September in WA Music: SLUMBERJACK, Dennis Cometti, TWERL + more

The West Australian music scene has well and truly been shining in a lane of its own and its time we shed some light on the talented artists, making their name in and around Perth. Take a look at a few artists we are loving at the moment that are creating sounds that are cleverly defining WA’s music scene (in addition to the others we've talked about throughout the month too, from Sly Withers and COTERIE to Crooked Colours and Carrington. 

SLUMBERJACK - Poison feat. Sydnee Carter 

2020 has been a big year for both SLUMBERJACK and Sydnee Carter, even amongst the madness that has been this year. SLUMBERJACK went into the year sky-high, and even though their touring plans probably didn't go exactly to plan, they have kept focused and fierce with the release of a new EP Black & Blue at the start of this year, following a string of releases since: a remix of G Flip's Killing My Time, and Surrender a few months back. Sydnee Carter, meanwhile, has guest-collaborated on several tracks too, while a song of her own made it to the final round of Tones and I's COVID-centric discovery competition.

The two have collaborated throughout the past, but their new single together - titled Poison, released last week - is a peak of their collaborative friendship, and one that really shows their respective strengths and how it shines when they come together. It's anthemic but with a certain newfound polish and sheen; one that shows SLUMBERJACK starting to move away from their most heavy-footed dance roots in favour for something that grapples with this more pop-centric, "high-definition" - as they call it - sound. "It’s been a long time since we’ve felt this in tune with a track - it represents everything we’ve been working towards as musicians over the year," the duo say.

Dennis Cometti - WAXIT 

The fact that Dennis Cometti as a band name even exists in enough to make them worthy of Perth's musical peaks, but the fact that they're a brilliant band makes it so much easier to say that we absolutely adore them. The trio are a culmination of some of Perth's best and most fun live bands coming together to jam out on the side, and the end result is some of the best, DIY gritty rock there is. As shown in their past few records, their music is often short but explosive; two-minute bursts of energy that get the point across and leave your head spinning in its wake.

Their new one WAXIT is no different, launching into two-minutes of feverish guitar and thick-coated vocals that this time around, speak of Western Australia leaving the greater national federation BREXIT-style - so we can 1) get our own slice of the pie that we have to often have to share with the east coast and 2) to purely piss of Clive Palmer. It's a taste of their forthcoming new record out October 23rd and by the sounds of it, it's going to be quite a journey.

TWERL & Heimanu - Night Rider 

Three months ago, we got news that Shockone had launched his own record label titled Dark Machine Records. It makes sense, too. The Perth dance music legend has long one-upped and supported the next generation of Perth's electronic and pop spaces, whether that be through remixes or guest features right down to sharing their songs on social media and what-not else. Someone that knows this is TWERL, the Perth-based producer who across the last few years has become one of the city's stand-outs both in recording and on the stage, supporting acts like Alison Wonderland through Asia and more.

He's kept busy through 2020 with a string of releases that started with the bushfire-fundraising mega-collab Inferno - that brought TWERL together with SLUMBERJACK, Shockone, Loston and HWLS - and now Night Rider keeps this continuing, marking TWERL's arrival on Dark Machine Records. Night Rider is an exciting arrival from TWERL that links him up with Sydney-based musician Heimanu for a moment of musical experimentation, pushing the boundaries of bass music while further evolving their own respective styles in new directions. "When ShockOne told us he was starting a new label, we knew we had the perfect track," they say on the song. "Night Rider’s dark and moody tone sounded like it would be a great fit for Dark Machine Records."

Cosy - Buttons

In terms of the next generation of Perth's live music scene, it's hard to see a future that doesn't have Cosy at its core. The three-piece are the result of a string of projects across the years - Noah Dillon, New Nausea, Haircare, Prascilla - condensed into a new one that debuted with their 2018-released debut EP Borrowed State, something the group have constantly built from ever since with a pair of singles throughout 2020 thus far. The first one - titled Blue - was a breath of fresh air that their second track, the new-arriving Buttons, further evolves upon, carving a late-highlight for the year in the process.

Buttons is a long-winding, five-minute journey that explores the depths of emotionally-potent indie-rock at its most brilliant, with pacing guitars and gentle, near-hazy vocals exploring these natural and ebbs flows; the song contrasting between gentle acoustic break-downs and fiery, maximalist choruses within the space of just a few minutes. It's a journey that really introduces the band and their high-tier songwriting - and with the amount of growth we've seen within this space since their debut EP, we're sure there's plenty more of that coming too.

Segue - I Get It

Perth synth-pop duo Segue technically dropped their last EP at the tail-end of August, but it's a release that's really grown on us over the last month, hence its inclusion here today. I Get It is a brilliant set of seven tracks that really see the dance-pop pairing shine at their brightest to-date, embracing the warm energy of dancing synthesiser and upbeat percussion only to mix it with these personal and intimate vocals that really throw it into a new dimension, taking us outside of the usual synth-pop-like dimensions in favour of something new and uniquely Segue.

And wow, what an adventure it is. Across the span of the EP, the group move between the peaks and valleys of dancing synth-pop, capturing distinct eras of the musical niche's evolution through the 80s, 90s and into current-day as they craft a storm of dancing melodies that really underlay the entire EP - even at its most subtle and stripped-back moments. It feels nostalgic and forward-thinking all in one - something that really summarises everything Segue does better than we could ever explain.