Posts By Melissa Tan

LISTEN: Grand Prismatic – ‘Smoke That Thunders’

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Grand Prismatic - Smoke That Thunders

 

‘Smoke That Thunders’ is the new track from Melbourne’s Grand Prismatic. That incredible alt-country fog that got around last year’s debut Birds and Beasts still remains. Brendan Clarkson’s vocals morph more into Glenn Richards (Augie March) as the track rolls along, and paired with lyrical content about going cold turkey and a Wilco groove shaking the whole damn place – it’s all good news, really. A great sound from an excellent band who are deserving of your time, attention and disposable income.

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LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR: Las Tetas

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“Las Tetas” directly translates to “The Titties” in Spanish. This Kiwi punk three piece are probably are as far away from bosomly or comforting as you’ll get, but we’re giving their gruff sound an E cup. For excellent, duh. Our pal Courtney from UTR is on it again this week for our weekly tune exchange:

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las-tetas

Las Tetas are an Auckland trio made up of three, cool-as-fuck multi-instrumentalist sisters who play in numerous bands, including Drab Doo Riffs and Heart Attack Alley. They’ve released a more recent track than this (and you can have a listen over here) but ‘You’re Not Invited’ sums up their schtick perfectly. Drawing inspiration from a myriad punk-infused places, particularly riot grrrl groups like Sleater Kinney and Bratmobile, Las Tetas are the kind of band who, when playing live A) make you wish you had formed a band yonks ago because it looks like the best form of cartharsis and B) give you an empowered, tingly feeling from the beginning to end of their set and beyond.

At the end of last year they supported Unknown Mortal Orchestra in Auckland and had apparently spent the day before said show recording with the band’s bassist, Jake Portrait. We’re really looking forward to hearing those tracks but in the meantime, check out the unapologetic intensity of ‘You’re Not Invited’.

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www.undertheradar.co.nz

 

 

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MAP April 2013

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map

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 37-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Fotos Del Otoño – Diario De Hoy

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For those of you living in the southern hemisphere like us, autumn is already here. So we figured it’s the perfect season for playing Superposición, the third album by Fotos Del Otoño, a band with a pop acoustic vibe and introspective lyrics. Diario de Hoy is our selected track from this record, but you can download the whole thing from Bandcamp.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Willow Beats – Alchemy

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Electronic music in Australia has never burned brighter. Melbourne’s Willow Beats are Narayana Johnson and Kalyani Ellis, an uncle-niece duo who are leading the fort of this country’s best electronic producers right now. Fans of Mount Kimbie and Flume will gravitate to Alchemy fast. Willow Beats definitely have something beyond a magic touch. This is complex, spectral electronica at its best.

AUSTRIA: Walzerkönig
Francis International Airport – The Right Ones

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It is no overstatement to say that Francis International Airport are Austria’s most relevant band with an international appeal. With their 2010 album In The Woods, they took the local indie community by storm and made quite an impression at festivals such as Eurosonic and Primavera. Three years later, additional e-drums and synths contribute to the more electronic sound of its equally great successor Cache.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Bambas Dois – World Cry

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Bambas Dois, the project created by musical producer BiD (who has worked with artists such as Nação Zumbi and Seu Jorge), reunites a great ensemble to experiment with a mix of Brazilian and Jamaican sounds.

CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Lake Names – The Ostrich

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If their first EP, 2011’s Echo, was “music to make breakfast to” then Lake Names’ latest release is the soundtrack to a picnic lunch on the beach. The Nova Scotia band’s Folly EP tastes like salt water spray and sunshine, and makes me long for a fix of vitamin D. My favourite so far is The Ostrich, but you can’t go wrong with any of these four songs of sparkling reverby pop, available as a free download from Bandcamp.

CHILE: Super 45
Cadenasso – La Puerta

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Filipe Cadenasso, frontman of established independent band Matorral, started his parallel solo career a few years ago. He moves away from Matorral’s rock sound to show a quieter and intimate side. Un Ejercicio is Cadenasso’s second studio album, and it sounds like we were with him in the same studio. First single La Puetra, with vocals from Bernadita Martinez, manages to give a sense of closure at times.

COLOMBIA: El Parlante Amarillo
Globos De Aire – El Mar Es Nuestro

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Juan Carlos Torres is the driving force behind Bogotá’s Globos De Aire, whose music has elements of shoegaze, post-rock and electronica. This year they released their second album El Día y La Noche (“Day And Night”), a concept record based on duality. El Mar Es Nuestro is taken from the disc’s Day side.

CUBA: suenacubano.com
Qva Libre – 2012

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An exquisite fusion to which no one can resist dancing. Witty lyrics that speak of the enjoyment of life and the intensity with which we live every second because we never know when it will end. Qva Libre focus on mixing genres such as funk, reggae, rock and hip hop to the rhythm of Cuban music. They have a very distinctive visual style and energetic stage projection.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
The New Spring – Final Day

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The New Spring, aka singer-songwriter Bastian Kallesøe, will release his second album Secret Armor in Europe and Japan on April 29. First single Who Do You Love? has been out for a while and here’s the MAP exclusive Final Day, three minutes of the Dane’s beautiful songwriting that is sure to move.

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LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR: The Eversons

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Four graphic designers hanging off a wire fence. Who knows, this could be the start to a successful sitcom. Here’s our third in the ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ tune swap series with our pals over at Under the Radar. This week, Courtney Sanders introduces you to The Eversons. 

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The Eversons

Did you know we’re totally proud of our New Zealand accents? We’re also a self-depracating lot so you may not have heard us talk about it much, but there are a growing number of New Zealand alt-rock bands embracing their Kiwi-dom by singing about it like they mean it.

Enter Welington group The Eversons, who released their first material a mere couple of years ago and were booked for Laneway Festival 2013. That’s a testament to their rambunctious live show and catchy-as-hell hooks. If Weezer and Pavement had an Antipodean baby, this is what it would sound like. ‘Could It Ever Get Better’ is one of their earlier tracks, but so definitive of their college-rock sound and slacker ‘tude it had to be the single to introduce you to these loveable tykes.

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LISTEN: Olympia

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Olympia_

In the bible of band must-do’s, making the obligatory video clip out of retro stock footage apparently sits somewhere high on the list. We’ve seen it all; grainy snippets of atomic bombs juxtaposed against old cars, against childhood vids, against old hollywood movies, against flower buds opening in slow-mo.

So whether you prefer visual euphemisms or super8 nostalgia, when well edited clips turn up in the eternal retro stock waste pile – you can’t help but pay some damn attention. This clip by Olympia tops it for the best use of footage I’ve seen so far. Build a giant pool at MGM studios, pay some synchro swimmers to dive into coloured flares, add in this singer’s ‘Jazz Buckley’ stylings – stuff just works.

Olympia is Melbourne based singer/songwriter Olivia Bartley. She’s just released her debut EP, which includes contributions from Pat Bourke (Tex Perkins, Dallas Crane) and Brous among others. She’s got a really sweet tone to her voice too. It sits on the borderline between pop/jazz, but for all the indecision; that languid guitar really adds something quite special. There’s something really comforting about Bartley’s tone; it has that honest, late 90s vibe that makes you need a hug. Olympia doesn’t really need that string section in ‘Atlantis’, it’s kind of a noise filler. After listening to other tracks ‘Through It’ and ‘Sleeping Wolves’, it’s really clear that this lady should just be content with a guitar with generous distortion, a room with fairly large ceilings and hey, Fiona Apple’s your pal quicker than you can mumble “Jai Guru Deva…Om”. Or something.

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LISTEN: Mt Warning – ‘Burn Again’

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Mt_Warning

 

You know those bands. Their name latches on in your subconscious; sort of like a that foreign wad of sticky tape that magically appears under your shoe. I’ve seen Mt Warning’s name turn up in various places – on gig posters and in several conversations with pals. I only really took a closer look when I saw their name appear again on the Field Day London lineup recently. They haven’t had a proper release just yet…so better late than never I guess.

Mt Warning are a five piece. I think they’re from Byron. Or half of them are from the UK or something. It’s kind of hard to find out basic facts when the person who wrote your band presser has a thing for commas, overbearing prose and then fills in ‘Shakespeare and Hemingway’ in the ‘Sounds Like’ description on your Unearthed page. But the music is good. We forgive you.

If you haven’t stumbled across Mt Warning, then ‘Burn Again’ is a fantastic introduction to this band. It’s a stark, moody track that banks on a built up thud of percussion and strong vocals. I would have liked the huge decomposing wall of guitars at around the 2.39 mark to linger around for a lot longer, but I’d imagine this would be stellar live. 

There’s a bit of a A Dead Forest Index vibe here. Sounds a bit like The National when they aren’t all collectively on their periods.

If you’re in the UK, these guys are playing Field Day London on the 25th. Locally, Mt Warning are touring with the Temper Trap all through April.

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