Monthly Archives For November 2009

Howl – 'I Hear It's Love'

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Howl – ‘ I Hear It’s Love’ (mp3)

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Howl, you animated bunch of little twerps, you smug teenage dirtbags with your corresponding assymetrical haircuts and your sharp monochromatic attire; thank you for compelling the bulk of the population of twenty-something musos to shirk back to their factory day jobs screwing lids on toothpaste tubes. What is wrong with you? Kids your age should be spitting in burgers. Not winning national radio band competitions or sharing stages and stealing riders from the Scare, British India and Grafton Primary. Or getting a ‘Goon Machine’ tattoo on your foot. Or breaking egos, girls hearts and gym floors for that matter. You may have put your rural hometown in the spotlight lately for reasons other than Sovereign Hill, bogans and boiled lollies, but what makes you think you have the right to slapdash your promising musical finesse up the arses of other pimply compatriots your age who are still fiddling with Chilli Peppers covers?

And the new single ‘I Hear It’s Love?’ Fuck. Off.
I can’t stand the way that you roll up gritty, abrasive garage punk, sexually frustrated lyrics and fleeting bursts of blissful harmonies into a colossal joint at your live shows leaving each audience member convulsing around the floor in a feverish fit. I hate that I squealed like a twelve year old when you whipped out a Justin Timberlake cover at your last gig. I hate the way Daniel doesn’t miss a beat in the quake of his volatile drumming. Screw you Tim and Jonathan for thrusting those catchy persistent riffs and danceable basslines in our faces. Why did you even bother roping two charming lead singers, merging gritty shrieks and subtle melodic charms into thwarts of clever dynamo? And for that boy for Galen Strachan? Have some sympathy for the thousands of listeners who’ve had that bloody contagious, unremittent  ‘Blackout’  keyboard jam of yours lodged in their head for months.

Screw your ridiculously infectious new radio friendly single. While the most school leavers will be manning drive ins, knocking up thirteen year olds or watching Skins re-runs this summer, you’ll be having fun basking in the glory of your new found success at the Queenscliff, Stereosonic, Field day, Sandcastle and Apollo Bay Festivals, breathing into the same sweaty mic as the Bloody Beetroots and LCD Soundsystem and being asked by itinerant teenage girls to sign their tits.

Howl boys, I hope you’re happy.

 
www.myspace.com/thehowlmusic

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The UV Race – ‘Gore Orphanage’

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The UV Race – ‘Gore Orphanage’ (mp3)

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I’ll get it out of the way in the first sentence – these guys sound a lot like Eddy Current Suppression Ring. If you don’t like that band then you won’t like The UV Race. If, like me, you love Eddy Current Suppression Ring, then this will “rock your boat” (pun intended). They’re even signed to Aarght! Records, the label run by ECSR/Brain Children mastermind Mikey Young. But that’s not meant to be reductive- both bands work within a similarly restrained aesthetic framework and  sing with a strong Australian accent. The world could use a few more ECSR’s anyway.

Even when singing about a ruined and supposedly haunted orphanage in Ohio (thanks Wikipedia), this  kind of music can’t help but sound like summer. It’s energetic, extroverted, and has that messy abandon that the summer heat just brings out. The warm tones of the guitar seem to match the vibrant warm tones of the beating sun. The lack of visible effort is especially what makes the mere 100 seconds of ‘Gore Orphanage’ so comfortable and fun. This is music for the outdoors, not for headphones.

www.myspace.com/the_uv_race

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Songs – ‘Clouds’

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Songs – ‘Something to Believe In’ (mp3)

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Songs – ‘Clouds’

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Apart from having the hardest name to google all year, Sydney band Songs also have one of the best albums I’ve heard in 2009. From start to finish, this is a cohesive collection of songs that demands attention as it seamlessly weaves together atmospheric tracks with cleaner pop numbers.

‘Something to Believe In’ and ‘Clouds’ are my two favourites at the moment. ‘Clouds’ isn’t the most accessible thing on there and certainly won’t be the radio single, but it was the track that I immediately went back to after my first listen. Get through the mostly ambient first minute and you’ll find a meditative, well-produced pop song. ‘Something to Believe In’ is more immediate thanks largely to its simple, killer chorus. Opening with layers of chiming, interwoven guitars, it’s an inventive but straightforward composition that’ll get your head thinking and nodding at the same.

www.myspace.com/ssongsssongs

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