Toy Balloon – ‘Balloon Force’ (mp3)

Toy Balloon – ‘You’re Feeling Trapped’

Toy Balloon are a Brisbane four-piece who explore the gaps between electronic music, pop and shoegaze. Much like the latter genre, single chords and notes are held for long periods, bleeding into the next and creating droning pads that combine with drum machines to form textured beds for the rest of the arrangement. It’s not all atmospherics – far from it. These guys are far more Daft Punk than Aphex Twin when it comes to the electronic side of things and, seemingly untainted by avante-rock ambitions, TB allow the cheesey beats to build to house-like climaxes and the vocodered vocals to cut through the mix and become and extra rhythmic element. There’s hooks, too – guitars aren’t used just for floating reverbed chords but play riffs as well. It’s fun but also dense, not something that you’ll slave over to enjoy but also not something that you’ll completely absorb after one listen.

Also, their album is called ‘Toy Division’ – what’s not to love?

www.myspace.com/toyballoon

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Heirs -‘Cabal’

I missed Heirs’ first single. Apparently I’m not as ‘hip’ to the post-rock/metal scene as I like to think. Truth be told I personally have little-to-no interest in metal (local or otherwise) and so I think  intially the cover art (which, in hindsight, actually kinda resembles something from the latest Department of Eagles film clip) and scary thrash bands these guys share a German distributor with sent me running away.

They’ve just released ‘Cabal,’ the second single off their debut album and despite all the signifiers, Heirs aren’t nearly as ‘metal’ as they’d have you think – or, at least, ‘Cabal’ isn’t (I haven’t extensively scoured their back-catalogue yet). It sounds much more like Mogwai circa ‘Young Team’ (such a typical point of reference, I know) in that it’s a much more down-tempo, haptic and considered composition; more brood than fury. Hell, there’s even some acoustic guitar on there. The song meanders but isn’t aimless, and if you’re a sucker for crescendos like I am then the aural journey will be worth the payoff.

www.myspace.com/heirsmusic

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Hunz – ‘Soon, Soon’

Hunz is an electronic musician from Brisbane who recently recorded his second album in unusual circumstances – he took part in the RPM Challenge that asked over 2200 international artists to write, record, perform and produce an entire album during the month of February 2009. The fruits of that challenge have recently been made available to download for free and there’s some killer tracks on there. My favourite is ‘Soon, Soon,’ which combines industrial-inspired beats with a soaring falsetto reminiscent of Radiohead’s ‘Nude’ and harmonies that recall parts of Gotye’s last effort. Like Gotye, Hunz releases music under a one-word psuedonym (crazy, huh?) and combines elements of schizophrenic production with earnest singer-songwriter tendancies. I prefer the songs where the former wins over and enjoy the way his sweet, high voice rubs against the harsher elements of the arrangement but for those who prefer their music less glitchy and full of ‘beeps’ there’s some fairly straight-up compositions.

‘Soon, Soon’ is rad – especially impressive given the contracted gestation period. Kudos to Hunz.

www.myspace.com/hunz

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No Through Road – ‘Party To Survive’

With a record called ‘Winners.’ (yes, the full stop apparently part of the title – thanks for the trend, ‘Dear Science,’) and a press release stating that the band could play at a birthday party, wedding or wake, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by No Through Road. Seriously, when was the last time you actually enjoyed listening to the band playing at a wedding? Fortunately, it turns out that these guys aren’t MOR exponents of foyer muzak – the only weddings and parties to which these guys could provide an appropriate soundtrack would be those held in grungy basements or sheds.

‘Party To Survive’ is a fantastic song that absorbs its simple, perhaps deliberately lo-fi qualities into an endearing aesthetc. Singer Matt Banham growls with the nonchalant energy of an early-90s slacker king through the distortion piled on top of his already-creaky voice. And don’t let the oddly-included electro into fool you, this song is all about the guitars. ‘We need to feel alright…/I need a party to survive’ are prominent lines from the chorus and, while the band certainly seem to be espousing hedonistic abandon, there’s a hint of desperation and sadness in Banham’s voice that adds an affecting depth to the refrain. This attention to delivery adds gravitas that is missing from many other superficial ‘party anthems’ and shows that a bit of intelligence behind even the simplest music can exponentially elevate proceedings.

www.myspace.com/nothroughroad

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We All Want To – ‘Back To The Car’

Tim Steward must be a busy guy. Not only has he been re-releasing and touring his other band Screamfeeder’s seminal 1996 album ‘Kitten Licks,’ he’s also steadily maintained a respectable solo career from which his latest band was born. Starting out his backing band, the five piece have consolidated their strengths and recorded an EP under the name We All Want To. There are obvious echoes of his better-known outfit in We All Want To’s sound but this is not so much because of laziness but because both bands churn out sharp indie pop-rock and because they both prominently feature Steward’s distinct and theatrical vocals.

‘Back To The Car’ is pop music at it’s least complicated. Just the usual instruments with a bit of delay on the vox, some transparent effects on the guitars and a reliabe verse/chorus structure. The song is largely reliant on the the melody and delivery to elevate it and it succeeds pretty well – but hey, I just love Steward’s voice and any song featuring those vocal chords of gold is likely to get me excited. The whole thing shimmers and the band, whose mean age is probably mid-30s (a rough guess), still sound young and excited; self-assured and brimming with kinetic energy.

If you’re a fan of Screamfeeder then you’ll probably enjoy WAWT as well. The EP as a whole doesn’t quite match the heights Steward has reached before but it’s probably following a deliberately different trajectory. As a lead track on a debut release though, ‘Back To The Car’ is a perfect choice – it races out and hits the listener with their strongest hand and defines their sound and intention.

www.myspace.com/weallwantto

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Sia | Soon We’ll Be Found

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French Rockets -‘Scopin’ The Radar’

When a band (note: not a DJ) lists a lighting designer/operator as a band member then you know they’re going to be dabbling in some kinda out there shit. Psychedelic. Kaleidoscopic. The kind of stuff you see in old Velvet Underground clips and imagine LSD fueled parties of the late 60s to look like.

Though there are shades of the VU in the monotonous, almost anti-structure of this song, it sounds more like a shoegaze band covering something from the krautrock canon – which, from their list of influences, seems to be exactly what they’re going for. Points for executing your vision, guys. Is it unoriginal  though? Perhaps a touch, but when the synthesis of influences is this tight then who cares.

I concede that ‘Scopin’ The Radar’ won’t be for everyone – it’s long and repetitive, but I found it definitely worked its way under my skin. Near unwavering, metronomic drums plod along beneath chugging guitars and other sorts of squall and reversed noises. Perhaps a good reference point is to imagine a drawn out version of those transitional songs on Cut Copy’s ‘In Ghost Colours’ – but with vocals. If you like that album but skip those tracks then you’ll probably really enjoy this song for about two minutes and be bored for the next five. Even the detractors will find something to like, though – it’s got style, that’s for sure. And as for substance, well, maybe taking some substances yourself…

www.myspace.com/frenchrockets

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