Ben Riley of Sydney duo Georgia Fair on:

Working with Bill Reynolds (Band of Horses).

We were really lucky to work with him, he was really like minded and brought so much to the table. We had such a great time over there.
After doing our first EP we weren’t really happy with the way it went, so we decided to write and do all these demos.  We went there with no expectations. It was really unpredictable in a roll the dice kind of way.

The recording process.

6 weeks all up and it was quite productive. For recording live, we got a lot of stuff done pretty fast. We recorded the album in North Carolina, it was really our kinda vibe down there; we just bought some booze and walked around like we were part of the scene… In between we went to Texas for SXSW, which was unreal. Got to see bands like Band of Horses, Midlake and Oh Mercy. We went on to do mixing in Atlanta, Georgia.

Being signed to a major.

It comes and goes in stages, sometimes you get overwhelmed. Sometimes being signed to a major label can make it more difficult to prove yourself as an artist (more…)

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Kins – ‘The Bold Frown’ (mp3)

The top tune I’ve been spinning at the moment comes from the delightful Thom Savage (Oh Mercy) who now fronts Melbourne outfit Kins. I’ve been told that Oh Mercy is “sailing east as we sail west”.

‘The Bold Frown’ is more temperate and withdrawn than offerings of Privileged Woes, but still holds on it’s own. Those guitar hooks are bliss, while subtle nuances that loiter around the verse have some nice Thom Yorke undertones. A delicate, introspective gem with lazy Sunday afternoon charms. Worth lending an ear to.

www.myspace.com/hellokins

kins facebook page

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The Holidays – ‘Broken Bones’ (mp3)

A little bit of calypso never hurt anyone, but The Holidays do tropicana with a vengeance. These guys seriously outdid the headline act when I saw them at the East Brunswick Club a few weeks ago. The newer tracks they’ve released are a far cry from their first EP, but on my behalf, the addition of an extra percussionist and a tweak to their sound has been a good move.

Here’s their new track ‘Broken Bones’ that doesn’t hit radio until next week.
The intro drops nice galactic synth scuzz backed by a slouchy big beat, before floating out out to a spacey chorus with some schmexy guitar hooks. While this is milder material compared to the conga vibes off ‘Moonlight Hours’ and ‘Golden Sky’, it would sound pretty slick in a remix. Until someone takes up that call, I’ll be winding down to this one on long late night drives.

Not long until their debut record ‘Post Paradise’ drops on Sep 24. They’re pretty tight live, so make sure you hit up one of the dates below.

The Holidays National Headline Tour

SAT  25 SEP – Coaster Festival, GOSFORD, NSW
WED 29 SEP    – Beach Road Hotel, BONDI, NSW
FRI  01 OCT –  Elsewhere, GOLD COAST, QLD
SAT  02 OCT – The Troubadour, BRISBANE, QLD
SAT  09 OCT – One Movement Festival, WA
THU 14 OCT – Transit Bar, CANBERRA, ACT
FRI  15 OCT – Grand Hotel, WOLLONGONG, NSW
SAT 16 OCT – The Gaelic Hotel, SYDNEY, NSW
THU 21 OCT – The National Hotel, GEELONG, VIC
FRI  22 OCT – East Brunswick Club, MELBOURNE, VIC
SAT 23 OCT – Jive, ADELAIDE, SA

www.myspace.com/theholidays

www.theholidaysband.com

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Sitting in the courtyard of a Lygon St Cellar, I recently caught up with Glenn Richards to talk about his new record. For his string of achievements, Richards is humble and far more softly spoken than you’d expect. We talked about the working process, unhinging difficult themes on the new record and why the last Augie March album was the one that slipped through the cracks.

*     *     *

How are you feeling about the new album?

Excited. The new record won’t be a huge surprise to people when they hear it. They’ll hear the different musicianship. It’s certainly a lot rougher than the Augie records, we did it as quickly as we possibly could. There’s some days when you do what you gotta do, but some days when you deviate. Melbourne winters, they sometimes get you down. I have my moods, but I’ve been doing it for quite a while.

Could you call yourself a veteran then?

When I was in Augie, I got called a veteran seven years in. Another five years into that, do I qualify as an old man?

Was this record always on the back of your mind?

My brother Chris and I always talked about doing something, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything like that without including Dan (Luscombe). And of course we’ve done lots of things musically together but never actually made a record. He’s got a strong mind. He’s incredibly creative and an incredibly adept person, so he was the number one on my list. And Mike Noga; although he’s a drummer it’s such a small branch of the other things he does. He’s another really talented, really self effacing sort of person. I love those guys. I couldn’t think of a better group.

Do you think this record could have been different, had you released it earlier?

Thats always a hard one, you never really realise how exhausted you are after the last touring cycle, again you could have a good day and decide, now’s the time to start. But if you’re going to write anything real, you can’t expect that you’ve filtered everything that’s happened for the last three years until it’s ready.

If you work hard, the songs will come. But you’ve gotta live as well. Touring is not really living.

(more…)

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Big Scary – ‘Hamilton’ (mp3)

It’s taken a while for Big Scary to figure out their sound, but I think they’ve nailed this one. ‘Hamilton’ is the release for the month of Spring, and it’s probably the best out of the three to date (see here and here). You’ve got these dissonant bits that loiter around in the verse before the chorus explodes out to this majestic cacophony of cascading melodies and striding drums. For lack of a better word, it’s ‘epic’ in the vein of tracks off Arcade Fire’s first record. Some incredibly lofty sounds here for just a gang of two. I haven’t stopped babbling on about this band to everyone and it’s unlikely that I’ll be doing so in the months ahead.

They’ll be playing Big Sound, One Movement Festival, Falls Fest and joining Hungary Kids of Hungary’s Escapades tour over the next few months, so make sure you catch them around at some point.

www.myspace.com/bigscaryband

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To flog their new album Don’t Sleep, Stealing O’Neal have launched the aptly titled, ‘DON’T SLEEP TV’ – a reality series where the members of the band have to vie to stay awake and complete a series of challenges to win stimulants. I’m no sadist, but the chilli scoff at the end is rather entertaining.

Don’t Sleep is out Oct 8th.

www.myspace.com/stealingoneal

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Strange Talk – ‘Climbing Walls’

Strange Talk have only been kicking since Feb, but they’ve cemented a fine floor filler right here. This killer tune takes cues from Yeasayer with zippy accented hooks, while the chorus summons up many fond Cut Copy memories. Slick production vals, incredibly contagious, this is one hell of an addictive tune to propel you into the weekend.

Strange Talk are currently supporting Jinja Safari on a run of dates before they hit the stage at Parklife.

www.myspace.com/strangetalkmusic

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