The latest video from Self-Destruct, the solo album from No Through Road’s Matt Banham.

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Bleeding Knees Club – ‘Have Fun’ (m4a)

Bleeding Knees Club are a couple of bros from Brisbane that have been cutting their teeth playing house parties, warehouses and the odd club night. Comprised of Alex Wall (Vox/Drums) and Jordan Malane (Guitar/Vox), Bleeding Knees Club bust out punkish, surf rock tunes inspired by the likes of Wavves and The Black Lips. The songs sound loose and, content wise, they’re pretty much about getting loose. Fitting. Anyway, the above song is called ‘Have Fun’ and it’s one of only two demos they’ve recorded so far – not a bad start. [Insert my usual plea for band to keep things raw/loose on actual studio version]. Anyway, have fun – it’s an apt name.

www.myspace.com/thebleedingkneesclub

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Mosman Alder – ‘Raisin Heart’ (mp3)

Mosman Alder, hey? I first noticed this band’s name on the poster for the epic Richard In Your Mind/SPOD gig tonight at the Fans club night at Alhambra (for the Brisbane folks) and thought nothing much of them other than “how did these randoms land the support slot for a relatively high profile gig (at least in the indie/blogging sense).” But then this guy said I should check them, and so I actually went to all the effort to hit up their Myspace page.

And you know what? Turns out they’re pretty good. It shoots for the same kind of grandeur as Arcade Fire and early Doves and actually reaches that level pretty well without falling back on the whole ‘let’s get lots of people to sing loud at once to sound epic’ kinda way. Yeah, they bring some of that in toward the end, but when it works it still works (and when it doesn’t work… well, see that latest Little Red single. WTF is that shit?). Largely, though, the vocals are restricted to a smooth baritone and the song relies on the actual instruments to create crescendos.

Above is ‘Raisin Heart,’ the clear stand out amongst their tracks so far. I won’t go pronouncing these guys as an impending ‘big thing,’ but I can confirm that they have at least one pretty great song with a serving of ‘potential’ on the side. Hopefully they can turn it on tonight and win some more people over.

www.myspace.com/mosmanalder

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OTOUTO – W.HILLIER (Dir. Alice Glenn) from two bright lakes on Vimeo.

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Guerre – ‘Night Out’ (mp3)

It was only yesterday, as I navigated my way to Guerre’s Soundcloud account, that I realised I forgot to include him in my fav new artists of 2k10 list from earlier this month. That was a huge oversight, since Guerre is definitely one of the most talented artists I’ve been introduced to all year. His music is incredibly diverse and there’s a new gem online almost every time I visit one of his sites.

From his porn-music-sampling ‘Somewhere Craving the Night‘ to his self-described hip hop jam ‘Tomorrow, Sundogs,’ the guy has put up several LP’s worth of material over the past few months and almost all of it for free download. I really hope Guerre collects the best cuts onto some sort of digital compilation/CD-R, just so the songs have more of a home and can get some more exposure.

Above is ‘Night Out,’ a song reportedly done in his brothers bedroom one night earlier this month. It’s not his most immediate tune, but it kinda says everything I love about Guerre, from the circumstances of its production to its sound.

www.myspace.com/ripityripity

soundcloud.com/guerre

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CRUMBS – ‘Smiling In Surgery’ (mp3)

I posted about CRUMBS earlier this year after the release of his first mini-LP, Pieces and Portions Vol. 1. It was a fun collection of songs, full of interesting samples and passages of impressive production – but, as it’s name suggested, it felt more like you were flicking through a sketchbook than looking at a finished artwork. CRUMBS has returned with a new mini-LP and has labeled it Pieces and Portions Vol. 2. Whilst there’s still some “sketchiness” to the songs, Vol 2 is far more cohesive than it’s earlier counterpart. The production is a bit tighter and the songs more interesting. It’s definitely a step up and a worthwhile listen, but occasionally you’re still left thinking that the songs themselves need either some vocals (/an MC) over the top or some more strucutral progression.

To condemn it for sounding incomplete is pretty superfluous since CRUMBS (aka Max Kohane) already references that in the album’s title. Pieces and Portions Vol. 2 is a fun listen and signals that Kohane has the potential to release something really cool as he continues to graduate from ‘pieces and portions’ to fully realised songs. I look forward to hearing that album (assuming it’s coming). For now, Vol. 2 is more than enough to see me through.

You can get it for free HERE at his bandcamp.

www.myspace.com/crumbsproduction

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Cut Copy – ‘Where I’m Going’

So that kinda ugly thing above seems to be Cut Copy’s new logo. Seems a bit ‘Play School’ to me. I saw it and was like, “that doesn’t look very ‘Modular’ to me.” And then I listened to the song and realised that it also didn’t sound much like their old stuff. I don’t want to second guess Cut Copy because everything they’ve put out has been pretty different and all of it is fkn amazing, but this seems like a pretty big move away from the one thing that united their previous music – phat house beats. Opening with what sounds like a sample of Velvet Underground ‘Waiting For My Man,’ it soon moves into a bit of a glam stomp number. The drums all sound live and avoid any ‘four on the floor’ moments, and it has a bit of a mid-tempo strut to it.

It’s actually a pretty cool song, but it’s definitely caught me off guard. It’s like these guys aren’t even an electro band any more. It’s like the whole Mo-gan movement didn’t even happen (not such a bad thing). I wonder what the rest of the album will sound like. Colour me ‘intrigued’ but not ‘convinced.’

You can get it via their website below for the cost of an email address.

www.cutcopy.net

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