Goodnight Owl – ‘Maps & Compasses’

My second post in a row on a folktronic artist – is it the latest trend for Australian bands? Who knows, but if you’re a folk artist then consider adding some beats and laptop kids should maybe sample an acoustic guitar? It could work.

Regardless of how questionably ubiquitous I claim this genre is becoming, Goodnight Owl would likely still stand out of the pack. Again, there is nothing terribly “out there” in terms of the combination of the analogue and digital elements and the songs sound roughly like Josh Pyke if he used an MPC instead of a drummer with brushes. The beats fizz along rapidly beneath subtle, oscillating synth sounds while the acoustic guitar/voice play out  a solid although standard folk-pop tune, making neither element too far left of centre and generally accessible.

Perhaps a good point of reference is that Goodnight Owls share a producer (in Nick Huggins) with Whitley and Seagull. It exists in the same space of music that doesn’t necessarily challenge but has an endearingly sweet pop sensibility.

www.myspace.com/goodnightowl

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AMERICA: I Guess I’m Floating
4 Viernes – Glacial Change Of Pace
Viernes are an electronic rock duo from Florida who’ve managed to capture a thrilling loud/quiet/loud aesthetic akin to Grizzly Bear. Glacial Change Of Pace – a MAP exclusive – brings together hard-hitting psychedelia with gorgeously subdued lulls, and vice-versa, in a seamless display of sonic movements and emotions. Look out for their debut album Sinister Devices in the near future.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
4 Lola Arias & Ulises Conti – Te Voy A Vencer Por Knock-out
Lola Arias is a writer, stage director, actress and singer. Ulises Conti is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist musician. They started working together in 2003, making music for several theater plays. This wonderful pop-rock love song is from their debut album, El Amor Es Un Francotirador, which comprises the original music from a play with the same name that was directed by Lola and Alejo Moguillansky. The translated title of the song here is “I’m going to beat you by knockout”.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
4 Leader Cheetah – Bloodlines
Festival State four-piece Leader Cheetah are the less manic, more soulfully melodic reincarnation of now-defunct Pharaohs. Their music is layered folk-rock twang meets brooding pop – think Neil Young’s moody younger brother in stormy weather. Bloodlines reminds me of Interpol circa the jangling guitar, tonal shift glory days of Turn On The Bright Lights. The vocals of singer Dan Crannitch are mind-addlingly beautiful and dark, especially when met with the surge of harmonies in the chorus. Leader Cheetah’s debut album The Sunspot Letters is out now on Spunk Records.

BRAZIL:Meio Desligado
4 Black Drawing Chalks – Big Deal
Any fan of Turbonegro, Queens Of The Stone Age and others bands who make dirty and fast rock’n’roll will love Black Drawing Chalks. Describing their sound as “music to drink and fuck to”, they come from Goiânia Rock City and have one of the most incredible shows I’ve seen on the Brazilian underground.

CANADA:I(Heart)Music
4 Amos The Transparent – Lemons, aka (BigFishLittlePond)
Ottawa may be Canada’s capital but it hasn’t produced much in the way of great Canadian music. Amos The Transparent are the exception to this rule. Their debut, Everything I’ve Forgotten To Forget, featured contributions from members of Stars and Broken Social Scene, and sounded like those two other bands. Lemons, aka (BigFishLittlePond) is taken from their about-to-be-released follow-up EP and finds the band inhabiting similarly stunning territory.

CHILE: Super 45
4 Vapourboat – Full Trains Of Dead People
Vapourboat is the Scottish project of Chilean-born Nico Carcavilla. His songs are composed entirely in his bedroom, inspired by the genius of Otis Redding. Perhaps it is this influence which makes Carcavilla sing like a man who has lived it all, when he is actually just starting. Being only 14, his songs incorporate instruments such as ukuleles, accordions, guitars and keyboards, and the Neutral Milk Hotel-esque arrangements end up developing into sad, long walks that owe their intensity to Beirut.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
4 Kellermensch – All Time Low
Their name is inspired by Fjodor Dostojevski’s novel Notes From Underground, they’re heavily influenced by the German expressionist movement Die Brücke and the Esbjerg-based Danes are musically related to both Tom Waits and metal acts like Tool. Their eponymous debut album is stunningly original and a massive contribution to the already vibrant Danish rock and metal scenes.

ENGLAND: The Daily Growl
4 Blacklands – Come Sad Light Of Dawn
This month we return to folkiness, mainly because if I don’t cover Blacklands soon, main man Al Murphy will have moved to New York and his music will no longer be ‘England’ for MAP. It’s lovely sepia-tinged fireside acoustic pickings. Come Sad Light Of Dawn is a gorgeous song, conceived in Berlin, executed in a cottage on a desolate Yorkshire moor. You may be able to tell.

FRANCE: SoundNation
4 Sliimy – Trust Me
Sliimy may be best known for his cover of Britney Spears’ Womanizer but the 20-year-old is a talented artist in his own right, with his high-pitched vocals and pop sensibility reminiscent of Mika.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
4 Five! Fast!! Hits!!! – Keep My Name Out Your Mouth
Five! Fast!! Hits!!! have been an institution in Munich for years. No month without at least one gig, until now. Singer Raffi is moving to London while Amadeus, the true head of the band, will pay attention to his other projects such as Elektrik Kezy. Their melodic, hectic, eclectic and energetic shows will be missed.

ICELAND: I Love Icelandic Music
4 Ólafur Arnalds – Himininn Er Að Hrynja, En Stjörnurnar Fara þér Vel
Ólafur Arnalds is a talented 21-year-old musician, part of the new generation of classical composers. He hails from the suburban town of Mosfellsbær, just outside Reykjavík. He has toured extensively around Europe and North America with a live string quartet and last summer he supported Sigur Rós on some European shows. The song here – translated as “The sky is falling but the stars look good with your dress” – is on his Variations Of Static EP which shows off his crackling electronics and sounds.

IRELAND: Nialler9
4 David Kitt – Move It On
The opening track from Kittser’s sixth album The Nightsaver displays the same solid thread of songwriting and homemade invention he has always been able to produce regardless of the style inherent within thanks to his distinctive voice and ear for a tune. The album, which was recorded at the top of a winding staircase somewhere along Dublin’s Grand Canal, may turn out to be his best yet.

ITALY: Polaroid
4 Death In Donut Plains – Over And Above
Death In Donut Plains is the solo project of Enrico Boccioletti from Pesaro. He plays evocative electronic music with a wide range of inspirations such as Aphex Twin, Fuck Buttons, M83 and The Radio Dept. He has created some lovely covers of Liars, dEUS and Good Shoes but his latest EP has a lighter and more pop touch, in a sort of Postal Service mood.

MEXICO: Club Fonograma
4 Juan Son – Mermaid Sashimi
Mermaid Sashimi is the first solo album by Mexico’s most prolific contemporary vocalist, Juan Son. After the breakup of his highly celebrated band Porter, he expands his already singular vision with much confidence and complete freedom, delivering what’s arguably Mexico’s best production in a while. He has the sensibility of a story-teller and the thirst of a scientist.

NEW ZEALAND: Counting The Beat
4 The Verlaines – Yangtze Cod And Chips
The Verlaines were one of the bands to define the Dunedin Sound, releasing a number of classic recordings on the iconic Flying Nun Records label between 1981 and 1996. They returned in 2007 with a well-regarded album Pot Boiler and are about to release a new politically-inspired record called Corporate Moronic. Songwriter Graeme Downes has fire in his belly as you can hear on this song about the unlikely subject of a free trade agreement between NZ and China.

NORWAY: Eardrums
4 The Electones – Right Foot From Left
The Electones make beautiful experimental pop almost without creative boundaries and its foundation rests heavily on 60s-inspired folk and jazz. They are musical cousins to artists such as Múm, Psapp Sigur Rós and The Accidental. The Electones’ debut album If You’ll Be Null, I’ll Be Void will be released on Beatservice Records on March 23 and the band will also be a part of Birdsongs, Beesongs – the upcoming, free Eardrums compilation.

PERU: SoTB
4 Resplandor – Solar
Resplandor are probably better known abroad than in Peru. Formed a decade ago by Antonio Zelada and Luis Rodriguez, the band’s shoegaze dream pop sound has seen them play with The House Of Love and The Radio Dept. Their most recent album Pleamar was produced by Robin Guthrie and opener Solar is the best song on it.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
4 Corsage – Dried Up, River Blues
Corsage are an indie band from Lisbon who brought out their first EP in 2004. The following year they recorded a cover of a Scott Walker song, Angel Of Ashes, for a tribute release to the British musician by Portuguese bands. In 2007, they were featured in the compilation Novo Rock Português (“New Portuguese Rock”) and one of their songs was selected for the soundtrack of a Portuguese soap. Last month they released their new album Finito L’Amore, where you can find this month’s track, Dried Up, River Blues.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
4 Grimus – Backseat Driver
Grimus are an indie/alternative band from Cluj. They formed about four years ago and their debut record Panikon was declared Romania’s best album of 2008 by several musical/cultural communities. Although influenced by the likes of Placebo, Muse and Interpol, they manage to create a unique style and sound. On top of that, these guys are great live on stage – you not only get a performance, you’re in for a show.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
4 We Were Promised Jetpacks – Ships With Holes Will Sink
We Were Promised Jetpacks ought to be one of the biggest stars of this year’s SXSW. They mix sweeping, sonic brilliance with a melodic accessibility that has made them Glasgow’s most talked-about band since Frightened Rabbit. Indeed, they have followed in the footsteps of their city chums by signing to FatCat, who will release their debut album These Four Walls in June. Until then, here’s a teaser from it to whet the appetite.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
4 A Vacant Affair – Connecting The Dots
A clean, clinical and almost methodical country like Singapore can only boast the undercurrent of a disenfranchised youth who find different ways of breaking the status quo. A Vacant Affair almost does that, not by being cynically political about the culture here, but by embracing the emotions that come along with it. A post-hardcore band that shares influences with the likes of Underoath and Deftones, they bring it all out in the fantastic debut album closer, Connecting The Dots. AVA steer the listener into a swimming plethora of swirling vocals and guitars as they finally explode into an extended outro that acts as a buffer between you and this crazy, mixed-up world.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
4 Pavlov – The Lioness
If you’re looking for some rock’n’roll you should definitely listen to Pavlov. If you’re not, you probably should anyway. Not a big fan of the genre myself, I gave Pavlov a chance after being told to think of them as AC/DC and The Hives with a frontman who looks like Jarvis Cocker with Tourette’s – and it was not something to regret. Everything they’ve recorded has something special to keep you listening and when the last song has finished it’s hard not to play everything all over again.

SPAIN: El Blog De La Nadadora
4 Bedroom – Japanese Girl
Even in Spain there are still lots of people who don’t know the powerful secret that Bedroom hides. Folk, torch-songs and traditional music join together around the presence of Bert, the engine behind Bedroom. His debut album LaCasaDinsLaCasa surprised us last year – now it’s your turn to listen to Japanese Girl and discover why.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
4 Two White Horses – Good Times Are Gone Forever
Good Times Are Gone Forever by the brother/sister duo Two White Horses may be about growing up and realizing childhood is over, but it’s hard not to think about the song more in the context of our present global meltdown. I love Lovissa’s voice on this track as well as the fuzzy chug-chug guitar.

To download all 24 songs in one file click here.

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Jackson Jackson – ‘Devil In Me’ (Feat. Phrase)

I’m going to confess that I’d never really listened to Jackson Jackson until this one landed in my inbox. I knew they were somehow related to The Cat Empire and assumed they had a similar roots-pop meets jam-band  output. Turns out I was completely wrong.

Apparently Jackson Jackson are some sort of electro/folk band – and not in the same vein as, say, The Books. Though they try their hand at dissolving organic/digital boundaries, they don’t aim for high art so much as much as the dance floor. Though it might be too deliberately plodding to really shake up a club, this still sounds like The Presets remixing a quirky folk-pop song. The beats are sparse and not too polished and are just as potent when they drop out and leave the catchy vocal hook to shine.

You can get it for free here: http://www.jacksonjacksonmusic.com/freedownload/

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Drawn From Bees – ‘Long Tooth Setting Sun’ (mp3)

What do you do when your band has built up a reputation for playing a certain type of music, but you find yourself ten years older and moved on both emotionally and musically? Kill the old band name, find a new one, write new music.

The members of Drawn From Bees played melodramatic modern rock in a band called Glasshouse for over ten years until they called it quits approximately 18 months ago. Clearly they missed writing music and hanging out with each other – they’re releasing a new E.P. every six months with this new, more indie rock project.

If you like music along the lines of Crowded House, Something For Kate or Travis, give these guys a go.

“Long Tooth Setting Sun” is from Drawn From Bees’ second E.P. And The Blind Shall Lead The Way. They will be launching it at The Troubadour in Brisbane this Friday night.

www.myspace.com/drawnfrombees

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Streamer Bendy – ‘Boy Oh Boy’ (mp3)

Streamer Bendy are BFFs and a very very attractive band.

Named after the childhood imaginary friend of singer Erinn Swan, band member-wise Streamer Bendy is a mixture of now-defunct pop rockers Repeat Offender (RIP), pop-metallers  Nina May and Some Kinda Magic, the world’s best Queen tribute band. Pick which guy plays Brian May as his day job.

‘Boy Oh Boy’ reminds me a bit of Fever To Tell era Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The highlight of this track for me is the chorus lyric “I could get you off behind my uncle’s tractor/doesn’t mean I like you, I’m a real good actor” – the harmonised riff behind it is pretty great too.

Streamer Bendy’s self-titled EP is out on Friday. I’ll bet you my flawless GPA that these guys will be huge.

www.myspace.com/streamerbendy

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The Scare – ‘No Money’

If the press release is to believed then the title ‘No Money’ is an apt summation of the past two years for The Scare. After only a few listens I can’t quite make out all the words of the verses but I assume they large spin tales reflecting the band’s (if not the world’s) financial woes that they shout about in the song’s refrain. ‘No Money’ continues the band’s pursuit of producing songs that make sense within both a pop and and post-punk context, again managing to balance each element equally and cleanly and with an energy that practically bleeds through the speakers.

The song is driven by a metallic, distorted bass groove and a thumping floor tom/back beat combination. Singer Kiss Reid shrieks like Jack White fronting a punk band while the guitars add fuzzy punctuation to the verses and wirey 8-note lines throughout the chorus. It’s not all bleak though – if anything, the song sounds like a party designed to distract from the titular economic woes, an attitude accentuated in the ‘woo’-ing backing vocals and Reids percussive ‘ha ha ha!’ vocal turns.

‘No Money’ is from The Scare’s forthcoming sophomore album, ‘oozevoodoo,’ which I’m now officially really excited about.

www.myspace.com/thescare

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Mountains In The Sky – ‘X-Gamma’

Mountains In The Sky is the work of laptop extraordinaire John Lee, one of the leading lights in Australia’s burgeoning experimental electronica scene. While it may have taken over three years for his debut long-player to emerge, in the lead up he released a mini album (Celesstial Suns), had a song (‘Noah’s Arkestra’) featured in the NBA playoffs in the US and produced a 21-minute opus (‘Accipio’) that had industry types buzzing.

October saw the release of Electron Suite, which features the above track. You have to constantly remind yourself that the cavernous, layered sounds were all recorded by one guy in his bedroom. The beats are tight and kept fairly simple and the squelching synth-bass grooves along with an unassiming determination with the majority of the experimentation left to the filtered guitar squall and the wailing organ drones that drop in and out. A myriad of other indistinguishable noises appear throughout the song, flashing across the stereo spectrum with an orchestrated abandonment that lends the song its expansive feeling and displays Lee’s wizardry with a mouse and keyboard.

I saw these guys live at Laneway and they manage to translate it live fantastically well so check it out if you haven’t already.

www.myspace.com/mountainsinthesky1

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