Described as “like a young version of Augie March crossed with The Shins” (Faster Louder), Oh Mercy’s style is consistently difficult to pin down. What is certain is that, while they cite classic rock’n’roll and folk influences, the songwriting partnership of Alexander Gow and Thomas Savage creates music unmistakably of their own style. Gow and Savage, the duo at the heart of Melbourne four-piece Oh Mercy, blend evocative and intelligent lyricism with a strong pop sensibility on their debut album Privileged Woes, showcasing the depth of the young songwriters’ polished pop brilliance.

Following on from their successful debut EP In The Nude For Love , Privileged Woes was recorded in the spare room; the size of a single bed, by Myles Wootton – the band literally had to put the mattress against the wall to record. After touring continuously for 12 months supporting many other great Australian musicians, Oh Mercy is currently on their own National tour in support of their new album. The group is made up of Alexander Gow on guitar and vocals, Thomas Savage playing guitar and piano, Eliza Lam is on bass and Angus Tarnawsky percussion.

Privileged Woes features the current radio singles Seemed Like A Good Idea and Lay Everything On Me ; with the third single to be announced, Get You Back . Privileged Woes is out now. So what are you waiting for, get your copy and check out tour dates right here !

Currently smack bang in the middle of the Purple Sneakers DJs ‘We Mix, You Dance’ national tour, PhDJ has whipped up the Purple Sneakers DJs ‘Easy Listening’ Mixtape. It features 25 tracks and samples and times in at 29 minutes and 56 seconds.

The mixtapes from the Purple Sneakers DJs so far have been indie party mashup mixes showcasing an eclectic range of tracks, ranging from rock to hip hop, punk, electro, indie, club and other styles. The ‘Easy Listening’ Mixtape on the other hand proves that the Purple Sneakers DJs have the ability to play a main room set, whilst still very much infusing it with their own distinct Purple Sneakers flavour. Check it out!

Download from here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/6257620232dad861/

The Presets are a Sydney-based Australian dance punk duo, consisting of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. In September 2005, they released their debut album, Beams , to positive critical response.

Their second album, Apocalypso , was released on 12 April 2008. The album was a commercial and critical success, winning the ARIA Awards for “Best Dance Release” and “Album of the Year” that year. The mighty Trojan horse that is Apocalypso continues to command and conquer, with The Presets 2nd album now having enjoyed an entire year in the Top 30 status of the ARIA Album Chart.

Adding to this is first single from Apocalypso , the unstoppable My People , has now refused to leave the Top 100 ARIA Singles Chart after a staggering 71 weeks. To celebrate they are offering My People to buy for just $1 across the iTunes, Bigpond, Nokia + getmusic digital stores.

From the 6th May to 6th June 2009, the curtain will come down on the Apocalypso tours, when The Presets mount their most far-reaching Australian tour so far, and their final tour for 2009. Check out tour dates and venues right here .

Fresh off their maiden Big Day Out tour, Children Collide show no signs of slowing down. Recently, Children Collide has been carving their name as one of the most exhilarating live acts in the country. Having impressed audiences and critics alike throughout 2008, Children Collide is geared to bring their explosive headline show around Australia once more – on the FAREWELL ROCKETSHIP TOUR during April 2009.

“Farewell Rocketship” is an idealistic, escapist daydream where the world has become too much and fleeing is the only option. Instead of a desert island or a strange new country, the destination is another planet. A flight of fantasy to begin a new colony of humans on a nearby planet. A fresh start in a simpler world. A colonial ballad for a post-apocalyptic, space-age romance. A goodbye to war and politics.

You are invited to join Children Collide on their sonic journey to a new world. Farewell Rocketship’s epic themes are illustrated in the incredible video that accompanies it. The 7 minute narrative clip takes the audience to an apocalyptic world and follows the band as they attempt escape in search of a less emaciated planet. Click HERE to take the journey.

2008 saw Children Collide grace the stage in some of the most important live performances of their career. They spent the year sharing stages with the likes of The Living End, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Wombats and Grinspoon, in addition to two headline tours.

The release of debut album The Long Now to rave reviews in October included 4/5 reviews in Rolling Stone and Jmag. It has also held its own up against international releases; placing #7 in The Age and #17 in the Rolling Stone top albums of 2008. All of this served to stroke interest in Children Collide’s live juggernaut.

Singles “Social Currency” and “Farewell Rocketship” have performed well at radio. Both tracks have been the #1 most played tracks on Triple J and “Farewell Rocketship” has been the Most Requested Song. All of this has spurred the band on to their frantic festival schedule over summer, where stellar performances at Homebake and Pyramid Rock Festival garnered them.

As part of the brand new Dukes of Windsor website launch , they will be giving away a 3 track Remix EP for free! The songs that have been remixed on the EP include:

Dukes of Windsor – So Beautiful (Cory Blight Remix)
Dukes of Windsor – Land of Strangers (Cory Blight Remix)
Dukes of Windsor – It’s A War (Cory Blight and Andrew McKinnon Remix)
Additional keys by Scott Targett

Hey, Cory from Dukes Of Windsor here. We wanted to thank you, our fans, for all of your support so far. To show our appreciation, the band put me in charge of creating some brand new free tracks for you (since I spend all my spare time in front of a computer)! – three spanking remixes of a few classic Dukes ditties. Scott lent a hand with some additional keyboards for the tracks as well (Thanks Scotty, the red wine stain is still in my carpet by the way). I hope you enjoy the remixes, I sure had a lot of fun with them – now it’s time for me to get back to work on the new album we are currently creating! Thanks again, Cory, (A Duke).

All you have to do is sign up to become a member of the Dukes website (click on the ‘Become A Fan’ button) in order to get your free download. By becoming a member you receive information about exclusive offers and competitions, you can participate in commenting and interact with other fans. Then when the boys hit the road in March they will be giving away yet another free track, not a remix this time but a brand-new song recorded this month by the band. The track is called “Down In Dirt”.

Drummer Kram from Spiderbait is releasing his debut solo album on the 14th March 2009.  Silk Suits is the first taste off Mix Tape , Kram’s debut solo album. The 15-track outing jumps from Prince-esque soul to fuzz rock, from country to funk-pop jams — hence the name. “I wanted it to be like a radio station where all the songs sound like different bands even though it’s all played by one person,” says Kram, who played every instrument and produced the album. So don’t be expecting any balls to the floor Blackbetty rip-offs from the Spiderbait skinsman on this album.

The first single from the album, Silk Suits is out now featuring a video in which Kram has a hit of tennis at Rod Laver Arena with tennis ace Alicia Molik – perhaps a reference to Spiderbait’s 1999 release Grandslam? So listen out for the song during the tennis & check out the video here .

The Hyper Festival 2008 , a big all ages festival held in Midland is back this year and will be held on Sunday 31 August 2008, from 11.30am to 8pm in Perth.

This year the Hyper Festival is taking over a massive multi-story carpark at Midland Gate Shopping Centre with 3 stages of punk, rock and hip hop. There are also market stalls, FREE carnival ride, a car demo, skate park, hip hop comps and an art exhibition!

Tickets are only $10 through Heatseeker now, or $15 at the door!!

Country stunners The McClymonts have taken the top spot on the National Country Airplay Chart (The Music Network, 11th August 2008) for their single “Finally Over Blue” . The Grafton born sisters have finally de-throned country power group The Eagles, who’s song “How Long” has held the top position since late 2007. This makes The McClymonts “Finally Over Blue” only the second #1 Country Airplay hit this year.

Without question The McClymonts are one of the hottest and most talented Australian country bands. Their tight performances win over crowds in every city they play. Set to be one of the highlights of the festival, The McClymonts will perform at Gympie this year on August 30. On the set list will be their cheeky new single “Favourite Boyfriend Of The Year”, which was serviced to radio last week with the video arriving on Monday.

The girls will also be dropping by Ramsay Street on August 29 as they perform their national country airplay #1 hit “Finally Over Blue” on Neighbours.

Splendour In the Grass is an annual music, arts and youth culture event which has taken place on the outskirts of Byron Bay each July/August since 2001. Past years have featured a staggering array of the world’s leading music talent including Coldplay, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, Queens of the Stone Age, Moby, Brian Wilson and many, many more.

As well as the latest and best in music from Australia and overseas, the festival also features local arts and crafts, creative performance and cuisine.

The festival is on the top of most discerning Australian music fan’s wish-lists of must-go Festivals, which combined with the event’s relatively small capacity compared to many of the summer festivals, results in feverish activity on the day tickets go on sale.  This year’s festival will be the eighth Splendour In the Grass. The two-day event accommodates 17,500 people and has sold out in advance in each year of its existence, often within hours of going on sale – all tickets to last year’s festival were snapped up in just 5 hours, while the preceding three years’ events sold out in a little over a day.

Many who attend choose to immerse themselves in the full ‘Splendour experience’ by taking advantage of the on-site camping adjacent to the festival site. Campers set up their tents right outside the festival gates and quickly establish their own Splendour village for the weekend.

Beguiling, orchestral and lush, The Wishing Well’s first full length CD, Life On The Border , evokes an extraordinary gamut of emotions. A cacophony of three part harmonies, wistful violin and majestic rhythms all melded to achingly strong and haunting vocals produce a rich tapestry of mesmerizing folk, pop and rock.