Theredsunband
Theredsunband (yes that’s the official spelling) are a three piece droney rock outfit from Arncliffe, in Sydney. Vocalist Sarah Kelly sings very much like Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, with most of the songs hovering in that hollow, dreamy way. A couple of years ago they released debut album Peapod which bore two singles each reaching high rotation on national youth broadcaster Triple J’s playlists. This got them on the road playing big supports to The Shins and Sonic Youth, and eventually Big Day Out where they won a young songwriter’s grant they are currently using to record their second album.
Much of their appeal rests with Sarah’s indie-girlfriend image, she’s the kind of girl music critic wannabes love to date. Even when she doesn’t do much in her live shows she seems to have a certain magnetic quality that most guys can’t ignore. After repeated listens to the two radio singles, I bought their album last year and was quite disappointed that those two songs were the only upbeat tunes out of the entire collection. The rest of the songs consisted of slow stoner riffs coupled with Sarah’s thin voice that quite frankly I found hard to listen to. Everytime I tried to enjoy the whole album I couldn’t stop myself from skipping to ‘Devil Song’ and ‘Sleep Forever’. Perhaps I need a rather big joint to enjoy this body of work to its fullest extent, but I do hope their second album avoid these moody David Lynchesque numbers that edges slowly to nowhere.
Theredsunband – ‘Sleep Forever’
http://www.theredsunband.com
http://www.myspace.com/theredsunband
September 28, 2006 11:35 am
I think it’s a bit shit to define Sarah Kelly as an “indie girlfriend” and as “the kind of girl that music critic wannabes love to date”. All this may be true, but she is obviously much more than this . In an industry dominated both creatively and financially by men, I think theredsunband has a fiercely feminine sound, no doubt coming from Sarah being the predominant creative force. It’s a shame that her unusual (and in agreement, sometimes difficult to listen to) music can’t transcend her “magnetic quality” that “most guys can’t ignore”.
That being said, love the blog and keep on chugging!
September 28, 2006 5:05 pm
yo yo. tha redsunband are totally sick. They rock hard like neo-feminists should. I think they are like Australia’s answer to Le Tigre but like with more marajuana and a bit of acid. I also think it totally sucks that you draw attention to Sarah’s hypnotic gender although she is fuckin’ hot. the music would totally not have the same appeal if she was like, fat. Listen Jerry, I totally think you don’t get their music. Why does the music need to be upbeat. Don’t you know what it is like to be a woman in 21st century Oz (like the prison drama, it is like full of rape and violence, and then when a woman is outspoken she’s sent a muzzle like Germaine Greer when she dared to question the quintessential Ozzie BLOKE Steve Irwin). Being a woman sucks and I support Sarah’s right to sing about how depressing life is. More women should sing this way. Then if everyone knew how depressed and sad all the women of the world were, and how trampled they are by patriarchal oppression, then we might see some change.