It’s that time of year again when the Splendour in the Grass lineup is announced and the internet generally implodes. Let’s take a look at this year’s artists for the festival that will take place at the end of July in its new location, Woodford (QLD).

The Strokes are headlining this year, on top of their already sold-out sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. The last time they toured was on the back of First Impressions of Earth in 2006, so this is an exciting announcement for fans who have been waiting for years to see the return of the band.

International artists who have toured in the last year and are making a return to our shores are Pixies, Mumford & Sons, Passion Pit, Florence + The Machine, Ben Harper & the Relentless 7, Laura Marling, School of Seven Bells and Grizzly Bear. This is something that really bothers me, when international bands are on our shores so frequently – really takes the excitement out of it, doesn’t it? But it will present a good opportunity for those who missed the last tours to catch these bands live again.

Bands making their first Australian appearances include Two Door Cinema Club and The Drums, as well as Jonsi, who has visited with his band Sigur Ros but never as a solo artist.

Other international acts this year include Band of Horses, The Scissor Sisters, Delphic, We Are Scientists, The Ting Tings, LCD Soundsystem, Broken Social Scene, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and more.

And of course, a selection of local music including The Temper Trap, Empire of the Sun, Angus & Julia Stone, Jonathan Boulet, Lisa Mitchell, The Vines, Wolfmother, Paul Kelly, Operator Please and many more.

Check the lineup out in full:

THE STROKES, MUMFORD AND SONS, PIXIES, THE TEMPER TRAP, BAND OF HORSES,PASSION PIT, FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE, LAURA MARLING,GRIZZLY BEAR, BAND OF SKULLS, SURFER BLOOD, ALBERTA CROSS, MIIKE SNOW, THE DRUMS, TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, MIDLAKE, FOALS, FRIGHTENED RABBIT, GOLDFRAPP, KATE NASH, JONSI (Sigur Ros), BLACK REBEL MOTORCYLE CLUB,SCISSOR SISTERS, THE TING TINGS, HOT CHIP, YEASAYER, ASH, BEN HARPER AND THE RELENTLESS 7, WE ARE SCIENTISTS, RICHARD ASHCROFT AND THE UNITED NATIONS OF SOUND, K-OS, DELPHIC, FAT FREDDY’S DROP, SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS,THE MAGIC NUMBERS, ANGUS AND JULIA STONE, EMPIRE OF THE SUN, WOLFMOTHER, THE VINES, TAME IMPALA, PAUL KELLY, OPERATOR PLEASE, LISA MITCHELL, MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS, LITTLE RED, SPACE INVADAS, BRITISH INDIA, OH MERCY, THE MIDDLE EAST, BLUEJUICE, WASHINGTON, WHITLEY, DAN SULTAN, CLOUD CONTROL, MIAMI HORROR, CLARE BOWDITCH, PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY, JOHN STEEL SINGERS, VIOLENT SOHO, THE MESS HALL, JONATHAN BOULET, BOY AND BEAR, GYPSY AND THE CAT, LAST DINOSAURS, ERNEST ELLIS, TIM AND JEAN, BAG RAIDERS, VAN SHE TECH, ANNA LUNOE, KID KENOBI, YOLANDA…BE COOL, THE ONLY, PURPLE SNEAKERS DJS, MIAMI HORROR DJS, GRAZ and LEVINS.

What do you think? Will you be shelling out the ridiculous $465 to see all these bands in action (keeping in mind, of course, that even more will be announced)? Personally, I think the lineup is fantastic but can’t afford it and am not a fan of festival culture, but I could potentially be swayed…

Inertia – March 26 2010

Melbourne trio Otouto, comprising Kid Sam’s Kishore Ryan and sisters Hazel and Martha Brown, makes music that is equal parts abstract and beautiful, as they prove on their debut album. The band, which has been slapped with the ‘art-pop’ tag, ignores convention in songwriting and syllabic structure, with the sisters’ ethereal vocals counteracted by the often harsh synthesiser sounds, dissonant guitar, unusual melodic and harmonic lines, and creative use of kitchen utensils for extra kookiness.

First track 'Astronauts' can almost be broken into sections, with soaring vocals over rolling drums and guitars eventually lulling into a climactic slowness. 'Cartoon Shoes' has a more conventional guitar basis and tune, while the strange ode 'W. Hillier', about an imagined drowned man, has a unique speak-sing element to it over a faint buzz, and 'MB Hugcase' offers a 50-second mesh of wordless open electronica.

No two songs on this record sound alike – while they all borrow from similar schools of musical thought, each song has its own distinctive personality, thanks largely to the often absurd lyrics (on ‘Sushi’, the band muses “I mistook a man eating sushi for a man putting on a fake moustache”). What is really admirable about this album is that it lives up to its ‘art’ label by deliberately pushing the envelope and trying for sounds that are different, but still manages to be entirely listenable and never once shows any hints of ostentation. This is a stellar first release from an exciting young band, one which mixes elements of all that is great about experimental, electronic and pop music to culminate in a new and adventurous listening experience.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Astronauts
02. Cartoon Shoes
03. Low Dan
04. Twelve Ten
05. MB Hugcase
06. Autumn
07. W. Hillier
08. Tennis Players
09. Sushi
10. Plum

DOWNLOAD: Astronauts (m4a)