Category Archives: cd

Steve Vai “Where the Other Wild Things Are” CD Review

July 13, 2010 admin

Being a huge Steve Vai fan, it’s hard to confess that we reckon the Great One’s latest CD falls a little flat. A live CD, recorded at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, the vibe of the whole album leaves you feeling a little unsatisfied.

As usual, the performances are perfect – Vai’s choice of backing musician is always spot on. The set list was well paced; including classics like ‘The Audience is Listening’, ‘Liberty’ and ‘For the Love of God’ from his groundbreaking 1990 album ‘Passion and Warfare’. But for the most part, it all just feels a little dead.

Continue reading Steve Vai “Where the Other Wild Things Are” CD Review →

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Melvins “The Bride Screamed Murder” LP Review

July 12, 2010 admin

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

July 11, 2010 admin

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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Midnight Juggernauts make their Lifeblood Flow

July 8, 2010 brandon

Midnight Juggernauts return with their next single ’Lifeblood Flow’ from their highly acclaimed second album, The Crystal Axis. A dazzling lesson in how electronic-pop should be made, ’Lifeblood Flow’ is like something out of a 70s sci-fi epic – walls of sound and all. With a chorus so immediately affecting, it’s the track that will shape 2010 as Midnight Juggernauts’ biggest year yet.

In just a few week’s time, audiences can catch Midnight Juggernauts at venues across the country supported by Dappled Cities, Canyons and Kirin J Callinan. They’ll play Thursday 12 August at The Gov in Adelaide, Saturday 14 August at The Capitol in Perth, Thursday 19 August at The Forum in Melbourne, Friday 20 August at The Forum in Sydney, and Saturday 21 August at the Hi Fi in Brisbane.

Continue reading Midnight Juggernauts make their Lifeblood Flow →

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Giveaway: “Drawn From Bees” double pass and CD box set!

July 7, 2010 admin

To celebrate the Drawn from Bees “Fear Not” National Tour, we’re excited to offer a fantastic Drawn From Bees giveaway! … See below for details.

Arriving back to Australia after showcase performances for Musexpo and Music Matters across the UK, USA and Hong Kong, Drawn from Bees are about to jump right back on a plane to Sydney to embark on a national tour in support of their May 21 released album Fear Not The Footsteps Of The Departed.

Fear Not… is the band’s most multi-layered and complex release to date, juxtaposing Drawn from Bees’ most heartbreakingly beautiful songs with their most intellectual rock concepts and experimental soundscapes – sampling choirs and iPhones alike amongst almost spiritual laments of loss and love.

Continue reading Giveaway: “Drawn From Bees” double pass and CD box set! →

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Sydney DJ Triky Releases Two New Studio Albums

July 7, 2010 brandon

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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Grinderman – New Single ‘Heathen Child’ Out August 27

July 6, 2010 brandon

Heathen Child, the new single from the band Grinderman, will be released on 27th August. The premiere offering from their new studio album Grinderman 2, Heathen Child will be released through Mute with the complete album following on 10th September.

The song Heathen Child cuts a deep seductively heavy groove interjected with dazzling squalls of saw-tooth distortion. It abounds in lyrical imagery at turns lascivious, paranoid, philosophic, absurd and flat out abusive.

The video, vividly directed by long-time collaborator John Hillcoat, brings the ominous sensuality and surreal malevolence of the lyrics to life; but it also demonstrates clear evidence of the fun and imagination Grinderman have working together.
Continue reading Grinderman – New Single ‘Heathen Child’ Out August 27 →

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Five Star Prison Cell “Matriarch” LP Review

July 4, 2010 admin

Review: Lana Harris

– 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 – Five Star Prison Cell

– Buy: The Dillinger Escape Plan from iTunes

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Charlie Mayfair “Watch My Hands” EP Review

July 4, 2010 admin

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

July 3, 2010 admin 1 Comment

Review: Lana Harris

– 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]

July 1, 2010 admin

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]

June 23, 2010 admin 1 Comment

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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GOODNIGHT OWL Release Debut Video For MAPS AND COMPASSES

June 18, 2010 admin

Want a copy of Goodnight Owl EP “Goodnight Owl”? We have a few copies of Goodnight Owl’s self titled EP to give away to coincide with the bands release of their debut film clip for EP single Maps & Compasses.. See below for details.

Goodnight Owl can lead the way in two directions, an embrace of the dawn, or an adventure into the dark. Make it what you will, this 4 piece Melbourne band play a mixture of pop, folk, electronic, ambient, and post-rock music which takes the listener on a journey lyrically and musically.

The development of Goodnight Owl’s sound was significantly inspired when Eddie Alexander (vocals, guitar, bells, melodica, drum) was joined by childhood friends from Alice Springs Bella Walker (keys, glockenspiel) and Joe Walker (electronics, keys, glockenspiel, guitar, drum, melodica) in Melbourne, and met Eric Moore (drums) in 2009 to form what is now the band for live performances. Continue reading GOODNIGHT OWL Release Debut Video For MAPS AND COMPASSES →

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Jez Mead “Beard of Bees” [LP Review]

June 18, 2010 admin

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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LITTLE RED “Rock It” Single and Tour Dates – July 2010

June 17, 2010 brandon

Melbourne melodicists Little Red have delivered the first single, ‘Rock It’, from their highly anticipated second album – and the response has been overwhelming. Premiered on Triple J’s breakfast show at the end of last week, the song has been on repeat rotation over recent days and has instantly received an official rotation add from the station.

Taken from the as-yet-untitled sophomore album (due out this September on Liberation Records), the song marks a cleaner, more hi-fi sound that was brought to life in collaboration with producer Scott Horscroft (The Temper Trap, The Presets, Silverchair). ‘Rock It’ is party music of the best kind: warm, infectious, straightforward and unadorned. It is the sound of a band moving even further toward a sound entirely their own, blurring their influences as they do the decades of classic pop they draw from.

Meanwhile, the band has announced a return to the live arena with a series of Rock It single launches around the country throughout July, culminating with a prime slot at the massive Splendour in the Grass festival. The lads have been one of the country’s most loved live acts ever since their emergence of a few years back, and it is standard practice that these shows will be a non-stop party of energy, huge melodies and good times. Fans will also hear the band premiering a selection of brilliant new songs from the forthcoming album. Tickets are sure to go quickly, so don’t hesitate.

The band’s next immediate step is London as they jet off to the UK this weekend to perform at next week’s Musexpo conference in London, as well as performing additional showcases over the following week. Their debut Listen to Little Red, a Top 30 hit at home, also received critical acclaim in the UK and anticipation is certainly high for these return shows.

‘Rock It’ the new single is OUT NOW on iTunes via Liberation Music.

LITTLE RED TOUR DATES
Tickets on sale now

THU JULY 8 Amplifier – Perth
BUY TICKETS HERE!

FRI JULY 9 Ed Castle – Adelaide
BUY TICKETS HERE!

THU JULY 15 Prince Band Room – Melbourne
BUY TICKETS HERE!
www.princebandroom.com.au

SAT JULY 17 Oxford Art Factory – Sydney
BUY TICKETS HERE!

FRI JULY 30 SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS Woodford – QLD (Sold Out)

www.myspace.com/littleredmusic

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