JONES The Cat frontman Jack Watterson admits his wife Sophie hates his Newcastle punk band’s latest song, I Want You Still.
“I maintain it’s the angriest love song that anybody’s ever written,” Watterson said. “There’s this spoken word thing, which is basically me ranting.”
Jones The Cat will launch the track and its double A-side companion, Time Waster, at the Small Ballroom on Friday night.
It’ll be the four-piece’s first taste from their forthcoming EP, which will be released through Canadian independent label Dine Alone Records later this year.
The label release was part of Jones The Cat’s prize for winning last year’s Uni Sounds competition at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory.
Philadelphia Grand Jury frontman Simon Berckelman produced the music for the unnamed EP, while the vocals were recorded by Peter Holz (Gang Of Youths, Peking Duk).
“There’s a lot of argument about what the name of the EP should be,” Watterson joked.
Jones The Cat are also steadily building their Sydney fan base through a month-long Wednesday night residency at The Record Crate in Glebe.
BRAVE RETURN
CESSNOCK country star Travis Collins will follow-up his Golden Guitar-winning album Hard Light (2016) and collaboration with Amber Lawrence, Our Backyard (2017), by releasing his new album Brave & The Broken on Friday.
The first single off the album, High Horse, was released in May. Collins will launch the LP in his own backyard of Cessnock Leagues Club on Thursday night with support from Viper Creek Band and Mickey Pye. All proceeds from the night will be donated to drought-stricken farmers through Buy A Bale.
FARMERS HEARD
TRAVIS Collins isn’t the only member of the music industry digging deep. Newcastle’s new music festival Scene & Heard is offering 100 free tickets to farmers for its November 4 show at Wickham Park. Other punters at the festival will also be able to donate through collection tins towards the Buy A Bale charity, which helps to provide food for rural stock.
WORLDLY LEECE
NEWCASTLE alt-country troubadour Ben Leece is renown for his poetic lyrics, so it’s little wonder he’s chosen an intriguing title for his debut solo album. No Wonder The World Is Exhausted will be released on October 19 through alt-country indie label Stanley Records.
You can catch cuts from No Wonder The World Is Exhausted, like lead single Villains, on Friday when Leece and his band Left Of The Dial perform at the Stag and Hunter Hotel.
B WISE COMING UP
SYDNEY emerging hip-hop artist B Wise will be dropping beats at the Cambridge Hotel on October 6 during his Area Famous national tour.
The Nigerian-Australian recently premiered his new single Actin’ Different and smooth funk version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ classic Under The Bridge for triple j’s Like A Version.
FOR THE RECORD
GET that spare cash ready vinyl lovers because the needle drops on the bi-annual Hunter Record Fair on Saturday at Kotara High School. Thousands of new and second-hand vinyl records are on sale across all genres.
