Following the recent List Pick ‘Arcades’, Brisbane-based artist Richard Frenneaux is here with a sonic pick-me-up. ‘Avant Garde’ is built on jangly keys and synths, with a driving percussion that rises with an evermore fervent energy as Frenneaux’s singing becomes more impassioned. There’s reason for such zeal: ‘Avant Garde’ is a powerful statement about intrinsic values. “When I left London I realised that too much of my life was tethered to a social currency. The idea that you can generate an intrinsic value regardless of external factors appealed to me and made me question where I was placing my values,” the musician reveals. Perhaps, it’s also his departure from post-punk band Red Light Company that has encouraged closer examination of himself and what really matters. The bright, anthemic nature of ‘Avant Garde’ sets this track down as one of celebration, of embracing the change that’s already happened and the change that is yet to come. - Hannah Thacker