Perth melodic death metal unit Vanta drop their album Perpetual Selection on March 13.
Before that happens, they’ve unleashed a visualiser for latest single Transmorcide, which you can check out below. The band’s album launch happens on March 27 at the Milk Bar in Perth with Allocer, King Zog and Crailbone.
Today, it would probably fall under the tribute to the swingin’ 60s; but in 1973, Pin Ups, David Bowie’s extemporary covers album, was looked upon as an odd, yet daring move. Bowie was just beginning to come into his own, having unearthed his alter ego as the androgynous Ziggy Stardust. Likewise, the Spiders From Mars — Bowie’s high-charged backing band — was amassing praise for its rapid-fire delivery. It seemed out of the ordinary for the rising star to suddenly come up with a collection, jam-packed with other people’s songs. Maybe it was intended to demonstrate how diverse Bowie and his band were. But, in fact, it was something else altogether: A signpost pointing the Thin White Duke in a new direction.
By their very nature, cover albums can deliver devastating blows to certain artists’ careers. Examples include John Lennon’s emphatic, half-hearted Rock N’ Roll album and Guns ‘N’ Roses’ mind-bogglingly lowbrow Spaghetti Incident. On the other hand, Bowie’s tribute to mid-60s British rock is conveyed with a great deal of loving care. But it came with a price. Pin Ups was the final album Bowie would ever record with guitarist Mick Ronson and producer Ken Scott. With Ziggy more or less buried the year before, and Bowie pushing forward with the post-apocalyptic Diamond Dogs — itself a transitional album of sorts — Pin Ups could be interpreted as a quick nod and wink to the singer’s influences before moving on to other creative ventures.
Nevertheless, Pin Ups is first and foremost about the music — a diverse selection of England’s most treasured gems. “Rosalyn,” a Pretty Things single, is a cool reminder of how well Ronson could make his axe swing and sway. Them’s “Here Comes The Night” draws smooth treatment and Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” receives a gaudy shakedown. The covers of the Who’s “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” the Yardbirds’ “Shapes Of Things,” and the Kinks “Where Have All The Good Times Gone” are all pretty faithful, and consequently unremarkable. Ever the iconoclast, Bowie’s takes on the Merseys’ “Sorrow” and the Easybeats’ “Friday On My Mind” prove to be far more engaging. Despite its disparities, Pin Ups made quite a splash on the U.K charts, ands remains an essential component of the David Bowie catalog.
~ Shawn Perry
VIEW HEAVY AUSTRALIAN CONTENT DIGIMAG #255 HERE This week’s DigiMag features Gold Coast hard rock outfit Hammers on the front cover, who stopped in to tell us all about their latest banger and upcoming album launch shows. We also entertained The Gloom In The Corner, Varrim plus Sarah McLeod and Dallas Frasca, while we wrap […]
Award-winning songwriter and producer Lowly Light joins forces with Mishell Ivon on Impossible Possibility, a shimmering indie-dance anthem built around persistence, belief, and chasing the one-in-a-million shot; driven by polished electronic textures and an uplifting pulse, the track balances emotional sincerity with club-ready energy, letting Ivon’s vocal performance rise confidently over Gorny’s sleek production, resulting in a motivational yet danceable cut that captures the tension between doubt and determination while reaffirming that ambition and rhythm can coexist on the same bright, forward-moving frequency.
NY-based project Miserable chillers rolls forward with Bikeman, a playful yet reflective first taste of the upcoming album Innocent Victims (out April 3), turning the simple act of riding into a metaphor for balance, embodiment, and the constant motion of being alive; built on warm indie textures and understated hooks, the track moves in gentle cycles, mirroring the rhythm of spinning wheels while quietly meditating on staying upright in a world that never stops shifting, delivering a charming and thoughtful slice of adult alternative that feels both grounded and lightly surreal.
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Debut single So Tired introduces Neon Buffalo with 138 BPM urgency and restless, vocoded tension, channeling anxious dancefloor energy into a tightly wound blast of indietronica that feels wired straight into modern overload; opening with alarms and digital noise before sliding into a relentless four-on-the-floor pulse, the track blurs the personal and political as exhaustion becomes both internal burnout and external chaos, pairing punk attitude with LCD-inspired groove mechanics, resulting in a cathartic, high-tempo soundtrack for waking up already drained in a world that refuses to quiet down.
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L.A.-bred creative DJThriller teams up with Nesa! on Y0UNG!N (wanna make it), a motivational hip-hop cut driven by ambition, pressure, and the refusal to fold under expectation; riding a clean, modern beat that balances bounce with sincerity, the track speaks directly to younger generations navigating doubt and outside noise, turning self-belief into its core hook while Nesa!’s presence adds urgency and perspective, resulting in a confident anthem about staying grounded, blocking out negative energy, and pushing forward even when the weight feels heavy.
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With Twisted Staircase, Pre Polar opens their seventh album by descending into a carefully constructed electronic labyrinth, where deep, pulsing bass lines anchor shimmering synth layers that unfold with patient precision; the track balances techno propulsion with ambient spaciousness, allowing rolling grooves to intertwine with delicate melodic details, creating a hypnotic environment that feels both introspective and subtly kinetic, reinforcing Pre Polar’s steady evolution within downtempo and atmospheric electronica while proving there is still unexplored terrain in the colder corners of experimental sound.
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Punk-rap agitators Codefendants reconnect with West Coast legend The D.O.C. on Rivals, a combustible collision of distortion and razor-edged lyricism that blurs the lines between gutter punk urgency and classic hip-hop authority; opening with D.O.C.’s unmistakable presence and veteran weight, the track quickly spirals into Codefendants’ chaotic, genre-smashing intensity, fusing live-band abrasion with streetwise cadence in a way that feels both confrontational and deliberate, serving as another bold preview of their upcoming album LIFERS and reinforcing the trio’s refusal to choose between scenes when they can set both on fire at once.
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