'Cable Ties' Provide Even More Proof That It Is A Great Time For Music From Down Under

You may not have been paying attention, it can be hard to dig up good albums here in the United States at times,  but Australia has one of the consistently interesting (and best) music scenes in the world.

Every year, at least three or four Australian bands make it into my top 20 albums of the year and this year will likely be no exception. And this year, one of my favorite new-to-me Australian bands is the punk/post-punk trio ‘Cable Ties’ and one of my favorite Australian albums of 2017 so far is their self-titled debut released on Poison City Records.

The band Cable Ties is made up of Jenny McKechnie (vocals/guitar), Nick Brown (bass), Shauna Boyle (drums) and they formed in 2015.  They were originally formed to play a backyard party celebrating Jenny McKechnie’s other band Wet Lips but have taken these humble accidental origins all the way from playing small bars to supporting acts like The Kills and Camp Cope on recent tours.

The best thing about the album is it sounds like they could have literally just plugged in and started playing just down the street, the album sounds present and urgent and real (If you turn the sound up gradually, it will feel like there is a garage show you can catch down the street if you hurry).

Cable Ties seem to seamlessly jump back and forth between post-punk structures to stripped-down punk primal screaming and then back again. On one of my favorite tracks “Say What You Mean,” Ms. McKechnie screams out, “I am not a production unit, I’m a human being” over and over again with varying degrees of intensity and you can feel her frustration and anger. If you have ever felt frustrated by your workplace or job experience this is the perfect song to sing along to.

McKechnie has said that singing in the band is very much like her powerful-self singing songs to her more insecure-self, which actually makes a lot of sense to me. Anyway, I picked the song ‘Sheets’ for the playlist both because it is a really great song and because it was the first Cable Ties song that I ever heard. My first reaction was to ask, “Who the Hell is that” which usually means I really like a band.

Hope you enjoy Cable Ties as much as I did! Check out the playlist and Explore, Enjoy, and Share Music!

The Endless Creature Groove Spotify Playlist

Every week I put out a new curated playlist for your listening enjoyment.

You can "Just Hit Play" and check back throughout the week to find out more about the featured artists on the playlist. Yesterday, it was a story about Arcade Fire’s new album and who knows what tomorrow will bring.