Soft Tigers – ‘M.A.R.I.A’ (Bumblebeez remix) (mp3)

A bit of Canberran loving here, both Soft Tigers and Bumblebeez both went to the same school. Here they are doing some remixing. Can’t really decide if I like this one or not, it might be a bit too chopped up.

www.myspace.com/softtigers

Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! – ‘I’m Here, Where Are You?’

The awesomely awesome Adelaide five-piece Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! have gratiously given us their brand new track ‘I’m Here, Where Are You?’ which is the first taste off their forthcoming EP Boy, Hush Your Mouth… Girl, Bare Your Teeth. OK, so it wasn’t actually the band themselves who gave us the track: kudos must go to band manager Matt for the tip.

It’s such a infectious indie rock track, but still with a lot of balls. Kind of like what would happen if Sonic Youth tried to make music for hipster kids wearing tight jeans and Threadless t-shirts. If you’re after a copy of their earlier EP, You Seize The City, I’ll Seize The Sky, then head to their website and you can download the whole thing for FREE! The new EP is due for release June/July and there should even be a tour to follow (once they stop playing with Bit By Bats, and Midnight Juggernauts, and Children Collide…).

Fore more Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! click here.

http://www.firesantarosafire.com
http://www.myspace.com/firesantarosafire

Midnight Juggernauts – ‘Road To Recovery’ (Miami Horror remix) (mp3)

I didn’t get to blog their new song cos I couldn’t get a copy but this remix I have just received from Miami Horror is even better. You can hear the original track on theirspace, I didn’t like very much i thought it was a bit anticlimatic and the vocals are even more subtle than their previous songs. This mix has made the song punchier. Less trance, more party.I should also mention that the Juggies have got themselves a new drummer with Dan Stricker, formerly of the Valentinos.

myspace.com/midnightjuggernauts

myspace.com/miamihorror

Emma Davis – ‘Happy Song’ (mp3)

Sometimes you find a song, or an artist, and you just immediately fall in love with them… well, not personally, but with their music. It was kind of how I felt the first time I heard the dulcet tones of ex-Melbournite, now Sydney-based chanteuse Emma Davis. There’s no denying the beauitful tones, sweet melodies and comforting aura that her joyously-titled track ‘Happy Song’ houses.

Born and raised in London, she’s a bit of a wandering minstrel, moving from London to Boston to Melbourne and now to Sydney, which she has called “home” for the past year and a half. She’s been getting a bit of love on radio stations FBi and Triple J lately, and with the strength of this song, as well as the others on her self-titled EP, you’ll probably hear a lot more of her soon.

http://www.myspace.com/emmadavismusic

Aleks and The Ramps – ‘Pisces vs Aquarius’

Got this one in the mail last week and had a good listen to it this morning. Even after reading the accompanying press release it’s hard to pick a single out of the album Pisces vs Aquarius, which is not really a good thing. While I can appreciate the ambition of this recording it falls short of its goals and it is not helped by the limited vocal style and range of the singer, who I’m guessing is Aleks (was not very clearly stated in the presser) and makes it a bit of a challenge to pay attention to the lyrics. With violins, banjo and glockenspiel in its list of instrumentation, this record is often imaginative in parts but ultimately undercooked, it seems that this record suffered from under production, which could be blamed on inexperience on the studio or just lack of production expertise on the desk. Their myspace section states ” daytime television + suburbia + nintendo ” as influences, not particularly inviting reason to be listening closely. From this recording alone I’m not sure if I want to see them live.

www.myspace.com/aleksandtheramps

Missy Higgins – ‘Steer’

We’ve got here the first single of Missy Higgins’ eagerly awaited sophomore release On A Clear Night.  I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of the album because I interviewed the Melbourne chanteuse, who really is a beautiful person and just lovely to chat to.

Missy (Melissa to her mum) came to national attention after winning the Victorian leg of Triple J Unearthed with the mesmerising piano-based ballad ‘All For Believing’.  Her debut record The Sound of White moved away from the late teen darkness that pervaded her eponymous EP and found a brighter pop sensibility, especially in the single ‘Scar, which has been her most successful to date.  That album also garnered her a ludicrous six ARIA Awards, 2 APRA awards and and MTV AVMA.

On her new recford, On A Clear Night, she enlisted the production genius Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello) who gives the record a lush, warm feel.  This album is bolstered by drummer extraordinaire Matt Chamberlain, best known for his work with Tori Amos and Fiona Apple.  He has an immaculate feel and lifts the songs to a level that I don’t think any other drummer could have. I found The Sound of White to waver in parts, but On A Clear Night really feels like a more mature, solid album which sees Missy branching out in instrumentation and song styles and structures. 

Most of the songs are acoustic guitar based, rather than piano based like many of her earlier efforts.  Missy started playing piano at an early age, but only picked up guitar in her teens.  It’s obvious that her guitar skills have improved over the years too.  Says Missy of the increased role of acoustic guitar on On A Clear Night, “Probably eight of the songs were written on guitar and the rest on piano because the guitar’s a lot more portable instrument to have on tour. It’s so much easier just to bring your guitar into your hotel room and write songs that way rather than lug your keyboard in, plug it in, set it all up and get headphones… it’s just so much easier”.

No doubt Virgin and EMI would castrate me if I uploaded any other songs off the album, which is a shame because I feel there’s many stronger songs than ‘Steer’ on On A Clear Night, such as the soulful ‘Secret’, ‘The Wrong Girl’ and the haunting ‘Forgive Me’.  But you’re just going to have to wait until April 28 when it hits shelves.

http://www.missyhiggins.com/
http://www.myspace.com/missyhiggins