Category Archives: cd review

Melvins “The Bride Screamed Murder” LP Review

Review: Lana Harris

  More than 25 years making music, the Melvins are credited with influencing scores of bands (including Nirvana and Soundgarden) but no one sounds just like them. Their creations are grungy, often slow but still powerful and slide into sludgy metal territory occasionally. They have two drummers in what is currently a four member outfit (got to expect a few line up changes in two and a half decades) who have been together for three albums now.

On The Bride Screamed Murder the Melvins are, if not experimental, at the very least non traditional in their music arrangements. There’s never a sense of

bowing to any kind of convention in the music. When voice is used, it’s as an instrument itself, not as a way of conveying opinion or an observation set to music, and they don’t stick to one time signature or tempo. If you’re unprepared for this, the way the songs play out is disorienting. My first listen of The Bride Screamed Murder, particularly the first two tracks, left me wondering what was going on. ‘Evil New War God’ comes to an almost dead stop before changing direction. I thought it had skipped to track three but it was still the same song. Continue reading Melvins “The Bride Screamed Murder” LP Review →

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The Bank Holidays “Sail Becomes A Kite” CD Review

Review by: Victoria Nugent

  When listening to sophomore album Sail Becomes A Kite by The Bank Holidays, I couldn’t help but smile. The Perth band, made up of Nat Carson and Bekk Crombie on guitar, James Crombie on bass and Stuart Leach on drums, clearly has a talent for producing delightful indie pop. The songs on Sail Becomes A Kite are largely reflective and sweet, with buoyant moments shining through as well. There’s a reason why this band are considered Perth’s pop darlings, producing some amazing, highly enjoyable music.

Continue reading The Bank Holidays “Sail Becomes A Kite” CD Review →

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Sydney DJ Triky Releases Two New Studio Albums

  Sydney dance DJ Triky has released two new albums, Electric and Filtered.

Electric is the much anticipated third full length album from Triky. The 12 track album carries a high energy sound and is similar to the previous two releases, Tweaked and Permanent Damage, yet goes further with a thumpin’ new set of bass lines and is packed full of FX. With a wide range of tracks, there’s something on here for every dance lover.

Filtered is an exploration in BPM with tracks ranging from 140 to 150 BPM. It’s an innovative 13-track album which takes Triky in a whole new direction.

Continue reading Sydney DJ Triky Releases Two New Studio Albums →

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Five Star Prison Cell “Matriarch” LP Review

Review: Lana Harris


Matriarch – Matriarch 		  Based in Melbourne, Five Star Prison Cell began destroying young people’s hearing in 2005. They’ve since completed an impressive array of tours including supporting Bloodduster in Oz and Dillinger Escape Plan in the US. Matriarch represents the third album for the four piece line up which includes vocalist Adam Glynn, guitarist Mark Holain, bassist Cameron MacDonald and drummer Marc Whitworth.

Their sound is often described as ‘math metal’ (which refers to the group’s use of complex rhythmic structures and structuring songs using unusual time signatures), and the tracks contain a lot of syncopated sounds. But beneath these labyrinthine twists and turns in the songs is enough

good, strong riffage to impress upon those of less technically inclined the fact that Five Star Prison Cell also makes tracks you can bang your head to easily.

As soon as the album starts, you are hit on all sides by the power of drummer Marc Whitworth. He drills the sounds into your mind from every direction simultaneously, forceful, but more layered and interesting than just a wall of sound. The momentum he starts during opening track ‘I Curse This Vessel’ just keeps building until ‘Modus Operandi’, which appears just before mid way on the album. This was the stand out track, a mountain of sound, a blistering explosion that would crack apart even five star cell walls. As it finishes, its hard not to wonder where it could go from there, how the pace could be maintained. Then ‘Paramountain’ begins, and the band takes a step back, providing a space in which to rebuild and change direction, a space whose intro is narrated in Greek.

Having made some room, the second half of the album provides for more appreciation of other band members. This is particularly evident on ‘Loss of Gravitas’ which is a tremendous display of the power of Glynn’s vocals, an exploration in low range growls amidst strong screaming, and also on ‘Forlorn’, which brings MacDonald into the spotlight and strange as it sounds, provided some groove elements to the track, demonstrating the band’s commitment to creating interesting music by doing things differently. Although lyrics throughout are not easily distinguishable, an exception is found in the final track ‘Lamia’ on which the amusing sentiments can easily be deciphered (but they’re not really suitable for printing!). Matriarch was an enjoyable album and one which those not versed in the sub genres of metal can still enjoy as a good dose of satisfyingly heavy music.

Matriarch – Matriarch – Five Star Prison Cell

Related:
Dillinger Escape Plan + Maylene and the Sons of Disaster @ The Hi Fi, Brisbane 25 May 2010 [Live Review]
Review: Dillinger Escape Plan @ The Metro Theatre – Friday May 21, 2010
Interview: Ben Weinman – The Dillinger Escape Plan
Audio Interview: Ben Weinman – The Dillinger Escape Plan *The Audio version*
The Dillinger Escape Plan – Australian Tour – May 2010 (TOUR DETAILS)

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Buy: The Dillinger Escape Plan from iTunes


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Charlie Mayfair “Watch My Hands” EP Review

Review: Lauren Sherritt
Ever craved some beautifully crafted music comprised of gently soaring harmonies and dainty whimsy, yet with a mature touch to the sound and lyrics? Well, Brisbane pop-folk band Charlie Mayfair, and its first offering, EP Watch My Hands, may just become your new addiction.

Forming only in January this year, Charlie Mayfair are set to make themselves heard around Australia after bursting out on the Brisbane scene over the past six months.
Continue reading Charlie Mayfair “Watch My Hands” EP Review →

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Dan Parsons – “Firestarter” LP Review

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Review: Lana Harris


Dan – Dan Parsons		   When writing about music, there’s a variety of words to use in order to avoid saying ‘song’ over and over again. For the most part, these words are interchangeable – the exact meaning matters little. Dan Parsons’ music took exception to this and the word ‘ditty’ just kept springing to mind. The exact meaning of ‘ditty’ is a short simple song, a poem intended to be sung, and this description fits his musical style like a ripped pair of skinny jeans fits indie pop.

The tracks on Firestarter are all short pop numbers, hanging around the three minute mark and taking inspiration from the catalogue of relationship

experiences that pop loves to work with. Parsons’uses a reflective, ruminative style to shape his words, which invoke images from the time of life found in the space after school, drifting past innocence but having not yet arrived anywhere else.
Continue reading Dan Parsons – “Firestarter” LP Review →

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Rolo Tomassi – “Cosmology” [CD Review]

  Review: Ben Hosking

For the uninitiated, young UK group Rolo Tomassi (named after a character from the movie LA Confidential) is a scary listening experience. Hell, they’re still a scary listen even after a few rotations of their 2008 debut album ‘Hysterics’.

Fronted by diminutive blonde ingénue Eva Spence, the group play what has been affectionately termed as punk-jazz, whilst on occasion thrown in with the mathcore crowds.

Continue reading Rolo Tomassi – “Cosmology” [CD Review] →

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Blame Ringo – “At The In-Between” [Single Review]

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Review by: Victoria Nugent

  Blame Ringo’s new single At The In-Between is one of those songs that sneaks into your head, and has you singing along before you know it. The energetic track is a tantalising glimpse of things to come on the band’s second album, due out later this year.

At The In-Between is an upbeat slice of indie rock with harmonious, yet catchy lyrics and a sound almost reminiscent of the sixties. The guitar riffs are impressive, and the drumming strong, resulting in the kind of song that makes you want to stop and listen.

Continue reading Blame Ringo – “At The In-Between” [Single Review] →

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Jez Mead “Beard of Bees” [LP Review]

Review: Lana Harris

  What deal did Jez Mead make with the devil to get that voice? He certainly didn’t trade his finger picking abilities (his mastery of the guitar is evident in this diverse mix of tracks), but the man surely gave up something for a voice that soars across octaves, that swings from gravel to whisper to a full blown resonance that seems to take up real, tangible space in the room. Beard of Bees is Jez Mead’s fourth recorded offering to the world, and a record that uses his vocal gift (no matter how it was acquired) to deliver a striking set of songs.

Let’s begin at the end: the last song on this album

was the best. A gorgeous, chilled out track called ‘Crooked’ was a resplendent way to finish, with slow chords and soulful crooning and Jez humming low and full, a honey coated vibration that left goose bumps in its wake (and was not the only track to do so). ‘Devil’ (featuring Julia Stone as Mead’s duet partner) is similarly slow and haunting, a love song which includes such lyrical blues gems as ‘Devil wants my blood for making whisky’. Continue reading Jez Mead “Beard of Bees” [LP Review] →

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Annihilator – “Annihilator” [CD Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

  With the seemingly never-ending list of 1980’s bands reuniting over the last 10 years or so, all trying to recapture some of their former glory; it’d be easy to dismiss Canadian thrash legends Annihilator as just another in the line. However, founder member Jeff Waters and company never actually left and have been producing quality metal the entire time; unlike many of their fallen brethren.

That said, this – their 13th studio album to date – easily qualifies as their finest effort in the last 20 years or so. A self-titled album, ‘Annihilator’ is brimming with speedy, precise riffage that

effortlessly melds old-school thrash with more modern technical metal that will surely have you damaging neck muscles in the bedroom, car or public transport.
Continue reading Annihilator – “Annihilator” [CD Review] →

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The Break – “Church of the Open Sky” [CD Review]

Review: Lana Harris

  Ah, the beach. Golden sands, blistering sunshine and pounding waves are all an integral part of Australian culture, so it’s perhaps surprising that we haven’t heard more surf rock acts spring up locally. Instead, the genre is much more heavily associated with American waves, Hawaiian surf shacks or perhaps the laid back vibes of San Francisco.

Well, The Break are out to change that. They’ve taken rockers who are a part of Australian culture (drummer Rob Hirst, guitarists Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, from Midnight Oil) added in

an American who recently moved to Hobart (ex Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie) and created a surf rock record that should see Australia in general, and The Break in particular, usher in a resurgence of this laid back style of music. Continue reading The Break – “Church of the Open Sky” [CD Review] →

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Delerium – “Remixed: The Definitive Collection” [CD Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

  It has always been equally intriguing and amusing to this reviewer that a pair of individuals as intense and creative as Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb should be most widely known for a dance/pop project. However, this is exactly the case for the Canadian pair long known in metal and industrial circles for their work with projects like Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly and Rhys’ regular contributions to groups such as Fear Factory.

Despite – or perhaps because of – this, Delerium has always been an infinitely listenable experience that has pushed the boundaries of the genre; often

encompassing a wonderful darkness. Hopefully they’ve helped regular fans of mindless commercial dance to open their minds to something more creative, layered and ultimately – respectable. Continue reading Delerium – “Remixed: The Definitive Collection” [CD Review] →

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Mike Patton – “Mondo Cane” [CD Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

  The prolific Mike Patton returns with a project unlike any that have come before it. Sung entirely in Italian, the album ‘Mondo Cane’ features a 40-piece orchestra, choir and band.

Listeners have had hints of Patton’s multi-lingual abilities in the last, such as tunes found on earlier Faith No More releases. However, ‘Mondo Cane’ sees the twisted genius using his talents to pay homage to other songwriters, including his beloved Morricone, who penned the track ‘Deep Down’.

Continue reading Mike Patton – “Mondo Cane” [CD Review] →

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Danko Jones – “Below the Belt” [LP Review]

Review: Lana Harris

  Danko Jones is a man born to wear leather, and if listening to this album doesn’t convince you, the shiny black outfit he sports on the cover of his band’s latest LP Below the Belt will. This is BIG rock, stadia rock, another-word-that-rhymes-with-rock rock – what else would be expected from a man who names his band after himself? Proving that he’s more than just a leather clad front man, Jones also plays lead guitar, is responsible for writing columns in rock magazines, hosts radio shows and has completed solo spoken word tours.

Continue reading Danko Jones – “Below the Belt” [LP Review] →

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RocketSmiths – “Underground” : CD Review

Review: Lana Harris

  Underground is the new single for Rocketsmiths, a Brisbane based five piece that have been releasing EPs since 2006. With metaphors of the band’s sound leaning precariously towards the more raucous end of rock descriptors (carnie, rockabilly and carnivalesque among them), ‘Underground’ draws on short, punchy riffs and restrained energy to deliver a catchy first single.

The track begins with drumbeats tumbling from the silence and quickly ramps up into a tune that would fit right in with those on The White Stripes’ Elephant record.

Continue reading RocketSmiths – “Underground” : CD Review →

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