John Columbus – ‘The Toll’

Just heard this band on the radio, a new four piece from Sydney yet to release their first EP. This song stuck out amidst all the everyday fm noise, so is well worth a listen. Interestingly there is a different version up on their myspace, so check it out before they just settle on the one version.

www.myspace.com/johncolumbusband

Joe Hardy vs Gotye – ‘Hearts A Mess (3AM Mix)’

It’s a bit hard to improve on perfection, but if there’s a remix that comes close, it’d be Joe Hardy’s recombobulation of the as-close-to-perfect-as-possible Gotye song ‘Hearts A Mess’ which was originally found on the album Like Drawing Blood.

Last week I blogged about the new Gotye remix / covers album Mixed Blood and in particular, Karnivool’s heavy re-working of the song ‘The Only Way’.  This week I thought I’d showcase one remix in particular, and the song that I think is the best remix on the record.  For some reason, there’s three different versions of ‘Hearts A Mess’ on Mixed Blood but none seem to come near Joe’s remix.  It retains the beauty of the original, but adds a sublime melancholie that’s truly captivating.  Joe adds his own subtle flavours whilst still showing reverence for the original track.  The song really comes into its own around the 4 minute mark when the off-kilter drums enter the picture.

Like Faux Pas before him, Joe also maintains his own blog at http://joe.hardy.id.au/blog/. It’s a great read, very diverse and in-depth. He’s also posted some early versions of his ‘Hearts A Mess’ remix so it’s interesting to see how he got to the final product.

http://joe.hardy.id.au/blog/

The incomparable Mr. Percival dropped into Mornings with Kerri-Anne (which is a morning show on Channel 9 here in Australia) to show how he creates his spellbinding music and perform ‘Down in Africa’ from his amazing, AMAZING album Out of the Loop.

You get a sense of what he does live from this clip, but it doesn’t compare to actually being there.  If you only see one artist this year, make sure it’s Mr. Percival.  You won’t be disappointed!

http://www.myspace.com/mrpercival

These rad New Zealanders return with another song.

http://www.myspace.com/cutoffyourhands

Art Rush – ‘Penrith Chicks’ (mp3)

Sometimes you can uncover gems lurking within the library of FBi 94.5fm – and this is definitely one of them.  I’ve completely fallen in love with its DIY / bedroom aesthetic, overprocessed vocals and simple Fruity Loops beats. 

I think what I love most about this song is the lyrics: they’re just so obvious, not poetic at all and that makes it so hilarious.  So he saw girls from Penrith on the train, they were fucking annoying and they pissed him off, so he wrote a song about them.  It’s gold!  Drop in the cultural MySpace reference and you’ve got the underground lounge version of Muscles.

(For those out of towners, Penrith is a suburb west of Sydney.)

This song comes from a homemade album entitled Primary School Disco which are just CD-Rs with a hand-drawn cover to continue the DIY feel.  It’s actually his second album, following on from Lunch 6.  There’s truckloads of cool content on his MySpace page, so make sure you check it out. 

http://www.myspace.com/artrush

BoWsER – ‘Soldier’ (mp3)

Now this is rock – pure get-naked-and-drink-til-you-drop kinda rock.  Fitting, too, that BoWsER (who hail from the Gold Coast) supported the Eagles of Death Metal on their tour of Australia.  There’s a definite Queens of the Stone Age vibe to ‘Soldier’, one of the songs off BoWsER’s EP Modus Operandi that’s been getting some radio lovin’ around the place.

This is one of the most infectious rock tunes I’ve heard in quite some time, and no doubt would rock the house live.  It’s a simple four-to-the-floor song, but damn it’s good.  Short and sweet, like a good rock song should be.

http://www.myspace.com/bowsertheband

Ash Phoenix – ‘Bye Bye Bicycle’ (mp3)

You’d be forgiven for thinking you were looking at an Incubus promo photo circa Fungus Amongus… dude, check out those dreads!

But in actual fact it’s Ash Phoenix, a band who are slowly but surely generating a bit of a buzz for themselves around the Sydney alternative scene thanks for some fiery, energetic live shows and supports with the like of current Triple J darlings, Dead Letter Circus.

‘Bye Bye Bicycle’ (slightly dubious title, but each to their own) is the first single from their forthcoming EP.  Rhythmic chords ride the beat while Roddy Bottum-esque keys lines carry the melody underneath, before the soaring chorus kicks in with Tyrone unleashing a surprisingly confident voice (because usually “singers” in alternative bands are just crap).

They’re playing September 14 at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney – you’ve got a while to wait, but in the meantime stop washing your hair so you can fit in at their next show.

http://www.myspace.com/ashphoenixband