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It’s no secret that Melbourne is home to a shit-tonne of really, really good bands. But when it comes to producing world-class shoegaze, noise rock and obscure neo-psych, no other Australian city comes close to the Victorian capital. In the middle of this swirling pool of fuzz and reverb you’ll find a band called Contrast, who are masters of the trade in their own right. They’ve just birthed forth their latest single Livewire, a viciously pretty cannonball of distorted guitars, delay-drenched riffs and ghostly vocals, and to celebrate we’ve asked to name some of their Melbourne compadres who get them excited.
Fresh from releasing their new single Livewire, we ask Melbourne shoegazers Contrast to name some of their favourite local bands. Man, they’ve got some pretty good taste.
Hollow Everdaze – Last Laugh
James – “I’ve known these guys for a long time and watched them develop over the years from a high school punk band into the amazing neo-psychedelic group they are now. They are not only one of our favourite bands but also a bunch of legends who we’ve been stoked to play many shows with. Running at around 7 minutes Last Laugh is one badass song, from the vocals to the violin everything gels perfectly. My favourite part starts around the 6 minute mark.”
Parading – Butterfly
James – “Another criminally underrated band, Parading have been making some of the best noise rock to come out of Australia the last few years. Butterfly has been on repeat since they dropped their new 7” and I wont say much more other than that its fucking insane and everyone should pick up a copy.”
VHS Dream – AEIOU
Nathan – “A taste of what’s to come from their debut album out in June. Matt Hosking is a genius behind the desk and guitar, which I’m sure this album will show. Mayzie, also with stunning guitar skills and a soothing voice makes a great addition to VHS, We want to hear more of those sweet chords and phat beats!”
The Citradels – Dead Time
Nathan – “From their 4th album Nepenthe back in 2014. Dead Time starts the album with a bang. This track shows that they are far more than just another psych band. The Citradels have been pumping out music at the same rate as bands like King Gizzard in the last few years. Keep bringing the goods boys.”
Bad Family – Kate and Tony
Jack – “Luc is one of my favorite song-writers in Melbourne, himself and the band are all round to blokes. Luc has this amazing knack for writing really pretty, soft songs that still have an incredible element of urgency and danger. Bad Family execute this shit with sheer intensity and energy live and if you haven’t seen them play then its about time you treated yourself one weekend-you deserve it. This song as far as I can tell is about a junkie couples love story and it should be an Aussie classic, I got dope sick love for this song.”
Turtlenecjk – Sleepwalker
Jack- “Aido is a good mate from Geelong who is an understated genius, he has had a bedroom output that that pushes up against Stevie R. Moore. He has his most recent 5 or so songs on the net and the rest are lost into the void. I have thousands of his songs on my old iPod. He is a wild Dan Tracy character who lives the good life down in Geelong and is one those people who doesn’t function unless he is smoking weed and making music. Psychedelic walk, no drugs required, oh maybe a bit of weed is the YouTube description.”
Hideous Towns – Heart attack
Jack – “These guys stole this song from Johnny Marr’s dreams and made it better. 10/10 band and makes me question(once again) the people running the mainstream music medias intelligence. The song makes Chet Faker look like a slapped ass. Bow down.”
To top off that incredible list, check out Contrast’s new single Livewire below:
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