36 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com July, 2017SOUNDS LIKE:Bruising riot grrrl
anthems extended and intensifi ed
FOR FANS OF: Sleater-Kinney, the
Peep Tempel, X-Ray Spex
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY AT-
TENTION: Cable Ties are one of
the fi ercest and most respected
bands in Melbourne right now.
Formed to play a backyard
festival hosted by singer/guitar-
ist Jenny McKechnie’s other
band, Wet Lips, the trio cut their
teeth playing small rooms like
Melbourne’s the Old Bar. But in
the past year they’ve suddenly
found themselves supporting
the Kills, kicking off the rite-of-
passage Meredith festival and
even landing Triple J rotation for
their acidic six-minute single “The
Producer”. It’s easy to credit their
raw power to the fi re-breathing
force of McKechnie’s voice, which
can casually jump from sustained
growl to blaring scream, but just
as crucial is the band’s growing
emphasis on gnashing repetitionand pointed social com-
mentary. Released through
reliable indie label Poison
City, their self-titled debut
album confi dently takes
down corporate culture
(“Say What You Mean”) and
claustrophobic peer groups
(“Fish Bowl”) over the
course of eight marathon
rhythmic workouts nodding
to both fl inty post-punk and
churning Krautrock.
THEY SAY: “It’s a prod-
uct of us learning to play
together,” says bassist Nick
Brown of intense epics like
the 10-minute “Paradise”.
When he fi rst convened with
McKechnie and drummer Shauna
Boyle, those two hadn’t played
those instruments before – and he
hadn’t been in a band in years. “So
we spent a lot of time just jam-
ming on the same riff s,” he says.
“When we locked into something,
it felt nice to push it out.” Hecredits producer Paul Maybury
with knowing their live sound and
making sure the album refl ects
that. As for kicking goals like Mer-
edith and the Kills support, Brown
beams: “It makes you think you’re
doing something that translates
to people that aren’t in your im-
mediate community of friends. Itfelt like we were bigger than three
people having a jam.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF: “Cut Me
Down” typifi es Cable Ties’ tense,
unrelenting drive as well as McK-
echnie’s barnstorming presence
and defi ant lyrics like “I’m not
crazy/I’m just not backing down”.
DOUG WALLENCable Ties
SOUNDS LIKE: A hushed exchange outside a
pounding club
FOR FANS OF: Early Grimes, Arthur Russell,
Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION: Welsh-
born Kelly Lee Owens began working in a
cancer treatment hospital while still a teenager
until patients and doctors urged her to chase
her dream of music. Owens soon worked as an
intern at XL Records, played bass in indie rock
bands and took a job at a record shop, before
she fell in love with the analog gear at co-work-
er Daniel Avery’s studio. She began focusing
on her own emotional take on electronic music.
Her track “Arthur” recently soundtracked an
Alexander McQueen runway show.
SHE SAYS: “People at the end of their lives
would tell me, ‘If this is what you dream of,
don’t be like me regretting what you didn’t do,
go do it’,” Owens says. “When I’m in the studio,
writing and producing, it feels like absolutely
what I’m supposed to be doing. I feel most at
peace.” An indie rock fan, Owens at fi rst as-
sumed that dance music was easy to make and
didn’t respect it. That perspective has changed,
but she still works with analog gear instead of
plug-ins. “I felt that there was something a bit
more emotive that could be coaxed out of elec-
tronic sounds. I wanted to bridge that world
to where the human and meditative element
comes through.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF: The ethereal “Throw-
ing Lines” is percolation like Cocteau Twins’
Elizabeth Fraser meets the Chicago house of
Mr. Fingers. ANDY BETAKelly Lee
Owens