HTRK

HTRK have curated the lineup for their Castlemaine debut, inviting The Lewers (Sydney) as special guest.

Over the last 12 months, the Australian duo of Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang dwelled on their decades-long history through worldwide touring, reissues of their 2009 full-length debut “Marry Me Tonight” and 2021's beloved “Rhinestones”, physical installations of “Psychic 9-5 Club” in Melbourne & New York, and covers by friends and fans such as Loraine James and Double Virgo on the “String of Hearts EP”. Now, HTRK share the drifting, sensuous ooze of “Swimming Pool,” a slow dissolution into serenely uncertain and diaphanous depths, and its stunning B-side, “Puddles on My Pillow. ” Always in flux, always poised to melt, HTRK continue to sound out splendid turmoil as only they can.

The Lewers are the absolute cream of wistful careworn Sydney pop. Their music feels like it's always existed and yet new, like a fresh spectre. They'll crumple your heart into their back pocket with gloomy insouciance. A Sydney supergroup of sorts, they emerge blinking into the sunblasted desolation. Between them, there's decades of experimental/punk/ennui-laden pop experience. Yuta Matsamura and Sarah Davis sing like they're carrying an ocean around inside them, careful not to spill a drop. It's the kind of cultivated quiet suffering that makes you loath to intrude. It's just the reserved sadness of someone who knows their own mind.