This week’s must-listen singles: Two Door Cinema Club, Holy Holy, Thelma Plum + more

Every week, we're hammered with tonnes of new music from Australia and afar, so much so that at times, it feels a little overwhelming and you're not quite sure where to begin. Every week, we run down this week's must-listen singles and releases, this week featuring names like Two Door Cinema Club, Holy Holy, Thelma Plum and more. Check out Pilerats' homepage for more brilliant music and news, or subscribe to our Spotify Office Playlist for easy listening. 

Two Door Cinema Club – Satellite

It’s been three years since we’ve been presented with a full studio album from Irish band Two Door Cinema Club with their album Gameshow, but now with the release of two new tracks, we have something to look forward to. Last month, the trio debuted the first single, Talk from their anticipated new album and this week treated us with Satellite as well as the name of their fourth album, False Alarm, due for release on June 14, just before they perform at Glastonbury Festival this year. Satellite, like many of the tracks from the album, comments on the ‘safety in numbers’ attitude the world is falling into, whether that be political issues around the world or environmental impacts affecting all of us. Frontman and vocalist Alex Trimble is very excited to try something new with the album, saying “I love the pop thing I love experimenting and going to different places, I love doing things that are a little bit wonky and I love the idea of doing something we haven’t done before, why can’t we do all of those things at once?” With an infectious and funky pop beat moving the single, catchy hooks and that classic Two Door vocal style, the three lads are definitely giving fans what they’ve been waiting for. 

Holy Holy – Teach Me About Dying

Although it’s not a major change from their previous releases, Holy Holy’s latest track, Teach Me About Dying is a single that is showing real growth and flexibility in their artist ability. They’ve incorporated a fast-paced programmed beat that moves the song whilst complimenting the lead vocals as well as the backing vocals from pop-rock artists and Pilerats favourites, Ainslie Wills and Ali Barter. There’s a melancholy plead behind the lyrics as it builds to the main hook, “teach me about dying/so I can learn how to live” and makes listeners almost feel sympathetic towards the rock band. One half of the Aussie band, Timothy Carroll explains the song as “an exploration of the way in which our mortality affects our lives” and goes on to reveal that “although it is by definition morbid, remembering that we all die is actually a really important tenet by which to live.” Holy Holy are one of the many acts performing at Groovin the Moo this year, which kicks off this weekend in Wayville.

Thelma Plum – Better in Blak

Thelma Plum is embracing not only how far she has come as an indie-pop artist but also, who she is and where she has come from with her latest track, Better in Blak. Thelma Plum recently released Not Angry Anymore, and with the addition of Better in Blak, we’re getting an insight into what her upcoming debut album might sound like. Back in 2012, Plum won triple j’s National Indigenous Music Awards comp and today’s release only enforces how well deserving it was. It’s a cleverly layered song with warping guitar melodies and quick strums that move in response to Plum’s vocal hooks. Better in Blak is a positive song that shows the frustrations she feels as an indigenous woman and musician. “I wrote Better in Blak about my experiences with people trying to take the colour from the conversation. My colour is an important part of who I am, and over the last couple of years I’ve had people try and tell me “it’s not about colour” when obviously to me it is.” Thelma Plum is also featuring on the Groovin the Moo lineup and will also be taking the stage at Splendour In The Grass in July. 

Middle Kids – Beliefs & Prayers

Another talented band teasing singles from an upcoming larger release is Sydney’s Middle Kids, who have gifted fans with Beliefs & Prayers before the release of their upcoming mini-album, New Songs For Old Problems. It’s a warm, indie rock song, layered with the classic melodic guitar sounds and cymbal crashes that characteristically make up a Middle Kids track. The energetic single is a commentary on how relationships between people can be seen as fake or pretend and according to vocalist, Hannah Joy, “It’s rambunctious and intense and if it were a cheese it would be Roquefort.” Although the album will only feature six songs, if Beliefs & Prayers and their previous release Real Thing are anything to go by, it will be just as powerful as their first album, Lost Friends. After finishing up their Australian headline tour (each show sold out, btw), Middle Kids will be kicking off a massive tour around the US and UK, beginning on May 15.

CYN – Terrible Ideas

Imagine growing up in an average suburban life, focussing on getting a normal job with normal pay, sometimes uploading a cover or two on Youtube for fun only to have a random run-in with one of the industry’s biggest names. That’s exactly what happened to American singer-songwriter CYN when Katy Perry discovered her talent and gave her the opportunity of being signed to her label, Unsub Records. Cynthia Nabozny, or CYN as she prefers, was brought up listening to classic and historical voices like Doris Day and Carole King, voices that were definitely influential but lacked the powerful and punchy style that can be found in CYN’s latest track, Terrible Ideas. The single is a confident and racey tune that is driven by temptations and is definitely a shift from many of her other, much softer tracks (see I’ll Still Have Me and Alright). It includes heavy percussion and distorted guitar licks that reflects the artist she is growing into and the path she is moulding for herself.