Stay up to date with Australian music releases with Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s weekly roundup.
Check out the best new music from Aussie acts released between November 24th-30th below!
Radio Free Alice – “Rule 31”
Released to celebrate the conclusion of their wildly successful recent tours, Radio Free Alice’s “Rule 31” is rife with urgency, possibly a symptom of the narrow window they had to produce it, but it’s also symbolic of the breakneck pace the band has moved, and continues to move, up the charts and onto stages worldwide. It was created when they had a few days off from their US tour, in Connecticut at producer Peter Kapis’ house studio.
Miss Kaninna – “Backstreets”
Slowing it right down and heading into pop/R&B territory, singing instead of rapping, Miss Kaninna is both vulnerable and tough on her new single. The proud Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali woman says the song came from a place of difference in past relationships. I was put into a lot of really vulnerable situations and had to compromise my cultural safety for the benefit of them and their families,” she explains. “‘Backstreets’ is a memoir of those years and how I felt. I haven’t released any music related to these experiences as I found them quite hard to talk about until recently.”
MAY-A – “Claws”
The latest track from her forthcoming debut album Goodbye (If You Call That Gone), due out February 20th, “Claws” comes from a place of processing anger, kicking off the themes of the album. “It feels special because I wrote it from such a place of anger and mistreatment and betrayal and just looking back and being so mad at things that had happened to me,” she says.
Pierce Brothers – Moonrise
The fourth studio album from the Pierce Brothers is a stunning collection of songs woven with open-vein storytelling. Following on from 2024’s Everything is Bigger Than Me, the swift follow-up was born largely surrounding their relentless touring schedule that has stretched across the past few years. “We started working on this album around November last year,” Jack explains. We were planning on heading back to Europe and decided that we needed a new album for the tour, so once we locked in the dates, we really gave ourselves a massive deadline that we’ve only just been able to reach!”
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Keli Holiday – “I’m on Fire” (Like a Version)
Keli Holiday’s cover of the Bruce Springsteen classic took the internet by storm when he performed it in the triple j studios, racking up over one million views in 24 hours, and had fans begging for its release. Adding a string quartet and saxophone to his band for the performance, Holiday also put a distinctly Australian spin on his version of “I’m on Fire” with Baker Boy on the yidaki (didgeridoo).
The Temper Trap – “Giving Up Air (Solomun Remix)”
Destined for the clubs and festival circuit, the scintillating remix will be familiar to fans of iconic DJ and producer Solomun, who has recently been dropping it into his live shows. The song is The Temper Trap’s second taste of new music this year, following on from earlier release “Lucky Dimes”. Originally released in September, it pairs a euphoric chorus with lyrics about the weight of grief.
These New South Whales – GODSPEED
The fourth studio album from the punk-rock outfit is built on a backbone of new wave, melodic hardcore, and Britpop. A clear gear switch from their previous record, the heavier influences are pushed into darker or more aggressive territory — and so too are the lyrics. Meanwhile, their softer influences have opened out to generate some of the band’s most experimental material to date.
Birds of Tokyo – “Starlights”
“Starlights”, which guitarist Adam Spark says took the band “almost five years to build”, will soundtrack The Starlight Foundation’s new campaign Streamas, which uses special online appearances to raise funds for the charity. All five Birds Of Tokyo members are now parents to young children which gives The Starlight Foundation’s work personal resonance, therefore, unlike the song itself, the idea of associating “Starlights” with the charity fell into place immediately.
Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice – “No Pigs”
“No Pigs” is the first taste of Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice’s first-ever studio album, due out next year. The rock song features an undeniable riff, guitar hook that lodges instantly, gutsy rhythm section and a two-word chorus practically begging the room to yell it back. It’s a powerful evolution, or de-evolution, for one of Australia’s more eccentric underground exports.
James Johnston – “Run Run Rudolph”
James Johnston has released a country-infused rendition of the beloved Christmas classic, which he says has been his favourite holiday tune forever. “So when I decided to cut my own version, I knew I had to make it unapologetically country,” he says. “Yeah, it’s got jingle bells… but it’s also got a fiddle that absolutely rips. This isn’t a sit-by-the-fire song, it’s a windows down, Christmas highway anthem.”
Joan & the Giants (ft. Seb Szabo) – “Figure It Out”
A celebration of the friendship that has flourished between Joan & the Giants’ vocalist Grace Newton-Wordsworth and Seb Szabo, “Figure It Out” delves into their individual experiences as they navigate singlehood, and how they carry each other through both the highs and the lows. Newton-Wordsworth says working with Sazbo “genuinely lifted me out of something really dark and helped me find my voice, and made this the best experience I could have had in this new stage of my life”.
Cat & Calmell – Live Laugh Cool Star
The highly anticipated mixtape from Cat & Calmell was built around themes of perception versus reality, celebrity culture, financial struggle, and hedonism as both a performance and a cope. It captures the surreal pressure of looking “put together” when you’re barely holding on, and shows the duo at their most honest and most unhinged, blending club gloss with real-life struggle and satire.
The Velvet Club – “Anything” / “It Will Never be Enough”
Accompanied by B-side track “It Will Never be Enough”, The Velvet Club’s new single “Anything” marks their first new music since their 2024 EP Space Between, providing a taste of a larger body of work due out next year. “Anything” sees the band emerge from a much-needed break, where they found themselves feeling burnt out and needed time to reset. It was one of the first songs written during that prolific period. “It Will Never be Enough” uses The Strokes-esque jangle and vocal distortion with The Velvet Club’s signature understated, yet undeniably catchy, approach to melody, and is the first track the band have released that was performed, produced, and mixed by Tilyard himself.
Local the Neighbour – “Preacher”
A striking exploration of identity, memory and the shadows that shape us, “Preacher” stands as one of David Quested’s most vulnerable and sonically assured releases yet. Built around swirling guitars, intimate vocals and a slow burning emotional intensity, the single captures the tension between childhood beliefs and adult self discovery.
Ella Hooper – “Growing Up is Hard to Do”
A rousing ode to self-reflection with heartland flavours and lashings of charm, “Growing Up is Hard to Do” emerges with a Springsteen-ready romp that effortlessly straddles relatability and unbridled warmth. “This song comes from a period of self-reflection that kinda started with Small Town Temple – my last album,” Hooper says. “It finds me in a place where I can almost accept that growing pains never stop… I’m just learning to write different songs about them. It feels playful to me, as life is a little lighter now, internally anyway.”
