Whether it’s a post about Gotye or The Basics, anything with Wally de Backer generally takes up space on this blog. And, when we’re a little too busy with our respective jobs to post a song, we post a video – and why not make it a Gotye clip? This is Wally performing live in the Triple J studios.
Hazards of Swimming Naked - ‘Dreams Don’t Come True, That’s Why We Dream’ (mp3)
Truth be told, I was ready to blog about Hazards of Swimming Naked just from the name alone. It’s so absurd, especially since they play ambient instrumental tracks rather than frat-boy party punk/ska.
Hailing from Queensland, it doesn’t seem like these guys have been around all that long, but their music has an assured sense of maturity about it. The music swims (no pun intended) in the same vein as acts like Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You Black Emperor and Mogwai in their more unassuming moments, such as on the Zidane soundtrack.
Maybe not the greatest band to listen to when driving home late at night, but it’s sublime, relaxing music.
Sorry peeps, we’ve been a little busy the past couple of weeks, hence the sporadic posting. So, what do we do when we can’t post songs? Post videos instead! Here’s some soul and funk courtesy of Kid Confucius to wile away your Tuesday (depending where you are in the world and when you’re reading this).
http://www.kidconfucius.com
http://www.myspace.com/kidconfucius
Emma Davis - ‘I Believe It’s True’ (mp3)
More sweetness courtesy of British ex-pat turned Sydney troubadour Emma Davis who’s been garnering kudos from Triple J head honcho Richard Kingsmill. If you’re looking for something to do this Sunday, Emma’s playing at the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills.
Agnes Kain - ‘All Time High’
Sometimes all it takes is one listen to fall in love with a song, which is all it took for me to become smitten with ‘All Time High’. I discovered Agnes Kain on my very first radio shift and it was such a sumptuous sound, like a happy folk version of Arcade Fire jammed into a duo…. yep, you’d think it was a Seabellies-size band on here.
They’ve had a couple of recordings floating around, and it’s finally been compiled into one album entitled Keep Walking Or I’ll Kill You which is a highly recommended listen. If you’re in Sydney, they’re going to be launching the album this Saturday August 25 at the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills.
So So Modern – ‘Upgrade Your Chasis (It’s a Pythagorean Party)’
One more song from this exciting new NZ talent, showing their rockier/punk side that could only be a good hint of what their live shows is like. Here’s tube of them doing a different song, but check out the guy in green, keytars are making a comeback!
Kisschasy - ‘Opinions Won’t Keep You Warm At Night’
First off, I have to say… that is a terrible promo photo.
Now I’ve got that off my chest, let’s talk about Melbourne boys Kisschasy. I’ve never been a big fan of their music, but it certainly doesn’t offend me. But when I was a budding little music jounro, getting paid nothing to write (thanks to the music mag which shall not be named), I got a chance to interview Darren and Joel from the band who really couldn’t be any nicer.
Kisschasy write very solid pop rock tunes – the kind that you just can’t get out of your head for days and days. They’ve just released a brand new album called Hymns for the Nonbeliever (cool title) and their first cut from the record, ‘Opinions Won’t Keep You Warm At Night’ is a pretty good summation of the sound of the album. If you like this song, you’ll like the album. If you don’t, then you won’t.
Something for Kate - ‘The Futurist’
It’s the oldest trick in the record label book: release a Best Of album by one of your top selling artists – in this case, Something for Kate – and tack on a new song so all the die-hard fans rush out to buy it.
The problem is, in the day of iTunes, this method doesn’t work, nor do people actually buy Best Ofs anymore. Firstly, they can just purchase the new song for $1.69 (that’s how much a song costs off iTunes in Australia), and secondly, they can buy their favourite songs and create their own Best of anyway.
So the legendary Victorian three-piece have bandied together some of their best songs (which, to be honest, is a hard task, but I guess that’s why there’s 2 discs) as well as a new song, ‘The Futurist’, and thus we have The Murmur Years.
Sydney’s sultry singer-songwriter Bertie Blackman… whoa, alliteration ahoy… contributes some barely-audible vocals to a track that really isn’t one of Something for Kate’s best, but my guess is that it was just a song they had lying around that they recorded just for the hell of the Best Of. It kinda sounds like Bruce Springsteen after a severe bout of laryngitis. The song lacks any spark, and Paul Dempsey has sounded a lot better than this. Gone is the dynamic ebb and flow of prior SFK tunes, as is the rich melodies.
If this is your first listen to Something For Kate, make sure you check out their older material – anything off Beautiful Sharks and Echolalia is highly recommended – before you make a decision.
http://www.somethingforkate.com/
http://www.myspace.com/somethingforkate
Someone told me that Nick Cave is the Christopher Walken of Australian music. How true.
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