Dangerbird/Albert – July 21 2009

If you, like me, have still not fully recovered from the tragic demise of indie-pop duo The Format, fear not – Bad Veins can fill that empty, empty space in your heart. The Cincinnati twosome have been a live staple around their local area for years and have finally released their long-awaited debut. Like The Format’s Dog Problems, this theatrical record brims with big ideas, big hooks and imaginative arrangements – and it never forgets that its primary purpose is to entertain. Bad Veins harbour similarities to other familiar indie-pop bands, but manage to avoid triteness by incorporating creative idiosyncrasies.

Opener ‘Found’ welcomes the listener with a heady mixture of woodwind, brass, drums and guitar, before the album bursts into infectious first single ‘Gold and Warm’, a Killers-esque dance-pop tune with a surprising mix of contrasting elements. It’s easy to forget that there are only two men behind this cinematic sound – singer/keyboardist/songwriter/guitarist Ben Davis and drummer Sebastien Schultz are honing their craft finely and, with the help of a 1973 reel-to-reel player named Irene, pushing massive ideas. There’s a bit of everything here, from the distorted synth-pop of ‘Falling Tide’ to electro closer ‘Go Home’, but it doesn’t feel like a disjointed collection – rather, it plays like a sampling of the multitude of ideas from a young duo who, excitingly, still have so much ahead of them. This album should dispel once and for all the myth that pop music and intelligence are mutually exclusive entities.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Found
02. Gold and Warm
03. Cross Eyed
04. You Kill
05. Afraid
06. The Lie
07. Falling Tide
08. Dry Out
09. This Ending
10. Go Home

DOWNLOAD: Gold and Warm

Dangerbird – April 7 2009

It’s not surprising to learn that Californian indie pop quartet Eulogies and our own Dappled Cities are both nestled cosily in the Dangerbird Records home; essentially they have the exact same sound. Not that that’s a bad thing, as for the most part, it works pretty well. Floaty vocals, chunky bass, sharp melodies, high-flying synth – all of these elements play a part in the more than competent composition of the band’s second album. The fact that it sounds so much like something else, though, is what proves somewhat problematic.

Lyrically the album treads familiar ground (girls, of course!) and there’s not much to be found that hasn’t been said before, all the clichés present both blatantly (‘How To Be Alone’) and sometimes a little less obviously. Singer Peter Walker is actually joined by a girl on one of the tracks – say hello to Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups on ‘Two Can Play’, an adorably meek boy-girl song that will appease romantics but, even so, doesn’t offer anything startling. But having said that, ventures into other territory don’t always work either – ‘Dark Place’ opts for a more sombre sound, including a change of vocal styling, which doesn’t suit the band’s delicacy.

On one hand it would be good to see Eulogies mix up their formula a bit, and on the other it seems that the reason they’ve stuck mostly to the same thing is because they’ve found their footing. In any case, Eulogies’ harmless summery pop is good fun and features some memorable hooks, but it feels sometimes like it’s lacking the kind of meat that could change it from pretty good to great.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Day To Day
02. Eyes on the Prize
03. Bad Connection
04. Two Can Play (feat. Nikki Monninger)
05. How To Be Alone
06. This Fine Progression
07. Out of Character
08. A Dark Place
09. Goodbye
10. The Fight (I’ve Come to Like)
11. Stranger Calliope
12. Is There Anyone Here?

Photo courtesy of ozmusicscene.com

Supported by: Kyu, Jack Carty

Local singer-songwriter Jack Carty was an appropriate opener tonight, delivering a decent, though vanilla, half hour of pretty summer songs, with a mid-set rendition of Khe Sanh drawing smiles as punters recognised the familiar tune. On the other hand, you wouldn’t expect an experimental duo to receive such undivided attention at a show like this, but Kyu proved that theory wrong as they played to a spellbound crowd. The Sydney girls used everything from xylophones to synthesisers to loop pedals to soaring vocals to create an eerie cinematic sound on songs ranging from melodic to just plain eccentric. It sometimes felt a little too extended for only a supporting slot, but there are certainly challenging concepts in Kyu’s music.

Joshua Radin, dressed in a t-shirt whilst his three bandmates wore waistcoats and ties, was casual both in attire and attitude. The singer-songwriter’s first visit to Australia was not without expectation – it’s been a long wait and, even though he’s only two albums into his career, he’s got a hell of a lot of love here. Perhaps this was in part why the audience was too enamoured to seem to properly notice a lot of tonight’s flaws. There’s no denying that Radin is one charming man, winning the crowd over with his anecdotes about the meaning of each song, but musically, the evening was inconsistent. The band worked best on the new songs which demanded a heavier, more driven aesthetic (and audience participation in the form of hand-claps), but on songs such as ‘One of Those Days’, they weighed Radin down as he struggled to compete with an uneven mix. Radin’s music works best acoustically, with one highlight being the band crowding around the microphone for ‘I’d Rather Be with You’ and ‘Sky’, sung in the style of old-time radio (maracas and all). Stripped versions of ‘Winter’ and ‘Closer’ also brought a higher level of intimacy thanks to the lack of a pounding drum beat, allowing the focus to return to Radin’s lyrics – but unfortunately these moments did not form the majority of the set, and many songs often felt thin due to a lack of the harmonies that adorn his recorded work. Though there were several beautiful moments, it was Radin’s engaging personality that pulled him through a show that was overall underwhelming.

Craving Records – May 26 2008

The most obvious difficulty in foreign music is the language barrier – you can enjoy the music, sure, but what the hell are they talking about? Fortunately for French band Mademoiselle K, language becomes merely a blip on the radar – the band’s pure energy is enough to convey whatever messages the lyrics might contain (but having said that, the lyrics are pretty intense – “je nique le vent et je pisse debout”, she murmurs on ‘Enjoliveur’. Sounds harmless enough, no? “I fuck the wind and I piss standing up” – think again).

Frontwoman Katerine Gierak, a French carnation of the love child you’d imagine a magical liaison (genitalia notwithstanding) between Chrissie Hynde and Karen O would birth, has the sultry kind of tones that have your ears begging for mercy. This second album’s title translates to ‘Never in Peace’ and that’s not an inaccurate description – it doesn’t stop moving. The title track features a thunderous clash of guitars throughout which nicely accentuates Gierak’s voice, but downbeat numbers such as ‘Maman XY’, ‘Alors Je Dessine’ and the slow, almost Gainsbourg-esque grind of ‘En Smoking’ provide an insight into another facet of Mademoiselle K’s personality. Gierak’s voice flutters between an angry shout and rapid speak-sing, resulting in a stream of psychotic consciousness that makes for some forceful storytelling. It doesn’t often feel contrived – here is a brave voice unafraid of expressing different emotions in different ways, using elements of music both standard and daring.

This is an interesting experiment for people who haven’t ventured far out of the English-orientated musical sphere, living proof that music can transcend lingual confines – but if we’re talking simply about hearing an angry French chick moan profanities over powerful rock riffs, it’s pretty damn sexy too.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Le Vent La Fureur
02. ASD
03. Jamais La Paix
04. Maman XY
05. Grave
06. Pas Des Carres
07. En Smoking
08. Click Clock
09. Tea Time
10. Alors Je Dessine
11. Enjoliveur
12. Espace

DOWNLOAD: Jamais La Paix (m4a)

Interview for Drum Media

He was working as a screenwriter and picked up a guitar for fun, teaching himself – now, five years later, Joshua Radin has two albums under his belt and no intentions to slow down.

“I was using it sort of as meditation because I was frustrated with the screenwriting, and the hobby became the job, fortunately for me,” Radin, extremely softly spoken, explains over the phone. “Whenever the hobby becomes the job, you know, you’re a lucky person.”

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