Melbourne’s Cool Sounds make records that move deftly and playfully through indie-rock, pop, and alt-country. The band are defined by their signature guitar lines, as catchy as any chorus, as well as a beloved live show that sees six musicians crowded onstage. Lead singer and songwriter Dainis Lacey has been making music as Cool Sounds for years, but the band found a unique sound on their 2018 album Cactus Country and 2019’s More To Enjoy, which was nominated for the AIR Award for Best Independent Country Album. On Bystander, the new album out February 12, Cool Sounds are more attuned to their surroundings than ever: written during a European summer and recorded in three weeks over the following Australian one, Bystander isn’t always as laid back as the warm weather might suggest. With more of a focus on lyrics than ever before, Bystander, is at turns introspective, self-aware, irreverent and unflinchingly observant. All of the band’s essential elements are here – those guitar licks, vocal melodies that dip and spike then smooth out, and clever, understated rhythmic changes – but as lyrics are brought to the forefront, the band’s agile, elastic arrangements feel all the more essential.

Cool Sounds will launch 'Bystander' at The Vanguard in Newtown with friends Flowertruck on Saturday May 29th.