http://www.myspace.com/mcartney

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CHAINGANG – ‘Holiday’

The perpetually-evolving and prolific recording CHAINGANG have kindly offered us something new from a weekend holed up in Sydney’s Big Jesus Burger Studios (hanging out with Daniel Johns… so the story goes).

Wearing their ’80s influences proudly on their sleeves on ‘Holiday’, this may be as pop as CHAINGANG ever get, but still with a self-assured punk aesthetic and frantic energy that bubbles out from Hayley’s dry, wordy vocal acrobatics. Just when you think you’ve got this band figured out – BAM, they’ve got another trick up their sleeve.

http://www.myspace.com/chaingangpower

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Dean Michael Smith – ‘Lady’

Australia has seen a boom in acoustic acts in recent years taking lead from 1960s folk troubadors. There’s a similar situation occuring in the States as well, though it’s a trend spearheaded by bands like Alexisonfire: heavier acts moving away to more subdued tunes.

Sydney’s Dean Michael Smith fits more comfortably into the latter category. Like Dallas Green’s side project City & Colour, Dean borrows heavily from alternative and heavier styles of music to create his vocal-driven, emotional acoustic songs, rather than becoming an aping Dylan or Donovan artist. Flirting with distortion earlier on, Dean seems to have found his comfort zone with simply an acoustic guitar. It takes a brave soul to get up and strip everything back, leaving nothing to hide behind, but Dean pulls it off confidently. And not just that, his live shows are humble, disarmingly funny and engaging.

PLUS – he does a killer cover of Seal’s ‘Crazy’ live. If for no other reason, check him out just to watch him belt out that tune.

http://www.myspace.com/deanmichaelsmith

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This isn’t something we’d usually blog about, but last night on SBS Television, the discussion program Insight screened their episode entitled MiTunes, focusing on the multifaceted issue of illegal downloads – should music be free, how much is it costing artists and the music industry, and what should be done to curb the phenomenon.

In a time where the debate is so convoluted, Insight did their best to sift through the issues and devise some interesting and creative solutions. There were a slew of special guests on the show including Phrase, Tim Levinson (a.ka. Urthboy), The Audreys, Sharman Network’s Markus Kern (responsible for KaZaA), and respresentatives from ARIA, Australian ISPs, record labels and the downloading public.

So instead of checking out some new music today, head to the SBS website and watch the show online. (The episode is divided into three clips you’ll find on the right-hand side.) I think the resounding message from the episode is that there’s no one fix for the problem, a range of solutions need to be implemented to stop people downloading. To me, the first step needs to be eliminating any avenue by which people can download (well, let’s say “steal” shall we?) music, and I personally vote on the side of warnings from ISPs. If people have a way of downloading music for free, why would they pay for it? To me, that’s the crux of the problem. Secondly, a system needs to be set up to encourage people to purchase music at a resonable price, and the idea of a subscription-based initiative (which is discussed in the program) bodes well with me.

One billion songs illegally downloaded was the figure bandied around by ARIA. If that’s true, it won’t be long before music is no longer a viable career for individuals, and then there’ll be no more music to download. (Then we’re screwed, right?) And while we may look at international superstars and think they don’t need anymore money, they fall in the miniscule minority of musicians, many of whom struggle to make a living doing what they love.

Check out Insight and wade into this pressing debate. It’s an issue that the Australian govenment seem nonplussed on, but as a music devotee, I feel illegal downloading should be something we tackle urgently.

http://news.sbs.com.au/insight/

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Lola Flash  – ‘Sweet Smog Children’ (mp3)

Sure, it’s early in the morning – much earlier than I’m used to writing a blog post, may I add, so the cogs in my head aren’t turning at full speed just yet – but did I miss something here? Let me take you back for one minute…

Thursday night. Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney’s modish Surry Hills. Ostensibly I was there to catch the Firekites, whose album I’m completely smitten with, but when I walked in a young five piece from Wollongong by the name of Lola Flash were playing a subdued, yet strangely hypnotising, set to a crowded room. (OK, so 10 people in that pub could be considered ‘crowded’, but there was a decent sized audience in attendance.)

Fast forward to now. After undertaking my ritual pre-blog internet trawl for MP3s, images and info, it seems that the teenage brainchild behind Lola Flash is Emma Russack who’s some sort of internet meem!! Where have I been?? Her steely-gazed, almost pseudo-sexual YouTube clips, performing covers of Neil Young, J.J. Cale and Echo and the Bunnymen have amassed a staggering amount of hits, but none more than a clip of her own song, ‘Swimming’, which is closing in on one million clicks (clip at the bottom of this post).

So why all the attention? Her (and Lola Flash’s) lo-fi, melancholic brand of Cat Power-esque pop has an emotional depth and maturity that belies their low age average, or perhaps its the unabashed brashness and bravado in which they pull off their music. The promo photos of members of Lola Flash pashing each other is an uneasy aside to their impetuousness.

But, perhaps more than anything to do with their age or attitude, just like it was on Thursday night, their music houses a haunting, ethereal quality that’s both subdued and hypnotising. Nothing about Lola Flash’s music is extravagent: from the Dirty Three-style violin to the scattered drumming, the reticent vocals to the unassuming guitar lines, no musician is jostling for the spotlight. Everyone knows their place in the Lola Flash universe and the end result are sublime musical nebulas.

Here’s Emma’s video of ‘Swimming’. Check out how intensely she stares at the camera like she’s looking into your soul…. well, maybe not. The measure of a video’s success are the number of responses and “remixes” done to it, so check out YouTube for some extra ‘Swimming’ action.

http://www.myspace.com/lolaflashmusic

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Princess One Point Five – ‘I’m Onto Something Good’

They’ve always been one of those acts that have been lurking in the shadows, but perhaps it’ll be their third record Vous Je Vous that thrusts them into the limelight.

Princess One Point Five (or 1.5, depending on where you read it) is the brainchild of Melbournian Sarah-Jane Wentzki (who, from memory, is Princess 1.5 – well at least she started creating music on her own under this moniker) who joined forces with drummer/producer Richard Andrew, who was the stickman for cult faves Underground Lovers.

‘I’m Onto Something Good’ is the first track from the band’s new record, a positively upbeat indie pop tune which reminds me, for some reason, of Frente. And that’s never a bad thing. It’s a movement towards organic music, as her debut disc At Long Last, released in 2005, relied heavily on soundscapes and synthesisers to create electronic music more akin to Decoder Ring circa Fractions.

If you like the sound of P1.5 and you’ll be in Sydney on Saturday night, they’ll be launching Vous Je Vous at Spectrum on Oxford St.

http://www.myspace.com/princessonepointfive

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Firekites – ‘Same Suburb, Different Park’

Since the release of The Bowery, the Firekites‘ stunning leave-me-speachless debut album, I’ve been yammering on about it to anyone in earshot who’ll put up with me for more than 20 seconds.

Put simply, I fell in love with this record from the first moments I heard ‘Last Ships’. Coming out of Newcastle in NSW, Firekites feature a roll-call of musos from other established acts: Tim Mcphee from post-grunge instrumentalists The Instant, Jane Tyrell from hip hop outfit The Herd and Jason Tampake, who moonlights as a member of Josh Pyke’s backing band.

Where the Firekites truly excel is in the guitar work of Tim and Rod Smith – two acoustic guitars playing symbiotic countermelodies, notes woven together in choreographed harmony. The way these two work together is magic, and it’s the beauty of their intertwined lines that lays the foundation for the Firekites’ idiosyncratic music. When Jane’s vocals kick in, it’s like waves of warm melody crashing over the guitars. She plays off the more subdued and introverted male vocals; vocals which murmur and accompany the guitars rather than overshadow them.

I’m at a loss though to label Firekites’ music, or even find a reference point, although acts like Kings of Convenience and the early work of The Sea and Cake mirror similar musical sentiments. Firekites could be referred to as indie folk, but that doesn’t encapsulate the melancholic aesthetic or mood. Tim’s guitar work from The Instant is still recognisable, so it lacks the strummed chords of traditional folk, and you could almost claim to hear some echoes of jazz in there. Plus, throw in Jason’s violin, intermittent distorted guitar frenzy and electronic beats – and handclaps – and you get a sound that truly defies genre casting.

http://www.myspace.com/firekites

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