Rekindle – ‘Cold Life’

Despite looking like a glam-rock vampire and having possibly the worst album cover of 2008, it turns out Rekindle churns out some fairly rad music.

Far from being the manufactured pop star his image might suggest, Rekindle is an independent artist who began making drum’n’bass and abstract intrumental hip hop in his Sydney bedroom during the mid 90s under the name ‘Raised By Wolves.’ His latest offering is ‘The Chandelier,’ which sees him relegate his art-rock aspirations to the margins in favour of the shameless glossy production of new wave, electro, and funk.

‘Cold Life’ is an epic, two-part new wave track from that album. Sounding like New Order covering Prince, the song is combines a funky guitar line with synth pads over an incessant rhythmic pulse and repetitive vocal turns. The falsetto-laden coda is more indicative of the rest of Rekindle’s output, which often strays too far into Justin Timberlake territory for my liking (see: ‘Ice Skating Girl,’ which appeared on a BBC Radio 2 compilation alongside LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture et al).

The album as a whole is likely to be more divisive than this one song, however, ‘Cold Life’ is a place where the lovers and haters can meet and dance together.

www.myspace.com/rekindlepurehearts

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The Dandilions – ‘Three Inches’

The Dandilions are an all-female acoustic-folk trio… WAIT! WAIT! COME BACK!
Yes, they are an all-female acoustic-folk trio, but their music is neither insipid nor angsty – what a nice change.

Mentored by drummer Geoff Green of george fame, the girls met whilst studying music at QUT in Brisbane.
I love how vocalist Vanessa Hodgins delivers quite personal and often cutting lyrics in such a fragile voice. Their song ‘The Sea’ is a perfect example of this.

The Dandilions – ‘The Sea’

The Dandilions play around Brisbane sporadically. I wish they played more.

www.myspace.com/dandilionmusicaustralia

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Yeo – ‘Two Sides of A Door’

Yeo (as in bust a cap in yo ass) is the solo project of Yeo Choong, member of Tragic Athletic and numerous other Brisbane bands. Seriously, it seems like every second band I see has this guy in it.

‘Two Sides of A Door’ is from his self-recorded and produced debut album, Trouble Being Yourself. It’s heavily influenced by 1980s popular culture, but the good bits, namely Super Mario and Prince.

Yeo and his live band The Fresh Goods have just finished a tour down the east coast. They will be supporting Adam Green from The Moldy Peaches at his Brisbane performance at The Zoo on December 17.

www.myspace.com/snackswithyeo

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Lost Valentinos – The Bismarck (12″ Version) (mp3)

Their stand-out 2007 single ’17 Deaths’ showed a move away from their indie roots to embrace a more dance-oriented aesthetic and feel. Now, Lost Valentinos have made those dancefloor aspirations even more transparent with the release of their latest single ‘The Bismarck’ as a 12″ with a handful of glorious remixes.

The song itself is a great number that shows why crossing over to dance territory doesn’t necessarily signal a dissolution of artistic integrity. Whilst still accessible, ‘The Bismarck’ has almost as much in common with Can’s krautrock digressions as it does with modern dance-pop kings The Rapture. Dark and dense, the incessant beat keeps the song progressing through the moody mire they have concocted alongside reknowned Berlin-based producer Ewan Pearson. Without a traditional verse/chorus structure, the song is directed by the tight groove of the rhythm section that weaves its way between the different segments of the song. Fantastic.

Lost Valentinos – The Bismarck (Knife Machine Remix) (mp3)

Knife Machine is actually Jono and Pat from Lost Valentinos in their electronic side-project mode. Their version introduces a straight up house beat, distorted synth bass and filtered break-downs that move ‘The Bismarck’ firmly into the realm of dance music. I’ll avoid making any solid comparisons to in-style French house remixes, though they do make for a good point of reference.

Lost Valentinos – The Bismarck (Canyons Remix) (mp3)

The Canyons remix makes the original sound like something lifted off Swedish duo The Knife’s last album by adding an even more sinister electronic vibe to proceedings. A quality remix that genuinely adds to the original.

www.myspace.com/lostvalentinos

www.myspace.com/theknifemachine

www.myspace.com/thecanyonsinfo

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Lions At Your Door – ‘Shake It’ (mp3)

Sydney’s Lions At Your Door have constructed possibly the catchiest verse of the year with just a handful of words, some aggressive organ and a driving, hypnotic hi-hat. ‘Shake It’ echoes the naivety and simplicity of early pop but is updated for the modern indie dancefloor with a rhythm section to rival early Liars recordings and some subtle guitar work that adds a hint of darkness to this gem of a song.

The pro-dance sentiment of the lyrics is only heightened through the relentless beat and energy that bleeds through the speakers. This song does nothing if not make you want to jump around.

This is not meant to sound reductive – ‘Shake It’ is a quality composition that refuses to rely just on its dancefloor potential. Though its lyrics are simple and straightforward, they intentionally obscure the intelligence and precision of arrangement and performance that underscores them.

I’m so keen on this song. Definitely looking forward to hearing more from these guys.

www.myspace.com/lionsatyourdoor

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Seekae – ‘Snax’

Sydney three piece Seekae (pronounced C.K.) are a tough band to pigeonhole musically. Using a variety of sounds – including synthesizers, glockenspiels and spoons – they create simple, experimetal(ish) and oft-gorgeous downbeat instrumental hip-hop.

The above track is taken from their (self funded and produced) debut record, The Sound of Trees Falling on People.

http://www.myspace.com/seekaemusic

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