Run Run Run (Beijing, China), Fine Motor (Melb - ex. Paint Store), ASSASSINS

Ever-evolving Chinese psych-rock band Run Run Run are making their first trip to Australia this November, playing Dissent Cafe and Bar in Canberra on Saturday Nov 22.

Active since 2014, the band have released several albums on seminal Chinese independent label Maybe Mars - home to bands such as Carsick Cars and Birdstriking - and have played alongside legends such as Michael Rother (Neu!, Kraftwerk, Harmonia) and Gang of Four.

Run Run Run have moved through several interations to arrive at their current six-piece lineup and their music has morphed with these changes. As you'd expect from their Velvet Underground-referencing name, Run Run Run's albums are full of hypnotic, circling guitar motifs and keen melodic instincts. Earlier releases skirted closer to Fall-esque post-punkiness, while their latest, 五雷轰心掌, takes a more groove-based, rhythmic turn, embracing traditional folk music influences. Dubbed "Chinese retro-pop," this latest album will catch the ear of any listener partial to Khruangbin and Glass Beams.

Supporting are Canberran expats and skewed-guitar-pop exponents Fine Motor. Essentially the Melbourne continuation of beloved locals Paint Store, the band features lynchpin guitarists Pat and Liam with an all-star rhythm section of Dog Name's Eadie on bass and Jim Dusty on drums.

Capping off the show is a rare appearance from local legends Assassins. After releasing an album of covers celebrating the idiosyncratic bedroom-pop of Johnny Telafone earlier this year, the band will be returning to its original amp-shredding form to tear through some old favourites and, if we're lucky, a taste of brand new music!

"[Run Run Run] fuse the psychedelic menace, ethnic music and the jangly pop finesse, implanting these ideas into the chilly mountains, winding rivers, and underground caves of southern China, where mellowed-out grooves and layers of freewheeling guitar dissonance can easily sweep you away."