Brisbane, Australia
I heard today that Brisbane was named by Billboard Magazine (USA) as one of five music hotspots in the world. What!? Get out. No they're serial. As a Sydney sider it seems my eyes have been pointed in the wrong direction all this time, I should be envious of Brisbane not Melbourne! Admittedly I was surpised, so I decided to look a little deeper into Billboard's claim and found that in large part it was due to the recent overseas successes of Powderfinger, The Veronicas and solo artist Pete Murray. Perhaps not everyone's cup of XXXX. Still, there are a plethora of great indie acts pouring out from Brisbane these days: I [Heart] Hiroshima, The Boat People, Yeo, The Rocketsmiths, The Medicine Show, The Bakery, Summer Cats, The Zebras - oh these are all off the top of my head but you get my point.
Here's another one to watch out for: Hip Pocket. I heard their single, 'Kick Ya', on Triple J the other day and was pretty taken aback. A nicely layered funk track with loads of synth you'd expect from a band of the eighties. I've been trying to work out who they remind me of... maybe some Duran Duran, Cure and dare I say it, older Jamiroquai? Hmm, I'm slightly lost and there's no point trying to explain their sound - just listen to the mp3s for god sake!