I love this song, not only because its title is a play on a great song by The Cure but because it actually sounds like it was released around the same time ie. early 80s without sounding like a superficial genre exploration. The synth strings and chiming guitars set a effective, shiny backdrop, but the song really picks up momentum whenever the bass and hi-hats come come back into the mix. The potentially-annoying vocoder and flanger feed perfectly into the glorious washed out arrangement draped over the repetitive refrain.
I really, really like this track. This is what I’ve wanted Air’s last two albums to sound like. I’ll definitely be posting more on these guys in the future.
Above is footage of Bridezilla performing a live set for ‘The Guest Apartment’ at Baeble Music.
In other Bridezilla news, their debut album ‘The Last Dance’ is out November 7 on Inertia. Yay. I had a brief correspondence with vocalist Holiday Cameron-Sparks in the lead-up to its release. The wily singer doesn’t give away much about their impending record because “it’s like giving away the sex of a baby,” but it’s only made me more keen to get my hands on it. Q&A below.
What was it like starting out so young? Has it been like one of those high school relationships that got a bit weird when you left school?
Everyone’s gone through their respective phases and rites of passage. We have to keep on our toes, adjusting and adapting. We are very, painfully, close.
How was it performing at ATP in New York?
Perverted and indulgent; an honour and a thrill.
Your album is coming out soon – what should we expect from it? What did you expect going into it?
I expected it to sound like The Colo River mystified by my adolescence. I want you to expect nothing, so you can be surprised! It’s like giving away the sex of a baby before it’s born, and painting the walls accordingly.
As well as all the bands you’ve played with at ATP, you recently toured with Decoder Ring and Seekae, bands that get critical acclaim and talked of as ‘intelligent’ or ‘high art’ music. Did you seek to achieve something like with your album? Did you see it as a collection of songs or a work of art?
I hear it as both, increasingly so. It’s nice to confuse and challenge yourself by making your music more complex than you can care to understand, and the art of it allows us to get away with anything in the name of abstraction.
Tracks like your latest single ‘Beaches’ are fairly atmospheric. Is that something you plan and take into consideration at the time of writing and rehearsing or does that all happen when you’re in the studio?
We’ve tried to use the advantages of recording and electronic equipment purely to emphasize (with subtlety and purpose) dynamics that are already in place.
The other striking thing about ‘Beaches’ is that it sounds quite big, almost epic, and yet it’s over in about 2mins. Did you consciously keep that song tight, and is it a reflection of the forthcoming album?
It may well be a result of attention deficit, but perhaps everything is there in that 2 minutes that needs to be. Perhaps that’s all you need to hear.
Who is your favourite Australian band/artist at the moment?
In my bias opinion, The Scare are the most frustratingly under-appreciated band in Australia. We are lucky to have them. In Sydney, Cabins, Seekae, Marf Loth, and A Casual End Mile. In Melbourne, Teen Archer, Super Wild Horses, and Witch Hats.
What’s your favourite Australian album of the last decade?
My Mother’s records. Loene Carmen: Slight Delay, Rock N Roll Tears, and It Walks Like Love. I haven’t got my hands on Rowland S Howard’s Pop Crimes yet though, and that will be a tough contender, I know.
“Probably not the most accessible song on the album… [but] most reflective of what I’m about as an artist.” Thus goes the description that accompanied this track when it appeared in our SoundCloud account (yes, we do check it regularly). I’m not entirely sure just how accessible the album gets, but this song is already pretty catchy. I won’t sit here and pretend to be an Aussie hip hop connoisseur, but I know when I like something and I’m quite taken with this song. I like how laid back it feels; where other Australian emcee’s often have a forced intensity that personally I shirk at, Phat Chance sounds like he lays down his vocals while sitting forward in an arm chair. The beats and production aren’t showy but are up to scratch and suit the track well.
I couldn’t find his Myspace (the curse of having a fairly generic name), but if you head to his Triple J Unearthed page listed below then you can grab the track for free anyway. Score.
In other glorious tour news, Leader Cheetah and recently-pimped Cloud Control are heading out on a joint tour Nov/Dec. As mentioned yesterday, Cloud Control have their debut due on Ivy League early next year (click here to check out their new track ‘Gold Canary’). Meanwhile, tourmates LC have a deluxe vinyl edition of their acclaimed debut The Sunspot Letters out to coincide with the tour, which new artwork, green vinyl, and a 7″ with three unreleased outtakes.
Dates below:
Fri 6 Nov – Jive, Adelaide SA (Licensed + All Ages)
Sat 7 Nov – Jive, Adelaide
Thu 19 Nov – The Harp, Wollongong
Fri 20 Nov – Annandale Hotel, Sydney
Sat 21 Nov – Annandale Hotel, Sydney (ALL AGES SHOW 12-4pm)
Sat 21 Nov – Baroque Night Club, Katoomba
Thu 26 Nov – Pelly Bar, Frankston
Fri 27 Nov – East Brunswick Club, Melbourne
Thu 3 Dec – Troubadour, Brisbane
Fri 4 Dec – Troubadour, Brisbane
Before beginning work on their highly-anticipated debut, Townsville’s The Middle East are heading out for a quick jaunt down the East Coast. This is on top of their previously-announced appearances at Meredith, Homebake and Sunset Sounds, which makes for a fairly busy few months again (not that they’ve been taking it easy all year by any stretch). Dragging Pianos are supporting all dates.
As an added bonus for the band, lead track from their EP ‘The Darkest Side’ was recently featured over at Pitchfork and given some decent props. All good signs. If you’ve missed what all the fuss is about,make sure you get along to one of the below shows.
New music from the Blue Mountains! Only it sounds kinda like it originates from somewhere deep in America. Cloud Control always had an earthy, pastoral quality to their music, but it sounds all the more temporally appropriate post-Fleet Foxes. Less jangle and more twang.
‘Gold Canary’ is pulled from their debut album expected early 2010. It’s got some rootsy backing vox and yelping, tambourine+handclap percussion, references to family members in the lyrics and then… a synth solo. Yes, in the midst of this quality ho-down, Cloud Control bring the ‘Dr Who’ – and it oddly fits better than it does anywhere on the latest Muse album. This song is rad and I’ll eat my computer monitor if this isn’t all over Triple J soon.
Editor of the blog for Perth music conference One Movement, Andrew McMillen, asked me to do a guest post over on that site. It’s basically five picks from the many artists showcasing there and I figured I’d post it up here as well. Whothehell.net regulars won’t find too many surprises here since these are acts we’ve given love to in the past, some of them have even gotten quite big since then, but in case you’ve been living under a rock and are heading to the conference then these are five acts you should push your way to the front for.
Also, turns out I don’t know a lot of the bands on this line-up, which confirms that I’m quite out of touch with the Perth music scene; what with it being way over there and everything – but I’m told it’s booming, and we have a Perth contributor these days so hopefully it’s getting some love. Anyone going to the conference, please comment about rad Perth bands you catch that we’ve neglected thus far.
It never hurts to re-cap some classixx anyway.
1. Sarah Blasko – ‘Don’t U Eva’
How can you go past Sarah Blasko? She sells out tours in Australia now, hopefully her presence at One Movement gives her some international momentum – she deserves it. Smokey vocals, some tight production and a great song here. This was her debut single and that piano line still gets me every time.
Combining elements rock, electro and hip hop can have mixed results, but for every latter-day Dizzee Rascal there’s a Snob Scrilla. This one’s from both his EP and album and I listened to it a whole lot when I was first introduced to his stuff. Had it been a vinyl I’d have likely worn down the grooves. Also check out album cut ‘King John,’ one of my favourites of 2009.
3. Philadelphia Grand Jury – ‘Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night)’
These guys have been everywhere in 2009. This is a super energetic and catchy song and it only feels more vibrant live. Their first single and still probably the best summation of their strengths. They’ve toured a shitload and most people have probably already caught them treading the boards, but if not then they’re definitely one to get to the front for.
What these guys do with just two guitars (no pedals) and a drum kit still knocks me over. It’s all about the riffs – and the vocals; Matt Somers sound like he’s having an anxiety attack whenever he sings. A great live show replete with crowd banter to mix with the best. I’m eagerly anticipating their sophomore album.
Canvas Kites are the new project from Thom Moore of Mercy Arms (aka the Britney/K-Fed of Australian bands). I liked that band and I like what I’ve heard from this one too (which is pretty much just this song). I’ve not seen them live but it sounds like it would translate well. Let me know what you think if you see them.
One Movement For Music (OMFM) is a showcase festival and music conference that runs October 16-18 2009 at The Esplanade in Perth. Since July 2009, a festival blog named One Movement Word has been coordinated by Brisbane-based writer Andrew McMillen.
Highlights on the blog so far include a guest post from Hypebot‘s Kyle Bylin, interviews with international bands showcasing at OMFM like The Parlotones (South Africa) and Sorgente (Germany), as well as entertaining conversations with Australian music industry figures like Michael Chugg, ARIA Chairman Ed St John, and the Managing Director of Mushroom Music Publishing, Ian James.
McMillen and OMFM promoters Sunset Events plan to publish dozens more interviews on onemovementword.com in the weeks leading up to the event’s mid-October debut.
Latest Comments
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Still trying to purchase!!!ANTHONY J LANGFORD
Cool track. Congrats Joshua. Hope the release is a success.Tristan
Man I love these guys. I can't believe they are not releasing any new music. I've been to so many…sophie
^^ I love Grimes! Banoffee is one of my new favorite music artists! :) I love With Her, Reign Down,…Ace
Read your review then listened to the EP. Fantastic ! Different to most hardcore punk I listen to. Somewhat more…