I’m Sainthill (aka Tom Larkey) a Melbourne-based, Hobart-born musician raised on a steady diet of Bruce Springsteen courtesy of my mum. I make a kind of dreampop/indie rock/folk hybrid with a sprinkling of shoegaze. I’ve been described by music critic Marty Jones as making ‘intelligent, beautiful music’ which is quite nice of him to say. My new album ‘Dream Animal’ is out March 1. My album launch is at The Gaso on April 14.
Here’s My Top Five Artists:
Bruce Springsteen
As mentioned above, my mum was (and still is) obsessed with The Boss, so growing up I became familiar with his records as they were played loudly and frequently through the house. Then one night as an adult, driving in the dark and listening to ‘Nebraska’, I fell deep into his work and consumed everything he had done. He’ll forever be my number one.
Fave album: Darkness on the Edge of Town https://open.spotify.com/album/1WEXfps9XGBqGVXb2gCXxA
Fave song: Bobby Jean https://open.spotify.com/track/2KPzDsCtQtIM0Lkh3RacRC
The Cure
In my mid 20s I was talking to my housemate who had observed my music taste for 80s dreampop bands (Cocteau Twins etc.) and asked if I had heard ‘Disintegration’ by The Cure. I had somehow gotten that far into my life without hearing it – he was shocked, so he lent me his copy on CD. It has since become my all-time favourite – Robert Smith’s magnum opus of gothic melancholia.
Fave album: Disintegration https://open.spotify.com/album/6DZNOsLXIU2zOQfQDwDpIS
Fave song: Just Like Heaven https://open.spotify.com/track/76GlO5H5RT6g7y0gev86Nk
Blonde Redhead
I first heard BR at a friend’s place – she had put on ‘Misery Is a Butterfly’ and I remember thinking ‘Who is this? They’re making exactly the kind of music I want to hear’. As a band they have a beautiful chemistry, each member plays to what the song needs. Amedeo Pace’s guitar arpeggios are blissful, and Kazu Makino’s vocal lines are soul-stirring.
Fave album: Sit Down for Dinner https://open.spotify.com/album/7GfokyxLDkBsgR9gUmEbRq
Fave song: Spain https://open.spotify.com/track/3gHCwQuelURZ5XMNMApKYs
Nilüfer Yanya
Nilüfer is a pretty recent addition to my faves, but since hearing her album PAINLESS in 2022 there’s barely a week that goes by when I don’t chuck it on. Her brilliant guitar playing and unique vocal delivery have a rhythmic and propelling quality, but her melodies are also top-tier gorgeous. Can’t wait to hear what she’s got in store for the next one.
Fave album: PAINLESS https://open.spotify.com/album/1rw1hpm0jSriJVVCyf6Da6
Fave song: stabilise https://open.spotify.com/track/1hpZfJ67sYFbMAE5F9X1q4
Radiohead
I’m a 90s kid, so after being obsessed with ‘The Bends’ (and learning all the guitar parts) I fondly recall waiting excitedly for ‘OK Computer’. It came out, was brilliant, and they kept releasing haunting, inventive, genre-bending stuff for the next 25 years. Thom and Jonny’s new project The Smile is also amazing, kinda Radiohead stripped back and more avant-garde jazzy.
Fave album: In Rainbows https://open.spotify.com/album/5vkqYmiPBYLaalcmjujWxK
Fave song: Reckoner https://open.spotify.com/track/02ppMPbg1OtEdHgoPqoqju
