Pomomofo – ‘Island’

It’s been a while since we heard the disco grunge of Sydney’s Pomomofo. The now familiar sounds of dirty bass, hi-hats on the upbeat and 80s synths has become a stalwart on the airways of local radio stations around Australia and has seen the kids lining up down the streets to see acts like Midnight Juggernauts, Muscles, Dukes of Windsor, Plug-In City and more.

Which may just be the problem for Pomomofo. When they hit the scenea couple of years back, they were exciting and fresh but now the sound has been carbon copied so much that this three-piece has lost that initial buzz about them. What does set Pomomofo apart though is their energetic and thoroughly enjoyable live show, which may help save them from drowning in a sea of Aussie electro acts. Their set opening for Cornelius last year, including their cover of ‘Mr. Wendell’ WITH Speech from Arrested Development equaled pure musical orgasmic joy.

Check out what we wrote about them over a year ago.

http://www.myspace.com/pomomofo

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Brian Campeau – ‘Reinventing Myself’ (mp3)

Wow, we are so late on Brian Campeau it’s not funny.

This is a man who deserves immediate attention. I fell in love with the Sydney troubadour straight away after hearing ‘Reinventing Myself’, a song that marries Eastern samples, beautiful finger-plucked acoustic guitar and some rather abstract electronic elements. These disparate parts I’ve never really heard crammed into one song, which I think is the beauty of Brian’s music – he’s trying something a little different, and succeeding so brilliantly at it.

The Sandwich Club have written an excellent summation of Brian, his sound and his live performance, saying it better than I could have. Check it out, along with a selection of MP3s. 

http://www.briancampeau.com/
http://www.myspace.com/briancampeau

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The Bumblebeez – ‘Rio’

So the debut Bumblebeez album is finally out. Rumoured to cost over $200,000 over a few years and several mixers to make, is it really worth the wait? Was anyone waiting for it anyway? The previous Triple J Unearthed winners disappeared from attention so long ago I’m not sure many remembered. But I have to say the tracks that I’ve heard so far sounds amazing. It sounds, and I’ve said this before, nothing like any other Australian artists. Except maybe the Avalanches but they’re taking even longer for a followup record. I’m keen to get this album, but I won’t see them live because from what I heard from pretty much everyone they are not much entertainment on the stage. The one and only time I saw them was when they were supporting Radiohead in 2004 in Melbourne, and I walked out of their show then.

www.myspace.com/thebumblebeez

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Brand new single from Sydneysiders The Paper Scissors. Enjoy!

http://www.thepaperscissors.com
http://www.myspace.com/thepaperscissors

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Oh Faker… what the hell were you thinking when whichever God forsaken director presented you with the concept for this film clip?

Here’s a breakdown of Faker’s brand new filmclip, second by second:

00:00 – Oh, an electrocardiograph… how LITERAL!

00:04 – it’s our first look at the new Faker, because front man Nathan Hudson has made twenty three members of the band redundant in the ten years they’ve been around. Also, what’s with the O Brother Where Art Thou? get-up? Plus they’re in a white room with a green stripe… O-kay…

00:16 – after numerous frames of the band sporting stupid facial expressions, we get our first glipse of a girl decked out in fluoro nursewear. Oh crap, what’s the rest of this clip got in store for us if they’re bringing out fluoro-clad girls? FLUORO for christ’s sake…

00:23 – Phil, or Stefan, whichever guitarist you are… do you think you’re in Red Riders?

00:35 – we’re hitting the chorus people, get ready for the sing-along and ooh ahh ahhs

00:37 – the fluoro-clad girl-Faker equivalent have drips with fluoro colour in them? Huh?? If you’ve made it this far, could somebody please tell me what the concept for this video is?

00:50 – we’ve hit the chorus – “this heart attack… I gotta get away, not coming back.” I know how you feel dude.

01:13 – OMFG! What’s with that chick’s makeup?

01:17 – Oooooooooooooh! Get angry Nathan.

01:29 – oh no, it’s a mime-off between Faker and girl Faker! I thought Marcel Marceau was taking that artform to the grave?

01:33 – at least this girl is putting some energy into her performance.

01:47 – probably should have mentioned this earlier, but Paul Berryman, decked out in all black and a skinny tie, really looks like he belongs the behind the drums for an emo band…

02:00 – is anyone winning this mime-off, or is the audience the loser amongst it all?

02:30 – with limbs flailing and competing members getting up close and personal, really nothing much is happening. You haven’t missed anything up until this point. And here comes the bridge…

02:43 – rapid-fire frame changes, showing how girl Faker is perhaps the alter-ego of original Faker? So inside every boy is there a girl? And inside every man wearing braces, there’s a girl wearing fluoro waiting to be freed from the eternal shackles of introversion? Deep man, so deep…

02:53 – “I got your back. But you don’t got mine.” Hey Nathan, I’m sure you’re upset man, and I can see it in that arm-thrusting of yours, but that doesn’t excuse poor grammar.

03:03 – we’re at the climax of the mime-off… strap yourself in!

03:38 – girl Faker have decided to free themselves from their fluoro drips and throw it in the air. Yay, we’re all fucking happy little munchkins. I think they think they’re at Parklife. Look at them dance!

03:52 – it’s over…. what the hell was that all about??? What’s any of that mindless meandering got to do with a heart attack? I want 3:52 of my life back*.

http://www.myspace.com/fakertheband

 – quote courtesy of You Know Who from a magazine…

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Cloud Control – ‘Fine Teacher’

They’ve been building a bit of a buzz lately, and now Cloud Control, who hail from the more Western parts outside Sydney in a beautifully-named location called the Blue Mountains, are set to release their debut EP this week.

Our blogging brethren The Sandwich Club are sponsoring a new night at The Loft Bar at the University of Technology in Sydney called Art, Bitch (awesome name hah) and the Cloudies will be there this Saturday to launch their new EP.

‘Fine Teacher’ is my favourite song off the EP – I just love the honky-tonk piano line.

http://www.myspace.com/cloudcontrol

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photo by Joshua Weinfeld

Cog – ‘What If’

It’s always a nice thing to say… exclusive! Nowhere else on the internet can you hear the brand single from Bondi’s favourite sons Cog. Called ‘What If’, it comes from their sophomore record Sharing Space. This single will be officially released in November, coinciding with a massive Australian-wide tour (in true Cog form, of course) but its been sent to radio this week and we’ve got your first taste of it right here!

You gotta love a band who have the audacity to release as the first single a song which alternates unconventional time signatures – jumping from 5/4 to 3/4 throughout. The mood of this song is reminiscent of Cog’s older Just Visiting Part 2 EP, with ‘What If’ progressing from a melodic beginning into a epic distortion-drenched finale.

All the Cog staples are here: progressive song structures, Flynn Gower’s politically-tinged lyrics, Lucius Borich’s blindingly impressive drum skills and Luke Gower’s melodic bass lines. In that respect, Cog haven’t so much deviated from the sound found on their debut record The New Normal, but rather honed and refined their music more. ‘What If’ fits more within the dimensions of radio play but still maintains that left-of-centre, alternative/progressive edge.

Cog have been one of my favourite bands for many years, so I’m very keen to hear what the rest of their new album sounds like. They haven’t set a release date yet though.

http://www.cog.com.au
http://www.myspace.com/cogrockmusic

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