The Jukebox: the best new local tunes to add to your playlist this month
Summer is fast approaching and Queensland’s best bands have been hard at work mixing the perfect soundtrack for holding out against the heat. From road trip anthems and dreamy shoegaze ballads to saxophone solos and cathartic dream-rock tracks, here’s some of the best new local music of the month.
Platonic Sex – ‘Undoes’
Alt-rock band Platonic Sex just released its newest album, Face To The Flywire, just in time for a long, stormy summer. Steeped in nostalgia and radiating the band’s communal joy, the album conjures stifling afternoons of days gone by and a deep longing to escape.
‘Undoes’, the album’s oldest and longest track, captures this overarching theme best, with a slow and heartfelt intro that gradually builds into an emotional and hysteric crescendo, accompanied by the sounds of the band screaming buried within the track.
The song’s gritty black-and-white music video is a montage of sparklers, instrument playing and band member Ryan wandering aimlessly around the city while pondering the complexities of life, which is exactly how we would recommend listening to this song.
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Hatchie – ‘Lose It Again’
Brisbane’s shoegaze pop sweetheart Hatchie just dropped her third studio album, Liquorice – a cosmic exploration of the singer’s experiences reminiscing on young love.
The lead single ‘Lose It Again’ is a track that looks back on love lost and embodies the dreamy aura embedded in the album. Through delicate vocals and blurry, vintage melodies, ‘Lose It Again’ evokes the energy of Cocteau Twins, enhanced by the artist’s own bittersweet lyrics and romantic flair. The poignant ballad was made to be sung while looking wistfully out the window of a road trip – or better yet, while lounging in the tray of a ute driving through the Australian countryside, just like Hatchie herself does in the music video.
Mt. Nadir – ‘HEROWORSHIP’
Since 2021, dream-rock five-piece Mt. Nadir has been enchanting Brisbane with what the band calls “music to kiss your friends to” – and their latest EP Garden for One continues this legacy.
Amid six songs detailing the band’s experiences with passion, love and hardship, ‘HEROWORSHIP’ leads the charge as the first song written and released from Garden for One.
The cathartic track has a dream-like quality that will leave the heartfelt lyrics swimming around in your head as you drift off to sleep, in the best possible way.
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Radium Dolls – ‘Golden Boy’
With its second single to drop since the release of its debut album Legal Speed last year, Radium Dolls are back in our headphones this month with another of its bone-rattling tracks.
‘Golden Boy’ captures the band’s signature swagger, alongside the lethargy of Australian summers with simple lyrics referencing fire, burning skin and the sun. “The fire is where I came from / the fire is where I go to cool off ” – yep, that’s a Brisbane band alright.
Due out on January 29, Radium Dolls’ sophomore album Wound Up promises a run of summer anthems and road-trip bangers – if ‘Golden Boy’ is anything to go by.
Worm Girlz – ‘Dirt’
The real worm girls are already all over ‘Dirt’, a track that was originally released back in 2023 before it’s re-release on Worm Girlz’ debut self-titled album, which was released officially on Halloween.
Though the rest of the album is full of bangers and angsty anthems, ‘Dirt’ still remains a track you can play over and over again – preferably while seething about the people who have wronged you.
You also have to appreciate how much the band is committing to the worm-y theme. The lyric “I don’t wanna be your baby, I’d rather eat dirt” is both a raw and powerful line about female autonomy and a recurring reminder that this band is more worm than girl.
Mum’s Cardigan – ‘Should’ve Told Ya’
Earlier this year, six-piece funk-pop band came to life between classes and cups of coffee on QUT campus. Since then, the group has been crowned winners of QUT Guild’s 2025 Battle of the Bands and released its first EP Homemade, a cosy and groovy sample of the band’s blend of pop, funk, jazz and rock.
In an EP full of vibrant tracks, ‘Should’ve Told Ya’ stands out as a showcase of everything that makes the band special – powerful vocals, rich yet smooth harmonies and, of course, its signature saxophone hooks.
Enhance your listening experience of ‘Should’ve Told Ya’ by getting a glass of wine in hand and dancing in your candlelit living room. You can thank us later.