Flying Foxes new album tracks

Flying Foxes - ‘Napoleon’ (mp3)

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Flying Foxes - ‘Everything Will Change’ (mp3)

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Everything is better when it’s free, that’s a scientific fact. The Flying Foxes debut was probably going to be pretty good anyway, but by the aforementioned logic my appreciation for it has been heightened by roughly 20% since you can get your dirty mouse-clicking mits on that shit for free from their website right now. Yup. They’re calling February ‘Free Album Month’ or something, which would suggest that you have 28 days (well, only 20 now) to get a-downloading – but then maybe March will also be ‘Free Album Month,’ I haven’t asked. Don’t risk it, head over to flyingfoxes.tv to get in on this socialist cultural exchange.

The above songs are both pulled from that debut, Ticking Boxes. ‘Napoleon’ is the opening number and gives a pretty good idea of what Flying Foxes are about for the uninitiated. A mix of sparse, brooding, and upbeat sensibilities; simple guitar playing mixed with slightly-weak-but-in-a-cool-way vocals; a big chorus that never sounds too big thanks to the understated instrumentation.

Then ‘Everything Will Change’ is about the least Flying Foxes-esque track on their, sounding more like a post-punk band reinterpreting a BRMC cast-off. It’s nonetheless a catchy song and represents probably the most use guitar distortion on an otherwise restrained record. If you like these tracks then you’ll probably like everything in between too. And when all it costs is a fraction of your time and download quote, why not hit it up?

flyingfoxes.tv

The Hot Licks Festival

A friend of mine told me that he was playing in a little festival called The Hot Licks Festival in Mount Gambier, 4 hours in between Melbourne and Adelaide. The lineup is mostly local bands in Melbourne. When he told me that one of his friends Riley Ellard is running the festival, I contacted her to find out just why she has decided to undertake such a massive project on her own. The whole vibe of DIY initiative and going out to see new local bands is something that we promote strongly here at whothehell.net . So this is what she had to say:

The festival was initially conceived based on my own experiences growing up in Mount Gambier and really craving a stronger arts presence in the region. The community is extremely sports-focussed and in terms of accessing live music, performance, contemporary art, photography, e.t.c. you are very much at a disadvantage. Its a sentiment that’s definitely been echoed by the majority of young people from the region – there are very few activities for young people and a strong sense of sociocultural hardship. When I moved to Melbourne to study I realised just how completely divorced rural and regional areas tend to be from the creative arts, particularly the kind of flourishing underground music scene that exists in Melbourne.

The original idea was to start taking bands down to the region to do shows – something akin to a $5 gig at The Tote – and try and make live music more accessible. Although kids in the region will sometimes travel to the city for kind of grand-scale arena shows with international artists or the larger festivals like Big Day Out, they really have no way of experiencing those very intimate, grassroots gigs where you make a gold coin donation on the door and get that sense of being a part of something as you charter the growth of a band from when they first start playing.

The bands were chosen with that concept in mind and we very deliberately shied away from approaching more prominent or recognised artists. Somewhat unexpectedly all the bands said yes straight away, the city council jumped on board by awarding us a permit to hold the event in the Valley Lakes area and so Hot Licks was born.

Its definitely been a struggle to start the event with no real infrastructure in terms of existing sponsors or funding – we’ve had some really great feedback from potential sponsors who want to be involved in future events, but this first one has very much been built from scratch. Particularly in Melbourne we’ve received overwhelming support – graphic design and web design has all been done for free and the bands have really risen to the occasion by helping with poster runs.

The biggest issue has been that this is quite a novel event for the Mount Gambier community so we’ve had some barriers in terms of people getting on board – surprisingly its been older people in the community who have really supported the project, probably because there were similar events when they were younger and in the last couple of decades there’s been a real lull. We’ll be going down with the bands early Friday to do some surprise guerilla shows and spread our enthusiasm, so there should be a real sense of anticipation come Saturday morning.

Riley.

www.hotlicksfestival.com.au

St Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2010

I really like St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, actually I love it. So to those that bitched about a blow out last year – well, nothing. There were only a small number of basement dwelling noisy dickwads and nobody actually cares about them. This year’s festival sold out of course and it was once again – awesome!

The immediate feeling of the Laneway Festival is that it’s put on by music lovers for people that actually dig music. This is not a festival to get trashed and throw cans at Lilly Allen before pushing smaller people out of the way to get a glimpse of some inflated rock opera. It is a diverse, well considered and quite manageable day of quality Australian and lesser known International Artists.

Dirty three were an obvious highlight for me, Oh Mercy were solid and the Philly Jay’s have well confirmed themselves as one of the most exciting live bands in the country. Bridezilla showed confidence on the larger stage but really need an evening slot to help the atmosphere of their sound. Sarah Blasko has played every festival I have been to over summer, so it’s fair to say I saw nothing new but it’ll take a while to tire of hearing her perform tracks from ‘As Day Follows Night’. Finally, a quick mention of XX as the most incredible international band of the day and definitely the sexiest bass player to grace our shores.

Operator Please – “Logic”

Operator Please – ‘Logic’

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After the song about ping pong, after their keyboard player lost her shit and left the band to become a minor-league porn star, after massive national and international success, Operator Please have grown up and into themselves.

‘Logic’ doesn’t have the gang vocals, spiky guitars or buildups of their older work, instead relying on a bass hook and cowbell. Yes, cowbell. It’s much slower than their previous stuff and definitely cooler.
They’re on the touring lineup for this month’s Future Music festival, which gives a bit of an indication of the direction they’re trying to go in; indeed, it’s hard to imagine older songs like “Crash Tragic” fitting in with this new band.

You can download Logic after you sign up to their mailing list here.

www.myspace.com/operatorplease

Ball Park Music – “Sea Strangers” video

This is pretty cute. I particularly like the suspenders and the gigantic dancing voodoo doll.

The Thin Kids – ‘23 Things I’d Change About The Brisbane Music Scene’

The Thin Kids – ‘23 Things I’d Change About The Brisbane Music Scene’ (mp3)

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You probably already know what this song is about just from reading the title – it’s not meant to be clever or ironic, just an accurate description of the lyrical content therein. What you might not know is that The Thin Kids is a new project from (in)famous British music critic Everett True (pictured above), now a restless Brisbane-based academic and “fading critic,” mainly of Pitchfork and Animal Collective. The band also features actual Brisbane folk in Edward Guglielmino, Margaret Collins and Scotty Regan – but it’s Everett who has the wikipedia entry so, you know, he gets some special mention. Plus it’s him doing most of the ranting in the above song.

The tune is apparently named for an open letter True published upon first arriving in Brisbane that singled a number of venues, publications and bands as being fairly crap – fellow Thin Kids member Ed G among them. But then other Thin Kids member Margaret Collins supposedly helped them make peace etc etc.  I’m not sure how much of the bio on their MySpace is for shiz but, like this song and most things True touches, it stirs curiosity and interest regardless. Head over there to hear some of the other tracks available for streaming (two of which are called ‘We Never Rehearse’).

The Thin Kids make their live debut at the Troubadour in Brisbane the 24th Feb. I assume Mr True won’t have see cause to complain about this through song, but I wouldn’t put it past him.

www.mypace.com/thethinkids

White Noise @ Brisbane’s “The Edge”

Located at the State Library in South Bank, The Edge is the shiny new home of creativity in Brisbane, with plenty of computers and communal space for creative types to do their thing.
Brisbane digital distributor Musicadium is running a series of workshops at the facility under the name White Noise, with goal of educating musicians on the best ways to promote and manage their music.

From the presser:

White Noise consists of a series of free workshops for up and coming artists to be held at the Edge, a brand new state-of-the-art creative facility in South Bank.
The two sets of three-day sessions, now looking for applicants, will include workshops and seminars on song-writing, recording, distribution, management, marketing and promotions.
Local and national music industry professionals will host each seminar or workshop, passing on invaluable insight and information to the young artists.
The sessions will culminate in a showcase held in the Edge auditorium, which will provide an opportunity for the public to see the progress made by the artists over the course of the program.

They’re looking for applicants now, so head to their website to apply.
The sessions run 15th-20th of March and applications close 28th February.

The Gifthorse & Break Even, East Brunswick Club 30/1/2010

I don’t usually take photos at shows, but then again I’m not usually at shows in Melbourne so I thought I’d make an exception. Brisbane’s The Gifthorse and Perth’s Break Even have been supporting New York band Polar Bear Club on their Aussie tour, which wound up at the East. To be honest, I wasn’t a  fan of the venue; Brisbane does small grungy venues better, and with cheaper drinks.

The Gifthorse:

Break Even:

See my Flickr for more.

Deep Sea Arcade – ‘Lonely In Your Arms’

The new clip from Deep Sea Arcade, one of my fav young bands at the moment. This song is the jam and the film clip is equally striking and nostalgic. It was also animated and directed by the band’s multi-talented singer, Nic McKenzie. Check it out below.

Deep Sea Arcade – Lonely In Your Arms (Official Video)

Deep Sea Arcade | MySpace Music Videos

The Spirits – ‘Molecular’ video

The Spirits, Molecular (Live at TV Party, Candys Apartment 15/10/09) from Nick La Rosa on Vimeo.

Big Day Out 2010

(photo: Daniel Boudist)

In just a merry quarter of an hour in the queue, being smacked on the face with Australian flag paraphernalia, beer breath on the back of my neck and the distinct waft of other…organic substances, I’m given a true blue, cordial welcoming to the Sydney Big Day Out.

Still yet to pinpoint what it is exactly that attracts so many to this annual festival of beer, bogans and breasts. If you are aching to read about the unskilled offspring of Keith Allen, Matt Bellamy’s vibrato or any of the other international acts on the bill, you should stop reading now.

… Continue Reading

French Rockets/Injured Ninja split 12″

New Perth label Heartless Robot Productions is releasing a split 12″ featuring above bands. It will put out as a limited edition vinyl/DVD/mp3 package, which can be purchased through their website here. The DVD portion contains the clips below.

Without wanting to totally overshadow Injured Ninja, I fucking love French Rockets’ music and lighting stuff, which is here translated into a film clip that could be pulled right from the early 80s when people with money discovered video synthesisers. Nowadays, people without money can achieve the same effect but with added nostalgia value. FUNTIMES.

My Disco – ‘Young’

My Disco – ‘Young’ (mp3)

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Australian blogger types have been getting moist with anticipation ever since it was announced a while back that My Disco would be putting out a new single in Feb ‘10. That single has arrived. In digital, mp3 form anyway. And it’s not just a throwaway single, a studio leftover, a single that you’ll absorb in a few minutes and forget about – no. ‘Young’ goes for 11 solid minutes, which would alleviate any potential disappointment based purely on value for money. But it’s also a bonus that each of those pounding 11 minutes is pretty fucking good. It opens with a bang (ie. loud, scrappy, wirey guitar over a driving rhythm section) and continues to chug along to the point of ferocious monotony. This is one of those jams that will probably reach borderline transcendence when played live on stage.

Given the buzz around this band I assume blog readers have probably already heard this track elsewhere since an FTP failure on my part prevented this monster of a song from getting uploaded correctly the other day. But for those who want another taste or need to catch up, here it is.

www.myspace.com/mydiscomydisco

Bluejuice – ‘Ain’t Telling The Truth’ video

Jet & Muse cover AC/DC

Recently I went on the Big Day Out tour and was lucky enough to catch Muse. The dimunitive Matt Bellamy owned the stage, strutting through their entire repertoire. For the encore, they brought out Nic Cester of Jet to cover AC/DC’s Back in Black.

Club NME Australia launches / Yacht Club DJs remix Philly Jays

Philadelphia Grand Jury – ‘The Good News’ (Yacht Club DJ Remix) (mp3)

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In case the large poster above didn’t tip you off just yet, Club NME is coming to Australia this Feb – and is bringing with it Andy Rourke of The Smiths for a DJ set. I have no idea what he is like as a DJ, but he was in The Smiths and you’ll probably be able to touch him at least briefly. “Hey,” I hear you say, “neither Andy Rourke or NME are Australian.” You are correct, have a gold star. Club NME is fortunately taking some cool local acts with it as it travels down the east coast. Joining Mr Rourke will be a live set from the Philadelphia Grand Jury and DJ sets from Yacht Club and Purple Sneakers DJs.

In case you can’t read the above poster for whatever reason, the dates are:

Thurs 25 Feb – The Empire, Bris
Fri 26 Feb – Hi Fi, Melb
Sat 27 Feb – Manning Bar, Syd

Apparently this is to be a regular thing on the gig calendar so keep your eyes out for future Club NME nights.

www.clubnmeaustralia.com

Seja Vogel – ‘Sing Me The Song Like You Said’

Seja Vogel – ‘Sing Me The Song Like You Said’

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Uber-label Rice Is Nice  recently signed Brisbane’s Seja Vogel of Sekiden and Regurgitator (c. 2006) to their already-impressive stable of artists (Seekae, Talons, Spod, Richard In Your Mind et al). In keeping with her synth-playing roles in those bands, Seja has produced an album of songs based almost exclusively around her vocals and synth playing that display not only a proficiency at playing the instrument but at also wringing effective sounds out of it.

I’ve seen Seja live and must admit that I’m still getting used the whole ‘play along to an iPod’ style of performance. But hey, it took me a while to warm to the idea of samplers as an instrument so I’ll probably come around. Regardless, the songs were rad, her vocals were near flawless and there was even synchronised dancing (with ex-Rational Academy’s Meredith McHughe).

Looking forward to checking out this album. In ‘Sing Me The Song Like You Said,’  Seja has not only captured a cool tune but totally nailed the production as well (assuming she did the production, which is unconfirmed). Check the eerie vocal breakdown a minute in – can’t go past that old ‘tear it down, build it up’ trick. Sweet stuff.

www.myspace.com/sejamusic

Laneway Festival starts today

So this Laneway shit starts today for those of you in Brisbane. Funtimes! In case you missed the news, Echo & The Bunnyman have canceled their slot at the Brisbane show – but have been replaced by The Dirty Three. Which is actually a trade up IMO so yay to that. Below is the full list of local artists and links to our blog love for most of them.

SARAH BLASKO
EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING
DAPPLED CITIES
KID SAM
THE MIDDLE EAST
WHITLEY
BRIDEZILLA
THE DIRTY THREE (Brisbane, Melbourne)
PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY (Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney)
OH MERCY (Sydney, Melbourne)
LAST DINOSAURS (Brisbane only)
MARK BARRAGE (Melbourne only)
PANEL OF JUDGES (Melbourne only)
TEETH & TONGUE (Melbourne only)
DANIMALS (Sydney only)
JONATHAN BOULET (Sydney only)
SEEKAE (Sydney only)
THE SWISS (Adelaide only)
BOYS BOYS BOYS! (Perth only)
POND (Perth only)
KILL TEEN ANGST (Perth only)
TOMAS FORD (Perth only)
TIM AND JEAN (Perth only)
VOLTAIRE TWINS (Perth only)
THE SALVADORS (Adelaide only)
COMIC SANS (Brisbane only)
FERGUS BROWN (Sydney only)
THE FROWNING CLOUDS (Melbourne only)
YOUNG REVELRY (Perth only)
THE WHITE GOODS (Sydney only)

Dates and international artists announcement below:

… Continue Reading

No Through Road latest single

No Through Road - ‘You Better Run’

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‘Girls Are The Devil’ is the latest single off one of my fav albums of 2009, No Through Road’s Winner. Truth be told, it’s not my personal highlight on the record but I can see where they’re coming from in putting this one out. It’s a pretty smooth number that makes a decent case for radio coverage while retaining bits of their chugging slacker charm. Still a good tune, but it ain’t no ‘Party To Survive.’

I’m actually a big fan of b-side ‘You Better Run,’ a more restrained number that mixes the caution of the title with Matt Banham’s lackadaisical vocals.

www.myspace.com/nothroughroad

Elrazor

Elrazor – ‘Second Coming’

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I don’t often put metal up on the blog. It’s partially because I’m scared Matt and Jerry will kick me off if I do it too often, but mostly because a lot of Aussie hard rock and metal bands aren’t very good.

While Melbourne’s Elrazor aren’t breaking any new ground in the genre, they do the Pantera/Iron Maiden/Metallica vein of metal well and tightly. They have everything – harmonised riffs, pinch harmonics, tasteful double kicks and shredding over palm muted chugging.

They’re currently #2 on the Triple J Unearthed metal chart – make of that what you will.

www.myspace.com/elrazor