The Evening Son – ‘One’

Newcastle’s a funny place. You can turn up at 6pm and find most of the city shut down… except for an Oportos in a back street, a restaurant that’ll only give you one serviette even when there’s clearly two people eating…

The whole of the NSW Central Coast seems to be populated by rock bands at the moment. Probably because there’s nothing else to do. The Evening Son are from the town that brought us such bands as Silverchair and… ummm, Silverchair. I’m having somewhat of a personal 90s musical revival (remember Nada Surf? Tripping Daisy? Primitive Radio Gods? yeah…) and The Evening Son pander to my current aural fixation.

I had forgotten that there was a time before pop-punk that rock bands weren’t too scared to play it slooooow, and grooooove, baby, groove. Stone Temple Pilots used to do it. So did Alice In Chains. And Pearl Jam too. And now the Evening Son are bringing back the rock. Awesome stuff.

http://www.myspace.com/theeveningson

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The Jezabels – ‘Noah’s Ark’ (mp3)

Dear Sandwich Club, we beat you to this one you bastards! The Brag threw one motherfucker of a Christmas party last Saturday in Sydney, taking over four venues in what was more of a mini-festival than a festive season party. If you missed out, then you suck. Offically.

There was one band on the night who made the biggset impression of all. The Jezabels were the talk of the night, with many “Did you see The Jezabels?” floating around. There’s nothing flashy about the four-piece. Their songs and stage show is suitably lo-fi and their singer comes from the Peter Garrett School of Dancing, but it’s rad. She gets into it. So do you. Everyone has fun.

They subscribe to the Arcade Fire brand of indie rock, with a hint of Nick Cave darkness, especially in ‘Noah’s Ark’. The Jezabels are the next big thing in Sydney music. Look out for them in 2008. Guaranteed. Plus they’re awesome peeps too, which always helps.

http://www.myspace.com/jezabelsband

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The Saturns – ‘I Could Be The One’

Something new from Sydney rockers The Saturns. ‘I Could Be The One’, with its ’60s rhythm and blues aesthetic, comes from their debut EP mixed by Wayne Connelly, who’s worked with a slew of top Aussie acts like Josh Pyke, The Vines, You Am I and Youth Group.

There’s nothing too complex to this song – just good ol’ fashioned rock swagger. It’s toe-tapping fun.

http://www.myspace.com/heresthesaturns

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Briztronix – ‘Incentive’

Sometimes I wish I was in a hip-hop band, just so I could give myself a cool moniker like Shazam or DJ  Bacon – like the dudes in Briztronix. Dominic Alessio sounds too much like a soccer player to ever have any cred. Plus I can’t rap. Or DJ.

But to call Briztronix – who, unsurprisingly, are originally from Brisbane – hip-hop would be doing this duo a grand disservice, because they’re more than just a throwaway tag. Briztronix is part DJ Shadow, part RJD2, part abstract jazz, part electronica and of course, hip-hop. It’s a complex musical recipe that unashamedly recalls early ’90s turntable music on labels like Ninja Tune and Mo Wax.

‘Incentive’ comes from their third record Structures of Canyons and its a record that takes some time to get into – there’s a myriad of good ideas but sometimes the execution is a tad labourious and the songs, at times, tend to run in circles, and not much ends up happening. But pick out individual songs and you’ll see why they’ve been getting attention from Triple J, as well as winning awards.

http://www.myspace.com/briztronix

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Karoshi – ‘Slowdown’

Despite the trio in the photo, Karoshi is the brainchild of one Sydneysider, Beres Jackson. Before I unveil a blog full of flamboyant musical adjectives, I’ll take a quick snippet from the Karoshi MySpace:

“The name Karoshi comes from the Japanese word for ‘working oneself to an early death’. This social commentary is the idea behind the songs on Karoshi’s debut EP, but there is also a feeling of hope and beauty behind the darkness.”

There’s something almost Barbra Streisand about the introductory keyboard on ‘Slowdown’; a tone that harks back to the synthesised pop of the 1980s. But that’s a moot point considering there’s nothing pop, nor ’80s, about ‘Slowdown’ or in fact any of the songs found on the debut Karoshi EP. Psapp, Decoder Ring and Boards of Canada are reference points for Karoshi’s brand of instrumental, downbeat electronica. Scattered drum beats, softly-spoken keyboards, beeps that twist and turn and ambient beds of soundscape all overlap to create something rather beautiful.

Tracks on the rest of the EP include some other instruments, as well as vocals on one track. While Karoshi live shows have been limited, Beres is currently traipsing across the globe, so there’s no shows for a while. In that case, you should grab yourself an EP for those peaceful late nights.

http://www.myspace.com/karoshimusic

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http://www.myspace.com/hingemusic

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Good song with not a particularly good clip…

http://www.cog.com.au
http://www.myspace.com/cogrockmusic

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