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Welcome back to The Soundcheck's "Soundcheck" segment, where each week we dive a bit deeper into five of our favourite new releases that have dropped of late to carry you into the weekend - and beyond!
This week we've got a power ballad from Better Lovers, a phonk-fuelled banger from UnityTX, Poppy brings some blistering heat, Ways Away break our hearts in exquisite fashion, and RedHook bring some confection perfection, complete with a Holding Absence feature.
Better Lovers - At All Times (Single)
As the impending sonic juggernaut that is Highly Irresponsible, the debut album from Better Lovers, draws closer, the renowned amalgamation of Jordan Buckley, Clayton “Goose” Holyoak, Stephen Micciche, Greg Puciato and Will Putney have swung in this week with their take on an epic power ballad (spoiler alert - it's freaking beautiful).
Previously, we've witnessed songs designed to literally incite you to kick walls down (A White Horse Covered In Blood) and delightfully madcap ragers (Future Myopia) ahead of the release of Highly Irresponsible. But this week, At All Times shares a badly kept secret: that the gamut of talent beating across Better Lovers is insatiably nuanced and relentlessly innovative; so much so, they can make a power ballad that is cool as fuck without the naff trappings or tired tropes.
“When the guys sent me the instrumental of At All Times I was really blown away. I’ve been looking forward to the ‘writes power ballads’ stage of my existence for a while now. I knew it was coming. I had no idea it would be with this band. As a vocalist, it’s really exciting to be with guys that can write songs like this AND ’30 Under 13.” This one’s for the lovers.” - Greg Puciato
With some potent melodic bends, sharp entwining guitar and basslines, a sizzling axe solo and just a sprinkling of offbeat charm, At All Times is the power ballad many of us didn't know we needed in 2024; a track demanding to be sung along to loudly, with lighters raised in the air. What can't Better Lovers do at this point?
At All Times is out now via SharpTone Records. Highly Irresponsible is due out October 25.
For more Better Lovers info, head here.
UnityTX - MASTICATE (Single)
Texan rap/metal/hardcore enigmas UnityTX came out swinging this week with a brand new single MASTICATE - and if you like some phonk in your core, then hold onto your butts because MASTICATE is a prowling and growling delight.
Releasing their album FERALITY in 2023, UnityTX captured the turbulence of the past few years into what their press material described as a "blistering cocktail of car crash energy, sludgy horror-show macabre, industrial metal sheen and sinister subliminality". An unwavering force to be reckoned with, undefinable yet with crystal clear creative focus, UnityTX's music has always existed in its own tantalising space - and MASTICATE is no exception.
“I started doing this because I wanted to play music with my friends, then eventually I realized it had potential because I could write and say anything I wanted. I want our music to be hip-hop-adjacent but also into old-school nü-metal and hardcore and metalcore – all of it. People always say, ‘Oh, you sound like this band or that band.’ Bro, I’m just a songwriter.” - Jay Webster, vocals
On MASTICATE, UnityTX leave expectations and inhibitions at the door, resulting in a ravenous hip hop-meets-industrial-rave lovechild, with a YouTube commenter aptly declaring: "This song gonna be on the John Wick 5 soundtrack". Eternally unpredictable, fresh and ferocious; UnityTX are the antidote to cookie cutter modern heavy music.
MASTICATE is out now via Pure Noise Records. For more UnityTX info, head here.
Poppy - they're all around us (Single)
When Moriah Pereira, aka the mononymous Poppy, first emerged into public view, her surreal YouTube creations were a blend of uncanny valley-laced commentary and a chameleonic aesthetic. When Poppy turned her head to releasing music, swiftly her style grew to embrace metal, grunge, industrial, electronic, pop and a bewitching darkness, followed by a Grammy Award nomination and five full length albums before 204.
This year, and in short succession following her 2023 record Zig, Poppy has returned with even more intensity, teaming up on singles with the likes of Bad Omens and Knocked Loose, and also recently flexed her wares via her own single New Way Out. But this week, Poppy has busted out some beautiful new brutality with a new track They're All Around Us, and also announced her sixth studio album Negative Spaces, which will drop on November 15.
Produced by former Bring Me The Horizon keyboardist and percussionist Jordan Fish, They're All Around Us takes a razor blade to the dance and poppier elements of Zig, kicking off with vocal savagery and gleefully pulverizing with enough double kicks to blast you through to next week, while also balancing with a melodic chorus amid the chaos: "When your spirit's black and blue / And the heroes all desert you / Will you curse what's coming true / And the hate won't count you out / It'll leave you in the shadows / They're all around us"
they're all around us is out now. Negative Spaces is due out November 15 via Sumerian Records.
For more Poppy info, head here.
Ways Away - I Should Have Brought A Gun (Single)
Ways Away are a band that admittedly I got into way too late. For the uninitiated, this alt "supergroup" (for lack of a better word) brings together a quartet of insanely talented musicians, with Stick To Your Guns vocalist Jesse Barnett fronting proceedings, alongside members from Samiam, Knapsack and more. The end result is genuine musical magic, with melodics to make one weak at the knees, warm textures contrasted between pop and pure adrenaline, and potent lyrics that might make even the blackest of hearts believe in true love (or commiserate with heartbreak if that's on the agenda).
Most recently, the band dropped a new track Do You Compute, which followed on from their 2022 full length Torch Songs. But this week we were gifted with the vigorous new tune I Should Have Brought A Gun, complete with a charming music video that follows the band and a multitude of other humans performing and/or having a time in a taxi cab, including some Easter egg pop culture moments thrown in for good measure.
Between its stalwart guitars and Barnett's rasping might, I Should Have Brought A Gun is yet another beauty from Ways Away that will spur you to scream along until you're hoarse in the throat - a beautiful, cheerful and yet ever-so-bittersweet gem that will keep you coming back for more. And more. And more.
I Should Have Brought A Gun is out now. Watch the music video here.
For more Ways Away info, head here.
RedHook - Dr. Frankenstein feat. Holding Absence (Single)
Technically this one released late last week, but it sneaks into this week's list because: it's RedHook baby!
Another delectable slice of heavy whimsy released ahead of their forthcoming new album, Mutation due out November 22, RedHook's latest single Dr. Frankenstein boasts massive hooks, buoyant synths and a dazzling feature courtesy of UK rockers Holding Absence.
"Dr. Frankenstein tells the story of a fairytale romance that rapidly devolves into a nightmare as one partner displays increasingly more possessive and controlling behaviour. But the bridge then hits us with a plot twist by suggesting that this emotional abuse may have spawned from the other partner being dishonest and unfaithful, thus posing several questions for us to consider: who is the real monster in this situation? Does making mistakes and hurting each other (emotionally) make us monsters? Or does it make us human? Ultimately, this song is about me owning my shit and taking accountability for my role in a past relationship that became toxic as all hell. During the breakup, I was guilty of privately indulging that kind of 'victim' mentality, but now that I'm a bit older and wiser, I feel like it's important to take responsibility for the mistakes that I made too." - Emmy Mack, vocalist
Complete with a nostalgia-fest music video, once again featuring the handiwork behind the lens of Colin Jeffs, Dr. Frankenstein is a perfect blend of confection and sharpened heaviness that stabs firmly into meaningful subject matter while also getting stuck on a loop in your head, with vocalist Emmy Mack perfectly playing off the familiar and iconic tones of Holding Absence's Lucas Woodley.
And if you think RedHook haven't been busy enough in both 2023 and 2024, fresh off the back of their biggest Australian headline tour ever, the quartet will be heading over to the UK and Europe as of next month supporting Dream State.
Dr. Frankenstein feat. Holding Absence is out now. Watch the music video here.
Mutation is due out November 22.
For more RedHook info, head here.
BY TIANA SPETER
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