(Spouse is aware this month’s post is a bit late – we sincerely apologise and will punish the perpetrators appropriately.)

EM

This month was nice and peaceful for me! Lots of socialising and enjoying time with my friends, including a very sweet (though short) adventure with the lovely Adeladians AYM on their 7 hour layover in Melbourne on their way to their exciting UK/EU tour! This included one of the many trips to Luther’s this month (Banoffee pie I love you forever). My lovely friend Harry visited from Canberra, Ethne and I took him to the Espy (another Brunswick fave) and went for a lovely dinner at Teta Mona (big recommend, its an awesome Lebanese spot on Lygon st). I also went to Sydney for a very nice weekend and solo set at Mary’s Underground (played with Thom Bastick, Local Tough Guy and Pictures with Yuki). I always eat amazingly in Sydney as I get to stay with my awesome brother Hiroki and sister-in-law Ellen, who treat me to wonderful cooking and dining out at the best spots in town. This time we revisited this fantastic Korean hand-cut-noodle spot in Strathfield that Hiroki and I used to go to as kids, it still looks the exact same as it did in 2010 and is very legit with very fresh Kimchi, (here’s the map pin)

The final weekend of May was fantastic, I went up to Canberra to see friends and go to the Slavic Ball at the Polish club, it was also a slightly sadder goodbye to my lovely friend Jye as he is off to Italy to go on exchange. Straight back to Melbourne with Jenna and Daan to go see Wednesday – had a lovely time with a big gang of Ella, Ash, Ellie, Ezra, Josh, Max, Aidan, Daan. 

A gig I saw this month:

I got to see Hana Stretton perform at Bell City! It was a very tightly packed and intimate (I kinda hate this word in this context but I can’t think of a better one) show, but the whole audience really locked in together and stood quietly to take it all in. I actually couldn’t get into the room for the opener – Alice Barlow – because it was sold out and those who made it in early were enjoying her set sitting on the floor. I managed to snake my way to the front – I went alone so I didn’t feel too bad about this – and enjoyed a really breathtaking and moving set. Watching the recorded songs I’d listened to so many times played just-as, if not even more beautifully right in front of me was really special. Hana was very charming and funny, and I managed to snag a setlist! I walked back to my car grinning like an idiot.

Amazing amazing AMAZING gig at Max Watts watching Wednesday – who honestly might be my favourite band of all time. It was really fun jumping and moshing and screaming the whole time, watching the band and the crowd have a really good time. Karly played Cody’s Only and Ghost of a Dog which is a big deal for me as a fierce Twin Plagues fan. She’s another amazing story teller and very charming. There was one very cute moment during “Townies” where I was jumping in the mosh and looked to either side of me and Ezra Josh and Daan appeared out of nowhere and we all yelled and jumped together. Spouse loves Wednesday I wish Emmett was there too.

Seeing two of my all-time favourite artists in one month is really amazing, I love music!!

A movie I watched this month:

Hokum – 8/10

I went to see this with my friend Darcy at Cinema Nova! I remember loving the directors other movies and enjoying them with Felix and Emmett, he does a great and particularly Irish take on the fake-out jump scare, which is to say he makes you think the movie wont be that scary because the first few scares are a bit silly, but then he shows you something truly haunting right towards the end. They also handed out these cute pieces of chalk in reference to part of the movie at the end. 

An album I listened to this month:

Soon – Hana Stretton (10/10). 

This album scored every drive I made between Canberra and Melbourne last year (I think there were upwards of 20 of these), and a lot of restless nights. Soft, warm, lonely and full of love at the same time, this album kept me company many times in a year that felt quite lonely. It was a big transitional and in-between-things year, I really felt detached/the physical distance from my family as I was finishing up uni and trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do with myself next. Anyways, this album always made me feel calm and helped me relax into loneliness. 

For Love of Grace & the Hereafter – Iceage (7/10)

This one only gets a brief mention as it only came out at the end of march, but it has some really fun moments! There are other times where it loses me, and feels a bit like what I think Danish people imagine American music is? I need to sit on it for longer but special highlight is Star and Match Head Girl ( both songs make me want to run and jump). 

A book I read this month:

I finally finished Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut! I’d give it a 7/10, really fun stylistic choices and a refreshing approach to sci-fi/armageddon which I’d never seen before. It was more about people and character than the events, and he wrote a really beautiful part about the mating dance of the blue footed booby, which inspired a new song for me. 

I’ve started reading two books in tandem, though they should not at all be considered related. First is Black Skin, White Mask by Franz Fanon, which I have studied many times across uni but haven’t sat down to actually read the whole thing. Second is The Constant Gardner by John le Carre, which is mainly a brain resetter/light hearted read. Constant Gardner is surreal so far as it’s set in Nairobi, and mentions Muthaiga several times, a suburb I lived in for three years when I was a little kid. Both of these books are surfacing a nagging itch to go and do my honours at uni, but its still too soon and the prospect of doing post-grad in an AI infested time isn’t appealing enough to make me enroll at this time. Sorry mum and dad 😦

A photo I took this month:

The lovely ladies of the Polish Ball (very drunk and sitting outside the Polish Club)

EMMETT

Ok ballers

May was fun, a lot of music and a lot of travel, it was great. Def caught up to me by the end of it all tho.

Started the month with a going away party for our friend Eve which was awesome, I wore a superman shirt. Played 3 Limo gigs, 3, Tommy gigs, and 2 atlast gigs which was very fun. Daan was away all of may tho so we brought along some friends for the atlast sets, (Thank u Nina, Katie, and JP) 

All the limo sets were in Newcastle and Ive decided I just wanna get all of our Newcastle friends and move them to cbr. It’s a bummer that we don’t get to see each other on a regular basis but this past month of travel was really lovely to reconnect with them all.

Hoping we get to travel a bit more frequently up there and down to Melb soon, would love to have semi regular coffee with them all. 

A movie I watched this month:

me and Nell watched all of off campus lol, it was kinda great but I’m a sucker for that genre 

An album I listened to this month:

Katie gave me some cds for a bit after one of the Newcastle trips,

Forever is a feeling – Lucy dacus 

Stranger in the alps – pheobe bridgers

I’ve heard them both in th past but having them on repeat in the bus has been great

Listened to original pirate material by the streets again recently, still one of if not the best album of all time

A game I played this month:

Felix and I played a lot of backrooms, some guy named Christopher jumped on to our game and we spend a few hours trying to get him killed lol

A photo I took this month:

I can’t pick a photo so here’s a few

• top left – gang on the way to Newcastle
• top right – Daan and Eve on big screen live from Bristol
• main pic – me and Felix put my old stereo in the bus so we got Bluetooth now!
• bottom right – em blocking me from taking a pic of their sausage at Tilly’s 

EZRA

Sorry in advance ya’ll this month’s special interest is Dune, I have consumed almost entirely Dune. I have thought about Dune way too much. This will be a Dune heavy post. 

Other than that the Wednesday show slammed, if you can fucking believe it they had a song named ‘Dune two’. 

I actually got to meet Karly from Wednesday while walking around the city before the gig, she was very nice and asked where I was from because she thought I was american. Then she asked if there were any specific songs I wanted to hear and I got caught in the hipster trap of whether you ask for a deep cut (you know, so she knows I know what’s up), or if I ask for something newer (because they’ll probably be more excited to play their newer stuff). 

Anyway I asked for Wasp which they were gonna play anyway, and then while dancing to it later on that evening, noticed that the pants I was wearing have an elastic used to tighten the ankles, which when everyone around you is jumping means you get the sensation of being lightly grasped every few seconds as someone steps on the elastic and tightens your pants against you best wishes, and kind of lightly anchors you to the ground. I felt a little like a balloon with a little concrete weight under it. Let your boy jump. Wasp rips though. 

A movie I watched this month:

Now would you believe I done watched Dune part one. You’ll hear more about it in my book I read section. Suffice to say, it was a big old Duney time. 

An album I listened to this month:

I’m big on the new Slayyyter album. Have been going back through Wednesday again. But the albums I keep playing are Sound of Silver and This is Happening. I’ve got drum machines on the brain and LCD Soundsystem is scratching a very particular itch. They have no songs about Dune (As far as i’m aware but am open to being proven wrong). 

A book I read this month:

Well I’ve read Dune haven’t I, and believe it or not also Dune: Messiah. I did(n’t) enjoy Dune, it’s some of the most conflicted I’ve been like, in the actual process of reading. 

Cause like, don’t get me wrong, the world building, the setting, all that, chef’s kiss, and considering the time it came out it’s pretty unbelievable. That being said, it’s kind of a mean spirited book. I saw someone say it lacks grace, I think I agree with that. 

Like, IMO he kinda rubs your nose in it. 

However I was immediately compelled to read the next one and watch the movies soooo. In retrospect I like it a lot more than I did while reading it. I think it’s one of those things that’s more fun to think about than to actually read. 

A photo I took this month:

No joke I didn’t take any photos this month, I’m getting worse at taking photos, I never think to. It’s really annoying. Below is an artists representation of a nightmare I had because I started a new medication which affects you sleep and gives you vivid dreams. It was kind of like a baby mobile with nothing hanging off the strings and it was looking at me. At the moment it made me jump out of my skin but in retrospect I think it’s kinda cute. 

DAAN

This month I was in Europe! I spent a week in Greece with family (shoutouts), couch surfed in Groningen, became good friends with my host, spent time with my cousin, went to the UK to visit Eve, went back to the Netherlands and did lots of stuff in between! It was a crazy three weeks so it’s nice to be back now with friends and settling back into my routine. Ezra & I are moving house this month so life’s a little crazy rn trying to get ahead and sort out myself for that at the end of the month.

A gig I went to:

 I was very lucky to get to see Wednesday with Em, Josh & Ezra this month. Wednesday is a huge Spouspiration and has been a big through line in our friendship. It was really special to be able to share that together. They even played Ghost Of A Dog which is one of my fav Wednesday songs. Was a fantastic show and I’m off to see them again in Sydney with Max soon. 

While in Amsterdam I went to a show at this punk squat called Vrankrijk and saw NN17, an Utrecht powerviolence band 

A movie I watched this month:

I watched La La Land on the plane for the first time. I know I’m 10 years too late but it rules! I also watched this awesome french movie called “Shepards” which made me want to drop everything and heard sheep through the mountains. 

An album I listened to this month:

While abroad I listened to a lot of Twerps, Julia Jacklin, Carla Geneve, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding & Florry. In particular I really rinsed ‘Learn To Like It’ by Carla Geneve. I used to listen to CG a lot after Lily Morris (shoutouts) put me onto her first single back in 2018. I’d forgotten about her until recently but have really fallen back in love with her songwriting again. Also new School Fair album rules.

A book I read this month:

I finally finished ‘The Power Of One’! And loved it. Read 2 more books while in Europe. Firstly I started revisiting a book series I loved as a kid. It’s a Young Adult series, called ‘Special Operations’ by Craig Simpson, about 3 friends who get involved in the Norwegian resistance in WW2. I wanted to revisit them as an adult and I’m pleased to announce that they are just as fun as they were when I was a kid. Really easy reads with plenty of excitement to keep the pages turning. I also read ‘Tell Me Who I Am’ by Una Mannion. As with many good books, I saw it out of the corner of my eye at the book store and bought it based on what little info was on the back cover. I won’t go into it massively because it’ll take a long time, maybe I’ll write a separate post about it because it was fantastic! It comes with a heavy load of content and trigger warnings as it’s a really honest and realistic look into family violence, intimate partner violence and the shortcomings of a legal system that benefits men and buries women. It’s really fantastic fiction that follows a fractured family unit that navigates the horrors of violence over a 20 year time period. Maybe I will write more about it here or maybe I’ll leave it for my Goodreads review. I’m on the second book of the ‘Special Operations’ series now, they’re off to England on their first mission!

A photo I took this month:

All the homies at the Wednesday show

JOSH

The blog is cornering me at the water cooler asking what I’ve been up to this month and I’m fighting the demon in my head that wants to say “not much, just working” as hard as I can but unfortunately that’s not far from the truth – May felt more like a Pre-June for the most part, lots of exciting projects coming up but also lots to lock in on for the time being.

I did find the time to head to some gigs – It was so delightful going to the Wednesday show with everyone, easily the highlight of the month.

There is plenty to look forward to next month which has been a nice driving force for this month, hopefully the blog doesn’t feel too dismissed by my small-talk-cop-out-answer and will corner me at the water cooler again soon when I’m better equipped.

A movie I watched this month:

We watched Strictly Ballroom (9/10 ⭐️) at movie night and was kinda jumpscared by how Australian it was? I understand now that it’s a national treasure that catapulted Baz to the moon but I was somehow completely behind on the lore when we watched it.

I find that directors with super distinct styles like Baz Luhrmann start to overdose on their aesthetic when they have unlimited resources (elvis 😖) so I love it when the limitations of their early work result in a film more down to earth and quietly stylised. I love Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket for the same reason, gonna watch that again soon.

An album I listened to this month:

My favourite thing I listened to this month was Genuine Uppers Life by Sacred Holes – another project doing the internet electro thing (sitting somewhere between Frost Children and ear). I haven’t done any background check on them so IDK where they’re from but I love how many people are using that jersey club sample pack from reddit to make earnest experimental music, it makes me want to write a disjointed substack article about Post-Post-Irony™ and then quietly delete it from my instagram bio a day later. 

I also listened back to all the Wednesday albums to prep for the show – my ranking is

1. Twin Plagues 2. Bleeds 3. Rat Saw God 4. IWTTDYTS

A game I played this month:

The reason Ash often gives for avoiding nerd shit (eg. larp, anime, kpop) is because she knows she would enjoy it too much and could never be normal about it. Anyways I played 400+ hours of Zelda last year, so this year I’ve been trying to branch out and make my way through everything I couldn’t play growing up but wanted to (DmC, Yakuza, Resident Evil etc.). This month I locked tf in on the Final Fantasy 7 remakes – my family played our PS1 well into the PS4 era so it’s crazy that I never got around to the original, especially since i am a silly little boy with a propeller hat and the “impractically large sword/guy with a gun for an arm” thing is such an easy grab for me. I’m 40 hours into Remake and loving it so far, very keen to start Rebirth soon. 

A photo I took this month:

Kenny at bunnings (he loves it there)