New Music - Local Natives

For the first time in what seems like a long time, the national youth broadcaster Triple J actually recommended a band that seem worthy of interest.

Driving home after a night out with friends, some girl was on Triple J talking about bands from the recently held South by Southwest festival in the states.

She was discussing the 'next big things in music' (and curiously talking about long established Handsome Furs for some bizarre reason), the individual, whose name I cannot recall, mentioned an unsigned Californian band LOCAL NATIVES and played a short audio clip of the song I believe called 'Airplanes'

It was aurally pleasing and later, at home, I had a listen to some of their tracks on their myspace page. Their sound is somewhere between Fleet Foxes and the Arcade Fire (as evidence, I rely on their cover of the Talking Heads song 'Warning Signs' which is on their myspace page). In fact, if you've listened to Fleet Foxes to death, I recommend checking these guys out – they may be destined for bigger things.

You can have a listen over at their myspace site, or have a read of what they had to say about their South by Southwest experience at their blogger site.

*EDIT* Check out this great cover of 'Cecilia' by Local Natives.

I'm Really Up the Junction - A Quick Word on Squeeze.

I never thought it would happen,
With me and the girl from Clapham.
Out on a windy common,
That night I ain't forgotten.

I lived in London for seven months last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself there. However, in retrospect, I did seem to follow the pied piper of good times around a bit too much during most of the time I spent there.

Anyway, why am I talking about this? Well, I just wanted to mention a particular song that I really like which always reminds me of London, and I felt like talking about it. The song is 'Up the Junction' by UK New Wavers SQUEEZE who are widely known (at least in Australia) for their seminal song about cats, 'Cool for Cats' (I refuse to believe this song is about anything other than cats).

While the song is about unplanned pregnancies with an emphasis on the relationship pressures such an event endears, but it is the obvious references to Clapham Junction and Clapham Common throughout the song, rather than unplanned pregnancies, that get me reminiscing of my time in London.

It is a popular song and bands like The Decemberists and Travis having covering the tune on a number of occasions. If you haven’t heard it, I suggest you give it a spin.

Here, have a look at the band performing the song on Top of the Pops (strange, why is that bearded man is pouring that white stuff on the presenters head? Looks slightly disturbing).



And even now I feel rather tempted to purchase the vinyl single on eBay, despite not having a record player to play it upon. Dilemma!

Do you have any songs that remind you of particular places, times or events? Do share.

All Nightmare Wrong? Thank Hammett, it's Not.

Ok, time to indulge.

Usually, I use my iPod shuffle when I'm exercising and usually I fill it with electronic numbers or heavy metal because of the higher BPM. Unfortunately, Belle and Sebastian's "Tigermilk" doesn't exactly encourage you to maximise your heart rate.

So, as it happens, I was listening to a bit of newish Metallica while running the other night, specifically their release of last year "Death Magnetic", and even more specifically the tune 'All Nightmare Long' and I have to admit that I'm a bit endeared to it.

When I was much younger, Kirk Hammett (the lead guitarist) was my hero. I wanted to be able to play like him, and pretty much be him. I didn't really care much for Lars Ulrich or James Hetfield who wrote most of the songs. I mean, lyrically, they were no Leonard Cohen and Wil Sheff. But the sheer magnitude of rock that burst from Kirk's guitar was something almost holy.

For quite some time now, like many others, I have spurned every Metallica record that has proceeded 1988's 'And Justice For All'. This is mainly due to their jump into mainstream heavy rock and the noticeable absence of the guitar solo. Guitar solos was what made Metallica good. Their music from the black album was a demonstration that they had abandoned their thrash metal roots in search of something a bit more commercial.

Should I blame the production of Bob Rock? Is it a coincidence that the band's first release since dumping Rock is their best album in nearly 20 years? I think not. Metallica have switched to super producer Rick Rubin, who did a lot of work with fellow thrash metal stalwarts, Slayer.

So now that I have justified writing about Metallica, you'll have to indulge me.

The reason I like 'All Nightmare Long' is definitely due to Kirk's guitar work rather than Hetfield's somewhat adolescent lyrics. The latter stages of the song feature two blistering solos that harmonise well with the machine-gun rhythm of Hetfield and the somewhat solid drumming of Ulrich. Hammett deftly uses his wah pedal to great effect, all the while never sacrificing speed and technique.

If you were to delete Kirk's contribution to this tune, then you'd have one average song. It is great to see that Metallica's 'return to their roots' mentality has allowed them to fashion something that stands up reasonably well in comparison to their earlier thrash masterpieces (i.e. anything from 'Ride the Lightning'). Songs like 'All Nightmare Long' allow you to feel justified about liking Metallica again.

So OK, thank you for letting me indulge my thrash metal roots. I'll go back to writing about socially acceptable music tomorrow.

Tip Top Tunes #2

Sitting here drinking a lovely flat white from my local Merlo’s coffee stop, and I thought I’d quickly mention some songs I’ve been thrashing to death on my winamp computer stereo.

M83 – 'Kim & Jessie'.
What a song! Listening to it is like taking a time machine back to a mid 1980s, getting out of said time machine, and going to the cinema to watch one of those teenage coming of age flicks that were so common back then. I do really like this particular song (why else would I be talking about it). Similar to another band I really enjoy, the Radio Dept.

Lykke Li – 'Dance Dance Dance'.
The Swedish can do anything. I wish I was Swedish. Arguably, they write the best contemporary pop songs, and have done for the past thirty years. They also love black metal. Lykke's acclaimed 'Youth Novels' album of last year contains this little gem. Simple in approach but well constructed and, above all, effective. Did I mention she is also extremely attractive? Those blessed Swedes.

J. Tillman – 'Under the Sun'.
Ok, this guy is the drummer of Fleet Foxes, but you probably wouldn't pick that up that fact from listening to this record. It doesn't sound much like any Fleet Foxes stuff. This particular song is from his album 'Cancer and Delirium' and while I don't think all too much of the rest of the album, this song is not too shabby. I do like the bedroom recording and the acoustic guitar work in this one (also, is it just me, or does he sound exactly like Paul Dempsey from Something For Kate?).

Girl Talk – 'Don't Stop'.
Girl Talk's 'Feed the Animals' is a great record.I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with aying that, as I'm supposed to HATE mash ups, but this guy constructs some truly fascinating mixes. I could have easily selected three or four songs from this record as my favourites, but I chose 'Don't Stop' because it uses two samples from two great songs - The Cure’s 'In Between Days' as well as Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak'.

Well, that was fun. Coffee has been consumed and I'm ready to get back to my normal vocation - study. Have a nice day.

New Tunes From Decoder Ring

It seems that Australia's 'Mogwai' (a pretty inaccurate description in my book), Sydney group Decoder Ring are about to release the follow up to the great 'Fractions' LP. After touring around the country supporting Coldplay (strange choice of touring buddies if you ask me but I suppose great for mainstream exposure), it looks like they'll release the new album in Mid 2009.

It seems that the universally adored Lenka who sung vocals on 'Somersault' and the aforementioned 'Fractions' will not be a part of the new record, having gone solo and sowing the seeds of pop stardom in the United States (don't quote me on this, but the internet reports that she is no longer in involved).

Hopefully they'll tour again without attaching themselves to stadium soft rock bands so I might actually get the chance to see them for a reasonable price!

You can download 'Beat the Twilight', a sample of the new work at Decoder Ring's official website.

Connect4: PLAY

Just posting a quick plug for an upcoming arts event in Brisbane this forthcoming weekend. The 4C Arts Collective are holding their fourth Art party at the Valley Studios on the 28th of March, 2009. Several local bands are playing and they are joined by live theatre and art performances. A whole lot of general fun goes on as well.

The following 'media release' information is relevant. If you're in Brisbane, I encourage you to come along. It costs $15 and goes from 6pm til midnight.

The Valley Studios will be transformed into a kaleidoscopic extravaganza of music and interactive art Connect 4: PLAY. 4C Arts Collective has joined forces with a motley collection of Brisbane’s best emerging musicians, visual and performance artists to bring fun and mayhem.

Aural delights will be provided by some great emerging bands. Dot.ay’s highly experimental and creatively satisfying tunes will keep the dance floor buzzing, followed by Hunz, who combines visual art and music together in his unique live shows; Music will be seen; Art will be heard. Combine this with the raw rocking talent, high energy and tremendous tunes of Little Vegas and the Fuzz Parade and 4C has an undeniably stellar line-up.

All proceeds from Connect 4: PLAY will be donated to Backbone Youth Arts, one of Queensland's leading Youth Theatre companies. Backbone Youth Arts supports, encourages and grows youth arts in Brisbane and is well known for its annual 2high Festival which provides unique and invaluable experience for festival and event management for young people with a passion for theatre, music and visual arts.

4C Arts Collective is proud to use art to give back to the community that has supported local artists. Like Backbone Youth Arts, 4C Arts Collective is committed to utilizing and promoting emerging artists in Brisbane.


LITTLE VEGAS AND THE FUZZ PARADE

Triple J featured grunge/rock/soul darlings and winners of the Valley fiesta emerging artist award return to tear the place apart with a blistering storm of electric, psychedelic rock. This is without a doubt one of the bands to watch in 2009.
www.myspace.com/littlevegasandthefuzzparade

HUNZ

Australian Hunz's project has been a long time in the making. When Victims Fight is a manifest of his outstanding talent; the crisp, poignant beatwork and evocative synth pops and glitches are reinvented when layered between Hunz' emotive voice. Somewhere between Radiohead, Telefon tel aviv and Kate Bush, his music is a testament to pop music and originality. A visionary, he created every facet of this album to be regarded as a whole, from his soulful music, to his award-winning video production to his surrealist art. Hunz fills a crevasse in modern pop music with his honesty, fragility and innovation.
www.myspace.com/hunz

DOT.AY

A one man indie techno wonder, DoT.AY creates a sonic soundscape of bleeps and beats from a variety of lofi and 8bit gaming machines and delivers a show that has to be seen to be believed. DoT.AY has performed with bands such as Girl Talk and Crystal Castles and we are thrilled to include him in our line up.
www.myspace.com/dotaymusic

DJ JANE DOE

Host of Brisbane's best new Indie dance party PISTOL WHIPPED comes genius DJ and all around stellar human being DJ JANE DOE. Imagine putting Santogold, Bloc Party, Klaxons and MIA in a blender and remixing it with a lil sumthin' sumthin' and you'll be on the right track.
http://www.myspace.com/pistolwhippednight

Also hosting:
badge making, on demand artists to create in front of your wide and sparkling eyes, a stellar array of visual art, roving theatre and performers, games, surprises AND it’s a mere $15 BYO, and no that doesn’t stand for ‘Bad Yak Odour.’
Saturday March 28; Come and PLAY. Get loose!

Knight School - The Poor and Needy Need to Party

Right, Ok. It has been while, I know. I’m really busy doing my Masters of International Studies and my quick trip to the Golden Plains festival in Victoria two weeks ago REALLY ate into my time. Still, I have managed to grab about ten short minutes to tell you my thoughts on the debut long player by Brooklyn band KNIGHT SCHOOL called THE POOR AND NEEDY NEED TO PARTY.

Being poor and needy myself, I certainly could do with a party. But does this record deliver on its ostentatious promise?

I’ve been listening to them on and off on last.fm after reading about them over at Alex’s blog, and I felt compelled to purchase their record through their label . Also, the five pound asking price seemed extremely reasonable. I’ve had it about a week and a half and given it a few good spins on the ol’ compact disc player. The conclusion? Well I think it is nice little record that has some notable highlights.

In terms of value for money, the record is a winner. However, is it the best record of the year thus far? Hrm, probably not. Will playing this record at your local speakeasy let you ‘make friends and influence people’, well, I’d say ‘highly probable’.

And the reason is thusly. KNIGHT SCHOOL write short,straight-to-the-point pop songs, some that you might like, some that you might not like as much. If, for some reason, you dislike a particular song, you’ll only be waiting a maximum of two minutes before the next song clicks around. And that song might be a winner, you never know.

Generally, all the songs are short, snappy, simple, but in a positive fashion. It could be just me but I sense a somewhat LEMONHEADS vibe on some of the tracks, at least in terms of chord construction rather than lyrical content. Most songs feature jangly sounding guitars, low fidelity vocals and drums all drenched in reverb (some vocals are almost indistinguishable). Occasionally, you’ll hear a keyboard and sometimes can make out the bass guitar. Sounds like a badly idea to record in this fashion? Well, not always, it is a conscious stylistic choice.

The album starts out with 'Pregnant Again'. Immediately, you could be forgiven for thinking that the tune was recorded in a basement using extremely low quality microphones (chances are it was). Most of the time I really am endeared to the DIY ethic that attaches itself to low fidelity recordings, ('Bee Thousand' by GUIDED BY VOICES being one of my favourite all time records), but for some untraceable reason I’m a bit sceptical of some of the production choices on this album.

And the reason for my scepticism is grounded by the fact that I think the better recorded songs on the album are actually more likeable tunes. It gets me to think that had 'Vampire Schmampire' not sounded like a rehearsal room jam session and crammed into between two other tracks, and was recorded, say, like the excellent 'Who the Fuck Hung the Moon?', perhaps I would have enjoyed these songs slightly more.

Your could be forgiven for thinking that I am being overly pessimistic. Well, I'm not trying to be, I'm simply just pointing out minor discrepancies in an otherwise excellent pop narrative. Track four, 'Maggot' is the standout, and for me really begins the album in earnest (actually, first song where I can hear the bass guitar standing out of the mix). It justifies purchasing the album simply on its own merits.

A string of really excellent tunes follows including the aforementioned 'Who the Fuck Hung the Moon?', and 'Mother Gas Station'. The LP finishes with the joyous 'Oprah (Open Your Eyes)' replete with a great little lead melody during its middle section.

THE POOR AND NEEDY NEED TO PARTY reveals that KNIGHT SCHOOL will be a great future prospect. There are some great songs here, and considering the price tag of the album, it is a worthy purchase. Check it out on last.fm (you can stream the entire thing here) or purchase the album from Lostmusic.