With our Needle In The Hay vinyl competition open once more, we’re back to enjoying an esteemed selection of tunes submitted by Australian and New Zealand artists. Every now and then a particular song catches your ear though – the latest being The Valley of Giants by Les Krills.
Recording out of band member Alain de Carne’s garage just north of Byron Bay, Les Krills have been active since 2017 with two EPs to their name. They make a distinctly surf-tinged indie rock, as if Julian from The Strokes dropped in on Adam from The War On Drugs and the two got their limbs and brains all tangled together.
Meet Les Krills from northern New South Whales, a duo making rock tunes reminiscent of The War on Drugs from the comfort of their garage.
The Valley of Giants was the leading single from Les Krills’ most recent EP While They Are Sleeping, which dropped in January this year. It’s a gorgeous listen; warm guitar tones chugging along like a steam train while sunny vocal lines fly high and low.
The EP itself is an extension of that easygoing feeling; Here Comes My Girl slows it down for a sea-breeze ballad and opener Melting Into You kicks the record into gear with gusto. Check out the full release below.
It isn’t all sunshine and daisies for de Carne and bandmate Nick Pollet, though. Their songs tackle a number of tough themes, such as 2017 single Old Shoes which draws from experiences of slipping back into binge drinking.
Whatever they choose to sing of, Les Krills will make it look damn beautiful. For anyone who counts Kurt Vile, Dope Lemon, or the aforementioned The War On Drugs amongst your favourites, here’s another band to add to that list.
Needle In The Hay is a competition run by Happy Mag, giving one artist the chance to win 250 copies of their single on 7-inch vinyl. To enter or find out more, click here.
