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Verdict: We Are Scientists - 'Barbara'

July 5th 2010 12:27

The allure of We Are Scientist's newest album is about as enticing as a sneaky google images search for "Keith Murray" and his stunning mug. Thrilling for about half a second, until you realise that googling is not enough to satisfy your unfulfilled needs, and then you find out about his long time girlfriend and the fantasy is all, completely over.

The biggest problem with Barbara is that the tracks all zoom by at lightening speed. The catchy hooks, ziggy synths and upbeat tempos all blur together like swirling remnants of a messy night you can only half recollect in the morning. And like those morning afters, by the end of Barbara, you'll be thinking that it was all much better than it actually was at the time. Whilst there may be a marked return to the climbing electric guitar riffs and boppy grooves ('I Don't Bite') that were so masterfully crafted on 'With Love and Squalor', through all of Barbara's chirpy shine, the tracks still fall short of momentous.

However, that's not to say their aren't any classic WAS uppers on the album. 'Pittsburgh' goes where all the tracks on the album should really be neatly sitting - half way between the dramatic synths on 'Brain Thrust Mastery' and the soaring choruses ala 'Worth The Wait' on 'With Love'. 'Pittsburgh' sails through your speakers on thumping drums, a spacey guitar melody and Keith's smooth, eerie croon "We're only after one thing...oooh". The cruisy, sing a long choruses of 'Break it Up' and 'Nice Guys' also sail by on nicely built up bridges and simple guitar solos. These tracks do prove that WAS are to some extent, rather undeniable when they harness their power to create sunny pop tracks.

Overall, Barbara does show a step in the right direction. The band seems to be very much on their way to redefining a new sound, after all the band has been without a permanent drummer since 07. I can't help but enjoy anything these guys serve up, download limits on my google images sprees be damned.

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Posted By: Anne Widjaja - Category: No Category

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I'll see you at SPLENDOUR...

May 6th 2010 14:21

From the day that the biggest, most ambitious, most soul suckingly pricey splendour line-up was released, it seems that the punters of Australia have simply been falling all over themselves at any mention of the old Byron Festival that could: Splendour in the Grass. Upon viewing the line up on the website, may I note how the modest typeface only extenuated the quiet, yet cunning ambition of the Splendour creators - The Strokes, the Pixies, Florence, Mumford & Sons - so many bands that could've individually sold out a Big Day Out gathering in some town in the back end of Queensland. Whilst this debilitating awe quickly faded upon discovery of the price of a ticket, it seems like twenty somethings everywhere have reached deep into their low interest bank accounts to fork out the dosh. Hopefully this grand gesture of a festival will mean that festivals of the future will be graced by more than a few big names, and more stable online ticketing servers.

may your town complain less about Splendour than the Byron residents did

Up yours, the small geographically convenient festival mecca that is Europe/the U.S.A. I no longer weep as much as I used to upon seeing your million festival ads in the pages of Q and NME. We may be really far away from producing the music culture that you guys seem to effortlessly poop out, with your cool lists and your indie folk/dance/punk and your "Jack White", but we're getting somewhere. I'll crank out the gum boots I've been saving Glastonbury and wear them just as famously at wood-freaking-fordia.

The festival is now completely sold out.

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Verdict: New Young Pony Club – The Optimist

April 10th 2010 06:31

Without any Modular sheen present, NYPC have decisively stepped out independently with a darker, stranger and more thoughtful sophomore album that at long last breathes new life into a scene long been taken over by tired electro pop sameness. Over the faux hip party goer persona featured on the band’s dance floor friendly 2007 debut, lead singer Tahita Bulmer has traded in her seductive monotone for a vocal range full of surprises, whilst producing half Andy Spence experiments with a mix bag of zappy synth parts to match. The album sparks open with first single “Lost A Girl” – a track that holds to a simple pounding drumbeat and a running guitar riff before leaping forward with colourful harpsichord melodies, waves of bass and sweet vocal echoes. The cool funk bass line and clap along melody of “Chaos” may not stray from the upbeat Playroom precedent but the music is thick with the buzz of exciting sounds weaving in and out to add sparkle to the dubious lyrics (“whitewash on your life as the lights go down”). The album ambitiously builds on clean-cut pop melodies, seamlessly mixing soaring angelic choruses with dark electro beats. “The Optimist” somehow pulls off a spacey ambience with layers of squeaky synth behind airy vocals and pained lyrics. Let’s hope this new ambition catches on to the bands that so keenly copied the band the first time.

Most excellent tracks: “The Optimist”, “We Want To”, “Lost A Girl”, “Rapture”

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Lurve Songs for your Valentine.

February 9th 2010 12:12

When you think about how many holidays are based on some kind of active exclusion - Australia Day, Easter, Bank Holidays, the Queen's Birthday, I could go on- the inherently cruel nature of Valentine's Day shouldn't come as a shock. Just like how indigenous Australians didn't exist when Australia was "founded", or how Judas insisted that he had nothing to do with that Jesus guy, on Valentine's day the existence of lonely single people is denied like a 9/11 conspiracy theory. So in some bid to console bitter fans of Valentine's Day, here's a few insights into the confused and alarmingly life threatening state of love according to pop.

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Getting Homebaked the Australian way

December 21st 2009 02:38

Homebake is the only 100% Australian festival running during summer festival season and I've never been. I'm a self proffessed anglophile and labelling anything Australian (especially when called "Austraiyan" makes my soul squirm. Go figure. So this year my friend brought me to my first visit to the domain for the Homebake festival. I came with expectations of having beer spilled on me by hilarious hippy stoners, and vodka spilled on me by the regular drunk and shirtless variety. As for the music I didn't really have expectations. However, after seeing band after band consistently whip my sad little expectations into shape- I got exactly what my pom loving behind deserved - the realisation that Australian music has really, most actually, got it going on.

The most impressive action was happening away from the main stage where bands such as the dramatic goth brides of Bridezilla were howling away with a flair of tragic bravadour with sweeping sax and violin solos on the Hopetoun stage . Other highlights on the Hopetoun stage include the ever so delightfully energetic Yves Klein Blue, who as per usual put on a stellar show which fed off the crazy vibe of the very frenzied crowd. The death ring that was formed during the hour set may have been the first death ring ever created during a song that semi rose to fame because it was featured on a toyota ad. It should also be noted that lead singer Michael Tomlinson crowd surfed into the crowd and never returned to the stage. I sincerely hope he is still alive

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Your guide to Summer Festivals: The Do's and Dont's

November 20th 2009 04:00

It's that time of year again. Get out your denim cut off short shorts, the knock off ray bans you got from china town for 5 dollars, embrace your inner jerk and you'll fit right in. Don't get me wrong, it is a joyous season where finally! some of the best international acts make the giant trek down to see us, and you know its a rare event because they constantly have to remind us that we (and they) are in fact in Australia, repeating statements like: "Ozzztrraayylliiiaaaa is great/are you glad to see us/you guys are awesome/knows how to party". So here is a guide to some of the best festivals around this summer, and festival etiquette tips that will get you through the day unscathed.

THE BIG DAY OUT
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Verdict: Jamie T @ the Metro 16/9/09

September 21st 2009 14:40

Jamie T is a delicious stirring pot of all that we love about Britpop. A delectable mix of rock, pop, punk and a dollop of clever rhymes, Jamie T is as lovable as rappers get. Since the release of his second album 'Kings and Queens', Jamie T's backing band 'The Pacemakers' are doing less garage band dallying ala Jamie's first album 'Panic Prevention', and are now playing more maturely and consistently, and dare I say, more pop. The often troublesome shift from punk to more pop is actually working magic with the natural rhythm in Jamie's raps, and his live shows are certainly the better for it.

Jamie's best songs in the set list were his best pop songs. 'Sheila' saw the entire metro theatre truly raise the roof, and 'Chaka Demus' which Jamie himself announced as a 'pop song' was met by smiles all round, and also incited some seriously excitable dance moves. The more medium paced, soft melodies of the newer songs were executed most impressively by the band. Sweeping choruses were built up with well paced riffs, interesting backing tracks and subtle keyboard warps. This was particularly outstanding on 'The Man's Machine', which also displayed the talents of a scenester keyboardist wearing tight jeans which looked plain ridiculous next to Jamie's T's hoodie, denim jacket combo. 'Spider's Web' also titillated the audience with a shout of the cheeky line 'Osama sounds like Obama to me'. The simple guitar riffs and the snappy drums added an extra sparkle to the melodies of this song. The beats are certainly catchy enough to make you abandon your normal dance moves for some serious rap arm bouncing

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Verdict: Phoenix @ the Enmore Theatre 5/08/09

August 10th 2009 18:05

It seems French pop rockers Phoenix are complete anglophiles (ah, my brethren, I understand completely). Claiming that the English language is where pop is at, lead singer of Phoenix Thomas Mars sings his lyrics exclusively in the language we’d trade in any day for the smooth, smexilicousness of French. I bet the dirtiest sentence you could think of in English, translated into French could be said so seductively, that before you knew it you’d be wondering what happened to you’re underpants. Returning to the point, as a fan of Phoenix and their very friendly pop melodies, which might I add are consistently solid from album one to four, I was expecting their gig to be that of a tight, yet jingly and somewhat predictable indie pop band. I thought lots of bopping, and surely a rougher sound to the sleek vocals and tightly produced sound of each album. I was instead surprised to be presented with a superbly talented and underrated outfit of professional musicians (the four band members plus 2 extras) who busted out each fan favourite like it was a special Phoenix Jukebox night.

Starting with Lisztomania off the band's newest release Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and the ecstatic mood of the crowd, I realised that Phoenix in their long stint as a band of more than 9 years have become pop masters. A heavier reliance on soaring keyboard melodies, more complex guitar riffs, thrilling drum beats and an upbeat bass line, equally matched with the uplifting and ridiculously smooth, yet flawlessly high pitch of Mars' vocals defines their new new energy that has developed into thick layering of melody in new tracks such as Lisztomania and Lasso. The synth origins of which can be traced back to the Daft Punk inspired track Funky Square Dance from album United, and we all know that these days a band adds synth to a track and you’ve created indie genius (it’s actually true in this case! perfect example of the right amount of synth). This sound was delightfully showcased in the band’s performance of the largely instrumental track Love like A Sunset PtI and II, showcasing a new length and breadth in the band’s new tracks that become explosively energetic when heard live. The melody and the riffs were intricately dense, particularly when seen played on stage by six musicians who executed their parts together to perfection. Major kootos to the guest drummer who did some serious playing under a spot light from time to time, a highlight from the restrictive movements of the other band members

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Verdict: Yves Klein Blue at the Northcote Social Club 10.7.09

July 16th 2009 12:45

I'll admit that Yves Klein Blue were my first indie baby. I 'discovered' them at Come Together in 2008, thrilled and surprised to find a band that had been as good as their myspace looked. Sidenote- if a journalist uses the term indie myspace band one more time, I'm going to start a scathing facebook group. Anyway, returning to Come Together the boundlessly energetic rendition of the tracks on YKB's first EP with Dew Process -Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention to Themselves in the teeny tiny stage across from the Big Top, led to the beginning of a great love for the excellently handsome, dashing group of young gentlemen of Yves Klein Blue. A little band, with a little following I predicted great things for their future, but wanted to keep them to myself. Holding consistent with the mother baby analogy...my, my how they've grown. After much rigorous touring YKB have managed sell out regional tours, and have prophetically, drawn attention to themselves, also due to a certain car ad and some serious flagging on Triple J. The band, first and foremost, should be praised for their successful rise up the stunted ladder that is the Australian alternative music scene. It's really much harder than it seems to be successful in a scene which is still so underground, you could visit China on your way down.

With the release of their debut album - Ragged and Ecstatic - the result was a slightly more pop friendly album, clearly swayed by a few different genre influences, also more polished with the help of Cold War Kids producer Kevin Augunas. The piano riffs were more of a feature on this album, well melded with the guitar melodies, however, compared to the EP, they're were less varied melodies and impressive solos in each song's bridges and more focus on vocals. Despite the slight variances in sound in the album, I hoped that they'd maintain their excitable on-stage presence, admittedly a bit worried that this could not be achieved in the same way as the loose structure of the raw and organic creation that was their EP. Safe to say, they're show is still vibrant and bouncy, and gosh dang it what a relief. Michael Tomlinson is all a frontman should be . Inviting, engaging and expressive, Tomlinson tells a story with each of his lyrics, with a great dash of the dramatics, something which is seriously lacking in the cold lifeless cool of the indie scene. Easy on the eyes too ladies, and/or gentlemen. The set was thankfully a good balance of older rougher tracks and stand outs from the new album. About the Future had Tomlinson in a very moving performance of this heart on sleeve confession, an introspective commentary which truly brought the audience on their knees, it was truly, captivatingly raw

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Verdict: Primary Colours - The Horrors.

May 17th 2009 06:57

Firstly, may I point out the complete irony of the band's album title. Let me demonstrate. Note The Horrors below.

Whilst there certainly is a major lack of colour going on in the band's look, their second album title 'Primary Colours' intentionally marks a huge departure from their violent garage punk sound in debut 'Strange House'. Now, it's important to understand how far these lads have come in order to fully appreciate their second album. So here lies a bit of background reading. Their first album is practically a 12 track theatrical soundtrack to an arthouse horror movie. The screaming lines of 'Jack the Ripper' against a roaring guitar and the jumpy organ melody in 'Horror Theme' would set the scene perfectly for a dimly lit slaughter house movie in which the victims die obscure deaths, that make no sense because of poor film making by pretentious boobs, NOT because they're concepts that require a higher plane of understanding in order to "get it". Anyway, reeling back from that rant segway (Sofia Coppola s u x) the new Horrors album is cohesive not scant, melodic not frighteningly chaotic and develops a vast, open fields-esque soundscape that might actually get your jig going - and not in an awkward gangly limb goth dance way

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