MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA RELEASE NEW ALBUM ‘THE BALLAD OF MONTE LOCO’ OUT TODAY – TOURING AUSTRALIA FROM AUGUST 1
Melbourne’s most explosive musical export is back. Today, the ARIA Award-winning Melbourne Ska Orchestra release their latest record The Ballad Of Monte Loco, a 13-track journey through revolution, rhythm and a wild Spaghetti Western dreamworld.
With the dust still settling from recent singles Walls of Jericho, John Wayne and the electrifying Bom Bom Bom, this brand new full-length album sees the beloved 20-piece orchestra dial everything up — the horns, the drama, the storytelling and the soul.
Opening with the clang of a distant church bell and ending in a whispered moment of reflection, The Ballad Of Monte Loco is anything but a typical ska record. There are heavy dub textures, sweeping brass arrangements, protest lyrics and moments of pure joy. Think Ennio Morricone in a sound clash with Lee Scratch Perry, with a full horn section and a dancefloor at the ready.
“This record takes a wider lens on our musical journey—dipping into cinematic reggae, big-band storytelling, and soulful protest vibes. Expect a melting pot of deep grooves, lush horn lines, and a global soundscape that keeps one foot on the dancefloor and the other in the clouds.” Says the band.
Tracks like No Doubt About It and Read Between The Lines show the band’s love for slow-burning dub and layered grooves, while When Bootsy Came To Town and Spring In My Step bring the funk and uplift that have become signatures of the MSO live show. There’s even a Spanish-language protest track, No Me Mientas, that swings between salsa percussion and driving ska with cinematic intensity.
“We wanted to capture some of the cinematic energy of Sergio Leone classics like The Fistful Trilogy and merge it with some of the wilder, more surreal visions of the West,” shares Bomba. “We love the craziness of films by Alejandro Jodorowsky, so we hoped to bottle a bit of that energy as well. We figured a good tribute to these cinematic ideas would be a trailer to our fictional Western film The Ballad Of Monte Loco. We worked with long-time collaborator and friend Clayton Jacobson—he’s got the eye for mixing real grit with cinematic magic. He’s done some of our most popular music videos and he just gets it.”
Recorded and produced by Nicky Bomba with MSO’s in-house crew, and with sound design by multi-ARIA winner Wally Maloney, The Ballad Of Monte Loco is a sonic leap forward for the group. It’s still unmistakably Melbourne Ska Orchestra, but with a deeper, dustier and more cinematic scope.
To celebrate the release, Melbourne Ska Orchestra are hitting the road for a massive world tour, with shows locked in across Australia, Japan and Canada from July through October. The Australian run kicks off on August 1 at Liberty Hall in Sydney and wraps with a triumphant hometown show at 170 Russell in Melbourne on October 3. Full tour dates below.
“This album was born in a time of uncertainty, but also one of reflection and fire,” says Bomba of the upcoming album. “The Ballad of Monte Loco is our imagined Western world, where rhythm is resistance, and people rise together through music. It touches on revolution, false prophets, joy as rebellion, and the power of truth when it’s sung loud. We wanted it to feel like both a warning and a celebration.”
Since their debut in 2013, Melbourne Ska Orchestra have earned a place as one of Australia’s most original and powerful musical collectives. From ARIA wins to international tours and sold-out hometown runs, their fusion of ska, reggae, funk and big band energy has captured fans around the globe.
And now, with The Ballad Of Monte Loco, the band invites listeners into something bigger than just a record. It’s a fever dream with a beat. A protest party with a saloon soundtrack. A reminder that unity, rhythm and rebellion all belong on the same stage.
Stream: The Ballad Of Monte Loco
For tickets, merch and more: www.melbourneskaorchestra.com
MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA – THE BALLAD OF MONTE LOCO AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Tickets: www.melbourneskaorchestra.com
FRI 01 AUG | LIBERTY HALL, SYDNEY
Tickets: www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX
SAT 02 AUG | UC HUB, CANBERRA
Tickets: www.moshtix.com.au
SAT 09 AUG | TANKS ARTS CENTRE, CAIRNS
Tickets: www.ticketlink.com.au
FRI 29 AUG | THE WOOL EXCHANGE, GEELONG
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
SAT 30 AUG | THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
FRI 05 SEP | ALTAR BAR, HOBART
Tickets: www.moshtix.com.au
FRI 12 SEP | THE GOV, ADELAIDE
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
SAT 13 SEP | PORT BEACH BREWERY, FREMANTLE
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
FRI 19 SEP | THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE
Tickets: www.moshtix.com.au
SAT 20 SEP | MIAMI MARKETTA, GOLD COAST
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
FRI 03 OCT | 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE
Tickets: www.moshtix.com.au
DOMINI FORSTER SHARES NEW SINGLE AND ALBUM ‘THE LONELY’
Today sees the breathtakingly beautiful sophomore album from Melbourne singer-songwriter Domini Forster released into the world.
Joining forces with Lachlan Carrick (Gotye, Lior, Emma Donovan) on producing, recording, mixing and mastering, along with co-producer and multi-instrumentalist Josh Barber (Gretta Ray, Gotye) for both her latest single and album The Lonely, Domini Forster spent days with both Carrick and Barber in Barber’s converted 1860s chapel studio in Victoria’s Goldfields region, transforming a creative retreat into what would ultimately become The Lonely.
The album has already turned heads, with the second single Hard Love earning a place on the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition shortlist and playlisting by Australian taste-maker and music video institution RAGE, and ABC’s David Astle describing Hard Love as “a mesmerising, ethereal piece of music”.
Opening in sublime fashion with its title track, The Lonely coats its listener with a warm and assured knowing, reflecting the full spectrum of life – the shadows and the light – in a cohesive pastiche that is equal parts intricate and lush. The album’s beginning is achingly resonant and relatable, tracing the patterns of modern life that see us living so close, yet lonelier than ever. Fluctuating between glistening acoustic grooves (Unconditional Love), brooding, open-vein folk (Hard Love and Magnolia), shimmering simplicity (Hunger), stripped-back storytelling (The Last Real Moment), smoky melodies delivered alongside hypnotic arrangements (Unravelling), and songs that place you between the clouds and the heavens via melancholic piano and sweeping strings (Gravity), The Lonely ultimately comes to its stunning conclusion with Breathing Out; a wistful yet cathartic folk gem that burrows the weight of the world into a sonic place of serenity and acceptance. And while constantly exploring, observing and unravelling notions of connection and disconnection, The Lonely ultimately serves as a powerful collection of songs that remind us all that we are not alone, expertly channelled through Forster’s personal lens.
Forster will also perform her new album on stages throughout June to September; including Tasmania, a special hometown show in Melbourne at the iconic Northcote Social Club, before heading to Canberra, and then diving into a short string of shows in NSW, including two with Emily Lubitz.
THURS 10 JUL | NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from northcotesocialclub.com
SAT 19 JUL | SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE, CANBERRA ACT | UNDER 18s MUST BE SUPERVISED
Tickets available from smithsalternative.com
THURS 28 AUG | THE CITADEL, MURWILLUMBAH NSW | SUPPORTING EMILY LUBITZ | ALL AGES
Tickets available from humanitix.com
FRI 29 AUG | BRUNSWICK PICTURE HOUSE, BRUNSWICK HEADS NSW | SUPPORTING EMILY LUBITZ | ALL AGES
Tickets available from brunswickpicturehouse.com
SAT 6 SEP | SECRET HOUSE CONCERT, BYRON BAY NSW | ALL AGES
Tickets available from humanitix.com
CLONING RELEASE ETHEREAL NEW SINGLE ‘JUST AS YOU ARE’
Selling out shows around Australia and racking up millions of streams, Perth indies, Cloning have emerged as one of Australia’s most singular alt-rock acts. Swirling with heartfelt, soft-spoken charisma and eerie hues, their ethereal new single, Just As You Are, expands on the quartet’s established alternative charms and is out today.
With billowing soundscapes, lush driving beats balanced with poised serenity, and calming introspection courtesy of lead vocalist Felix Parker, Just As You Are flutters with nods to the likes of Radiohead, Everything Everything, Midnight Oil, Slowdive and The War on Drugs, expertly mastered by Brian Lucey (Cage The Elephant, Royal Blood, Arctic Monkeys) while also pushing the Cloning collective into spectacular new heights. “Just As You Are is about acceptance and feeling comfortable in your own skin,” shares frontman Felix of the new single’s enchanting lyricism. The band are self-recorded, mixed and produced by bass guitarist Nic Rollo, who explains, “being able to work closely together to push through quick iterations of a song and explore sonic boundaries on a level that would be hard with an external producer has been a game changer for us, recording and mixing feels like more of an extension of the songwriting process.”
Bringing together lead vocalist and guitarist Felix Parker, guitarist Bevan Green, bass player Nic Rollo and drummer Jack Brett, Cloning began life when Bevan relocated to Perth from Kalgoorlie and met high school best mates Felix, Nic and Jack in 2019. With their immersive soundscapes, melodic songwriting and relatable lyricism, Cloning were dubbed by Tone Deaf in 2020 as “the future of indie and alt-rock in Australia”; a fact that is reflected in the band’s sold out shows across the country, millions of streams, and inclusion in coveted editorial playlists, including Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’ and Apple Music’s ‘New Music Daily’.
Developing a dedicated grassroots fanbase over the years, Cloning have toured Australia nationally three times, with three EPs also in their wake in the form of 2019’s Pillars of Salt, 2021’s Wounded Healers and, most recently, 2024’s Fall Out. A perceptive and uncompromising hands-on collective, Cloning also boast a 10K-strong subscriber email fanbase and a 500 member fan Discord server, with recent sold out shows at Melbourne’s The Workers Club and Adelaide’s Grace Emily Hotel in 2024 thousands of kilometres from home also under their belts. And it’s these very shows far from home that have catapulted Cloning into burgeoning indie rock favourites across the country, including drawing praise from the likes of TheMusic.com.au, declaring of a 2023 live Cloning performance in Brisbane that “it felt less like a production and more like a group of friends experiencing life together – and every person in Black Bear Lodge was invited to join”.
With community building and fan appreciation a huge focus and drawcard for the band, they explain, “After every show you’ll find us at the back of the room taking photos with fans and signing merch for them. It’s our favourite part of the night getting to meet our listeners, it can be especially amazing on the East Coast, since it’s so far from home and we’re playing to rooms full of strangers.”
There is no doubt 2025 sees the band making waves and turning heads in the industry. Alongside the release of their latest single, Cloning have been selected to showcase at BIGSOUND 2025 in September, and Felix recently secured a coveted spot at John Butler’s highly competitive Seed Fund workshop that took place in the Blue Mountains last month, alongside some of the country’s most exciting emerging artists and managers. Armed with Just As You Are, this brand new chapter for Cloning is as thrilling for the band as it is for their ever-growing legion of fans.
Just As You Are is out now.