Mess+Noise Mid-Year Report 2010: my top five

Mess+Noise asked their critics to pick their top five Australian releases so far this year. I chose these:

The Gin Club
Deathwish (LP, Plus One Records)
With nine songwriters in the mix across the genres of rock, folk and pop, The Gin Club’s fourth full-length could easily have fallen victim to too-many-cooks syndrome. It didn’t. Instead, it’s one of the best Australian albums of recent memory.
Read Andrew’s review here.

Halfway
An Outpost Of Promise (LP, Plus One Records)
This Brisbane alt-country act contain as many members as The Gin Club, but on this release, the songwriting of core duo John Busby and Chris Dale is informed by the direction of Go-Betweens co-founder (turned album producer) Robert Forster. The result is 10 finely-honed songs that bear a homely, barroom feel.
Read Andrew’s review here.

Nikko
The Warm Side (LP, Tenzenmen)
Another Brisbane band - swear I’m not biased. Post-rock with vocals done well.
Read Andrew’s review here.

Faux Pas
Noiseworks (LP, Sensory Projects/Heroics)
Outrageous, otherworldly electronic pop written in a Melbourne bedroom. An outstanding debut.

Parades
Foreign Tapes (LP, Dot Dash/Remote Control)
This one was overwhelmingly dense upon first listen, and took a few listens to reveal its genius. Unconventional pop songs dressed up in the always-awkward “art rock” tag. I’m glad I gave it time. You should too.

Visit Mess+Noise to see the rest of the critics’ picks.

What are your top five Australian releases of 2010 so far?

Filed under Music | Tags: 2010, australian, faux-pas, halfway, mess-and-noise, Music, music-criticism, nikko, parades, the-gin-club | Comments (3)

Rolling Stone album reviews, August 2010: Drawn From Bees, Itch-E & Scratch-E, PVT

My first album reviews for Rolling Stone, which appeared in the August 2010 issue.

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Drawn From Bees
Elementary Tales For Young Boys & Girls

Ambitious rock collection favours both quantity and quality

This limited release box set fulfils the rigorous, self-imposed work ethic outlined by Brisbane art rock quartet Drawn From Bees in 2008: to write, record and release new material every six months. Think of Elementary Tales as a long-exposure snapshot of an ambitious band-in-progress. Comprising 35 songs split between three EPs and a debut album, Fear Not The Footsteps Of The Departed, Drawn From Bees aren’t short on hooks, nor willingness to experiment. The nine tracks on second EP And The Blind Shall Lead The Way each hit high notes; lead cut “Long Tooth Setting Sun” contains one of the best examples of their favoured four-part harmonies. Very few of these songs feel undercooked; many sizzle with admirable clarity of vision. Their studious devotion to deadlines could be construed as over-earnestness, yet if anything, this career-so-far summary only underlines how serious Drawn From Bees are about their art. Taken in its entirety, this is a remarkable body of work.

Key Tracks: “Long Tooth Setting Sun”, “And the Blind Shall Lead the Way”

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Itch-E & Scratch-E
Hooray For Everything!!!

Lukewarm third LP an itch better left unscratched

That this Sydney techno duo Itch-E & Scratch-E open their first release in a decade with a remix of the Scribe tune “F.R.E.S.H.” speaks directly to this album’s misguided nature. Considering their reputation as scene innovators in the early-1990s - remember the understated, ARIA Award-winning beauty of “Sweetness & Light”? - the Scribe joint seems the techno equivalent of waving a white flag. Elsewhere, NYC rapper MDNA lends his rapidfire potty mouth to “Other Planets” and The Scare’s Kiss Reid guests on “Electric”, yet these compare unfavourably to the album’s latter instrumental tracks. “Fishtank” and “Imperial Rockets” are the only true captivators here, but ultimately, these intergalactic sojourns can’t reconcile overall weakness. The uninspired cowbell/vocoder combination in album closer “Found It On The Dancefloor” serves only to still whatever slight momentum had been gained. More proof that just because you can reunite, doesn’t mean you should.

Key Tracks: “Fishtank”, “Imperial Rockets”, “Found It on the Dancefloor”

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PVT
Church With No Magic

Electro rockers deliver much-anticipated third opus

The band formerly known as Pivot have added vocals to their blend of rock and electronica, yet what lies within Church With No Magic isn’t as immediately compelling as 2008’s O Soundtrack My Heart. Fans of the previous record will soak up the raucous, pitch-shifted dissonance of “Light Up Bright Fires” and the propulsive, choppy title track; hereafter, the hooks all but disappear. They’re replaced with an overbearing influence of woozy, amorphous electronica. On “Window”, from Laurence Pike’s clattering percussion to his brother Richard’s proudly-sung affirmation (”I won’t slip / I won’t fall / I won’t change”) and Dave Miller’s layered production, there’s a sense of cohesion that evades some of the latter tracks. PVT’s strongest material occurs when they meet rock and electronica halfway.

Key Tracks: “Light Up Bright Fires”, “Window”, “Church With No Magic”

Filed under Published Writing | Tags: album-review, drawn-from-bees, itch-e-and-scratch-e, music-criticism, Published Writing, pvt, rolling stone | Comment (0)

The Vine album review: Janelle Monáe

An album review for The Vine.

Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid

For the uninitiated, go peep Janelle Monáe’s jaw-dropping performance of ‘Tightrope’ on Letterman in May 2010 then report back, just so you know what you’re dealing with here. Ordinarily, this’d be a cop-out; ordinarily, you’d be right to call me a goddamned lazy writer for pointing readers off-screen. But damn, if you haven’t seen that video, you must. It’s remarkable because Monáe – an exceptional vocalist, dancer and entertainer in her own right – is operating within the tightly-leashed, clichéd confines of the late night TV spot, yet somehow, the singer and her band skilfully throw aside decades of forced, contrived on-camera choreography through sheer energy and charisma. It’s the most memorable TV performance of my generation; truly, a career-defining four minutes. Without that kick-ass, life-affirming performance, I wouldn’t know her name or her music.

Full review at The Vine. More Janelle Monáe at MySpace. ‘Tightrope’ live on Letterman video embedded below. It’s amazing.

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Mess+Noise album review: The Gin Club

My first ‘On Rotation’ album review for Mess+Noise, where I discuss The Gin Club’s new album in some depth. Excerpt below.

The Gin Club - Deathwish

On their fourth album, Brisbane rock/folk/country/ whatever-goes collective The Gin Club sprint out of the blocks. ‘Pennies’ grabs you firmly by the ears and doesn’t let up throughout two minutes of bluesy guitar licks and hair-raising vocals that aren’t so much sung as yelled. Its brevity speaks of the confident swagger that abounds on Deathwish. Multi-instrumentalist Ola Karlsson knew he was onto a good thing when he wrote this song, and while he could easily have stuck around for a final verse-chorus-coda, he chose to smother it prematurely. That, ladies and gentlemen, is confidence.

Unlike their previous release – the 26-song, double-disc Junk – this album’s liner notes are sparse: no songwriting credits, no lyrics, and little to suggest that the album’s 13 songs belong to 10 individuals. (In case you were wondering, I’m only able to comment on who wrote what because I have a cheat-sheet in front of me). This is a new look for The Gin Club. Whether conscious or not, they’re obscuring facts and leaving some things to our imagination. On stage, one of the band’s most striking visual elements is the constant swapping of musical instruments and stage positions between songs. On this album, there’s a greater sense of that comfortable barroom feel than ever before.

Full review at Mess+Noise, where you can also stream a couple of tracks (’Pennies’ and ‘Milli Vanilli’). I can’t recommend this release highly enough. Check out The Gin Club on MySpace.

Filed under Published Writing | Tags: album-review, Brisbane, deathwish, mess-and-noise, Music writing, music-criticism, on-rotation, Rock, the-gin-club | Comment (1)

The Vine album review: Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane

An album review for The Vine.

Mike Patton - Mondo Cane

I’m coming clean: I wouldn’t be listening to Mondo Cane if Mike Patton’s name wasn’t on the cover; I can’t understand Italian, and I’ve never heard the original versions of these songs (barring one track, ‘Deep Down’, which was the theme song to ace 1968 comic book film adaption Danger:Diabolik). These factors could conspire against my capacity to enjoy this album - but they don’t. Mondo Cane is a wholly thrilling ride. Patton possesses one of rock music’s most distinctive and admired voices, and while he’s the star here, these 11 songs are filled out with depth and colour by the contributions of some 65 orchestral performers.

While recent Faith No More converts – via their widely-celebrated reunion world tour – might find Patton’s latest project a little too challenging, I’d argue that Mondo Cane shows the singer fronting his most accessible act yet. This music speaks to me in a language that the average rock band can’t fathom, and I’m not just referring to Patton’s fluently-sung Italian. I’m of the opinion that orchestral music moves humans far beyond the emotions that can be summoned by any configuration of guitar, bass and drums; here, Mondo Cane proves my point. From the opening strains of ‘Il Cielo In Una Stanza’, I’m hooked.

Full review at The Vine. This album is the shit. To get an idea of what the hell I’m talking about, watch the video embedded below.

Elsewhere: I interviewed Mike Patton for The Vine about Mondo Cane. Read it here.

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