As Wall Of Sound expands our chokehold on the music scene, we've recruited a vast array of specialist writers who outside of their music journalism speciality, have their own musical projects they're honing in on.Nicholas Simonsen not only writes and interviews like a true pro, but his own progressive rock band Caution:Thieves started their own campaign for mass disruption with the release of new track 'Far from The Sun'.Nick sat down to take us through the music he loved, his standout gigs and why he didn't step foot inside a music festival in 2023...
TOP 10 RELEASES OF 2023?
10 – GoGo Penguin – Everything Is Going To Be OK9 – Sleep Token – Take Me Back To Eden8 – Bad Rabbits – Garden Of Eden7 – Blindfolded And Led To The Woods – Rejecting Obliteration6 – Queens Of The Song Age – In Times New Roman... https://youtu.be/DolDqHG6FSI?feature=shared5 – Thy Art Is Murder - Godlike4 – The Hope Conspiracy – Confusion/Chaos/Misery3 – Tesseract – War Of Being2 – Sevendust – Truth Killer1 – City & Colour – The Love Still Held Me Nearhttps://youtu.be/Whx6dkmxIDA?feature=shared
TOP 10 SONGS OF 2023?
10 – Bad Rabbits – 'Goin’ Up'9 – blink-182 – 'More Than You Know'8 – Tesseract - 'Echoes'7 – Night Verses - 'Arrival'6 – Thy Art Is Murder – 'Everything Unwanted'https://youtu.be/4TZyD42wd5w?feature=shared5 – The Hope Conspiracy – 'Confusion/Chaos/Misery'4 – Clint Lowery – 'Devil Leather'3 – Paramore – 'Running Out Of Time'2 – City & Colour – 'Bow Down To Love'1 – Sevendust - 'Everything'https://youtu.be/e9-1bb_KCfA?feature=shared
BEST MUSIC VIDEO OF 2023?
blink-182 – 'One More Time'As a 33-year-old man, it had to be this video. The song is one thing, but having the video call back to all of the iconic blink videos that I was constantly watching as a teenager had me welling up in the best way possible. While I didn’t think much of the album bar a few songs, this video made me very happy that the classic trio were back in action doing their thing.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSKQRDq3RkM
TOP 3 GIGS OF THE YEAR
Alexisonfire – The Forum – A band that I will never ever tire of seeing and somehow, they just get better every time I see them. Managed to strike the perfect balance of classic anthems, deep cuts and new tracks. Truly the only band ever.He Is Legend – Stay Gold – It had been a long time between visits for He Is Legend but they made up for lost time and then some. One of the most inspiring sets I’ve seen in a long time, and it was amazing to finally hear songs from White Bat and Endless Hallway live after they both took out the album of the year title for their respective years of release.Thrice – Northcote Theatre – I’m a sucker for a good album anniversary show and Thrice playing The Artist In The Ambulance in full was a treat unto itself, but add an additional set that covered tracks from almost their entire discography and I was literally in heaven. Absolute heroes and seeing them two nights in a row was bliss.https://www.instagram.com/p/CsfKQ3ZyDza/
MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR?
Was a proper old man this year and didn’t hit a single festival.[wpadcenter_ad id='171758' align='center']
NEXT BIG AUSSIE NZ ACT TO WATCH IN 2024?
I’m gonna hit you with a New Zealand band because that’s close enough. Kiwi band Blindfoldedand Led to the Woods are going to have a giant 2024 and you need to get on the bandwagon right now. Rejection Obliteration is one of the most interesting and enticing extreme metal releases in recent years and they deserve all the acclaim they’ve received for it as well as all the success that is absolutely coming their way.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMQDKiPyFHs
FAV NEW BAND/MUSICIAN DISCOVERED IN 2023?
While I didn’t discover them this year, they did drop one of the best heavy EPs of the year so I’ma put them up. Melbourne legends LUNE are absolutely crushing and are bound to be one of the next big Metalcore mainstays from the Australian scene. They're doing something really fresh/exciting and frontman NathanielSmith is a world class vocalist. Get around them so you can say you were an early fan when they blow up.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPG8OKsc5I8
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2024?
Selfishly, my band Caution:Thieves is releasing an album and it’s going to blow you away. Otherwise, I feel like the Australian local scene is really thriving at the moment with a huge range of epically talented bands, so I’m excited to see the scene flourish more.Written by Nicholas Simonsen @blackechomusic
Follow Caution:Thieves on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPCKacBPcN4
