New Music Review #27: ‘Ice Cold’ by Armlock

Do you love the 90s? Of course you do! And Armlock is here to give you everything you’ve been missing.

‘Ice Cold’ is a killer track that will give you whispers of My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins, Interpol, maybe even a little Pinkerton-era Weezer – but trust me, this song is so much more than a nostalgia trip.

It will leave you spellbound.

Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell met studying jazz at Melbourne’s Monash University, before forming Armlock and releasing their debut record in 2021. ‘Ice Cold’ is the lead single for their follow up album, due out this year.

It’s utterly transportive – a downcast dreamscape that takes you on a swirling, aimless amble down into its soulful melancholic heartbeat. It’s moody and eerie, captivating and hypnotic.

The subtle squeals of feedback echo over an entrancing bassline that serves as both the anchor and the propulsion, as Simon’s delicate vocal searches with soldierly dedication.

It’s beauty and sadness, solitude and stillness, technicolour greyscale. Sink into it.

And a few others:

‘We’re A Pair Of Diamonds’ by Ruel and DMA’s: Who saw a Ruel/DMA’s team-up coming in 2024? Certainly not me. But holy cow, it’s bloody perfect. Elegiac and soaring, mournful and life-affirming, it marries the pop stylings of its collaborators better than I could possibly have imagined.

‘Check Mate’ by The Buoys: A driving whack of nostalgic rock, with verses that twist in the wind until they are stopped dead in their tracks by a punch of a chorus that is custom built to be shouted by a rapturous live audience.

‘Texas Ain’t That Far, Is It Dear?’' by Jem Cassar-Daley: Country-pop is absolutely having a moment right now, and I can only hope that means Jem Cassar-Daley gets her well-deserved spotlight. This track is shimmering, gorgeous indie country buoyed by with Cassar-Daley’s typical combo of stunning vocals and enchanting storytelling.