My Disco – ‘Turn’ (mp3)

Time for Australian bloggers/blog-readers to get excited. New My Disco tunes are a-coming. ‘Turn’ is the lead single from the forthcoming album Little Joy, to be released Friday the 15th of October – only 6.5 weeks away.

‘Turn’ is based an enchanting and energetic percussion pattern that’s punctuated by moments of trademarked guitar stabs. The guitar work and vocals on display here are still firmly rooted in ‘minamilst punk,’ but the whole thing barely contains a moment of discordance. In fact, it’s a relatively beautiful song – not exactly the first word that springs to mind when you think of My Disco. And not that I ever could/would accuse these dudes of bending to hipster trends, but there’s definitely a bit of an in vogue tribal vibe to ‘Turn.’

It works. It’s a great introduction to their next album, showcasing their strengths as synthesised into a 3.5 minute pop song palatable for those who may not be familiar with/didn’t totes dig their old stuff.

www.myspace.com/mydiscomydisco

Read Post →

Fishing – ‘OOOO’ (mp3)

Fishing. One of those bands I’d seen mentioned and/or listed in other bands’ Myspace friends, but not a band I’d ever gone out of my way to listen to. My loss.

I first heard one of their songs when I was studying while listening to Life Aquatic (aka best new music blog outta this country). I quickly did the ol’ Apple + Tab and brought up ol’ Firefox to see who the artist of this sweet jam was. “Oh, right, those guys. Should probs check them out.” Into the drafts folder they went and then I forgot about them. Not long after that, they got playlisted over at Pitchfork. Not a bad effort for these Sydney beat-makers. “Must post about them,” I said again.

And here I am, over a month later, finally putting up the track long after it’s relevance has passed. Yes, I’m well late to the Fishing party. ‘OOOO’ is still a quality tune that I recommend you all listen to. All five of you who haven’t already heard it, that is.

www.myspace.com/fishinggg

Read Post →

kyü – ‘Pixophony’ (mp3)

Never mind the Bjork comparisons that trail them, nor that the opening wails of this song call to mind ‘Heart it Races’ – kyü are an exciting and inventive band. With some of the best voices in Australian music, Alyx Dennison and Freya Berkhout continue to use their larynges as instruments themselves. Unlike other bands going for that ‘tribal’ vibe, kyü pad out their vocals Padded out by some basic percussion, it’s music that mixes pop with tribal

‘Pixophony’ is their latest single and it’s pretty stunning. At under three minutes, it’s a short and sweet jam that revolves around the one idea, building it up and then petering out before it overstays its welcome. Unlike other bands going for that ‘tribal’ vibe, kyü pad out their vocals with nothing more than some sparse percussion, and it’s that confidence in their vocals and restraint in arrangement that makes to you pay attention.

‘Pixophony’ is taken from their forthcoming debut album, which is out September 18.

www.myspace.com/kyusounds

Read Post →

I Look To You from Miami Horror on Vimeo.

Read Post →

The Kritzlers – ‘Head In The Ether’ (mp3)

You might remember the Kritzlers from when I first gushed over them nearly a year ago. Back then, they kinda sounded like late-80s Cure mised with late-90s Air. Since then they’ve remained pretty quiet, had members overseas, relocated to Melbourne. You know how it is.

But they’re back with a new jam. And now they’ve progressed to sound like early 90s Cure. You know, when The Cure albums sucked but there was still one or two good songs on there so you probably bought/recently re-“acquired” them anyway. Unlike previous Kritzlers tune ‘Scarlet Sometimes’ (which is itself a Cure reference), ‘Head In The Ether’ is way more guitar based (as though their proverbial Roger O’Donnell had also left the band), mixing extended, chorused guitar noodling over hip hop-lite beats. And, you know, instrumental.

Maybe I’m overstating the whole Cure thing. Let me know. ‘Head In The Ether’ doesn’t get me quite as wet as ‘Scarlet Sometimes,’ but it’s still a classy jam.

www.myspace.com/thekritzlers

Read Post →

Guerre/Top Girls – ‘Waiting’ (mp3)

Super fresssh jam here from Guerre, one of the best new acts in Australia the world. I just really dig what this dude does. I’ve been seeing his stuff start to pop up international blogs too, and hopefully his collab with OS buzzband Top Girls will see him get some more much-deserved attention.

‘Waiting’ is a collaboration and the single from an upcoming split release with Top Girls. It’s a pretty dope track made up of all the stuff we already like about Guerre and Top Girls – cinemascope-worthy synth pads, heaps of reverb, restrained beats, and thin, floating vocals. Unlike other Guerre tracks, which are often written, recorded and uploaded within a few hours, you can hear the attention to detail that these guys have applied to ‘Waiting.’ It’s a stronger track for it.

Guerre recently said on his blog that he was going to start spending more time on individual tracks and work toward a cohesive release. ‘Waiting’ won’t be on that release, but it definitely a good sign of things to come. Keep an eye on his site for this details on how to grab this split release.

In other Guerre news, check out his chilled cover of Beyonce’s ‘Halo’ right here.

Read Post →

We all love DZ, yeah? Cool, I thought so. Well in that case you’d already be aware that they’re doing some gigs to help fund their trip to New York later this year.

Those dates are included after the jump for your perusal. More important is that we have a double pass to their gig at The Zoo on Friday August 27th. Brisbane readers rejoice! All you have to do is email rsvp@whothehell.net with the subject ‘DZ PARRRTY’ sometime before next Wednesday to go into the running. Get on it.

(more…)

Read Post →