Music Down Under

Quick! Can you name a recent music group/artist from Australia? Sorry, AC/DC doesn’t count. Men At Work doesn’t count either.

Since being in the Land Down Under, I have been pleasantly surprised by the music that is currently coming out of Australia. It’s not like when you travel to Europe and all you hear is mind-numbing Euro-Electronic or that 50 Cent song that came out a year ago that all the clubs are playing like it’s the new hotness. The young Aussie’s in the music scene really have it going on! (I’m obviously being completely subjective and biased here, but hey, it’s my blog.)

I have to give most of kudos of my new music finds to triple j, the nationally syndicated radio station that stays pretty true to the alternative music scene. No Katy Perry or Ke$ha here. They do a really cool segment called ‘Like a Version‘ that features a band covering another artists’ song. Regina Spektor covering Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’ is hauntingly beautiful. (If you want to skip the chatter in the beginning, go to 2:20) One of my favorites is The Kooks covering MGMT’s ‘Kids’.

A new band that I’ve come across is Boy & Bear, out of Sydney. A beautiful song with amazing harmony. And another cover, weirdly enough.

Now for something a little more upbeat! Architecture in Helsinki is a band that I’ve been listening to for a while, but they are a great group out of Melbourne. They describe themselves as avant-garde electronic, and often play live with lots of crazy instruments on stage. This is their latest single, which is pretty catchy I must say.

And last but not least, a really sweet song by Daniel Lee Kendall, from the Central Coast, New South Wales.