Unfinished Theories and Sudden Debts
An audio salve for enshitifcation.
Dear Substackland
An Unfinished Theory
Here we are, some months since our last missive, and sadly the enshitification of the world has continued in the interim, despite the collective efforts of many.
Whilst half the time it feels crass to be talking about art amidst this mess, on the other side we find ourselvews with an invigorated sense of purpose. It’s been a good time to read Brian Eno & Bette A’s What Art Does - An Unfinished Theory, which concludes (spoilers) with the provocation:
“If we want a new world, we have to start making it right now ... In whatever we are doing, we have to make it as though we are in that new world. By making objects, systems, experiences and collaborations that belong to that world, it comes into being.
“Live the world you want. What kind of world would that be for you?”
It’s an exceptionally good question, one we’ll continue to try to answer as we rage against the noxious machinery.
A Sudden Debt
This month’s salvo into that melee is the latest entry in our New Editions series, a space for artists to play and scratch their heads, and for us to play along. The fifteenth entry in the series is from the Naarm / Melbourne trio Sudden Debt, who we first encountered on our 2022 compilation Collapse Theories.
Fast forward to 2025 and we’re gifted with their self-titled debut album, landing on 1st August 2025 on extremely gorgeous clear vinyl and digital / streaming. They tell us that they are exploring the space between bleak pop, minimalist post-punk and dissonant noise-rock, which sounds like a great land through which to adventure. Guitar, bass and drums with improvised single-take vocals, refracted through tremolo, delay, drum pads and fx.
You can listen to the lead track TXT and pre-order on the New Weird Bandcamp.
Another Alternative
In the continuing quest to map a territory around bad actors in the streaming world, we come to Nina - a new(ish) platform to release, discover, and support independent music, with 100% of revenue returned to artists. Similar to Bandcamp but without the squabbles over corporate ownership. We’ve added recent compilations and New Editions to Nina to stream or collect at ninaprotocol.com.
A Celebration of Physical Media
A number of out-of-print CDs had found their way to the back of our storage and were happily unearthed with some glee. Super limited stock of these titles are now back in the Merch section of our Bandcamp and include CDs and CDRs from our New Editions series, as well as a number of promotional CDs and some rarities from our Wood And Wire catalogue.
New Editions CDs
Strange Forces | NWAED010 by Strange Forces
Jewelz | NWAED009 by Thomas William vs Scissor Lock
Nippon | NWAED008 by Spartak
Build Ruins | NWAED007 by Forenzics
New Editions CDRs
New Age EP | NWAED005 by NO ZU
Pins | NWAED002 by Blake Freele
Start Dencing Dad, Start Dencing | NWAED001 by Caught Ship
New Weird Australia Promo CDs
Gloss & Moss (vs Fallopian Tunes) | NWA013
Vox | NWA010
Bleak Metal | NWA009
Volume Six | NWA006
Wood And Wire CDs
The Pomegranate Cycle by Textile Audio
Domestic Cinema by David Evans
Promotional Disc (featuring eleven tracks selected from the first four releases)
Thanks for getting down here, to the end of all that we’d hoped to say for now. Your continued support is never assumed, and it makes everything worldwide.
So it goes,
Stu, for New Weird Australia x