Dec
23
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.
We’re keeping the Pnau vibes going with their clip for ‘Wild Strawberries’.
Dec
21
Pnau - ‘Baby’
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The hot industry story this week is that while Elton John was in the country to do his Rocket Man tour, he chanced upon hearing a Pnau song, fell in love with it, and instructed his husband to buy 40 copies of PNAU’s third album so he can send them off to his musician friends back in England and urged record label types around the world to get involved with this album. A modern fairy tale? Perhaps. But I finally received a copy of this album and I have to say it’s really fresh. It is really very creative and sound different from any other Australian releases around and can do really well overseas if pushed the right way. There are a few tracks that I could feature here, but I picked the one with the childlike sing-a-long vocals. This track blend nicely into the next one on the album ‘We Have Tomorrow’. There are numerous other guest vocalists on this album like Nik Valentinos and Luke Steele of the Sleepy Jackson, won’t be too long before we blog those.
Dec
20
Sparkadia - ‘Animals’
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Sparkadia’s new song has been getting a flogging on national broadcaster Triple J, this recording a result of their recent trip to the UK to record an album with Ark Recordings. It’s well recorded and easy on the ears but I don’t really find it as catchy as their older songs, which I really hope are rerecorded and saved as future singles for the album.
Dec
19
Mammal - ‘Slaves’
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Rarely has an artist got it so right live, but so wrong in the studio. With the various acts that Ezekiel Ox - the vocalist with only one speed: ludicrous speed - has fronted, their live shows have always been testosterone-driven sweat-fests of rock ‘n’ roll bravado. Full Scale, or more succinctly Ox, knew how to whip a crowd into a frenzy. It’s no wonder they picked up a deal in the U.S. of A. But it’s also no surprise it didn’t work either - and the disintegration of the band has been put into writing by former bass player Rob Kaay.
Picking up the pieces, dusting himself off and getting right back on the horse, Ox found himself a new batch of musicians and together they called themselves Mammal. The first positive thing they did was shed the undercurrent of ’80s theatrics that weaved throughout Full Scale and annoyed the crap out of me everytime I heard one of their overblown riffs.
But what they kept was the intensity - and needless to say, it’s a hard task following these Melbournites when you’re playing with them. But again the music lacked what the live show gave the punters. The songs were OK, but the performance made them awesome. Take away the performance, and the songs are lukewarm at best. It’s probably why Mammal’s first release was a live album.
It’s taken a while, but I think Ezekiel Ox and co. are finally at the turning point. ‘Slaves’ has a punk/funk rock aesthetic with enough intelligence to sustain a 3 minute listening session without needing the band to run riot in front of you. So kudos Mammal for showing me it’s not only showmanship up your sleeve, but the promise that something greater lies ahead.
http://www.mammaltheband.com
http://www.myspace.com/mammaltheband
Dec
18
Grinderman - ‘Get It On’
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Since I last blogged about Nick Cave’s stripped down side project, this album has grown to become one of my favourites of the year. This opening track lays out the intentions of the project, the array of instruments Cave has at his disposal, the tone of songwriting and mood of the narrative throughout the rest of the album. In short, it is the perfect opening song to a pretty great album. One that goes unmentioned in the recent Triple J Album of the Year ‘J’ Award. I wonder if there is some snobbery towards albums made overseas by Australian expats? Who cares really. Listen to this song, it makes you want to listen to the rest of the album. And you should.
Die! Die! Die! - ‘Death to The Last Romantic’
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New Zealand noisemakers Die! Die! Die! return with a new song off a new album Promises! Promises! They are playing a few Big Days Out and then heading to South by South West yet again to try their luck in the US.
Riot In Belgium - ‘La Musique’ Ooee & Loot Remix
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Melbourne Serato expert Ooee teams up with his mate Loot to remix another Melbourne duo, Riot in Belgium. This club staple track just keeps on going..
Dec
13
The Stab - ‘Split Lips’
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Did you know Melbourne’s The Stabs have been around for five freaking years?? Maybe we should be asking where the hell have I been instead of who the hell are The Stabs?? First things first, great name! Second thing, any band who describes their sound as “a car crashing into a kindergarten during nap time” is surely going to pierce your ear drums with something wild. I found them when checking out the bands that got the lucky gig supporting the Black Lips in Australia.
I’m really into this DYI garage trend that’s giving birth to some cool as fuck bands, in the UK but Australia too. These bands are sticking their fingers up at BIG record companies and just playing rock’n’roll. The Stab’s have just recorded their second album and in the past month done shows in Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane and the States. Split Lips is as dirty as my grandfather’s feet yet as pop-smart as a 60’s garage classic.
Dec
12
Horsell Common - ‘Good From Afar, Far From Good’
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Call me crazy, but I really think Horsell Common are a cut above the emo crust. The first single from their debut album, ‘Good From Afar’ has the hallmark Horsell emphasis on melody and movement. They are vigilant and vigorous in their songwriting, and the track is full of sharp edges but there are no dark corners, no accidental notes. Every moment is an avalanche.
Mailer Daemon feat. Peach – ‘Keep on Movin (mixtape version)’
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Sydney’s Mailer Daemon puts out competent remix after great remix (of artists like Red Riders, Lost Valentinos, Lions At Your Door); but then, so do a thousand other bedroom producers currently, and to be perfectly honest I’m kind of remix-fatigued.
His original stuff, luckily, is great too. Check this early version of ‘Keep on Movin’, featuring track-virgin (and erstwhile Sydney radio presenter/ lawyer) Peach, spitting often bizarre lyrics (“we stop for diet coke/ and then we keep on moving”) over a phat G-funk era bass-line. How great does that effected Star Wars cantina horn sound? Props also to Mailer Daemon’s Timbaland-esque cameo verse (ghost-wrote by Peach).
See, Oz Hip-Hop? You don’t always have to sound the same.
Sia - ‘Day Too Soon (Lifelike remix)’
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As promised in last week’s Sia post (and I don’t like to break promises), here’s her latest tune ‘Day Too Soon’ remixed by Parisian artist Lifelike. It’s got that French electro/house feel dripping off every reverb-soaked snare shot and phased synth chord, but how he’s heard the original and then come up with this is really something impressive.
http://www.myspace.com/siamusic
http://www.myspace.com/lifelikevulture
The Red Paintings - ‘We Belong In the Sea’
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Known more for their outlandish costumes, interactive stage shows and grandiose publicity stunts, you may be surprised to find out that the eclectic (sorry, I know that’s the most overused term in journalism) Brisbane outfit The Red Paintings do in fact make music. They’ve just unveiled a decidedly subdued and stripped-back new single, ‘We Belong in the Sea’, just in time for Christmas.
After a run of mediocre EPs, Trash McSweeney and co. return with a sound more suited to their skills, rather than them trying to be an alternative rock band. The song survives solely on piano, cello and Trash’s fragile vocals, and when the drums kick in softly towards the end of the song it’s a nice payoff for the listener.
Always an interesting experience live, those in Brisbane can head along to the band’s Dr. Suess-themed The Grinch Who Stole Christmas show at The Tivoli Theatre on December 22. There’s an all-ages and an over-18s show. Sweet.
http://www.theredpaintings.com
http://www.myspace.com/theredpaintings
Dec
06
Sia - ‘I Go To Sleep’
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Australia’s sultry expat Sia has, like many Aussie musicians, found more sucecss abroad than on home turf. It’s been a while since she released her own solo LP - the last being Colour the Small One in 2004 - but January 2008 will see her release her fourth solo record Some People Have REAL Problems.
The first single off the album is ‘Day Too Soon’ and there’s a sweet remix of that tune I’ll post up soon, but ‘I Go To Sleep’ is another taste from the forthcoming record and sees Sia chanelling Chrissie Amphlett in this lush reimagining of the Pretenders hit. Stirring strings and a soft piano melody are the perfect accompaniment to Sia’s distinctive husky, jazz vocal tones. Its dreamy, slow-paced aesthetic recalls much of the material off Colour the Small One and is quite faithful to the original, with the strings replacing the harpsichord and muted trumpet of The Pretenders version.
Dec
05
The Evening Son - ‘One’
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Newcastle’s a funny place. You can turn up at 6pm and find most of the city shut down… except for an Oportos in a back street, a restaurant that’ll only give you one serviette even when there’s clearly two people eating…
The whole of the NSW Central Coast seems to be populated by rock bands at the moment. Probably because there’s nothing else to do. The Evening Son are from the town that brought us such bands as Silverchair and… ummm, Silverchair. I’m having somewhat of a personal 90s musical revival (remember Nada Surf? Tripping Daisy? Primitive Radio Gods? yeah…) and The Evening Son pander to my current aural fixation.
I had forgotten that there was a time before pop-punk that rock bands weren’t too scared to play it slooooow, and grooooove, baby, groove. Stone Temple Pilots used to do it. So did Alice In Chains. And Pearl Jam too. And now the Evening Son are bringing back the rock. Awesome stuff.
Dec
04
The Jezabels - ‘Noah’s Ark’ (mp3)
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Dear Sandwich Club, we beat you to this one you bastards! The Brag threw one motherfucker of a Christmas party last Saturday in Sydney, taking over four venues in what was more of a mini-festival than a festive season party. If you missed out, then you suck. Offically.
There was one band on the night who made the biggset impression of all. The Jezabels were the talk of the night, with many “Did you see The Jezabels?” floating around. There’s nothing flashy about the four-piece. Their songs and stage show is suitably lo-fi and their singer comes from the Peter Garrett School of Dancing, but it’s rad. She gets into it. So do you. Everyone has fun.
They subscribe to the Arcade Fire brand of indie rock, with a hint of Nick Cave darkness, especially in ‘Noah’s Ark’. The Jezabels are the next big thing in Sydney music. Look out for them in 2008. Guaranteed. Plus they’re awesome peeps too, which always helps.
Flamingo Crash - ‘It’s Mystery Music!’
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I don’t mean to be a negative-nancy, but I really didn’t expect too much of Brisbane band Flamingo Crash’s forthcoming Magoo-produced album… until I heard the first single, ‘It’s Mystery Music!’. Now my expectations are sky-high. It’s Architecture in Helsinki reminiscent quirk-pop made 4 stars with a Neptunes keyboard line and surprising saxophone interludes, and the freshest thing to come out of Brisbane in forever.
Honestly, it sounds like a house-band segment from the Young Ones, and who else sounds like that at the moment? Eat shit my low expectations.
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