The Belair Lip Bombs might be Australia’s best-kept secret. But it won’t stay that way for long.
Hailing from the coastal town of Frankston, the close-knit indie-rock four-piece have been building a loyal local following since they first formed eight years ago; fans across the band’s hometown of Melbourne and beyond have been magnetized to the group’s earnestness and ultra-sticky power-pop song structures.
Now, the four close friends — lead singer/guitarist Maisie Everett, Mike Bradvica (guitar), Jimmy Droughton (bass), and Daniel “Dev” Devlin (drums) — are about to embrace a new chapter with their signing to Jack White’s Third Man Records (the first Australian release on the international label) and the unveiling of their endlessly listenable sophomore album, Again, which echoes the album’s joyous opening track (“Again and Again”) and winkingly symbolizes the band’s reintroduction to a global audience.
It’s easy to see why Third Man snatched them up: Born from the creative hub that is Frankston DIY venue Singing Bird Studio, The Belair Lip Bombs pull you in immediately with their self-coined “yearn-core” combination of quick-footed rhythms, warm and fuzzy guitar melodies, and Maisie’s cathartic vocals, which recall the heartfelt stylings of Yawners’ Elena Nieto, Julia Jacklin, or Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield. Such a vocal presence is ironically at odds with Maisie’s insular and pensive personality, but it’s in the music where her heart truly shines brightest, and it’s in the Bombs’ electric live show where her artistry confidently commands the stage.
Following the breakout success of 2023’s Lush Life, the quartet’s follow-up effort gives the group’s DIY indie-rock style a fresh coat of polish across 10 rollicking new tracks, which were produced by the band, Nao Anzai (The Teskey Brothers), and Joe White (Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever).
Maisie, who was born in Scotland and moved to Australia at 3 years old, tends to fall back into an early love of vocal behemoths Queen when she writes the band’s prominent melodies and harmonies. And while songs tend to pour out of the band in a free-flowing, jam-adjacent way, ultimately the group relies on a gut sensation when deciding whether a track will make a record or not. “It has to evoke some kind of emotional response out of me,” Maisie says. “We’ve written songs before that, objectively, are probably quite good, but there’s a certain feeling that I won’t get from it. It’s tricky to find the words to describe that feeling, but I think other people can pick up on it as well.”
Since forming eight years ago upon graduating from high school, the Belair Lip Bombs juggled band life with day jobs as they worked to define a sound inspired by classic rock pillars like the Rolling Stones and Television, indie stalwarts like the War On Drugs and Stephen Malkmus. They spent the first years as a band opening for Australian favorites like Ladyhawke, Spacey Jane, Slowly Slowly, and Tired Lion before releasing their more grunge-inspired self-titled debut EP in 2018 and then the poppier three-track follow-up Songs to Do Your Laundry To (2019).
As the next decade rolled in, the Belair Lip Bombs fine-tuned their “limerence-rock” (as Maisie phrases it) aesthetic across impassioned and snappy singles like “Out Of Here” and Lush Life standout tracks “Gimme Gimme” and “World Is The One.” As they began to map out what would become Again, the band merged their individual influences more than ever to craft a no-skips collection of indie-rock anthems.
Marking the first time the Belair Lip Bombs worked with a producer, Again was helped over the finish line by White, who Dev says took the pressure off and let the band focus on the bigger picture of making their record. “It was really good having someone else there who was just as invested in what we were playing as we were,” he says. “Sometimes when you’re recording you’re in your own little world… He made all of us feel really confident in what we were doing.” Maisie adds, “We really didn’t know what to expect going into it. But it was really beneficial having someone on the outside looking in at the songs and can pick up on things that we don’t necessarily see.”
The Belair Lip Bombs signal their emboldened new era on the grooving mid-tempo rocker “Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair),” which urges the listener to say whatever they need to say with their full chest. “It’s about not letting anyone walk all over you,” Maisie says. “Have confidence in what you’re doing and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Meanwhile, the vocally soaring “Back Of My Hand” undulates with an easygoing rhythm before bursting into Weezer-style guitar riffs on its heart-in-hand chorus. It’s another instance of the band’s total sincerity as Maisie implores a romantic connection to trust in the strength of their connection. “It’s really about knowing somebody like the back of your hand,” Maisie says of “Back Of My Hand,” adding: “It’s a nice little ode to love.”
Later, the band show off their sonic range with “Hey You,” a jubilant melody built from a looping synth that’s bound to inspire listeners to leap up and dance it out. “Having a synth loop driving a whole song is something that we’ve never done before,” Maisie says. “Yeah, we just wanted a song that was different,” Dev adds. “We kind of leaned into that and pushed to make the scope of the song bigger than some of the other songs in the album.”
Finally, the band cites the guitar-pop gem “If You’ve Got The Time” as a group favorite, as it features Mike Bradvica on backing vocals and showcases the group’s love of just jamming together. “I think it’s probably the best example of our vision for Again. We just nailed exactly what we wanted to do, and I love all of the vocal melodies. I think it’s one of the catchiest songs on the album.”
As the Belair Lip Bombs move into an exciting new era of their careers, their unshakable friendship, wide-open hearts, and knack for foot-tapping melodies will no doubt endear them to legions of fans in search of musical transcendence.
Armlock make music for having your head in the clouds. On their new album, Seashell Angel Lucky Charm, the Australian duo of Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell take you through a steady ascension into heavenly sonic realms. The band’s second proper release, and first for Run For Cover Records, Seashell Angel Lucky Charm taps onto the songwriters’ roots in experimental electronic roots and filters them through an indie rock lens, drawing the listener in close with crystal clear guitars, tight rhythms, warm harmonies, and sparse arrangements that leave room for character and eccentricities. The result is an album of inventively minimal music that does a lot with a little.
Friends for 14 years, Lam (vocals and guitar) and Mitchell (guitar and keyboards) have been in their fair share of musical projects together and apart. The two met studying jazz at Monash University in Melbourne, eventually discovering a shared love of electronic music. After a handful of electronic and dance outlets (I’lls, Couture, Kllo) Armlock came together through the band’s natural camaraderie and comfort with collaboration, and the two began incorporating guitar into the music they were making for the first time. Capable of recording and engineering the whole project themselves, the pair never needed to be precious with studio time. Instead they preferred venturing down songwriting rabbit holes, chasing down a feeling and layering ideas at their home studios, unsure where a song would ultimately land. “There’s no real distinction between writing, demoing, and final production, it’s all done at the same time,” says Lam. “It’s a workflow that is much more common in electronic music and how we started making music together.”
Seashell Angel Lucky Charm is the imaginative and sonically detailed result. The gentle vocals sit up front, often buoyed by fragile guitar lines and a simple but steady beat, and ample space is left for production flourishes like distant laughter, chopped up samples, and pitched squeals to ping around the listener’s ears. “We very much have a ‘throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks’ approach,” explains Lam. “We focus a lot on how an element sounds, rather than what an element is–if there’s a guitar part that’s not quite working, rather than try a different guitar effect or amp sound, we’re more likely to replace it with a keyboard, or a sample. A ‘sound’ is just as important as a ‘part’ to us, and I think that’s how a lot of electronic producers think.”
Every sound on Seashell Angel Lucky Charm feels precise and intentional, making the earcandy choruses on tracks like “Fear” and “El Oh Ve Ee” feel like expertly placed moments of guitar pop bliss. These two songs show Armlock’s savvy with harmony as they use octaves of angelic sounds to stretch a simple one-word chorus until it soars with meaning. Throughout Seashell Angel Lucky Charm, guitar is used sparingly and thoughtfully–more like a tool in Armlock’s belt rather than the primary songwriting vessel. On “Godsend” an airy acoustic provides the sturdy foundation, ushering the groove forward with uncomplicated chord progressions and leaving the focus on Lam’s voice.
Armlock’s sound at times recalls Pinback’s lean alternative, Alex G’s adventurous indie, or the wave of mysterious-yet-endearing genre-bending music coming out of the UK from label’s like Dean Blunt’s World Music or Vegyn’s PLZ Make It Ruins. Album opener “Ice Cold” provides a perfect entry point into Armlock’s world and their skill with coalescing disparate influences. One trap beat away from a Bladee track, the song begins with robotic voices reminiscent of Boards of Canada and evolves into the meditative warmth found in Adrianne Lenker’s more lo-fi work. There’s a subdued tenderness to Lam’s vocal delivery as he ponders the loss of a friendship and introduces the album’s fixation on air signs and higher dimensions.
Lyrically, Armlock’s music is often seeped with a very human desire to not only find guidance in the enormity of existence, but also to find something deeper in the mundane. “I was brought up Catholic, and I’ve definitely turned away from Christianity in my adult life but in recent years I’ve kind of missed that extra layer of meaning that religion adds to everyday life,” Lam says. “I’ve never written songs about that kind of thing, and it’s definitely pretty abstract, but it’s interesting to write about something that isn’t in my physical life but still feels like I’m talking about something ‘real.’”
Album highlight “Guardian” cuts to the heart of this theme with Lam looking “Somewhere up above” for “something or someone,” sifting through everyday life, trying to decide if the divine numbers he’s noticing on license plates are signs or happenstance. As guitar bends and piano rolls across the song’s structure until it fades into an airy soundscape where Lam yearns for a guardian through hushed vocals and chirping birds. “Ready for my essence to be found / ‘Cause I’m seeing their number all around / Guide me safe, lead me from harm / My seashell angel lucky charm.” Elsewhere these more esoteric ideas intersect with romantic longing, like on “El Oh Vee Ee” or “Godsend,” the former an upbeat earworm and the latter a richly produced cut of creative guitar pop.
Seashell Angel Lucky Charm manages to walk a fine line: impressionistic yet accessible, ambiguous yet refreshingly earnest. Armlock immerse you in their world but they don’t hold your hand, allowing you to be the one to discover the melodies and ideas within. It’s an impressive feat for only 18 minutes of music and it will leave you searching for more–and luckily you can hit repeat right away.