Aleks and the Ramps – ‘Middle Aged Unicorn On Beach With Sunset’

Aleks and the Ramps – ‘Middle Aged Unicorn On Beach With Sunset’ (mp3)

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They had my favourite Aus album of 2009 with Midnight Believer, and now they’re back! Also, that album is going to be re-released on the same day as their (still untitled?) newbie next Feb 14th (great Valentines Day pressie). Looking forward to some more barritone-quirky-folktronica-pop.

Also, they’re playing at The Gate in Sydney next month if you’re around.

Update: The re-releases are actually out next week from October 27th!

aleksandtheramps.com/

Olympic Ayres – ‘Black and Blue’

Olympics Ayres - ‘Black and blue’ (mp3)

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I know little to nothing about Olympic Ayres. As far as I know, they’re a newish two-piece that sound like a five-piece, they don’t have a Myspace (wisely devoting their time elsewhere), they don’t play live much, and their recent demo EP is the first thing they’ve ever released. For a band this new, the aforementioned EP is surprisingly tight and confident. Even if they haven’t found their niche yet (to my ears, it sound kinda like Aleks [of the the Ramps] jamming out with Foals), these first tunes have reached a level of quality in the songs and production that more accomplished bands still miss.

Get the whole EP (all THREE songs!) here:

olympicayres.bandcamp.com

Pikelet – ‘Red Pleather’ (Video)

Pikelet: Red Pleather from gaga on Vimeo.

New clip from Pikelet, directed by Aleks from Aleks and The Ramps.

Bell Weather Department

Bell Weather Department – ‘Hole In The Sky’ (mp3)

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It’s no surprise that I like this track since it kinda sounds like Aleks and the Ramps making love to Belles Will Ring. I don’t know much about Bell Weather Department but this song has certainly grabbed my attention, and the other tracks on their Myspace suggest these guys are worth keeping an eye on. They definitely have an accessible sound that could see them get some serious airplay with proper recordings under their belt.

www.myspace.com/bellweatherdepartment

Best Albums of 2009

Jerry Soer

Local: Sarah Blasko – As Day Follows Night (‘All I Want’)

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I’m a long time fan of Sarah Blasko, so for her third effort I didn’t just hope for a good follow up to 2006’s What The Sea, Wants The Sea Will Have, I expected her to deliver. And of course she did not disappoint. Teaming up with the right producer has brought the best in Sarah, her singing at its most confident and compelling. It’s the right sound with the right songs for the 2009, As Day Follows Night is blessed the perfect flow and rhythm from start to finish. I truly hope that this album will be the vehicle that proves to the world that Blasko belongs in the best class of modern singer songwriters with Feist, Emilliana Torrini, and Regina Spektor. Hard to believe but when I saw her perform this album in July this year she made these songs sound even better, she was in full command of her stage and the audience. Sarah has come a long way from the once shy and reluctant singer on guitar I once saw at the Annandale Hotel just before her Prelusive EP came out. Congratulations to Sarah on this wonderful album.

International: Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
I was travelling through the United States and Europe for a few weeks in March and April, saw a lot of cool young bands in Austin during SXSW and throughout Los Angeles, New York, but none of them had quite the effect on me as Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone. I admit to not knowing much about Neko beyond this release, but it provided the perfect soundtrack for my journeys, and up until now I still listen to it whenever I hit the road. There’s something about her voice, full of wisdom, stories and characters that gives me a lot of distraction and escape from the boring parts of travelling. Whenever I hear these songs I feel like I’m in a bar somewhere in middle America, overhead fans, daytime heat, whisky on hand. Why that gives me comfort, I don’t really know, perhaps I should find out soon.

Matt Hickey

Local: Aleks and the Ramps – Midnight Believer (‘Circa 1992 Ideas’)

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I was a bit hesitant about this album because the band had a bit a hype amongst the Melbourne set and I felt like the bandwagon had perhaps passed. But then I had to review it for The Vine and was greeted by what turned out to be my favourite Australian release in what was incredibly strong year for local releases. Midnight Believer is an album that charms you immediately with its pop hooks and then keeps you coming back for more thanks to an endearingly uncalculated wtf-factor. Each song covers multiple styles without feeling like superficial genre explorations, and the lyrics are similarly attention deficit and attention grabbing. From the awkward office romance segue in ‘Circa 1992 Ideas’ to the feisty male/female exchange in ‘Whiplash’ and that computerised spoken word break in ‘Weather Patterns,’ it’s comfortably quirky without keeping the listener at arms length. This is an album that’s both complex and easily digestible, fun but not stupid. Not entirely without it’s less successful moments, but even they have something interesting to note and are more than outweighed by album’s overall success. It was a tough call, but Midnight Believer was the one that has brought me back the most over the last seven or so months.
Hon. Mentions: Seekae (Reissue), The Mint Chicks (NZ), St Helens, Songs, Philly Jays, Batrider (NZ), The Rational Academy, No Through Road, The UV Race.

International: Fever Ray – Fever Ray
This was even harder to pick than best Australian album but I have to go with Fever Ray if for no other reason than because it was simply the album I listened to the most throughout the year. I actually prefer this project to Karen Anderrson’s more famous other band, The Knife, because of it’s minimalist approach and emphasis on atmosphere. I’ve never heard an organ used to such great effect, and the creepy vocal manipulations she’s been experimenting with on previous Knife albums have never sounded more appropriately haunting. This is an album that never peaks above mid-tempo yet never loses your attention, with its dark, brooding vibe clashing well with lyrics about having a green thumb and dishwasher tablets. I went to Europe over their northern summer and managed to chase down a Fever Ray live show twice and it was great – basically the exact same as the album but with added smoke and lighting + a Nick Cave cover. Totally worth it.
Hon. Mentions: Bibio, A Sunny Day In Glasgow, Animal Collective, Telepathe, Girls, The Horrors, The Sandwitches, Fuck Buttons, The xx.

Sophie Benjamin

It’s always tricky to choose an album of the year, even when my choices are limited to music from this little island at the arse-end of the world. So, these are the Australian releases of 2009 that I listened to ad nauseum:

Favourite: Eleventh He Reaches London – Hollow Be My Name (‘Hollow Be My Name’)

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Hon. Mentions: The Gifthorse , Cam MacKellar, Skinny Jean, Hunz.

Mark Spillane

Favourite: Capital City – Keep It Stupid Sucker (‘I’ll Never Get Out of this Girl Alive’)

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Capital City are one of WA’s least prolific bands, with Keep It Stupid Sucker being the second album they’ve recorded in their 9 years together, but it’s been well worth the wait. It’s snarling punk rock vitriol is best blasted into your auditory nerve at maximum volume. Cracker album, cracker band.
Hon. Mentions: The Sugar Army, Karnivool.

Dave Payne

Favourite: Crayon Fields – All The Pleasures of the World (‘Mirrorball’)

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Hon. Mention: The Devoted Few

Johann Ponniah

Favourite: Jonathan Boulet – Jonathan Boulet (‘Community Service Announcement’)

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Danimals – ‘Christman Worms Quest for Fresh Apples’

Danimals - ‘Christmas Worms Quest for Fresh Apples’ (mp3)

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It’s appropriate that this artist’s name contains the word ‘animal’ since I definitely get some sort of scavenger vibe from them (at very least a scrub turkey vibe). ‘Christmas Worms Quest for Fresh Apples’ is a cool folk-pop tune with summery, layered vocals fleshed out by random, slightly disjointed, and sometimes even ugly synths. I’m not sure how they decided that fucked-up synth horn made sense as the main hook, but it totally works. This adventurous attitude to the arrangement pays off, elevating the song into genuinely interesting if not exciting territory and bringing to mind a more electronic Aleks and The Ramps.

Danimals will be releasing a double a-side (including the above track) on the 17th of this month. I’ve not heard word of a launch, but they’ve pulled the support slot for super rad LA hip hopper WHY? if anyone is especially keen to check them out. I know I’d be interested to see how they take this beast to the stage.

www.myspace.com/jontidanimals

Megastick Fanfare

Megastick Fanfare - ‘Brain Tooth’ (mp3)

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The amazing Megastick Fanfare played our Blogger’s Delight party last Friday. And now they’ve given us their very (very!) new song Brain Tooth. Wow. These guys are a must see for the Animal Collective generation. They play live often, catch them at:

Oct 4 – Parklife, Sydney
Oct 22 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney w/ Aleks and the Ramps
Oct 31 – Halloween Monster Mash at Annandale Hotel, Sydney w/ Seekae, Richard In Your Mind + more

www.myspace.com/megastickfanfare

Aleks and the Ramps – ‘Antique Limb’

Aleks and the Ramps – ‘Antique Limb’

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So their old stuff sounded a bit like the teletubbies on crack, and made no sense to anyone except those versed in a language consisting only of semi colons. And I don’t mean that in a good way.

Refreshingly their new stuff is more Architecture in Helsinki than arcane fail. This time injecting only infinitesimal doses of wack, the result is whimsical trip pop with vocals as tight as meggings. Finally hugging in all the right places. Keep them coming guys.

www.myspace.com/aleksandtheramps

Aleks and The Ramps

Aleks and The Ramps – ‘Pisces vs Aquarius’

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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