Tag Archives: cd

EP Review: Davey Spicer and the Creatures of Habit – “Tides and Curves”

Review by: Victoria Nugent

  EP Tides and Curves from Brisbane band Davey Spicer and the Creatures of Habit is a collection of blues-inspired rock with its own unique sound.

The trio have played a part in the Brisbane music scene for years, and the EP’s cover reflects this local heritage, showing a photograph of the Brisbane River at night.

Davey Spicer’s vocals and guitar riffs team well with the percussion of Todd Orchard, and bass of Felix Merry to produce a well rounded sound that is somewhat reminiscent of the John Butler Trio.

Bang Bang Baby Goodbye gives the EP a strong start with its funky acoustic guitar riffs and sharp lyrics about a woman taking vengeance on her lover.

Daydream provides a great contrast as a chilled out track, with Spicer’s melodic vocals carrying the poetic lyrics well. Soft & Out of Focus is another more laidback tune, with its Spicer’s gentle strumming complementing his cruisy vocals.

Human Obscene is a much punchier, more aggressive sounding song and like all the EP’s other songs seems to go very quickly. Credentials ends the EP on a sharp note with aggressive lyrics, mocking the idea of dating checklists against a bongos beat and tense guitar.

“Tides and Curves” is a great showcase of the band’s individual take on bluesy rock, which is very easy to listen to with its punchy music and strong lyrics. I get the feeling these guys would be great to hear live, with their music providing the perfect accompaniment to a casual night out in a classic Brisbane pub.

CD Review: Escape The Fate – “This War Is Ours”

Review: Ben Hosking

  Escape the Fate (ETF) just doesn’t know what they want to be. The Las Vegas quartet plays a very American, largely accessible rock/metal blend for the most part. Their tunes switch back and forth between swaggering mid-tempo rockers, unconvincing ballads and even more surprising and bewildering blasts of deep growled passages over menacing riffage.

So just what is it that ETF are trying to achieve? Their vocalist Craig Mabbitt is reminiscent of most of the emasculated faux-metal front men currently in circulation.

You know the kind: a little nasal and still awaiting puberty. This means that they’ll never be fully accepted by the metal or hardcore scenes. Their big choruses and pop sensibilities have helped them to win over 20 million MySpace page views and 400,000 friends; yet they’re far beyond the realms of Australian radio. Continue reading CD Review: Escape The Fate – “This War Is Ours”

The Optimen – Official Brisbane Album Launch @ The Step Inn, Brisbane 28 May 2010

Do you want a double pass to the The Optimen – Official Brisbane Album Launch @ The Step Inn, Brisbane 28 May 2010? See below for details!!

The Optimen   It’s been some-time between drinks for fans, but even with the AA meetings and late night phone calls to their sponsors, the Opee’s just can’t control their thirst any longer. For this reason, and also to bring the new album to the live stage, The OPees have announced that their official Brisbane “The Out Of Money Experience” album launch will be Friday, May 28 2010 @ The Step Inn.

Continue reading The Optimen – Official Brisbane Album Launch @ The Step Inn, Brisbane 28 May 2010

CD Review: Drawn From Bees – “Run Away”

Review: Victoria Nugent

Drawn From Bees   The latest offering from Brisbane art rock band Drawn from Bees is their new single Run Away, a melodious, Powderfinger-esque sample of their particular brand of indie rock.

Honest lyrics are teamed with a full-bodied acoustic sound to produce this mellow sounding single, hinting at more good things to come from the band’s upcoming album –

Fear Not the Footsteps of the Departed, to be released on May 21 2010. Continue reading CD Review: Drawn From Bees – “Run Away”

CD Review: Mapletons – “Origami Army”

Review: Victoria Nugent

Mapleton's   Mapleton’s Origami Army is an infectiously cheery blend of indie pop tunes that bring a smile to the face and make the listener want to sing along.

Mapletons started life as a duo with guitarist Derek Orr and keyboardist Kane Mazlin winning national songwriting awards. When Mazlin left to pursue other musical avenues, rather than abandoning Mapletons,

Orr rallied around the creative hub to create a new line up, with Anita Goldsworthy on keyboard and lead vocals, Carl Roosmale-Cocq on bass and programming duties, and Mitch Clark on drums. Continue reading CD Review: Mapletons – “Origami Army”

VIOLENT SOHO album release + homecoming tour dates

Brisbane-reared, Brooklyn-based noise merchants Violent Soho have announced long awaited homecoming dates to celebrate the release of their self titled new album.

Violent Soho’s self titled album is being released worldwide in 2010 via Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label and is without doubt one of the most powerful rock albums you will hear this year. Lead single ‘Jesus Stole My Girlfriend’ is already causing major waves on radio stations across the globe, and currently sits in the Billboard Top 40 rock songs chart and the Canadian Top 20 airplay chart. Continue reading VIOLENT SOHO album release + homecoming tour dates

The Cat Empire Announce New Album ‘Cinema’ and Tour

If there’s one band in this country who has sold in excess of half a million albums, singles, DVDs collectively across their relatively short career, it’s the always get on ya feet and dance, The Cat Empire!

EMI Music Australia proudly announced that Melbourne’s own The Cat Empire have re-signed with the label and set to celebrate their successful 6 year relationship with the release of their fourth studio album ‘Cinema’ on Friday June 25. Continue reading The Cat Empire Announce New Album ‘Cinema’ and Tour

The Holidays – East Coast Headliner Tour May-June 2010

The Holidays   Sydney quartet The Holidays announce East Coast headline dates to coincide with the release of their imminent new single Golden Sky. Summer’s throes may have vanished but the band has emerged from their Sydney studio with another sun-drenched tune that channels warm nights and cloudless skies. Golden Sky, delivered to radio shortly, blends wild percussion, sing-a-long chant choruses, falsetto vocals and squawking guitars into an action packed, yet equally sublime journey.

It comes hot on the heels of the acclaimed single Moonlight Hours, which reached # 1 on Triple J’s playlist earlier this year and re-configured the band’s musical GPS. Continue reading The Holidays – East Coast Headliner Tour May-June 2010

CD Review: An Horse – Rearrange Beds

Review: Lauren Sherritt
rearrange beds coverRearrange Beds recalls in lurid, dreamlike detail memories of adolescent youth; of mistimed love, desperation and a need for just a little bit of control, and as the debut album for Australian two piece An Horse it acts as a solid showcase of the band’s notable talents. It’s honest, edgy and just a little bit off centre and will speak to anybody who remembers that baffling and awkward experience that is emerging into adulthood.
Continue reading CD Review: An Horse – Rearrange Beds

CD Review: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat The Devil’s Tattoo

Review: Lana Harris

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club   Black Rebel Motorcycle Club burst from the deep south of the USA and appeared on the music scene at around the same time as we were all worrying about the millennium bug. They were often touted as being ‘the band to take rock forward into the new millennium’ and with this expectation yapping at their heels they crossed the century border.

A decade on, BRMC are still making rock records, their most recent offering entitled Beat the Devil’s Tattoo. The band’s sound has since acquired other labels and modifiers including garage rock,

swamp rock, blues, country, indie pop and psych-garage. Elements of stoner rock appear in Beat The Devil’s Tattoo too, the characteristic fuzzy guitars and drawling lyrics of the genre weaved with a 70’s rock vibe. Nowhere is this more prevalent than on tracks ‘War Machine’ and ‘Aya’, droning slow burners bloated with distorted guitars that alternatively smoulder and blister. Continue reading CD Review: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat The Devil’s Tattoo

CD Review: The Medics – This Boat We Call Love

Review: Lana Harris

The Medics   Thinking about Cairns, music is rarely the first thing that comes to mind. And when the brain cells do get around to firing in the melodic direction, the image drawn most frequently is that of cover bands playing ‘Down Under’ to hopelessly intoxicated backpackers. So it’s good to know that there are original, independent muso’s inhabiting the tourist Mecca, artists who can battle the salty humidity and lure of cheap pink drinks to produce a unique contribution to the Australian music scene.

The artists in question are known as The Medics, a four-piece emotive indie outfit with an arrangement of electric and

acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion and vocals. Their contribution is their second EP This Boat We Call Love. Continue reading CD Review: The Medics – This Boat We Call Love

The Chemical Brothers – New Album ‘Further’ Released 4 June 2010

It starts with what sounds like an alien morse code transmission; Earth bound signals bouncing off the side of orbiting space debris. Snatches of voices found out in the ether cut through the machine fog, drifting across burbling analogue equipment lovingly kept working long after supposed sell-by date. By the time the click and thump of snare and bass drum arrive, the sounds are all-encompassing, swirling around you with dizzying, disorientating effect. Noises come untethered by constraints of volume, seemingly leaping from the speakers with a life of their own. For a band used to dealing in psychedelics, this time round The Chemical Brothers have really pushed the proverbial envelope. Continue reading The Chemical Brothers – New Album ‘Further’ Released 4 June 2010

Music Review: Field Music – Measure

Review: Duncan McKimm

Field Music - Measure   Following the brilliance of Tones of Town, it appeared Field Music were entering a possibly terminal hiatus due to the Brewis brothers’ aversion to touring and their seemingly disparate musical desires. However, a couple of excellent solo projects in the form of School of Language (David’s baby) and The Week That Was (Peter’s) appear to have not only brought the focus back to Field Music, but also added some excitement to the flagship band. Maybe the critical success of the two side-projects and the removal of tour pressure during this time (which the brothers hate) reinvigorated the old girl – but whatever it was, she’s sounding fantastic.

Continue reading Music Review: Field Music – Measure

Audio Interview – Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan

Interview by: Ben Hosking

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLANIn the lead up to The Dillinger Escape Plan Australian Tour – May 2010 – we caught up with Dillinger founder and lead guitarist Ben Weinman.

Listen to the Audio interview:
Interview: Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan by Ben HoskingLifeMusicMedia


Related:
CD Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan – ‘Option Paralysis’
The Dillinger Escape Plan – Australian Tour – May 2010


THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN

Tame Impala – InnerSpeaker Tour – May 2010

Modular have announced that West Coast sonic wanderers Tame Impala will unveil their debut album InnerSpeaker on May 21, and are taking to the road in May for a National Tour.

It will be the first time much of the record is played live to an unsuspecting public and will showcase the gloriously dazzling results of one of planet earth’s most exciting bands absolutely going to town on their debut long player. Continue reading Tame Impala – InnerSpeaker Tour – May 2010