PVT – ‘Timeless’ (mp3)

PVT is the new name of Sydney’s Pivot, so forced into changing because a horrible prog-metal act from the US registered the name ‘Pivot’ as a trademark, despite the band formerly known as Pivot having previously released music under that name in that terrtiory. Yeah, makes sense. Rather than pursue legal hassles (despite a pretty strong case), PVT just decided to change their name. I think PVT suits them better anyway. It’s more experimental, leaving out vowels and subverting capital letter conventions and such as.

Anyway, PVT are still the only Australian band signed to Warp, the famous UK electronic label that was home to almost every IDM band in the 90s/00s (Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, LFO). PVT didn’t exactly mine similar territory, but there was definitely a sonic lineage between their post-rock/ambient/laptop styles and that label’s more famous signees.

Their new album Church With No Magic is out soon (distributed locally via Inertia) and it sees a slight change in direction for the band. Perhaps ‘change in direction’ isn’t the right description – it’s more a tightening of their previous sonic preoccupations into more of a pop framework. No doubt, tracks like ‘Window’ (video below) will see them get more radio play, higher festival billing etc, which I’m cool with. Even though I loved PVT back when they were Pivot, I still really like the pop cut ‘Window.’ Their approach to production is still quite out there, but they’re just applying that approach to more conventionally structured tunes. On a blogging scale from 1 – Animal Collective, ‘Window’ could very well be there ‘My Girls.’

But Church With No Magic isn’t an entirely under-3-mins affair. There’s some deeper album cuts that totally rule. Check out ‘Timeless’ above for proof that these guys can still wig out like almost no one else in this country. The whole album is pretty boss and I recommend you check it out when it’s released next month.

www.myspace.com/pvt

PS. I’m not a superstitious guy, but when I visited their Myspace to grab the above link I was visitor no. 555555. That has to mean something, right?

Read Post →

Seagull – ‘Grandmother’ (mp3)

Seagull made turned some heads with their first album, Goodbye Weather, winning a slot at Falls via Triple J Unearthed and garnering positive reviews. At the time of its recording, Seagull was the solo project of Christopher Bolton, which has expanded to a four piece including his brother Edward, Michael Zulick, and Kishore Ryan – yes, that same Kishore Ryan that already hits the skins for Kid Sam and Otouto (dude is fkn busy). Their new album, Council Tree, is it out on July 23rd via Two Bright Lakes and features all four members doing their proverbial “thang” over Bolton’s minimalist folk.

Above is ‘Grandmother,’ the first track released from the album. It sounds exactly how I imagined it – in a good way. It retains the same directness and sense of atmosphere that tracks like ‘Dust Storm’ from the first album had, but with a few embellishments poking in at the edges. Very cool.

www.myspace.com/seagullmusic

Read Post →

Golden Fangs – ‘Jaques Brel’ (mp3)

This song has been sitting in my drafts folder since forever. From memory, it’s popped up on a couple of other blogs since it first appeared in our SoundCloud account (which we totes check so send us your shit), but I had another listen and decided it’s definitely still worth posting.

It’s called ‘Jaques Brel’ by Sydney band Golden Fangs; it’s like surf music that’s been wrapped in cast offs from a Morricone soundtrack.; it’s pop music, but in that ‘no-vocals-for-over-a-minute’ kinda way. I don’t really know how to describe it. If it doesn’t sound like “yr thing” then give it a listen anyway, as it’s way more indie friendly than that description might suggest. Seriously cool tune. As are most of the others on their Myspace. These guys are worth keeping an eye on.

www.myspace.com/goldenfangsband

Read Post →

I don’t normally bulk post stuff released on the same label, but A) all these arrived in the same envelope, B) I have a heap of stuff in the drafts folder to get through following exams, and C) they’re all super sweet and I figured you should get a taste ASAP, in time for sweet weekend chilling. All are available digitally  via Speak’n’Spell/Intertia either now or over the coming weeks.

Castratii – ‘Orchids’ (mp3)

Castratii, out of the blue mountains, are an industrial-leaning electronic band that couldn’t be further from the sounds we’re used to from that region (see: Cloud Control, Belles Will Ring, The Maple Trail). I commented last time that the vibe they project is of a more intense psuedo-metal band (that’s the cover art above – no one but metal bands uses that font). This is possibly fueled by an obvious love for Trent Reznor. They actually do a pretty good job of emulating their hero’s recognisable aesthetic, but they sound closer to his latest project, the dreamier How to Destroy Angels, than the more ferocious Nine Inch Nails (which ain’t a bad thing, I totally dig that HTDA EP). ‘Orchid’ is taken from their forthcoming EP The Telling Of Bees, which is released digitally on 3rd July.

www.myspace.com/castratii

Kite Club – ‘Downstairs’ (mp3)

Another band that I posted about earlier this year, Kite Club really caught my attention with their track ‘Royal Gums.’ It’s easily the best track he (Kite Club is one dude) has written, bringing the best of his pop sensibility and love of reverb and layered falsetto together into a tight, memorable tune. He probably needs to get that balance right on more of his tracks if he really wants to stand out above the rest of the indie-bedroom-pop crowd, but there’s still enough to enjoy on his debut EP Esoterica. ‘Downstairs’ is another strong track – not single material but a good display of what could potentially make Kite Club’s sound instantly recognisable.

www.myspace.com/kiteclubclub

Dear Time’s Waste – ‘Room For Rent’ (mp3)

Dear Time’s Waste is the name of Auckland she-bro Claire Duncan. Although at times a bit singer-songwriter-ish for my taste, her debut EP ‘Room for Rent‘ is very solid first offering. Especially strong is the title track, which damn near literally stopped me in my tracks upon first listen. It’s a hazy bedroom pop number not far from international buzzband Twin Sisters, until it builds to a transcendental coda, full of harmonies and floor toms, that slowly drift away. It’s a beautiful tune and I hope to hear more like it on whatever she releases next.

www.myspace.com/deartimeswaste

Read Post →

Richard In Your Mind – ‘This Face’ (mp3)

Richard In Your Mind’s latest My Volcano actually reminds me of Beck’s classic Odelay in that both are kind of a melting pot of genres and schizophrenic production, elements of folk, hip hop and psychedelia interchangeably drifting to the fore. And, like Odelay, it’s not entirely successful – some parts try a bit too hard, other kind of miss the mark – but every song that strays that bit too far or clashes against the previous makes this album what it is. It’s a bit of a mess, but it revels in it and it works in that weird way.

I like the WTF factor of RIYM. Although on first listen you’ll likely find the more direct tracks like ‘I Will,’ ‘Losing Our Mind,’ and ‘The Sun Broke Into Your Heart’ the stand outs, others will eventually work their way under your skin as they did mine. It’s an album that not only sustains but rewards repeated spins, and every time I put it on I find a new track that I dig. Today, it was ‘This Face,’ which sits comfortably between their straightforward and more far-out tunes.

www.myspace.com/richardinyourmind

Read Post →

Ernest Ellis – ‘Taking Shapes ‘(mp3)

Dew Process finally released Ernest Ellis’s debut album Hunting on Saturday! Huzzah. That’s right, you can get yr hands on this chestnut right now, and  I highly recommend that you do.

I’ve been posting about EE for a couple of years now so you can do a lil search and check out a bunch of his tracks, all of which are featured on his debut (except the version of ‘Bad Blood’ is slightly different, maybe some overdubs and a new mix/master?) The clip for the latest single ‘Want For Anything’ is below, and above you can check out ‘Taking Shapes,’ which open the last third of the album and pulls it out of the singer-songwriter territory Hunting briefly wanders into and back into whatever canyon/cave/church he layers his guitar and vocals in. The fact that the back end of the album features tunes like ‘Taking Shapes’ and his original buzz-making tune ‘Bad Blood’ shows that the album has some real depth.

You can also check out the impressive ‘I Am The Beast’ over at Polaroids of Androidz (as of about two weeks ago).

www.myspace.com/ernestellis

Ernest Ellis – ‘Want For Anything’ from Dew Process on Vimeo.

Read Post →