Soft Tigers – ‘M.A.R.I.A’ (Bumblebeez remix) (mp3)
A bit of Canberran loving here, both Soft Tigers and Bumblebeez both went to the same school. Here they are doing some remixing. Can’t really decide if I like this one or not, it might be a bit too chopped up.
Midnight Juggernauts – ‘Road To Recovery’ (Miami Horror remix) (mp3)
I didn’t get to blog their new song cos I couldn’t get a copy but this remix I have just received from Miami Horror is even better. You can hear the original track on theirspace, I didn’t like very much i thought it was a bit anticlimatic and the vocals are even more subtle than their previous songs. This mix has made the song punchier. Less trance, more party.I should also mention that the Juggies have got themselves a new drummer with Dan Stricker, formerly of the Valentinos.
Aleks and The Ramps – ‘Pisces vs Aquarius’
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.
The Basics – ‘Hey There!’
Kris Schroeder of The Basics has given this blog the all new exclusive to their new album Stand Out / Fit In. It contains 13 tracks, only two of which are covers. All the originals sound like they could have been written in the 60s or 70s, with delivery and play so confident they put a lot of newer bands to shame when it comes to skill and musicianship. I have to say I was half expecting to hear a few covers that I have heard them play live like The Police’s ‘Roxanne’ or New Kids On The Block’s ‘The Right Stuff’. I suppose it would have been difficult/expensive to clear, I’m sure plus the originals could earn them some nice syncing dollars somewhere. So what to feature here? We’ve already blogged the singles ‘Just Hold On’, ‘Rattle My Chain’ and ‘Lookin’ Over My Shoulder’. So I’ve picked this little number that I’m pretty sure not very many people have heard called ‘Hey There!’, featuring horns!
The Basics are right now in the middle of their crazily ambitious Tri-state residency playing Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane each week for a month! This must be some record breaking feat.
Ground Components – ‘Hands In The Air’
A post on these favourite Melbourne sons of ska / punk / rockers Ground Components is long overdue. I’ve thought about them for a long time and didn’t want write a half arsed entry just because their album came out last year and people were talking about them. Prior to the release of Eye For A Brow, Tooth for A Pick album release, I haven’t really been keeping track with their developments. I know they had a fair bit of buzz around 2 years ago, but failed to keep this going in momentum, resulting in people dismissing them as another one of those bands that missed the boat. But after moving to Melbourne (six months ago now) I’ve started hanging around the scene people who eventually led to meeting the guys in the band, and found out how the band developed, the scene they came from and how that shaped the sound they have perfected in the album.
The Groundies represent a sound that is not only distinctively Australian, but uniquely Melbourne. The basic shout/singing style of Joe is a result of a community that had its roots in the ska/punk scene still thriving today in parts of Melbourne. Coming from Sydney where this scene is nonexistent it’s all quite new to me, and I’m not sure if it exists in anywhere else in the country. A typical ska-punker would wear black band t-shirt, 3/4 black dickies shorts, more than plenty facial hair and has an ever present whiff of bong water smell hanging around.
There are many songs on this album that is quality tunes that will be posted here in the future, it might be hard to get used to at first because of non melodic vocal style. To start with, I’ve blogged their current single ‘Hands In The Air’, the perfect introductory song to Groundies sound. It’s now time for me to see their reputable live show, they are playing tonight at the East Brunswick Club so come join me.
Sui Zhen – ‘No Disko’
I’ve known Sui Zhen for years and have seen her performed live so many times that I thought I lost objectivity for her music. Since moving to Melbourne 6 months ago I have not seen or heard any new material until last week when I was in Sydney and heard her instantly recognisable voice on FBi Radio. Before I left she told me that she was going to collaborate with an electronic producer whose name I can’t remember now. ‘No Disko’ is the first song to come out of that recording session and it shows off a more confident and relaxed sounding Sui Zhen. The arrangement turned out to be warmer than I was expecting which is nice cos I was afraid that it would turn her to some sort of chill out/comedown music vocalist. She’s going to do a bit of touring in August I believe so keep an ear out.
Latest Comments
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Still trying to purchase!!!ANTHONY J LANGFORD
Cool track. Congrats Joshua. Hope the release is a success.Tristan
Man I love these guys. I can't believe they are not releasing any new music. I've been to so many…sophie
^^ I love Grimes! Banoffee is one of my new favorite music artists! :) I love With Her, Reign Down,…Ace
Read your review then listened to the EP. Fantastic ! Different to most hardcore punk I listen to. Somewhat more…