Top albums of 2011

Looks like I've kind of neglected this blog... whoops. Let's get back into it. A whole year has passed since I last posted, so to follow up my top albums of 2010, here's my top albums of 2011! With links included so you can check them out. Not in any order this year, just things that I loved and listened to over and over! Also I should say top releases, 'cause not all of them are albums:

Circle Takes the Square - Decompositions Vol. 1, Chapter 1: Rites of Initiation.
(only an ep/the first part of their upcoming album. But probably my favourite thing of the whole year.)

Bomb the Music Industry! - Vacation!

Adalita - Adalita

Fuck The Facts - Die Miserable

Thursday - No Devolucion

Glassjaw - Our Colour Green / Colouring Book (2 EPs count as one album, right?)

Harmony - Harmony

WILD FLAG - Wild Flag

Battles - Gloss Drop

Russian Circles - Empros

Saul Williams - Volcanic Sunlight

Raein - Sulla linea dell'orizzonte fra questa mia vita e quella di tutti gli altri

Ouch My Face - Build a House / Eyeball to Eyeball (Only a single, but what a single!)
 
and Death by Death Ray - Here is the Revolution! (only a single again, and a bit of shameless self-promotion, but it's the best recording I've ever done, so gotta plug it somehow!)

2010 in Review

(I know this is a bit later than everyone else's, but I think it's weird doing a year end piece before the year is over. Anyway, here's my opinion on the best albums and gigs of 2010)

Top Ten Albums of 2010.


1. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis
Album of the year for sure! Working with new drummer Billy Rymer while composing these songs brought out the best in Ben Weinman (instead of the programmed drums used to write Ire Works). This album saw Dillinger get better at everything they do, and add a whole bunch of new sounds. Amazing.

2. Murder By Death - Good Morning Magpie
A collection of songs written in a mountain cabin. Whiskey, broken dreams, living like a dog, carrying the weight of life, death and love, shaving with a knife and the wrath of forgotten gods.

3. Tim Kasher - The Game of Monogamy
Tim Kasher (of Cursive and The Good Life) delivers his first solo album. The Game of Monogamy plays like the score of a musical as Kasher grapples with the idea of settling down to married life. A perfect accompaniment to Cursive’s Mama, I’m Swollen album in which Kasher grappled with growing up (and which was my favourite album of 2009).

4. Julie Christmas - The Bad Wife
Another solo album from one of my favourite singers. This Time from Julie Christmas of Made Out of Babies, Battle of Mice and Spylacopa. Written mostly with John LaMacchia from Spylacopa (and also Candiria), or members of MOOB, it’s fair to say the sound will be familiar to fans of Christmas’s work. But what we have here are a bunch of songs which would not quite fit any of those acts, allowing everyone involved to stretch themselves in new areas. The cover of Jacques Brel’s If You Go Away (or ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’) is the most beautiful piece of music mentioned on this list.

5. Jaguar Love - Hologram Jams
A huge change from anything Jaguar Love (or their previous band Blood Brothers) have ever done before, I remember thinking when it came out that this album was full of summertime dance jams. I managed to forget about it in the months since until compiling this list, but now that I’ve come across it again tracks like Everything is Awesome and Polaroids & Red Wine will feature heavily in what’s left of my summer.

6. Xiu Xiu - Dear God I Hate Myself
A typically upbeat effort from Jamie Stewart. Just kidding! We love you Jamie, even if you can’t seem to love yourself. What is different about this album is that it’s full of a lot more electro beats than previous Xiu Xiu work. Other than that it’s got all the beautiful soundscapes you’d expect and lyrics so bleak you feel they may collapse at any moment and take you with them.

7. Daughters – Daughters
Just Wow! The changes between Daughters’ debut Hell Songs and its follow up Canada Songs was incredibly dramatic, but made sense at the same time. On their third album they finished that journey. Unfortunately it’s also their last album as the band broke up shortly before it was released due to creative differences. That tension is what makes this album so good though. Not that you have to be strained to make good art, but members pulling in different directions makes for a very interesting combination of elements.

(There were no videos made for this album, but this is the audio of one of my favourite tracks off it)

8. Liars – Sisterworld
Liars started out as a Brooklyn dance punk band. Then they went all ambient and spacey with tribal rhythms. And now they’re doing something that has elements of both those things, but isn’t really either. Whatever, they’ve always sounded awesome.

9. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
This is Deftones' best album since White Pony. On it’s own that doesn’t say much since their last few albums weren’t all that memorable. But this is the first time they’ve gotten close to this level since White Pony. And it’s good to hear them do it again.

10. Deaf Wish - Mercy

2010 wasn’t a great year for Australian albums. A lot of great bands, and some really cool EP’s too. But not a lot of great albums. Then I heard this. I’ve never heard Deaf Wish’s previous recorded output, only seen them live. And I’ve never seen the band with their original guitarist Sarah Hardiman, who returns on this album either. So I had no idea what this would sound like, and was very pleasantly surprised. The rawness and chaos of their live shows is lurking underneath the whole thing, but there’s a lot of well crafted songs and some restrained sounds too. Taking their passion from the stage and turning it into a record with a purpose which you can listen to over and over again.

(No videos made for this album either, but here's some footage of the other version of Deaf Wish live at The Tote)

Honourable Mentions:

Rolo Tomassi – Cosmology
This album is good, but this band needs to be seen live for any of this to make sense. Such a brilliant show. Go see them!

The Melvins - The Bride Screamed Murder
Melvins being Melvins. In every way. Whereas some Melvins albums rock hard and some are full of experiemental weirdness, this one has a lot of weirdness but it’s always underpinned with awesome riffs.

65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway
65 rely more on their electronic side here than on previous releases, but it works. This sound was always in their style in some form or another, so it’s cool to see them explore it a bit more.

Shining – Blackjazz
Listening to this album you’d never realise that these guys started out as an acoustic jazz band. Jazz musicians who came to heavy music instead of the other way around. Interesting.

My Chemical Romance - Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
How to follow up a ridiculous caberet emo concept album? With an even more ridiculous retro-sci-fi rock concept album! Good job!

Cancer Bats - Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones
Contains my favourite hardcore-love-song line of the year!

“Some people call me a Nihilist / Say I don’t believe in a thing! / I know that can’t be true! / ‘Cause baby I believe in you!”

From a song called Black Metal Bicycle no less! I can’t decide if I think that’s cheesy or awesome, so it’s a good thing the riff (and ALL the riffs on this album) is so damn good!

The Toot Toot Toots – Curse The Crow
Like I said earlier, a whole bunch of awesome EPs released by local bands this year. I think this one was my favourite. Sounds even better when you turn it up loud.

Sleigh Bells – Treats
I listened to this album for the first time yesterday. And I’m sure I will be listening to it a lot more over the next few weeks.



Best gigs of 2010

Every Time I Die @ The Hi-Fi
Kicking off 2010 with a bang!

The Tote Farewell Show @ The Tote
A night that was equal parts awesome and devastating. Featuring Kamikaze Trio, Dave Graney, The Nation Blue, The Onyas, Dan Kelly, Beaches, Spencer P. Jones, The Stabs, Kim Salmon, The Meanies, Spiderbait, The Drones and many other Melbourne greats.

Amanda Palmer @ The Butterfly Club
Seeing one of my musical heroes in a room that fits only 50 people, in an old house converted into a bar, playing on a real piano and just singing over the top of it (no microphone needed) was just amazing.

Faith No More @ Festival Hall & Soundwave
It’s FAITH NO MORE!!!!! A band I never thought I’d get to see, and I got to see them TWICE!

Glassjaw @ Soundwave
I couldn’t go to their sideshow ‘cause it was the same night as FNM, but seeing them play at Soundwave was still a dream come true.

Alexisonfire @ Billboards, Soundwave & The Palace
I think I saw Alexisonfire 3 times this year. And each show was great, though their Soundwave sideshow at Billboards was probably the best.

Golden Plains @ Meredith Supernatural Amphitheater
Pavement AND DINOSAUR JR! J. Mascis’s amp set up alone was mind blowing!

Terrordactyl (Last Show) / The Committal (EP Launch) @ Cherry Bar
Yeah I know this is my band, but it was still one of my favourite gigs of the year. After 4 months being out with a broken shoulder I finally got to get back on stage and launch an EP with my new band to a packed out Cherry Bar! And Terrordactyl put on a great show for their final gig too. And openers Johnny Uppercut were also pretty great.

The Dillinger Escape Plan @ Billboards
Probably the best show of the year too. I can’t think of another band who puts this much energy into what they do, while playing such technical and well written songs, and makes it look so effortless.

Xiu Xiu / High Places / Kyu @ The East Brunswick Club
Three great experimental bands in one night. But mainly Xiu Xiu. Jamie Stewart’s mix of fragile pop and noise is beautiful, and live it takes on a special intensity and desperation.

Rolo Tomassi @ Billboards
Like I said, you HAVE to see these guys live. Some bands spend ages cultivating their stage presence. These guys just put everything into their playing and the presence comes from that. Front-woman Eva Spence is the best dancer in all of hardcore, for sure! I had to pay for a ticket to see Architects, Comeback Kid and This is Hell (boring, boring and boring-er) so I could go to this show, but it was so worth it!

Meredith Music Festival
Always one of the best weekends of the year. This year was no exception. Custard, CLipse, Neil Finn, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Those Darlins, Broadcast, Reverend Horton Heat, Rat Vs. Possum, Kyu and, of course The Dirty Three!

And for the future?

So what about 2011? Only six days in and already there’s been some great news and some terrible news. Circle Takes The Square have posted on their blog that they entered the studio on January 1 to begin recording Decompositions. Given their last album As The Roots Undo is still the best hardcore album I’ve ever heard (the only hardcore album I would say that is truly a musical work of art and poetry) I have big expectations. And given it’s been SEVEN YEARS since that album was released, my excitement is palpable. I’m calling this one for album of the year already. On a much sadder note, a few days later they also posted a tribute to former guitarist Bobby Scandiffio, who has unfortunately passed away. R.I.P. Bobby.

Quan, Yama Boy @ The Workers Club (24/09/09)

My review of Quan last week is up now on FasterLouder. Great show. Not so happy with the review this time, just wasn't in a writing mood. It's ok, but I kept getting distracted by just listening to Quan's album instead of working on it so it's a bit short. Anyway, go read it.

Dead Letter Circus, Sydonia, Rincon @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (11/09/2009)

Rincon open the night with some big riffing. Soaring vocals are underpinned with chugging guitars, and it’s easy to see why they were chosen for tonight’s support slot. The crowd is still a bit small this early in the night, but those who are here seem pretty attentive and appreciative.

Sydonia start out a little slow, but as their intensity builds they manage to steal the show, in my mind, as most interesting band of the night. I saw Sydonia about three years ago and liked them, but they didn’t make a huge impact. Clearly the years in between have taught them a lot as they now seem tighter and more energetic. As a four piece they beef up their sound with extra percussion played throughout the set by their guitarist and bass player. This adds interesting rhythms to the songs and an oomph to their live sound. A rhythm based song which sees the band joined by members of Dead Letter Circus on additional percussion (including an upturned rubbish bin) is a highlight. They’ve also gathered quite a following since I last saw them, with a dedicated crowd at the front and many punters walking around in Sydonia merch.

Up until this point I’d been wondering how there could be so much room to move in a sold out Corner Hotel. But there’s a massive influx in the 20 minutes between bands and suddenly all is understood. By the time Dead Letter Circus hit the stage it’s hot, hard to move and there’s a mosh pit down the front. They kick things off with a fast pace and the crowd jumps along. DLC have somehow passed me by up to this point. I’ve seen the name around and had a vague idea of the musical style, but tonight is the first time I’ve really heard them. It’s easy to tell I’m in the minority here not just by the size of the crowd, but by how enthusiastically they respond to the band. And it’s also easy to see why.

Once again we’re treated to some soaring vocals and a strong rhythm section, this time with some more atmospheric and melodic guitar work layered over the top. Tracks from a forthcoming album are given an airing, as are tracks from their self-titled EP which are lapped up by the crowd. Disconnect and Apply particularly stands out with singer Kim Benzie grabbing a camcorder to film the crowd as they sing the song’s closing refrain. If I have one suggestion for Dead Letter Circus it’s that they could up their on-stage presence a little, especially when following a band like Sydonia. Only Benzie really interacts with the crowd, while the rest of the band seem a bit still. But this doesn’t bother the audience who more than make up for it with their own energy. Also surprising is that there is no encore, given how excited the crowd are by the end of the set.

Still, a great night all up with strong performances from all three bands. Surely we’ll be hearing from them all a lot more over the coming months.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

Monster Magnet @ Billboard, 08/09/2009

My Monster Magnet review is now up on FasterLouder. Unfortunately it wasn't the best show. It was ok, but just not the awesome rock 'n' roll spectacle it should have been. Like the video for Space Lord was.

(Unfortunately I can't embed the video because Universal music have disabled that function, but here's a link to the clip on YouTube - Space Lord Mother, Mother!)

Here's the Review:

It’s been a few years since I last saw Cockfight Shootout and if memory serves me correctly there’s been a few hair-cuts since then. They also seem to have focused their efforts. Thankfully there are still a lot of big riffs, but I wouldn’t have expected harmonised twin guitar lines from the stoner rock band I saw in 2005.

Regular John share their name with a Queens of the Stone Age track, and for their first song they seem dangerously close to having borrowed the QOTSA sound too. But fortunately there’s a lot more on offer in the coming songs. As well as the notable stoner rock influence, there’s some early grunge fuzziness and psychedelic overtones – a nice mix of sounds complementing each other and held together with some driving bass work. The use of multiple vocalists also keeps things interesting; with clear singing giving way to shouts and screams reminiscent of early Nirvana work.

Before I discuss Monster Magnet’s set properly, there’s two things I have to get off my chest. As the band walks out on stage, I’m surprisingly disappointed by their appearance. I know this is rock ‘n’ roll and the true test of any band is how well they play, but for a band who have put so much into cultivating their image it feels like something is missing. I got my first taste of Monster Magnet while watching Rage ten years ago; fireworks shot into the air as they played in front of one of Las Vegas’ massive casinos. Their own team of cheerleaders danced behind the band, or hung off front-man Dave Wyndorf who wore a shiny blue suit in one scene, and a suit covered in light bulbs in another. Sure I wasn’t expecting all this to fit inside Billboard, but I did think the recent publicity photos of a leather clad band showed them to still be dangerous rock-super-stars. The kind of rock-super-stars you need to be to create an album like Powertrip, a title which so perfectly describes the combination of psychedelia, blues and straight out hard rock that is the Monster Magnet signature sound.

The closest we get to this is a solitary leather vest worn over a t-shirt by guitarist Phil Caivano, which is removed after a few songs anyway. Wyndorf is wearing an oversized grey zip-up hoodie and with his hair half its old length looks more like a guy coming home from the gym than a Space Lord.

The sound mix at Billboard isn’t great tonight either with Caivano’s guitar barely audible. Both he and bassist Jim Baglino do their part to rock out on one side of the stage, but lead guitarist Ed Mundell mostly stands still on his side. Those down the front are clearly enjoying the vibe and interacting with the band, but the mix and atmosphere of the venue seem to stop this from extending beyond the lowered dance floor.

So now that all that’s out of the way, let’s get into the good aspects of the show. Monster Magnet are a TIGHT band. Drummer Bob Pantella has a huge sound and drives the music hard all night. The set list is very fan friendly drawing heavily from classic albums such as Powertrip, Dopes to Infinity and going all the way back to 1992’s Spine of God, although it’s surprisingly lacking in tracks from the most recent album 4-Way Diablo. For all his stillness, Mundell is a fantastic guitar player and his wah heavy solo’s cut through the mix nicely. Also surprisingly clear are Wyndorf’s vocals, highlighting how good a singer he is and how strong his voice remains even after all these years. This is particularly evident in songs like Third Alternative (“It’s the blues baby, for the 21st century”) and Zodiac Lung which is performed by just Wyndorf and Mundell.

After a few tracks from 2004’s Monolithic Baby, the main set ends with the double shot of Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Space Lord, both crowd favourites (but again there are sound problems as a humming mid-song becomes so loud even the band get distracted). Wyndorf has a guitar around his neck most of the night, and while rarely played when he is singing, the triple guitar attack brings a killer fullness to the instrumental breaks. Especially in Melt which opens the encore and is one of the highlights of the night.

Unfortunately Wyndorf spends most of these times facing Pantella at the back of the stage, further diminishing interaction between the band and crowd. Monster Magnet have far too many good songs and are far too competent as musicians to ever put on a bad show, but there was just too much tonight holding this back from being the spectacular show it could, and should, have been.

The Flaming Lips @ Festival Hall, 29/07/09

A Flaming Lips show is really a giant party. Complete with balloons and streamers. After their 2004 appearance at the Big Day Out and photos from their overseas shows, expectations were high for the band’s stage show. And they were met from the very beginning.

As noise filled the air, a naked woman appeared on the semi-circle screen at the back of the stage. Shown from behind and saturated in bright orange, she began to dance around in bright blue space. As she turned around, a pulsing light emerged from between her legs. She lay down and the camera zoomed in until the pulsing circles of light filled the screen. One-by-one the band members appeared from a door in the screen, being birthed from the bright light.

As they began to play, the camera refocused on the woman’s eye and frontman Wayne Coyne appeared in a slowly-inflating gigantic hamster ball. With a burst of confetti and streamers, Coyne began to roll around above the crowd, joined by at least 20 giant balloons (surprisingly most of these survived the whole night).

Coyne re-joined his band on stage as they launched into Race for the Prize, and we were away. As if the crowd needed any encouragement to dance cat ladies began to do so on one side of the stage, mirrored by a group of gecko people on the other.

At this stage you might think the antics had peaked, but they continued to build throughout the night. Other highlights included Coyne singing from the shoulders of a man in a gorilla suit, even BIGGER balloons filled with confetti sent out to burst over the crowd, a giant butterfly in a crown, a dancing cartoon sun, smoke bombs, videos of everything from space to static, to close ups of Coyne's face and of course, more confetti (Coyne even used a mic stand at one stage which also doubled as a confetti cannon).

Somewhere underneath all this lurked a rock show. And what a rock show it was. The band were clearly enjoying being here (apologising it took five years for them to come back, relishing playing on a stage The Beatles also played and dedicating a song to Nick Cave) and this translated to fine form. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, previously a song of anger at the Bush administration became a song of celebration for a changing world. Favourites such as Fight Test and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt 1 became sing-alongs, stripped back almost entirely to vocals and guitar, with only minimal keyboard additions. 1993’s breakthrough single She Don’t Use Jelly made an appearance, as did a few new songs. These were fuzzed out guitar jams, which wandered off into psychedelic territory at times.

And it all culminated in an encore of Do You Realise?, the perfect song for the end of the night. More and more explosions of confetti hit the air as the whole crowd sung along in a celebration of the moment. Sure the night was coming to an end, but what more could you ask for? After all, “it’s hard to make the good things last…”

The Super 8 Diaries Launch @ Coppin St Studio, Melbourne (19/01/2008)

12 hours, 12 bands, $12. A pretty good deal if you ask me. Put it in an old warehouse turned arts studio, combine with a photography exhibition and the launch of The Super 8 Diaries, a documentary showcasing the better side of local music, and I’m there. The fact that it’s being held less than five minutes from my house means, of course, I turn up late, and unfortunately I miss the Ooga Boogas.

But I do get there just in time for The Thaw. Visiting from Sydney, this three piece are masters of transition. Soft beautiful melodies transform into walls of feedback and distortion with such ease and subtlety you barely even notice things have changed until you hear screams over the top and realise everything is as it should be. Elsewhere they fall back on jazz chords and weird rhythms before somehow bringing it all down to a whisper again.

Touch Typist are a completely different feel, but such is the beauty of this lineup that you never know what’s coming next. Consisting of guitar, drums, keyboards, vocals and sometimes a trumpet, these guys deliver an electronic/indie type rock, which mixes programmed beats with some cool organic jams.

Hardcore is the best word to describe Majorca. An energetic blur of screams, fingers and arms for sure, but technical ability and an understanding of how to structure a song separate this group from what tends to pass as hardcore these days. Top it off with the intensity and screams to prove that there’s no faking here, only real passion for what they do.

Next up is Chris Cobilis, whose band The Tigers appear on the Super 8 Diaries. Using a laptop, miniature guitar and microphone, Chris creates long drawn out soundscapes. Sometimes these lead into what Chris jokingly refers to as “proper songs” where he sings about ideas such as how we name things, but the two styles form a good balance as notes from the guitar are used to build the next soundscape.

Charge Group just weren’t for me. Apologies to the band; they showed an easy talent, sung and played together well, and I’m sure their music would appeal to a lot of people. But they just didn’t grab me on the day. Never mind, enough people were enjoying them that I’m sure they didn’t even notice me down the back.

12 hours may be great value, but it’s also a long time. So I took this moment to step out, grab some lunch and a coffee. I was out a little too long and missed the start of Aleks and the Ramps, another band to appear on the DVD. But luckily I didn’t miss it all. In their cute matching t-shirts they made a sound that was energetic and crazy, but mostly fun. There was instrument damage, there was dancing and there was a good time had by all.

What better to follow this, than another wall of screaming intensity? Enter Eucalypt, who brought back the hardcore. I recognised one guitarist as the guy, who’d been up the front dancing and screaming for Majorca. Suddenly it all made sense. Although we were all lined up across the front of the performance area, one of the band pointed out that there was still a lot of space in front of that, so we swarmed onto the carpet to join with them in a mess of bodies and movement. I don’t know what else to say about Eucalypt except they write some great tunes and use their heaviness to great effect.

Ladybird were the sole international act of the day, visiting us from France. They brought a softer, sweet touch to the day’s proceedings. But their cover of You Shook me all Night Long had them embraced as if locals for a sing-a-long closer to the set.

Tucker B’s move from a relaxed early 90’s sound to something far more raucous. Another band to appear on the Super 8 Diaries, it’s fitting that they play before the screening of a teaser introduction/interview with the project’s creators. Made for Chickens by Robots plays a guitar and sings through a megaphone while using drum pedals to play percussion on suitcases. The similarities to Bob Log III are inescapable. Having seen Bob not too long ago, I found both suffered from being unable to understand a word they said, which made the whole performance hard to get into.

There could be no more fitting headliner to this night than Baseball. Not only are they on the DVD, they are probably the best band in Melbourne at the moment, and encapsulate everything the Super 8 Diaries project is about. While the members may all be in other bands such as Pikelet, The Assassination Collective, Love of Diagrams and Ninetynine, those bands are hard enough to describe – put these four together and they become something else entirely. It’s rock, most definitely, but it’s also got elements of gypsy violin and chaotic punk. Most importantly, it’s the most original sound I’ve heard from any local band. If you live in Melbourne and haven’t seen them yet, you really should. Their debut album is coming out in February, and then there will be no stopping them.

In the meantime, check out the Super 8 Diaries DVD for a taste, along with live footage and interviews from Colditz Glider, Love of Diagrams, My Disco!, Baseball, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, The Tigers, Mukaizake, Aleks and the Ramps, Bang!Bang!Aids!, Die!Die!Die! and Tucker B’s. Visit MySpace for info on how to get the DVD and a few clips.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

Baseball, Kes, Bang!Bang!Aids! @ Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (31/08/2007)

Gigs like this are the best reason to keep going out and seeing local bands. Although the three acts on offer tonight are all quite different, and will have different levels of appeal to different people, they are all linked in one way: you’re unlikely to hear music like this anywhere else.

So let’s start at the beginning with Bang!Bang!Aids! Or at least the crash of cymbals loud enough to be heard from the front bar which meant it was probably time to move to the band room. To be honest, the name should give you some indication of what to expect from this band. A lot of energy, a lot of noise, and almost as much time spent on tasteless humour and in-jokes between songs as playing music. This is probably a sign that the ADD kids are now old enough to get into pubs and start forming bands of their own.

All three members sang at various stages, with a guitarist, drummer and a third member who’s role seemed to be playing a floor tom, tambourine and occasionally a trumpet. Not that these “roles” stopped any one of them from dancing around and picking up another instrument, or leaving stage, as they saw fit. The addition of “blues dog”, (supposedly a hitch-hiker from country Victoria they’d invited on stage) added to the non-musical element, as he sat there drinking, then swearing and asking if anyone wanted to share their medication between songs. Luckily the band showed enough creativity that when they did play a song, it was usually pretty enjoyable. They threw themselves and their instruments into the music with full force. The long gaps between songs seemed to be getting to a few punters, but the extended banter seemed a natural part of the Bang!Bang!Aids! experience, putting the music in context and giving a more enjoyable show overall.

Next was Kes. About as far from Bang!Bang!Aids! as you could get. Softly spoken and intensely melodic, this was some kind of alternative/gypsy/cabaret/pop band… or maybe it wasn’t. I really don’t know what genre you’d put any of their sounds into, or really enough about those genres to classify any band into them, they were just words and ideas that popped into my head while watching them. More importantly, it was good. On top of the guitar/bass/drums foundation was laid beautiful vocal harmonies, keyboards, violin, recorder (three recorders at once!) and a saw. Harmonies and melodies seemed to be the main focus of Kes, and they do a very fine job with them.

Baseball have just returned from a 14 country European tour and by the time they took the stage, there was a large crowd eager to welcome them back. One of my favourite Melbourne bands, the best way to describe Baseball is “intense”. But unlike the introversion of Kes, Baseball’s is quite a confrontational intensity. Frontman Cameron stares wild eyed into the faces of the crowd as he howls his way through songs and brings out a distortion and violence from his violin most people wouldn’t think the instrument was capable of. Evelyn’s drumming keeps the songs together, but also pushes them along at quite a pace. And her voice is a nice contrast with Cameron’s when she sings. The middle ground is occupied by Ben on guitar who does well not to compete with the driving violin. The interplay between the two instruments on songs like ‘Soft Boy Factory’ is really impressive. Then there’s the bass lines, which really help to make the songs complete. Bobbing away in time bassist Monika seems like the calm, reliable part of the band, until she swapped instruments with Evelyn for the encore, and the same wild look came over her face.

The first time I saw Baseball it was this intensity and the unique sound this combination of instruments made which impressed me most. But the more I see them, the more I realise songs such as ‘Faith Like a Cross, Trust Like a Flag’, ‘The Wedding at Susa’and ‘It’s Gonna be Hard and It’s Gonna Hurt’ are just really good tunes. They would still be really good tunes no matter how they were played, but there is a magic which comes out watching these four people play them through their chosen instruments. There should be an album soon, and like many people, I can’t wait.

Gigs like this are the best reason to keep going out and seeing local bands. Although the three acts on offer tonight are all quite different, and will have different levels of appeal to different people, they are all linked in one way: you’re unlikely to hear music like this anywhere else.

So let’s start at the beginning with Bang!Bang!Aids! Or at least the crash of cymbals loud enough to be heard from the front bar which meant it was probably time to move to the band room. To be honest, the name should give you some indication of what to expect from this band. A lot of energy, a lot of noise, and almost as much time spent on tasteless humour and in-jokes between songs as playing music. This is probably a sign that the ADD kids are now old enough to get into pubs and start forming bands of their own.

All three members sang at various stages, with a guitarist, drummer and a third member who’s role seemed to be playing a floor tom, tambourine and occasionally a trumpet. Not that these “roles” stopped any one of them from dancing around and picking up another instrument, or leaving stage, as they saw fit. The addition of “blues dog”, (supposedly a hitch-hiker from country Victoria they’d invited on stage) added to the non-musical element, as he sat there drinking, then swearing and asking if anyone wanted to share their medication between songs. Luckily the band showed enough creativity that when they did play a song, it was usually pretty enjoyable. They threw themselves and their instruments into the music with full force. The long gaps between songs seemed to be getting to a few punters, but the extended banter seemed a natural part of the Bang!Bang!Aids! experience, putting the music in context and giving a more enjoyable show overall.

Next was Kes. About as far from Bang!Bang!Aids! as you could get. Softly spoken and intensely melodic, this was some kind of alternative/gypsy/cabaret/pop band… or maybe it wasn’t. I really don’t know what genre you’d put any of their sounds into, or really enough about those genres to classify any band into them, they were just words and ideas that popped into my head while watching them. More importantly, it was good. On top of the guitar/bass/drums foundation was laid beautiful vocal harmonies, keyboards, violin, recorder (three recorders at once!) and a saw. Harmonies and melodies seemed to be the main focus of Kes, and they do a very fine job with them.

Baseball have just returned from a 14 country European tour and by the time they took the stage, there was a large crowd eager to welcome them back. One of my favourite Melbourne bands, the best way to describe Baseball is “intense”. But unlike the introversion of Kes, Baseball’s is quite a confrontational intensity. Frontman Cameron stares wild eyed into the faces of the crowd as he howls his way through songs and brings out a distortion and violence from his violin most people wouldn’t think the instrument was capable of. Evelyn’s drumming keeps the songs together, but also pushes them along at quite a pace. And her voice is a nice contrast with Cameron’s when she sings. The middle ground is occupied by Ben on guitar who does well not to compete with the driving violin. The interplay between the two instruments on songs like ‘Soft Boy Factory’ is really impressive. Then there’s the bass lines, which really help to make the songs complete. Bobbing away in time bassist Monika seems like the calm, reliable part of the band, until she swapped instruments with Evelyn for the encore, and the same wild look came over her face.

The first time I saw Baseball it was this intensity and the unique sound this combination of instruments made which impressed me most. But the more I see them, the more I realise songs such as ‘Faith Like a Cross, Trust Like a Flag’, ‘The Wedding at Susa’and ‘It’s Gonna be Hard and It’s Gonna Hurt’ are just really good tunes. They would still be really good tunes no matter how they were played, but there is a magic which comes out watching these four people play them through their chosen instruments. There should be an album soon, and like many people, I can’t wait.

(Originally Published on FasterLouder)

Nine Inch Nails @ The Metro, 14/05/07

(Originally published in Jmag)



Unfortunately, this isn't what I originally wrote. It got changed quite a bit. Here's the review I submitted:

I’m watching the smoke build on stage and as it grows, so does my excitement. A marching chant starts up, joined by a throbbing bass distortion. Then the guitar and drums pound in, and we’re thrown into the world of Nine Inch Nails without warning. The excitement continues from there. Having previously toured only in arenas and festivals, watching NIN play such a small venue is something else entirely. “The bass goes bomb”, Trent sings. And it sure as hell does. Like the venue, the set list seems chosen just for the fans. New tracks mix with classics and rarities for nearly two hours of lights, noise and destruction that feels like 20 minutes. And I can’t believe it’s over.

Helmet, The Nation Blue, Rook @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (28/3/2007)

Heading down to The Corner to see Helmet, my expectations were pretty high. In the early 90’s Helmet helped to change the face of heavy music with their dropped tuning and reliance on dissonant chords and strong grooves over the speed and excessiveness of the late 80’s thrash and glam metal. This helped to pave the way for a new wave of bands, with Helmet’s influence being seen in anyone from Korn and Limp Bizkit, to Tool and Deftones, to silverchair and Incubus. Even though this was not the “real” Helmet (the original band parted ways in 1998 before singer/guitarist Page Hamilton resurrected the name with new members in 2004, and has been joined by three new players again since then), I was still expecting a very tight show at the least.

If it’s a sure bet that you’d find a Helmet CD in the collections of any of those bands mentioned above, it’s also a sure bet you’d find most of those bands in the collections of opening act Rook. While this four-piece were very tight and certainly enthusiastic, they were somewhat lacking in originality. Their sound at times drew on early Incubus, with atmospheric guitar phrases and some nice bass work, but would all too often veer towards the simple power choruses which have been worked to death by bands like Evanescence and Linkin Park. The singer had a decent voice during some of the quieter moments, but again when he pushed himself in the choruses to be earnest and emotional he’d just end up sounding like the guy from Nickleback. In fact that was my lasting impression of this band – Evanescence fronted by the guy from Nickleback.

The Nation Blue were a different matter altogether. Although there were shades of late 80’s punk, indie rock and art rock, something about the way they put it all together created something new which really saw them hold their own in such a metal environment. Although probably the least likely band of the night to be classified as metal, their brute force gave them all the heaviness they needed. Guitars were thrown, lyrics were yelled and an exciting mix of feedback, noise and music created some great songs and a powerful performance. Almost as if on cue the guitarist’s strap broke as he sung a line about these broken guitars getting old, and how white noise no longer heals the soul. But the white noise they produced certainly had me feeling better.

Then came Helmet. If I had to settle on one word to describe this performance it would unfortunately be “disappointing”. Helmet in the 90’s was a music force to be reckoned with. Four people creating a sound that no one had heard before and forging their own path. In the eight years they were gone, that sound became the standard and as mentioned before was worked to death by imitators and those who imitated the imitators. While this is not Helmet’s fault, their sound just isn’t as fresh in 2007 as it was in 1993. Watching the 2007 version of Helmet, it seemed Hamilton may have done better to let sleeping dogs lie. The rest of the band is now made up of a much younger group of guys who weren’t able to hold their place. While young blood can be a good thing (Hamilton himself often made reference to his own age, saying some of the breaks between songs were because he was 46 and needed to catch his breath), the tight performance and intensity I expected from a Helmet show just wasn’t there. I felt like I was watching a bunch of kids live out their dreams of playing with their idol instead of a band who were determined to create their own road. At least the 2004 version of Helmet had Frank Bello from Anthrax and John Tempesta from White Zombie around to keep things exciting and lend some experience to proceedings. Songs from 2006’s Monochrome album had a few fans leaving the mosh pit, who could only be coaxed back by classic songs such as Wilma’s Rainbow and In the Meantime. The fact that they held off Unsung (the breakthrough track from 1992’s Meantime album) until the final song of the encore suggests that even Hamilton knew why people were really there. My final thought of the night? Helmet were a great band in 1994.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

Refused - Refused Are Fucking Dead

Refused are fucking dead. It’s as simple as that. After recording one of the most important punk albums of the last ten years, Refused promptly fell apart on the following tour. Taking its name from one of the songs on that album, Refused Are Fucking Dead documents the final year of the band.

Refused have a knack for basic and accurate titles. Their final album, 1998’s The Shape of Punk to Come is widely credited with bringing life, urgency and a potent social voice back to a punk scene which had become all about skate-boards, whiney voices and the one drumbeat. It also kick-started the post-hardcore/screamo styles of music. It truly was the shape of punk to come. The manifesto was a song called New Noise. From the opening question “Can I scream?”, it was a call to arms. A reminder that punk was never meant to be about the right look or trying to sound like every other band around.

How can we expect anyone to listen
If we’re using the same old voice?
We need new noise
New art for the real people

We dance to all the wrong songs
We enjoy all the wrong moves

But like so many other great bands, the manic energy which made them great was intrinsically tied to their inevitable downfall. The volatile nature which created such excitement and tension within the band also made them unstable. Refused consisted of four people who had been the leaders of their previous bands. They found themselves in a situation where they believed in what they were doing but no longer felt they had control over it. Especially once other people began to notice and the movement became bigger than the band itself.

After the band broke up, guitarist Kristofer Steen became a filmmaker and it is he who has put together this film. Rather than rely on archival footage of the events, which is terribly scarce (after all at the time, no one knew the impact this album would have), he has put together a beautifully shot piece of storytelling. Panoramic shots of the landscape of Refused’s native Sweden are interspersed with interviews and newly shot situational footage of the other band members – vocalist Dennis Lyxzen (now in The (International) Noise Conspiracy), guitarist Jon Bronnstrom and drummer David Sandstrom (as the documentary focuses only on the final year of the band, members from their original lineup are not included, nor is bassist Magnus Bjorklund, who left during the recording of The Shape of Punk to Come).

Steen himself does not appear in the film, other than in the few bits of archival and live footage which are included, but his voice is still quite strong throughout, as much of the interviews with other band members feel like a conversation between them and him. Steen’s skill as a filmmaker is also on show, with the overall visual style of the film being stunning, while the editing and combination of Rikard Borrgard’s musical score and Refused’s live performances creating strong feelings of tension and excitement.

The live performances are worth noting too. Unlike many other music documentaries recently, Steen realises that after talking about it for so long, all the audience wants to do is finally HEAR some music and see what the fuss is all about. Mercifully he has included full performances of Circle Pit, Life Support Addiction and New Noise throughout the film at relevant moments. Also included is some brief footage of the song Rather Be Dead, captured at the final Refused concert as the police pushed through the crowd, tellingly stopping the band before they could reach the song’s refrain “but I’d rather be alive.“

Refused Are Fucking Dead is a must for fans of the band, or anyone with even a passing interest in punk, hardcore or any of their variations. However it will appeal to lovers of any kind of music, purely for the passion of the band members, their unwavering belief in what they’re doing, and the artistic direction of the film itself. It should also serve as an eye-opener to anyone who dismisses the post-hardcore scene as “whiney-emo-shit”, to see just how powerful, important and vital it can be in the right hands.

Bonus features on the DVD are a mixed bag. Video clips for Rather Be Dead and New Noise are a welcome addition. The idea to try and include live performances of as many songs from The Shape of Punk to Come as possible doesn’t work as well as could be hoped though. While it is exciting to have them there, most are shot from hand held cameras by the side of the stage, using inbuilt microphones (again, at the time no one could have known how significant the band would become posthumously). The amateur camerawork and distorted sound, from which you can often make out only the drums and one guitar, mean this stuff is for hardcore fans of the band only. However in this case, the main feature really is worth the price of the disc.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

From First To Last - Heroine

Given the age of lead singer Sonny Moore when recording From First to Last’s debut album Dear Diary, My Teen Angst has a Body Count, it would be unfair to describe the sound on Heroine as a more mature effort. Unfair because it might focus attention on age only, and not on the huge musical evolution From First to Last have made as a whole. (And don’t blame ME for bringing up Moore’s age, if it wasn’t so prominently raised in the bio which accompanied this album, I wouldn’t have mentioned it either).

Also according to the bio, the debut album was as much a parody of scene politics as it was inspired by the scene around it. Unfortunately most people didn’t notice. For all Dear Diary’s tongue-in-cheek ribbing of the emo/screamo/post-hardcore genres – through tracks like Featuring Some of Your Favourite Words (“Here’s to playing tug of war with my vocal chords / Maybe I can give this another shot or sing about a broken heart / Or imitate the way it feels if this is happening for real”) – stylistically it didn’t bring anything new along with its complaints. The music was catchy and well written, but it still had a lot in common those who were around them (although perhaps this was needed for their point to get across?).

Heroine corrects this imbalance. Guitarists Travis Richter and Matt Good have driven the band’s sound into a much different territory this time around. The albums first two tracks are the closest to what would have been expected had they continued on the one path. But the first indication of something new is there in the end of Mothersound where a “solo” alternates between notes, feedback and the sound of someone chocking their guitar, as well as the soaring background vocals of Jaqueline Marie. The overall feel of the album is a lot darker and atmospheric, while still keeping the band’s passion alive. Think the change from Deftones’ Around the Fur to White Pony, or Finch’s What it is to Burn to Say Hello to Sunshine (although much more cohesive musically than the latter).

A lot more effort has been put into the production of this album too. The work of producer Ross Robinson almost feels like an extra instrument on the album due to the clarity and space given to everything that is going on. It also means the newly discovered industrial elements fit in seamlessly. The quiet guitars of Waves Goodbye are joined at the end by breakbeats and glitches, while The Levy features programming courtesy of Atticus Ross (12 Rounds, Error and engineer on the most recent Nine Inch Nails album). There are a few notable guest appearances on the album with Ross’ fellow Error member and full time Bad Religion member Brett Gurewitz providing backing vocals on Mothersound (Gurewitz also runs Epitaph records to which FFTL are signed), and the band’s vacant bass slot being filled by Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns).

But despite this calibre of guests, their input is used to enhance, rather than as a significant element. The real star of the album is the stronger song writing of From First To Last as a whole. When Moore sings of falling on The Levy, “the distance grows as the ground approaches”, the guitar attack suddenly drops out at the end of the line, even though we’re only a minute into the song. The feeling of a fall and sudden stop this evokes is such that it’s difficult to tell whether the lyrics or the music came first. The highlight track for me though is The Crows are Coming for Us. The slow build up goes from a subdued and eerie verse to a chorus which starts out with Moore’s wail, surround only by light guitars and Derek Bloom creating a crescendo on his cymbals before the full drum and guitar aspects come in. Then we move into an industrial whispered section with high pitched guitar and lots of echo, before a final sing along of:

The crows are coming for us
Let ‘em in, Let ‘em in

Heroine is definitely an evolution for the band. The direct cynicism of Dear Diary has been left behind and replaced with a more poetic, darker and atmospheric sound. Having both these weapons in their arsenal should be a significant benefit to From First to Last.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

Atreyu - A Death Grip on Yesterday

Atreyu’s first album Suicide Notes & Butterfly Kisses, was a straightforward hardcore album – raw, loud, full of energy and shouting. Their breakthrough second album The Curse was a bit of a surprise for most people. Finally the photos of band members in Motley Crue t-shirts made sense as the Atreyu sound was mixed with a generous dose of 80s hair metal. Surprisingly, long solos, sweetly sung choruses and hand pumping rhythms melded well with the existing base and provided a refreshing contrast to the straight-up hardcore which was starting to get a bit tired under the weight of so many clone bands. So well in fact that a cover of Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name included as a bonus track on some versions of the album didn’t even make an impact on the flow.

The band’s latest effort falls somewhere between the two. It would be wrong to say it was a return to the early sound, as there is still more variety in rhythms and sounds than there was on the first release. The crisp sound quality of The Curse has been kept too, this time at the hand of producer Josh Abraham. At first listen the solo’s seem to have been ditched too, but after a while you notice them hiding away in tracks such as Ex’s and Oh’s and Shameful. What has been toned down is the cheese factor. Whereas The Curse delighted in mildly tongue in check over-the-top riffs, there are no shouted sing-along’s a la Five Vicodin Chased with a Shot of Clarity, nor the jump out of your seat and clap along intro of Right Side of the Bed.

A Death Grip on Yesterday is a more streamlined, focused attack. The subject matter is familiar as Atreyu still deal largely in broken hearts and regrets (for example see Our Sick Story) but they still do it as well as anyone else and with their ability to write a catchy tune you too will find yourself yelling out “does your body still scream my name?”

The Theft slows things down a bit more, and as with the ending of Untitled Finale (fortunately this is a full song and not just a cleverly titled outro as is becoming too common in this genre) adds an epic element to the album’s sound. But the highlight’s are single Ex’s and Oh’s and My Fork in the Road. Ex’s and Oh’s brings a rock feel to the sound, which is reflected in the lyrics. “Suck me down it’s time to Rock ‘n’ Roll / Let’s hit the bar, let’s lose control” goes the chorus, and this new element to the Atreyu style makes you want to dance. My Fork in the Road on the other hand is symptomatic of the focused and aggressive Atreyu. Sure there’s a harmonised guitar beakdown hidden in there, but it leads straight into one of the albums most direct messages to an ex-lover.

The streamlining continues to the length of the album. With only 9 tracks on A Death Grip on Yesterday, it clocks in at just over half an hour. But considering the quality of these songs compared to the left over track Her Portrait in Black which was recently released on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack, it seems we’ve been given only the quality songs and spared any filler.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)