Girl of the World - 5 Years Old

1993 single from a pre-Cat's Miaow band of Bart and Cameron. I think it's almost got a bit of a Britpop tinge to it. They went on to better things.

The Church - Too Fast for You

1981 single, also released on the (self-titled) UK version of their debut album. The guitars are quite lovely in this one, apart from a brief interlude before the final verse where they get a bit wankery. I always thought the Church's sound in this era promised more than it delivered but this is one of the high points.

I'm off to Indietracks for the weekend - see you Tuesday!

Pencil Tin - Friday

Side project of Bart Cummings from the Cat's Miaow and Robert Cooper from the Sugargliders and Earthmen. Their only 12" release was the album A Gentle Hand to Guide You Along, put out by Bus Stop in 1996 though it had been recorded two years earlier.

This is one of Robert's songs, a gorgeous and very Sarah-esque track.

Lisa Mitchell - Neopolitan Dreams

This may have been ridiculously overexposed a few years ago through being used in about twelve different companies' advertising but, erm, that's because it's really really good. I never realised she was "discovered" on Australian Idol, and actually did pretty well on it; the TV audience for singing competitions must be different down under because I can't imagine a twee-indie-folk artist getting beyond the first round over here. In saying that I suppose I have to admit I never watch those programmes anyway.

From her second (2008) EP, Welcome to the Afternoon.

The Go-Betweens - Five Words

Conversation with myself tonight:

Ah feck, CG, you don't have time to update the blog today.

No worries, just put up some Go-Betweens. That'll make everyone happy.

So here ye are. From Spring Hill Fair (1984).

The Church - Into My Hands

A very simple piece of jangly folk-pop from the 1984 Remote Luxury EP. And by "very simple", I mean "absolutely stunning, though you might not notice it immediately". Why couldn't the Church be this wonderful all the time?

The Marnies - Electric Wires

Yet another band I would never have heard of without the wonderful Wilfully Obscure, these were an Australian quartet who seem to have nothing to their name but this lone 7", from 1989. Pity, because it's quite a catchy little tune, with obvious Church influences in the guitars but also clearly drawing a bit from the C86 crowd. Whatever became of them?

Glassacre - Tension Agreement

This Aussie duo's 2006 Slow Attack EP consists of five songs of soft electronic pop which straddles the line between ambient and shoegaze. To be honest, most of it is a little too far over on the "ambient" side for me, but this one is quite lovely and actually reminds me of some of Sarah's more atmospheric artists, such as Eternal.

The Sugargliders - Skylight Salt

B-side to "Another Faux Pas in the Cathedral of Love", an early 7" from this Melbourne band and, I think, their only record not to be released on either Summershine or Sarah (it was on Marineville, for whatever that's worth). I think it's a much better tune than the a-side, which is a bit too nerd-rock for my liking.

The Riptides - 77 Sunset Strip

Following on from that Pointed Sticks post a little while ago here's some more classic but somewhat forgotten late '70s punk-pop, this time from Australia (Brisbane, to be precise). Robert Vickers of the Go-Betweens was in an early incarnation of this band, who I gather were significantly better known in their native country than outside of it.

This was their first single.

MacGuffins - Rich Together

Melbourne band whose sole contribution to the recorded history of music seems to be this 1988 single, a thoroughly pleasant if not exceptional piece of eighties guitar pop. Their singer Rowan Smith went on to slightly bigger things (in Australia, at least) with the band Barefoot.

Blindside - Barely a Glimmer

Another shoegazey indie-rock band on Australia's Summershine label. Actually, they sound a lot like their label-mates Jupiter ... at a similar level of so-so-ness, too. (I know that's not a word, but I thought "mediocrity" would be too harsh.)

This is from their first (and last?) album, Hopes Rise, from 1992.

The Go-Betweens - Man o' Sand to Girl o' Sea

There's always room for another Go-Betweens song on this blog. This was a 1983 single and has the distinction of kicking off with one of the best couplets Robert Forster's ever written, followed immediately by one of the worst lyrics ever written by anyone, ever. Have a listen and you'll know what I mean.

The song was re-recorded for the Spring Hill Fair album but this is the version you want.

The Birthday Party - Jennifer's Veil

While channel surfing over the weekend I stumbled across a Nick Cave live performance and spent the next hour glued to the TV in fascination. I've only seen Nick once, almost 25 years ago, and forgot how utterly compelling he can be.

The Birthday Party, I'm a little more iffy about, for probably obvious reasons. But toward the end of their career they made two tremendous EPs, which were conveniently re-released as a single disc, Mutiny/The Bad Seed.

This track is from Mutiny, which I believe was the final Birthday Party recording, and you can really hear the Nick Cave solo style emerging from it. It's one of those great epic haunting ballads he does so well - one of my favourite Nick Cave songs ever.

1983, I think.

Hunters and Collectors - Talking to a Stranger

Australian post-punk from the '80s. They were sort of in a Moodists, Laughing Clowns vein, though with a bit more Krautrock influence thrown in (they took their name from a Can song). Not indiepop in the slightest, and not always my cup of tea, but worth listening to on your darker days.

This is probably their best known track. Outside Australia, anyway.

The Cannanes and Steward - Hey Leopard

This is one of those songs that every time I hear it I wonder how on earth it wasn't the biggest hit in the world when it came out (2000). Even among the annals of great Cannanes tunes, it's a giant.

The album was a collaboration between the Cannanes and Stewart Anderson of Boyracer. Though, as I've said before, his vocals are something of an acquired taste, they're absolutely perfect for this track. And that trumpet, sublime as always - the perfect icing on a cake that was almost rich enough without it. God, I love this song.

Enjoy.

The Earthmen - Blonde

A lovely track from Melbourne's Earthmen, from their 1992 EP Teen Sensations on the chronically underachieving Summershine label. Most of the rest of their stuff wasn't this good, unfortunately.

Swirl - People I Know

Two Australian bands in a row, possibly a first for this blog. Not that I've really been paying attention.

Swirl were a vaguely shoegazey band from Sydney, active in the early 1990s. I didn't really think they were anything special. Probably the most notable thing about them was the uncanny resemblance between their singer's voice and that of the Razorcuts' Gregory Webster.

This was their first single, a lot closer to indiepop than most of what was to follow.

The Go-Betweens - That Way

This is actually the first Go-Betweens song I can remember hearing. Not sure why since it wasn't a single or anything, but some very intelligent person with good taste played it for me anyway. Thanks, whoever you were.

It's from their second album, Before Hollywood.

Autohaze - Put it Together

I've said before that I always thought the Summershine label - Australia's answer to Sarah, Slumberland etc - was a shadow of its northern-hemisphere counterparts. Autohaze are a good example of this. Their sound had all the right elements; you could hear the right influences there, from C86 to twee to shoegaze. But they never quite added up to anything special, and I always wanted to like them much more then I ever actually did.

This is from a 1992 EP, 27 Air.