Tagged By New Music

LISTEN: Pikelet – ‘Pressure Cooker’

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Pikelet

(photo: Karl Scullin)

 

Ooooooweeeeeee. It’s time for some new Pikelet everybody.

‘Pressure Cooker’ is a groovin’ jam replete with the characteristically scattered vocals of lead, Evelyn Morris.

What this Melbourne based four piece does well, is provide ‘alt-pop’ that goes completely against the grain. As a band that’s a staple on community radio, Pikelet who makes you think about the construction of music than what’s presented through perceived national tastemakers. Tagged as ‘psych pop’ on their Soundcloud, it seems ‘Pressure Cooker’ does exactly that. From the get go, you’re immersed in those Pikelet synths, furthering that with woozy trip with reverb-laden guitar lines, and ever-subtle arpeggios.

While I think a band like Pikelet transcends labels, it’s tracks like ‘Pressure Cooker’ that really does make you think about Morris’ vocal style. Morris’ reminds me of Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman. They both possess a voice that fronts as hollow, almost ghost-like at points – but underpinning all that there’s some subterranean soul that’s waiting to be released, given the right context – just like Coffman on Major Lazer’s ‘Get Free‘.

And it’s only on this track which Morris hints at this, her voice working well within restraint particularly on the refrain “these are our darkest days”. The overall feel here makes you think this track could be a shoe-in for a video clip with projection art, dusty floorboards, and distant looks from the foursome (…maybe).

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Pikelet will launch ‘Pressure Cooker’ at the Tote Hotel, on Friday June 7.

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INTRODUCING: Alex Cameron

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If you’re about to head out tonight, you should take a listen to the latest offering from Alex Cameron, (otherwise known as the babe from Seekae).

Having been a fan of Seekae since they first came out, I’m forever obliged to take a listen to whatever comes next from this Sydney based trio. The last we heard from the Seekae boys was the stunning ‘Yech‘, a mello, down-tempo jam laced with soul-rnb undercurrents. For some, it seemed as though the band departed from +Dome’s aesthetic into more of the brooding, less abrasive sounds of The Sounds of Trees Falling on People.

And first out of the solo project stables is vocalist/percussionist, Alex Cameron.

It’d be a disservice to not acknowledge the fact that you’d be hearing this track through the lens of Seekae, considering that’s how we’ve come to know Cameron up until this point. But that said, it’s also a disservice to rely solely on Seekae to get Cameron’s latest offering. But you really don’t need to anyway. At points, this track is reminiscent of Twin Shadow circa Forget.

This track seems to inhabit a space which is almost pseudo-80s, with its liberal use of synths. Cameron’s vocals are subdued, creating a character according to his Soundcloud:

“A voice like honey and lyrics that sting…He knows what he’s doing and although he’s nobody’s fool, he is a slave to love.” 

The legacy that Seekae has left over their two albums has done more than enough to hold future solo releases in good stead. It’s now up to Cameron to mark a definitive step away from the band to make it all count.

 

Photograph: Alan Weedon

 

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LISTEN: Eddie Numbers – Let Me Breathe (S.F.T Remix)

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Don’t you just love it when Soundcloud suddenly cuts to a track that you actually really dig?

Enter this remix by S.F.T, a Kiwi producer signed to Auckland’s Renaissance Music. We all know that all NZ urban music puts its Australian equivalents to shame, and this is no different. This remix of fellow Auckland native, Eddie Numbers, is one thumping track that all urban/beat lovers should get on to, pronto (you can take a listen to Numbers’ original EP Try Before You Buy, here). The verses in this track are tight, not to mention the killer choruses. This definitely fits snugly with the current melodic flavour hitting Triple J at the moment – but it isn’t naff.

I strongly suggest that you stop what you’re doing and just take a listen the opener (plus his entire Soundcloud) to lap up all this Kiwi hawtness.

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LOOK: Sound Gallery @ CMW Toronto

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Presented by Sounds Australia, the folks behind the Aussie BBQ showcases. Featuring The Falls, Emma Louise and more great Aussie talent in snowy downtown Toronto. Sounds Australia are awesome peeps that raise the profile and visibility of our very fine contemporary music sector on the international stage. Y’know, get people hooked up and out there – like these lucky TTWT kids. Anyho, we’ll be heading along to the Canadian Music Week BBQ to have a beer. Maybe we’ll see Nick Cave (he’ll probably be drinking wine) and bring you more coverage. But for now, feast on these shots from the lovely Church of the Holy Trinity.

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LISTEN: Yale – ‘Yale’ EP

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Complete with cracking cover art and replete with cues to the impending Australian summer, here comes the debut self-titled EP from Brisbane lads Yale. Anything but the stuffy George W-producing University of the same name, their sound harks back to that golden period of disco-pop of the early-2000s where producers like Paul Mac were running the Australian dance scene. Vocals sashay between duo, Stefan Emslie and Mark Maxwell, riding over layered synths and those ‘whup-whup’ bass lines that seemed to pervade early 2000s dance releases (Madison Avenue anyone?)

Self described as an exploration of “being young”, the EP presents a dance-ready release teetering between the Chillout Sessions and the more traditional dance-pop that catapulted PNAU and Cut Copy to the fore. Tracks like ‘Private School Girl’ reach the EP’s conceptual pinnacle, dissecting the moors of upper-middle class privilege, opening with lyrics “always went to the most expensive school” and “Channel and Louis Vuitton” for starters.

The EP picks up in stature by ‘The One That Got Away’, a track that probably veers towards stronger elements of house, rather than pure dance-pop. Here you’ll find flurries of synths validating this EP’s calls of being ‘euphoric’. Towards the chorus you’ll find yourself immersed in the type of woozy synths which TEED seem to have conquered. Accompanying Yale’s EP is a remix package of ‘The One That Got Away’ featuring cameos from YesYou, The Kite String Tangle, and Meare.

The closer, ‘Lost in the Crowd’ sums up EP with smooth, breezy vocals that begs for this to become part of your summer mixtape. For a debut, the boys from Yale have given us a refined release that says a lot about the duo’s musicianship. With melodic sensibilities and a penchant for making great dance-pop, this is definitely a sleek release from this Brisbane duo.

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