The Sophisticants – ‘Roughness’ (mp3)

My first impression of The Sophisticants came when I stumbled into a Melbourne club and looked up at the stage to see four rough looking (possibly alcoholic) dudes wailing like there was no tomorrow and about 30 punters who had rushed the stage dancing and trampling all over their equipment.

If you’re looking for a ‘tight’ band or even a well recorded band, then perhaps these guys aren’t for you. But if you’re looking for a band who plays some pretty great straight up rock and roll and who throws all they have into their live show and is above entertaining as all hell – check them out!

The Sophisticants are playing a Wednesday night residency at the Old Bar in Melbourne this month, get down and take your drinking hat.

www.myspace.com/thesophisticants

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Parades – ‘Dead Nationale’ (mp3)

In my humble opinion these guys have to be one of Sydney’s best kept secrets but I don’t think they will be for long. PARADES!

To be honest I’m not even sure how long these guys have been around, or how many shows they’ve played, or who they’ve played with, or even what each member plays but holy fuck they can write a song!

Dead Nationale opens with cleverly used guitars that are strategically placed to delicately compliment the driving drum beat that pushes the song continuously forward. As the song continues the easing and near-haunting harmonies of the bands male and female vocalists reveal themselves, as the song flows on it builds into an epic mash of guitars and wails.

Parades are playing at the Zoo as part of the Big Sound Conference in Brisbane this Wednesday – get down!

www.myspace.com/parades

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Comic Sans – Thom Moore (mp3)

So lately I’ve been on a bit of quest to blog on some great young Australian talent. It started with Last Dinosaurs, followed by Howl (Triple J Unearthed High winners for 2009), then Ships Piano and now the fourth instalment of my quest – Comic Sans!

Comic Sans are four 18 year old young men from Brisbane who create a sort of frantic garage punk that makes you want to loose your shit and crawl around a scummy club in the deep heart of the city.

The band have been doing their thing in Brisbane for a little while now and have supported acts like Young & Restless, Mercy Arms, Die! Die! Die! and a host of more. They will also be releasing their debut EP, ‘Digital Natives’ in late September so be sure to pick up a copy!

Check them out at – www.myspace.com/comicsansmusic

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Check out After The Fall’s new video for their single ‘Desire’ taken from their soon to be released album [In] Exile which will hit shelves next Friday!

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Ships Piano – Acrobats Tumble (mp3)

Youth! Youth! Youth! That’s the one thing that I love more than anything about Ships Piano – well that and the fact that they’re laying down some pretty sweet tracks.

These 4 brash teenagers from the outer burbs of Melbourne produce the kind of angsty garage punk that reminds me of a young At The Drive-In and are quickly making a name for themselves in the local scene as being kids who possess the sort of talent that the rest of us can only wish we had when we were 15. With a great and often improvised live show teamed up with the unashamed and brutal honesty that Ships Piano hurl at the listener the boys have already landed slots with British India and were invited to play last year’s ‘Summertones Festival’.

Their latest offering ‘Acrobats Tumble’ features the desperate wails of front man/boy Sebastian (the kind that only a pre-pubescent teenager could find in their stomach) and is coupled nicely with some simple yet affective riffs that followers of Ships Piano have become accompanied with.

Ships Piano are currently finalists in the Triple J Unearthed High Competition – GO RATE THEM!

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Generation Why is the new single (clip below) from the boys in Kisschasy, taken from their forthcoming album ‘Seizures’ which hits shelves on the 21st of August.

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Howl – ‘Black Out’ (mp3)

I am constantly impressed, surprised and to be honest slightly jealous at the level of talent that some of the fast emerging younger bands in Australia posses and these guys have to be up there with the best of them.

Howl are a group of brash and reckless high school kids from Ballarat who hold firm in their hands the kind of musical talent, live flair and self-confidence that most of us can only wish we had now, let alone when we were in fucking year 11! The boys are quickly making a name for themselves around Melbourne with their exciting and catchy brand of garage punk which is headed up by the raspy prepubescent wails of vocalist Lachlan Morrish and followed by some cleverly used and simple guitar riffs and group harmonies.

Live Howl possess a confidence (near cockiness) that defies their school uniforms with members of the band often joining punters off-stage and sparking the kind of movement that is sadly not often seen at shows around Melbourne nowadays. It’s this sort of behaviour that has seen the boys earn the right to support acts such as British India, Reptiles and The Scare.

There’s still a bit of room for improvement in the way of song structure with some parts in songs occasionally being a bit excessive (even though still filled with some very clever ideas) but you definitely can’t hold that against the boys who are surely on their way to some bigger things.

www.myspace.com/thehowlmusic

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