mcArtney – ‘Circles’

Having toured almost relentlessly playing in other people’s bands, mcArtney (a.k.a. Tim McArtney) sat down with his Apple Macbook and spilled out his own musical thoughts, coalesced them all together and he now presents us with his debut EP, Volume One. Taking lead from subtle folk/pop artists like Josh Pyke and Augie March, Tim’s songs are sutiably bare; sometimes garnished with a glockenspiel, or cello, or, in the case of ‘At Least I Think I Know’, some extra vocals in the form of Dead Letter Chorus’ lady wonder Gabby Huber.

‘Circles’ is the first single from the EP, and encapsulates what mcArtney is all about: narrative vocals based around sweet acoustic guitar melodies, but ornamented with a spattering of percussion and tinkling glockenspiel.

http://www.mcartneymusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/mcartney

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My Disco – ‘You Came To Me Like a Cancer Lain Dormant Until it Blossomed Like a Rose’

Naming themselves after a Big Black song, it was only time before My Disco entered a studio session helmed by Steve Albini. Paradise, their second album after 2006’s Cancer, is a far more sparse and minimal affair than its predecessor. Just check out ‘You Came To Me Like a Cancer Lain Dormant Until it Blossomed Like a Rose’ (which may be the longest title of any song we’ve ever blogged about, disregarding the gigantically-titled KIM remix Jerry posted a week or so ago) which barely has any vocals and it’d be lucky if it had more than two chords.

http://www.mydisco.com.au
http://www.myspace.com/mdband

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The Third Cycle – ‘Brand New’

Something brand new (HA, my puns are AMAZING!) from Sydney kids The Third Cycle. ‘Brand New’ comes from their debut EP Pressing Sound which, if you’re hanging around Sydney city on Friday night, they’re launching at a new venue at Luna Park called Sonar.

http://www.myspace.com/thethirdcycle

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ii – ‘Tropes’

Alex Nosek and Jon Tjhia, two guys from Melbourne, are ii – an abstract, sometimes improvised, outfit that combines the ambience of Boards of Canada and the unpredictability of Triosk with abstract drones and the occasional pop-tastic moment. Attempting to define ii is a fairly redundant task, and their latest concoction, Landlakes, is a minimal nocturnal soundtrack for back alleyways with flickering neon lights and candlelit, aromatic lounge rooms. Sparse and cerebral, Landlakes is the Dali of abstract music.

http://www.myspace.com/iitunes

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The Hot Box – ‘Riot’

In the throes of a current Lions At Your Door fixation, I donned my deerstalker hat and embarked upon some sleuthing, under the guise of intrepid journalism. I was on a mission. A quest, if you will.

That mission (or quest) was to uncover the Mystery of the Pseudonym Frontwoman. Who is this soulful-voiced Cookie that fronts Lions At Your Door? Thus I plunged headfirst into the rabbit hole that is Google…

This all sounds much more stalker-ish that it actually is, but what I find out is that Cookie, whose name is Marihuzka Larenas, also fronts (or has fronted, the MySpace isn’t all too clear) The Hot Box, a stripped raw, blues rock outfit, much in the vein of The Stooges but with vocals akin to The Bell Rays or Gossip. I don’t really know too much about them, but I thought this would make an interesting blog. Though that’s for you to decide.

Either way, ‘Riot’ is the only song of theirs I could get my hands on, so do with it what you will.

http://www.myspace.com/getintothehotbox

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http://www.abandcalledironon.com
http://www.myspace.com/ironon

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The perpetually fucking cool, always dapper Nick Cave and his band of merry men, The Bad Seeds, return with the title track from their brand new album; the first since 2004’s Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus. This is classic tounge-in-cheek Cave. Love it.

http://www.nickcaveandthebadseeds.com
http://www.myspace.com/nickcaveandthebadseeds

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