High Tension’s Karina Utomo on processing grief and trauma through metal Photo by Tracey Lee Hayes
WORDS BY AUGUST BILLY
Turning Heads podcast
Turning Heads episode 26 features an interview with Karina Utomo from Melbourne metal band High Tension. Utomo co-founded the band in 2012 with guitarist Ash Pegram, who she’d previously played with in Canberra band Young and Restless. Their first album,
Death Beat, came out in 2013 via Cooking Vinyl Australia.
The band’s popularity grew with 2015’s
Bully, landing a spot on the 2016 Laneway tour and establishing a large international following. Following
Bully, Pegram was replaced by guitarist Mike Deslandes, while Lauren Hammel joined as the band’s new drummer (Utomo and bass player Matt Weston are the band’s two remaining original members.)
Poppy - I Disagree (Sumerian)
Rina Sawayama - Sawayama (Dirty Hit)
Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar (Domino)
Food House - Food House (Dog Show)
HMLTD - West of Eden (Lucky Number)
Thundercat - It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
Deerhoof - Future Teenage Cave Artists (Joyful Noise)
Conway the Machine - From King to a GOD (Griselda/Drumwork/Empire)
Ash Koosha - Bluud (Realms)
Boldy James - The Price of Tea in China (Deluxe Edition) (ALC / Boldy James)
Deerhoof - Love-Lore (Joyful Noise & Deerhoof)
Carl Stone - Stolen Car (Electro-Acoustic Music (ASCAP))
The Soft Pink truth - Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? (Thrill Jockey)
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A synopsis of ‘Look Away’ describes how the collaboration between Deap Vally and jennylee came together. “Julie [Edwards, drummer] has known jennylee since the early 2000s, when they met through friends at the Mustard Seed Cafe in Los Feliz, before either woman even played an instrument.
“Years later, Lindsey and jennylee bonded over a bonfire at a birthday celebration at Brody Dalle and Josh Homme’s house.”
See the tracklisting for the new EP, which is the first of a number of Deap Vally projects to arrive in 2021, below.
01 Look Away (with jennylee (Warpaint))
02 Digital Dream (with Soko, Zach Dawes (Mini Mansions))
Verdict: Pithy character studies
Rating:
The start of a new year is traditionally the time to pinpoint pop s up-and-coming names. And despite a pandemic that has wreaked havoc with the touring circuit and club scene, fresh voices are still making themselves heard, with live streams and new albums.
One rising star to watch is Los Angeles singer-songwriter Pearl Charles, whose second album, Magic Mirror, is a feelgood stroll through some classic American styles, including country-soul, 1960s pop and 1970s rock. Out today on independent label Kanine, it s a record to banish the blues.
Charles, 29, isn t a complete newcomer. The former music student cut her teeth with LA country duo The Driftwood Singers and drummed with garage-rock band The Blank Tapes before turning solo in 2012. She has since toured with Father John Misty and Best Coast, anchoring her music firmly in American indie rock.
Hi folks!
Since I have now completed my two countdown radio shows for the Top 50 albums of 2020 see the big takeover “radio” button above to hear one song from each! here is my complete list of the 180 best albums, 100 best archive/retrospective/reissue releases, and 100 best stand-alone singles and EPs of this previous year my best bets on another great year for music, old and new.
And in one of the worst years of our lifetimes, here’s a small tip of my well-worn ballcap in profound gratitude to the artists below, for giving us this music to listen to while stuck at home. Perhaps half the below had already been recorded and was in process before COVID-19 shut us all down, which also curtailed many a scheduled recording session to go with all the cancelled tours.