Despite competing against the rugby, these 3 talented bands managed to draw an excited and attentive crowd to the Beetle Bar tonight.

Making it with 5 mins to spare after an epic drive from Sydney (which proved too much for Dean’s poor Magna, retiring on the side of the road in Forster 🙁), Tin Sparrow took the stage with confidence after their sold out show at The Vanguard the previous night.

This 5 piece have shaped a modern folk, tinged with country rhythm and harmony. Opening the set with some driving and melodic sounds, the crowd soon took notice, and were engaged by the time the slower stripped back tune Bricks played, a stand out which created a nice dynamic in the set. TS continued to impress the growing crowd, showing their depth of material, and no doubt confirmed their rising reputation as a tight live band.

The second band of the evening, Mushu, gave a strong performance. My first time seeing the Sydney band, they gave first impressions and similarities with Tegan and Sara, in a very cool way. The songs were tight, and certainly inspired me to seek out more Mushu in the future!

As Howard Moon would say, “I see a boundary, and I eat a boundary”. As was the feeling I felt from hearing FOUNDS live for the first time. In a musical sense, their freeform song structure instantly draws you into the ride of their unique set. Only being together for 12 months, the 6 piece have managed to create a unique and defined sound and aesthetic. Subtle yet energetic, the eventual comparisons I grasp would be Sigor Rós and Foals, hangin with Bjork… An engaging performance from a band on their way to great things, finished perfectly with their drummer splitting his mallet on the final accent. Rock!

… And apparently the Reds won. Great success all round.

Founds play The Oxford Art Factory on Thursday July 14th.

So. Check. It. Out.

Pics by Leigh Plover

Ross De Chene Hurricanes – ‘Um Yeah I Surf’ (mp3)

Skinny white dudes can’t hold their own on the court? Balls. As if Bill Murray saving the day at three quarter time in Space Jam wasn’t enough to prove otherwise. This weekend, Melbourne raffs Ross De Hurricanes and The White Goods will be stomping all over a suburban basketball court in the name of a G.R.E.A.T Party (2).

Music and basketball? Who’da thunk. As punters from last week’s Community Cup would agree, music and sporting activities do go down well. For some slam dunk attempts and some rad party jams from both bands, head on over to Coburg Basketball Courts at 3pm tomorrow.

ps. Here’s the White Goods new track ‘Fools’.

The White Goods Facebook

Ross De Chene Hurricanes Facebook

Teleprompter’s new single – Banshee

The location of the Saturday 2nd July Warehaus party has been a well kept secret.. Until now! Playing on the night will be:

Along with various DJ’s with amusing names, and cool tunes. The gig is to launch Teleprompter’s new E.P, and promises to be one supremely crazy night. Teleprompter merge angular post-punk with indie rock elements, resulting in an enigmatic, no-holds-barred sound that is a departure from conventional classification. The first single from this EP is Banshee, produced by Yama Indra (G.L.O.V.E.S/Damn Arms).

And… the address is…. Contortionist Studios, Lucinda St , Wooloongabba, Brisbane.

(see www.facebook.com/teleprompter.brisbane for exclusive details) tickets here!

www.teleprompter.bandcamp.com

A couple of years ago I stumbled across a rad release by a dude called piers and totally dug it. It was a handful of beautiful tunes recorded by a guy in his garage (or something) running his guitar through delay pedals until it created washes of heaving noise. I listened to it again recently and decided to try and track the guy down – and I’m pretty sure I found him. And he is now called Muir. Also, I’m pretty sure he was based in Brisbane then and is now based in Melbourne (this is hard-hitting investigative music blogging, so feel free to weigh in on these rumours).

Anyway, under the new nomenclature, Muir/piers has released an equally beautiful guitar-based, ambient-leaning album – and you can name your price for it at his bandcamp page here. Above is closing track ‘Nest’ to give you a taste of what to expect.

Guerre – ‘Millenium Blues’

Guerre – ‘Millenium Blues’ (Saltcreek Coyotes Remix)

Guerre is the best thing to happen to Oz music since the Australian cast recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. If you’ve not heard his ghostly take on lo-fi R&B then now is the perfect time to get into it – because his official debut EP ‘Darker My Love’ is released today. Happy times. There’s also a remix version of the album that’s been floating around for a bit that I’ve never posted before. You can get both of them over at the record label Yes Please’s bandcamp page. I can’t recommend more.

Since relocating from Albury-Wondonga to Melbourne last year, Dirt Farmer have been working hard at the gig rounds and recording their debut EP with Colin Leadbetter (Whitley, Sarah Blasko).

They’re playing the Toff this Wednesday, and even if you’re not familiar with some of the other decent demos they’ve put out, it’s still worth gallivanting over to hear this cheery tune.

Dirt Farmer on Facebook