New Weird Australia Volume Five: A Sonic Freakshow That Sticks With You
If you’re looking for an album that feels like your brain got rewired by a rogue satellite signal from another dimension, New Weird Australia Volume Five is your ticket. Released in 2010 on the New Weird Australia label (duh), this compilation throws genres into a blender and hits "puree." It’s not just electronic or rock—it’s avant-garde chaos wrapped up in chiptune bleeps, lo-fi fuzz, dark ambient whispers, and indie rock grit. And yeah, it’s messy—but isn’t life?
The masterminds behind the madness? Danny Jumpertz and Stuart Buchanan pulled together these tracks while Kris Keogh handled the artwork. Together they’ve created something that feels less like a curated playlist and more like a fever dream of what Australian underground music could sound like if left to its own devices.
Now let me tell ya about two tracks that really stuck with me. First off, there’s “You Knight”—and holy crap, does this thing hit hard. Imagine glitchy beats wrestling with distorted vocals while some kind of cosmic synth choir cheers them on. The whole thing feels like trying to tune an old TV antenna but instead of static, you find alien transmissions. Every time I hear it, I get this weird mix of excitement and unease, like walking through a haunted arcade at 3 AM. It’s chaotic, sure, but also strangely beautiful. Like when you accidentally spill paint and somehow create art.
Then there’s “I Would Die 4 U (Prince Cover)”, which…wow. Just wow. I mean, covering Prince is no small task, right? But whoever tackled this turned it inside out. They stripped away all the slickness and replaced it with raw edges—a moody, almost industrial vibe that makes you forget you’re listening to a cover. At first, I wasn’t even sure it was the same song. By the end, though, I was convinced it might actually be better than the original. Don’t @ me—I said what I said.
What’s wild about this album is how unpredictable it feels. One moment you’re vibing to garage rock riffs, the next you’re drowning in musique concrète soundscapes. Tracks like “Hex River Valley” feel like staring at a post-apocalyptic sunset, while “Skin Destruction” sounds exactly like its title suggests—painful yet oddly satisfying. There’s no comfort zone here; every track keeps you guessing.
But honestly? That’s what makes New Weird Australia Volume Five so damn special. It doesn’t try to fit neatly into any box because boxes are boring. Instead, it challenges you to embrace the weird, the broken, and the unpolished parts of music—and maybe even yourself. Listening to this album feels like finding a hidden door in your house and deciding to open it, even though you know whatever’s behind it will probably freak you out.
So go ahead, press play. Just don’t blame me if you start hearing echoes of “You Knight” in your sleep. Oh, and one last thing—don’t skip the Prince cover unless you want to miss out on pure genius. Trust me on this one.
