Mother and Father – ‘Ignored’ (mp3)

It took me a while to blog about these, mainly because it took me a while to get over the fact that they have a tendency to sound exactly like Nirvana. There’s some songs on their self-titled debut album that diverge from the early 90s grunge blueprint, but it’s largely characterised by the same musical tropes and straining vocal inflections that made that grunge powerful. ‘Ignored’ is a decent example of their catchier ‘indie songs’ are dressed in the distorted cloak of the opening Nevermind-loving tracks.

Thankfully, the songs are actually okay, which elevates Mother and Father from ‘musical necrophilia’ to ‘musical throwback.’ To my ears, this isn’t a shallow imitation of grunge; it will never be as powerful as those bands back then, no doubt, but it also sounds like an album fueled by love. They’re not doing anything as unique as their heroes, they just want to rock out like them. It’s not subtle, but it has the potential for a cool live show.

www.myspace.com/motherandfathermusic

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The Crayon Fields – ‘Mirrorball’ (mp3)

‘Mirrorball’ sounds like a sixties girl group pop song or something from The Zombies. It’s got a clean, scratchy guitar line, a instantly endearing vocal melody, whimsical vocals and classic harmonies. This is pop music in the pure, retro sense, but it isn’t a superficial genre exploration. With indie music looking back to this aesthetic as its latest sound du jour, it’s comforting to know that The Crayon Fields have explored sixties pop territory for a few years now. And they’re still going it better than most others.  These guys  just have a knack for writing songs that sound recognisable upon first listen.

www.myspace.com/thecrayonfields

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A Dead Forest Index – ‘Empty and Dark I Shall Raise My Lantern’ (mp3)

So this is a pretty creepy track. As far as I can tell, there’s just a simple, steady percussive beat and then a heap of vocal tracks and harmonies  that chant, among other things, the titular phrase. The song progresseswith a sinister plods, accumulating voices as it goes until the high harmony kicks in at the end and break it apart.

A Dead Forest Index are a Melbourne-based duo consisting of brothers Adam and Sam Sherry and they’ve got a residency at the Workers Club throughout November. I’d be interested to see how they get this onto the live stage; I’m guessing some sort of loop pedal/sampler is involved. The rest of their stuff is more guitar-based if this is too sparse for your liking, but all of it is married by the haunted atmosphere these guys drape over their songs.

www.myspace.com/adeadforestindex

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Ivy St. – ‘There’s A Whole Lot More That Waits’ (mp3)

This track landed in my inbox trailing a cloud of recent critical acclaim. While this song itself is pretty cool, the sticking point is definitely in the vocals. Thomas Hyland’s idiosyncratic shrieks land somewhere between classic English post-punk and The Drones’ Garreth Liddiard, which is largely a good thing. It’s quite horrible, yes, but in the best way. It makes the rest of the raw track compelling.

Despite the overwhelmingly positive reviews, I’ve not yet heard the rest of their album Picture Machine. I’m thinking I’ll wait until my expectations have subsided a bit. ‘There’s A Whole Lot More That Waits’ makes me look forward to it even more, which is pretty much exactly what a lead/blog-serviced single should do. So good call.

www.myspace.com/ivyst

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Legends of Motorsport – ‘Freedom’ (mp3)

Were it not for their reputation, a name like ‘Legends of Motorsport’ could potentially put off that section of the music crowd that both hate motorsport and people who describe others/themselves as ‘legends.’ I fall into that category, but it’s hard overlook a band whose debut CD-R Parking Like A Fuckhead came out when I was all of nine years old. Something’s kept these guys together and making music for over a decade – but more importantly, something’s kept people listening. Throw awesome label Low Transit Industries into the mix and suddenly I’m pretty excited about the song that’s landed in my inbox. ‘Freedom’ was that song.

Firstly, this is RAWK music. How can one resist the goofy, over-dramatic delivery given to rather banal line “I can’t believe I never / used to like blue cheese”? If that doesn’t hook you in, the intense “NA NA NA’s” will. Singer Richard Fyshwick throws weight and energy behind lines as comically light as that opener, and the hammy passion he injects nearly convinces you that each is a valid “freedom of expression.” The guitar racket beneath his musings match Fyshwick’s energy as shout-along moments punctuate the song.

If you think Jet rock like no one else in Australia then this probably isn’t for you – but you should listen anyway, just to see how far behind they are.

www.myspace.com/legendsofmotorsport

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Castratii – ‘Colours’ (mp3)

Castratii list themselves as “Gospel/Black Metal/Minimalist” on their Myspace. With bands constantly using those generic tags to take the piss, it can often be hard to tell when artists are actually trying to describe their music and when they are lampooning the site’s insistence on categorisation. Add to the confusion that Castratii’s The Music of Chance EP artwork also resembles something you’d expect from a metal band and I’m starting to wonder whether I’ve been sent the wrong EP.

I haven’t; the songs all line up, this is the same band. But the Castratii that I’ve had on repeat the last few days are not metal. The song above isn’t, and neither are any of the others I’ve been happily absorbing. Castratii actually make atmospheric guitar based compositions with strong vocal melodies sung in a falsetto, which rubs against the more industrial clamour of the drum machines in the above song. Elsewhere, they opt for more patient and less beat-heavy compositions, placing greater emphasis on the vocals, which take a cue from Animal Collective’s appropriation of Beach Boys harmonies. ‘Colours’ isn’t the best on their EP, but it’s the most likely to hit you first time you hear it. Check out their Myspace for some more of their “Black Metal” stylings.

www.myspace.com/castratii

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AFX JIM – ‘The T in Tchina’

4 Reasons to love AFX JIM

1. He has a great name.

2. He also pulls time with other rad Australian bands Founder and The Woods Themselves.

3. Fenella also loves him. (Listen to the SoundLab stream from Sunday night’s program for an interview between the two).

4. Everything I’ve heard from his album ‘Blackout Music’ is fantastic. Some tracks better fit the ‘experimental folk’ tag, while others are more ruminative sound collages. ‘The T in Tchina’ is a bit like The Avalanches on Ritalin, with light tinkling keys and glockenspiels reminiscent of Up In Flames-era Caribou. It never wanders a straight path but doesn’t feels directionless, with the drums dropping in after two minutes to give the kaleidoscopic samples some extra momentum. Like the aforementioned artists, this has way more depth to be considered mere pastiche – the found sounds aren’t thrown in to attract interest in themselves; there’s a precision and intelligence to their arrangement and flow that reflects unquestionable talent.

www.myspace.com/afxjim

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