Margins – ‘Shot’

Melbourne’s Margins create music that’s both minimal and cinematic; characterised by a sparse, efficient beauty yet big enough to fill out the barren, dusty landscapes it evokes. At least, that’s what I think of when I listen to their excellent self-titles LP. This song, and several others on said album, contains an unexpected left-turn half-way through that certainly keeps things interesting. If Nick Cave and Warren Ellis get sick of soundtracking Nu-Westerns, John Hillcoat should give these guys a call.

Read Post →

Lions At Your Door – ‘Turning Burning’

Lions At Your Door had one of my fav Australian tracks of last year with ‘Shake It,’ and now they’ve readied a debut EP that strangely omitts it. Oh well, there’s still their  band name-referencing track ‘LAYD’ somewhere on there. ‘Turning Burning’ isn’t quite as good as either of those, at least not straight away. Maybe it will grow on me? It’s more straight-up rock than the sexy dance-punk strut of ‘Shake It,’ but Cookie’s vocals still manage to give it enough edge to make me return for a few more spins.

Read Post →

Decoder Ring – ‘Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom’

Decoder Ring have put out some rad music in the past and have always had a tendency toward atmospheric and lush (hence why the were so well suited to the ‘Somersault’ soundtrack). Here, they filter that into dance-ish track that aims to surge as layers are accumulated. Things are very clean but never too slick, however, being a radio edit, the song feels stripped of a suficient build up to make the final release as euphoric as its intended. It still sounds pretty good, but hopefully the album version delivers a more moving rendition that capitalises on the song’s intial momentum. I have faith in the band, and await new LP ‘They Blind The Stars, And The Wild Team.’

Read Post →

Love Of Diagrams – ‘Forever’

Love Of Diagrams’s debut Mosaic was a solid album that definitely contained moments of greatness hinting at amazing things. Their music was certainly intelligent but the album wasn’t quite consistently engaging; as though the scales weighed too much toward head over heart. I don’t want to shit on that album since I still think it was great but now, having heard ‘Forever,’ I realise it was missing the euphoria that this song is dripping with. Where Mosiac was built predominantly on wirey, post-punk ‘live’ sounds, ‘Forever’ has filled out the negative spaces with feedback and distortion, making this an urgent and unforgiving but glorious guitar punk track. It’s like something off Crystal Antlers’s EP, with plenty of wah-infused squall and power chords driving the song over buried vocals that gradually work their way near the front. Though less subtle and overtly calculated , it’s no dumber than their previous work. Simply great. Their impending album ‘Nowhere Forever’ is out later this Winter and is now officially my most anticipated Australian release (move over, Lost Valentinos). Listening to it again yeah, like the seventh time in a row…

www.myspace.com/loveofdiagrams

Read Post →

Batrider – ‘Ha Ha’

I love Batrider. I know Jonny over at Polaroids of Androids has been anticipating this record probably more than I but it’s finally arrived so yay for that. Cue party music. You can check out the first single off the album over at POA, so I figured I’d throw up something different.

After a handful of listens, ‘Ha Ha’ stands out as my favourite. It contrasts verses of abrasive guitar and vocals dripping with contempt against a sweet, double-tracked refrain lamenting her place as a third wheel. The way she bitterly laughs at herself as she pines for another is crushing but effective. “Stick with me if you want to drown / Ha Ha!”… that’s some self-hate right there. Ouch. Also, the song just sounds rad. The clanging, raw guitar work is ace. Love it. Awaiting an undoubtedly glowing review for the album, Jonny.

www.myspace.com/batrider

Read Post →

Tucker B’s – ‘First Born Son’

Tucker B’s – ‘Wow (A Bear Is Not A Man)’

These guys have been kicking around for over a decade so they know what they’re doing. This is the first album, however, that I’ve devoted suitable attention to. Like any underground Australian act surviving that long, an admirable amount of dedication is required and that totally shines through on this record.

I couldn’t pick just one song, partially because it’s a quality release and partiallybecause one isolated song can’t adequately  communicate the reach of their stuff. ‘First Born Son’ is the lead track and opens with a burst of noise before synthesising it into a tight, tense song complete with a double tracked melody about mysterious famalial obligations.

‘Wow (A Bear In Not A Man)’ is full of fragile ivory punctuated by euphoric shards of guitar that almost answer the hope in singer Matt Rudas’s voice, before divulging in the first truly heavy moments of the disc.

Compelling stuff.

www.myspace.com/tuckerbs

Read Post →

Phrase – ‘TV N Radio’

So I actually got sent Phrase’s album months ago, but by the time I got around to uploading anything from it, blogging about him seemed about as temporally vital as getting excited over ACDC’s return (NB: I’m not). This guy’s been everywhere for a while and good for him. The album is fairly diverse and while there’s a lot on there that I don’t particularly fancy, there’s still some that I do. If nothing else, Phrase deserves some praise (rhyme! yes!) for trying out some different sounds and production tricks – not Aussie hip hop’s strongest point.

This song had a lot to live up to. TV On  The Radio are my favourite band going at the moment so calling your song something so similar perhaps unfairly instilled high expectations. The song doesn’t sound anything like that band but is actually a rant on the titular media (lucky for newspapers that they’re off the hook, right?). Still, it’s an ambitious track and sounds like there’s a fair bit of work behind it (something they share with TVOTR). Quite long so not one you’re likely to hear on radio and also a highlight off the album – two good reasons to post it here, despite being fairly late to do so…

www.myspace.com/bigphrase

Read Post →