Single Of The Week - Niki And The Dove : Ease My Mind

Fronted by Kate-Bush-reborn singer Malin Dahlström, Niki and the Dove are a Swedish synth band that delivered at least one soul melting performance at SXSW – this epic tune is a welcome reminder....
music review
Single Of The Week - Boy & Bear : Big Man Posted 23 May 2012 @ 1:25pm 28 views 0 comments Boy & Bear have rocketed through the last 12 months in a shower of sparks and stardust kicked off by their excellent debut album Moonfire. The ride is ending with fireworks; I think their last single from that record is also their best. Demure, bittersweet and beautiful, Big Man has some of the most memorable lines Dave Hosking has yet written, including this one: “I fell in this position/I’...
Single Of The Week - The Rubens : Don't Ever Want To Be Found Posted 23 May 2012 @ 1:22pm 18 views 0 comments Don’t Ever Want to be Found is shiver-inducing lo-fi blues rock from emerging Sydney quartet The Rubens, a gutsy blend of Cream and Hendrix-style psychedelia and a dirty garage rock sensibility. Singer Elliott Margin toys with the listener, dropping notes in lazy around the beat while the lead guitar squirrels around a spacious and memorable riff. Hot, dark sounds.
Chance Waters : Maybe Tomorrow Posted 23 May 2012 @ 1:19pm 19 views 0 comments Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy pop hop. Sydney MC Phatchance is set to release an album under his (allegedly) real name Chance Waters and this is the first single, a song-heavy ray of sunshine with a bunch of acoustic guitar and some deft rapping bits. Not bad. Sadly reminds me of the Fun Loving Criminals.
Band Of Skulls : Sweet Sour Posted 23 May 2012 @ 1:15pm 10 views 0 comments Band Of Skulls come off all Jack White with this pitching blues rock number. The instrumentation is sparse and dirty, and the cyclical refrain dominates the song, “Sweet sour, sweet sour, sour by the minute but you’re sweeter by the hour.” Sharp.
Kingfisha : Looking Glass Posted 23 May 2012 @ 1:09pm 11 views 0 comments I generally can’t fathom reggae. I’ve worked really hard and had a few breakthroughs here and there, but overall it's not my scene. Looking Glass is very easy listening, however, light on the faux zen, karma-wary spiritualism that plagues the genre, so smooth and understated it verges on soulful. Not sure I can forgive the whole kishfish-ah business, however. Kingfisher is not hard to spell.
Lionheir : Waterfall Posted 23 May 2012 @ 1:06pm 31 views 0 comments Byron-based Lionheir (aka Paul Appelkamp) enjoys the loose horns and twanging guitar riffs of '50s rhythm and blues. His voice is happy and carefree – a light-hearted version of Josh Pyke, maybe, or a less animated version of Jack Peñate. Lionheir might swing a little more than his contemporaries, but the general aesthetic is similar; a nice, harmless boy singing a nice, harmless song.
Buried Feather : In The Sun Posted 23 May 2012 @ 12:56pm 5 views 0 comments Melbourne psych rock quartet Buried Feathers launched the single In the Sun last weekend, a muddy swirl of reverb underpinned by a dogmatic rhythm; hi-hat clapping steadily and kick drum every second beat. The drummer must be very bored or concentrating very hard on counting to four.
Owl Eyes : Crystalised Posted 23 May 2012 @ 12:48pm 5 views 0 comments Crystalised is the lead single from Owl Eyes’ new EP, Bad Reality. It opens with icy bursts of synth and guns into a killer new disco hook, dreamy but compelling. Brooke Addamo’s voice drifts across the beats in an Olivia-Newton-John-circa-Xanadu fashion, sweet and very occasionally gutsy, lush and seductive. 
The Salvadors : Merrily Posted 23 May 2012 @ 12:35pm 6 views 0 comments Triple j-backed Adelaide quintet The Salvadors launch a new single, ahead of their debut album release later this year. Sounds an awful lot like Vampire Weekend. It’s difficult to get enthusiastic about a song that is so painfully derivative.
Kirin J Callinan : Way II War Posted 23 May 2012 @ 12:23pm 6 views 0 comments The video for Way II War is upsetting. I couldn’t pee alone for a month after I saw The Ring, and have since tried to avoid surreal gothic tableaux involving creepy children and dead horses, but my editor liked this video and recommended I watch it. My editor will be accompanying me to the bathroom for a little while. (I'll do this, as long as everyone watches this video – ed.)
Iowa : Never Saw It Coming Posted 23 May 2012 @ 12:16pm 28 views 0 comments Melbourne, the cultural epicenter of the world (well, Australia fo’ sure), produces some truly excellent bands. But, there’s so many awesome acts doing their thing in the pubs and bars of the city that it’s hard to pick which ones will make it beyond the city sphere. The Temper Trap, Gotye and Oh Mercy spring to mind as a few that have made it in the last few years. But, it’s Iowa that will be...
Graveyard Train : Hollow Posted 23 May 2012 @ 10:17am 258 views 0 comments Melbourne’s best kept secret is well and truly out of the bag. Having already plundered the country’s pubs, Graveyard Train have matched their climb to larger venues and larger crowds with an album that is big in sound, big in presence and big in voice...plus, they’ve added drums.   From the first moment you hit play, it’s apparent that you have stumbled upon the darker, seedier and meaner...
Kaiser Chiefs @ The Palace Posted 22 May 2012 @ 12:33pm 59 views 0 comments There’s a fine line between a good gig and a true performance, and it’s a craft the Kaiser Chiefs have mastered over the years. Tonight’s visit to a surprisingly modest turnout at The Palace showed the band ticking all the boxes – delivering enough false endings, climbing crescendos and sing-along choruses to satisfy a spoilt six-year-old’s attention span.   Here for Groovin' The Moo, the...
Kimbra @ The Palais Posted 22 May 2012 @ 12:28pm 58 views 0 comments From the moment Kimbra burst onto the stage on this dreary Wednesday night the feisty New Zealander provided plenty of energy and attitude, owning her audience from start to finish. Wearing an eye-catching silver dress, Kimbra danced across the stage with her tambourine and powerful vocals never missing a beat.   Two Way Street was a sultry stand out, showcasing the talent of her backup...
Paul Collins @ The Tote Posted 22 May 2012 @ 12:18pm 25 views 0 comments It wasn’t the Sand Pebbles that was playing at the Great Britain tonight, but a cut-down, unofficial version of a hiatus-affected band. The repertoire was familiar, the venue set-up unconducive to audience appreciation. The second set promised a power trio of drums, bass and guitar, but sadly our dance card was marked ‘Paul Collins’, and we were back on the road by 10.30pm.    Wolfy...
Josh Pyke @ The Forum Posted 22 May 2012 @ 12:06pm 18 views 0 comments Everything seemed to unravel exactly as planned. The Forum was full but not bourgeoning – I certainly wasn’t hassling for poll position – the supports Jackson McLaren and Gossling were note perfect and inoffensive and then Josh played hit after hit. None of this is a bad thing. It was a very pleasant outing. Perhaps a little too pleasant, but pleasant nonetheless.    Josh opened things...
The Darkness @ The Palace Posted 22 May 2012 @ 11:53am 99 views 0 comments A night of flamboyant showmanship for The Darkness performance was enhanced by the fact that this was their first tour with all original members from Permission To Land in six years. I guess somewhere in between sex, drugs and rock and roll, it is written in the cards that a falling out or two between band members is expected. This was the case for bassist Frankie Poullain who was booted from...
Andrew WK @ The Corner Posted 22 May 2012 @ 11:47am 41 views 0 comments I don’t even know what to say about this show. Everything about it goes against the grain of seeing live music in Melbourne. In this town, where audiences and bands frequently compete to see who can be the most disinterested in what is happening in the room, seeing the things that Andrew WK managed to do to the crowd was amazing. Without his band, and armed with little more than a piano and...
Dirt Farmer : Dirt Farmer Posted 22 May 2012 @ 11:37am 224 views 0 comments Dirt is sorely underappreciated as a critical ingredient in nature. Without it, the entire food chain, and the survival of humanity would be at risk. Plants grow in dirt, dirt houses bacteria that are fundamental to the inter-dependencies of the biosphere, dirt holds stuff in the ground. Dirt is good, man.   And Dirt Farmer’s self-titled debut EP is even better. You can take a track like...
The Cult : Choice Of Weapon Posted 22 May 2012 @ 11:33am 99 views 0 comments One of Britain's finest rock outfits, The Cult will surely be touring this record well into their 30th year of existence. Due to be released in Australia on this Friday May 25, Choice Of Weapon comes five years after the critically-acclaimed 2007 release Born Into This.    The album has been produced by Bob Rock (Metallica, Bush) and Chris Goss (Queens Of The Stone Age) and it shows....
The Winnie Coopers : Surface Parasites Posted 21 May 2012 @ 11:35am 102 views 0 comments Back in the early '90s the ABC showed a documentary on the nouveau riche underbelly of Sydney suburban life. Sylvannia Waters captured the zeitgeist of the cashed-bogan world of peroxide hair, pastel cotton clothing and vowels treated with the tender loving care of a mediaeval torture ceremony.    Sylvannia Waters, however, could barely hold a candle to the repugnant demographic drama...
Yukon Blonde : Tiger Talk Posted 21 May 2012 @ 11:23am 35 views 0 comments Nothing is more reassuring in the oft-pretentious world of indie rock than acceptance. As a band, it begins with the acceptance of your influences. Shit, even if they are of the FM radio variety, a medium that’s long been thrown under the bus by the purveyors of cool. Or acceptance of your trajectory. No, a band does not have to accept their limitations, but an outward understanding of their...
The Used : Vulnerable Posted 18 May 2012 @ 2:13pm 51 views 0 comments A cruel critic/fan might say that The Used and My Chemical Romance are almost interchangeable. There are certainly strong similarities in sound and style between the two bands. Bert McCracken and Gerard Way employ very similar, higher-end vocal stylings. Both bands play that very theatrical, alternative pop/punky style of rock. Both appeal to a very similar fanbase. Check out Moving Out for...
Lower Dens : Nootropics Posted 17 May 2012 @ 3:19pm 95 views 0 comments The krautrock-loving Nootropics ushers in a clear change in sound for Baltimore art-rock quartet Lower Dens, though it has much in common with their debut album, Twin Hand Movement. Both conjure up a dark, stark mood that goes a long way in making up for their inconsistencies.   There are some undeniably captivating moments on Nootropics that immediately catch your attention and make this a...
The Exploders : Orche.Stratros.Pheric Posted 16 May 2012 @ 4:00pm 204 views 1 comment Online aggregators like the hype machine and triple j’s unearthed platform enable bands to quickly skyrocket to great heights of popularity in a very short time frame. The method of which is not always conducive to the continued longevity of a group, with the ability to replicate the intensity that their initial flame created often unachievable. The Exploders entered the Australian music scene...
Single Of The Week - The Shins : The Rifle's Spiral Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:52pm 154 views 0 comments Taken from the intoxicating, layered gem that is Port Of Morrow, The Rifle's Spiral has an almost psychedelic feel, a hypnotic pulse in the vocal melody and a circular swirl of guitars, beautifully balanced against the bouncing rhythm section. There’s an urgency to it, a vitality, but also a grim and weighty undercurrent. A strange and amazing tune.
The Men : Open Your Heart Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:47pm 61 views 0 comments The Men turned a few heads at SXSW this year with their gut-wrenchingly loud performances. A ‘cult’ band in their native NYC, the power punk collective will be introduced to Australian audiences this month when their third full length record, Open Your Heart, is released locally through Spunk. The title track aptly demonstrates their frantic tsunami of sound, where three guitarists race each...
Foster The People : Don't Stop (Color On The Walls) Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:37pm 47 views 0 comments The press release is a little confusing, but I think Foster The People have released a 3D video for this tune based on Precious Based the Novel by Sapphire. Possibly my wires were crossed somewhere. Appearing alongside Pumped Up Kicks on the band’s debut album Torches, this tune is bouncy but unremarkable paint-by-numbers contempo-pop that would make a really average soundtrack to a really...
Dune Rats : Fuck It Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:33pm 92 views 0 comments Joining Bleeding Knees Club at the vanguard of Brisbane’s garage punk revival, Dune Rats are a mangy duo whose latest single has the burnt out noise pop thrust of Wavves, simple and melodic but also distorted and braying, with a snarl that can be traced back to Kurt Cobain.
Bobby Womack : The Bravest Man In The Universe Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:28pm 28 views 0 comments Bobby Womack, R&B legend and co-writer of Across 110th Street, is set to release his first album of original music since 1994. Like Gil Scott-Heron before him, Womack has been taken under the wing of XL Recordings boss Richard Russell, who seems determined to give the long-dormant Womack and new lease on artistic life. Russel and Damon Albarn have produced Womack’s new album, which features...