Snowman – ‘Smokes and Mirrors’

Inspired by my post on Snowman a few weeks back I chatted to multi-tasking band member Joe McKee about what to expect from their debut full-length album, released on September 23rd. By chat, I mean via email, because real life is such a chore for me these days. Though not for Snowman, it would seem. Their album sounds like it’ll be kind of something… “It takes what we do live and feeds it with acid” (Joe McKee, Q&A with Sophie Braham, Who The Bloody Hell Are They? September 2006) would be the obvious contender for a press release. They’ve also heroically offered us their new single for a listen, which has been tearing up the airwaves on local sydney radio stations FBi, 2SER and national broadcaster Triple J.

How is this album different to your last one? You all played quite an array of instruments on you last album, have you picked up any more this time round?

Yeah…we like to attempt to play with all sorts of toys… trumpets, string quartets, sax, theremin, pianos/keys, toys (literally), violin, guitars, noises, harmonica, lots of percussion. The album differs from our first EP because the songs are far better and the sounds are more full… there are more colours in the sounds, they have more depth. This is partly to do with the chap we recorded with, Mr Dave Parkin. Basically, it is a completely different kettle of fish to the EP. It takes what we do live and feeds it with acid.

I reckon your music would make a great soundtrack to a horror flick. Do you watch a lot of movies?

I think that film is kind of the ultimate form of creation because so many art forms go into it, but it doesn’t really leave much to the imagination for the viewer like music does. We like the way sound complements imagery and we certainly take that on board to a degree when writing. As for horror flicks: I can’t really be bothered with them anymore… that was the ‘zombies…’ EP for us. The new album is vast in scope and covers more ground than the EP.

Have you made any video clips?

Yes, we have just completed shooting a video clip for ‘Smoke and Mirrors’. Lots of shadows and lamp lighting and smoke has been used. Keep an eye out.

Are there some other Australian bands you’re getting excited about at the moment?

Well… we like bands that don’t necessarily influence us. It’s a bit difficult to pinpoint what artists are influencing us… from this to that to whatever. I think we are currently more influenced by ourselves. As for new stuff: I think the new Liars record is good. And the new Wolf & Cub. I still get excited about the Dirty Three also.

Do you feel far away from the rest of Australia in Perth? Do you like the isolation?

I think the isolation has been a benefit for us… it gave us a lot of time to work on our sound before some bigwig fatcat purchased our soul!!!

Have you guys toured at all outside of Australia? Where would you love to go?

We have never played outside Australia. There are vague plans to do so next year. We would like to tour every corner… we are very keen on the idea of getting to Japan and playing. We like playing to virginal snowman audiences and getting a confused response.

The people who makeup your band hail from all across the globe [Snowman are pretty much the UN, with band members from England, Iceland and Indonesia] , has this had any impact on your sound or the way your band works?

Yes I think it has… we have been exposed to different cultures from a very early age so different sounds have been drilled into our heads… abnormal experiences in general…these things would contribute to our ‘other worldly’ sound perhaps. I can’t imagine what it would be like if we all came from a farming town in WA… actually I can, and it scares me.

http://www.thesnowmanempire.com
http://www.myspace.com/thesnowmanempire

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The Presets – ‘The Girl and The Sea’ (mp3)

The phrase ‘Who the bloody hell are they?’ doesn’t exactly apply to The Presets.
The Presets are ubiquitous. But I feel it’s time to reflect. This stinging, funny, and irritatingly smug review in Pitchfork from a few months back was my catalyst. I felt surprisingly wounded after reading it. Dismissing something on the basis of its association with the ‘scene’ is a bit rich coming from Pitchfork. Just as the ‘record’ seems secondary to the ‘label’ bit of the aggressively fashionable Modular, Pitchfork itself is a brand. Oh what a surprise, the solo multi-instrumentalist with the personal mythology has captured your hearts! But should the merit of individual writers be detracted from just because the aggregate sum of their ideas is an occasionally bland consensus made easily digestible for the indie set? Should the work of The Presets be hated because it has been bastardized by a skinny jean wielding majority?

Their name itself suits this analysis. The Presets: neat and inoffensive, so obvious I can’t believe nobody else thought of it earlier. It implies autopilot, not really having to think about anything. Herein lies their marketing strategy: their aesthetic is polished and very exportable. Offering the hipsters from Berlin to misshapes in New York a cosy feeling of familiarity, The Presets are able to ride on this (new) wave of scenesterdom.

The local release of their 2005 album Beams was met with big sales and strong reviews. In hindsight, it’s not a very coherent listen. On one hand there’s a satisfying, suave, OC-included pop gem like ‘Girl and the Sea’. But then we have to endure really tuneless experimental numbers like ‘Worms’ which could get away with seeming gothic-glam in the haze of a seedy indie club, but it kind of makes me squint in the harsh light of day. Hear the good one above, though it’s such a pity I wasn’t somehow able to offer The Presets iconic Tsubi skull t-shirt up for download- our site viewing figures would’ve soared!

But back to the Pitchfork review (not that I care what they think or anything). What it missed was a sense of was what a good gig the boys put on. Julian Hamilton’s liquid robotic vocals ground Kim Moyes’ mild behavioral problems (the violent shoving of unauthorised stage-goers at one memorable show I saw, for example.) But it’s the redemptive power of the clear synths and the booming bass that have captured some sort of zeitgeist. And it has proven just as appealing in the Northern Beaches as the grubby inner-city of Sydney.

To be honest I’m sort of annoyed at myself for feeling the need to undergo this public ritual cleansing of Presets mania. This desperate bid to contextualize is unfairly holding them responsible for everyone else’s reactions.

Just like the bland, dialogue-driven Australian film that has the mandatory wide shots of beautiful landscape and therefore finds itself on the receiving end of all sorts of off-putting noises from an over-enthused Margaret Pomeranz, perhaps we occasionally err on the side of giving new Australian music too much benefit of the doubt. Just cos it happens to tick a few boxes, references the right influences. Then Pitchfork tells us it wasn’t that good in the first place and the backlash begins. Fast-forward and “Skinny jeans” becomes the call-cry of lazy, debilitating self-conscious writers who use it to distance themselves from a sub-culture that’s under attack, as though they’ve never scraped on a pair of drainpipes themselves. Clearly I lost sight of the possibility of conclusion long ago; I guess I’m just insuring myself against the prospect that the bands I’m gushing about on this blog today now will probably be the beneficiary of Pitchfork bile tomorrow.

In a way I am kind of intrigued to hear what The Presets do next and how they handle the burdens of their own success.

http://www.thepresets.com
http://www.myspace.com/thepresets

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Faux Pas

So many of my favourite solo artists go by mysterious chat room style pseudonyms, as though a mere first name and surname would undersell their creativity. I get a real kick out of knowing that beneath the expansive-sounding Caribou, Destroyer, or Melbourne’s Mountains in the Sky, is an incredible musician tinkering away in a bedroom studio. Melbourne’s “Sample tronica” artist Tim Shiel trades under the name Faux Pas, and he released a pretty ace album called Entropy Begins At Home earlier this year.

Success and recognition began at home too, as he’s received lots of support from community radio stations around the country; scoring prestigious Album of the Week accolades at Sydney’s FBi 94.5. Faux Pas will be globetrotting around Europe for the rest of the year though, where I imagine he’ll be scouring the record racks in flea markets to add to the seriously impressive catalogue of noises you can already hear in his music. But although the music of Faux Pas is constructed of painstaking layers, there’s always a thread of sound that anyone would be in to:  such as drum and bass, tribal world music, sparkling squelches and the odd simmering glitch or two.

I love the way each tune creates a narrative of sound. This one starts off harmlessly plucky and then blooms into something kind of merry, via a great sample from The Free Design:

Faux Pas – ‘For The Trees’

http://www.iamfauxpas.com
http://www.myspace.com/iamfauxpas

Also check out this great article from splendid Aussie electro music mag,
Cyclic Defrost, where Tim Shiel shares his insights on music blogs!

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Snowman

If I lived in Western Australia I’d be like a proud stage mum watching all the great acts that have emerged over the years; The Panda Band and The Sleepy Jackson to name but a few. In fact I would probably feel about as smug as I did upon on hearing that Perth 4-piece Snowman are the latest signing to ace Melbourne label Dot Dash, home to other respectable acts such as Wolf & Cub. Because I liked them ages ago, of course.

Snowman has an intriguingly scarce bio. Instead, their website offers a satisfying list of adjectives to pre-empt the verbose music reviewer (don’t look at me), my favourite of which is “swampy”. This approach to self-marketing also applies to their refreshing refusal to brand themselves with one distinct sound– their sound is sound itself. The elements of their 2004 debut album read like a checklist for meandering, indulgent sound-art: fuzzy AM radio samples, handclaps, droning choral numbers, theremin, percussion, and although I’m loath to say it…. ‘dreamy soundscapes’. But as far as I’m concerned; the creepy, melodic guitars, consistently killer vocals, and oh-so casual hook or two gives them a license to be as playful as they like. A new album is slated for release later this year, so stay tuned (to the fuzzy AM radio if you feel so inclined).

Snowman – ‘Lost In The Woods’

www.thesnowmanempire.com
www.myspace.com/thesnowmanempire

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Pomomofo

When Sydney electro-rock trio Pomomofo first appeared on the scene, a friend of mine summarised their efforts with the line: “even Spod thinks they are ridiculous.” Spod is an Australian electro act known for his outlandishly trashy gimmicks, kind of like other character-based artists such as Har Mar Superstar. For a band that includes tennis in their onstage antics and a cites Bret Easton Ellis among their influences, you can see wherein lies the comparison.

But gradually Pomomofo have begun to appear on more radio playlists and are being listed on some high profile live billings. I’m not sure if it’s because people have started to pay more attention to the music or if they’re just more at peace with the gimmicks. For me, the gimmicks no longer jar as an obvious attempt to stand out from the hordes of skinny jeans and the typical new wave influences of so many other bands. Rather, the clowning around seems to be fused with the music and together they encapsulate the best bits of ‘the scene’.

All at once, Pomomfo are sleazy, hilarious, and incredibly self-referential. Their music makes you want to get down and dirty, party party party, have fun, let loose… and a whole lot of other clichés. So it appears their self-referentiality is contagious, but never fear this band doesn’t get too obsessed with itself. They are just obsessed with how freaking fun music can be.

Pomomofo – ‘Been Around Town’

http://www.myspace.com/pomomofomusic

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