looks good on paper

Ghoul - A Mouthful of Gold EP

2008-11-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

This EP is really very good. Sydney four-piece Ghoul are offering it as a free download on their Myspace.

If you don't like Myspace, here is the direct link.

Here is a picture of the CD.

Expect a more coherent CD review of this to pop up somewhere (either here or otherwise) in the next week or so. I'll link to it. Not that you need me to convince you anyway. It's free and good.

There are some surprising elements mixed into this EP. The vocalist is a real crooner, which is a bit disconcerting at first but it will grow on you. The instrumentation is really pretty at times, lots of nice synth sounds. It's very diverse despite the short, 20 min running time. Can't really think of any local parallels to these guys at the moment, they sound a bit different.

They aren't the only group called Ghoul. Last.fm says there are 7 bands by this name. A death metal band wins ownership of that site's Ghoul profile. Good for them!

New Crab Smasher album available free on Last.fm

2008-10-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

The new Crab Smasher album is available to listen to/download at Last.fm.

This is their first proper release since the 2007 3" CD-R 'Impossible Monsters', which I reviewed for Mess+Noise here.

More information/comments will be forthcoming. In the meantime, listen to the album for yourself.

Crab Smasher Myspace - www.myspace.com/crabsmasher

(Once my swarming deadlines are swatted, this blog will be more lively)

amazing sydney line up tonight

2008-09-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Been very busy, but profiles of all these bands and more will be forthcoming soon.

2008-09-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

Currently working on a few artists with a bit of history / large background, will be back soon.

Tired Hands

2008-08-26T03:33:00.000-07:00

ALBUM: Split Cassette with Not Waving

LABEL: Tuff Puffin

RELEASE DATE: 2008

LOCATION: Sydney

Tired Hands is the solo guise of Sydney's Kell Derrig-Hall, best known as half of Moonmilk and guitarist/vocalist for now defunct art rock group Piano Get Small. Tired Hands has also released a cassette entitled Good Neighbours (2008, Tuff Puffin) which is described on Tired Hands' myspace as "surburban explorations meditating on synthesisers, organ, field recordings, guitar, television and the flight path."

Tired Hands' side on the Not Waving split is a varied spool of Moonmilk-esque drone, psychedelic vocal manipulations and organ noise. Perhaps the key distinguishing factor between this project thus far and Moonmilk is the prominence of Derrig-Hall's vocals, which, while technically outstanding and capable of standing alone (he has performed a cappella live), still become subsumed by colourful swirls of static and four-track hiss here.

The result is a dynamic conglomeration of sound tied together by faint traces of melody and structure. The recording has a spatial quality that - similar to Moonmilk - never resorts to extremity but somehow coalesces the harsher regions of popular drone music with the ethereal qualities of shoegaze ala Flying Saucer Attack. Some of the best ambient music in Australia comes from these quarters.

Kell is currently recording songs for a new album. Tracks currently on the Tired Hands myspace ('Routine and War') indicate that it will be a more song-orientated affair with a greater emphasis on vocals.

LINKS:

Tired Hands Myspace: www.myspace.com/24zzz

Moonmilk Myspace: www.myspace.com/moonmilk

Piano Get Small Myspace: www.myspace.com/pianogetsmall

Tuff Puffin Myspace: www.myspace.com/tufftapes

Do The Robot

2008-08-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

ALBUM: Amp on Fire
LABEL: Valve
RELEASE DATE: 2008
LOCATION: Brisbane

At the beginning of this decade when the post-punk 'sound' was making its gutted return, it felt for a while that the only bands that resonated from that era were the likes of Gang of Four and Wire. One of the bands that arguably kicked that period into gear – Public Image Limited – hadn’t registered to most, or maybe that cylindrical metal box in the vinyl bin seemed a bit daunting. It should be daunting: ‘Metal Box’ was a landmark moment, and Brisbane’s Do The Robot have co-opted the reverberated, dub-influenced qualities of that record and almost made it their own on Amp on Fire.

In this ideologically safe decade, Do The Robot don’t appear to harbour the subversive tendencies of PiL, though they have written an astoundingly infectious album. Vocalist Sera Mucha utilises the same swirling, incrementally evolving vocal couplets that John Lydon did, though they’re more minimal and suggestive than they are cryptic. She’s a charismatic front woman whose feminine swagger sits uncertainly but effectively on the bobbing, windswept rock ensemble. The delay soaked guitars stretch and repeat over sustained panoramic rhythms, with the gentle colour of glockenspiel providing melodic anchorage.

The songs take a few listens to reveal themselves through the often repetitive compositions, and the anti-intuitive temperament of Mucha’s vocals can prove challenging. Stick with it though, because the subtle dynamism of this album is its most enduring strength.

LINKS:

Do The Robot Myspace: www.myspace.com/idorobots

Live Event: Talons Album Fundraiser

2008-08-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

LINE-UP: Talons The Holy Soul, Further, Dead China Doll, Sherlocks Daughter, Atrocities
DATE: Sunday, September 7, 2008
VENUE: Hermanns Bar, Sydney
TIME: 4pm (Talons play first)
ENTRY: $12

Sydney art rock three-piece Talons are putting on a show to raise funds for their debut LP.

LINKS:
Talons Myspace: www.myspace.com/talonsband
The Holy Soul Myspace: www.myspace.com/theholysoul
Further Myspace: www.myspace.com/furtheraust
Dead China Doll Myspace: www.myspace.com/dancingwithachainsaw
Sherlocks Daughter Myspace: www.myspace.com/sherlocksdaughter
Atrocities Myspace: www.myspace.com/atrocitiesaus

Alps Of New South Wales

2008-08-24T02:16:00.000-07:00

ALBUM: Alps of the World
LABEL: Self-released
RELEASE DATE: 2008
LOCATION: Newcastle

Alps of New South Wales is the solo project of Chris Hearn, who was also the operator of the now defunct record label Shriek Sounds. Hearn’s first release came in the form of 2005s Alps EP; a CDR which was later rereleased in 2006 as a 3” CD-R on Fuck Labels. Both editions are now sold out. This debut was quickly followed in 2006 by The Origin of Species; an EP released on 8” vinyl on Shriek Sounds, and since sold out.

His best known work comes in the form of the 2006 full length album Alps of New South Wales. Later issued on vinyl by Sound & Fury and reissued on CD by Beat is Murder in the EU, the album is an unsettling and terminally depressed collection of synth-pop songs accompanied by Hearn’s muffled, confessional vocals. Organ, keyboard, xylophone, guitar and ‘other modulations’ made Alps of New South Wales one of the more colourful and dynamic lo-fi pop albums released in Australia at the time. The album was mastered by Shaun Leacy and Nick Senger of Castings. Late 2006 also saw Alps on a split 7” with Fraze+Bri, which is now sold out.

In October 2006 Hearn left Australia for a five month US and European tour that saw him share bills with Six Organs of Admittance, My Disco and “a bunch of screamo bands”, among others. After a brief return to the southern hemisphere Hearn returned to the US in May 2007 and toured extensively until November the same year. 2007 also saw the release of a split 3” CDR with Jasmine Loop Control which has, predictably enough, sold out.

Hearn wrote and recorded the follow up to Alps of New South Wales during his travels culminating in the 2008 album Alps of the World, which features collaborations with members of Starving Weirdos, Look!Pond, Golden Axe and Castings. Alps of the World was significantly more diverse and optimistic than his previous material, featuring songs written on guitar and occasional forays into textural drone. The album was funded by the Australia Council for the Arts and limited to 365 copies, with each individual copy marked with a date in 2006-2007.

A split 7” with Snowfield was also released in 2008 but, needless to say, is sold out. Hearn is currently working on material for a follow up to Alps of the World.

Links:

Alps of New South Wales Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/alpsalps

Shriek Sounds Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/shrieksounds

Reviews:

Alps of the World Review @ Mess+Noise: http://www.messandnoise.com/releases/2000088

Alps of New South Wales Live Review @ Mess+Noise: http://www.messandnoise.com/events/9969

Assorted Alps Reviews @ Alps Myspace: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=30472523&blogID=226910145

Vincent Over The Sink

2008-08-23T23:58:00.000-07:00

ALBUM: 22 Coloured Bull-Terriers

LABEL: Self-released

RELEASE DATE: 2008

LOCATION: Sydney

Vincent Over The Sink is a lo-fi noise pop group consisting of Matthew Hopkins (Bad Tables, Lamp Puffer, Naked on the Vague) and Christopher Schueler. The group released their debut 7" on the now defunct Shriek Sounds label in 2006, closely followed by a split CDR with Holy Balm on Chooch-a-bahn records called Blessed Basins in the same year.

While their first two releases showcase a primitive and abrasive melange of Dead C style noise rock, their 2008 debut full-length release 22 Coloured Bull-Terriers sees the group depart into delicate, diverse and melodic lo-fi songwriting to stunning effect.

The group quietly launched their album at Pigeon Ground records in Sydney in early 2008 before disappearing, with no apparent effort to promote or distribute the album. This may have been due to Hopkins' touring commitments with Naked on the Vague, who embarked on a lengthy tour of the US shortly after 22 Coloured Bull-Terriers' release. This album is still almost impossible to find, Pigeon Ground being the only stockist - who have since sold out.

The Bowles, a group which consists of Hopkins and Schueler plus another member, is booked to play the This Is Not Art Zine Fair in Newcastle this October.

Related:

Jonathan Hochman and Matthew Hopkins

Links:

Vincent Over The Sink Myspace: www.myspace.com/vincentoverthesink

Bad Tables / Lamp Puffer Myspace: www.myspace.com/lamppuffer

Naked on the Vague Myspace: www.myspace.com/nakedonthevague

Reviews:

22 Coloured Bull Terriers Review @ Mess+Noise: http://www.messandnoise.com/releases/2000041

Brassskulls

2008-08-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

ALBUM: 2xLive
LABEL: Self-released
RELEASE DATE: 2008
LOCATION: Newcastle, NSW

Brassskulls is a noise/improv three piece formed in early 2008 and featuring Nicholas French (Crab Smasher, Polyfox and the Union of the most ghosts, haircuts!), Michael Liestins (Rotted Crow, Milk Free Youth, Eucalypt) and Mitchell Brennan (Psycadelic Pussycat Swingers Club, Rotted Crow). The band released three very limited run copies of live performances, the third a culmination of the first two, before releasing a more 'official' compilation of these recordings plus a live set at Sydney's Yvonne Ruve on Newcastle label Monstera Deliciosa entitled Skullduggery. According to www.thisisnotart.org Brassskulls use "guitars, broken drums, radios, modified turntables, & a tangled mess of electronics [to] create a nightmarish wall of dense sound & psychedelic noise."

2xLive consists of two fifteen minute excursions through low-detail oppressive drone, creating a sound that recalls the more aggressive early material of fellow Novacastrians and contemporaries Castings. Guitar is the most immediately identifiable instrument during the first track, and the low volume nature of the recording creates a distant, foreboding quality. Whereas most contemporary drone requires maximum volume for total appreciation, Brassskulls works equally well (and in a contrasting nature) when consumed peripherally. The second track features a melancholic guitar arpeggio before the relative tranquility is banished by harsh feedback and tribal percussion.

The band have played in Melbourne, Sydney and regularly in Newcastle.

Links:

Brassskulls Myspace: www.myspace.com/brassskulls
Crab Smasher Myspace: www.myspace.com/crabsmasher
Poly Fox and the Union of the most Ghosts Myspace: www.myspace.com/polyfoxandtheunionofthemostghosts
Monstera Deliciosa Myspace: www.myspace.com/mnstrdlcs

Zond

2008-08-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

ALBUM: Split 12" w. Hi God People

LABEL: Spanish Magic

RELEASE DATE: 2008

LOCATION: Melbourne

Zond are a Melbourne 4 piece consisting of members Stephen Morris, Justin Fuller (Library Punks, Mum Smokes, JKFuller), Marney MacLeod (Library Punks) and Tym Krasevac (Fong).* Other connected acts On and Ned and the Meds. Mark Nelson of the Stabs played bass on this recording in place of Stephen Morris.

Zond's side on the Spanish Magic 12" split with Hi God People was their first release. The first two tracks Monkey and John are potent blasts of energetic and depressive noise rock, while the 10 minute finale Coffin Run sees the group depart into murky improvised ambience. The group has gigged consistently in Melbourne with outfits such as Lakes, Witch Hats, Spider Vomit and Onani among countless others.

A full review of the 12" split with Hi God People can be found at Cyclic Defrost.

Links:

Zond Myspace: www.myspace.com/zond

JKFuller Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jkfuller

Mum Smokes Myspace: www.myspace.com/mumsmokes

The Stabs Myspace: www.myspace.com/thestabs

* Thanks to Jon in the comments box for clearing some of this up for me.

Lakes of Russia

2008-08-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

ALBUM: Stars Decorate the Fire
LABEL: Afterdark Records
RELEASE DATE: 2008

Melbourne’s Lakes of Russia is defiantly simple: it harkens to the over-formulized tradition of post-rock, but eschews grandiosity in favour of a hushed intimacy reminiscent of American guitarist Loren Connors or Sydney’s Seaworthy. It’s the solo project of one Jake McGinn, with occasional help from Cellist Carolyn Gannell (of Melbourne band Laura) and keys courtesy of Zoe Jackson.

For the most part, Lakes of Russia is contented, undemanding, textural and peripheral. One could accuse it of being aural wallpaper, ‘mood music’, but there is a hidden sense of song and structure here, hidden beneath the languid repetition. Importantly, it’s the lack of percussion that saves Stars Decorate the Fire from becoming generic: the predictable ebb-and-flow of rock-ensemble ‘post rock’ is prevented through the lack of climactic narrative, lending the album a sad listlessness. It’s also the frequent silences that do McGinn’s minimal delay-drenched guitar lines justice, and the murky production means that Stars Decorate... often sounds like it’s being transmitted from somewhere over a distant hill, probably through the high windows of some dilapidated ghostly ballroom.

Lakes of Russia share a certain languid momentum with fellow Melbournians Because of Ghosts. It’s in the way the music progresses so incrementally, promising answers and neat endings but then abruptly dropping away, providing anything but. It’s easy to be misled by the simplicity, but deeper exploration proves that Lakes of Russia is much more than the sum of its parts.

Lakes of Russia Myspace: www.myspace.com/lakesofrussia
Review at Captain Obvious: http://www.thankscaptainobvious.net/2008/08/lakes-of-russia-stars-decorate-fire.html
Review at the Dwarf: http://www.thedwarf.com.au/nd/albumreviews/stars_decorate_the_fire_lakes_of_russia
Review at Rather Be Fat than Confused: http://fatandconfused.blogspot.com/2008/06/lakes-of-russia-stars-decorate-fire.html

Jonathan Hochman and Matthew Hopkins

2008-08-23T06:15:00.000-07:00

ALBUM: It's A Submarine
LABEL: Cloth Ear
RELEASE DATE: 2008

It’s A Submarine glazes 70s synthesizer composition with iridescent four-track murk. The record embraces the frigidness of early electronic music and marries it with the rote personality/sentimentality of a clipped and threatening-to-chew four-track recording. Immediate references include NY performance art group Excepter and Melbourne analogue fetishists Maximum Awesome.

Jonathan Hochman and Matthew Hopkins are both familiar faces in the Sydney underground: Hochman performs with drone/improv three-piece Holy Balm and also plays percussion in Sydney-based noise group Stick Stick. Matthew Hopkins is one half of Naked on the Vague, another half of Vincent over the Sink, and records solo as Bad Tables and Lamp Puffer. Together they coalesce the defining sonics of their other projects: there’s the indeterminate kaleidoscopic fuzz of Hochman’s noise projects mixed with Hopkins’ peculiar gravitation towards melody thru murk: a conventional musicality that resolves itself despite scant means, and prospers despite existing in a proximal musical climate that shirks melody in favour of texture and figurative noise and static. Hopkins’ involvement in some of the more song-orientated and ‘poppier’ fringes of Sydney’s DIY scene rubs off on this recording nicely.

Hochman and Hopkins performed at Pact Theatre on the 21st of June 2008 and again at La Campana on the 16th of July 2008. The later show saw them play It’s A Submarine in its entirety.

Related:

Vincent Over The Sink

Links:

Holy Balm Myspace: www.myspace.com/holybalm
Stick Stick Myspace: www.myspace.com/heavystickstick
Naked On The Vague Myspace: www.myspace.com/nakedonthevague
Bad Tables / Lamp Puffer Myspace: www.myspace.com/lamppuffer
Vincent Over The Sink Myspace: www.myspace.com/vincentoverthesink