Tagged By chook race

LISTEN: Chook Race – ‘At Your Door’

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Brisbane record label Tenth Court is a pretty safe bet for good shit that’s worth your time. Melbourne three-piece Chook Race know how to make writing jangly hits look both easy and breezy. It’s a match made in SBS-game-show heaven. Keep your eyes peeled for Chook Race’s second LP, Around the House, coming out in a couple of months. For now we’ve got a taste with ‘At Your Door’, a scrappy treat that dreams about escaping it all in some deserted town, in a house you built yourself. At least until you remember that the shops close at 4 and you’re all out of papers. Or someone comes along and reminds you of what you’ve left behind.

Maybe I wish it went a bit harder – if they pushed that downbeat Boomgates guitar thing a bit further and made it feel like they actually had something to run away from. But they still do a pretty great job of making a single that’s immediately listenable but not immediately forgettable once its three minutes are up.

The whole album was apparently recorded in a day, which is a good sign – this isn’t fussy music to agonise over: it’s meant to be heard live or thrown on the record player on hungover afternoons. ‘At Your Door’ is a pretty good indication that Around the House is gonna be some solid blunt-edged guitar pop stuff that we (and I really mean I) can’t fucken get enough of.

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LISTEN: Beko Disques – ‘Oz Do it Better – Volume 2’ Compilation

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There’s an innate irony in admiring a French label that’s put together a mixtape of some of the best Australian bands. Like, why is someone on the other side of the world doing this? Shouldn’t WE be doing this? Why aren’t WE doing this? Is this whiny tone harming your ability to focus?

French label Beko Disques have been massive supporters of all things Australian, releasing tapes and records from a variety of Australia’s finest unrewarded music makers, from Parading to Day Ravies, through to TEES and Cool Sounds. Although these bands might be cruelly underrated in their own nation, Beko have taken it upon themselves to sing their praises and publish their recordings from across the globe. Legends? Uh, yeah.

In what is now the second compilation of its nature, (the first can be found here) Beko Disques have brought together a smorgasbord of fine talents from all over this great continent. Moving from well-known Melbourne staples like Chook Race, through to exciting up and comers Hideous Towns, DEAFCULT and The S-Bends, the Oz Do It Better compilation is a thought out and concise encapsulation of a lot of the music that makes this fair country so great to live within.

Not only is this a great discovery tool to find your new favourite band amongst some more established names, but this foreign compilation serves as a reminder of how great we have it. Yes! We do music really well here. We’re awesome. Yes! WE ARE AWESOME.

Grab the compilation here.

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LISTEN: Unity Floors and Chook Race – Cheap Split 7″

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I mean, this was inevitably going to happen, right? Of course two of the country’s most underrated guitar pop bands were going to combine forces and go multi-platinum on a split single! It seems ridiculous that it’s taken this long for it to occur.

For those unacquainted, Gus and Henry are Unity Floors. Best mates from Sydney, these guys are basically the Marrickville share-house equivalent of Pavement. The kind of music Unity Floors play can best be summarised by the bummed-out, hunched-shoulders riff of their contribution, ‘Hold Music’, with the accompanying line of ‘C…CBF/I couldn’t be fucked/but I’ll do my best’.

From here, ‘Hold Music’ just gets better and better, with buzzing and frantic guitars and lines that prove Unity Floors’ fantastically irreverent lyrics didn’t peak with ‘Nice Fit’. ‘Hold Music’ packages itself nicely as a song to be chucked on between The Replacements and The Go-Betweens on the Sunday BBQ mixtape.

Flip the side, and you’ve got another group that’s severely underrated in the scheme of Australian music – Melbourne band Chook Race. These guys are pure pop with a little bit of scuzz lurking around on the fringes, like a lo-fi version of The Preatures. Their new song ‘Numb’ ranks as one of their finest, and those who have heard ‘Pop Song’ know that Chook Race pack some punches.

Unity Floors and Chook Race are teaming up for the Sydney launch of Cheap Split real soon – and it’s free! Check ’em out on Friday, 12 September at the Standard Bowl.

Unity Floors – Facebook / Bandcamp

Chook Race – Facebook / Bandcamp

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WATCH: The Laughing Leaves – ‘Everyday’

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Behold! ‘Everyday’, the debut video from Geelong surf rockers The Laughing Leaves, is finally here. The single is taken from the band’s Everyday EP, a sharp little collection of psych and garage gems released in March last year.

These guys clearly have a thing for Nuggets and The Kinks – not to mention an avowed devotion to Pet Sounds – but it’s rare to see a young band pull off old songs with such flair: this is no orthodox 60s exhumation.

There are shades of Wake in Fright in the new clip, and it’s not just the analogue 16mm footage. The boys visit a country pub (the Meredith hotel, no less), where they’re co-opted by a creepy local into skolling a few too many rounds of ale.

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The Laughing Leaves have a few gigs coming up in Melbourne and Geelong – and if our warehouse party last June is anything to go by, they’re well worth catching. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming album. In the meantime, you can still grab the Everyday EP on Bandcamp.

Here are those live dates:

Saturday, 15 February – Bassment Sound, Geelong with Ausmuteants, Chook Race and DJ Bum Trip. RSVP on Facebook.

Friday, 28 February – The Tote with Smile, the Ocean Party, the Good Morrows, the Vacant Smiles and Zone Out. Tickets here.

Saturday, 12 April – Alia Arthouse with Rolloways.

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LISTEN: Unity Floors – ‘Nice Fit’

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Unity Floors are a band I’d probably move to Sydney for. They’ve been kicking around for a few years, but it’s all happy happy Pop Frenzy signing week to these dudes. If you’re not familiar with UF, think back to the time when Shogun’s treacle first slid through your lobes and into the part of your soul flung out on a stained mattress in the armpit of suburbia. Can’t wait for this LP.

Unity Floors are launching their LP this Saturday (12th) at The Old Fitzroy Hotel in Sydney with Chook Race and Adults.

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