The Cairos – ‘Whales’

The Cairos have been getting some buzz around Brisbane for over a year and so have  wisely figured now is a good time to release their debut EP. It certainly capitalises on said buzz by building on their poppier take on post-punk tropes with Aria Award-winning producer Magoo and representing their strongest collection of songs at the peak of their profile in the local scene. ‘Whales,’ with its chorussed bassline directing the song,  has unsurprisingly been courting the most radio attention t. Containing the same washes of guitar delay and reverb that typically colour their songs,  a pounding rhythm section  and urgent vocals, the song has an intensity and sonic depth that a lot of  the superficial style-hacks lack. Importantly, dummer ‘BC’ really knows when to ride those hats. Mmmm.

www.myspace.com/thecairos

Sherlock’s Daughter – ‘Kids’ (mp3)

Sherlock’s Daughter got some new tracks on their myspace, part of an EP that Jono Ma produced for the band. Kids further highlights just how sweet Tanya Horo’s voice is. They are playing this Thursday 7th May 2009 at the Hopetoun Hotel, I’m keen to check them out.

www.myspace.com/sherlocksdaughter

Third albums are often the most interesting albums in a band’s catalogue. Lacking the excitement of  a debut and the scrutiny of a sophomore effort, third albums tend to see a musician either revert to their original winning formula, throw caution to the wind or showcase their artistic growth.

‘All I Want’ is the new single from Sarah Blasko’s upcoming third album As Day Follows Night and while it won’t win her any new fans, at least it’ll keep the old ones happy. Bjorn Yttling’s (Peter, Bjorn & John) production leaves the song clear and polished without sterilising the music and the theremin is a nice touch.

Let’s hope Blasko’s newie revisits the quiet intensity of her previous releases without the crashingly boring bits.

Underlapper – Renfield (Faux Pas remix)

In 2007, Sydney’s Underlapper released their second album, ‘Red Spring’. Having evolved into a six-piece post-rock ensemble, Red Spring’s (mostly) instrumentals were expansive, glitchy, often beautiful, and the perfect source material for a remix album.

Fast-forward to now (whoosh!), and Underlapper have delivered on this latent promise with ‘Red Spring Remixes’, featuring this standout cut courtesy of Melbourne producer Faux Pas – true to the original’s gentle pacing, while adding a beat that you could (conceivably) dance to.

Like it? Download it for free at Faux Pas’ homepage.

www.myspace.com/underlapper

Regular John – ‘Abbattoir Noir’

Regular John are a grunge/garage revivalist band who relocated to Sydney from the sticks and have, in a short period of time, amassed some impressive support slots and media coverage.

‘Abbattior Noir’ sounds like early BRMC soundtracking a spaghetti western in the early 90s. The wet, fuzzed-out bass rolls along beneath alternating spider-y guitar work and beefed up powerchords while the vocals work the full spectrum from slurring and slinking to strained shouting. The thumping toms during the song’s bridge/faux-outro make for an exciteable rhythmic bed for the minimal but effective solo.

The track is taken from their forthcoming debut, ‘The Peaceful Atom is a Bomb.’ The track can be downloaded for free from JJJ at http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/listen/mp3s.htm

www.myspace.com/regularjohnmusic