Shot on location on the very familiar streets of Darlinghurst, Sydney.

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Brain Children – ‘Guts’ (mp3)

Sounding a lot like Stereolab who I’ve been a long time fan of (and am seeing tonight!), Brain Children is the new collaboration between Michael Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring and hardcore drummer Max Kohanne. They will release this song as a part of a 6 track 12″, yet to be named, and are developing a live show to support it.

www.myspace.com/brainchildrenmusic

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The Paper and The Plane – ‘All That I Had’ (mp3)

Have you ever loved a band’s music so much that you wanted to live inside it? As wanky as that sounds, that’s  how I feel about Brisbane’s The Paper and the Plane. Described by the ever-reliable Wikipedia as “post-everything”, their music is a blend of atmosphere, angst and honesty that makes me want to slam-dance and sob all at once. The combination of their music and an impressive tour CV listing Brand New, Thrice and Minus the Bear as partners in crime has earned the band a reasonably sized and fiercely loyal cult following.

“All That I Had” is from the TPATP’s first EP, An Introduction. It’s my all-time favourite song of theirs, but their latest EP A Year, Two Months, Sixteen Days and Counting… is also well worth your time and money, especially if you buy the re-released Stomp version with a bonus DVD.

The band play the Pushover festival in Melbourne on the 8th of March.

www.myspace.com/thepaperandtheplane

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McKisko – ‘The Hollow Boat’ (mp3)

McKisko is a solo Brisbane performer who makes sparse avante-pop music. The repetitive and minimalist compositions rarely extend beyond layered piano or guitar lines with a hint of percussion, which provides the perfect platform for her vocals stylings that range from high and oft-operatic to quiet and breathy.

Live, McKisko brings the songs to life using loop pedals – which is not only interesting from a performance perspective but also in the way it brings transparency to the simplicity of the layers in her songs. It’s a cliche, but her work is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

Her debut is released at the end of March so keep an eye out for what will be a stunning local release.

www.myspace.com/mckisko

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Tennis – ‘Future Ghosts’ (WOW Cover) (mp3)

Tennis – ‘Dancing On A Knife’ (WOW Remix) (mp3)

Musical friendships are great – indie relationships and inter-textuality excite bloggers like myself no end. Like Tennis (pictured above) and WOW: two bands from Sydney making danceable indie rock – the former with an emphasis on angular guitars and dark hues, the latter with more sass and a prominant electro stomp in their sound. Both of these bands are great in their own right and now they have (sort of) combined in a fun musical exchange wherein Tennis have covered WOW, then WOW have remixed Tennis. To no real surprise, both tracks are exciting and highlight each group’s strength as they imbue the other’s work with their own identifiable character.

Hopefully we’ll see some full-lengths from these young bands during 2009.

www.myspace.com/wowsydney

www.myspace.com/tennisband

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An Horse – ‘Little Lungs’

An Horse are the flag-bearers of Australian indie-pop right now. A big call, I know, but after that Mercedes Benz ad, their ridiculously great EP and both national and international tours with indie-pop superstars Tegan & Sara and Death Cab, I think it’s approaching a realistic appraisal. They now finally have their debut LP set for release. It’s already on iTunes for those who like instant digital gratification; otherwise, fans can wait until March for a physical copy. Either way, they launch the album across the country over the next month, bringing their striking brand of direct, two-man/woman pop to your locale.

If you haven’t seen them live then you haven’t absorbed the full An Horse experience. Apart from the immediacy and rawness of the live setting that heightens the impact of these songs, the two possess the confidence, charm and wit of superstars well beyond the relative youth of the project.

‘Little Lungs’ begins more fragile than some of their catchier songs, however, it only works to increase the intensity and excitement of the crescendo towards the end. Multi-tracked vocals, pounding drums and even a fuzzy bass guitar (not found elsewhere on the album) provide the song and album’s carthartic climax.

For those interested, An Horse also recorded some stuff for Shoot The Player that’s well worth checking out.

www.myspace.com/anhorse

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Eddy Current Suppression Ring – ‘That Time Of Day’

You definitely already know this band and you probably already know this song – it’s been floating around the blogosphere and on radio for the past fortnight and now, finally, I’ve gotten around to uploading it.

Despite how widely-disseminated it already is, this release is still worth covering because these guys put out one of the best albums (Australian or not) of 2008 and, most importantly, because ‘That Time Of Day’ is up to the same high standard presented on their sophomore effort Primary Colours.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring refuse to make the band a full-time pursuit and so it could be a while before we see another full LP with their name on it. Until then, let’s hope their 7″ output continues at a steady pace. This is a good start.

www.myspace.com/eddycurrentsuppressionring

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