STACK #264 October 2026

PREVIEWS MUSIC

Whether it’s a voyage of musical discovery or a sonic reacquaintance with a favourite band or artist, check out these fresh releases heading to JB this month.

AUSSIE RELEASES

THE BUOYS Concrete Cowboy SONY The Buoys celebrate their tenth anniversary with the release of their second album. Fronted by Zoe Catterall, The Buoys bring that

ELLA HOOPER Overnight Success MGM Ella Hooper knows a thing or two about overnight success. Still a teenager when Killing Heidi soared to number one, remarkably, she

classic ’90s anthemic alt-rock sound alive in 2026. Explaining the title, the band says: “We were in the studio together when the phrase came to us: too many tabs open. Concrete Cowboy is about trying to keep pace with a world that never slows down, and what you find when you finally stop.” FANNY LUMSDEN Traditions RED DIRT ROAD RECORDS Traditions comes nearly a decade after 2023’s Hey Dawn , which saw Fanny win her second ARIA for ‘Best Country Album’. A deeply personal collection, the artist set herself a challenge – recording each song in a single take, including a duet with Paul Kelly, By the River . “Traditions and families are messy,” Fanny notes. But Traditions is a delight. Fanny Lumsden won the ‘New Talent’ title at Tamworth’s Golden Guitar awards, and follows

has lived to tell the tale. And what a survival story it is. “Even down in the rubble, I know I’ll be okay,” she declares on her third solo album. Yes, growing up is hard to do, but Ella Hooper has managed to transition from teen star to quality Americana storyteller. This Overnight Success has been hard-won. GLENN SHORROCK of this rock ’n’ roll soldier’s remarkable career, with every band represented, including What’s Wrong with the Way I Live (The Twilights), A Little Ray of Sunshine, Arkansas Grass (Axiom), and Help Is on Its Way, Cool Change, and Reminiscing (LRB), plus covers of the Beatles’ Paperback Writer , Bobby Darin’s Dream Lover, and Little Feat’s Let It Roll . Yep, legendary. #1 DADS Every Little Fire Pieater fourth album. Tom is now a dad of two, and this record follows his relocation from Melbourne to London. “It has been an insane, wonderful, chaotic, intense, and joyful period of my life,” he says, “and this album has been born of these experiences.” SYCCO Look Up FUTURE CLASSIC Sycco – 25-year-old Aussie artist Sasha McLeod - ventured to a farm on the Mornington Peninsula to record her second album with co-producer Oscar Sharah, where she discovered her true self. “I tricked myself into thinking that what I should be feeling is how I actually feel,” she says. The result is a synthpop record that’s raw and revealing. Legendary (The Ultimate Collection) AMBITION This double-disc live album – recorded at the Taylors Lakes Hotel in Melbourne in 2003 – provides a snapshot What started as a side project for Big Scary’s Tom Iansek is now an established act, with Every Little Fire the #1 Dads’

BIL Y’S PICK

TOM WAITS Small Change ANTI

W hat makes a great singer? Is it an ability to hit notes only dogs can hear? For me, it’s not that. And it’s not the range, pitch or technique that are so important to a popular music vocalist. It’s their emotional communication and sincerity. When singer/songwriter Tom Waits released his first album in 1973 his influences included Bob Dylan, cocktail jazz, the beat-derived wordplay of Jack Kerouac, the blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins, and the humour of Lenny Bruce. His fourth album, Small Change , now released as a 50th anniversary edition on opaque turquoise vinyl, displays his development as a songwriter while emphasising his gift as a master storyteller. The songs, including The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me), Bad Liver and a Broken Heart, Tom Traubert’s Blues, and Pasties and a G-String , speak for themselves. P.S. Other songs Tom Waits has written have been covered by the Eagles, Meat Loaf, Rod Stewart, Tim Buckley, Dion, Bob Seger, the Ramones, Johnny Cash, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Tori Amos, Rosanne Cash, and Joan Baez.

LITTLE QUIRKS She’s Wild ADA GLOBAL Little Quirks discover their rockier side on their second album – check out the guitar-driven title track. The group, from Gosford, featuring sisters

Abbey and Mia Toole, is all grown-up and singing self-assured songs about self-discovery. “The record is built around the uncertainty of navigating relationships and independence in your twenties,” the band explains.

OLD MERVS Carparks DEW PROCESS Carparks is a fast follow-up for Old Mervs, coming a year after their self-titled debut, which was a Top 5 hit on the Aussie charts.

The WA duo – David House and Henry Carrington-Jones - remain as likeable and as accessible as ever. The title of one of the singles, Old Friend , is appropriate. Old Mervs are the Aussie blokes you’d love to have a beer with.

TORI FORSYTH Self Preservation ISLAND RECORDS AUSTRALIA A lot of living has led to Tori Forsyth’s fourth album. She had a nasty car accident, her five

WAY DYNAMIC Massive Shoe WAY DYNAMIC The third album for Melbourne’s Way Dynamic (the recording name for multi instrumentalist Dylan Young) is getting a

physical release after its global streaming success. Listeners have embraced the idiosyncratic indie folk. The title alludes to the fact that you always have “bigger shoes to fill”. But Way Dynamic is sounding just fine doing his own thing.

year relationship broke down, her dog died, and her dad ended up in ICU while she was touring the US. No wonder she called the album Self Preservation . “The best things never last,” she sings in You and Me . But the Aussie country artist is making music that will endure.

Coming in NOVEMBER DELTA GOODREM Pure (Nov 6) SHERYL CROW Pick You Up (Nov 20) MIDNIGHT OIL Head Injuries (Live at Selina’s) (Nov 27)

Radio legend Billy Pinnell presents Billy Pinnell’s Musical Moments on YouTube.

75