Posts By Annie

INTRODUCING: DMA’s

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DMA's

DMA’s are one of those bands lucky enough to have been caught early by label reps (in this case, from Sydney’s I Oh You) and sent into the world more or less fully formed – with a single, a video clip, a website, a ton of gigs and, dare I say it, the beginnings of a ‘brand’.

Billed as a band of ‘three frontmen’ – the pleasantly assonant Tommy, Matt and Johnny – DMA’s started out in Johnny’s bedroom studio in inner-western Sydney. Don’t worry though – this is definitely not homemade laptop pop.

Urgent and earnest, DMA’s sound like WU LYF on those rare occasions when Ellery Roberts chose to sing in words rather than wolf noises. And these boys have got the Madchester threads to boot.

The band’s first single, ‘Delete’, is a love song for the digital romantic (‘Don’t delete my baby/Don’t defeat her now/In the quiet of nothing/ To the hands of grace…’). It’s got a staggering outro that makes my chest constrict, the cathartic refrain coming loud: ‘Just let it all out’.

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These guys might seem a bit self-satisfied in that video, but one listen and you’ll start to see why. DMA make guitar-led balladry in the 21st century feel absolutely vital.

Their EP is due out on 28 March; you can pre-order it here. They’ve never played a gig before, but they’re certainly about to – I hope they’ve been practicing.

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WATCH: The Laughing Leaves – ‘Everyday’

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laughing leaves

Behold! ‘Everyday’, the debut video from Geelong surf rockers The Laughing Leaves, is finally here. The single is taken from the band’s Everyday EP, a sharp little collection of psych and garage gems released in March last year.

These guys clearly have a thing for Nuggets and The Kinks – not to mention an avowed devotion to Pet Sounds – but it’s rare to see a young band pull off old songs with such flair: this is no orthodox 60s exhumation.

There are shades of Wake in Fright in the new clip, and it’s not just the analogue 16mm footage. The boys visit a country pub (the Meredith hotel, no less), where they’re co-opted by a creepy local into skolling a few too many rounds of ale.

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The Laughing Leaves have a few gigs coming up in Melbourne and Geelong – and if our warehouse party last June is anything to go by, they’re well worth catching. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming album. In the meantime, you can still grab the Everyday EP on Bandcamp.

Here are those live dates:

Saturday, 15 February – Bassment Sound, Geelong with Ausmuteants, Chook Race and DJ Bum Trip. RSVP on Facebook.

Friday, 28 February – The Tote with Smile, the Ocean Party, the Good Morrows, the Vacant Smiles and Zone Out. Tickets here.

Saturday, 12 April – Alia Arthouse with Rolloways.

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INTRODUCING: Edward Francis

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phia&francis

Edward Francis is the lyric-based songwriting project of Melbourne-born, Berlin-based composer and sound designer, Edward Gould. In October last year, Gould dropped a two-track album, Saxophone: the first part, on Bandcamp. Though it received some attention in Germany, the release was almost completely passed over by the Australian blog machine, and it’s only now beginning to get some serious plays on triple j.

Recorded and arranged on Gould’s laptop, the tracks are made primarily for guitar, vocals and, unsurprisingly, saxophone. They evoke the work of Blood Orange in their restraint and downright steeze, as well as the chamber instrumentation of Rhye’s smooth, organic R’n’B.

Single ‘This City’ features fellow Aussie expat Phia (Sophia Exiner) on vocals. (The beat programming also appears to make use of some of her trademark kalimba loops). My favourite track here is the pensive opener, ‘Hose Rock Love Song’ – if only because I find the romantic overtures to Berlin on ‘This City’ a little cloying. Both tracks, however, are intelligent and light of touch, focusing on the play of tension and release rather than on any conventional pop structure.

Gould has also released a minimal house track as Francis George called ‘Float This’, which, like Saxophone, uses a palette of woody timbres and muted beats. His Soundcloud profile also features some conceptual sound art pieces and cello-based compositions, including a remix of Gabriel Prokofiev’s ‘Float Dance’, as performed by celebrated cellist Peter Gregson.

The most recent upload is an Edward Francis reworking of the lead single, ‘Do You Ever’, from Phia’s forthcoming record. Gould’s version is delicate and expansive, opening the original song up and taking it from sweet to graceful.

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LISTEN: Tenth Court – ‘Black Light’/’Goon Punch’ split cassette

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tenthcourt-e2

There are definitely hints of Joh Bjelke-Petersen in the style of Queensland’s stodgy new overland, Campbell Newman.  As self-appointed censor, he’s certainly been doing what he can to thwart development of the arts up in the sunshine state, but it seems he has not, as yet, deployed the storm troopers against Brisbane’s music underground. In fact, the damn thing’s thriving – as evinced by this little gem from brand new label Tenth Court, which features two tracks each from local upstarts Martyr Privates and Thigh Master.

Three-piece Martyr Privates formed in 2011 in the then flood-ravaged suburb of Milton. Their contribution to the cassette consists of loud, repetitive sludge rock, not unlike the swampy dirges of Kim Salmon’s the Scientists or Sydney newcomers Ruined Fortune. ‘Black Light’ and ‘Pale Lunch’ have been mixed with greater clarity than the songs from the band’s 2012 7”,  with punchy riffs carrying along these otherwise heavily distorted drones. (Martyr Privates, by the way, have an album coming out on Bedroom Suck and the UK-based Fire Records in March – check out the lead single here.)

Thigh Master’s offerings, meanwhile, are urgent and unkempt, band members flailing through ‘Goon Punch’ and ‘GAB CAB’ as quickly as they can while guitar strings bend and a bratty wail sails overhead. But, as a look at their tight live set demonstrates, Thigh Master’s approach is more focused than it may seem upon first listen. The tracks are melodic and to the point, and never overstay their welcome.

Tenth Court is hosting a shindig across three Brisbane venues from 21-23 February. Martyr Privates and Thigh Master will both make an appearance on a terrific bill that includes Cobwebbs, Keep on Dancin’s, Multiple Man, Orlando Furious and Per Purpose, plus label signees Barbiturates, Dag, Shrapnel, Screaming Match, Yoghurt Blood and heaps more. Weekend passes are available here, or you can get tickets on the door.

tenth court festival2

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PREMIERE: Grand Prismatic – ‘Footscray and Fancy Free’

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grand-prismatic

 

Grand Prismatic have been pretty quiet since the release of their debut album, Birds and Beasts, back in 2012. They have been dabbling, mind you – a couple of tracks came out early last year, and singer Brendan Clarkson and percussionist David Freudenstein both featured on the Peking Tapes compilation that we reviewed last week.

But today they’re back with the first single off their forthcoming EP: an ode to Melbourne’s inner west called ‘Footscray and Fancy Free’. The track comes on strong right from the start with a swaggering intro, before slowing to a folksy canter that has the cheerful circularity of a drinking song.

Grand Prismatic show a different kind of chutzpah here than on the Supergrass-style kook of earlier single ‘Bells Will Ring’. The new one’s all about the sing-alongs and the horn accompaniments, the whole circus led by Clarkson’s eccentric vocal (think Tim from Dappled Cities, minus the acrobatics). Expect some more bombast from these guys soon – the Footscray and Fancy Free EP is due out in March.

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INTRODUCING: Territory

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Territory - Territory EP - cover

Here’s something close to my heart: this EP was forwarded to me with the words ‘Dolewave from your hometown’. Of course, Territory (despite the nomenclature) recently moved from Canberra to Sydney – and apparently they’re forming bonds with the inner-city set, one of these elegiac tracks going by the name of ‘Cleveland Street’.

The attachment to place is one of the most endearing things about the Territory EP. The short set is rounded off with a delicate instrumental called ‘Narrabundah’, and the cover art depicts one of those generously proportioned backyards that characterise this stretch of the capital’s inner south, with its vintage telephone poles, bleached back fences and non-committal winter sun.

Territory make dolewave feel pretty agile, with gorgeous riffs that would give Matt Mondanile a run for his money.  Opening tracks ‘Distant Night’ and ‘Raincoat’ are the sharpest, but each song is lovely – kind of like dozing on a Sunday midmorning, feeling fairly pleased with your lot even though there’s another week and a bit till your next Centrelink payment comes through.

Stream the whole EP below.

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LISTEN: Peking Tapes – Summer Lovin’ 2013

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peking tapes bc copy

Last year Sam ‘Rusty’ Crockett and Richie Shilton of cassette label Peking Tapes decided to collect a stash of their friends’ unreleased material for the Summer Lovin’ 2013 compilation. Coincidentally, Rusty and Richie’s friends play in just about every band in Melbourne, so they had loads of stuff to trawl through. The result is a fascinating document of the workings of this thriving little scene from Brunswick, and hopefully a sign for the future.

Summer Lovin’ features old mates Lachlan Denton from The Ocean Party, Curtis Wakeling of Velcro and Zone Out’s Ashley Bundang, who, as usual, has the reverb turned up to ‘desert mirage’. There’s also Wizard Oz’s excellent chillwave cover of TV Colours’ ‘Bad Dreams’ that had the kids frothing at the mouth in 2013.

But there are a number of revelations in here, too. Most exciting is the work coming from the sub-constellation of musicians around the band Big Tobacco, which features Peking Tapes honchos Crockett and Shilton alongside Tom Bradbury and Cam Hassard. Hassard’s contribution, ‘New York’, is far and away the highlight of the compilation. Channelling Bruce Springsteen without a care, Hassard belts out a tale of American wanderlust replete with bangin’ 80s-style sax solo, which is performed by Cam himself. As far as I’m aware, no other solo material by Hassard has yet been released, but here’s hoping.

Big Tobacco also do the 80s just the way it should be. They sound like the Jesus and Mary Chain meets the Church on their track ‘Broken Telephone’, with vocals from Bradbury that have just the right amount of ache to make the song feel anthemic.

‘Happy’, Bradbury’s own track, comes from his 2011 EP, Dream About a Girl. Its buoyant melody is underscored by a churning acoustic riff, with some low-key strings to round the edges.

As for the remaining contributors, Jordan Thompson of the Ocean Party offers a synth-interpolated alt country ballad which is the other clear standout here. Romantic but not a love song, ‘The Carnal Embrace’ seems to be about the disappointment of sex for its own sake; a track in the tradition of ‘The Wrong Girl’ (but better), with Thompson singing, ‘I don’t wanna know what he said/don’t wanna know what she said/don’t wanna meet a girl like that’.

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