New Music

LISTEN: Scott and Charlene’s Wedding

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The first time I saw Scott and Charlene’s Wedding was at a 2009 Halloween party at the Empress Hotel in North Carlton. Frontman Craig Dermody was flitting round the venue like everyone’s favourite blow-in, tall with long, blond hair and an easy smile. He eventually took to the stage – in a wedding dress, no less, which stood no chance of buttoning up over his broad shoulders – and proceeded to emit a loud caterwaul over a scruffy take on 90s indie rock. I’ve been a fan ever since.

The band’s first album, Paravista Social Club, and their contribution to a split LP with Melbourne’s Peak Twins (reissued this year on Critical Heights as the Two Weeks EP) feature a bunch of tunes about playing basketball, moping around Melbourne train stations, driving trucks and generally working whatever crappy job you can to earn a buck. Dermody’s songs are a cheerful mess, with bright riffs, loose strumming and earnest, doleful lyrics (here’s a sample: ‘I don’t care anymore if my bands do well / I don’t care anymore if my paintings sell / I don’t even want to eat sausages anymore’). They borrow in equal measure from the Beat Happening’s endearing DIY aesthetic and the Lemonhead’s laid-back, melodic pop. Dermody even looks a bit like Evan Dando.

A couple of years ago Dermody moved from Melbourne to New York, taking the Scott and Charlene’s Wedding moniker with him. He’s been working the same odd jobs – waiter, security guard, set designer – and writing the same kind of songs over there, but with a brand new set of cultural and geographical references. We’ve heard ‘Fakin’ NYC’, which recounts his experiences as a bouncer at an A-list nightclub. The job was basically to bar entry to anyone who wasn’t sufficiently famous; our Craig didn’t fare so well – failing to recognise people like Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Scarlett Johanssen and the Strokes, and turning them away. He also rejected Lindsay Lohan, kind of ironic given he used to be in a band called Lindsay Low Hand. Now we’ve got ‘Lesbian Wife’, the second single off the forthcoming record, which is set in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Dermody gets a call from some friends in Australia, which sets off a series of reflections about ex-girlfriends, missing home, a badly behaved dog and the eponymous lesbian wife – who, from what I can gather, is a good mate and fellow NBA fan.

Tough times are starting to pay off for Scott and Charlene’s Wedding. The band’s second record is being released on UK label Fire Records later this month, and having played a debut set at Glastonbury, they’re now headed off on a two-month European tour. Like Dermody sings on ‘Lesbian Wife’, “‘Keep On Keeping On’ is my favourite song / that’s what I do even when I’m wrong … You’re never gonna know what’s happening next, hey hey”.

Any Port in a Storm is out on 22 July through Fire Records and Bedroom Suck.

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INTRODUCING: Castlecomer

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If you’re in the need for a mood lifter, then look no further because Sydney outfit Castlecomer know how to treat your ears. Made up of four cousins and a friend, these guys are more than just your average roving family band that know how to harmonize.

‘Forrest’ is the latest track taken from Castlecomer’s forthcoming EP Lone Survivor. Led by a bouncy melody, this tune brings all of your fondest and wildest travel memories flooding back (sans the gastro, backpacker fornication and the overzealous use of #yolo of course).

It begins with an enchanting five-part harmony intro; half ‘Sun Giant’, half monastery chant. But soon after, the mood hastily shifts and an acoustic rhythm picks up, picks you out of your meditational state and swings you onto an open-roof jeep.

The band’s travels across India are captured on their Go-Pro here; rich in colour, youth and huge smiles. In fact, these guys might just be the reincarnated form of Rusted Root in their video for ‘Send Me On My Way’.

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Castlecomer are gearing up for a national tour. Check them out in your town and experience the feel-goods live.

Thurs, Aug 1 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Thurs, Aug 15 – Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Fri, Aug 16 – X&Y Bar, Brisbane
Fri, Aug 23 – Worker’s Club, Melbourne
Fri, Aug 30 – Yours & Owls, Wollongong
Sat, Aug 31 – Transit Bar, Canberra
Fri, Sept 6 – Ya-Ya’s, Perth
Sun, Sept 8 – Grace Emily, Adelaide

 

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LISTEN: Major Leagues – ‘Endless Drain’

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Brisbane’s Major Leagues sometimes get stuck with that big yellow SLACKER label (after which I assume they’re shuffled into a corner with every other Slacker and forced to smoke weed and watch Adventure Time). However, what strikes me most about their new track ‘Endless Drain’ is how efficient, driven and smart it is.

The verses are made up of the familiar rhymes; “I was looking for the one/right underneath the sun/ sifting through the sand/ tryin’ to find a plan”.
The upbeat façade doesn’t hang around long though, giving in to a droning, swirling chorus.

At just over two minutes, the song doesn’t bother settling. The simplicity of the lead guitar line keeps everything light and fun, while some clever drumming propels the track forward to its open-ended final line, “I was looking for the one…”.

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LISTEN: Kirin J Callinan – ‘Victoria M’

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It’s fair to say that Kirin J Callinan is a pretty divisive figure in the Australian music scene. He’s played guitar with Lost Animal and Jack Ladder, and as a member of Mercy Arms he had a tendency to cross dress on stage. As a solo artist, he’s already infamous for his unsettling videos and live performances, which fall into some uncomfortable place between the grotesque and hilarious, art and farce.

I was at Sugar Mountain Festival for that show, which became an instant cause célèbre for its dubious relationship with ethics and the truth, not to mention for treating the audience to an intimate knowledge of Callinan’s nether regions. Although a lot of the commentary was negative, for me it was probably the most interesting and engaging part of the night (sets by ESG and the Dirty Projectors notwithstanding).

Callinan has certainly never seemed afraid to expose himself. His new album is called Embracism, and as Callinan told Faster Louder, ‘one of the dictionary definitions of embracism is “the opposite of escapism”‘. (For the record, the word ’embracism’ doesn’t appear in any dictionary that I own, but I take his point). He’s described the record as an exploration of his own ugliness and masculinity. In fact, to date he’s achieved this vision so comprehensively that I was staggered to discover a guy who in the flesh is both charismatic and handsome.

Given all this, his latest single comes as a bit of a surprise. Instead of the more usual pummelling by a compressed and tortured bed of noise, with ‘Victoria M’ listeners get a stadium rock banger. Callinan’s previous single has been likened to the more fist-pumping Bruce Springsteen moments, and the comparison holds in this case too. The strings, synths (played by none other than Kirin’s old Dad) and rolling drums ascend to a crescendo that induces a kind of Chariots of Fire moment.

Some dissonant elements remain – like the dim wail in the background, which could be the sound of a crowd or a man’s scream. And there’s always Callinan’s vocal, its inebriated and unapologetically ‘strayan feel reminiscent of The Drones’ Gareth Liddiard. But more than anything ‘Victoria M’ is an anthem. Callinan’s cited Scott Walker as an influence before, but he seems to be on an arc that’s almost the exact reverse of the pretty-boy crooner turned experimental creep. If you’ve been put off by Callinan in the past, now’s the time to look again.

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Embracism is out on 28 June through Siberia Records and US imprint Terrible Records.

Callinan will be launching the album around the country on these dates:

Wed, June 26 – Yours & Owls, Wollongong with Standish/Carlyon
Thurs, June 27 – Terrace Bar, Newcastle with Standish/Carlyon
Fri, June 28 – The Standard, Sydney with Standish/Carlyon
Sat, June 29 – The Zoo, Brisban, with Standish/Carlyon
Thurs, July 4 – Northcote Social Club Melbourne, with Standish/Carlyon
Fri, July 5 – Jive, Adelaide
Fri, July 19 – The Bakery, Perth
Sat, July 20 – Mojo’s, Fremantle

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LISTEN: Back Back Forward Punch – ‘Don’t Stop Now’

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Not enough ‘disco’ happens on this blog. I’m not averse to the stuff. Don’t hate Fridays either. My penchant for disco/pop resurfaces once a year when a good track or remix comes around. For the rest, it’s subtle repression.

After being born to immigrants who conceived me over a syncopated bassline and a 4/4 beat, growing up listening to Disco made Melbourne’s Western suburbs a lot less shit. My earliest music memories involved the ass end of the Bee Gees era, Diana King and a lot of Gloria Estefan’s ‘Turn The Beat Around’. There was nothing ‘Australian’ about my childhood. There is nothing Australian about growing up watching your old man mow the lawn singing Donna Summer either. I’ve had a bittersweet affinity with the wider genre, but here’s trying not to hold it against anyone.

Depending on what your Friday vibe feels like, this is essential listening. ‘Don’t Stop Now’ is a smooth groove by Melbourne duo Back Back Forward Punch. There’s a faux-sax, laser synths and a general schmooze that could only really tag along with band name that sounds like a naff move on a Tracey Anderson workout DVD. Laura Boland’s voice reminds me of Giselle Roselli on Flight Facilities’ ‘Crave You’ (minus the twee). I’m slowly trying to be less deducive about anything electro-disco, so this one gets points for feel good tunes to tide over the week with. Excellent production and Groove Armada stamped all over this one. Still love Gloria, BTW.

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PREMIERE: Bad//Dreems – ‘Hoping For’

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Out from the gentrified sprawl of suburban Adelaide comes a new video from WTH favourites Bad//Dreems.

Defying age, occupation and Centrelink brackets, the new clip from Bad//Dreems takes a steep ascent to the peak of Cultural Cringe and sticks a shovel in at the summit. The current climate for jangly, interbreeding suburban garage bands looks like it’s probably sticking around. I’m cool with the late checkout, but I just prefer pepped-up, happy “chillmate” from bands like these guys, Laughing Leaves, The Stevens etc. rather than the rest of the vegetarians lamenting about their girlfriends through their nose. That shit just makes me sad.

On the other hand, ‘Hoping For’ is heaps of fun. Along with Client Liason’s infamous homage to our wide brown land, this video also needs to be reconsidered by Tourism Australia. It’s all bro-gan schmoozing, muscle cars and other miscellaneous behaviour that makes self-deprecating nationalism, revered. As for the loose dick on a trampoline, no one wants to take liability for that. The video was shot in Port Adelaide and in the north of South Australia near Orroroo. Kinda makes Airbourne look like they need to re-sit their citizenship.

Thriving boganvillea brought to you by rad director Al Kinsie (Who By Fire), brilliant subtitles and VHS effects courtesy of Ben Helweg.

Bad//Dreems are releasing their upcoming EP Badlands on July 19th. The band are heading out through Adelaide and the East coast during July and August for a string of dates, stay tuned for details.

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LISTEN: TV Colours – ‘The Neighbourhood’

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TV Colours is Bobby Kill – or Robin Mukerjee, to his mum. A key player in the tight-knit Canberra scene, he’s worked with Danger Beach and the sorely-missed Assassins 88.  Members of both those bands now play with him, along with the enigmatically named ‘Catfish’ from The Fighting League. Bobby’s debut album was 6 years in the making, with two versions ditched along the way, but it was well worth the wait – there’s not a dud on it. Packing 15 songs into 45 minutes, Purple Skies, Toxic River blasts you with its serrated guitars and petulant vocals, which sound like someone shouting at you from inside a padded cell.

Purple Skies is back-to-back impeccable garage jams in the style of Hüsker Dü. In fact, Bobby’s got a penchant for all kinds of late-70s Americana: mullets, muscle shirts and Mustangs – just check out his Tumblr. When the album isn’t gouging your ears with overdrive, it drifts into moody instrumental sections that sound like the score to a John Carpenter film.

While TV Colours’ sound is meticulously crafted, his major asset is an ability to write hooks that are tight as fuck. The guy’s devotion to melody is so complete there’s even a Beach Boys reference on the album, with a track entitled ‘I Soon Found Out My Lonely Life Wasn’t So Pretty’.

The first single off Purple Skies was the punchy ‘Beverly’. It caused immediate excitement, even copping a Pitchfork review within a few days of its release. Album opener ‘the Neighbourhood’ is now streaming on Soundcloud. It’s a furious number that reeks of alienation and teenage angst. A thoroughgoing introduction, the song walks through pretty much all the album’s aesthetic devices without losing any of Kill’s trademark concision. The lead-in riff sounds like early Sonic Youth, with its clear tones and pretty but slightly off-kilter chords, and there’s a frenetic verse that’s gradually slowed down and torn apart by a gut-wrenching guitar solo. The track closes with a dark synth passage that has the same mixture of parody and dread as a David Lynch creation – a fitting coda for a song raging against the deadening drag of suburbia.

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Purple Skies, Toxic River is out now through Dream Damage and Aussie-loving French label XVIII Records, with tour dates soon to follow.

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