Collarbones – ‘Beaman Park’ (mp3)

Just yesterday I listed Collarbones’ album as one of my most anticipated for the second half of the year. As far as I’m aware, Iconography doesn’t yet have a release date, but we’ve just gotten another taste of the glory in store with second single ‘Beaman Park’ going up on their bandcamp page. It’s more accessible than previous single ‘Kill Off The Vowels’ (clearly advice that PVT took to heart), but it’s still underpinned by the same technical flair and unpredictable beats that made them stand out. But ‘Beaman Park’ eschews icy austerity in favour of warm, cut-up samples and moves them closer towards the realm of chillwave/blog relevance.

It’s worth mentioning that the remixes bundled with the single are also worth your time checking out – especially since all of it is released under the pay-what-you-want scheme. All this has only increased my excitement for the album.

www.myspace.com/collarbonesband

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Alps – ‘Goosebeak Whale’ (mp3)

Alps (sometimes Alps of New South Wales) is one of the many artists I was introduced to by the invaluable resource that is New Weird Australia. Mixing elements of shoegaze, ambient, and drone with pop music, Alps produces music that’s both structrally and texturally compelling.

Alps is about to heard out on tour with Zack Kouns from the US. Dates for those shows (which are sure to be pretty face melting) are below:

Thursday 22 Brisbane – Step Inn – 186 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley
Friday 23 Newcastle – Croatian Club – Albert St, Wickham
Saturday 24 Sydney – Serial Space – 33 Wellington St, Chippendale
Tuesday 27 Melbourne – Make it Up Club – Bar Open – 317 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
Wednesday 28 Hobart – The Alley Cat – 381 Elizabeth St, North Hobart
Thursday 29 Melbourne – Sunshine and Grease – 9 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill
Friday 30 Adelaide – The Exeter – 246 Rundle St, City
Saturday 31 Canberra – Smiths Alternative Bookstore – 76 Alinga St, City

www.myspace.com/alpsalps

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Over the last week I’ve been putting together my personal list of fav albums so far this year. Because everyone loves a list. This is what I came up with after some chopping and changing. Not sure about the other contribs, hopefully they can weigh in as well.

1. Tame Impala: Innerspeaker

‘Solitude Is Bliss’ (mp3)

I don’t know what more to say about this album. Some people predicted greatness – for me, it came way out of left field. It managed to cut through a cloud of hyperbole and get me excited about guitars again. Deserves to be number one because it really is an “album” – it works best as a whole and rewards repeated listens.

2. Vorad Fils: The Warmest Static

‘Lioness’ (mp3)

This is solo project of John Hassell from Seekae. I love Seekae, and a lot of the stuff I love about Seekae is retained here, yet Hassell feels joyously free from the icy aesthetic that defines his main band’s music. As a result, we get track’s like ‘Lioness,’ which are no less technically impressive but far warmer and inviting. It’s the most immediate thing on there, but not even the best. Delve deeper if you enjoy the above.

3. PVT: Church With No Magic

‘Window’ (mp3)

I think technically this album is released in July so shouldn’t be counted, but I’ve had it floating around since May and I’m already well familiar with it’s glory. Above is ‘Window,’ the track that will probably take PVT to as large a following as they’re likely to ever amass. There’s other songs on there to equal its pop prowess – and extended jams to appease the older fans – but all you need to know is this album is kinda the balls.

4. Parades: Foreign Tapes

‘Loserspeak in New Tongue’ (mp3)

Foreign Tapes is a dense album and it took a few listens to sink in. I knew the first few tracks prior to diving in, but beyond that it all seemed a bit messy and it kind of washed over me. The genius of this one dawned on me about a week after first listening, and it began with the song above. I came to realise that there’s nothing messy about Foreign Tapes, just a lot of intricacies to the arrangement and some impressive stylistic diversity. And yet somehow the whole thing hangs together extremely well as an album. ‘Loserspeak in New Tongue’ is everything I love about this album in one song.

5. Super Wild Horses: Fifteen

‘Mess Around’ (mp3)

Another one that I’m pretty sure is technically not the first half of the year, but it’s all I’ve been listening to this past three weeks so it deserves a spot. I actually reviewed this album for the next issue of JMag and gave it a positive but not entirely gushing review. Having lived with if for a couple of weeks longer (and freed from the deadline constraints of print media), I can happily say that this album is proving to be much more of a gem than I first credited it as. Give it time and it may even climb higher up my list. Honestly, I can’t fault the first five songs on this album – they’re as solid as anything else I’ve heard all year from anywhere in the world.

Just miss out: Pikelet, Gentleforce, Ernest Ellis, Richard In Your Mind, Otouto, Seja…

My picks for the best up-and-coming Aus acts and international albums after the jump:

(more…)

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Comic Sans – ‘Vixen’ (mp3)

As a central band in what I’m now coining Brisbane’s “brat pack” (TM), Comic Sans have been making waves up here for a year or so now – going from hardworking ever-present support band to the point where they can draw a decent crowd whe n headlining a club night. ‘Vixen’ is their latest single, and I assume it’s taken from a forthcoming release since they’re probably due for an EP/album later this year. It a bit lighter than what we’re used to from these guys – a bit more upbeat with the synth taking a bit more of the lead, a bit more sparse and some major keys etc. It also sounds lighter because of the cleaner production, which comes courtesy of Scott Horscroft.

Comic Sans are one of those bands I started taking for granted because it felt like I saw them 10 times in a few months last year. I only just realised I probably haven’t seen them at all in 2k10. No doubt I’ll be able to catch them around soon and check out if the rest of their set is sounding more like ‘Vixen’ – but then I imagine this probably isn’t as slick live anyway.

Either way, it’s a cool little tune from the boys that will hopefully see them picking up so more air play.

UPDATE the first: Will totally be seeing these guys when they support PVT and Seekae at The Zoo. Solid line-up.

UPDATE the second: Found a sweet live clip of ‘Vixen’ live at Lambda club night. Its below.

www.myspace.com/comicsansmusic

Comic Sans – Vixen @ Lambda Alhambra Lounge 24/6/2010 from Oliver Duncan on Vimeo.

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Glass Vaults – ‘Forget Me Not’ (mp3)

Glass Vaults (formerly just Vaults) are duo based out of Wellington, New Zealand. They’ve just released their debut EP Glass for free (get it here) and it’s some of the best shit I’ve heard this year. Alternating between textured ambiance and hypnagogic pop, each track is dripping with cavernous vocals, carefully considered washes of guitar/synth and, occasionally, unpredictable beats.

It’s one of the best EPs I’ve heard all year – no geographic caveats implied. I highly encourage everyone to get it. It sits comfortably at the intersection of dream pop and ambient electronic music, but it’s not so comfortable that it doesn’t feel exciting and beautiful. Breathtaking stuff.

www.myspace.com/wearevaults

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The Laurels – ‘Turn On Your Mind’ (mp3)

We’ve all heard shoegaze before. If not in the early 90s, then at least via reissues or the ‘nu-gaze’ craze that is kinda still lingering. Like all good Arts students, it’s pretty much all I listened to in the second year of my undergrad. And even though I dig the new shoegaze stuff coming out, I sometimes kinda think, ‘why bother when the genre peaked twenty years ago?’ Then other times, I kinda think, ‘I’m sick of listening to Loveless – I want something that is new but sounds like Loveless.’ It’s on those days that the persistence of shoegaze as a genre is totally justified.

Which leads me to The Laurels. They’re a shoegaze band c. 1990. They sort of disregard music post Ride/MBV/JAMC etc, but then they’re not really trying to reinvent the wheel/pedalboard. They’re clearly just trying to do what I outlined above – make music that is new but sounds like Loveless. And they do a pretty good job. It’s a bit easier to digest than some of shoegaze’s more introverted works, but they write solid songs and drape them in the appropriate swirling effects. It totally listenable and damn enjoyable.

www.myspace.com/thelaurels

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