New. Australian. Music.    

Dash and WIll - Pick You Up

When I got into the car to drive to work I had Tegan and Sara’s The Con in my head so I fired up the ipod, put that song on loud, and then put on a few more pop gems from the twin sisters before arrived at the office. As soon as sat down I opened up an email encouraging me to download, Dash and Will’s new free download called Pick You Up. The email unfortunately described Dash and Will as Australia’s answer to Tegan and Sara, which forced me to compare the two acts and since T&S is still fresh in my head from this morning’s drive, D&W’s offering seemed underdeveloped and repetitive. This is an unfair comparison of course seeing that T&S has so much more life and songwriting experience than D&W, but I’m guessing that’s how most listeners would feel too. Nevertheless I’m also sure that like me most people can also see that D&W is bubblling with promising talent and that this choice of single is not indicative of their carreer path. You can hear the obvious distinction in their voices, as opposed to T&Ss hard-to-tell-apart similarity, is going to be a strong point in their songcrafting endeavours. If you venture to their myspace there’s a couple more tunes ready for listen and can stand their own ground even in the shadow of a certain popular songwriting sister duo. Looking forward to hearing more.
www.myspace.com/dashandwill

Dead Letter Circus - ‘Reaction’

Dead Letter Circus are one of those lucky bands who have already worked out what their signature sound is going to be, even before they’ve released a full-length album. However, they are in danger of recycling the same tones and sounds, particularly if they don’t soon switch off the delay pedal. People like familiarity, but not when it becomes repetitiveness.

Having said that, ‘Reaction’ is DLC’s most solid song to date, particularly for vocalist Kim Benzie who’s stripped back the stratospheric high notes that were abundant on the group’s debut EP but which he consistently struggled to hit live. (I hate to say it, but that’s what you get when you use Auto-Tune.) It’s a more natural range for Kim, allowing him not only to add some well-placed harmonies but make his vocals far more rhythmic and laconic, creating an infectious counterpoint to the frenetic instrumentation that’s sitting underneath.

It’s not a deviation from the EP, but more of a solidification of their musical style. ‘Reaction’ is a promising sign of things to come for these Brisbane boys.

http://www.myspace.com/deadlettercircus

Little Red - ’Coca Cola’
 

I sincerely doubt that there’s any real music lovers left in this country who haven’t heard of this band yet. However, there is still a disturbingly large amount of Australians who get their music knowledge from Video Hits and So Fresh compilations, so for their benefit, here is Little Red. Comprising of five school aged boys from Melbourne, Little Red embodies everything that made pop music great in the ’60s; multi-layered vocal harmonies, tight-ass clean guitars and more hooks than you can throw a stick at. And in an age when ‘It’s too late to apolo-giiiiiiiiise’ has become a mainstream phenomenon, it’s nice to know that there’s still a band around that are happy to sing pretty little ditties about girls and love and soda and stuff.

(Read on …)

Cut Off Your Hands  - ‘Shark Attack’

All the way from the UK where they’re working with producer extraordinaire Bernard Butler (he’s worked with Duffy, Manic Street Preachers, Roy Orbison, the Libertines, Aimee Mann… this guy knows his shit), Kiwi lads Cut Off Your Hands have given us a very hot exclusive - it’s something new from their eagerly-awaited debut album. This one’s called ‘Shark Attack’ and if it sounds slightly familiar, that’s because it’s a Split Enz cover. No word on when the album will be out, so enjoy this one for now.

http://www.myspace.com/cutoffyourhands

They’ve got a great knack for pop melodies, but Sparkadia almost seem too nice for their own good. Oh well, I guess it worked for Something for Kate, and as long as Sparkadia keep writing catchy tunes like this, they should be fine.

While you’re in a video-watching mood, head over to Ocker Zeal to watch a video interview I did with Monica Tan. It’s always fun being on the other end of interviews.

http://www.myspace.com/sparkadia

Yves Klein Blue - ‘Polka’

I had never heard of this band in my life until I got stuck with them for a double bill at Candy’s Apartment one quiet Thursday night last year. These boys (I think they might have hit the 18 mark by the time of writing) played to a practically empty house and, god bless their cotton socks, they rocked out with the conviction of stage veterans. A couple of months later Brisbane act YKB are signed to the awesome Dew Process, home to two of my fave artists, The Grates and Sarah Blasko.

They’ve re-recorded their debut EP Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves, and from what I can hear, invited every session player they know into the sessions to have a blast. There’s pianos, trumpet fanfares, Latin percussion and a whole lot of other crazy shit that definitely wasn’t there on the hand-scrawled disc they hurriedly gave me last November.

Word is they’re getting a lot of FBi love, which is understandable, as they’re kind of our answer to Belle and Sebastian-meets-Franz Ferdinand, with light pop tunes and edgy rockers all comandeered by that powerfully unique voice in the front. There’s no pretension here, just four kids from Brisvegas playing the kind of music that everyone else wants to hear. Trust me, you want to hear this.

http://www.myspace.com/yveskleinbluemusic

From the trainwreck that was the abominable MTV Australia Awards 2008 - perhaps the most irrelevant awards ceremony ever to be held on these shores - comes The Vines with a woeful performance of their dreary new tune, ‘He’s A Rocker’.

In a light show that would arouse Tiesto and bring down epileptics everywhere, The Vines limp through this weak post-grunge number with lukewarm stage presence and off-key backing vocals. Perhaps the Vines are the new Jet - a band who the industry thinks is “hip” and “cool”, but in reality no one really gives a crap about them.

But that was indicative of the entire MTVAA, held at the awesome but ill-fitting CarriageWorks in Sydney, with a cold VIP area and a cattle-pen for the rest of the punters. Does anyone care about acts like Eve and Wyclef Jean? They haven’t had a hit in, what… 8 years or something?

I also received an email from an irate attendee who is furious at MTV and General Pants (who you had to purchase expensive jeans from in order to secure a ticket) for being promised a 50 Cent performance, but the man (with entourage in tow) failed to say more than a few introductory words on the night. I’m sure he’s not the only one.

Sorry to hark on about it, but I seriously can’t get over the lasers in the chorus! What the hell were they thinking? Makes me laugh every time I watch it… and I’m sure that’s not the desired response.

P.S. I don’t mean to MTV-bash, because the 2007 awards was one of the best nights of my life! Nicole Richie… priceless. It’s just they just got it horribly, horribly wrong this year.

http://www.myspace.com/thevines

Michael Peter - ‘Paper Planes’ (mp3)

Built around a simple, circular 6/8 acoustic riff, Michael Peter has constructed a serene folk/pop song, ornamenting it with beautiful backing vocals from Sarah Humphreys and electric guitar licks.

A song about questioning the path you’re taking, the bare instrumentation brings Michael’s voice to the fore and the lyrics become the focus of attention during the song. The lulling vocals and rolling guitars gives this song a tidal, ebb-and-flow nature which rocks you to placidity, but consequently means there’s nothing overly exciting about ‘Paper Planes’, no electric spark. Having said that, Michael evidently knows melody, and ‘Paper Planes’ is a great example of his ability to weave a charming acoustic tune.

http://www.myspace.com/michaelpetermusic

Lovers Electric - ‘Honey’

This is one of those bands that you see live and you just know that they’re going to be mega in a couple of months. Lovers Electric are made up of childhood friends David Turley and Eden Boucher, who have toured extensively overseas in recent years spreading their wares to New Yorkers, Berliners and all kinds of crazy foreigners.But for now, they’re back in Australia having recently inked a deal with SonyBMG which probably locks them in for the next twenty five years. I saw these guys playing at Will and Toby’s in Darlinghurst last week and what attracted me instantly was how well these two command the stage, usually with only an acoustic guitar for accompaniment. Eden has an ethereal voice that is at once mysterious but also immediately Aussie, kind of like Missy Higgins but with about 10% less ‘ocker’.

The band sings pretty little pop songs with the kind of harmonies that make you want to hug the nearest person in the room. For some songs they’re also joined by an ’80s Casio keyboard, which spits out cutesy synthesized drumbeats in lieu of an actual band. Recorded however, Lovers Electric are an entirely different animal. Gone are the live tricks as they are supplemented for big studio gloss, real drums, bouncing pianos and distorted (just a bit!) guitars. It kind of ruins the illusion for me, but then i suppose they couldn’t go in an record an entire album with a piece of shit keyboard and an acoustic guitar.

My problem is that sometimes the vocals take the backseat to the session band and this is one group where the melodies should be front row centre. That being said, the songs are still sweet little pop gems and worth checking out.

http://www.loverselectric.com
http://www.myspace.com/loverselectric

CHAINGANG- ‘Cut Here’

CHAINGANG (written as loud as their music, suitable really) have kindly offered us something new from their demo sessions. ‘Cut Here’ is less acerbic than their debut offering, ‘Get Off My Stage’, and focuses more on melody and a post-punk rhythmic aesthetic. The thick, dirty bass is still there, rumbling along and driving ‘Cut Here’ forward. It’s more instantly catchy than ‘Get Off My Stage’ and harbours a more overt upbeat exterior. If you’re in Sydney this Friday, you can go nuts to this song when CHAINGANG support two Who the Hell faves, Catcall and Lions at your Door, at Q Bar.

http://www.myspace.com/chaingangpower

Gabriella Cilmi  - ‘Einstein’

I greatly underestimated the boom in popularity Melbourne youngster Gabriella Cilmi would have. If I had the gift of foresight, or a really sweet crystal ball, I wouldn’t have written such a rambling, droll post on her song ‘Sweet About Me’. The tune is now commercial radio fodder, an earworm if there ever was one. It’s undeniably catchy, but I fear it’s one of those songs that may grate on you the more you hear it. The chorus has a smooth, buttery vocal melody, where the song really opens up, but the verses meander along with a Ronettes-style shuffle that feels withdrawn and hesitant.

Thanks to a Lauren St John piece for the Times in the UK, our (to adopt an Aussie media fave whenever a homegrown hero gets some international attention) Gabriella is now being compared to the similarly husky toned Amy Winehouse. I mentioned it too in my original blog, and you can hear the similarities in the voice, but the comparisons should probably end there. Gabriella leans far more to the contemporary pop side of songwriting, with songs like ‘Don’t Go To Bed Now’ taking on an almost ABBA-style vocal melody and ‘Save the Lies’ sounding something like a Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner and The Veronicas threesome. Hmmm, the imagery is disturbing.

Plus, Gab’s far more attractive than coke-edged Winehouse. So she’s 16. whatever. She’s a hottie. Strike me down.

It’s a shame that her debut record Lessons to be Learned had to venture into some bland pop territory, because she’s evidently more comfortable singing music rooted in the jazz aesthetic. ‘Sanctuary’ is one such tune, a downbeat song where Gabriella can let her voice ride the sampled shaker and chorused keys, and ‘Einstein’ injects some deep emotion into her music, featuring Morcheeba-esque guitar lines. To me, this song is the best thing Gabriella has recorded. Her debut is such a mixed affair, presumably because the label’s not 100% sure which market to push Gabriella towards, so it’ll be interesting to see how Australian audiences and critics react to it when it’s dropped May 10.

http://www.gabriellacilmi.com
http://www.myspace.com/gabriellacilmi

Who would ever have thought that not one, but two Australian/New Zealand acts would scamper up the ranks of cool in London to headline the April edition of VICE Live? A very prestigious party to be playing at, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to secure a door spot through the publications I write for (as neither of them are VICE) so I tried my luck at messaging The Deathset personally. A long shot my anyone’s standard but I was surprised to see that my humble request was met with an enthusiastic, immediate and no-strings reply of “Sure, no problems!” from Johnny Siera of the Baltimore based two piece. No other gesture affirms The Deathset as an act wholly dedicated to their fans than that, though perhaps consciously ignoring the stage in the venue and opting to play at audience level where we could jump and get rough with both Johnny and Peter O’Connell brands this also.

(Read on …)

Where’s Jerome - ‘Rescue’

Finally, it’s back! Last year we discovered a little-known Sydney outfit, Where’s Jerome, the project of Jeremy Smith, one-time frontman for indie outfit Altona. Soon after we posted about them, they were picked up by a small indie digital label called Rish Records and we were kindly asked to remove the MP3 (which was a demo of a song called ‘Rescue’), but promised that when the EP was released, we could post it again.

And true to their word, ‘Rescue’ returns to Whothehell.net! I had the whole band - Jeremy, Alex and Todd - on my radio show on Wednesday night, and they’re truly insane. But truckloads of fun. Their EP Dreamboat is a wonderful collection of electroacoustic pop tunes, refusing to stay put in one definable genre throughout the disc. They’re launching it this Saturday at Sydney’s Spectrum on Oxford St. If they’re anything like they are in a radio interview, it should be one crazy gig.

http://www.myspace.com/wheresjerome

Dead Farmers - ‘The Suns of Thunder’

You know, with all this electro going down in Australia, I say it’s high time we shed our bright pink jeans and got back into our rock roots. Dead Farmers, with their unique brand of scuzz-punk madness are just the men to brink us back from the brink of fluoro madness.

Their tracks are non-stop blasts of distortion, with drums that sound like they’ve been recorded in the back of somebody’s truck and a whole lotta screaming. Remember when you used to jump around to Nirvana and yell like an angry chimpanzee in heat? Well I do (I was approximately fourteen and a half) and this kind of ‘who-gives-a-fuck?’ garage music takes me back to the days when ‘indie’ didn’t automatically mean The Strokes. Lead singer/guitarist David Akerman is on a one man mission to make as much noise as possible come out of an amp without blowing the thing up. If you haven’t seen these guys live, I highly recommend it. It might rip your eardrums in half, but hell, the point of being young is to screw up your hearing so you can pretend not to hear your own kids’ offensive music when you grow up!

Dead Farmers have supported The Black Lips on their Vice Party tour in January and are fixtures at a number of house parties and clubs across Sydney and Melbourne. They’ve got a debut 7″ EP out now (if there are any left!) and are currently recording an album. Listening to this stuff is the equivalent of drinking a glass of Tabasco Sauce. You have been warned…

http://www.myspace.com/deadfarmers

Birds of Tokyo - ‘Silhouettic’ (mp3)

It only took me about 20 seconds to realise this is the best thing Birds of Tokyo have ever done. Their first release, Day One, was a solid pop-rock album but something about ‘Silhouettic’ (which, by the way, isn’t in my dictionary Mr Kenny) pushes all the right buttons.

When you dissect it though, there’s not a lot going on, but the power of a well-written song is that you don’t need bells, whistles and fluff. Ian Kenny’s vocals are second to none, and the reason why he’s considered king amongst men in the alt rock scene in Oz. He carries this song that plain rocks, and doesn’t do much else. It’s just 3:25 of pure rock goodness, and why would you want anything else? Production is a step-up from the first album, enveloping the listener in sound. Check it out in your headphones!

http://www.myspace.com/birdsoftokyo