Van She – ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ (Radio Rip) (mp3)

So I’ve never posted a radio rip before, but I found this track on Hype Machine this morning and it seems to be the only version around. I’d wait until an actual recording landed in our inbox, but then this post would be much less temporally appropriate.

I’m not much of a classic rock fan – nor even much of a Van She fan for that matter. Still, this is a pretty nifty take on Blue Oyster Cult’s ’70s hit and should make a splash on many a Halloween playlist tonight.

That’s me, though – Bruce Dickinson/Christopher Walker would likely be quite disappointed with this version.

Thanks, obviously, goes to Triple J. Happy Halloween to anyone else absorbing American culture today.

www.myspace.com/vanshe

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Georgia Fields - ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ (live cover)

Guns N’ Roses; oh, how the mighty have fallen. Who could’ve predicted the biggest rock band in the world would become a glorified karaoke act fronted by a fat ranga with cornrows?

Luckily, Melbourne singer-songwriter Georgia Fields has re-interpreted ther Gunners classic “Sweet Child O’ Mine” with a sweetness and killer xylophone riff replacing the glam and sleaze of the original.

www.myspace.com/georgiafields

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Jamie Lloyd – ‘Beware of the Light’ (mp3)

Title track taken from the new album by Sydney’s organic techno master – Jamie Lloyd. ‘Beware of the Light’ begins with a swinging electro feel, highly prone to induce dancing/ head nodding, while he casually introduces more layers to keep things interesting. Jamie’s vocal delivery is multi-layered in itself, with harmonies throughout which give a really cool and unique vocal quality, reminiscent of D’Angelo and Jamie Lidell. But just when u think you’ve got the track figured out, he switches back into a straight beat to finish the track with some wonky ass bass. Check it owt if ya dig left field disko, or just like to nod in a rhythmic fashion.
Launch party for ‘Beware of the Light’ – 30th Oct @ The Civic in Sydney.

www.myspace.com/jamielloyd7

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Guineafowl – ‘Botanist’ (mp3)

This song was pitched to us in our SoundCloud account as something you can sing in a “high-pitched kinda annoying way.” Which is sort of accurate, especially if you’ve been unfortunate enough to hear my falsetto. But it also undersells the track because the melodies are multi-tracked with both hammy head voices and lower talk-sing voices. The melody rules here, with the song basically resting on Guineafowl’s playful delivery on top of some simple acoustic guitar, handclaps and a sequenced beat. Some great quirky and catchy “indietronic” (his phrase, not mine) out of Sydney.

www.myspace.com/guineafowl

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The spellbinding Megan Washington woos the game contestants, studio audience and everyone else watching with her Spicks and Specks performance.

www.myspace.com/meganwashington

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Midnight Juggernauts – ‘This New Technology’ (Memory Tapes Remix) (mp3)

Memory Tapes aren’t Australian, so I won’t harp on about how great his output has been lately. He has, however, recently lent his golden hand to labelmates and one of Australia’s leading electro exports at the moment, Midnight Juggernauts.

His remix of the Juggs’ latest single ‘This New Technology’ is incredibly transformative. Gone is the slick production, the booming organs, the cascading arpeggios – even most of the vocals. In fact, the song has basically been completely dismantled, with MT aka Dayve Hawk then using its pieces to construct a surging club track. In a lot of ways, I like this more than the original – the highest compliment for a remix. Hopefully it’ll see the Juggs getting play on more house-based dancefloors as well.

www.myspace.com/midnightjuggernauts

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Mother and Father – ‘Ignored’ (mp3)

It took me a while to blog about these, mainly because it took me a while to get over the fact that they have a tendency to sound exactly like Nirvana. There’s some songs on their self-titled debut album that diverge from the early 90s grunge blueprint, but it’s largely characterised by the same musical tropes and straining vocal inflections that made that grunge powerful. ‘Ignored’ is a decent example of their catchier ‘indie songs’ are dressed in the distorted cloak of the opening Nevermind-loving tracks.

Thankfully, the songs are actually okay, which elevates Mother and Father from ‘musical necrophilia’ to ‘musical throwback.’ To my ears, this isn’t a shallow imitation of grunge; it will never be as powerful as those bands back then, no doubt, but it also sounds like an album fueled by love. They’re not doing anything as unique as their heroes, they just want to rock out like them. It’s not subtle, but it has the potential for a cool live show.

www.myspace.com/motherandfathermusic

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