Small Black : Limits Of Desire

It almost feels ridiculous to be talking about chillwave in 2013, but it’s hard to describe Small Black without dropping the c-bomb. Having arrived in 2009 with their self-titled, bedroom-recorded...
music review
Savages : Silence Yourself Posted 23 May 2013 @ 2:08pm 78 views 0 comments The period where punk crossed over into post-punk yielded some intense, exciting music and London’s Savages mine that particular vein with gusto. While their sound is a powerful, stark lurch for the jugular, their love of director John Cassavetes helps to place them firmly into the more art-house camp of post-punk. (The fiery single Husbands is named after Cassavetes’ 1970 film and the lines of...
Iggy And The Stooges : Ready To Die Posted 23 May 2013 @ 1:44pm 62 views 0 comments “It’s not great, but it’s not as bad as The Weirdness,” remarked a friend the other week, when the subject of Iggy And The Stooges’ new album, Ready To Die came up. This was damning with faint praise to Dante’s seventh level of hell. The Weirdness was, at best, a conceded pass, a frustratingly flawed record stripped clean of any lingering artistic merit by Iggy’s ambivalent performance (though,...
Pikelet : Pressure Cooker Posted 22 May 2013 @ 3:12pm 209 views 0 comments An eerie, blissfully demented soundscape from the now fully-fleshed out Pikelet outfit, Pressure Cooker features a smorgasbord of an unhinged bassline and hypnotic synth chimes. Centre of the storm is Evelyn Morris restrained cries of hope, anchoring the myriad of noodling melodies swirling overhead. The perfect soundtrack to a post-nuclear-winter debutant ball and a promising initial beacon...
Jagwar Ma : Man I Need Posted 22 May 2013 @ 3:09pm 62 views 0 comments Giving Madchester a ‘Strayan accent, Jagwar Ma is a trippy call to arms that’s quite unlike much else currently happening in the Australian music world at the moment. The track’s themes explore a boyish reaction to an affront to the protagonist’s masculinity, an unreliable narrator’s cathartic cries in the midst of an enticing psychedelic wash.
Oscar Key Sung : It's Coming Posted 22 May 2013 @ 3:02pm 73 views 0 comments Melbourne duo Oscar + Martin never really did it for me, but the solo output from Oscar Key Sung goes down a treat. It’s Coming is all kinds of incredible, a triumphant showcase of vocal chops and resounding production skills – even though it sounds like it samples a honking goose (cannot un-hear). The B-side is a Miguel cover, and inviting the comparison works in Oscar’s favour. 
Seja : Like Fireflies Posted 22 May 2013 @ 2:58pm 52 views 0 comments Lifted from the upcoming full-length All Our Wires, Seja’s Like Fireflies is a delectable slice of organ-pop goodness. Exploring a myriad of deep ocean and deep space keyboard tones, Seja commands us through a lovely psychedelic daydream with a welcome and warm vocal take. Top stuff.
Totems : III: Sidpa Posted 22 May 2013 @ 2:53pm 98 views 0 comments A sample from the upcoming EP Bardo Thodol, III: Sidpa is a tasty and tasteful trap meditation from Totems, aka Kiwi producer Reuben Winter. Nestling somewhere beyond Clams Casino drug haze, HudMo crispness and slight Lex Luger bombast, the track holds up as a swagged out brandishing of compositional talent.
On Sierra : Young Heart Posted 22 May 2013 @ 2:51pm 66 views 0 comments Young Heart sounds a little bit like Tame Impala and a lot like someone left The Temper Trap’s masters in a chemical vat overnight. It would definitely work better as an instrumental, with the vocal bursts exposing a sense of aimlessness. Eventually it trails off into a fade-out just as things feel like they’re beginning to kick into overdrive. Some promising moments, but more established focus...
Second Hand Heart : Hold On Posted 22 May 2013 @ 2:48pm 23 views 0 comments A soaring display of pop majesty, Hold On backs up its ambitious scope with a broad tapestry of uplifting melancholia. Ornate production twists and turns until guiding us back to ground with a contemplative piano-led coda.
Bad//Dreems : Caroline Posted 22 May 2013 @ 2:46pm 90 views 0 comments Trying their best to vehemently undo all recent progress in eliminating our country’s tendency for cultural cringe, Adelaide’s Bad//Dreems answer the unasked question – what happens when a mediocre garage band is garnished with a godawful pub-rock vocal style? Infinitely worse than any indie-schlock being pumped out by the national youth broadcaster and not worthy of being muttered in the same...
Alex Cameron : She's Mine Posted 22 May 2013 @ 2:43pm 21 views 0 comments It’s a little bit surprising to hear Seekae’s Alex Cameron shying away from his full time band’s signature brand pulsating electronica, considering Flume has broken through in a big way to the mainstream with similar sonic characteristics. She’s Mine navigates a stripped-back vintage electro pop backbone, with Cameron’s captivating croon overcoming an at times stunted flow. Reminds me of Twin...
Dizzee Rascal Feat. Robbie Williams : Goin' Crazy Posted 22 May 2013 @ 1:28pm 78 views 0 comments An unlikely collaboration that makes more sense than it should, Goin’ Crazy marks a welcome return to form for Robbie Williams as he commands the bridge and chorus hook – eating up more of the track than the top-billed Dizzee. The man himself performs a few dutiful verses. Not as in-your-face as we’d expect from Mr. Rascal, but a serviceable strain of mainstream British pop.
Standish/Carlyon : Deleted Scenes Posted 22 May 2013 @ 11:08am 174 views 0 comments Tom Carlyon and Conrad Standish deviate from their past work in The Devastations and venture into lush, Lynchian territory for their debut album as Standish/Carlyon. It’s more on the level of HTRK, but with a wink and nudge to lighter, retro sounds. HTRK’s Jonnine Standish jumps in for lead vocals on Deleted Scene’s third track and they are notably less bone-crushing than the intonations on her...
Buried Feather : Buried Feather Posted 21 May 2013 @ 2:52pm 302 views 0 comments The restorative beauty of psychedelic music resides in its sonic elasticity and spiritual qualities. With life increasingly constructed by artificial deadlines, vacuous social media conversations and false political consciousness, psychedelia provides a window into a world where stuff comes in colours, where riffs bend around corners, where the sonic world comes to life in all its textural glory...
The Dillinger Escape Plan : One Of Us Is The Killer Posted 21 May 2013 @ 2:40pm 121 views 0 comments Woe betide the genre named after the worst kind of homework. "Mathcore" elicits as many cringes as it does exaltations from those in the know. An outer layer of maths let alone a core would send most scurrying away fast as legs can carry them. The Dillinger Escape Plan (DEP) is the band for which the title is "derived" and on this, their fifth record sees DEP's evolution best served by a step...
Tenacious D @ The Palais Posted 21 May 2013 @ 2:37pm 151 views 0 comments While some musical-comedy acts struggle to maintain audience interest for longer than a single song, Tenacious D are the exception that proves the rule. There's no question that the appeal is Jack Black, whose elastic vocal histrionics and Hollywood A-List status pull 95% of the focus. Not that Kyle Gass isn’t a great guitarist, with acoustic shredding as good as any of the other acoustic...
Om @ The Hi-Fi Posted 21 May 2013 @ 2:27pm 81 views 0 comments Here are three phrases from Om’s Wikipedia page which give you a bit of an idea of who they are, and give me a creative way to disguise lazy writing: “similar in structure to Tibetan and Byzantine chant”, “Live at Jerusalem” and “natural vibration of the universe”. Unsurprisingly, also listed on the page is “stoner rock”.   Om, consisting of bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros, drummer Emil Amos...
Local Natives @ The Forum Posted 21 May 2013 @ 2:23pm 83 views 0 comments Although it wasn’t quite a full house at the Forum for Local Natives, it was a certainly a very appreciative crowd. This LA indie-rock band are experts at crafting accessible, hook-laden songs with a real depth to them and they have the potential to be huge. Tonight felt like the sharing of a secret among a crowd who have connected to the group’s strong set of songs on an emotional level and had...
Beastwars @ The Bendigo Posted 21 May 2013 @ 2:16pm 404 views 0 comments I hate flying. I always end up catatonic with fear, unable to ingest any form of inflight entertainment. I guess it’s the uncertainty that accompanies being trapped in a hurtling tube of metal through the upper reaches of our atmosphere. Earlier on in the year during a nasty bout of turbulence, I turned to Air New Zealand’s media unit for solace – tuning in to the alphabetically-benefited Kiwi...
The Cat Empire : Steal The Light Posted 17 May 2013 @ 1:00pm 354 views 0 comments This is the sixth studio album from Melbourne's-own Cat Empire, and the first as an independent release.  Almost ten years on from the debut which featured the massive hits Hello and Days Like These, the band have had a huge amount of success at home, in Europe and across the globe.   Steal The Light is a pretty enjoyable record, led by excellent opening track and lead single Brighter...
Wire : Change Becomes Us Posted 17 May 2013 @ 12:56pm 156 views 0 comments Since 1976, English band Wire have confounded expectations by doing everything they can to avoid easy categorisation. Their expertly executed albums have embraced everything from spiky punk to deliciously strange experimental music. On the intelligent Change Becomes Us, Wire demonstrates that they have lost none of their wilful eclecticism and fierce artistry. Opening salvo Doubles & Trebles...
Underground Lovers : Weekend Posted 17 May 2013 @ 12:50pm 132 views 0 comments Underground Lovers achieved a degree of fame in Melbourne with their electronic groove music before it all slowly dried up and they disappeared. Save for a 'best off' compilation last year the band members have worked on separate projects and eked out their own carreers since. Seemingly, the Underground Lovers were laid to rest. No so! "Weekend" sees the reincarnation of the cherished Leaves Me...
Prudence Rees-Lee : Court Music From The Planet Of Love Posted 17 May 2013 @ 10:02am 190 views 0 comments An album called Court Music From The Planet Of Love featuring a song with the title Come All Ye Fair And Tender Maidens should give you a clue as to the type of sounds you’ll hear in Prudence Rees-Lees’ alternative reality. Despite its melody echoing The Bangles’ Eternal Flame, otherworldly opening song The Way leads the listener into a mysterious far-off land, after which you’ll either shrug...
Batpiss : Drag Your Body Posted 15 May 2013 @ 2:56pm 261 views 0 comments With a relentless five-note descending mutant riff that threads the entirety of Drag Your Body, Collingwood’s Batpiss claw you right in the Achilles tendon and don’t let up till you’re fully submerged in a slow-burning pit of toxic tar, beating you down with pure dread and disdain along the way. A superb, heavy slice of the post-apocalyptic record Nuclear Winter – which the three-piece launch at...
Is Tropical : Dancing Anymore Posted 15 May 2013 @ 1:40pm 108 views 0 comments The video for Dancing Anymore is most definitely the best of the year, detailing a wank romp fantasy taken to the logical extreme. It’s almost a shame that the clip is so good, as the track itself is a joyous pop romp. In short: cum for the video, stay for the tune.
Camera Obscura : Do It Again Posted 15 May 2013 @ 1:35pm 56 views 0 comments God dammit I just got flashbacks to the PS2 game Project Zero where you had to take pictures of ghosts using a camera obscura and it scared the fuck out of me and when one of my mates played it stoned he reached a state of shock where he could only communicate with chicken noises for a whole night. Anyway, I also have faint memories of Camera Obscura the band, and Do It Again is a fairly safe...
Midnight Juggernauts : Memorium Posted 15 May 2013 @ 1:31pm 76 views 0 comments Lifted from their upcoming full-length Uncanny Valley, Memorium is a majestic return to the dancefloor for the freshly resurgent synth purveyors. Never overreaching, frontman Vince Vendetta commanding baritone draws you in with the inflections of Bela Legosi’s Dracula. Percussive rave synths are on point, and the minimalist coda has an eerie undercurrent, sounding like a spaced-out Angelo...
Daughter : Human Posted 15 May 2013 @ 1:25pm 77 views 0 comments There’s an enticing swirl of hypnotic instrumentation present on Human – a disjointed snare punctuation, understated guitar pulses and a subtle orchestral build. The cries of “despite everything/I’m still human” skirt between a razor’s edge of fragility and empowerment, eventually surrendering with the final line which is best enjoyed spoiler-free.
Queens Of The Stone Age : I Appear Missing Posted 15 May 2013 @ 1:20pm 107 views 0 comments Approaching the release of their first LP in five years, Josh Homme and co. are riding a wave of near-infallibility. It’s deserved, I guess, considering that QOTSA have never produced anything truly awful – and memories of their greatest moments can carry them over more languid moments such as Era Vulgaris and this, a slowed down carousel-like track that never really lifts. It’s solid, and Homme...
Palma Violets : We Found Love Posted 15 May 2013 @ 1:18pm 60 views 0 comments Was really hoping this would be a RiRi cover, but alas, it’s a shitty dose of drunken Brit guitar that tries to act clever with a tempo switch-up. Do these NME-knighted lads know what fate is in store? They’re bound to end up on the indie scrapheap alongside that band I can’t remember that sounded like The Libertines and that other band that sounded like the band I can’t remember. No one can...