Melbourne's the Triangles take over Spain with their song Applejack (released by Half A Cow in 2005 on their Magic Johnson album) in Estrella Damm's 2010 summer ad. That's the band playing in it. The Spaniards are going crazy about the song. And in late May 2010 it was the 1 song on iTunes in Spain. Go Triangles!
River Of Flowers is Dog Trumpet's new album, the result of three years writing and recording by the brothers Reg Mombassa and Peter O'Doherty at their Big Brain Studio. It is their 5th release, the follow up to 2007's Antisocial Tendencies and contains some of their most personal and autobiographical songwriting to date. Read More River Of Flowers will be released late May 2010 on Half A Cow.
River Of Flowers will be launched in Sydney on Saturday 29th May with special quests David Lane (featuring Amanda Brown and Dean Manning) at the Vanguard, 42 King Street, Newtown. And remember Dog Trumpet includes Bernie Hayes on bass and Jess Ciampa on the drums and Peter Mitchell on harmonica.
THIS SMUDGE IS TRUE WORLD* TOUR In late May Smudge head over to the UK and Spain for a handful of exclusive shows. Local English label Fire will be releasing the classic albums Manilow and Real McCoy, Wrong Sinatra and Half A Cow will be licensing the first ever 'best of' to Provenance/Inertia called This Smudge Is True. Read More
May
Fri 21Colchester Art Centre, UK
Sat 22Sound Control, Manchester, UK
Mon 24The Windmill, Brixton, UK
Wed 26 SalaBeCool, Barcelona, Spain
Sat 29La Palma, Madrid, Spain
the BRUTALS the Honeymoon Period
Remember the Treetops? One of the finest folk-pop bands to ever come out of Australia? Well, in some way, they are back. One half at least,
in the Brutals. And it's top-shelf shimmering and beautiful folk-pop at its best.
Read More .
Buy Now .
the EASTERN DARK Where Are All The Single Girls?
This album is back in stock and now packed in an ECO-BOX (better for the environment that a regular jewel case) with a reduced 40-page booklet. Plus the same timeless music!
Read More .
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BRENTON MANSER & THE DISCIPLES OF ZEN Strange Notions
Led by Swayback frontman Brenton Manser, this five-piece Adelaide band incorporate bluesy rock, rootsy folk, 60s psychedelia on their debut album.
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EL MOPA The Metal Years
The third album from Sydney four piece el Mopa has been described as 'Sydney soul'. While the band endorses that description, we are all world citizens now, aren't we?
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PYTHON LEE JACKSON Sweet Consolation 1966-73
Following on from the Missing Links, Purple Hearts and the Wild Cherries, the latest 'classic reissue' from Half A Cow Records is from one of the most popular live Sydney bands of the 60s beat era - Python Lee Jackson.
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AGNES KAIN Across The Ocean Grey
It has been an eventful two years since the release of our debut album, Keep walking or I'll kill you, and 525 days since we've been home. We are in London and about to release our second album Across the ocean grey.
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THE MISSING LINKS Driving You Insane
10th anniversary edition of the long-out-print reissue of the 1965 album by 'Australia's wildest garage-punk band'.
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I'll give you bonafied lovin'!
Nic Dalton and his Gloomchasers have released a summer single while they put the finishing touches to the Play All Night album (due out in May 2009). It's a bluegrass cover of the Chromeo disco hit Bonafied Lovin' and is available from iTunes only:
Another new song from Nic Dalton appears on the US label Planting Seed's compilation Blue Skies Daisy Days . Titled 'Domestic Bliss' and co-written with Nic's wife Kylie, it also features Gloomchasers drummer Danny Heifetz. Check it out here:
WE GROW UP Night Kitchen
This is a real find, this one. An entire album of fully focused and well thought-out pop songs that come straight out of the School of Colourful Whimsies - whose first graduate was the Beatles and last
one Darren Hanlon.
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KHANCOBAN
Limbs May Fall
Debut album from Melbourne's folk-rockers.
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SHE LOVES YOU TOO: Girl group compilation (hac100)
available from
or the HAC shopping page
A compilation different to any other! Recorded between 1994-1998 it is a ‘fake girl group compilation’ finally released now to celebrate Half A Cow’s Sweet Sixteenth. Featuring songs written by the Half A Cow roster (Robyn St Clare, Nic Dalton, Tania ‘Spdfgh’ Bowers, Sidewinder’s Nick and Martin Craft, Tom Morgan) and music by Nic Dalton, Shane Melder, Nick and Martin Craft from Sidewinder with lead vocals by Juliana Hatfield, Lara “Ben Lee band” Meyerratken, Sally “New Buffalo” Russell, Kirsty Stegwazi and a host of unknowns. Includes 24 page booklet with liner notes, lyrics, the "fake" record covers and biographies.
AGNES KAIN: Keep walking or I'll kill you (hac131)
available from
or the HAC shopping page
Indie folk pop duo Agnes Kain (Chanelle Afford and Stefan Simunic) have
been creating and playing music together for the past couple of years.
They are excited to announce the release of their debut album Keep walking
or I'll kill you, which despite the wicked title was born of love.
Throughout there is a deepness and substance that may be missed on first
listen, and although the album contains many a cheerful moment, concealed
within the upbeat and playful melodies of songs such as 'All time High'
and 'Puddles and Mud' are tales of a more serious and somber nature.
Whilst others like, 'My brother told me' and the title track, 'Keep
walking or I'll kill you' are penned from a still and thoughtful place of
innocence and bruises. Both self-taught musicians, Stefan and Chanelle
played most of the instruments on the album, including guitar, piano,
mandolin, bass, melodica, glockenspiel, and percussion. There is a
darkness which underlies the infectious and cleverly constructed songs of
Keep walking or I‚ll kill you, but also a feeling of sharing tea with old
friends. Listening to the album it is easy to fall in love with its
whimsical charm and warmth.
the WILD CHERRIES: That's Life (hac113)
available from
or the HAC shopping page
That's Life is a compilation of the Wild Cherries - the second '60s band of Lobby Loyde, Australia's first guitar hero and the guy who taught Billy Thorpe to really play. After he left the Purple Hearts, Lobby Loyde went onto Melbourne's Wild Cherries. By the time Lobby joined, the band had a new line-up comprising of original bassist Les Gilbert now switched to organ, Keith Barber on the drums, Peter Eddey on the bass, and Danny Robinson on lead vocals.
That's Life contains 24 tracks from 1965-68, including 16 previously unreleased. All eight songs from the 1967-68 Festival singles are here, plus unreleased recordings from the original 1965-66 lineup (who never released anything in their day) and a recently discovered 1966 live show. Add 'em up: 16 unreleased tracks! Plus 36 page booklet and never-seen-before pictures.
Very sad news with the passing of Lobby Loyde on Saturday April 21st, 2007. Lobby had been battling lung cancer for the last year and recently been playing shows with his old bands The Coloured Balls and the Purple Hearts to "play with his mates one more time". As well as releasing Lobby's first band The Purple Hearts last year, Half A Cow was keen to get the Wild Cherries compilation out so Lobby could see it as soon as possible. They arrived Thursday 19th. Lobby's copies of the cd were sent out on Friday 20th. Sadly, he never got to see it.
About Half A Cow.
Half A Cow Records has been a major force in the Australian independent music scene by releasing over 140 albums, mini-albums and singles by over forty different bands on both cd and vinyl for sixteen years. Half A Cow Records started in late 1989 by Nic Dalton and original co-owner Miles Ferguson at the same time they opened the now-closed Half A Cow book, comic and record store on Glebe Point Road in Sydney. The label's original intention was to release local bands on vinyl who Nic and Miles personally liked - a trait that continues to this day that makes Half A Cow one of the most unique independent labels in the world.
Bands that have released records on Half A Cow include the Smallgoods, The Orange Humble Band, Smudge, Art Of Fighting, Sidewinder, Crow, Kim Salmon, Sneeze and Bernie Hayes. Recent bands include Sydney's Bruce and Luke Russell, Melbourne's Khancoban, the Triangles and Adelaide's Swayback. Half A Cow has also released 'classic re-issues' by the Wild Cherries, The Eastern Dark, The Missing Links, Purple Hearts, the Someloves and Pip Proud.
Half A Cow owner Nic Dalton is, first and foremost, a musician and songwriter. He currently plays in the Gloomchasers and also with Tom Morgan in their band Sneeze. Apart from those two bands, his other main bands were the Plunderers, Godstar and Love Positions and he has helped out the Hummingbirds, Ratcat and the Lemonheads along the way.
