Music Opinion

In a week of grief and doom, there's still time for Black Leather

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Left to right: The Delta Riggs, Little Quirks, Kings of the Sun (Image by Dan Jensen)

In the news this week, everything is grim. Let’s listen to a few tunes and, as Billy Joel sings, forget about life for a while.

Little Quirks — 'Storm Like Me'

Hell hath no fury like a Central Coast folk band scorned. Little Quirks has spent most of this year touring the UK, the USA and Europe, winning new legions of fans everywhere. Now back home and working on new material, their latest track, ‘Storm Like Me’, is a tense and emotional rollercoaster of a tune.

The song comes with a video that sees lead singer and guitarist Abbey Toole fired up and furiously impassioned, her cousin Jaymi strums her mandolin and spins around like a whirling dervish, while little sister and drummer Mia hits her drums with the force of a tropical cyclone. On stage, the Quirkies are a whole lot of fun and frenetic energy. Go and see them live if you can.

Delta Riggs — 'Stone Hearts'

Fresh from a huge gig opening for KISS in Sydney a couple of weekends ago, Queensland Gold Coast band The Delta Riggs has dropped a funky new tune called ‘Stone Hearts’. Their brand of pop experimentalism has seen them cover loads of stylistic ground from pop-punk to electro and this joyous banger kicks back with a relaxed groove that is worthy of adding to the summer BBQ playlist.

Lauran Hibberd — 'I Suck at Grieving'

The process of grief really has no rules or internal logic to it. We all have to go through it at some stage, but the first time is the hardest, as one really has nothing to compare it to nor any practical idea of how to get past it.

UK singer-songwriter Lauran Hibberd learnt this the hard way.

Her new single is a reflection on the passing of her father and in her words:

“I found everyone’s advice on grief painful and inappropriate, and I couldn’t work out why I couldn’t grieve like the internet told me to.”

She describes this reflection on loss as “a song for people who don’t want to grieve, for people who don’t know where to start and for people who don’t know how it ends”. It is a powerful statement from an artist who is getting braver and more fearless with every new release.

Todd Snider — 'Slim Chance is Still a Chance (Doomed Version)'

Todd Snider is an urbane troubadour and storyteller. His wit and pointed sarcasm are ever present in his lyrics. He is about to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his debut album, Songs From the Daily Planet, next year, but in the meantime comes this previously unreleased version of ‘Slim Chance’.

The track was first released in a solo acoustic version on 2009’s The Excitement Plan. This version is with a full band, with plenty of cowbell and an infectious southern swamp groove. This version is taken from a long-lost album that was recorded in 2007 and sat in a vault somewhere unreleased, until now when it will see the light of day in November 2023 under the title, Crank It, We’re Doomed.

Kings of the Sun — 'Black Leather'

This year marks the 50th anniversary of legendary Australian record label Mushroom Records. It was the label that issued records that soundtracked my life, supplying records for my collection from the likes of Skyhooks, Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons, Jimmy Barnes and Paul Kelly.

The label also gave a start to Kylie Minogue when she was the hottest star on Neighbours. Like most record labels, for every successful act they celebrated, there were many that showed promise but bubbled under the radar of most of us and are now almost forgotten.

Kings of the Sun were, for my money, unsung heroes of the Mushroom stable of artists in the 1980s and early '90s. They had great songs, huge polished production on their records, and they were notorious for their big hair and the outrageous stage antics of flamboyant frontman Jeffrey Hoad. They were famously kicked off a support slot on the first Guns N’ Roses tour of Australia, for offending singer Axl Rose by suggesting that GN'R was a pale imitation of Aussie rockers Rose Tattoo.

‘Black Leather’ was the second single from the band’s excellent debut album. While only a handful of their singles barely scraped into the ARIA Top 50 singles chart, it might seem like a lost classic and most definitely worth rediscovering.

Until next time...

LISTEN TO THIS WEEKS SPECIALLY CURATED PLAYLIST BELOW:

David Kowalski is a writer, musician, educator, sound engineer and podcaster. His podcasts 'The Sound and the Fury Podcast' and 'Audio Cumulus' can be heard exclusively here. You can follow David on Twitter @sound_fury_pod.

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