Monthly Archives For August 2010

Win BIGSOUND party tix!

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Sony Music, Groupie Mag and Who The Hell are throwing a bash as part of the BIG SOUND 2010 festivities in Brisbane.

Glenn Richards (Augie March) will be showcasing material from his new ventures, as well as Sydney songsmiths Georgia Fair.

The event isn’t open to the general public, but we’re kind folk here at WTH and are giving away a handful of passes to the night.

Want in? Shoot your name and contact details to rsvp@whothehell.net by Tuesday 31st of Aug to go in the runnings. Yeeeeeba!

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Fishing – ‘OOOO’

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Fishing – ‘OOOO’ (mp3)

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Fishing. One of those bands I’d seen mentioned and/or listed in other bands’ Myspace friends, but not a band I’d ever gone out of my way to listen to. My loss.

I first heard one of their songs when I was studying while listening to Life Aquatic (aka best new music blog outta this country). I quickly did the ol’ Apple + Tab and brought up ol’ Firefox to see who the artist of this sweet jam was. “Oh, right, those guys. Should probs check them out.” Into the drafts folder they went and then I forgot about them. Not long after that, they got playlisted over at Pitchfork. Not a bad effort for these Sydney beat-makers. “Must post about them,” I said again.

And here I am, over a month later, finally putting up the track long after it’s relevance has passed. Yes, I’m well late to the Fishing party. ‘OOOO’ is still a quality tune that I recommend you all listen to. All five of you who haven’t already heard it, that is.

www.myspace.com/fishinggg

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kyü – ‘Pixophony’

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kyü – ‘Pixophony’ (mp3)

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Never mind the Bjork comparisons that trail them, nor that the opening wails of this song call to mind ‘Heart it Races’ – kyü are an exciting and inventive band. With some of the best voices in Australian music, Alyx Dennison and Freya Berkhout continue to use their larynges as instruments themselves. Unlike other bands going for that ‘tribal’ vibe, kyü pad out their vocals Padded out by some basic percussion, it’s music that mixes pop with tribal

‘Pixophony’ is their latest single and it’s pretty stunning. At under three minutes, it’s a short and sweet jam that revolves around the one idea, building it up and then petering out before it overstays its welcome. Unlike other bands going for that ‘tribal’ vibe, kyü pad out their vocals with nothing more than some sparse percussion, and it’s that confidence in their vocals and restraint in arrangement that makes to you pay attention.

‘Pixophony’ is taken from their forthcoming debut album, which is out September 18.

www.myspace.com/kyusounds

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The Kritzlers – ‘Head In The Ether’

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The Kritzlers – ‘Head In The Ether’ (mp3)

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You might remember the Kritzlers from when I first gushed over them nearly a year ago. Back then, they kinda sounded like late-80s Cure mised with late-90s Air. Since then they’ve remained pretty quiet, had members overseas, relocated to Melbourne. You know how it is.

But they’re back with a new jam. And now they’ve progressed to sound like early 90s Cure. You know, when The Cure albums sucked but there was still one or two good songs on there so you probably bought/recently re-“acquired” them anyway. Unlike previous Kritzlers tune ‘Scarlet Sometimes’ (which is itself a Cure reference), ‘Head In The Ether’ is way more guitar based (as though their proverbial Roger O’Donnell had also left the band), mixing extended, chorused guitar noodling over hip hop-lite beats. And, you know, instrumental.

Maybe I’m overstating the whole Cure thing. Let me know. ‘Head In The Ether’ doesn’t get me quite as wet as ‘Scarlet Sometimes,’ but it’s still a classy jam.

www.myspace.com/thekritzlers

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Guerre/Top Girls – ‘Waiting’

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Guerre/Top Girls – ‘Waiting’ (mp3)

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Super fresssh jam here from Guerre, one of the best new acts in Australia the world. I just really dig what this dude does. I’ve been seeing his stuff start to pop up international blogs too, and hopefully his collab with OS buzzband Top Girls will see him get some more much-deserved attention.

‘Waiting’ is a collaboration and the single from an upcoming split release with Top Girls. It’s a pretty dope track made up of all the stuff we already like about Guerre and Top Girls – cinemascope-worthy synth pads, heaps of reverb, restrained beats, and thin, floating vocals. Unlike other Guerre tracks, which are often written, recorded and uploaded within a few hours, you can hear the attention to detail that these guys have applied to ‘Waiting.’ It’s a stronger track for it.

Guerre recently said on his blog that he was going to start spending more time on individual tracks and work toward a cohesive release. ‘Waiting’ won’t be on that release, but it definitely a good sign of things to come. Keep an eye on his site for this details on how to grab this split release.

In other Guerre news, check out his chilled cover of Beyonce’s ‘Halo’ right here.

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