Snowdropper; Definition:Noun 1. a person who steals women’s underwear off clothes lines and masturbates into them. 2. 1920’s slang for cocaine addicts.
With as much swagger as white men can muster, The Snowdroppers have developed some serious blues with a modern edged sound and energy. The boys have recently signed to label Difrnt Music (Cog, Regular John) to release their 1st album ‘Too Late To Pray’, so it looks like these lounge lizards are ready to bring the debauchery and depravity of the roaring 1920’s out of your local juice joint and onto the radio.
The single ‘Rosemary’ is short, catchy and makes you strut from the start with its infectious rhythm, and Johnny Wishbone’s narrative about Rosemary and her secret video tape.. Wishbone’s powerful voice and unruly persona gives an edge that is definitely matched by the intensity of the music. They’re the bee’s knees baby.
Also check out – Juke Baritone, Chase The Sun.
http://www.myspace.com/snowdroppers
It’s not the worst name in the world, but it’s up there with ‘Primal Scream’ as the most misleading. I initially ignored these guys because I figured that one AC/DC was already one too many in my life. But, as it turns out, these guys aren’t pub rock aficionados at all and I’ve been foolishly dismissing them for god knows how long. This is what I get for judging a book by its cover. This is also what a book gets for having a misleading cover.
Streaming above for your pleasure is a song that you definitely won’t hear blasted at any sports/Irish bars. It’s far too quirky and acoustic for that, and what it lacks in shirtless, hairy machismo it makes up for with contagious feeling of child-like joy. If the kids are coming, it’s because this song sounds a bit like The Middle East if The Middle East were happy and loud.
The 23rd Aria Award Nominations were announced today. It has a lot of usual suspects in there, but thankfully there’s also some new talent getting the attention they deserve. Empire of the Sun don’t necessarily count as new talent since both members have been around for a while, but they’ve basically re-colonised the globe and I’m especially happy about their nomination since they’re likely to stop AC/DC from winning any of the big awards.
Also, Ladyhawke curiously made the list – curiously since she’s from New Zealand. Not that she doesn’t deserve the plaudits, but surely that means Flight of the Conchords should be nominated/hands down walking away with the ‘Best Comedy Album’ award.
Canberra – aka the ‘scream-o’ capital of Australia from what I’m told – doesn’t get a lot of attention from the music world, probably because the aforementioned rep it has. Also because it’s kinda small. But don’t forget it’s also from whence Young & Restless (RIP) hailed. Now they’ve also produced Kasah, a four-piece on the verge of releasing their debut EP after becoming the lucky recipients of the Australian Council’s ‘Soundclash’ funding program, which is awarded to music that’s “innovative within a pop music context” (that’s a paraphrase).
By ‘lucky,’ I didn’t mean to suggest that Kasha were undeserving. The above track is off said EP and it’s definitely a promising start. I hear shades of My Disco in there, and their playful attitude towards the time signature hints to a love of Battles. ‘Let A Storm’ sounds like someone took a pop song and then just played another song over the top, and the CD started skipping in the bridge. It’s energetic and raw and is a good example of why brain and braun aren’t mutually exclusive.
I love this song, not only because its title is a play on a great song by The Cure but because it actually sounds like it was released around the same time ie. early 80s without sounding like a superficial genre exploration. The synth strings and chiming guitars set a effective, shiny backdrop, but the song really picks up momentum whenever the bass and hi-hats come come back into the mix. The potentially-annoying vocoder and flanger feed perfectly into the glorious washed out arrangement draped over the repetitive refrain.
I really, really like this track. This is what I’ve wanted Air’s last two albums to sound like. I’ll definitely be posting more on these guys in the future.
Born from the ashes of Sydney band The Oceans, Dan and Bo from the band have ventured down the electronic path, with a nice E.P of melodic indie dance tunes known as ‘The Paris Funk Destroyers‘. The single ‘Sunshine’ sounds like it would go nicely on the next Empire of the Sun album, with lush harmonies in the chorus and production sounding straight from the soundtrack of the 1980’s super hit Karate Kid… in a good way. More tracks to come!
Above is footage of Bridezilla performing a live set for ‘The Guest Apartment’ at Baeble Music.
In other Bridezilla news, their debut album ‘The Last Dance’ is out November 7 on Inertia. Yay. I had a brief correspondence with vocalist Holiday Cameron-Sparks in the lead-up to its release. The wily singer doesn’t give away much about their impending record because “it’s like giving away the sex of a baby,” but it’s only made me more keen to get my hands on it. Q&A below.
What was it like starting out so young? Has it been like one of those high school relationships that got a bit weird when you left school?
Everyone’s gone through their respective phases and rites of passage. We have to keep on our toes, adjusting and adapting. We are very, painfully, close.
How was it performing at ATP in New York?
Perverted and indulgent; an honour and a thrill.
Your album is coming out soon – what should we expect from it? What did you expect going into it?
I expected it to sound like The Colo River mystified by my adolescence. I want you to expect nothing, so you can be surprised! It’s like giving away the sex of a baby before it’s born, and painting the walls accordingly.
As well as all the bands you’ve played with at ATP, you recently toured with Decoder Ring and Seekae, bands that get critical acclaim and talked of as ‘intelligent’ or ‘high art’ music. Did you seek to achieve something like with your album? Did you see it as a collection of songs or a work of art?
I hear it as both, increasingly so. It’s nice to confuse and challenge yourself by making your music more complex than you can care to understand, and the art of it allows us to get away with anything in the name of abstraction.
Tracks like your latest single ‘Beaches’ are fairly atmospheric. Is that something you plan and take into consideration at the time of writing and rehearsing or does that all happen when you’re in the studio?
We’ve tried to use the advantages of recording and electronic equipment purely to emphasize (with subtlety and purpose) dynamics that are already in place.
The other striking thing about ‘Beaches’ is that it sounds quite big, almost epic, and yet it’s over in about 2mins. Did you consciously keep that song tight, and is it a reflection of the forthcoming album?
It may well be a result of attention deficit, but perhaps everything is there in that 2 minutes that needs to be. Perhaps that’s all you need to hear.
Who is your favourite Australian band/artist at the moment?
In my bias opinion, The Scare are the most frustratingly under-appreciated band in Australia. We are lucky to have them. In Sydney, Cabins, Seekae, Marf Loth, and A Casual End Mile. In Melbourne, Teen Archer, Super Wild Horses, and Witch Hats.
What’s your favourite Australian album of the last decade?
My Mother’s records. Loene Carmen: Slight Delay, Rock N Roll Tears, and It Walks Like Love. I haven’t got my hands on Rowland S Howard’s Pop Crimes yet though, and that will be a tough contender, I know.
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Still trying to purchase!!!ANTHONY J LANGFORD
Cool track. Congrats Joshua. Hope the release is a success.Tristan
Man I love these guys. I can't believe they are not releasing any new music. I've been to so many…sophie
^^ I love Grimes! Banoffee is one of my new favorite music artists! :) I love With Her, Reign Down,…Ace
Read your review then listened to the EP. Fantastic ! Different to most hardcore punk I listen to. Somewhat more…