GOMEZ live review

Funny thing about Gomez. They seem to be more popular in Australia than they are in their homeland. They frequently visit our shores and sell out everywhere, whereas their shows in the UK aren't that well received. Obviously there is something about Gomez that appeals to the Aussie psyche.

This is a look back at a Gomez show at the Enmore, Sydney on Easter Weekend in March 2005..

Good Friday?

Good Friday?

If you believe the bible then that is the day that Luke Skywalker died. What's good about that? There was nothing good about it then and there's nothing good about it now either.

Take gigs for example. They're all screwy on Good Friday. I arrive at the Enmore a little after 9pm thinking Gelbison will be due on stage any minute - but oh no, it's fuckin’ Good Friday isn't it. Gelbison have been and gone hours ago and Gomez are 10 minutes into their set by now.

It's a public holiday for fuck's sake - gigs should go on later not earlier. Good Friday? Do me a favour.

Anyway, my apologies to Gelbison who I'm sure played a very excellent set. They're gigging quite a lot in Sydney at the moment and (going on past experience) I recommend you check 'em out.

And so to tonight's main attraction...

Somebody has obviously put a rocket up the collective arse of Gomez. The last time I saw these bozos they were idly strumming in an English field and being largely ignored.

A far cry from the fire breathin' rawkin' monster they've become now.

My first instinct is to warn them: "Those are electric guitars boys - put them down before you hurt yourselves", but they’d never hear me above the raptuous reception the crowd is lavishing on them.

Gomez may feel a bit neglected back in Blighty these days but they still have the hearts of the Sydney public it would seem. Every song is greeted like an old friend by the audience: 'Hangover Girl' brings squeals of joy down the front, 'Chicken Out' sparks off some impromptu pogoing and the reaction to 'Silence' is entirely inappropriate given the song's title.

To universal delight there is also a liberal smattering of old favourites thrown in. 'Rhythm & Blues Alibi', 'Free To Run' and 'Get Myself Arrested' are all given extra oomph thanks to increased tempo and/or injections of electrification.

By the time the opening bars of 'Whippin Picadilly' kick in Ben and Ian are throwing Slash-like guitar hero poses which (unbelievably) they carry off. Gomez may still look like the school chess club but somewhere along the way they learnt how to ROCK. If this is their 'warm up' for Cockatoo Island then I can't wait for the main event. Bring it on.

THE TEMPTATIONS lyrics of the week

Alright, yeah, you can accuse me of being sentimental if you like. But these are still great lyrics...

You got a smile so bright
You know you could have been a candle
I'm holding you so tight
You know you could have been a handle
The way you swept me off my feet
You know you could have been a broom
The way you smell so sweet
You know you could have been some perfume
Well you could have been anything that you want to
And I can tell
The way you do the things you do

As pretty as you are
You know you could have been a flower
Your good looks was a minute
You know that you could have been an hour
The way you stole my heart
You know you could have been a cool crook
And baby you're so smart
You know you could have been a schoolbook
Well you could have been anything that you want to
And I can tell
The way you do the things you do

You make my life so rich
You know you should have been some money
Baby you're so sweet
You know you should have been some honey
Well you could have been anything that you want to
And I can tell
The way you do the things you do

You're really swep me off my feet
You make my life complete
You make my life so bright
You make me feel alright

ARCADE FIRE video of the week

Gotta hand it to the Arcade Fire. Not only do they produce the best album of 2010 (so far) but they've also come up with this amazing little video gadget.

You can tailor the video to your hometown and then the magic starts!

You really have got to try this sucker out. Follow this link:

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

Note that you may need to install Google Chrome to view this video. It only takes a few seconds to download it and - trust me - it's worth it.

Enjoy.

SMUDGE live review

Aussie cult heroes Smudge are often mentioned as influences by other musicians. I checked them out at the Annandale a couple of years back and this was my assessment...

This was a night where Australia's musical past collided with its musical future. And the future won hands down.

The small crowd of punters who arrived early were served up the rare treat of a solo acoustic performance by Robert F Cranny. The quality of his songs was evident throughout, despite the humble surroundings and instrumentation. But then you would expect no less from Sarah Blasko's musical co-pilot. It was also clear that this man is brimming with ideas, as songs often took unexpected turns in structure and tempo. Hearing those ideas fleshed out in future, with a full band, will be fascinating.

While Mr Cranny only had to travel down the road to be here, I Heart Hiroshima had come all the way from Brisneyland. Visibly nervous to begin with, the youngsters soon grew in confidence and won the audience over with slab after slab of short, fiery punk tunes.

On 'Teef' the trio barked in unison, "I've got teeth, you've got none", before tearing into an awesome guitar assault. On 'Lungs' Susie Patten gleefully banged the shit out of her drumkit with such force that she later complained of blisters on her fingers (Ringo Starr would be proud). Meanwhile, a speeded up version of 'Punks' sounded thrilling, thanks to the call and response vocals between Matthew Somers and the irrepressible Susie.

And the Queenslanders also offered a glimpse of their new, as-yet-unreleased songs. All carried the same sharpness of their predecessors, but with a newfound artiness that makes the prospect of their next album positively enticing.

Unfortunately, when elder statesmen Smudge took to the stage, they suffered by comparison. Their more considered, melodic form of indie rock felt lacklustre after the raw energy of I Heart Hiroshima. Only occasionally did the songs seem to live up to their brilliant titles ('Mike Love, Not War' was a highlight).

Their cover of 'Berlin Chair' was the most telling moment of the set. Musically, the trio stuck faithfully to the original, making Tom Morgan's voice stand out like a drummer's sore thumb. Quite simply, his vocal was less expressive than Tim Rogers', and it showed. And it was noteworthy that they chose to cover a 1990s anthem, because even the new songs sounded dated, stuck in thrall to bands like Dinosaur Junior.

Dwelling on the past is often counter-productive, and so it proved tonight. But hey, the future looks bright and it's a New Year, so here's to 2009!

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2008.

22-20s

Oh hindsight. Such a wonderful thing. This is an album review I wrote in late-2004 about a British band called the 22-20s. Listening to their self-titled debut, I got a little bit over-excited and tipped them for greatness. Sure enough, they broke up shortly afterwards and it's taken until 2010 for them to patch things up, reform and get their music back on track. Perhaps I jinxed them six years ago...

Hang about, I think there’s been some kind of mistake. I’m supposed to be reviewing a debut album by a bunch of 21-year-old lads from the genteel town of Lincoln in England. What I’ve got here sounds like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club jamming with a grisly old Delta Bluesmith from Mississippi.

Well, whoever these guys really are, I gotta tell you they fuckin’ rock dude!

The dynamic duo of ‘Devil In Me’ and ‘Such A Fool’ start proceedings with screeching slide guitar and rat-a-tat drumming, whilst Martin Trimble sings with the kind of zeal you’d normally associate with a born-again missionary. Yessir he’s seen the light! It’s beautiful and it’s blue!

The bluesrockfest continues throughout most of the album but the 22-20s aren’t just one trick ponies. ‘The Things That Lovers Do’ is an anti-lovesong that’s just as warped as anything The Jesus & Mary Chain ever crafted. Then there’s the reflective ‘Friends’: “I’ve been sinking in the sand, I always had a helping hand, Try to find where trouble ends, I found out it’s in your friends.” Simple but oh so true. 

This is an assured debut from a band who are gonna rock our world for some time to come.

If 22-20s was an injury it would be a bruise: black and blue.  

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

22-20s is available through EMI.

JOY DIVISION artwork of the week

Legendary bass player, Peter Hook, is bringing his band over to Australia to perform Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures in its entirety. Those of us who love this 30-year-old album are approaching Hook's expedition with caution. After all, the other founding members of Joy Division are either too lazy to come on the tour (singer Ian Curtis has been lying around doing nothing for years) or too pissed off with Hook to even speak to him (Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris). So, in a way, Hook is just performing a series of covers of Unknown Pleasures.

But speaking of covers, the original cover artwork for the album is above reproach. It's gained iconic status over the years - and with good reason.

The front cover image comes from an edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy. It presents successive pulses from the first pulsar ever discovered. The image was suggested by Morris and the cover design involved genius artist Peter Saville. The back cover of the album contains no track listings, leaving a blank table where one would expect the listings to be. The original release came in a textured sleeve.

The original LP release contained no track information on the labels, nor the traditional "side one" and "side two" designations. The ostensible "side one" was labeled Outside and displayed a reproduction of the image on the album cover, while the other side was labeled Inside and displayed the same image with the colours reversed. Track information and album credits appeared on the inner sleeve only.

Ah! This is what album artwork should be all about!

DAGGY MUSIC CONFESSION new regular feature

We've all got them; those hideous musical festishes that are hidden away in our cupboard at home. The guilty pleasures from yesteryear that we're ashamed to admit we still like. So this is the start of a new weekly feature on the blog, where readers share their Daggy Music Confession.

First up is Catherine. Take it away mate... 

"It’s sad to admit that I have a soft-spot for Australian rock/pop boy-bands. Southern Sons, Thirsty Merc and, best of all, 1927.

"1927 were one-album wonders in the late 1980s Australian music scene. Their album, …ish, was probably my first non-plastic pop purchase, and back in the days when you bought things on cassette! Last year, they released a digitally remastered version on CD – and I haven’t looked back. I’m surprised by how well I remember the lyrics from all the big hits, like 'Compulsory Hero', 'That’s When I Think of You' and the very best, 'If I Could'. Find out why it’s such a classic pop/rock anthem here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iJORI55kPE

"If I was hit by a bus listening to …ish on my iPod, I’d be a bit embarrassed when the ambos found out… but I can only hope that the ambo is a woman who was also aged between 11 and 18 in 1989. Then we can gossip about how much we loved the lead singer, Eric."

Well done Catherine. Glad we've helped you get that off your chest. Your secret is safe with Shout About Music... and the rest of the worldwide interweb...

MONTY PYTHON lyrics of the week

Previous 'Lyrics of the Week' have all been a bit dark and introspective to date. So here's something to lighten the mood: 'The Penis Song' by Monty Python...

Isn't it awfully nice to have a penis?
Isn't it frightfully good to have a dong?
It's swell to have a stiffy.
It's divine to own a dick,
From the tiniest little tadger
To the world's biggest prick.
So, three cheers for your Willy or John Thomas.
Hooray for your one-eyed trouser snake,
Your piece of pork, your wife's best friend,
Your Percy, or your cock.
You can wrap it up in ribbons.
You can slip it in your sock,
But don't take it out in public,
Or they will stick you in the dock,
And you won't come back.

JAKOB cale:drew

Another virtually unknown gem is revealed in today's blog. I'm far too good to you aren't I...

It’s hard to say exactly what leads someone to create music as organic as this. Perhaps it’s growing up surrounded by nature. That would go some way to explain where instrumentalists like Mogwai (Scotland), Sigur Rós (Iceland) and Jakob (New Zealand) draw their inspiration.

On cale:drew Jakob have absorbed the dramatic landscapes of their homeland and somehow painted them in sound. This works best on tracks like ‘Semaphone’ and ‘Skew…aard’ where echoey fingerpicking conjures up meandering rivers one moment before crashing drums and guitar feedback evoke rugged mountains the next.

It proves you don’t need synthesizers and computers to produce ambient soundscapes. Simple chord progressions and a good sense of timing are all that’s required here. Often they use nothing more than guitar, bass and drums – and when they do use vocals (on ‘Faye’) they’re subdued and indecipherable, creating a mood rather than describing one.

Aside from obvious similarities with Mogwai and Sigur Rós, Jakob’s gradual ascents toward heart-wrenching crescendos of noise call to mind Disintegration by The Cure. cale:drew won’t have anything like the commercial appeal of that record but it carries a similar vibe.

If this album were a place it would be: Milford Sound in New Zealand.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

Article first published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

cale:drew is available through Midium Records.

BRIAN WILSON reimagines gershwin

Hot off the presses of this week's Brag magazine, here's my take on Brian Wilson's take on George Gershwin...

This album is the unlikely meeting of two musical minds from different eras. First we have the spectacularly gifted, spectacularly erratic Brian Wilson, the Beach Boy who almost single-handedly invented surf pop and the legendary Pet Sounds in the 1960s. Second we have the late, great composer George Gershwin, who spliced opera, jazz, folk and classical music to conquer Broadway in the 1920s and 1930s.

As the album title suggests, this is Wilson’s interpretation of Gershwin’s formidable back catalogue. Like all the best cover versions, the tracks are not faithful copies of the originals. Wilson has tinkered with melodies and counter melodies, tying them together in a classic Beach Boys style. He’s also syncopated rhythms, deviating from the familiar beats and tempos that Gershwin fans know and love.

While purists may shudder at this, you’ve got to admire Wilson’s chutzpah. Tracks such as ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’ are so familiar, so frequently covered, that the only way to record them and retain any artistic integrity is to fuck about with them a little. He’s even taken fragments of two unfinished Gershwin tunes and, with lyricist Scott Bennett, fleshed them out into fully realised songs to bookend the album. 

This is Wonderful and ‘Swonderful to witness. In the three decades that followed Pet Sounds, Wilson weathered a professional and personal storm that nearly killed him. It’s good to see that, in 2010, he has rediscovered Summertime.

We’re still waiting for the day when a five star album of brand new Wilson originals will be released, but this is the next best thing.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, September 2010.

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin is available through Disney Pearl

THE REDSUNBAND live review

One of the reasons I set up this blog was to shout about music that often gets ignored in mainstream media. Today's headline act, The Redsunband, are a classic case of this. They are a criminally underrated band. This show was performed at the RSL in Newtown (aka @Newtown) in November 2004...

This was one of those evenings that started out badly, gradually improved and then finally exploded into life.

True to their name, Black Cab failed to turn up, disappointing a sizeable crowd who had arrived early to see them. 

Bonsai Kitten stepped in as replacements and disappointed everyone still further. For fifteen minutes we endured two lone guitarists playing random feedback and noise in no discernable direction. They were then joined by a singer and drummer for the musical equivalent of being offered sex but choosing masturbation instead. They enjoyed themselves but nobody else did.

Perennial bridesmaids Holy Soul then bounded onto stage armed with a pink umbrella and an eclectic batch of indie-pop. Various songs contained a bit of blues, a dash of rock n’ roll, a drop of psychedelia or a smidgeon of country music. This kitchen sink approach makes them a perfect support band. They have something for everyone but never steal the show from the headliners. 

The Redsunband have had their share of support slots recently too – but often they’ve flattered to deceive. Not tonight though. Tonight they’re in their element: blood red curtains behind them and a captive audience in front of them. 

From the barnstorming opener ‘Sleep Forever’ through the thunder of ‘Pavement’ and the lightning of ‘Devil Song’, everything crackles with energy. At times their instruments seem to be playing them and not the other way around. The harmonies between Sarah and John are intoxicating and when Liz appears from behind her hair to chip in too the effect is awesome. 

Sarah’s so excited she even manages to say a few words for once. We get a “Hello” at the start and a few mumbled words of thanks between songs (but then she goes and ruins it all by not wishing us “Goodnight”. Ooh, she’s a moody so-and-so that one).

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

 

 

UNKLE (feat THOM YORKE) video of the week

Video of the Week goes to a video clip that is almost as disturbing as the song itself. Brace yourself before you click 'Play'...

RICHMOND FONTAINE lyrics of the week

This is the last song that made me cry. If you aren't familiar with Richmond Fontaine and lyricist/author Willy Vlautin, then I strongly recommend you have a listen. In the next few weeks I'll be posting my live review of Richmond Fontaine's show at the Brass Monkey this year. In the meantime, here's the words to 'The Janitor'... 

He worked as a janitor in a hospital and he met her there
Her husband's fist, her swollen face, her broken ribs and missing hair,
Her crumbling voice, her soft white skin and blonde hair
No charges did she file.

When the husband wasn't around they'd talk in her room
after shift and before shift at his lunch breaks at noon.
Because of their meetings the janitor bought himself new clothes and he cut his hair
He bought her things; a radio, books, a nightgown and magazines.
He'd come down in the middle of the night and he'd drink coffee
and tell her about the few places that he'd been and the things that he'd seen;
how he was beaten up and he almost died while walking home through some college ground,
and about a depression that came from it and never let down.

A day before she was to be released he carried her down to his car
and drove her seven hours to a motel room for her to rest and for them to be alone.

But two days later she began to cough up blood
She locked herself in the bathroom, and she sat down on the floor.
She sat down lost and through,
'cause she wouldn't go back to the hospital which would
lead to her destruction and ruin;
of purple dripping alcohol and smashed records on the floor
and his cluttered breathing and their pictures still hanging on the wall.

She finally stood up with red stains on her shirt and she walked back out to the room.
"Save my life," she said.
He grabbed her hand and said, "That's all I ever want to do.
I just want to be with you, all I want to be is with you."


'The Janitor' is from the album The Fitzgerald available through El Cortez.

THE LOVETONES lost

Fresh from the pages of this week's Brag, here is my latest CD review...

It’s impossible to write about Sydney’s Lovetones without mentioning the 1960s or the Brian Jonestown Massacre (BJM), so let’s get that bit over with. Yes, they are heavily influenced by Swinging Sixties psychedelia and yes, their main songwriter Matthew J Tow is a former bandmate of Anton Newcombe. But there’s so much more to The Lovetones than this.

On Lost, the Aussie fourpiece have gently steered themselves in some new directions. ‘This Great Romance’ is a wide-eyed love song, gilded with pretty little melodica and xylophone flourishes. The folky ‘Coming Home’ is even sweeter still, infused with harpsichord and a mesmerising duet between Tow and guest vocalist Miranda Lee Richards (herself a veteran of the BJM circus). 

You could almost be forgiven for thinking that, five albums into their career, The Lovetones have suddenly discovered a fresh innocence. But that would be to ignore the heroic hedonism elsewhere on the record. ‘Come Dance With Me’ is a woozy waltz, describing a near-hallucinogenic encounter with a mysterious woman. ‘City Meets The Stars’ is mind-bendingly awesome, boasting a Rickenbacker guitar soaked in luscious organ. And final track ‘Earth’s Great Sleep’ is a kaleidoscopic voyage of self-discovery, swept along by a slow, hypnotic rhythm section.

Forget their influences. Forget their infamous friends. The Lovetones have just delivered their fourth consecutive album of consistently outstanding music. And that’s all that matters.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2010.

Lost is available through Undercover Music

THE BLACK KEYS rubber factory

Here's a look back at an absolutely cracking US album from 2004...

Wow! In an incredible musical about-turn The Black Keys have created a fusion of hip hop, acid house and soul! Whodathunkit? Oh alright, I'm just pulling your leg. It’s the same old dirty blues as on the last album (and the one before that). People will moan about not "exploring new territory" or failing to "push the boundaries" but when you rock as hard as The Black Keys already do, why change?

This is rawer and tougher than a gang of Hell's Angels at a Raw N' Tough Convention in Rawandtuffville. In fact you could take any of these songs, put them in a 1960's biker movie and they'd sound right at home. From the gleefully menacing opener 'When The Lights Go Out' through the cocaine blues of 'The Desperate Man' to the bruising assault that is '10am Automatic' everything sounds as cool as a roaring Harley engine. If you close your eyes you can see Jimi Hendrix and Steppenwolf's John Kay raising glasses of Jack Daniels and nodding their approval.

The Black Keys won't win prizes for originality but they won't care. They're just doing what they wanna do, and afterall, isn't that what Rock N' Roll is all about?

Listen to this album if you're taking a road trip with two mates: you'll feel like Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.

Article first published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

Rubber Factory is available through Shock Records.

OASIS artwork of the week

Today is the start of a new feature in the blog: Artwork of the Week...

 

This cover is from the third Oasis album Be Here Now. The music itself was a disappointment but the album art was a fitting tribute to the rock n' roll mayhem the band were creating at the time.

Note the Rolls Royce in the swimming pool; this was in the days before Photoshop wizardry - so that really is a Rolls Royce half submerged in the pool.

This artwork was by designed by microdot. That's a name that is sure to crop up again in future Artwork of the Week features.

Be Here Now is available through Creation Records.

DALLAS CRANE dallas crane

I don't know about you, but I never did quite get the appeal of Dallas Crane... 

You know those nights where it doesn't matter how much beer you drink, you just can't seem to get drunk? It looks like beer, tastes like beer and everyone else who's drinking it is plastered - but for some reason you're stone cold sober still. Well, that's what listening to this album was like for me.

As you'd expect from the Dallas boys it's mostly good, solid bluesy rock. The instruments are played competently and guitar solos are in all the right places. Opening track 'Dirty Hearts' has enjoyed extensive radio play and may just be the song that finally raises the Melbourne outfit into the big league.

A lot of people are going to love this album. I'm just not one of them.

In fact nothing really moved me until final track 'Alright By Me' when they loosen up, drop the rawk and all of a sudden they sound good.

Really good.

Blindingly good in fact.

A hypnotic guitar and piano carry you through languid, blissed out vocals shared by Pete Satchell, Dave Larkin and Shannon Vanderwert and POW! It's like Gruff from Super Furry Animals singing Spiritualised's 'Cop Shoot Cop' after one-too-many space cakes. If that last track is a sign of where they're heading on the next record maybe it's not too late for me to get drunk on Dallas Crane afterall.

Listen to this album if you liked Dallas Crane before: you'll love them now.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
Article first published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

Dallas Crane is available through Albert Productions.

RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS cardinology

This 2008 album is the most recent 'proper' album to be released by Ryan Adams. This is curious, because he has a reputation for being prolific. According to Adams' Facebook page, he has finished working on two unreleased albums, Blackhole and Cardinals III/IV, and is currently recording new albums in both New York City and Los Angeles. In the meantime, this is how he sounded two years ago... 

Those who witnessed Ryan Adams’ dummy spit at the Enmore recently will agree that he can be a royal pain in the arse (‘royal’ being the operative word. He was a spoilt princess that night). But when he lets his music do the talking, all is forgotten (if not entirely forgiven) because Adams has a rare gift for songwriting.

In much of Cardinology, that gift is perfectly blended with a talented band and a remarkable vocal performance. ‘Go Easy’ is an early highlight, with Adams’ impassioned voice soaring across a gentle beat, electric guitar and piano. That’s followed by ‘Fix It’, another mid-paced heartbreaker, where Adams shows that nobody can sing about petty, dysfunctional relationships quite like he can.

What’s also pleasing here is that Adams has delivered a more stylistically diverse album than, say, Jacksonville City Nights. Yes; there is still a big dose of lonesome cowboy pedal steel on tracks like ‘Natural Ghost’ and ‘Evergreen’ but there’s also a return to convincing rock n’ roll on ‘Magick’ (quite a relief after the awful ‘Halloweenhead’ from his last record). Not to mention the simple, stripped back instrumentation on ‘Crossed Out Name’ and ‘Stop’.

While the quality does dip occasionally (the fine musicianship on ‘Sink Ships’ is scuppered by clumsy lyrical metaphors) this album shows enough to suggest that Adams is on track to deliver a fully formed masterpiece again one day.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2008.

Cardinology is available through Highway Records.

ARCADE FIRE lyrics of the week

I could have picked several tracks from the new Arcade Fire album, but 'Suburban War' takes the prize...

Let's go for a drive
See the town tonight
There's nothing to do but I'll unwind when I'm with you

This town's so strange
They built it to change
And while we're sleeping
All the streets, they rearrange

And my old friends, we were so different then
Before your war against the suburbs began
Before it began

And now the music divides
Us into tribes
You grew your hair so I grew mine

They said the past won't rest
Until we jump the fence and leave it behind

And my old friends, I can remember when
You cut your hair
We never saw you again
Now the cities we live in
Could be distant stars
And I search for you
In every passing car

The nights are warm
Yeah, the nights are warm
I've been living in the shadows of your song
Living in the shadows of your song

In the suburbs I learned to drive
People told me we would never survive
So grab your mother's keys we leave tonight

You started a war
That you can't win
They keep erasing all the streets we grew up in

Now the music divides
Us into tribes
You choose your side I'll choose my side

All my old friends, they don't know me now

HOLDEN la machine

Yesterday we heard the sounds of Singapore, today we feel the funk from France...

Okay, stop sniggering at the back of the class. This is NOT one of those awful driving-anthem compilations with a macho name like LA Machine. Holden is, in fact, the name of one of the most impressive bands to come out of France in the last few years. And La Machine is a mesmerising collection of tunes from their first three albums.

Strung together, the songs boast an eclectic mixture of ambient electronica and glittery pop. Opener ‘C’est Plus Pareil’ is a slow burner that gradually carries Armelle Pioline’s yearning vocal into a growing psychedelic swirl of vibraphone and guitar. ‘L’essential’ oozes with a laid-back organ sound, lulling you into a sunshiney haze, before choppy drums herald an outro that you wish would never end. Then there’s the more shadowy ‘Charlie Rosie et Moi’: immerse yourself in the echoed guitar effects, then close your eyes and you feel like a character in a black and white spy movie.

Elsewhere, the Parisiens prove they can match their arty charm with pop nous. The title track, for example, is built around an effervescent rhythm and impossibly catchy melody, then laced with a wonky flute and 60s beat-style guitar. And ‘Une Fraction de Seconde’ embraces the pop vibe too, bouncing along on the back of an accordion and looped piano line. Like the rest of the record, its eccentricity is all part of the appeal.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by authors.
Article first published in The Brag, Sydney, 2008.

La Machine is available through Valve/MGM.

ELECTRICO so much more inside

This is the first band from Singapore to appear on the Shout About Music blog...

Aw shit, I don't wanna beat up on these guys. They're from the musical backwater of Singapore, they've struggled for years (breaking up, reforming, changing their name etc) and now they've finally got the major label backing to do their first overseas tour. Honestly, I wish them well.

The trouble is Electrico just don't rock my world. They don't even come close. So Much More Inside is quite varied in style but there's a horribly clean sheen across everything. Two nu-metal numbers ('Studman' and 'Crowd Killer') start proceedings with a sound so sanitised that any life the songs may once have had is snuffed out. Later we're treated to a piano-led ballad ('Fabled Angst Machine', which desperately wants to be Coldplay but isn't even Keane) and mid-paced acoustic strumming ('I See The Light', inoffensive but dull). The title track is better, its funky riffing and disco groove recalling the Fun Lovin' Criminals, but it's not enough to save the rest of the album.

When all is said and done Electrico have no-one to blame but themselves (they co-produced the record afterall). In their bid to be radio friendly they turned a diverse set of songs into generic mush.

If there really is so much more inside: they've hidden it pretty well.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

So Much More Inside is available through Universal Music.

EDWARD DEER video of the week

Today is the start of a new regular feature on the Shout About Music blog: video of the week.

We're kicking off in style with a live, intimate performance from Sydney singer-songwriter Edward Deer (accompanied by Belgian musician Nick Cogels).

This is three and a half minutes of music to ease your soul. Beautiful melodies and harmonies. Enjoy.

If you like this and you live in New South Wales then I have good news. Edward Deer is playing several shows in Newtown this month.

Check out Edward Deer's live gig dates here.

THE SMALLGOODS this is the show

Looking for a soundtrack for the hot, sunny months ahead? You've just found it...

Isn't it great when you stick a CD on for the first time and you love it instantly? Take one listen of This Is The Show and you'll know Port Fairy's The Smallgoods have delivered an ever present part of your Summer.

The title track greets you with open arms, all shimmering guitars, plink plonk piano and groovy harmonies. Before it can outstay its welcome though the poptastic 'Round and Round' barges in with a beaming smile and synths weaving pretty patterns through catchy guitar hooks. It's more fun than The Monkees playing The Easybeats at ping pong.

Next thing you know you're into the meandering psychedelia of 'Who's Never Seen The Sun?' and then the blissed out 'Spending the Morning' invites you to go surfing and then get wasted (sounds good to me). There's still time for a little lovelorn reflection on the stripped down '8 Times' before the organ fires up again for razzle-dazzler 'This City's Lights', another pop gem that carries you out with gorgeous dreamy harmonies.

Finally there's a quick reprise of the title track to remind you (as if you needed telling) what a fine album you've just heard. Oh, and there's a hidden track at the end which seals it for me: this album has got it all.

Listen to this album when you're lying in the sun with a cool beer: life doesn't get much better.

By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
Article first published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

This is the Show is available through Half A Cow Records.

OLD MAN RIVER interview

Here is my interview with Ohad Rein (aka Old Man River) that was published in this week's edition of The Brag...

Ohad Rein is having a hectic day. The Old Man River star has spent several hours sitting in traffic, criss-crossing the city for radio interviews and now he’s running late to meet me. That’s a hassle, for sure, but it’s nothing compared to the pressure of releasing his new record on a major label (Trust hits stores on 10 September) with big money gambled on video clips, overseas recording studios, advertising and so forth. Make no mistake: the heat is on. Yet when Rein arrives at Brag HQ he looks as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. He finds a couch, reclines back and then explains why he’s so unfazed.

Firstly, he’s used to being on the move constantly. Although Rein was born in Sydney, his family soon moved to the Netherlands and then Israel, where he grew up. Secondly, he’s handled far greater strain than anything he faces today. At the age of 18 he was conscripted for three years of mandatory Israeli military service. “It was pretty hard for me,” he recalls, “I was a musician beforehand, a free spirit. The army is the most extreme thing that can happen to someone like that. You have to cut your hair, wear a uniform, be on time and take orders from arseholes. I didn’t have enough time to play or practice music. The first year was very traumatic for me. I was depressed.”

But two more years gave Rein time to reflect and find ways to cope: “At some point you realise it’s all a charade; people wearing uniforms like masks because they have to play this game. I found a sense of sanity inside my mind. Even though I wasn’t allowed to leave the base at times, I was free inside my head.”

And suddenly a day stuck in city tunnel traffic doesn’t seem so bad.

After the army, Rein escaped to New York: “It was an amazing time. My writing ability improved enormously, I had a band, I was doing well - but then I started getting these dreams about India, this fairytale land. It was like a real subconscious drive.”

These visions turned out to be prescient. Rein has been going back and forth to India ever since. The country made a huge impact on Rein’s music, most notably on Trust, which was partly recorded in Mumbai: “I’m very inspired by an Indian musician called Jagjit Singh. He has the same quality control as The Beatles – everything he does is good. So we hooked up with his producer, Daman Sood, and he put together this amazing ensemble of Indian musicians. I deliberately omitted the sitar and tambura on this album because everyone already knows about those. Instead we’ve got more exotic things like the sarangi and santoor [both string instruments]. It was an incredible experience.”

But the international flavour of Trust is not limited to India. Rein returned to Israel to record piano and keyboard tracks in a former atomic bomb shelter-turned-recording studio: “It belongs to this crazy classical player. He’s got a Steinway piano in this room that was meant to be used if doomsday comes. It was pretty weird,” laughs Rein.

In fact, Rein seems to attract oddball musicians. Old Man River recently toured as backing band for Daniel Johnston: “Oh, he was a psycho! Off his fucking nut! Nothing was normal about the tour with him. We never knew what song he was going to play next or in what key – sometimes the set was 10 minutes, sometimes it was an hour. But he writes beautiful songs and it was a great experience for us – we were always on our toes!” Another of Rein’s friends is Aussie eccentric Luke Steele (The Sleepy Jackson, Empire of the Sun). Steele and Rein go way back (both were part of 2004 supergroup Nations By The River) and Steele remixed an Old Man River track on the recent You’re On My Mind EP: “When I first met Luke I didn’t know anything about him. I just saw him as a brother, an amazing songwriter. I didn’t encounter that ‘mad man’ thing at all. Sure, he can be unpredictable but that’s because he’s one of these rare characters who just constantly channels creativity.”

The new album is full of other notable collaborations, with co-writing from Gelbison’s Edo Kahn (“We’re childhood friends,” explains Rein) and production from You Am I producer Wayne Connolly (“The most chilled out dude in the whole universe”). Strings were arranged by Ori Avni in Israel before mixing duties were completed by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air) in the USA. Which means, by my calculations, that Trust was created across four different continents.

With that sort of approach, it’s no wonder then that Rein’s music has sold in all corners of the world, even in non-English speaking countries: “My music was mainly introduced overseas by one song: ‘La’ [from debut album Good Morning]. The simplicity of the song helped people relate to it, and then they got into the other songs from there. You can tell, even if they don’t get the meaning of the words, they get the spirit. Whether we play in Italy or Japan, we always get the same crowd reaction.”

Rein is living proof that music has no borders. As he gets up to leave, I ask him where his hectic schedule is taking him next. I’m expecting to hear “Rushing to another interview across town” but instead he beams: “India! I’m going back to India next week.” Globetrotting again huh? I should have known.

Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, September 2010.

Trust is released through EMI on 10 September.
Old Man River is touring Australia during September and October.

MEGA CITY FOUR lyrics of the week

This is the first in a weekly series of quality lyrics from here, there and everywhere.

This week's lyrics are particularly apt, given the political shenanigans we're experiencing in Australia currently. The words are from a song called 'Finish' by a long-forgotten 1990s indie band, Mega City Four. Their back catalogue is well worth exploring, especially the excellent Sebastapol Road album...

Don't it make you sick
when they say trust me I'm your friend?
You know there must be some election
coming round again
And what about when someone calls
you haven't seen in years?
You know they're after something
when they break down in tears.

Everybody's after something these days
they're all on the take
don't it make you mad?
Everybody's onward and everybody's upward
stealing from my pocket
and stepping on my head.

You might say I'm bitter
well I guess that you'd be right
if you'd been through what I have
maybe then you'd realise
I was born with nothing
and now I've even less
the only things I'll leave behind
are pain and bitterness.


And the only pleasure that I get
is knowing it.

THE WALKMEN bows & arrows

I'm going on a ghost tour this evening, and that reminded me of this album by The Walkmen...

When this album begins you feel like you've wandered into a remote village church. Creaky organ music echoes around and then as you pass the dusty confessional box you hear a hoarse voice croak "We're counting on you". Half of you wants to run for the door but the other half is intrigued so you stay. Everything is still for a moment and then 'The Rat' scurries out in front of you, the organ intensifies and is joined by a ragged guitar and stuttering drums. You cry out for help but the hoarse voice just replies "You've got a nerve to be asking for favours".

This is the chilling welcome that awaits you on Bows & Arrows by The Walkmen.

The rest of the album is less immediate, more understated, but gradually Hamilton Leithauser's fragile vocals and Walter Martin's ethereal organ crawl their way into your affections. There are jagged shards of Joy Division, Elbow and Mercury Rev strewn about but they've been loosely stuck together to create something quite new.

The church of The Walkmen is a disturbing place to be but once you've visited you'll always want to go back.

Listen to this album if you like poking around old abandoned buildings.

Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.

Bows & Arrows is available through Warner Music.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE forgiveness rock record

Last week I reviewed an Aussie supergroup, this week I'm reviewing a Canadian one...

I’ve always thought that albums by supergroups should start with a spoken word introduction, read by a po-faced announcer: “Warning: These recordings may contain self-indulgent noodling by a collection of musicians who, together, form less than the sum of their parts.”


That’s definitely the case with Forgiveness Rock Record by Toronto art-collective Broken Social Scene. After a five year hiatus, ringleaders Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning gathered up 18 musicians (Leslie Feist among them) to prove that too many cooks not only spoil the broth - they also leave things half-baked.


‘All to All’, for example, features Lisa Lobsinger cooing over skittering percussion and woozy violins, but she sounds slightly bored (understandably so, there is no discernable tune). ’Chase Scene’ is a speedy electro number which aims for high drama horror but sounds more like Rocky Horror. ‘World Sick’ wants to be epic but never scales the same heights as ‘Lover’s Spit’ did on 2002’s You Forgot It In People.


Elsewhere, the problem isn’t a lack of ideas, but rather, too many of them: ‘Meet Me In The Basement’ appears to be a competition between several lead guitarists pulling in different directions; ‘Ungrateful Little Father’ has piano, melodica and keyboard vying for supremacy, but they cancel each other out.


This album is the product of decisions made by committee. Any clear vision is lost in a fog of compromise.


By Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
Article first published in The Brag, Sydney, 2010.

Forgiveness Rock Record is available through Arts & Crafts.

AUGIE MARCH watch me disappear

Today we go back in time to 2008, when Augie March were trying to find a way to follow up on their acclaimed Moo, You Bloody Choir album...

After receiving widespread praise for an album, many bands freeze when they have to follow it up. For Augie March that must have been a very real danger. Self-doubt has often dogged them in the past. But, happily, the acclaim that greeted Moo, You Bloody Choir appears to have given them just the encouragement they needed. Aside from some markedly improved live shows, their renewed faith has delivered a splendid fourth album.

Taken as a whole, Watch Me Disappear is a confident journey through lush instrumentation and juicy melodies. The route is sometimes direct (e.g. the borderline powerpop of ‘Farmer’s Son’ and ‘Becoming Bryn’) and sometimes meandering (‘Mugged by the Mob’, ‘Dogsday’). And, as you’d expect, there are scenic detours along the way (the off-kilter romp ‘City of Rescue’ carries the same disturbing menace as The Zutons while, conversely, the brass-infused nursery rhyme ‘Pennywhistle’ is cute as a button).

The album winds down with the nostalgic ‘Lupus’ (where the Melbourne five-piece appears to have raided Neil Finn’s magic box of tricks) and finally eases to a gentle halt with the reflective, piano-led ‘The Devil in Me’. It’s a quietly assured ending from a band oozing with self-belief.

The album title, and the lack of a killer single, are the only things here that don’t live up to Moo, You Bloody Choir.

Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2008.

Watch Me Disappear is available through Sony BMG.

THE CURE disintegration (collector's edition)

This is my recent feature article about The Cure that was a published in The Brag...

It’s amazing how people can miss the obvious when it’s staring them in the face. Take Robert Smith’s bandmates in The Cure, for example. In the late-1980s they were busy recording their individual parts for the now-legendary Disintegration but, as keyboardist Roger O’Donnell admitted in a recent blog, “We had no idea really how great an album this was to become.”

That confession is remarkable because even today, as the album turns 21 years old, Disintegration sounds bigger and brighter and wider than just about any record you can imagine. It’s an ambitious collection of twelve extended mood pieces, soaked in layered guitars, booming basslines, intricate drum patterns and lavish keyboards.

And, suddenly, it’s just got even better. A new deluxe Disintegration is now in Australian shops to celebrate the anniversary. Singer Robert Smith has painstakingly gone through the original recordings and remastered the record (disc one), as well as polishing up a live performance from 1989 (disc two) and unearthing early studio demos (disc three).

But perhaps O’Donnell & Co could be forgiven for missing the enormity of what they were creating back in 1989. After all, in the recording studio they never even got to hear the vocals - Smith didn’t add these until all the instrumental tracks were done. Then he spent 14 days mixing the record before the musicians got a chance to hear a playback of the final album. In the deluxe edition sleevenotes Smith says that, after hearing the completed work for the first time, the band was left speechless: “They were entranced. It was one of those wonderful moments when everyone in the band just knew.”

Unfortunately, recalls Smith, the record label didn’t see it that way: “I was confident that, although the overall mood of the album was pretty downbeat, there was so much strong, immediate melody and interplay in songs like ‘Pictures of You’, ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Lovesong’ the record company couldn’t help but recognise Disintegration as a perfect Cure album."

"It was bit of a shock to find they didn’t.”

Smith stubbornly refused to change a single note of the album, and ‘the suits’ were forced to release the album as it was. He was proven correct in the most emphatic style: three million album sales and four hit singles followed as The Cure didn’t just ‘break’ the US market - they obliterated it. The world tour that followed saw the band perform more than 75 sold-out shows (including a night at LA’s Dodger Stadium where the crowd swelled to 50,000).

This achievement should not be underestimated. Disintegration was released at a time when Roxette, Jive Bunny and Richard Marx dominated the airwaves. Bands producing introspective art rock were marginalised or simply ignored. When The Cure muscled their way into the mainstream they cleared a path for others – such as Nirvana and Radiohead – to follow.

So how did The Cure pull off this audacious heist? What made Disintegration so different? Stuart Braithwaite, of Scottish post-rockers Mogwai, believes the album’s strength lies in its disregard for convention: “It has the feel that only a tiny amount of albums have, that it exists completely in its own universe, immune to context or fashion.”

Braithwaite also points out that, from start to finish, Disintegration is both “achingly sad” and “unrelentingly beautiful.” For many, this is what truly sets the album apart. It’s a piece of art that captures the exquisite purity of sadness. It paints rejection and longing; infatuation and regret; across a soundscape that somehow uplifting and magnificent.

And therein lies the secret of Disintegration’s mass appeal: Everyone, at some point in their life, has had their heart broken. The Cure articulated this experience in a compelling and sincere way, and people responded.

What’s even more astounding about Disintegration is that, lyrically, the album is deeply personal. Robert Smith wasn’t trying to speak for everyone. He was speaking for himself. Yet somehow, these private sentiments struck a universal chord. ‘Lovesong’, for example, was a song written by Smith for his childhood sweetheart, Mary, when they married in 1988. But when released as a single, it became The Cure’s biggest US hit, racing to number two on the US Billboard Top 100.

The album’s lyrics are rightly heralded as Smith’s finest to date. When read aloud, without music, songs such as ‘Last Dance’, ‘The Same Deep Water As You’ and the title track are pure poetry. During the recording sessions though, these words were almost lost forever.

A dodgy electrical socket in Smith’s bedroom sparked a fire while the band was eating dinner. The handwritten lyrics were in a bag in the room, and no photocopies had been made. By the time anyone noticed the smoke and raised the alarm, the upstairs room was in flames. “Only I knew where I’d put the bag”, Smith recalls in his sleevenotes, “So it had to be me going in to get it. The staff were hysterical: ‘You can’t go in there! You’ll burn up!’ They were insisting I wait for the fire brigade to arrive.”

Throwing caution to the wind, The Cure formed a human chain and, with wet towels wrapped around his head and shoulders, Smith fumbled about in the smoke-filled room until his fingers found the scorched bag. “I coughed up soot and smoke for days after. I was pretty sick... but I’d rescued the words!”

It’s a story which perfectly sums up The Cure 21 years ago. They were young, fearless and passionate. They were prepared to gamble everything for their art. And they had no idea just how incredibly that gamble would pay off.

Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2010.

The 21st anniversary deluxe edition of Disintegration is out now through Polydor/Universal