The Ravenous – ‘You Look Good (In a Hoodie)’ (mp3)

‘Not another fucking Weezer cover band!’ I hear you exclaim. Whatevs! This shit makes me want to get naked in a giant inflatable pool, cover myself in sauce and and pull out all my go go moves. Driving power pop backed up by lyrical farce, spasmodic drum solo at 1:56 and surfin’ harmonies that reek of Dr Pepper and chaffing sunburn.

Not sure if these dudes are wedged in eternal puberty or just can’t find the right words for getting to third base (wagga wagga mookie mookie?). To the plethora of serious, cerebral types out there who spend extended time in their bedrooms adding bleeps and loops to wanky minimalist b-sides, take a cue or two here and have some fun.

www.myspace.com/theravenousband

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Cascadeer – ‘The Wind’ (mp3)

Growing tired of the Canberra chill, in 2007 Cascadeer frontman Kieran Ryan (not to be confused with Kid Sam vocalist of the same name) headed north to Brisbane to focus on his theatre endeavours. After spending his formative teen years in Canberra shrouded in angsty pop punk bands, he found himself in the midst of the burgeoning Brisbane scene, where him and five other like minded alt-folk troubadours formed Cascadeer.

‘The Wind’ is thoughtful, drifting folk-pop at its best, resonating with a dreamy vapour long after it ends. Kieran Ryan’s pipes take on a lush, gentle character that sparks Paul Dempsey melancholy and Leroy Lee’s modest palate. Harmonising the elements, Cascadeer bottles a kalaidoscope of humble acoustics and folk hued nostalgia. Spilling out in delicate, sunlight tinged reverbs, this is both a light hearted travelling song and a vindicative homecoming. Bliss.

www.myspace.com/cascadeer

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En Tout Cas – ‘Wait a Long Time’ (mp3)

Never really understood the concept of bands dubbing themselves with french names. Is it an elitist thing? Or is it just a justification for ridiculous undercuts and high hung guitars? Whatever it is, it’s probably just as hip as naming your band name after an adverb (En Tout Cas = anyhow in french) or a large expanse of clay (En Tout Cas = synthetic tennis court material).

Lead vox are almost too clean to be taken seriously and the reciprocal lyrics come around like a fly drowning in your beer. However, Cajun Dance Party type hooks paired with some nice percussion and a spontaneous whistle or so were enough to keep me semi-keen for two minutes.

Go spend the weekend ironing your hawaiian shirts,but if I receive one more spam request to join your facebook group, I will spaz.

www.myspace.com/entoutcasmusic

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Video for The Rom Rebellion off The Crooked Fiddle Band’s Rise EP, directed by Leslie Marsh. Shot in one take with a handful of cameos from the Barons of Tang, Captain Kickarse & The Awesomes, Mojo Juju and Leroy Lee, this is what happens when you take acid on a convict ship.

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Big Scary – ‘Thinking About You’ (mp3)

Second installment of this Melb duo’s season themed EP’s for Winter. Possibly one of the most promising local acts around right now.

This band are equally as capable of delivering endowing pop moments, as they do wavering garage hooks.

They’re hitting the road with Little Red and Texan troubadours Midlake over the next month or so. For full dates hit up their myspace.

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Gypsy & The Cat – ‘Time to Wander’ (mp3)

You may recall their track ‘Jona Vark’ on the airwaves last year, and it was this track that caught the attention of many including support from Mark Ronson on his East Village radio show. These guys have swapped a modest Melbourne home studio for the shores of foggy London town, and are in the process of mixing their debut with David Fridmann (MGMT, Flaming Lips, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) and Rich Costey (Mew, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Glasvegas).

They constantly get compared to Empire of the Sun, but Gypsy and the Cats’ sound has somewhat more of an endearing quality than the former’s over-slicked production values.

It’s part electro-pop euphoria, part Avatar-porno. If those palpitating beats and phantasmagorical harmonies don’t fling you over to a vivd cosmic-utopia filled with babes, blissful sounds and other organic substances, not much else will. Watch out.

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Young Heretics – ‘Risk/Loss’ (mp3)

Here is the new Young Heretics clip (aka. Matthew Wright – ex. Getaway Plan dude + step sibling Kitty Hart) for their single ‘Risk/Loss’, directed by James Lawler and produced by Nick Grimsdale of Doomsday Films.

The video clip trails out like a three dimensional Sailor Moon episode. You’ve got the emotive piano balladry, the megaphone banter, schoolgirl outfits, cutesy coloured props and even a mysterious man suited up in a top hat and frills wielding a thoughtful piece of horticulture (chicks dig that shit).

A little narrative of melodramatic expressions, crazy purple poison fruit that leaves you frothing at the mouth and enough wardrobe frills to give the host of Iron Chef a good run for his money. It also contains the sort of innuendo that calls for tortured teenage vampires to fly over the hill and emote all over you.

There’s an obvious mass market to whom this clip will resonate with, who’ll probably be too busy releasing their sexual frustration into their Stephanie Meyer novellas, reading JD Salinger on park benches (see 0:05 mark) or gelling their fringe like Hailey Williams.

Three minutes and fifty eight seconds of climatic suspense and thespian performances has me summoning a pack of xanax and a good lie down.

Some nice cinematic colours and heartfelt vocals here. But unfortunately, I just can’t bring myself to jump on this bandwagon yet.

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