Tag Archives: New releases
THE JIMMY C – Baby Blue Sky (OFFICIAL)
THE JIMMY C – Born Without A Brain (OFFICIAL)
John Kennedy’s Second Best reviewed by Bernard Zuel
In 2001, John Kennedy compiled the early vinyl singles and album selections from his bands JFK and the Cuban Crisis, Love Gone Wrong and the Honeymooners.
17 years later, its follow-up retrospective collection is out now in all good record stores.
Leading music journalist and former Sydney Morning Herald writer Bernard Zuel has reviewed the set known as “Second Best: Greatest Bits Vol. 2”.
“Well of course John Kennedy would call the second set of his career songs collections “second best”. If he’d called it something like “the other bits”, “warmed up leftovers” or “oh no, not me again”, none of us would have been surprised,” Zuel writes. “This way he gets a play on words, a dig at himself, and a reminder he’s been around long enough to warrant at least two sets of favourite songs before we have stopped laughing: result.”
Kennedy and his band (with the current line-up of Love Gone Wrong drummer Peter Timmerman, ex-Wiggle Murray Cook on guitar and former Pop Mechanics’ leader Paul Scott on bass) blend pop, rock, folk and country, all topped with the uniqueness of Kennedy’s vocal and lyrics.
Zuel says, “Some of his lines have the double dose pleasure of being funny on first hearing and rather telling on second, an effect which is enhanced with a voice that sometimes just seems to be taking the piss. Even when it’s not. Speaking of his voice, yes, when he is not dropping down to a Johnny Cash-ish timbre he has always sounded a fair bit like Elvis Costello – which is what caught the ears of some of us way back when he first appeared as the presidential JFK & The Cuban Crisis.”
Read the entire review here at Bernard’s website: https://www.bernardzuel.net/single-post/2018/11/04/JOHN-KENNEDY-–-SECOND-BEST-REVIEW
OUT NOW on Foghorn Records through MGM.
Available on CD and digital platforms.
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Jessie May Kitchen – NEW SINGLE “Teen Love”
Hot on the heels of her sparkling debut, “Coffee Shop”, comes Jessie May Kitchen’s second single, “Teen Love.” A jangly guitar-driven pop song, it’s a sweet ode to all the uncertainties in the early days of teenage romance.
The 17 year old singer-songwriter says her new single, “goes through the emotions of our day by day, week by week, forbidden puppy love. It is written about the previous relationship I was in, when the person I was dating wasn’t sure about what they wanted or who they were yet, so it was very confusing for me.”
Jessie May says she knew very early how much she wanted a life in music: “I wanted to become a singer/songwriter when I was 5 years old. I remember seeing people singing on TV and thinking, “Hey! That’s me!” My parents told me I could be anything I wanted as a young girl, but like most families panicked in my high school years telling me I, “should find a plan B” or go for something, you know, is, “easy, safe or guaranteed money,” So, for a while I was lost and didn’t write for years, until one day in 2016, I realized that I’m happiest in songwriting and singing; that this is who I’m supposed to be. So, I picked up a guitar and was me again. My parents are much more supportive of me now that I’m older.
And even if it’s not the ‘safest’ road to travel, it sure is the sunniest.”
A new video for “Teen Love” is in production right now and will be released soon.
In the meantime, check out her previous video “Coffee Shop”(which premiered on Scenstr earlier this year) as well as all the links and release details below!
The song has already been added to Mood Media and Soundslikecafe networks and it’s being picked up by community radio stations all around the country.
The new single release features 3 versions of the song – the main track, an acoustic-only version just like Jessie performs it live and an instrumental.
Jessie May Kitchen – Teen Love (Foghorn/MGM)
Released October 12 All Digital Platforms
Choose your favourite music service below to listen:
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Gareth Koch and Peter Bonner Hit Note Of Success
With their debut release Don’t Tempt Me coming out last month on Planet/MGM, this new Tasmanian Duo have been pleasantly surprised to find a warm welcome for their collaborative effort.
Both Local and National interviews from the ABC to Commercial and Community Radio have been ongoing as well as a noteworthy piece in the local newspaper.
“From the opening verse of their title track, Don’t Tempt Me, the seamless mix of Koch’s classical guitar and Bonner’s pop-rock vocal delivery manages to give listeners a glimpse into a songwriting partnership that takes in hundreds of years worth of influences.”
The Launceston Examiner (full article)
Community Radio Syndicated Show Aussie Music Weekly were quick to jump on the case interviewing the guys for a forthcoming broadcast and featuring the EP in their new release section.
The Don’t Tempt Me EP has also been sent out to over 1000 Aussie Cafes via cafe music network Soundslikecafe and found an immediate popular fit with enough cafes to achieve a number 1 on their featured album charts.
Not a bad start for what started out as a side project!
The Tasmanian-based songwriting team of Gareth Koch and Peter Bonner draws inspiration from medieval music to post-modern psychedelia, with every imaginable influence in between.? Bonner and Koch have a strong and immediately recognisable musical identity, a new sound and aesthetic that comes with a fluid movement across genres. The result is an array of catchy pop tunes, soulful ballads, blues grooves and rock songs.
Gareth: “Mine is an unusual musical trajectory. I play in the Australian Guitar Trio and also in a hard rock band. So these two audiences are quite different. One is there to listen, the other is there to dance and sort of listen! The songwriting partnership with Pete Bonner is a separate project again. A great creative outlet for me, a chance to allow a flow of ideas to take form without the need to ‘tailor’ in a specific way.”
Peter: “I think a crowd can expect a diverse music experience with rock, blues, classical, folk and pop flavours. I love a wide range for genres from the heavy rock sounds of Jethro Tull, the jazz/funk of Steely Dan, the country ballads of James Taylor through to the country/rock influences of Bonnie Raitt.”
GARETH KOCH + PETER BONNER – DON’T TEMPT ME was expertly mixed at Damien Gerard Studios Sydney and superbly mastered by Grammy Award winning Wiliam Bowden. It is out now on Planet/MGM.
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