5 Under 500

A lot of acts that you read about on music websites - the hot/upcoming/buzz-worthy articles - come from a press release, with the authors sent a lot of awesome new music and having to sift through for the good stuff. With that in mind we thought we'd go on a little hunt through the online realm to try and find a few acts that haven't broken over the 500-Like mark (because like it or not, the number of FB likes you've accrued can play a role in the amount of online love you'll receive). So we hope 5 UNDER 500 will bring to your attention a few emerging acts, who are under 500 likes on Facebook, and whose sounds we are very much digging.

Men Among Boys – Rivers 

With a clear influences being Kanye West’s album 808s & Heartbreak the credibility of Men Among Boys wavers until you realize they were able to take a piece of genius and re-appropriate it into something that has its own identity. Rivers appears as a elemental slow-jam with echoing vocals that seem to sit in the air like smoke before fading away. And it’s intriguing. Indeed the intermittent interruptions of jarring cuts of static before the track slips back into its wandering bass lines and soulful vocals are so strange you’ll want more. Rivers isn’t the strongest track or the most pop-driven from Men Among Boys but rather a spine-tingling infusion that you won’t forget soon.

Follow Men Among Boys: FACEBOOK

Yeevs – Chunk

Chunk is a blob of jaggly indie-garage with the coarse vocals and twitchy drums. Hailing from Sydney Yeevs has been pumping out an ideal blend between racy lo-fi, dazed instrumentals and lashing of punk throughout their music. And it’s a blob because it isn’t a straight line of energy rather it gradually absorbs energy over time. And where tracks can often put their best out at the beginning Chunk just keeps on sucking you in before it all explodes in a jagged crack of yowls and guitars.

Follow Yeevs: FACEBOOK

ADKOB – Crumble 

Crumble contines on the same indie-rock theme of Chunk albeit a more shoe-gaze direction with simple, playful chords and delicate vocals. The vocals almost take on a droning nature as the words are drawn out but the perky atmosphere is retained with the steady drumbeat, controlled bass lines and loving guitar licks. ADKOB really have the potential to be something if they can re-create this strength over a string of releases.

Follow ADKOB: FACEBOOK

Fine Print – Can’t Lie

Can’t Lie creeps out of the eaves with a stuttering guitar before the lights illuminate its presence with a crackling drum beat laid over a gossamer voice. And the two sides we see in that short twenty-second moment speak of the flux within the rest of song. Indeed, we’re treated to a performance that dances around with a delicate sensuality with those gentle guitar licks. This goes against a more guided passion through the rough-filtered drum beats and falsetto. And for only their second single Fine Print deserve far more attention than they’re receiving.

Follow Fine Print: FACEBOOK

Jon Dory – Arthur Street

According to the ever-relevant Tackle World a John Dory is, ‘…one of Australia’s finest eating fish.’ And while this Jon Dory most likely don't live under the sea, they hail from a rather excellent spot of untapped talent in NSW’s south coast, and part of fledgling, bodyboarding-related record label, Le Boogie Records. Their track Arthur Street from their EP For Reels opens with a drawn out instrumental and a bass line that teases of more to come. That hint becomes something more shapely with a surfy guitar line that is more measured than the usual surf-rock record. It’s actually got a hell of a lot different guitar sounds going on with a dash of jaggling, keening and a fair dose of reverb. And when you’ve got what might be called non-traditional vocalists, the track carries itself with far more focus than the usual bleach-blonde hair band.

Follow John Dory: FACEBOOK

Check our previous 5 Under 500's:

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR