The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

The Sydney-based band Sundryver blends nostalgia and modernity in a whirlwind of sound and sentiment, placing their unique signature on the indie rock scene. With a sound that combines the grunge-infused alternative of early Foo Fighters and the melodic rock of Arctic Monkeys with the aggressive intensity of Deftones, the young Sydney band Sundryver has taken flight, as if driven by the creative muses themselves. Their...