Good Talent Is Right Outside Your Door

So i'm not always the biggest advocate for promoting local music. Oh sure, i've been bludgeoning readers with my obsession for Big Scary again and again (p.s. they're brilliant) but aside from that it's not often that you'll see these pages filled with picketing Australian - let alone Melbourne-based - bands (not like the wonderful Who The Bloody Hell Are They? blog).
But lately I've found myself browsing through the local produce, picking them up and obvserving them in the harsh light, checking them for bumps and bruises, and taking the freshest and ripest of them to heart.

Not least the following records. Both debuts from artists who aren't distinctly Australian, but you know what? I think that's a good thing. Music that's seen as OZ-tralian lately seems to be cringe-worthy hip-hop, tedious roots rock or just knuckle-dragging neanderthal noise.

Good music and patriotism don't necessarily go hand in hand.

Perhaps the following acts are great because they are independent, untainted by the fingerprints of major-label concerns, but I'd like to think that it's because they privelege their character and individuality over trying to conform to what the radios will play. 

The Tiger & Me - From A Liar To A Thief  (Vitamin Records, 2010)

Taking in hints of jazz, folk, pop, indie and even classical music, it becomes obvious from even the most cursory listen that The Tiger & Me have honed their unique sound through tireless gigging and tinkering. Encouraged by a romantic vision, the resulting effect is of a roaring twenties speakeasy troupe gatecrashing a cabaret show. Even carrying over to their rich artwork (a customised deck of cards with art-deco-meets-wild-west-saloon flourishing) as well as their vivid image-laden lyrics. ‘Til Sunrise puts it best, a group “always singing the blues to the hookers, the harlots/the chivalrous charlatans.” 

There’s a glut of talent here with no less than three songwriters contributing to the twelve numbers on offer, with no weak link among them. Each brings a particular characteristic to the group’s core sound. Ade Vincent plays the charming rogue, Jane Hendry the crystalline chanteuse and Tobias Selkirk lends a melancholic earthiness. Whether they’re trading lines (Oh My Darlin’, The Big Trapeze) or combining their voices into tight harmonies (particularly the dying moments of Many Things), it’s always a delight.

There’s even time for a handful of collaborators to share the spotlight, including the co-written Oh My Darlin’ from one Kelly Day (moonlighting from Hendry’s other group, the vocal quartet The Nymphs) as well as all manner of guest brass and woodwind muscling in on an already teeming palette of mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, pianos, violin, accordion, bass and drums.

This all-hands-in approach recalls The Cat Empire, particularly on the raucous sea shanties they often turn to for their cathartic choruses. The Circus or The Zoo winds through an atmospheric nightscape into a cacophonic, marching sing-a-long, while Lead A Merry Dance Around The Fire is ignited by the same tipsy camaraderie. The vocal interplay and impressive musicianship is akin to former hopefuls George and elsewhere Many Things and Once A Poet possess a gothic sweep that Nick Cave would be proud of. 

Meanwhile Dangerous Creatures, Half-Light and Lady Grey demonstrate a more tender and intimate side to their sound, quieter moments that bring to mind the lilting, rustic charm of early Augie March. That’s not forgetting the chamber-pop narrative whimsy of The Decmeberists that informs I Left The Wolves Behind That Night and Lead A Merry Dance Around The Fire. All the while the clean production enables the band’s ambitious arrangements, with each pluck of a string or hammer of a key given clear definition and space. 

It’s fitting that a deck of cards should adorn the front of From A Liar To A Thief, because no matter which way you cut the deck, The Tiger & Me play a winning hand – shuffling confidently between their many musical suits and moods. If you like your music articulate, expressive and theatrical, The Tiger & Me delivers it wrapped with an insidious arch of the eyebrow and a knowing wink. 

Check out the band's MySpace for tunes and the band's website for gigs and info - they really are a sight live. Oh, and they were kind enough to give me props

Lindsay Phillips - Varning (Departed Sounds, 2010)

The first thing that you’ll notice about Lindsay Phillips is that voice. Gnarled and raggedy at the edges like a country singer, yet gravitating around an eccentric, and florid centre. Imagine if Nick Cave had studied opera, or Antony ‘and The Johnsons’ Hegarty doing his best Johnny Cash impersonation and you’re halfway there. Full of character and distinct intonation, it’s certainly a voice that’s going to get Phillips noticed. Beneath that paint-stripping timbre however, is the pen of a songwriter whose earned his craft as much as he’s learned it. Despite his CV that covers choirs, rock bands and even death metal (can you imagine?), it’s evident that in the purest pairing of voice and acoustic guitar he has found his match. 

A telling summation comes in Phillips’ own words, that he has “vastly outstripped any sort of showmanship that I might have mustered in the past.” What remains is a hauntingly direct sound that taps into a economical mode of songwriting, buoyed by a melodic sensibility as well as keen observational lyrics. Take You Got Over All Those Barbed Wire Fences’ opening verse:

“who can only know just what they know/stoke the fire/that you’ve been feeding/you desired/know that when the wind blows/that you got over all those barbed wire fences”

It’s this kind of wisened view matched by a melodic tenacity that is the bedrock of Phillips’ writing.

Elsewhere the title track is a musical interlude with foreboding vocal harmonies and the strumming of a Spanish guitar, it wouldn’t sound out of place as the soundtrack to a spaghetti western. So too Legion, as it paints a vast landscape with its dark country strum, enhanced by vocal accompaniment from Melissa O’Rourke. Whose voice offsets equally well with Phillips’ croon on Infinality and When The Spirit Dies Young. The latter an album highlight with its rueful words: “and you try to find meaning/ in the soil/in the air you’ve been breathing/in the eyes of those you know/there was love and now they’re cast in stone.”

After a string of EP’s and singles, Phillips’ debut album proper is a confident statement of intent, with a focus and desire that befits his moody take on the acoustic troubadour. At risk of inciting hyperbole, it’s tempting to call it Bon Iver for the murder ballad set. 

Varning’s ten cuts sound like they’re as old as the hills. A fact that, along with Phillips unique voice, may find him unfairly ignored as a nostalgic relic. That’s not to say it’s a style for everybody; something that Varning makes no gumption about ignoring, but for those willing to listen – there’s a charm and sparkle waiting to reward the attentive. 

You can hear the entirety of Varning over at SoundCloud then purchase a copy at the man's website

And for those of you that still remember Demtel adverts... "But wait! There's more!"

Here's some other equally talented and individualistic Australian artists who've been tickling my earbones lately. 

Cloud Control

Their recent support slot with Vampire Weekend certainly sparked my interest. Their Talking Heads inspired indie rock has coloured me intrigued for their forthcoming debut Bliss Release

Kimbra

 Sharing management and producers (Francois Tetaz) with the wonderful Bertie Blackman demonstrates her pedigree. The taster of her forthcoming album on MySpace shows her talent. Think the smoky velvet of a jazz singer mees the acrobatic flair of indie rock with inventive backing to match. (*secretive whisper* you'll be reading a lot more about Kimbra in these pages very soon. Watch this space.)

Brian Campeau

Thom Yorke. Jazz. Talk Talk. Choral Folk. Painterly Atmosphere. If that sequence of words excites you, may I suggest you invest in his latest, Mostly Winter, Sometimes Spring.

Young Heretics

Yeah, yeah I mentioned them last post, but the album's FREE goddamn it. Just head to here one of this year's most promising debuts is yours.

oh, ummm... and  

Big Scary

Autumn. Good. Get.

...You've Done It Again

So JB Hi-Fi just finished their annual stocktake sale, which basically means they have further discounts off they're already nicely priced stock, and this year it just so happened to align with the advent of my birthday.Which means, wth vouchers and 'birthday money' in hand, I went a little bat-shit insane.

While many would see this stocktake sale as a good time to inflate their Blu-Ray collection, finally get that new Laptop/TV, or simply get some Hollywood-approved dross from the movie section; I instead headed straight to the music department.

Here we have a further sub-section of people who would use 20% off all CDs to grab a few new releases at a discounted price (in fact, in retrospect not picking up Owen Pallett's Heartland or Gorillaz Plastic Beach for a bargain-basement  $16 pricetag may be something I soon regret). No, instead I saw it as an opportunity to fill out some desired pockets of my weighty CD collection, oblivious to the fact that the ever-encroaching pile of plastic jewel cases that surrounds my computer probably means I don't really have space for such an investment....

Another thing to note, despite the fact that the stocktake sale also applied to JB's online store, I forgo this luxury for the thrill of the hunt in the real-word. Scouring the racks to find that physical item has always been far more satisfying than in the digital realm. As such, I definitely felt like an obsessive-compulsive freakshow at times, scanning methodically through the sections like some sort of ravenous, clinical cyborg (Alternative A-Z, Heavy Rock A-Z, Popular A-Z, cursory glance through Urban/Dance/Bargain Bins/Boxsets). Precariously balanced stack of albums in one hand, iPhone calculator app in the other - I'm sure there were a few who saw me as that guy.

Anyway, here's my JB HiFi blowout in numbers:

4 number of separate JB HiFi stores visited

350 amount in $$$ (roughly) spent

130 amount in $$$ (roughly) saved

23 music related purchases made

6 number of those purchases that were albums by Joni Mitchell

27 the percentage of those purchases that can be clearly defined as "Progressive Rock"

1 bubblegum metal album among them, take a bow Def Leppard's Pyromania

1,178 the number of minutes, total listening time, that all that music amounts to

Which all begs the question, why am I telling you all this? 

Some sort of narcissistic boast about my spending habits? Not really, I realise that blowing a third of my fortnightly payslip on any singular expense is bordering on reckless. No, I'd like to think instead that it gives you just a little bit of insight into that dying breed: the record collector, as well as show the importance of supporting the artist by buying their product. Far be it for me to suggest a 'holier than thou' approach, proclaming from my ivory tower that everyone should buy CDs. To be sure, some of those purchases were to replace cheeky downloads i've made in the past (though for fear of legal retribution I won't say which... but definitely not Joni, I wouldn't dare dream of second-handing Joni). 

Make of it what you will, but i'm still positively buzzing from the experience, and the thought of going through all this new music makes me as giddy as a child with lego on Xmas morning. Hopefully you have the same experience, and knowledge of music's worth, no matter by which means you procure it.

May your ears and iTunes be full of goodness.

Anyway just to end on a little footnote to prove that i'm not totally against the turning of the tide to digital distribution. Local Melbourne duo, Young Heretics, have made their debut album We Are The Lost Loves available in full, for free(!), from their website; and it's bloody good stuff.

So good that I might just purchase the CD.... aaah, the circle of life.

I'm Still Standing (yeah, yeah, yeah)

Dear Gentle Readers,

It's been too long, nearly a month, 23 days to be precise - and I feel nought but guilt about this.

My main excuse would be that I've without a working internet plan for nearly exactly as long as I've been absent from posting (but have discovered Internet Tethering through my iPhone. Heaven. Thanks Dan). On top of the that the combination of full-time work and a half-season Comedy Festival show has proven too powerful an advesary to the old blog priorities. Did I mention the guilt?

Well this is more of a quick check-in (like popping home to have a home-cooked meal with the family only to pop off to your next 'social commitment'), hopefully it will tide you over till A) that new internet plan kicks in B) I get some time off work or C) my comedy show finishes, which by the way

*smooth segue noise*

You should totally come and see!

It's called Occupation: Ugly and it's essentially an hour-long sketch comedy show, which means short, sharp punches of hilarity in live, video and audio format. I'm one of five (very/uber) talented writer/performers and although it's not strictly of a musical nature, I do get to showcase my favourite party trick - I don't want to spoil things (that'll cost you a ticket, head to Comedicate to book); but I will say this, if you ever wanted to hear the missing link between Boston's More Than A Feeling and N.W.A. (that's Niggaz With Attitude to you honky), then I suggest you come the hell along.

We're playing every night until the end of the festival (re: Sat) at 7.15pm Kaleide Theatre, RMIT.

Some reasons why you should come:

• We got some schweet airtime on Triple J's Breakfast Slot. Listen Here.
• Last year, The Pun called us "the best live sketch comedy of the festival" and 'people' have been saying that this year is better, you do the math.
• Watch some funny stuff we did:

And if nothing else grabs you, look how gorgeous and model-esque we all are!

Right, enough shameless plugging, on with what people came here for. Ze Musik!

Here's a review of the new record from everybody's Danish group, enjoy.

Kashmir - Trespassers (Columbia, 2010)

It’s been quite the wait between material for fans of Kashmir, Trespassers arrives four years after their last record, the decidedly darker, more claustrophobic No Balance Palace. Their latest however, hovers somewhere between that album’s moody temper and the melodic, pathos-tinged style of its predecessor, 2003’s Zitilites. An album that saw the group tagged ‘the Danish Radiohead’ after their international profile peaked.

What Trespassers lacks in clarity or the hook-driven immediacy of its peers, it makes up for in sonic ingenuity. The opening track (and lead single) Mouthful of Wasps is an ample template, mixing a stop start bassline, shuffling drums and guitars that sound like humming organs into a curious but compelling cohesion. The quasi-title track, Intruder, follows featuring a characteristically mercurial chord progression of cloudy arpeggios against a driving rhythm section to mesmerising effect. 

Presiding over production is the legendary Andy Wallace, who lends everything a clear, crisp and balanced sound without detracting from the group’s penchant for curious, ear-prickling sonic curiosities. The emphasis remains however on frontman Kasper Eistrup’s world-worn vocals and the canny, creative lyrics that voice them. His cracked delivery wringing poignancy from even potentially cartoonish lines like “the vampire that hides in the dim corner as you walk by/will turn into cinder with one laser beam from your eye” on Danger Bear. Though his words can occasionally flit by in a torrent of wild imagery (Mantaray alone offers fireflies, woods, tumbleweeds, moons, earthquakes and spines), when he cuts through to the heart of the matter, he really hits home. One particular pearler, both lyrically and musically, being Bewildered In The City, with the line “In unison we vibrate and roar/my longest lasting love” reaching skyward in tandem with the music.

Other highlights include the chugging drive of Pursuit of Misery, or the celestial trip of Pallas Athena – an all-too-brief shimmering backdrop of static-tweaked guitars, twinkling keyboards and Eistrup’s mechanically treated vocals. A string section lends a dramatic sweep to the emotionally charged Bewildered In The City and the epic conclusion that is The Indian (That Dwells Inside My Chest). The latter finishing the album with a symphonic ending fit for cinema.

As those strings die away, the lasting impression is of a band who have now transcended the threads of their western influences, and woven them into a unique sound that is entirely their own. Beneath the beguiling textures and strange exteriors lies a return to classic verse/bridge/chorus structures. 

Trespassers may not be Kashmir’s most popular set, but time will most certainly prove it as their most cohesive and fully realised statement yet. 

And simply because it wouldn't be an AMR post without a gushing reference to one of Melbourne's best kept secrets, the ever-talented Big Scary prove their incapable of creating a bad tune with the (FREE!) release of the title track to their newest venture, four seasonal themed EP's beginning with Autumn.

Oh and here's the new Official Video for the still-excellent Falling Away:

At The Mercy Of The Excellence

Big Scary should probably already be familiar to regulars of this website, or my writings in Beat magazine, but I have yet to give them their own dedicated post. A situation I intend to rectify now.

It's hard to write about these Melbourne up-and-comers without quickly sliding into a torrent of gushing hyperbole, so exciting is their music, so infectious their sound. Rather than attempt to paraphrase my various reviews of their work, I thought i'd simply cut to the chase.

Fresh from support slots with international acts Editors and Florence and the Machine, I caught up with the band on the night of their At The Mercy Of The Elements EP Launch back in mid-February at the Newton Workers Club.

Speaking pre-gig backstage outside the modest kitchenette, strummer Tom Iansek is likening the imminent launch to a birthday party “and it’s nice having a party where you know everyone. It’s genuinely a lot of fun.” His excitement is offset by his soothing demeanour, reclined in a bar-chair while casually playing with the rim of the table’s solely lit candle. Meanwhile his other musical half, Jo Syme, is visibly fidgeting in anticipation behind her floral top and perfectly coutuered bob-cut, though she is equally articulate and direct with her answers.

Obviously you’ve had the shows with Editors and Florence and the Machine, but is this more exciting for you two because it’s more of your own thing?

Tom Iansek: There’s more pressure, and I mean there’s a lot that goes into it obviously and all the publicity but hopefully a bigger payoff. And it’s good… you’re excited every gig with your friends and your family where you can play to them.

Jo Syme: I remember last time playing at the Empress (Hotel for the self titled EP launch) looking out and being like really ‘not emotional’ but I was emotional and it’s like “Thanks so much for coming!”

With this EP, is this the first official introduction of the piano to the live set?

T: yeah, it is. We’ve played with piano before, I don’t think the sound was very good though.

J: Only twice, and it hasn’t been part of our modern show for so long. So it’s a relief to be able to finally show it off

T: I don’t know what it’s going to sound like, you’re on the other side of the stage and you get a very different sound to what everyone else gets.

Is that something you’ve had to work towards? Getting the piano in the repertoire again?

T: well it was just more a matter of time

J: we had to wait until it was justified and then Falling Away was getting a bit of support on the radio, it’s sort of like – if that’s what we’re known for its kind of ridiculous if we can’t play that at gigs (laughs)

T: it doesn’t make sense.

So does it feel like an expectation, if that’s the stuff people wanna hear you want to get the piano out there?

T: Oh, totally! And we love playing it, it’s always been guitars and drums. but we’ve had this whole stack of piano songs. And it’s not just Falling Away we play a lot of others

J: half a set almost

Now in terms of recording, how was that compared to what you’ve done in the past to the recording you’re doing currently?

T: We just had a different producer, we had Matt Voigt, and before we worked with Dave Carr. And it was just a different experience; I mean they’re the only two producers we’ve worked with.

J: It was a really funny week of recording this EP. I mean we’ve said it before but it really was crazy, crazy weather. And just things like, even the studio that we worked in really affects how the songs came out. For example, if you listen to my vocals in the background, there’s a truck pulling out or different microphones we were forced to use and stuff. And that really… you don’t think about that often if you just pick up any CD and have a listen but the environment that we recorded in really affected it, and it was kind of a nice thing in the end.

And that influenced the naming of the EP obviously?

T: yeah, yeah, that sort o itf inspired it a bit. I mean we did go for the cheaper studio, to be honest, but it sort of imparted its own character on the recording. We had the option to go with the pristine studio, but it just didn’t have the vibe of this little place.

The same character?

T: Yeah, and like we said these little noises that if you really listen you can hear the details, so it was fun. Essentially we still did it in three days, before with Dave we would just go in and out and lay the tracks. We were on a bit of a budget, it was still a quick stint in the studio if slightly longer. So I suppose in that way it was the same. We didn’t feel like we were rushed. I mean we don’t have that many tracks to put down.

J: there’s only two of you, so it’s fairly easy. And compared to the current ones for example, these ones we’re gonna have more time to think about it. Because you mix it one day and then have quite a few weeks to listen to those and fix it up. We’ve already recorded what we plan to release in several months time – the seasons EPS. We know if we’re not happy with something we have time to go back and fix it. So that’s a new experience yet again. 

Your profile has certainly increased, getting more radio rotation and punctuating it with your live shows and support acts. How do you feel about that? Is there more expectations? Do you think it’s affected how you work?

J: I don’t have to write the songs so I don’t mind. (laughs) But honestly I don’t find there’s too much expectation; I’ve been looking forward to this.

T: I still consider ourselves, you know, very young - starting out. Finding our roots and so I still don’t feel there’s that huge… people kind of take a bit of notice this time which is nice, but I suppose that’s all it is. It’s just nice to have people interested. And encouraging. And it’s what you need when you put in so much time and slogging it out. Encouraging too.

J: keep it going.

T: yeah, move it along.

The support slots with Editors and Florence and the Machine were a big boost. Where there any experiences that you learned that you weren’t expecting?

J: Just being a bit more professional about even just (dramatically) stage plotting!

T: Just technical things. It’s just a different game at that level of shows.

J: And what mics you use. And there’s a guy, as opposed to just a sound mixer, there’s a special guy just for you side of stage with your own fallback. That’s the main learning experience, technical things.

T: It’s a different crowd too, there’s no expectation on you. You can sort of just grab their attention or just be a bit of music at the start. You’ve got a real opportunity to impress a whole lot of people. And that’s the best when you’re not expecting to experience something, from the audience’s point of view, when you’re not expecting much of the support act and it’s good to have that.

That opportunity?

T: Yeah, and it’s exciting too. What can I do that’s really going to blow these people away? I enjoy the challenge.

I mean it’s not like we weren’t backstage shitting ourselves. But we relaxed and we had a whole heap of fun.

You’re getting a lot of big comparisons: Jeff Buckley, White Stripes, Led Zeppelin, Bon Iver. These big, big music names. How do you feel about those comparisons?

J: It’s always a compliment really. I mean it’s never going to stick, because every song is different. It’s sort of Ok to say “That song sounds like the White Stripes” we say “Ok, well we challenge you to listen to another song and come to the same conclusion” And at that stage, yeah, I just think it’s more of a compliment. People can just assume, especially with the White Stripes because of the configuration. Really Tom’s voice is going for a different effect, and especially when you’ve now got piano in the set - not that Jack White doesn’t play piano - but it’s a whole different kind of genre.

It’s interesting that when you are, as you say, starting out that these big names are being thrown around.

T: yeah, it’s a convenience

J: Exactly, it’s convenient. I do it all the time to new bands. If I want some friends to come along and see someone I’ll obviously say a band that I like that I know they like, to draw them along. And especially since music these days, it’s all about genre-crossing. Oh so what kind of band are they, (nonchalant) oh, they’re an indie rock band – well that doesn’t help. You almost have to reference other bands to get an idea.

T: It’s almost what you have to do I suppose, it’s inevitable. So you can either hate it or embrace it and we’re Ok with it.

Are there any direct influences on the writing or is it just about seeing what clicks? Because it feels like there’s an organic vibe to a lot of the songs.

T: I think that probably came a lot from listening to Bon Iver, he’s been the only real influence that both of us have really gotten into in that way.

J: And at the time that we were forming as well.

T: yeah, and a lot of this new music, a lot of the songs that you’ll hear in these four seasons recordings we really like that organic vibe and hearing the story behind the production as well. I suppose that’ another reason we chose the cheaper studio because it had a vibe and all these sounds add to it. I like to hear the story about how it’s produced, and the imperfections, that sort of what excites me. So yeah he was a big influence.

In terms of the White Stripes, I don’t really see it.

J: I don’t think I’ve listened to any of their albums from start to finish. I really enjoy their singles.

T: I really like how they make their sound work you know. In a similar way.

I mean we really like time, tempo changes, and I suppose there might be a bit of an indirect fuzz kind of thing we’ve picked up from them but I can’t recall the last time I listened to the White Stripes.

What’s Next? You’ve got the seasons EPs, but have you thought beyond that?

J: (already nodding emphatically) we have, mainly about this year, we’ve got a pretty strong idea of this year because of the timing of releases. And then we’re looking forward to making an album, maybe next year.

T: Well there’ll be an album next year.

J: Yeah. Full stop. (laughs)

T: well, we’ve been building such good momentum and it’d be silly not keep it going and we’re still writing a whole heap of different stuff. You never know when that’s gonna drop off. We’re excited and we’re still writing music we’re excited to play and I think we’ve got the tracks for an album so it’s definitely on the cards. Probably record towards the end of this year even, and release it next year sometime.

With that, the pair - ever polite - offered their thanks (really, the pleasure's all mine), and headed off to prepare for the event at hand. As it turns out, it was an absolutely barnstorming performance. Delivering an all-encompassing set that included their radio-rotated numbers, older curios as well as brandspanking new material from the forthcoming 'seasons EPs.' For those who have followed the Big Scary trail this far, it was a triumph, for the uninitiated: categorical proof of their excellence.

Opening with a red-herring intro in which the duo battled it out on percussion, they then sank beautifully into the piano-led number Autumn an impressive blend of marching rhythm and sing-along power. Syme then ushers in Clouds with a deft backbeat, Iansek again at the keys, delivering twinkling arpeggios to accompany his dazzling falsetto. As such it mildly resembles Muse, kicking off the first of many, spot-the-musical-influence moments. A game the audience will inevitably lose.

Just as the cheeky Tuesday Is Rent Day, or the spiky flurry of New Killer may have you convinced that they are the heirs to the Black Keys’ two-man Zeppelin act; along comes a track like the hymnal Rolling By or anthem-in-waiting Stand Up Strong with Iansek’s expressive upper register recalling the likes of Patrick Watson or Jeff Buckley.

The fact of the matter is that Big Scary really can do it all. Both quiet and loud, fast and slow, rocking and restrained – but never in such obvious categorisations and always with their own stamp. They deliver a sound and virtuosity that groups double or triple their size struggle to achieve. And such range and diversity from only two people? The mind boggles.

Indeed the band has a great catalogue, but on tonight’s evidence, the real magic lies in watching the duo themselves. From the exchanged looks, to the smiles drawn on their faces, here are two musicians who clearly love playing with each other.

Particularly during Hey Somebody, a track whose live setting – complete with drum solo intro – really shows off its scuzzy rock energy and the band’s chemistry. Their enthusiasm for their songs and their audience is infectious, you can't help but smile and get swept away when the band are doing the exact same thing themselves.

When introducing the Triple J playlisted quartet of Polly, Apple Song, Lullaby and Falling Away, Iansek modestly comments “you might know these ones.” The crowd’s rapturous applause would suggest they do indeed, greeting the band with a sea of bobbing heads, clapping hands and swaying bodies.

The adulation is not lost on Big Scary, as they close with their signature send-off This Weight, Iansek dedicates it to all the people who couldn’t be packed into the already glowing audience of attendees. It’s an indication both of Big Scary’s ever-rising profile and a precognitive flash of their inevitable popularity.

Sad & Beautiful World, Mark Linkous R.I.P.

MARK LINKOUS R.I.P. (1962 - 2010)

It’s taken a couple of days to actually sink in (and complete this piece) but I was pretty upset when I read the news that Mark Linkous, best known as the musician behind Tennessee-based Sparklehorse, had committed suicide.

If you’ve never heard of Sparklehorse, that’s perhaps not a surprise, he was always a bit of an underground (if much valued) taste in his native country, let alone in Australia. But in light of his passing, perhaps his work will reach more people than ever before. A consequence as tragic as his violent suicide (the New York Times reports that Linkous shot himself in the chest with a rifle outside a friend’s apartment) an end that may paint him as a tragic case – and while Linkous’ music always had a dark, melancholic streak, his horrible death still comes as a shock.
I thought I’d take the opportunity to do a small retrospective-cum-remembrance on an artist who helped shape my own songwriting efforts and whose music was a big part of my own development.
I remember first hearing about Sparklehorse through Radiohead, who proclaimed his sophomore effort Good Morning Spider as one of the greatest albums they’d ever heard. It wasn’t until 2002’s It’s A Wonderful Life however, that I took the time to investigate. I remember wishing I’d discovered him earlier.

I was instantly taken with the album, I could best describe it as like taking a tour through a dilapidated mansion where the ghosts sing in the walls and all the old family portraits are covered in soot and rust. And as you brush the dust away, you feel a surge of warmth and beauty. It wasn’t long after that I purchased both of the first two Sparklehorse albums on a trip to Sydney for my auntie’s wedding. The impossibly titled debut Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot heralded Linkous’ Sparkehorse banner with a fully formed set of Southern-inflected folk rock and damaged, emotive storytelling, while the follow-up Good Morning Spider was as good as Radiohead had promised. Maintaining the flavor of Viva while taking the material to a darker place, as if waking bruised from a heavy night of drinking and waiting for the sedation to wear off only for the hangover to seep through.

I was struck by how confidently the music could swing between battered and broken melancholy, static-drenched fuzz-rock as well as experimental, homespun folk. All shot through with Linkous’ unique visual poetry, complete with an artistic obsession with small-town inertia, picturesque nostalgia and, of course, horses. His music reflected a Sad & Beautiful World (a lilting number from his debut that) and Linkous did both with equal aplomb, his music filled with the brutal honesty and world-weariness of a person who had seen, and more poignantly felt, too much and was able to convey it all through the most basic of musical settings. Though his compositions at time could be oversimplified, they always rung with a depth and sincerity beyond their meager construction.

The four-year wait for a follow-up to 2002’s It’s A Wonderful Life came in the form of 2006’s Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain. Notably it was co-produced with regular cohort David Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, MGMT) as well as one Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton. The appearance of the latter spurring a further collaboration with the production maverick, who along with director David Lynch, created Dark Night Of The Soul, a compilation featuring such artists as James Mercer (The Shins), Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), Julian Casablancas (The Strokes) and Iggy Pop – to name a few. However the compilation was delayed due to a drawn-out legal battle and eventually leaked on the net.
A star-studded roster no doubt, but Linkous was always a wily collaborator, most notably on It’s A Wonderful Life which featured Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Vic Chestnutt and Nina Persson of the Cardigans, who Linkous would go on to work with again under the A Camp moniker. During his career he also crossed paths with Thom Yorke on a cover of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here.

Even despite praise from music journalists and musical peers alike, he was vastly underrated. A case of an artist whose influence was far greater than his commercial success. It’s hard to gauge whether this suited Linkous himself, notoriously evasive of the media circus often associated with the industry, he gave the air of a recluse – content to produce his wiry opuses, yet his lyrics constantly opined for good days long-gone or hopes for better changes to come. The scuzzy rock of Happy Man for instance with its incessant refrain of “all I want is to be a happy man”, at once desperate and defiant.
After his passing, Linkous’ manager confirmed that work was “nearly finished” on a new Sparklehorse album before Linkous’ death as well as an official release (finally) from EMI of Dark Night Of The Soul. So it seems Linkous musical legacy is not quite finished, let’s hope that his posthumous work is treated with the same virtue and respect that Linkous himself treated it with. The fact remains that though he will be missed, he left behind a powerfully concise body of work.
On a personal note, I thought the best way to send Mark Linkous off would be with a selection of his own wonderful lyrics, and while I struggled to choose from such a vast selection, I think the chorus from Gold Day is a fitting tribute:

“Keep all your crows away/keep skinny wolves at bay/in silver piles of smiles/may all your days be gold my child.”

...Make (JJ)Jack a dull boy

Hello fellow readers of The Rant, as your keen peepers have no doubt noticed, I haven't been as punctual lately with my posts. I assure it's not for lack of interest, or content. But more to the fact that my time has been spread thin with other endeavours. What are they?
Well, namely full-time work, and time commitments for a new comedy show (more shameless plugging on that soon but its called Occupation Ugly running as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, more details at Comedicate).
That's not to say I've been cutting back time on music, oh lordy, no. I've continued contributions to Beat Magazine, MX and as of next month's issue, J Mag. That's right this humble writer's services have been added to the list for JJJ's official music magazine. Colour me excited. You can start reading my reviews in next month's issue.
All for which has meant for severely less bloggage time. One good thing all this published stuff has taught me is to be more economical with my writing, 170-200 word limits aren't the usual count round these parts (as readers of some of my more exahustive posts will know.) As such (after that rant of another kind) this month's post will be short and sweet, d.
A cheeky taster of what you can expect in my first published work with J Mag.
Onward!

Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History (etcetc/Kitsuné)

With their choppy guitars, dance-ready beats and indie credentials, this North Ireland outfit might have you groaning ‘not another fashionable guitar band,’ but Two Door Cinema Club may be swimmers, not sinkers.
Though they signed to the hip French label Kitsuné after only two singles and a single Glastonbury appearance, their debut draws from a more solid pedigree of proven musical styles.
I Can Talk’s fizzing energy picks up the skyscraping guitars Editors ditched when they went electronic. Do You Want It All? rings like Bloc Party’s This Modern Love, complete with tricky 7/4 timing; while This Is The Life, featuring Alex Trimble’s preening falsetto, sounds akin to Mew. They also recall Friendly Fires with their dual-guitar and bass setup, but the best indication of their appeal is that they’re due to support Phoenix on tour.
At 32 minutes over ten tracks, the album never lets off the setting marked ‘taut and lean’ but there’s still enough variation to its spry electro-tinged-indie-pop theme to captivate.
It may still be early in the year, but chances are you’ll hear a lot more of TDCC in 2010. And considering what’s on offer here, that’s no bad thing.

And there you have it, short, sharp, catchy and to the point. Much like the music.

Speaking of which, here's a random rundown on what I've been wrapping my eardrums around lately.
*Heaps of Wilco, who manage to convince me they are the greatest live act I've never seen whenever I listen to Kicking Television or the brilliant audio accompaniment to Ashes of American Flags.
*Plenty of Big Scary in anticipation for their EP Launch this Friday. The Newton Workers Club, Fitzroy. Be There. Need a reason? Their new single Falling Away is available as a free D/L over at JJJ.
*The new new solo album from Jón þor Birgisson, entitled Go, under the simple moniker of Jónsi - and it's all its cracked up to be.
*The new Lightspeed Champion. And yes, it's brilliant. I'll be covering that one soon for sure.
*Gone back to some classic prog-rock. We're talking Pink Floyd, Yes and King Crimson. In fact I've had Yes' Close To The Edge on high rotation, even despite the pile of CDs that need reviewing.
*Speaking of prog, a recommendation from Jem Godfrey (the amazing talent behind Frost*) led to me the little unsung band Halloween, Alaska and their brilliant little album Champagne Downtown. Check out their website for a few streams.
*and to top it all off, a small peppering of previews for some of 2010's most anticipated new releases via free mp3s from the bands themselves. Its good see major labels finally starting to catch on. We've had new cuts from the likes of Shearwater with Black Eyes, news of a new Broken Social Scene record (JOY!) with World Sick and Peter Gabriel's sweeping cover of Bon Iver's Flume. Taken from his new covers album, Scratch My Back, in which he reimagines all manner of musical heroes (Radiohead, Bowie, Arcade Fire, Elbow) with the backing of a complete orchestra.

Peow, so hopefully that'll tide you over 'till next we meet. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to bed with the old ipey.

2009 Honourable Mentions: Part 2

(EDIT: *sigh* so I got away with Part 1 it seems, but Part 2 suffered a DMCA notice takedown. If you're unclear of what that means, read this, basically though I've just removed all the links that ain't YouTube and i'll go back and replace some time.)

Woah, sorry about the break there, it's been an eventful couple of weeks. Including a slew of top-notch concerts including Big Day Out, The Decemberists, Florence & The Machine and the almighty Porcupine Tree. On top of that, I've been wrapping my ears around a whole lot of new music - either new albums for this year (Owen Pallett, FourTet, Yeasayer) as well as some great heavy rock from Australia (Sleep Parade, Eleventh He Reaches London, Sydonia & Toehider)
I really want to just charge ahead on to new things, 2009 seems like so long ago already, but in the interest of spotlighting great music that may have otherwise been ignored, I shall fulfill my promise of part 2 of 2009's Honourable Mentions. In the words of Mario, "lets-a-go!"


Big Scary - Hey Somebody
If you've been following my writing in Beat magazine (or read my Interpol concert report) - you'll already know that I love this band, they're easily Melbourne's best unsigned act at the moment. Hey Somebody is the lead single from their brand-spanking new EP, At The Mercy Of The Elements. Displaying great diversity, immense talent and just straight-up excellent tunes, this is a band you best acquaint yourself with before they start a record label bidding war or storm the airwaves. Big Scary are that good.

Noah & The Whale - Love Of An Orchestra
The sophomore album from this indie folk collective was inspired by the break-up between bandleader Charlie Fink and former girlfriend/collaborator Laura Marling. It's not just a mopefest though, as this sprightly anthem attests.

DM Stith - Pity Dance
Combine Patrick Watson's inspired eccentricity, Sufjan Stevens' lush arrangements and Antony '& The Johnsons' Hegarty's haunting vocals and it would equate to DM Stith. Here is a suitably spooky cut taken from his supremely confident debut Heavy Ghost.

Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)
Though Cudi's conceptual record Man on The Moon: The End Of The Day was an unbalanced and occasionally monotonous affair, it did indeed contain its moments. By calling in psychedelic popsters MGMT and instrumental paramores Ratatat, Scott Mescudi ensured that Pursuit of Happiness was one of those moments.


The Swell Season - The Verb
The little couple that could from the delightful movie Once (aka Glenn Hansard and Markéta Irglová) make a return with a sombre set that encapsulated the full spectrum of love and heartbreak. Though it lacked a killer single, the likes of Oscar-winning Falling Slowly, it was a more consistent set peppered with strong cuts such as the dour The Verb.

Prince - (There'll Never B) Another Like Me
Taken from the second side of a double album (LotusFlow3r/MPLSoUND, a triple if you include the Prince-produced Elixer from Bria Valente... but I don't), this sees the Purple one laying down all his idiosyncracies in an equally eccentrically titled funk workout. Sample lyric: 'Slipped into the bathroom/Put some olive oil in my hair,' indeed, there will never be another like Prince, savour him at another career high.

The Melodics - Maple Leaf Rag
Even for a band whose profile is on the rise, The Melodics are still vastly under appreciated. Their confident debut 4D possessed a wealth of styles - synth pop, funk, new-wave,jazz, hip hop - eschewed through songwriting smarts. Not unlike fellow Melbourne groovesters The Cat Empire. The six degrees shorten with the presence of producer Jan Scubizewski , one half of Jackson Jackson (the other being Cat trumpeter Harry Angus). Maple Leaf Lag is just one of the may colours in their spectrum, sampling Joplin classic The Entertainer to dizzying effect.

Doves - Jetstream
The cinematic introduction to album number four, Kingdom Of Rust, was an 'imaginary soundtrack to the closing credits of Blade Runner' according to the band. Evident from its synth-driven sci-fi chug infused with group's usual penchant for finely honed production and building textures. It also heralded a triumphant return after a nearly half a decade's absence.


Marmaduke Duke - Rubber Lover
The bonkers side-project for Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neill, who along with partner in dirty-pop crime JP Reid, produced a zany off-beat album in the appropriately titled Duke Pandemonium. Including this brief, but perfectly crafted gem - achieving the unique feat of making Billy Joel sound sexy in sampling his Sleeping With The Television On.

Major Lazer - Pon De Floor
The pseudonym for taste-making producers Diplo and Switch gave them the freedom to conjure gritty electro inspired by the daggering dancehalls of Jamaica. Fronted by a ridiculous cartoon concept about a lazer-toting general who kills vampires and zombies, but backed by a balls-out frenetic live show and a cavalcade of guest spots.

Katatonia - Day And Then The Shade
Following on from their career-defining album, The Great Cold Distance, Katatonia solidified their unique style with Night Is The New Day. Mawkish title aside, it proffered doom-laden aesthetics and grinding metal sounds teeming with emotional pathos. If you've ever been curious about heavier rock or metal but never had an entrypoint, this is for you.

Julian Plenti - On The Esplanade
After a less-than-favourable reception to Our Love To Admire, Interpol frontman Paul Banks returned to the Julian Plenti moniker of his pre-fame days gigging as a solo act. You'd be hard-pressed to imagine these arrangements' acoustic origins however, delivering a set of songs that dispelled any doubts as to Banks' abilities as a unique voice in the rock landscape.


David Gray - Nemesis
His White Ladder chart-topping days may be behind him, but that doesn't mean that Mr. Gray's star has faded. Returning after a four year long hiatus, Draw The Line was a welcome return of a songwriter in the classical mould. Perfectly metered couplets, accessible tunes that still contained the spirit of invention and of course Gray's ever-felt presence in that voice.

Monsters Of Folk - Say Please
Not quite the sum of their legendary parts, the monsters in question - Conor Oberst & Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and influential singer-songwriter M. Ward - instead opted for casual bouts; but when the components sparked, it resulted in catchy tuneage such as this.

Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone
The Sheffield heroes' third album may have polarised the lovers of their small-town-stories-meets-angular-rock aesthetic; but Humbug instead introduced a new kind of intimacy. Their excellent narratives were still intact, they just came accompanied in new musical guises, such as this relaxed ballad couching a deeply personal lyric that features a series of trysts in pubs

The Antlers - Bear
Alloyed by a steady stream of blogosphere hype, the Brookly three-piece's Hospice was a conceptual investigation into pain and loss via grief and hospital-bound turmoil. Though the prospect of such sour-faced introspection will have most heading for the exit, Antlers managed to temper it with cathartic build and release a la Arcade Fire en route through Okkervil River. The twinkling Bear being a perfect personification of their appeal.

Phew, that became far more of a trial than it needed to be. The Rant's internet plan is simply not cutting the mustard like it used to. So in the words of Farmer Hoggett "that'll do pig... that'll do"