Single Of The Week - Chet Faker : Terms & Conditions

0 Comments. 49 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 12:11pm.
  Straddling a smooth groove between electro and soul, Melbourne’s Chet Faker ambles into the spotlight with Terms & Conditions, the first single from his forthcoming Thinking in Textures EP. Crooning in a rough, strained, post-Al Green kind of way, the mysterious Chet (real name, intentions, unknown) explores the classic soul themes of heartbreak and desire while his music ticks and stalks seductively. Jazz-cool in a world where such things should not exist anymore.   Read More!
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The Bedroom Philosopher : Northcote, YouTube Comments review, single, music.
0 Comments. 25 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 11:59am.
  A song in which The Bedroom Philosopher sets the comments left under his Northcote (So Hungover) YouTube video to music. May or may not be an extension of a triple j radio segment. Includes the comment/lyrics: “It’s called self-juxtaposition/He is deconstructing his own identity within the conformist social mellow.” I don’t know what the ‘conformist social mellow’ is. And I don’t want to... Read More
Snakadaktal : Carnival review, single, music.
0 Comments. 15 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 11:56am.
  My stocks plummeted with my 20-year-old cousin Simon over Christmas when he told me his band was supporting the awesome Snakadaktal. I said, "Who are Snakadaktal?" and he laughed at me. I said, "No seriously dude, I don’t know who they are," and he stopped laughing. He looked at me like, what is wrong with you? This story might seem boring and irrelevant but I’m not sure the single is any... Read More
Sugar Army : Hooks For Hands review, single, music.
0 Comments. 18 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 11:53am.
  The lead track from Sugar Army’s as-yet-unreleased second album shows a continuing fixation with Bloc Party-style angular indie rock. It’s kind of unconvincing at first, and maybe a little dated, but it turns all mad and electric in the chorus, music sweeping out like The Killers are wont to do while the lyrics only serve to confuse and alarm. “When you’ve got hooks for hands/The more... Read More
Busby Marou : 5 Rocks review, single, music.
0 Comments. 14 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 11:23am.
  Rockhampton duo Busby Marou toured with Dolly Parton and Pete Murray last year, then toddled off to record this bland but inoffensive country pop single. The opening guitar melody is crisp and sweet, but the minute the strained, overly earnest vocal kicked in (Tracy Chapman-esque, but without the tragedy), they lost me. Way too sweet.   Read More
The Go Set : Drums Of Chelsea review, single, music.
0 Comments. 13 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 11:16am.
  Colonial ditty meets rockabilly punk in this spunky track by Geelong five-piece The Go Set. Get ready to bellow and stamp and shake your trampy fist along to the joyful, bouncing beat – it’s a breezy little knockout.   Read More
Panama : Magic review, single, music.
0 Comments. 6 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 11:11am.
  NT-born Jarrah McLeary is making synth pop in a post-Vampire Weekend world, heavy on the bongos and the tropical swing, For all its lack of distinction, Magic is a nice track, happy and hooking just where it should. It kind of reminds me Romancing The Stone, too, which is excellent. Romancing The Stone is an excellent film.   Read More
Buckley Ward : Into The Darkening Blue review, single, music.
0 Comments. 210 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 11:09am.
  The second single from So Pretend has a watery, shimmering surface and a folksy vocal melody. The combination is sweet and familiar, evoking both The Church and Paul Kelly, or maybe Paul Kelly singing with The Church. The chorus is more like a gentle riff on Empire Of The Sun, sailing dreamlike on the back of a rippling synth and some lovely male harmonies.   Read More
The Harpoons : Walk Away review, single, music.
0 Comments. 8 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 11:05am.
  Lifted from their forthcoming debut, The Harpoon’s new single is an only marginally cooler take on the cappuccino jazz of artists like Joss Stone and Corinne Bailey Rae. What is this doing on Two Bright Lakes? I presume the warbling, Idol-worthy vocal performance and stripped back funk instrumental have some relationship in the hipster cannon to that new disco sound, but I don’t get it. Read More
Dancing Heals : Live & Learn/Hilary May review, single, music.
0 Comments. 13 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 10:54am.
  After the release of Diamonds and ahead of their debut album, Melbourne’s Dancing Heals serve up a double-side single of two glistening pop gems. Live & Learn is a spooling, West Coast Cali-flavoured track with dreamy vocals – somewhere between The Thrills and Teenage Fanclub. Having kicked around as a demo for the last couple of years, the intoxicating Hilary May gets the full studio... Read More
Lamb Of God : Resolution album, review, music.
0 Comments. 52 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 10:16am.
  Lamb Of God are no longer one of those awesome new bands that your mates keep telling you to check out. They have become a staple of modern metal through their praised records and live shows. It is conceivable then that they could continue touring off their back catalogue of impressive material alone, but the Virginians didn't make it this far by taking it easy. While Resolution sounds... Read More
Dirty Three : Toward The Low Sun album, review, music.
0 Comments. 193 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 10:13am.
  The very notion of there being a ‘definitive’ Dirty Three album is incongruous. Since the band’s formation in the early 1990s, through to its subsequent evolution into a world-renowned act of unimpeachable quality, the Dirty Three has spat in the face of simplistic categorisation, stared down patronising rhetoric and sniggered openly at futile efforts to contrive a poly-dimensional... Read More
OFWKTA At The Hi-Fi live, review, music.
0 Comments. 39 Views. Posted 21 Feb 2012 @ 12:09pm.
  The fun this band is having is enviable. Touring round with a tight knit crew, music aside, must have its merits, but it's best not to try and understand what's actually going on within as it's a bit of a mess. A few members have managed to stand out from the crew – the obvious being Tyler who, for all intents and purposes, is just oozing charisma like glue for kids to stick to. He... Read More
Rock The Bay At The Espy live, review, music.
0 Comments. 58 Views. Posted 21 Feb 2012 @ 12:04pm.
  The organiser of these events, Saltar Hype, has been putting it on for five years now, and it seems they just keep getting bigger and better. This year the lineup got a little more high profile, and this couple with the beautiful balmy Melbourne late summer evening brought the rock punters out in force.   Having had a very busy day, I was very disappointed to arrive to find I'd just... Read More
Girls At The Corner Hotel live, review, music.
0 Comments. 61 Views. Posted 21 Feb 2012 @ 11:58am.
  Arriving early at the Corner, I was kind of amazed to see so many people already there. I’d come at 8pm in order to secure myself a good position at the front, but it seemed that quite a few other punters had the same idea. Luckily, I managed to ingratiate myself into a prime position and proceeded to wait there, safeguarding my spot until the Twerps graced the stage. I’ve been listening... Read More
Cage The Elephant At The Northcote Social Club live, review, music.
0 Comments. 42 Views. Posted 21 Feb 2012 @ 11:53am.
  It should have come as no surprise what awaited come show time at The Northcote Social Club; Kentucky five piece Cage The Elephant had made for a packed show in the humble-sized band room, a brim with a buzzing crowd following a delightful display from promising local support act, Loon Lake. On their maiden headlining tour of Australia, it was almost trivial as to why a notoriously high-... Read More
San Cisco : Awkward EP album, review, music.
0 Comments. 69 Views. Posted 21 Feb 2012 @ 11:22am.
  San Cisco are one of those bands that make you feel bad about being a twenty-something underachiever. With an average age of 18, the group have just released their second EP, earned a top ten spot in the 2011 triple j Hottest 100 have just announced a national tour.   San Cisco’s First EP Golden Revolver provided a fresh angle on pop and it’s their youth and playfulness that is the... Read More
Shearwater : Animal Joy album, review, music.
0 Comments. 186 Views. Posted 17 Feb 2012 @ 9:36am.
  Jonathan Meiburg has never made any secret for his fascination for ornithology. Judging by the title of Shearwater’s latest record, Animal Life, it would appear Meiburg has expanded his interest into the broader animal kingdom; certainly, the album’s charged title track suggests Meiburg has cast his eye into wider metaphorical territory to find meaning.    On Breaking The... Read More
Emma Russack : Sounds Of Our City album, review, music.
0 Comments. 189 Views. Posted 17 Feb 2012 @ 9:31am.
  Lurching back to stone-cold reality after a long stint of travel can suck. It seems to have hit Emma Russack particularly hard - after a year of travelling through South America, the Narooma-born singer settles into what must’ve been a particularly bitter Melbourne winter. It has been a couple of years since Russack shed her Lola Flash moniker, a move which almost always suggests a move... Read More
I, a Man : You’re Boring Us All album, review, music.
0 Comments. 604 Views. Posted 16 Feb 2012 @ 10:35am.
  It seems that many fresh, young bands these days tout the 'synths are the new guitar' philosophy, with banks of keys, loops, pads, laptops, electronic anythings replacing the familiar sound of the six-string. Not so the curiously-named Melbourne outfit I, a Man.   Following a half-year on from their promising debut EP, You’re Boring Us All further develops their reputation for... Read More
The Peep Tempel : The Peep Tempel album, review, music.
0 Comments. 302 Views. Posted 16 Feb 2012 @ 10:32am.
  The bastard child of garage, proto punk, and restless rock‘n’roll has come to force you off your seat and straight to dance floor. The Peep Tempel’s debut self-titled album is assertively brash, sinister and insistently rocking at the same time. Filled with inventive guitar work and capricious melodies, the Peep Tempel’s debut release is unflinching in its desire to get your attention.... Read More
Rodrigo Y Gabriela : Area 52 album, review, music.
0 Comments. 230 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 1:38pm.
  Following in the footsteps of their previous efforts, Area 52 is a whirlwind of energy and exotic rhythms. The difference this time around is that Rodrigo Y Gabriela made the trek over to the musical melting pot of Cuba, hitting the studio with a full band, credited under the name C.U.B.A. All of the musicians involved are clearly on the same wave length, with emotion-driven performances... Read More
Hermitude : Hyper Paradise album, review, music.
0 Comments. 347 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 1:34pm.
  The fourth studio album from Sydney production duo Hermitude kicks off like a gritty cop thriller with the appropriately titled Engage. The dusty drums and fuzzed-out synth paints a picture of what’s to come on the instantly listenable Hyper Paradise. Like any good film our protagonists, Luke Dubs and Elgusto, take us through a full range of emotions and sounds. After continuing on their... Read More
Die Antwoord : TEN$ION album, review, music.
0 Comments. 620 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:31pm.
  To understand South African rave/rap trio Die Antwoord and their sophomore LP TEN$ION is to know the underlying counter-culture philosophy of Zef. What is Zef, you ask? Die Antwoord’s diminutive and spookily androgynous lady rapper Yo-Landi Vi$$er described it best, associating it with “people who soup their cars up and rock gold and shit.”   When their debut LP $O$ was released for... Read More
Single Of The Week - Jack White : Love Interruption review, single, music.
0 Comments. 77 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:22pm.
  White introduces the new album Blunderbuss with a conspicuously quiet acoustic number, squeezing all his customary dirt in to the lyrics. Take the opening lines, for example: “I want love to roll me over slowly / Stick a knife inside me and twist it all around / I want love to grab my fingers gently / Slam them in a doorway / Rub my face in the ground.” Vocal duties are shared with... Read More
White Rabbits : Heavy Metal review, single, music.
0 Comments. 70 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:05pm.
  This jarring, ominous excursion into synth pop minimalism is full of creepy character. Lifted from White Rabbit’s forthcoming album Milk Famous, the knits together a quiet, bouncing bassline, curt shivers of guitar and an airy, seductive vocal. Add some weird images of polygamy in the afterlife (see the video) and you’ve got yourself a disconcerting slice of art rock drama.   Read More
Ali E : Landless review, single, music.
0 Comments. 165 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 12:00pm.
Local songwriter Ali E (Damn Terran) has released a pacey but atmospheric new single from her forthcoming debut solo album. The guitars buzz and hum in a slightly breathless rhythm and Ali’s voice, drenched in reverb, expands to fill the gaps. A slapping 4/4 drum beat kicks after a few moments which is actually a little distracting, propelling the song forward at an uncomfortable pace that seems... Read More
Lost Prophets : Bring Em Down review, single, music.
0 Comments. 95 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:32am.
  McLoudy Pants Welsh band the Lost Prophets are set to release their fifth studio album in April, entitled Weapons. Lead single Bring Em Down is sort of post-rock meets Bon Jovi, with lots of spitting and fist-pumping and electric guitar noodling and a stadium-sized melodic thrust. Not even a little bit do I get it.   Read More
Madonna Feat. Nicky Minaj And M.I.A : Give Me All Your Luvin’ review, single, music.
0 Comments. 111 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 11:12am.
  She’s a lecherous old bat, isn’t she? What better way to energise your tired aesthetic by corralling a pair of super wild horses into the show and dragging them way the fuck down with you. I don’t care if she’s an icon or how great the Immaculate Collection plays at karaoke, her output of the last decade is shitful. This song belongs on the Glee soundtrack. And how about the goddamn... Read More
The Magnetic Fields : Andrew In Drag review, single, music.
0 Comments. 65 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 10:41am.
  The Magnetic Fields’ new album is a bubbling electro folk charmer, but the lead single isn’t necessarily the best track on the album. With a cute breakaway chorus, Andrew In Drag showcases Stephin Merritt’s familiar tongue-in-cheek style through the standard tropes of unrequited love and sexual transgression: “A pity she does not exist / A shame he’s not a fag / The only girl I’ve ever... Read More
The Fray : Run For Your Life review, single, music.
0 Comments. 84 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 10:32am.
  Things are always slightly desperate at The Fray’s house. Remember that How To Save A Life song (that was embarrassingly affecting)? Well now they’re running for their lives, to the strained guitar-based rhythms of Christian-worthy commercial rock. It is a bland, bland business.   Read More
Sam Sparro : Happiness review, single, music.
0 Comments. 371 Views. Posted 15 Feb 2012 @ 10:22am.
  The first cut from Sam’s second album is a high energy soul disco number that has an instant classic flavour. As ever, he errs heavily on the side of camp, but this joyful, hand slapping, gospel fuelled club track has an undeniably brilliant hook. Read More
Mark Lanegan : Blues Funeral album, review, music.
0 Comments. 233 Views. Posted 14 Feb 2012 @ 3:37pm.
  Mark Lanegan understands the blues. For the best part of his adult life Lanegan has stumbled through a gut-wrenching collage of drug addiction, emotional heartache and physical trauma. Lanegan has ridden a violent psychological rollercoaster, barely keeping to the rails while others have fallen to their demise.   So when Lanegan releases an album titled Blues Funeral, you know it’s... Read More
Aleks And The Ramps : Facts album, review, music.
0 Comments. 441 Views. Posted 14 Feb 2012 @ 3:34pm.
  Amongst the critical philosophical ideas introduced in the Enlightenment was that of fact-based reasoning. Whereas previously the discourse of truth had been dominated by organised religion, thinkers such as Voltaire, Rousseau and Bentham championed the discourse of science, and its reliance on analysis of facts, and deductive reasoning.    Two hundred-odd years later, and... Read More
Kanye West At The Sidney Myer Music Bowl live, review, music.
0 Comments. 318 Views. Posted 14 Feb 2012 @ 11:32am.
  Despite the constant banter about his cockiness and egotistical nature – two attributes which I believe he is entitled to, Kanye West is a true performer and one of the most intelligent artists of this generation. The fact of the matter is, the man knows what it means to capture and hold a crowds attention.   Having already seen him perform at Big Day Out a couple of days prior, I... Read More
Soundgarden At The Sidney Myer Music Bowl live, review, music.
0 Comments. 311 Views. Posted 14 Feb 2012 @ 11:28am.
  Openers The Bronx tackled what should have been a very daunting support slot with remarkably relaxed confidence. While the majority of the audience seemed fairly apathetic towards the thrash-punk stalwarts, the band's faithful were still loud and numerous enough to justify a certain amount of swagger on their part. I could certainly respect their energy, as well as the frontman's ironic... Read More
Best Coast, Saturday January 28, The Corner Hotel live, review, music.
0 Comments. 123 Views. Posted 14 Feb 2012 @ 11:23am.
  At first the unassuming Pop Singles seem like another guitar pop band, their warm summery tunes seeming a tad safe, with a noticeable lack of hooks. By the middle of the set however the songs started to get dirgier, riffs a little more intricate and a noticeable '80s/Smiths influence began to shine through. Songs off their upcoming album were definitely a highlight.   Next up were... Read More
Battles, Saturday January 28, The Forum live, review, music.
0 Comments. 109 Views. Posted 14 Feb 2012 @ 11:18am.
  I wasn’t the biggest fan of Battles’ last effort Gloss Drop, but what I thought it lacked in variation and innovation might be made up for within the less rigid confines of a live show. There were wins and losses tonight but overall the real winner was my ass for getting to the Forum early and grabbing a booth; lordy was it too hot to be bothered standing up.   Early on, opening act... Read More
Immortal Technique, Thursday January 12, The Espy live, review, music.
0 Comments. 89 Views. Posted 14 Feb 2012 @ 11:10am.
  Whilst not entirely neglecting rap’s traditionally favourite topics – pussy, weed and guns – Immortal Technique also perceptively commentates on issues ranging from class struggle to media deception to conspiracy theories, often spitting venom upon the government and appealing to a paradigm shift amongst the social consciousness towards intelligence, information and inquisitiveness.... Read More
Yelawolf : Radioactive album, review, music.
0 Comments. 252 Views. Posted 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:25am.
  With the ingredients of a record label’s wet dream, Yelawolf continues in the grand white-trash tradition of mentor and label boss Eminem. Cementing his persona, the Alabama wordsmith has a thick country twang and tattoos. After several acclaimed mixtapes, Yela adapts his formula to the grand stage that has birthed the likes of 50 Cent on his Shady Records maiden voyage, titled... Read More
The Painted Hearts : Volume 2 album, review, music.
0 Comments. 494 Views. Posted 10 Feb 2012 @ 11:22am.
  Everything comes in threes for The Painted Hearts. The Canberra trio release their second disc nearly three years to the day of after their debut. They have also seen two-thirds of their orginal lineup depart, with only vocalist, guitarist and pianist P. R. Davis remaining constant. Kevin Nicol and Owen Andrews make way for Mike Oakley and Matt Nightingale on drums and bass respectively.... Read More