Sophie’s Australian albums of 2011

I spent most of this year living away from Brisbane, but my end of year list is dominated by Brisbane bands.
There’s amazing stuff happening there at the moment and it’s a real credit to the musicians and the people that support them – no thanks to a certain arts funding body.

I’m sure you’re all over end of year lists already, but bear with me. You might learn something.
Also have a read of Pop Matters’ worst albums of 2011. It’s a hoot.

Ball Park Music – Happiness and Other Suburbs

Track: ‘All I Wanted Was You’ (mp3)

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These guys have received plenty of attention and accolades this year, all of them deserved. Their debut album does not have a bad or weak song on it, and the production is polished but not overbearing.
The fact that Boy and Bear won an ARIA and BPM didn’t is a bit of a shame, but hopefully these Brisbanites will conquer the second-album shakes and get more trophies for the pool room.

Epithets – Year of Glad

Track: ‘The Reveal’ (mp3)

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I’ve wanked on about Epithets before, so I shan’t bore you again but let me just say this:
I had a very confronting weekend in Brissy and was feeling particularly fragile on the train from Brisbane to Rockhampton.
Despite the title, Year of Glad was a fantastic soundtrack to my emotional turmoil and sobbing my guts out on a long train ride through the shitty suburbs north of Brisbane.
SO – if you too feel the need to chuck a huge sad on public transport, this is the album for you.

Fires of Waco - Old Ghosts Never Sleep

Track: ‘Fractured Faith’ (mp3)

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Fires of Waco are one of those bands that manages to be prolific AND good. They’ve released an EP, an album and a 7″ single over the last 18 months, and Old Ghosts is right up there with recent releases from Defeater and Touche Amore in terms of quality and vision.

Fires manage to juggle three vocalists and some pretty heavy lyrical content (child sexual abuse in the Catholic church, the gap between blue and white collar in society, suicide) without getting bogged down or too pretentious. This first album of theirs is ambitious and a success.

Jen Buxton - Don’t Change Your Plans

Track: ‘Don’t Change Your Plans’ (mp3)

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Another album for the sad sacks, Jen Buxton’s songwriting makes Missy Higgins look like Lady Gaga.
Don’t Change Your Plans is raw and an emotional punch to the face, carried along by not much more than an acoustic guitar and Buxton’s fantastic voice.

She’s been ensconced in domestic bliss for most of this year so she hasn’t really “pushed” or “promoted” or “serviced” the album, which is a bit of a shame. That said, I wish more singer-songwriters would follow her lead and live life instead of jumping through “industry” hoops.

Nuclear Summer

Track: ‘Uncle Frankie’s Funny Hats’ (mp3)

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These guys formed from the wreckage of half a dozen excellent but obscure Brisbane bands. I wasn’t particularly keen on their early demos, but a good 18 months of writing and bonding has really paid off. Well, that and forking out money to get it mixed and mastered properly. These guys are currently on tour, suss them out and see them if you can.

Streamer Bendy - Sugar Rush

Track: ‘Sleep Me Off’ (mp3)

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Ok, so maybe this is cheating because this album hasn’t technically been released yet but DAMN is it good.
Pop music about sex is nothing new, but Sugar Rush has to be one of the most sexually frustrated pop albums I’ve ever heard.
There’s no unrequited love or sleazy pickups here, but there are plenty of allusions to the frustrations of a boring sex life. That’s not a bad thing though – I’m a big fan of the lyrical pun on Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69″:
I had my first real sex dream/perfect build-up, I directed the perfect scene/then I wake up with you sleeping next to me/take a Valium, back to reality.
Written in Brisbane and put together in Sweden, lets hope these guys actually put out next year.

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Harmony’s self titled debut.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Gotye – Making Mirrors.

Epithets, Virginia Sook, To The North.

The last time I wrote something nice about Epithets, lead singer/guitarist Nick Smethurst was so stoked that he invited me to move in to his house.
I’d just come out of hospital to find myself homeless, with all my things packed into a storage unit in Milton. We met for coffee, talked music, and I mentioned I was couch surfing. Before I knew it I had a key and a shelf in the pantry.
It was a ramshackle Queenslander in the inner northern suburbs of Brisbane, walking distance to public transport and parks.
There were five people paying rent when I moved in, but often up to ten people living there. We had a lounge room and a band room and  it was awesome.

The thing I loved best about the house (other than the sweet-natured cattle dog who lived there) was the sheer amount of music going on. The paying residents of the house have changed a few times since I moved out 12 months ago, but they’re all still playing music in some form.

Epithets – ‘Blacklisted’ (mp3)

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To The North – ‘No Alibi’ (mp3)

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Virginia Sook – ‘The Hours’

Note: That is not the bathroom at the house I used to live in. This bathroom is way nicer.

Never judge a CD by its cover #1

Welcome to 2010, where MP3s cost nothing and are worth as much, and even your Grandma has the skills to record show tunes and hymns before burning them to a CD-R.

It’s no wonder people aren’t rushing out to buy bog-standard glossy jewel case CDs. Sometimes some creative and aesthetically pleasing packaging can be the difference between your CD gathering dust on the shelf and your work of art being exchanged for cash monies.

After the cut are some of the more interesting CDs that have found their way onto my desk in the last few months. If you’re in a band and have a CD that you think I’d like the look and/or sound of, email me at sophie [at] whothehell [dot] net for my postal address.

… Continue Reading

Epithets – ‘As Far Away As Amsterdam’

Epithets – ‘As Far Away As Amsterdam’ (mp3)

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Nick Smethurst has been responsible, whether indirectly or indirectly, for many of the better things to come from of Brisbane’s music community. Sadly missed Valley venue 610 and the brilliant guitar work on Mr. Maps’ 2009 EP come to mind, as well as his membership in folk collective Lion Island.

Epithets is the latest incarnation of his solo work, and it’s best described as wistful pop-songs in the vein of Bright Eyes, Ben Gibbard and other sad white American dudes. The album is due out in late May – I eagerly await its arrival.

www.myspace.com/letsnotbutsaywedid