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Music Scene Going Under in the Down Under?

To be entirely honest with the world, music in Australia is really struggling. Personally, I feel that this is because of the monopoly that talent shows have on the industry. The winners of all these shows get offered a deal with the one label, and that label does not understand the definition of diversity. Most successful punk and rock and alternative acts in Australia are signed to overseas labels, and they seem to be the only ones that do well. In spite of this, beneath the gloss of the pop music constantly played on the radio, there is a plethora of hard working artists throughout the country, not to mention promoters that are shaking their heads trying to get these people’s voices heard.

One such band that works incredibly hard in the industry and is often overlooked is Melbourne pop rock band, For Our Hero. FOH have recently released their new single, Take The Night. The first thing that one hears when listening to Take The Night is the eerie opening bars of the song. They set the mood, drawing the listener in. The timbre is dark, but not sinister, and this is complimented by the seductive voice of lead vocalist Jay Taplin. Right from the opening line, “sweet thing, you’re entirely addictive” listeners are drawn into the atmosphere of the song. The real strength in the song however, is the lyrics, written by Beau Taplin; who is considered every bit a member of the band as the musicians.  The lyrics take on a life of their own, popping out of the song and worming their way into the listener’s mind, lingering in one’s thoughts long after they’ve faded from the song. Whether intentional or not, they give the impression of parodying pop songs by the likes of Ke$ha and Justin Beiber, however they are treated with dignity throughout the song rather than being used in vain. The chorus of Take The Night is what turns the song from just another single into an anthem, which is a corny thing to say in this day and age, but when one listens to the song, it makes sense. According to the chorus, Take The Night is written for the “Outlaw Boys” and “Painted Girls” which really hits the nail on the head for a lot of For Our Hero listeners. As someone who has listened to them since high school, I can say that we’re not innocent, and we’re not bad. We’re just kids, and For Our Hero seems to recognise that.

Another band that works tirelessly in the music industry is A Sleepless Melody, who formed in high school and are still going strong after numerous line up changes and 2 EPs. They begun to win listeners over with their sweet acoustic tracks which they posted on Pure Volume, and as they developed further, they began to release more rock songs, recruiting touring members to support a bigger sound. A Sleepless Melody can frequently be found supporting their touring friends, or heading out to Adelaide (Which is roughly twelve hours away from their hometown of Melbourne) to do a single free acoustic show for their fans. A Sleepless Melody has just recently released their latest single, Can’t Break My Heart. The song strikes me as a song about forgetting. The catchy riffs along with the chorus will be stuck in your head for days, if you only take the time to listen to it once.

Supporting nearly every local band this year, Masketta Fall has recently come about, seemingly from nowhere. With a crisp sound and melodic lyrics, they burst onto the scene and gained a following seemingly overnight, thanks to their warm stage presence and the fact that they give free wristbands out all over the place, to the extent that it would be surprising to meet a teenage girl residing in Melbourne who doesn’t own one. Their EP, Something Beautiful, sounds professionally mixed, which for an independent band must have cost a fortune, and the result is ridiculously amazing. It is difficult to choose a favourite song on the EP but if one were to hold me at gunpoint, I would say “Textbook Tragedy”. Everything about this song is smooth, from the smooth vocals to the harmonious music. Something Beautiful is the perfect blend of well-written lyrics and great composition, resulting in an album one would expect from a band that has been together for a decade, rather than roughly a year.

There are countless bands across the world like the three examples I’ve used here. They work long hours, and then they go home, and start recording, staying up until the early hours of the morning so that they sound just right. And then on Monday, they get up early, and start their day jobs again. Why? Because they’re passionate about their music, and they’re passionate about us.

In Australia, music is really struggling. From what I’ve read, it’s struggling everywhere. Only we can save it, and only by supporting our local bands. They put in hours and hours of work for us, driving hours away, even loosing money in some cases to get to all of the fans. The least we can do is buy the CD, as a thank you for making the effort, a thank you for making us smile, in some cases, even a Thank-You for saving our lives. That way, when we grow tired of all the songs about one night stands and sick beats, we’ll have something to fall back on, something that relates to us.

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