Adelaide’s best new music
We’ve rounded up Adelaide’s best new music from January (sneaking in some top-tier December releases too), including Placement, Sweeney and Twine.
Destinezia – ‘Easy On Me’
Destinezia’s ‘Easy On Me’ is the easy kind of hot-weather tune we plan on listening to on road trips to a secluded beach three hours away. It’s the fun boppy track we can have on in the background of any activity and oozes an Australian summer.
This song is the band’s fifth single after jumping into the Adelaide music scene in the summer of 2022. The lyrics – using phrases like “so take it easy on me” and “I’m trying to make things right” – show deep feelings when a relationship isn’t going as planned.
“The response to this track has been incredible,” says band member Kyle Jones.
“Many people tell us how much they identify with the lyrics, and it has quickly become a crowd favourite.”
Frank Justin – ‘Hold On’
Frank Justin, as a musician, began merely as an experiment. They previously made music under the name Jacuzzi Onsen and still makes music in band Duck Lake. Frank says they used “analogue recording using [their] uncle’s old 4-track tape recorder” and “quickly fell in love with the immediacy of the process” when it came to creating ‘Hold On’.
“The inherent limitations of tracking to tape freed me from the idea that everything had to be perfect,” Franks says.
“I was able to write and record a song in a matter of days, as opposed to what took me months with my previous projects.”
Released in mid-December, ‘Hold On’ is a calming song that takes us to another world. It has a unique, lo-fi sound. We can’t wait to see what else comes from this newly named Frank Justin.
Georgia Oatley – ‘Into The Deep Blue’
‘Into the Deep Blue’ is the latest single off Georgia Oatley’s debut album A Pastoral that’s dropping in February. The album title denotes works connected to country life and Georgia says it’s a reflection on her relationship with the Peramangk and Kaurna land she calls home.
It’s a moody, brooding track, and the textured ambient sounds and Georgia’s ethereal vocals make it the perfect addition to your lo-fi-focus study playlist.
The more you listen to the electronica track, you’ll find new sounds to latch onto and be transported from place to place with IDM rhythms that could soundtrack a beach walk or a meditation.
Placement – ‘Inertia/Heavy Lids’
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Adelaide post-punk/noise outfit Placement is so back with their latest single ‘Inertia/Heavy Lids’. The band hasn’t released new music since 2023 but has been plenty busy opening for acts like Superchunk, Quicksand and Party Dozen as well as playing local gigs like MusicSA’s Scouted and PAK Records’ Round and Round.
‘Inertia/Heavy Lids’ has the raw punk energy we’ve come to expect from the band with an experimental spin that feels fresh and exciting. The stoic delivery of lyrics from vocalist and guitarist Malia Wearn is punchy and magnetic.
Malia says the track “speaks of desire, motivation and slipping away into the sleeping reality of inertia”.
“The power of habit and ritual is strong, the inertia of daily life can propel us through a lot, past a lot. If we keep running towards the same things again and again, we should know what’s coming,” she says.
Last year, the band told CityMag they took their time curating the upcoming album, which is due to be released later this year. If this track is anything to go by, it’s worth the wait.
Raccoon City – ‘Waiting for an Alternate Ending’
‘Waiting for an Alternative Ending’ by 5-piece post-hardcore emo band Raccoon City starts with a simple but effective chord progression, which pulsates throughout the song.
An angsty vocal performance by Levi Cooper soon joins the mix, with the lyrics matching this mood.
“Every time I heard your voice on the other side of that phone/I couldn’t help but feel like a failure/Feel like a failure,” sings Levi.
A sudden change of pace leads to a heavy metal sequence, which includes an interesting interlaying guitar solo and time signature changes.
“‘Wishing for an Alternative Ending’ represents that feeling of helplessness when you want to do so much but there’s a limit to what one person can do, you can only make a small change to the bigger picture, but the reality is your small change can have such a profound impact on somebody’s life,” explains Levi.
“It is also the song off the album that gets me the most hyped. Every time we play it at practice I get so amped, it’s so fun, energetic and catchy so I’m hoping it’s a crowd favourite.”
‘Waiting for an Alternative Ending’ is a single from Raccoon City’s studio album.
RobT – ‘Radio Dog’
This fun and quirky track by Best New Music regular RobT appears on his new album, Dark Horse.
The album, which was released on December 20, 2024, includes seven songs and a playtime of around 24 minutes.
The bouncing piano riff of ‘Radio Dog’ is reminiscent of ‘Honey’ from Moby’s iconic ‘90s album Play, while funky hip-hop beats add to the danceable nature of this song.
Lyrically, the song keeps it simple, with the constant refrain “radio/radio/radio” and “radio dog”.
RobT is a music producer based in Adelaide whose eclectic musical style encompasses EDM, House, Chill and Retro New Wave, drawing inspiration from the likes of David Guetta, Tiesto, Hermitude and Calvin Harris.
Sunsick Daisy – ‘Hideaway’
‘Hideaway’ the latest release from indie-rock band Sunsick Daisy dropped in December and we had to include it because the dream-pop track about finding a safe place with the people you love is so damn catchy.
With its supportive lyrics like “There’s a garden in my heart where you can hideaway /you don’t have to be afraid/you can go at your own pace,” ‘Hideaway’ was a welcoming soundtrack to bring into the new year.
The band spent most of 2024 touring and supporting acts like Aleksiah, Suzi and more, and we can’t wait to see them live in 2025.
Sweeney – ‘Johanna in the 80s’
‘Johanna in the 80s’ is a homage to 1980s Australian alt-indie synth pop idol Johanna Piggot, known for co-writing Dragon’s hit single ‘Rain’, John Farnham’s ‘Age of Reason’ and the original Heartbreak High Theme, as well as co-creating the ‘80s television series Sweet and Sour.
“Johanna/Johanna/Always running from the rain,” sings Sweeney.
“Don’t stop/don’t stop dreaming/Johanna in the 80s.”
Admittedly, this CityMag reporter was not familiar with Johanna Piggot’s music, but when we did give it a listen, we could clearly see the influence.
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Sweeney achieves a 1980s sound with his retro synthesisers and drums, which feature heavily in the song.
“This song, written in collaboration with writer Nick Pelomis, is dedicated to this fierce legend of Australian pop culture and her incredible chart-topping work in Australian music a TV in the 1980s,” explains Sweeney.
Sweeney is an Adelaide-based singer/songwriter whose music often explores queer themes.
The Genevieves – ‘Keith’
‘Keith’ is the latest single from noise-rock band The Genevieves and our first taste of their upcoming EP Dog Dreams.
It’s a melancholic track with a post-punk tinge we expect from the band who played an impressive 32 live shows in 2024 which clearly refined their sound and boosted their chemistry as performers.
The thrashing guitars and despondent lyrics like ‘But I tried to hold you / but I can’t control you’ are a beautifully grungy combo.
Hear it live at their Dog Dreams EP Launch show at Jive with Placement on February 7, tickets available via Moshtix.
TOWNHOUSE – ‘BAD LOVE’
This guitar-heavy song by indie rock three-piece TOWNHOUSE features an emotional vocal performance with equally heartfelt lyrics.
“All the records show/That you’re the one that I go to/When I’m feeling dumb and broke,’ sings lead vocalist Daniel Heath.
“And all the messes you make/Apologies that feel fake/You can’t just seem to wait to make me hate you/But it takes two/So I guess I’ll take you back/You’re all that I have.”
Daniel’s impassioned vocals are accompanied by Cooper Smith on drums and Matthew Burgess on guitar.
This is the kind of song best heard live, although the recording manages to capture much of this energy.
Twine – ‘Deer In The Headlight’
‘Deer in the Headlight’ by Twine has an unpolished and fresh feel in the best way. It’s like we just walked into a Twine jam session and witnessed the magic of making music happen right in front of our eyes and ears. The vocals are raw. The music moves from intense to soft within a second and it sends us shivers.
This is track 14 of caps lock records latest album release – Sitting In The Same Chairs – which is a compilation of unreleased, released and demo tracks by South Australian artists under that record label.
Sitting In The Same Chairs is curated by Thea Martin who wants this body of work to “push against the notion that artistic work can only be legitimised in complete and fully produced formats, and only when distributed through the major streaming services”. Other featured artists include Swapmeet, Koleh, War Room and more.
Thea wants to “celebrate the Tarntanya/Adelaide music scene as a whole”.
“I love the work that Benji (Garage Sale) from sore horse in Naarm/Melbourne does in creating beautiful limited physical releases and compilations, and wanted to encourage a similar attitude to archiving the scene here,” Thea says.
There will be a launch show at Goodwood Books on February 22 from 6pm ‘til 8pm.
War Room – ‘twothousandandtwo’
‘twothousandandtwo’ is the latest release from Adelaide-based post-punk outfit War Room – the band’s name presumably a reference to Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove.
The six-minute tune begins with a folksy prelude, featuring a melodious guitar, judiciously employed cymbals and the mesmerising sound of Thea Martin’s violin.
The song soon builds up into something more akin to math rock, with the energetic band accompanied by Louis Campbell’s passionate vocal performance.
‘twothousandtwo’ concludes with a rambunctious, noise-filled outro befitting of War Room’s Instagram bio, which describes the band as a “chaotic rock group”.
“I wrote the words for twothousandtwo by placing myself back into my high school brain,” explains Louis.
“It’s an expression of my anxieties around my relationships with those around me.
“I wanted to pair those memories with romantic language and references, interrogating those feelings which may have lingered on the subconscious.”