ALMOST every musician at some point questions the sacrifices they make - be it financial, physical or emotional - to follow their artistic dreams.
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NTL Landmarks frontman Ryan Williams certainly has. That sacrifice is at the heart of the Newcastle indie band's latest single, Phased, out on Friday.
"I just look at myself sometimes and I'm doing all this stuff, we're all doing this stuff, like staying out late on week nights and getting into these situations where you ask, 'why am I doing this?'," Williams said.
"You just remember you really want to make this happen."
Phased follows last year's track, The Saint, which gained traction through Triple J Unearthed. Phased, which was mixed and mastered by Pals' Fraser Marshall, channels a classic jangly Australian '80s indie sound, popularised again recently by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever.
READ MORE: NTL Landmarks finding their new sound
There's also been a world of change in the NTL Landmarks camp. The band are once again a three-piece in the studio with Williams, Gillian Adamson (keys) and Lachlan Dolbel (guitar) at the helm.
Vacations' Campbell Burns, Liam Buckley and Marshall have been part of the rotating live line-up.
"It's been an interesting one," Williams said. "The thing keeps going forward and it's growing and this is how it's worked so far."
Initially Williams hoped to release an EP this year, but NTL Landmarks have changed their plans.
"At this stage we're just experimenting with the process," he said. "I was probably over eager when I said we were going to do the EP. The plan is to work on singles and keep the momentum going."
NTL Landmarks launch Phased on Sunday at the Cambridge Hotel's Easter Long Weekend party, headlined by Waax.
PALMS DROP NAME
NEWCASTLE'S favourite punk duo The Gooch Palms will release their third album, simply titled III, on May 10.
Leroy Macqueen and Kat Friend dropped the news this week as they tear through the final week of their mammoth 36-date North American tour.
III is expected to feature The Gooch Palms' previously released singles Are We Wasted?, Summertime, Marfa Lights and Busy Bleeding, which has showcased Friend's vocals and a poppier style of songwriting.
The record follows their 2013 debut Novo's and Introverted Extroverts (2016).
JURD BREATHING JUST FINE
THE career of Toronto pop-country artist Aaron Jurd continues to take off after his second single landed in the iTunes Country top-20.
Jurd's single Hard To Breathe steers towards the more commercial side of the tracks, and follows the success of his debut song Set Me On Fire, which reached No.5 in the iTunes Country charts last year.
"Normally I'm writing sadder-style songs and I love writing those songs, but I'm happy to release this song because it shows a different side of me," Jurd said.
"I'm a happy person, but everyone has those days when they're not feeling the best and I love writing on those days because it gets me out of it."
In 2018 Jurd graduated from the Country Music Association of Australia Academy in Tamworth where he co-wrote a song with seven-time Golden Guitar winner Allan Caswell.
NATURAL CLOWNS
FRESH off releasing their fourth album Nature/Nurture, Melbourne punk band Clowns are returning to Newcastle to show off their new material and sound.
Nature/Nurture displays a more complicated blend of punk and psychedelia than past records, particularly the latest single I Wanna Feel Again. Catch Clowns at the Hamilton Station Hotel on June 15, with support from fellow Victorians Private Function.
RAD BAR CLOSES
THERE will be plenty of people in the Newcastle music scene disappointed by the announcement on Tuesday that Wollongong's iconic Rad Bar will close in June and be replaced by a multi-million dollar office block.
Rad Bar has been central to Wollongong's transformation into a thriving music hub and was a breeding ground for the likes of Hockey Dad.
