Who The Hell pop Archives

EXCLUSIVE: Trust Punks – ‘Prone Hold’

September 19, 2014, Carl Redwood, No Comment

True to form, ‘Prone Hold’ from Auckland’s Trust Punks sees the band continue to forge their sound; a dissonant marker between punk and skewered pop.

‘Prone Hold’ is the first track to be released from the band’s debut LP, Discipline. The seven track LP follows a series of singles previously released on Bandcamp.

Both blissful and confronting, ‘Prone Hold’ is a perplexing journey. While each section boasts enough content to carry an entire track, it all passes in seamless procession. The chaos is counteracted by extended angular guitars and long drawn vocal lines. The track peaks with the inclusion of horns over gradually rising and multiplying vocals, before devolving once more into a harsh enveloping wall of noise.

Trust Punks perform at Homies Cosy Teahouse on October 18th in Wellington, and 10 South Street on October 25th in Auckland. A larger New Zealand tour and the band’s second tour of Australia will happen this coming Summer.

Discipline is set for a November 14th release date via Spunk Records.

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PREMIERE: MKO – ‘Puddles’

August 11, 2014, Melissa Tan, 1 Comment

Brisbane’s MKO sent this song to us a few days ago, describing it as a “sub-aquatic, other-wordly plea”. I don’t know what that means, but it’s probably no coincidence that all your wild ideas and short moments of genius come to fruition when you’re mid shower.

Lathering aside. The arrangement begins sparse. It’s the same way MKO (Hannah Macklin) makes her foray into previous songs – lulling your ears along with that coy vocal, backlit by giddy tryptich beats. Soft R&B twists and turns hold this track by the shoulders, but it’s MKO’s subtle delivery that wins here.

‘Puddles’ is available to purchase via MKO’s Bandcamp from tomorrow.

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WATCH: Fraser A. Gorman – ‘Book of Love’

April 22, 2014, Melissa Tan, No Comment

Love hath no better form than Fraser A. Gorman toting his IRL pet chicken, ‘Detective Greggs’, around Melbourne’s northern suburbs (dubbed by Fraser as the ‘Bonsoy Belt’). The new video for ‘Book of Love’ also features cheery cameos from Courtney Barnett and band, members of You Am I, Money For Rope and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. The clip was directed by Sunny Leunig, who also plays guitar in Jimmy Tait. I’m certain all of the above have shook on some kind of blood pact to appear in each other’s music clips, partaking in recreational activities (biking, tennis etc). But after being quelled to compassion by Gorman’s poultry pal, not even sure who needs convincing anymore.

Fraser launches ‘Book of Love’ at the Workers Club in Melbourne this Thursday, 24th of April with Mojo Juju and Palm Springs.

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INTRODUCING: Ben Wright Smith

March 25, 2014, Melissa Tan, No Comment

These kind of songs are best when they’re beaten up like bad fruit. If anyone’s seen Josh Tillman expose his soul through the power of dance you’ll know what I mean.

Over-thirties who assume the ‘troubadour’ hat are apparently capable of devising platonic love ballads in the key of Ryan Adams. That’s not to say those in our early twenties can’t throw down our gripes via song (see Ben’s other track ‘If Living The Good Life Is Easy (Why Is This So Hard?’), but I guess we bestow more problems on ourselves than we credit ourselves for anyway.

‘Fictional’ is the latest offering from Melbourne’s Ben Wright Smith. Wright-Smith’s previous EP, Autumn Safari – full of traveling songs and slide guitar, landed him a few stints in the USA and Nashville in 2011. ‘Fictional’ isn’t as much of an instant earworm as his previous single, but it’s been flailing around in my music memory for over a week now.

It’s hard to reinvent the wheel when you’re flagging alt-country vibes. Everyone is judging you on your slide guitar abilities and how weird you can get writing poetry about your shoes. Bonus points if you’re Scandinavian. Or if you’re the guy who got convinced by Rhys Mitchell (Mouth Tooth, RedBerryPlum) that making a video about pool cleaners with a heinous compilation of ripple transitions and heat motion tracking is the only way to reintroduce balladry to the kids.

I’ll give Ben Wright Smith credit though; the almost Born Sandy Devotional gulls-and-guitar soundbite in the intro paired with his higher vocal range lends this tune a strange comfort. Compared to other harmonica toting compatriots like Fraser A Gorman, even Sagamore’s Sam Cooper, Wright-Smith’s faint nuances make each phrase resonate on.

If you’re in Melbourne tonight, catch Ben Wright Smith at his final The Toff In Town residency with The Kite Machine and Gena Rose Bruce.

Ben Wright Smith’s upcoming record In Parallel is set for a May release.

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WATCH: T54 – ‘AC Parade’

March 14, 2014, Madeleine Laing, No Comment

I like to imagine that the conversation around this video clip, from Christchurch three-piece T54, went something like this: “Hey man, we’ve gotta do a video for this clip, whaddaya reckon?” “How ’bout we just go down to those sweet mountains past mum’s house and stand around and throw rocks and shit?”

And it totally worked, thanks to the casual beauty of New Zealand and the casual excellence of this song. There’s something sweetly strange about the video; the camera lingers for awkward close-ups on band members who are obviously finding it very hard to keep a straight face, and any attempts to look brooding are fruitless.

The song itself is that very popular mix of distorted rhythm guitar, pretty lead melody and high vocal, but these guys pull it off by keeping the track short and packing it with plenty of hooks and different parts so it never gets boring or repetitive. It also feels like the kind of track that would go off way more live, if its droning, dreamy fuzz tendencies were let off the leash.

And what do you know! They’re coming to Australia for three shows, with dates below:

Thursday March 20 – The Old Bar, Melbourne (w/ Claws and Organs, Glaciers and Popolice)
Friday March 21 – Yah Yah’s, Melbourne (w/ The New Pollution and The Sunday Reeds)
Saturday March 22 – Grace Darling, Sydney (w/ Contrast and Miniatures)

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INTRODUCING: Food Court

March 12, 2014, Ryan Saar, No Comment

I met the guys from Food Court at a Halloween shindig in Redfern last year where they were playing support for Bad//Dreems.

Anyway, I was struck by how nice the guys were, as well as their drummer’s Prince costume, crucifix earring and everything. And when they hit the stage, by which I mean the living room, they blew me away so hard I thought there was a gale force wind tucked into their amp or something.

Thankfully, Food Court can capture their live nature pretty easily on tape. In fact, there’s almost no noticeable difference, besides the considerable lack of guitarist sweat. Food Court’s debut EP Smile At Your Shoes (now available for free from their Bandcamp page), is a rag-tag slice of ordinary guys doing extraordinary things.

New single and the final track from the EP, ‘She’s Away’ is a strong reminder of what makes these guys so great. Why dig for your old Screamfeeder and Jebediah records, when there’s amazing Aussie rock like this popping up?

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LOOK: Saskwatch – ‘Born To Break Your Heart’

February 26, 2014, Melissa Tan, No Comment

It’s mildly comforting knowing that the bands you put on pedestals have ‘normal people’ jobs like the rest of us. I struck up conversation with someone at a friend’s birthday who recalled seeing Saskwatch vocalist Nkechi turn into a howlin’ she-force on the Meredith main stage. The week after, he stopped her in a much quieter setting when he asked her for directions to the history isle at his local library. In the same way, Saskwatch’s new track is a bit of a comedown – albeit a pleasant one at that – the bloody mary / beanchairs respite after the storm. The perky Saskwatch we all know has taken a quick retreat; the horn section has been mulled back a tad; the syncopated beats have been swapped for all the makings of pop panache in ‘Born To Break Your Heart’.

Lochlan Funston & Jessica Barclay Lawton went along to set day to take some stills shots from the video. There’s a lot of fake blood and drinking in the bathtub, which is essentially an apt description of the new direction I think this record’s going to take. Saskwatch’s new album Nose Dive is set for an April release.