Welcome to The Soundcheck's "Soundcheck" segment, where each week we dive a bit deeper into 5 x of our favourite new releases that have dropped of late to carry you into the weekend - and beyond!
This week come check out the insanely catchy new collab from Teenage Joans and Between You & Me, Better Lovers ride in with a scorcher and some album news, The Comfort add a heavier vibe, Gravemind release their sophomore album, and Jerry Cantrell (unsurprisingly) gets his grunge on.
Teenage Joans and Between You & Me - 1800-PAINLESS (Single)
Adelaide duo Teenage Joans and Melbourne rockers Between You & Me weren't content with just recently announcing a huge co-headline regional Aussie tour; they've now also busted out a collab single 1800-PAINLESS - and it's pure confection perfection for all you pop punk fans out there.
As revealed during the track's first play on triple j's Drive earlier this week, the plan for Teenage Joans and Between You & Me wasn't always planned. Instead, the tune stemmed from the long-awaited live team up for the two groups, realising that their chemistry while planning their 1800-Painless Regional tour would also carry over into the studio. The resulting single brings the strengths of both bands firmly to the surface, balancing Teenage Joans' effervescent thoughtfulness with Between You & Me's poppin' alt rock wares, with the seamless vocals also levelling up the sunny goodness percolating throughout 1800-PAINLESS.
As one Reddit user on r/poppunkers pretty eloquently put it: "This song fucks". But don't take our word for it, both bands will be taking off around regional Australia starting next week, and it won't just be a treat for fans to hear 1800-PAINLESS live in action: we also can't wait to see both bands squeezing onto the stage together to deliver this track to the masses.
1800-PAINLESS is out now via Domestic La La.
For more Teenage Joans info, head here.
For more Between You & Me info, head here.
Better Lovers - A White Horse Covered In Blood (Single)
It's wild to think that at the start of 2023, the world hadn't yet heard any music from Better Lovers; a salve for many in the wake of the dissolution of Every Time I Die that also boasted former members of The Dillinger Escape Plan. The combination of those band members alone on paper is enough to make most heavy fans weak at the knees, but the raucous releases from the five-piece have proven over and over again to be god tier - and 2024 is adding to this fact, with not only a brand new single, A White Horse Covered In Blood, out this week, but also the confirmation of a new album Highly Irresponsible due out on October 25.
A swaggering and beautifully volatile meeting point for both ETID and Dillinger, albeit in an undeniably fresh setting, A White Horse Covered In Blood is a hype-fest that showcases the band truly firing on all cylinders, and seemingly loving every minute of it. And if you need further proof of that statement, check out the single's accompanying music video and try not to take a flying leap through your own living room wall.
While fans may have to wait until October to hear the entirety of a Better Lovers album, if A White Horse Covered In Blood is anything to go by - it's gonna be worth the wait.
A White Horse Covered In Blood is out now. Highly Irresponsible is due out October 25 via SharpTone Records.
For more Better Lovers info, head here.
The Comfort - The Weight Of The World (Single)
Leaning into heavier waters on their brand new single, Brisbane's The Comfort are pulling zero punches via The Weight of the World. Produced alongside Dream On, Dreamer's Callan Orr, The Weight Of The World is an entirely new shade of The Comfort, diverting into denser shades than those seen on earlier creations, which leaned into more open-veined rock that tugged at the heartstrings.
On The Weight Of The World, The Comfort fuse urgency with dense textures and pounding drumwork, complete with a towering chorus and heightened bridge that carries you deep into the soul of the Brissie trio's creative psyche. And while it may be the group's first new music released in two years, there's a thrilling sense of sonic cognizance underlying The Weight Of The World, and it will be interesting to see if The Comfort continue in this heavier trajectory with any upcoming new releases.
Unleashing their debut EP Love independently in 2016, The Comfort have since ticked off a debut full-length (2018's What It Is To Be) and a rousing sophomore album (2022's Experience Everything. Live And Die) alongside cultivating 7 million+ streams on Spotify and tours alongside Saosin, Thrice, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and many more.
The Weight Of The World is out now.
For more The Comfort info, head here.
Gravemind - Introsphere (Album)
This week Melbourne heavies Gravemind unveiled their snazzy new sophomore album, with Introsphere flexing not only some meat-cleaving heavy goodness but also some beautifully executed cleans that elevates the Gravemind MO into something both unique and cleverly executed.
Ahead of the album's release today, Gravemind dropped a final single Failstate during the week, teaming up with video game composer Mick Gordon, who has worked on Atomic Heart, Borderlands 3, Wolfenstein II and the 2016 Doom reboot, as well as on the most recent Bring Me The Horizon releases. An undeniable standout on Introsphere, Failstate is a pummeling array of pulverising riffs and caustic vocals set alongside some futuristic synths in an almost apocalyptic cacophony of neon-hued heaviness.
With some twists and turns at the ready throughout , including some ambient calm amongst the mayhem, Introsphere is the album many of us need in 2024, offering a wake-up call to unlocking some hope in the ever-present darkness.
Introsphere is out now via Greyscale Records.
For more Gravemind info, head here.
Jerry Cantrell - Vilified (Single)
One of the undisputed lords of grunge, Jerry Cantrell is no stranger to churning out moody yet magnetic music that speaks to the anxieties of the big bad world. In 2024, Cantrell has not only gifted the world a brand new single, the gloom waltz-laden Vilified, but he's also announced a brand new solo album I Want Blood; and damn, were we not ready for some of the features on this bad boy.
Joining Cantrell on the brand new track Vilified, a gleefully biting and oscillating ode to technological fears, seen most vividly in the accompanying clip, is none other than Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, with Cantrell also busting out a virtuostic solo to remind us all how freakishly talented and innovative he has and always will be as an axe-slinger.
But it's not just Trujillo joining Cantrell on his upcoming album; we're also set to witness Duff McKagan, Mike Bordin, Lola Colette and Greg Puciato, with the legendary Joe Barresi also co-producing with Cantrell for this ferocious sonic affair. Said to be nothing like 2021's Brighten by Cantrell himself in his press material, if Vilified is any indication of what we have in store for I Want Blood: bring it the heck on, Jerry.
Vilified is out now. I Want Blood is due out October 18.
For more Jerry Cantrell info, head here.
BY TIANA SPETER