5 Easy Ways To Find Awesome New Music

May 7, 2015 | vinylgarden

For those who love finding new music but often have no idea where to begin to find stuff they like, check out Vinyl Garden’s tips for stumbling across your new fave artists and tracks. You might even earn some indie cred along the way by staying ahead of the punches.

1. Start with Spotify or Pandora

As a general rule, I like to think of Spotify as the ultimate resource if you know exactly who you want to listen to, whereas Pandora is best if you know what style or genre you want to go for but want to stumble across new artists. That said, Spotify also has some excellent playlists you can follow by genre, mood, or music influencers, so you can certainly stumble across new music if you look in the right places. But if you can’t decide… why not have both?

2. Use Hype Machine

Connect through Facebook to Hype Machine or create your own account, and discover amazing new music as it’s released, and through what’s trending. If like me you love discovering local Australian music, you can set your feed to what’s being blogged in Australia for all the local updates (hopefully one day you’ll see Vinyl Garden in there!). Another tip I highly recommend is becoming HypeM friends with people you know have very similar music taste to you – you’ll get all the songs they’ve ‘loved’ in your feed, and they might pleasantly surprise you sometimes!

3. Check in regularly with your favourite music blogs

Ok so maybe this was just shameless self-promotion, but once you find a music blog you really like it is worth connecting on Facebook and checking in from time to time…there will always be some hidden gems that you might have missed! Plus it’s kinda like keeping in touch with an old beloved friend…right? Check out some suggestions from us.

4. Find a radio station you love, listen often

It may seem the most obvious tip, but the key really is listening often. In Sydney, my personal favourite stations are Triple J and FBi Radio. I find that once I get into the habit of listening to them, it really keeps me up to date with what is popular currently and I can filter through what I like and don’t like. Plus, it gives you something to do getting ready in the morning or on the drive to work!

5. Always, always watch the support act at gigs

I cannot recommend this enough. Since I started reviewing gigs for The BRAG, I started going to support acts as a courtesy for the review, but have now started doing it as a favour to myself. Why? Because support acts are usually supporting the band you love for a reason – they’re bloody good. And even if they’re not your cup of tea, you’re exposing yourself to something new and different. Plus, do you know how much indie cred you get when you meet bands BEFORE they get big? A lot. It’s a lot.

That’s it! If you do all of these, you’ll be a music gun in no time. Comment below if you have any more you think I’ve missed!

By Erin Rooney

PS: Thought I’d leave you with my weekly listening. I can’t get enough of Sufjan Stevens‘ new album Carrie & Lowell – it’s about his estranged mother who recently passed away, including things he wished he’d told her and memories. I’ve been loving storytelling albums like this one (such as the new album from Gang of Youths). Please enjoy my favourite song off the album, “Dying With Dignity”:

This is what music should be about – Gig Review: Gang of Youths @ Frankie’s Pizza

April 21, 2015 | vinylgarden

Gang of Youths have all the makings of a memorable band: they’ve got great personality, discipline and friendship, but most of all they play straight up music with heart.

Their new album The Positions is curious and unique in concept alone – detailing the emotional reactions and experiences lead singer and guitarist David Le’aupepe had over the course of a four year relationship with a woman who had terminal cancer. So truly, the free album launch party they held at Frankie’s Pizza on Sunday evening was an absolute privilege to attend.

Frankie’s Pizza is the Sydney hub of grunge: it’s a smokey hole in the wall with decent pizza, alcohol served in plastic mugs, band posters from decades ago, and a whole lot of punk rock cred – so it gave a true hard rock feel to the night. It meant that Gang of Youths could easily transition from an indie rock mellow sound to a heavier sound that appears in tracks like “Radioface”:

David’s vocals very much brought to mind The National – emotional and coarse, yet warm and inviting. He exuded calm confidence throughout the set despite the raw content of his songs, which was on show particularly during “Magnolia” – a defiant song about a failed drunk suicide attempt.

And as with any great album launch, Gang of Youths had organised a special guest – fellow Sydney artist Montaigne – to help them sing “Benevolence Riots“. And you know how we feel about Aussies supporting Aussies. It’s always a winner.

The band’s gratitude for how far they’ve come made the whole venue feel like it was filled with a fan family, with Dave running to hug everyone in the crowd that he could. It was a special gig, because it could be one of the last of that size they ever play.

To catch Gang of Youths live, grab your tickets to The Positions Tour this May/June before they run out!

By Erin Rooney

Song of the Week – Benevolence Riots by Gang of Youths

March 28, 2015 | vinylgarden

Today’s Song of the Week may be an oldie (sorta), but it’s most certainly a goodie. This track from Sydney group Gang of Youths draws on a number of indie rock influences from the past decade and delivers an up-to-date yet nostalgic sound.

The repetitive lyrics, husky vocals and distinctive bass rhythm certainly bring to mind The National, and the build in the middle has Arcade Fire written all over it. I mean listen to to the part at 1:55 – you could easily be forgiven for mistaking it for the end of “No Cars Go“:

Enjoy this easy tune for your Saturday afternoon. Gang of Youths have played some pretty cool gigs around the place including at FBi Radio’s new live venue and even dropped by triple j for Like A Version, so they’re doing great things. Check it out here, and enjoy your weekend!

By Erin Rooney