Grafton Primary – ‘Records for the Righteous’
For a while there, it was all too easy to pigeonhole Sydney’s Grafton Primary as “just another synth band”, and ignore them. After spending some time with their debut ‘Eon’ however, I’m a whole lot more intrigued.
Check opening track ‘Records for the Righteous’ for instance – a song that recalls both NIN and LCD Soundsystem, and an assured statement of intent from a band with some newfound promise up their sleeves (and probably a few synthesizers).
KillaQueenz – ‘Bitches’
Here’s an SMS I recently sent – “KillaQueenz are my favourite Sydney rap crew hands down. ‘Bitches’, produced by [Melbourne producer du jour] M-Phazes, bangs harder than anything out there. “Bitches don’t/ bitches don’t/ bitches don’t like me.” God, it’s just a ridiculously anthemic chorus, backed with supreme confidence in their abilities.”
I was perhaps being a bit hyperbolic (I was dancing at the time), but I stand by the core sentiment of the above text – that ‘Bitches’, the second KQ single following the Gameboy/Gamegirl-sampling ‘Sweaty Wet’, is an utter banger.
P.S. if you live in Sydney, you really need to see them live at some point.
Art Rush – ‘The Reasons I’ve Decided To Die’ (mp3)
I don’t think anybody is really expecting Sydney’s Art Rush to ever complete his ambitious (and blatantly Sufjan-cribbing) ‘50 albums inspired by 50 suburban shopping centres’ project. Yet it’s this same ambition that creates some intensely interesting music.
Take ‘The Reasons I’ve Decided To Die’, from his latest epic in this fifty-ilogy, Castle Towers. ‘The Reasons…’ is a surprisingly funky slice of stream-of-consciousness lo-fi R n’ B… except that usually in R n’ B, panting “I need some company” means “I want to fuck”, rather than “I’m feeling increasingly uneasy about the characters hanging out outside Castle Towers shopping centre as I make my way home from work, and some company would help me feel less of a target.”
Man Ray – ‘Catch Me’
MAN RAY should have won the Sydney heat of the Australian V Festival’s ‘Garage to V’ competition. Not that the winners (Cassette Kids) aren’t worthy; it’s just that these guys are a bit worthier. Listen to ‘Catch Me’ from their first two track demo, and try to argue otherwise. Seriously, I’ll wait.
The Tigers – ‘Names & Things’
“When you cop a dick square in the eye, it’s called the angry pirate…”
Bag Radiers – Kid Sister: ‘Pro Nails’ Remix (mp3)
Anyone else excited about Kid Sister and A-Trak touring? Anyone? I think it’s pretty exciting. To celebrate, here’s a remix of Kanye’s favourite Kid Sister track (of which, to be perfectly honest, there isn’t much choice; there’s this, ‘Control’, and…?) by Sydney’s Bag Raiders.
PS don’t just wait for the beat to drop, then decide you’ve heard everything this remix has to offer… with about a minute and a half to go, everything goes a little crazy.
Purpose (featuring Okwerdz) – ‘Turn It Up’
Purpose, to crib Mr G’s catchphrase, is a triple threat: an accomplished battle emcee who can write as well as he freestyles, plus produce his own tracks.
‘Turn it up’ (featuring the usually lacklustre US rapper Okwerdz in a surprisingly entertaining turn) is straight fire. The track itself sounds like vintage Just Blaze, and the hook! An 18 yo from Radelaide has no right to declare “Real Hip-Hop’s dead, and it aint never coming back!”, yet somehow I’m entirely convinced. If only he’d stop saying ‘fagget’ so much in his battle-raps, I’d happily proclaim him the most promising all-rounder of Oz Hip-Hop.
http://www.myspace.com/purposeafm
Latest Comments
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Still trying to purchase!!!ANTHONY J LANGFORD
Cool track. Congrats Joshua. Hope the release is a success.Tristan
Man I love these guys. I can't believe they are not releasing any new music. I've been to so many…sophie
^^ I love Grimes! Banoffee is one of my new favorite music artists! :) I love With Her, Reign Down,…Ace
Read your review then listened to the EP. Fantastic ! Different to most hardcore punk I listen to. Somewhat more…