Lakoda – ‘Forget It All’ (mp3)

From the forgotten state of Australia, Tasmania (for our international visitors, that’s the little island at the bottom of Australia… and no, not New Zealand), comes Lakoda. Tassie bands traditionally haven’t featured much on the musical landscape because, to put it bluntly, they’re fucked geographically. Whereas bands on the main part of our continent can travel easily (albeit far distances) to different states to reach new crowds, Tassie bands have to travel over water, which means you have to have lots of cash! This isolation means word of your band doesn’t travel much further than the pub down the road.

So I was surprised to find out that Lakoda’s 2005 debut EP – from which ‘Forget It All’ comes from – was recorded at the now defunct (which is a tragedy for the Australian music scene) Modern Music Studios in Brisbane. This band reminds me a lot of current Queensland darlings Nina May with their female vocals, anthemic hooks and love of pop punk and progressive rock sounds. Sadly for Lakoda, that kind of competition is very much a David vs Goliath musical battle, but Lakoda have elements in their music which show a lot of potential. We’ll see what they’ve been cooking up for the last two years when they unveil some new material in the first quarter of ’08.

It’s just a shame for them that they’re stuck in Tasmania.

http://www.myspace.com/lakodaspace

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Talons – ‘Squid’

Sydney-based record label Chatterbox Records has become a domicile for the East Coast of Australia’s burgeoning new-wave punk scene. Chatterbox plays home to noisy bands such as Further, The Hard-Ons, Laura Imbruglia (of the same ilk as Natalie) and Regular John to name but a few. It’s a sign of the growing popularity of what some have been known to label as “dance punk” – punk you can dance to, obviously – and bands such as Young and Restless and former Mess+Noise cover boys Ohama have been its kingpins.

Talons slot in nicely with their punky brethren: Monotone shouted vocals, dirty bass that’s high in the mix, thumping four to the floor drums, topped off with an infectious, top-tapping energy. Ducats is their recently released EP and ‘Squid’ is the standout track which captures what these guys are all about.

http://www.myspace.com/talonsband

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Liam Finn – ‘Gather To The Chapel’

The fact that Liam Finn looks like Michael J Fox from Teen Wolf may help hide the family resemblance, but his lineage is given away in the first line of ‘Gather to the Chapel’ (“Your photo hung over the altar“). Those unmistakable tones and harmonies can only come from the Finns. Yes, Liam Finn is the son of one of our generation’s greatest songwriters, Neil Finn.

Originally making a name for himself in the rocking Betchadupa, Liam’s now stepping out on his own with his debut solo record I’ll Be Lightning in which the multi-talented Finn played every instrument! He’s definitely inherited some of his old man’s skill, and maybe more. His music is like mixing ’90s indie bands with Beatles song structures and harmonies. It has a folk-rock aesthetic but he builds upon it with some imaginative instrumentation.

http://www.liamfinn.tv
http://www.myspace.com/theliamfinn

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The Late-Night Sound – ‘Silver Dreamers’ (mp3)

Incest in the Sydney music scene continues with The Late-Night Sound. Featuring Liam Judson from Belles Will Ring, Lauren Crew and Mark Waite-Pullan from Sister Jane and Joe Driver from too many bands to mention, The Late-Night Sound are much like their name: evoking images of hazy, smoke-filled rooms and alcohol-fuelled nights.

There’s a big ’60s influence in their sound, particularly in the vocal harmonies in the chorus. There’s also a nod to acts like The Velvet Underground, early Stones, as well as Phil Spector’s wall of sound. The lo-fi production gives it added authenticity. They’ve only recently reared their head, so keep an eye out for them in ’08.

http://www.myspace.com/thelatenightsound

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The McClymonts – ‘Don’t Tie My Hands’

Whatever McClymonts song is here is irrelevant really, it’s purely arbitrary. Though I could twattle on about how this is our first country music post on Who The Hell, this entry’s only purpose is to include a photo of these three hottie siblings as this band could be the best all-girl menage e toi this country’s music scene has to offer (unless they’ve lathered on the Photoshop effects, to which my expectations have been extremely unrealistically heightened).

They’re the golden children of the Aussie country music scene and I’m not gonna lie, I’m not much of a country music fan. Hey, they do it and they do it very well, but seriously, The McClymonts sound more like the Dixie Chicks than even the Dixie Chicks do.

The exaggerated Amer-ee-cayn country accents, soft vocal harmonies, fiddle, mandolin, lap steel and brushed drums are all indictive of the blueprint of American bluegrass/country music. It’s a shame Aussie arts have to bleach out the Australian touch in their music to appeal to the American market and to those who believe that “this” is what country music should sound like.

Still, it’s good to see you can still have sibling sex appeal without the incestual innuendo…

http://www.myspace.com/themcclymonts

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Enjoy something new, courtesy of Sparkadia and the clip for their tune ‘Animals’.

Since it’s downtime in the blogosphere, we’re going to be taking some time off for the holidays. So don’t miss us too much, and we’ll be back on Monday January 7, 2008 with even more killer new Aussie music.

Remember, if you’ve got any suggestions on some new Oz and NZ music that we could feature here, please drop us a line at music@whothehell.net.

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We’re keeping the Pnau vibes going with their clip for ‘Wild Strawberries’.

http://www.myspace.com/pnaupnau

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