistoric Sounds”, while the latter scoots along like a Wipers tune before whipping itself into a furious breakdown with more horns. 

All in all, pretty wonderful and this Bandcamp link makes it so easy to procure. 

If you were a member of a band who was about to drop off the twig and wanted somebody to preserve your contribution to music for posterity, you’d want the job done by Scotti and John from Buttercup Records. 

The boutique vinyl-only label from Victoria, Australia, packages music like nobody else. The latest effort is a seven-inch re-issue of News, the Melbourne band formerly known as Babeez, who neatly straddled the punk rock and art camps of the late ‘70s. It pairs the 1978 “Dirty Lies” b/w “Chop Chop Chop” single with the previously unreleased “H Division Bash” and a scorching live “Mainline Honey” as a 33rpm EP.

This is just great. 

Just 150 were pressed - there were two types of cover available - one to commemorate a gig, with a faux '70s bootleg cover. There was the standard disc and sleeve edition, and bugger all of a deluxe edition. There's a handful of copies of the "standard" left.  You deffo need this in your collection.

The deluxe edition is, as always with Seedy product, is a bit like dipping into Santa's sack (though not quite so seasonal). First, the vinyl came in different colours.  There's this great poster, "a parody of a '72 Japan tour poster"; a Japanese Obi (that's one of those titling things that go around the left edge.