FRITZ and Tinpan Orange top the community radio charts

Community radio shows a huge amount of support for Australian music, with almost 40% of music played coming from local artists. Taste-making presenters excel at giving airtime to an incredible spread of what Aussie artists have to offer. The Amrap Metro and Amrap Regional Charts provide insight into what’s getting airplay and attention on community radio each week. Here’s the lowdown on some tunes charting this week.

Grace Turner – #5 Amrap Metro

This newcomer from Newcastle balances poise and fragility so beautifully on her new single, ‘Dead or Alive’. A warm reflection on a dark time in her life, Grace Turner delivers conversational type lyrics with her piercing vocal atop sturdy, melodic folk-rock. As it moves along, ‘Dead or Alive’ surges with a kind of hard-won defiance from Turner, a trait that compels us to think there are some great things to come from this young singer-songwriter. Melbourne’s 3RRR, Brisbane’s 4ZZZ and Radio Adelaide are hearing something special as well.

FRITZ – #1 Amrap Metro

Newcastle represent! Tilly Murphy’s garage-pop project, Fritz, has zoomed to #1 on the Amrap Metro Chart with her latest, ‘Biggest Fool In The World’. Having moved from playing and recording everything herself at home to being backed by a full band, ‘Biggest Fool In The World’ is all fuzzin’ and buzzin’ guitars and more effervescence than a new puppy. At just 18 years of age, Murphy is well placed to write a song about that pit-in-the-stomach feeling about attending the school dance but does it with a load of humour and fun. FBi Radio in Sydney and Perth’s 6RTR-FM are as gleeful with their spins as Murphy herself.

Tinpan Orange – #1 Amrap Regional

Now in their tenth year, Melbourne’s Tinpan Orange have wooed their way to a devoted audience with their gentle and understated folk pop. Taking a moodier, atmospheric turn on their new single ‘Going Home’, Tinpan Orange now have their sixth album at the ready to follow, produced by Anna Laverty (Courtney Barnett, The Peep Tempel, Meg Mac). Released only days prior to it racing to #1 on the Amrap Regional Charts, NSW’s Nambucca Valley Radio, Queensland’s Fraser Coast Community Radio and Victoria’s 3WAY-FM are three community stations in tow to Tinpan Orange.

Mere Women – #9 Amrap Metro

Melbourne labels Poison City and Our Golden Friend have picked up where Milk! Records and the Bedroom Suck imprint left off with the Split Singles Club series. The fourth instalment for 2018 offers up Melbourne’s Harmony and Sydney’s Mere Women, and the harbour city post-punk act deliver yet another exhilarating, enervating song with ‘Skin’. There’s an apocalyptic charge to Mere Women that’s all their own  – Tasmania’s Edge Radio, Brisbane’s 4ZZZ-FM, and Sydney’s FBi Radio have this one positively crushing their airwaves right now.

Fraser A. Gorman – #8 Amrap Regional

One time Milk! Records alumni Fraser A. Gorman is back with his first single in three years, Walking to Oman’s. Sounding like mellow, latter-day Pavement, it’s a sweet tune with a glistening guitar melody that comes to life through Gorman’s evocative storytelling and light touch. It’s the decidedly least rocking outing we’ve heard from Gorman, and possibly the most affecting.  Regional community radio are rolling along with ‘Walking To Oman’s’, including spins on Victoria’s North West FM, South Australia’s 5GTR-FM and Western Australia’s Heritage FM.

See the full Amrap Charts at www.airit.org.au.

The Amrap Charts show the top ten tracks ordered for airplay by community broadcasters through the Amrap’s AirIt music distribution service. Amrap is an initiative of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia which distributes new Australian music to community radio stations nationwide & empowers broadcasters to promote new Australian music on air & online.