23 posts tagged “england”

It was quite a few years ago I first heard Art Brut. I do believe I was not overly impressed with what I heard. For starters the lead singer (Mr Eddie Argos) couldn't even sing in tune... well actually, it wasn't even singing, was it? Talking, i'd call it. 

Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll

1 comment

Anyway... Art Brut Vs Satan was released in April this year (2009, in case you had forgotten). It's the third album released by these guys. Produced by Frank Black in the space of twelve days, I believe that Art Brut Vs Satan is at least seven times better than Bang Bang Rock and Roll (the first album released in 2005). 

Feel free to have a go at me, but yes, I think it's taken me these four years to realise that Art Brut are not about catchy tunes and immaculate sounding vocals; they're about the lyrics. The reason why the lack of tunefulness within the lyrics previously irritated me so much is because they are at the forefront of their overall sound. There's no avoiding them; they're clear and coherent. According to various sources, it seems that Eddie's lyrics have even been the subject of lecture at a Berlin university entitled "The Depressive Dandy: the Lyrics of Eddie Argos"; a description that has apparently cause confusion to the man himself. But all the same, says a lot about the lyrics.

Why are they special? Well... let see. They aren't pretentious; they're to-the-point, describing exactly what is being said. No poncey metaphors. It's like a story is being told in each song; most commonly describing various life experiences: a love of public transport, going home with someone you don't quite fancy after an alcohol-fuelled evening, having annoying songs stuck in your head and embarrassingly singing them in public, drinking just that bit too much and waking up the next morning with all manner of mystery bruises. (he sounds a bit like me actually... except my love of public transport is probably not as strong... ha!) 

"I can't remember anything I've done. I fought the floor and the floor won." Love it.

There a some parallels with Eddie's lyrics and those penned by Jarvis Cocker. That is, the fact that they evoke images of situations that most of us would find ourselves in, which is possibly why he has once been described as "the new Jarvis" by NME.

What strikes me about Art Brut Vs Satan, is that the lyrics are more melodic than previously, as though there's been some effort put into creating a more tuneful record rather than just the voice with the english twang speaking over what could be mistaken for a completely unrelated backing band. Before I get my arse kicked, in addition to a marked improvement in the vocals, the melodies, harmonies and overall sound of Art Brut as a band have improved immensely. Simply... This album is fairly excellent indeed.

http://www.artbrut.org.uk

http://www.myspace.com/artbrut

Where we last left the British folk band, Noah And The Whale, I had noted that this band was very new, based on the fact that their name was taken from the 2005 film, Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale. I also felt that their songwriters are based on things in life: love, happiness, and death.

So let's catch up to see how far they've come since that Saturn car commercial. Since their release of their debut album, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, after a string of hit singles. The band found themselves doing all the festival gigs (Leeds, Glasto, V), which probably help boost their record to #5 on the UK album charts. Let's just put it this way, 2008's been a fantastic year for Noah and the Whale.

Unfortunately, their promotional push did not carry over to the states when they released this announcement:

It is with no little remorse and disappointment that we are compelled to cancel these dates. These words are being typed in the studio as we make progress on the next Noah and the Whale album.

Instead, the band headed back into the studio to work on their sophomore, (appropriately at the time) named The First Days of Spring. Which really brings us to the album being officially release in the US, this Tuesday, October 6^th on Cherrytree Records. I got a chance to listen to the album over the weekend in my car.

Immediately, you'll notice the first thing that free download song, "The First Days Of Spring", brings in a sense of wide open space. The lyrics sounds more like reading a book, trying to describe this feeling of nature and life.

The spring song is followed by "Our Window", with the same nature theme, about looking at the stars through a window. This is such a departure from their themes from the first album. Another departure seems to be in the backup singers department - there are not any on the new album.

I thought I read somewhere that The First Days Of Spring is "more electric", I don't really think is the case. There are electric guitars, as heard on such song as "My Broken Heart", but I wouldn't exactly put this against any rock album. This is a folky album, especially with some acoustics and fiddles andsuch mild and gentle vocals.  In fact, what rock album features a very nice instrumental break?

The most upbeat (and possibly will make a great single), is "Love Of An Orchestra". It doesn't sound anything like the rest of the album, but I think that's why people might be drawn to the song.

Personally, I think the band's grown in the short time they've been together. It should be interesting to see where they band is at, in say, "five years time".

PS, just prior to the album's release in the UK, drummer and brother Doug Fink, announced that he will be leaving the band to pursue a career in medicine. Good for him. I suspect if the music-thing doesn't work out for, Charlie Fink, he can always pursue film, as he's made the film version of "The First Days Of Spring". If you were thinking it's a documentary or maybe a "live" concert, it's not, it looks vibrant and artsy. You can check out the trailer on vimeo yourself.

I believe the film is made available on DVD on the first limited pressing of The First Days of Spring, which is selling for only $10 on amazon (or $12 on insound.com).

A little backlog seems to be building up in my earpod recently... but now it is time... to spread some love. The love i'm spreading today is for a group of english boys and one of Sydney's favourite ladies.

Favours For Sailors

It's definitely not your poncey indiepop, which is kinda of odd, because when i imagine giving favours to sailors..... no Sally, don't go there.

Not arriving on my radar until recently, it seems again, I am one of the last to know. According to their MySpace page, Favours For Sailors are attracting quite a lot of the right sort of attention from a number of notable British radio personalities (Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq) and magazines (Uncut and Clash). What I have here is a delightful set of songs from a particular radio session.... of unknown date or relevance, but anyway..... all the same they're a set of songs with well rounded sounds, ripe for a sing along and a little jig session. Profound lyrics? No, not really. But still, very catchy indeed. I Dreamt That You Dreamt That I Loved You In My Dreams .... good to hear everyone has odd dreams occasionally.

So who are they? The word is Favours For Sailors are a group of four, four boys, four English boys, some from Cornwall, some from London. Meeting somehow, somewhere and there you have it. A band is born. One point I've read that gets me more interested is that Scottish band Dananananaykroyd (another band to belatedly hit my radar) handpicked Favours For Sailors to tour with them on the southern leg of their recent tour. Rumour has it that the boys are currently recording the follow up to their debut mini album ‘Furious Sons’.

If you head back over to their MySpace page, you'll notice a few live dates coming up. It might be an idea that eyes and ears are kept peeled for word on these guys because, in my opinion, we'll be hearing more from Favours From Sailors at some point in the near future.

Sarah Blasko

A lovely young lady with an amazing voice, based in Sydney, well worth a listen or three. I wont spend a lot of time talking up Miss Blasko, I'll save that for another time. What I have to share with you now however, is a little listening treat. If you click here you will be transported to a place where you can get.... FOR FREE.... a track, No Turning Back , off the new album by the lovely Sarah Blasko. I wont say much. Just listen.

Also, if you'd like to hear more (and quite a few live shows coming up to keep track of), this is where you need to go: http://www.myspace.com/sarahblasko
 

Until next time.

Sally
sally@weheartmusic.com

SXSW: SUMMARY
You know, the festival is only four days, but it really seem like weeks.

While having every band in the world merge at one place might sound like a great idea... sometime their appearance conflicts with other artists that you also want to see. So one of the biggest problem I had was sacrificing who to see.

Music happens from daylight (probably closer to 10am start) until two in the morning, or even later.

I usually started my day around 8am, working out my schedule for the day. Sometime it's logistics, sometime it's time-issues, but usually I have a full day's worth of stuff to do. I don't follow my schedule to a T, but there are certain items that I absolutely cannot miss (scheduled interviews takes priority over shows).

IMIW09	Shay in the Blackwatch Studios	Camera Obscura - Setlist (3-19-09)
The May Fire - Set List (3-18-09)	Proclaimers - Set List (3-19-09)	Glasvegas - Set List, La Zona Rosa, Austin TX (3-20-09) - From Bob
Late of the Pier - Set List, Austin TX (3-21-2009)	Crimea - Set List, Austin TX (3-21-09)	Superdrag - Setlist, Guero's (3-19-09)
Wave Machines - Friends, Austin, TX (3-18-09)	Jay Jay Pistolet - Friends, Austin TX (3-18-09)	May Fire - Havana, Austin, TX (3-18-09)
Meiko - Cedar Door, Austin TX (3-19-2009)	Superdrag - Guero's (3-20-09)	Primal Scream - Austin, TX - Photo from Bob
Ed Harcourt - Cedar Door, Austin TX (3-19-2009)	Kate Tucker - Cedar Door, Austin TX (3-19-2009)	Diane Birch - The Garden Party, Austin TX (3-21-09)
The Gin Riots - Rio, Austin TX (3-21-2009)	Goldielocks - Rio, Austin, TX (3-21-2009)	Crimea - Austin TX (3-21-2009)
Babies Loves Jeremy Jay - Austin, TX (3-21-09)	Jeremy Jay - Club de Ville Austin, TX (3-21-09) 1 comment	Melissa Auf De Maur - The Garden Party, Austin TX (3-21-09)
Camera Obscura - La Zona Rosa, Austin TX (3-20-09)	Solid Gold - Beauty Bar, Austin TX (3-20-09)	Laura Marling - The Garden Party, Austin TX (3-21-09)
Ed Harcourt - Until Tomorrow Then 1 comment	Cedar Avenue - Running Home 2 comments	Los Fancy Free - JAJAJA 1 comment
The May Fire - Under The Wave 3 comments	Solid Gold - Get Over It 2 comments	Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden - Saturday Night 1 comment
Meiko - Piano Song 1 comment	I Am Incinerator 5 comments	The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Sun Ain't Shining No More 2 comments
Glasvegas - Geraldine	Camera Obscura - Eighties Fan (original version)	The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) 8 comments
Primal Scream - Suicide Sally & Johnny Guitar 2 comments	Jeremy Jay - While the City Sleeps	Laura Marling - Ghosts 3 comments
Late of the Pier-Space and the Woods [Cenzo Townshend Mix] 1 comment	The Crimea - Jellyfish 3 comments	Camera Obscura - Hands Up Baby 2 comments
Ed Harcourt - Until Tomorrow Then	Crimea - Jellyfish 1 comment	The Proclaimers - 500 Miles

WHAT WORKED
- Offline gmail. This worked! I read/did most emails offline and when I was connected, all emails were sent, marked as read, etc.
- iPod Touch, worked like a charm. I was able to grab onto various (free) wifi to receive emails or websurf (maps), etc.
- Austin Convention Center's SXSW wifi stayed up most 99% of the time. Wonderful!
- Cash (ATM) availability
- Blocking off 6th street for pedestrians

WHAT SUCKED
- AT&T Network, apparently everyone in Austin had an iPhone
- Walking......
- Sony Memory Stick not supported on my laptop
- Bands playing 30 minutes or less
- Badges are ridiculously expensive ($600-$700). I think they should make it more affordable, especially since most places don't bother to check for a badge and/or were free. If there was a cover charge, it is usually under $10.

I guess my problems are not really that bad.

DAY ZERO (Tuesday)
Travelling… nothing too exciting. My least favorite state was the one with the road tolls (I think this was in Oklahoma). We did stop in Oklahoma City to see Blackwatch Studios (myspace). We got to hear a few songs from Minneapolis' Cedar Avenue (official/myspace) band from their forth-coming long playing record. The few songs we heard were incomplete, but it sounds really layered with a variety of tracks.

By the way, if the name Cedar Avenue sounds familiar to you, it is because Kristin reviewed their debut album a while back.

DAY ONE (Wednesday)
Getting my barring was hard. I didn't know where any of the streets were. So when people text me: come over to (name of venue), I replied and ask what the cross streets were. Since walking around was my main means of transportation, I ended up crossing out outlier venues immediately.

Wednesday was evening-only, so I mostly went to see some British acts over at Friend's. These guys were all from the London area, with the exception of Liverpool's Wave Machines (official/myspace). These guys creeped me out with their masks that they wore on stage - however, due to heat and comfortableness, they took them off half way into their short set. Also caught a bit of Jay Jay Pistolet (myspace), whose singing voice is very peculiar... it's like he sounds like he's sing out the side of his mouth.

When Mumford & Sons (myspace) took the stage, it was very, very, very crowded. The audience loved them and it's apparent that these guys are going to blow up this year.

The Havana Bar had some Spanish showcase, featuring mostly Mexican bands such as Songs For Eleonor (myspace), Satin Dolls (official), Cosmopolitan (myspace), and Los Fancy Free (myspace). With the exception of The May Fire (official/myspace) and Spain's Capsula (official). We like Spanish acts, so be sure to read more Mexican Summer and my coverage of Los Fancy Free.

DAY TWO (Thursday)
I think this was the big press day, I got to meet & greet Victoria who setup the interview with Solid Gold (myspace). She was kind enough to have me in the Myspace Music event, featuring some artists that I really enjoy: Kate Tucker, Meiko and Ed Harcourt.

To kick off the party was The Real You (myspace), a power-pop band from Seattle, Washington. According to their biography, they've been on constant tour since forming in early 2007 - so I'm sure you'll run into this young band eventually.

I haven't been keeping up with Kate Tucker (official/myspace), but apparently her latest project is with a band called The Honeydove (myspace) - who debuted at SXSW! Unfortunately, I had prior commitments, but I would've liked to have seen her new band play at the Beauty Bar.

Anyway, the nicest bit about her set was that she wanted everyone at the event to get a copy of her last album, "I want to give you my music!"

So if you weren't at the event, you missed out. Hey, maybe you can stop in and say hi to her in Washington:

04/05/09 Sunset Seattle, WA
05/21/09 Chop Suey as honeydove Seattle, WA

Read more Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden on W♥M.

Meiko (official/myspace) had a guest trumpet player on for most of her set (she requested him on for the rest of show because I guess she felt more comfortable with having someone else with her). She actually started her set with "Piano Song", which ironically just her and her guitar... She made some funny comments, such as "I've never played to a bunch of porta potties before".

You get the impression that she was happy to be there, and maybe it's yellow-iest dress combined with her orange/red dyed hair, but she looks gorgeous.

Ed Harcourt (official/myspace) was very engaging…. During "Until Tomorrow Then", he got down to the audience and walked around, singing and putting his hands around people while everyone was filming and taking pictures. Enclosed is a video evidence.

Harcourt is releasing a new six-track EP called Russian Roulette out on May 5^th, but SXSW audience were privy to some of his new songs courtesy of Dovecote Records and Directv. Pay close attention to "Caterpillar", as this is a personal song about his newborn daughter being placed in an incubator as they helpless sit and wait.

Went to an open-door new talent showcase, this was not an official sanctioned SXSW event (you'll find that there are many, many unofficial events), so I don't have a listing of who played at what time. They were all giving away their CDs, but I couldn't bother to pick them up (this would require me to carry around stuff, and I didn't have a hand bag ready). Reminder for next year: bring a man purse.

Also went over to check The Elevaters (myspace) and Rumspringa (myspace) at the Hi-Lo venue. While Elevaters were fun and energetic, it seems the drums/guitar duo of Rumspringa had a lot of problems with their equipment. They had to cut their southern-sounding melodic set short after four (?) songs, quote from the singer, "my shit ain't working."

DAY THREE (Friday)
The busy day. Walked all over town basically. My only out-of-the-way venue was at 3 o'clock to see Superdrag (official/myspace) at Guero's, which I thought was far walking there. I ran into one of our RV family, who we'll call Rose because she looks like a pint-sized Pippettes, complete with dress and all. We walked back across the river so I can make it to my Asteroids Galaxy Tour (official/myspace) interview (this was delayed because of some miscommunication).

Afterward, headed over to Beauty Bar to see Solid Gold play, mustache and all. I can tell the audience was having a good time, especially the girl at the backstage.

Then snuck over to see this punk(ish) band that MTV was covering. I didn't catch their name, but it sounded something like Dirty____ Something. The singer had bleach blonde hair and eye shadows.... and likes to walk around with no shirts on.

Evening was spent mostly at the Scotland show: We Were Promised Jet Packs (myspace), Dananananaykroyd (official/myspace), Camera Obscura (official/myspace), The Proclaimers (official/myspace), Glasvegas (official/myspace), Primal Scream (official/myspace). I was in-out so I did end up missing Glasvegas & Primal Scream, but thanks to Bob for sending in some pictures.

DAY FOUR (Saturday)
Saw a few bands in the daytime at the Press Here Garden Party at the French Legation Museum across the Freeway (this is actually closer than it sounds). The walk there was interesting, and I discovered a no-seating Wendy's on the right side of 7th Street. Yep, I ended up having dinner there since they were making these chicken things that's not available in Minnesota.

I got to the Garden just in time to see Jeremy Jay (myspace), and enjoyed the most of the day with The Soft Pack (myspace) and Diane Birch* (myspace) before heading over to 900 Red River to see Jeremy Jay again.

Listened to Camera Obscura afterwards with those Peelander-Z, as I previously mentioned.

Headed back to the Garden to see Melissa Auf De Maur (official/myspace), who started her set with three cover songs: Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang", Danzig's "Devil's Plaything", and The Smiths "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before". Although the first two went off pretty well, she totally messed up on "Stop Me" - which is understandable because that song has a lot of Morrissey's lyrics and also they had only practiced it the night before in their hotel room.

It wasn't long before people started filling up the seats at the Garden to see Laura Marling (official/myspace). She was joined on stage by Marcus Mumford, I think. He played percussions and sang backup, although I have to say that Marling would've done just fine with her lovely voice and acoustic guitar.

Saw Late of the Pier at the Bat Bar later that night. Since it was being broadcast live on Directv, I think the pressure got to the band and it was just embarrassing to watch. Towards the end, they seem to not be so nervous, and the (rather long) setlist ended with men in death masks coming on stage to carry the band offstage. I don't have Directv, is there a way for non-subscribers to watch this?

Honey Ryder (myspace) was really happy to be Austin, I think this was their first ever US appearance or something. I believe also that their name came from a James Bond girl ? I don't know much about them, but they seem to have a wider audience and following in the UK, where their single "Fly Away" entered the UK Top 40 at #31.

GoldieLocks (myspace) is 75% English and 25% Swedish from Croydon (South London). She raps to DJ Sports (?), who is wearing this Skeletor T-shirt. After the show, she wanted to give everyone in attendance her EP, which actually went pretty fast. As I previously mentioned, keep an eye on this one.

There's no denying that The Gin Riots (myspace) have quite a few hardcore fans here, as evident by a bunch of Gin Riots T-Shirt in the audience.

It's been a few years since The Crimea (official/myspace) toured in the US, so I was happy to be there for them on their second and last SXSW appearance. They were the last band on my list, so it was kind of a relief when it was all over.

And as corrected by superfan Christopher, Tara Blaise shared the stage to sing backup for the band.... Highlight of the show was then Davey Macmanus stepped down and sang in the center of the audience.

* A note on Birch is that she has these incredible legs, but too bad they were well-hidden behind her piano on stage.

Got a few gems to share this pleasant Saturday afternoon for you. Let's start off with the one I like the best.

Mascot Fight - Pantomime Hearse
For starters I like the name of the album. Pantomime Hearse... it's like pantomime horse.... but not quite! ha ha!..... yes well.... i like it, so shush.

The next thing I like about the album.... are all of the songs. It's such a cute album. Cute, poppy... and short (that is, kind to a girl with next to no attention span whatsoever). The type of tunes that just can't help put a smile on your face. The songs are simple and the vocals are nothing complicated either.

The tunes sort of remind me of something. It's not the mainstream indiepop style that so many bands are replicating today. Dare I say... this album takes me back to the early 90's style-wise... not britpop in the Blur, Oasis, Pulp sense of the word, but potentially similar to various other bands who was bounding around in the same-ish realm. I was going to tentatively say Pavement.... and then delete it, but i've just opened their MySpace page and had a look at thier influences... and bonanza! I hit the jackpot.

Who are Mascot Fight? Let's see. Mascot Fight are not easy to stalk via the internet without finding heap of videos about sport mascots fighting each other.... curious indeed. Other than that, Mascot Fight appear to be a bunch of boys (4 to be exact) from Derby in England who formed in 2004 with a quirky sense of humour and a talent for writing catchy tunes.

Anyway.... if this interests you in any way... go here: http://www.mascotfight.com

This will enable you to listen to them, then begin stalking them (politely, of course) via any medium you so choose.

That's a photocopier (not a chair)..... something i'm glad we've cleared up now.

The Steps - The Steps
One thing i need to say about this band first, it that it was such a relief to find out they weren't the other band named Steps who were a questionably popular with english people (with bad taste) back in the late 90's.

The Steps are, in fact, a four piece indierock band out of Austin, Texas. I wouldn't call it pop at all. Although there are a couple of tracks on their debut self-titled album, which are borderline.

Pull the Cord and Townes Lane are two tracks which stand out in (or more probably stick in) my mind. You may have noticed i'm more of a girl who likes tunes more than meaningful lyrics? Well yeah, that's me to a tea.

There is one song on the album.... that caught me by surprise. Here was me sitting happily on the train to work, listening obliviously to my earPod and on comes a song that i thought was Jet (Loose Mind). You can imagine my disgust. I had to use all my might to remind myself that it wasn't Jet and it was ok to not hate them. Luckily most of the songs don't sound like Jet as much. (The start of Belle also sounds just like a Stereophonics song... hmm).

I reckon these guys would be great live and this album would be most suited to being played loudly during either a car-trip or a really intense session of carpet vacuuming. It's not reeeally my thing. but i would dance to it and sing along if i had a beer in my hand (and i knew the words).

For ease of stalking, here are some relevant links:
Offical website: http://www.wearethesteps.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thesteps
 
Brother - Little Birdy
Just the new single from the brilliant Perth band, Little Birdy. I'm not sure if we've covered Little Birdy here before (I'm sure I'll find out pretty soon one way or another)... but they are one of a great number of brilliant bands to come out of Perth. I'm sure there's something in the water over there or maybe it's just because there's not a lot to do other than spend hours perfecting musical skills and recorded some of the best tunes there could be.

Brother is the first single from their yet to be released 5th album, Confetti.
It's quiet, but has both a catchy tune and beautiful lyrics. It gets almost to the dance-around-the-room level during the hand-clap portions of the song. However, in my opinion, the best thing about Little Birdy, by far, is the awesome vocals provided by Katy Steele (brother of Luke Steele, frontman of the Sleepy Jackson and half of the duo Empire of the Sun, who have been having quite a bit of recent success all over the shop). I wont admit to singing along with various other Little Birdy tunes and feeling inadequate in my lack of singing skill prowess.... no I wont admit that.

Anyway.... I wont spend too much time on this. Best wait for the album, i reckon. In the meantime here's their website where you can grab the single and play it to your hearts content: http://www.littlebirdy.net/

I think that's it for now.

Have a tops weekend!

Sal
sally@weheartmusic.com

You may recall the other week I reviewed a little benefit album for Planting Seeds Records called Blue Skies Daisy Days, which I thought was the best thing since sliced bread..... nearly. So I was most pleased when a copy of  Heart Is Black, the new-ish EP by a band known as International Jetsetters who are featured on the Blue Skies Daisy Days compilation.

International Jetsetters are a five piece out of Oxford in sunny England. The line-up currently consists of Mark Crozer, Bert Audubert, Loz Colbert, Paul Crozer and is nicely rounded off with the dulcet tones of Fi McFall (who, according to their bio on the Planting Seeds Records website, was discovered when the Jesus and Mary Chain needed a female singer to perform Just Like Honey at their 2007 Brixton Academy gig. You have a listen; they made a good choice with that one.

International Jetsetters are by no means a copy of anything and what I like best is that compared to most of the new "indie" bands that seem to be surfacing currently they are completely different. Much more similar to bands of old, which I guess, is what I've always preferred anyway. I suppose it's no coincidence that more than one of the International Jetsetters are also members of the Jesus and Mary Chain (hence the reason for the recruiting of Fi McFall at a JAMC gig).

The tunes are beautiful, calming, tasteful, but also guitar-heavy, strong and thick with sound. Not really tunes to be bopping around the loungeroom to. Although Inside Out is getting close! More fitting to be listening to whilst having a quiet one up the pub with a few friends. Basically, if you like the Jesus and Mary Chain, but would rather listen to lyrics that are not quite so depressing (watch out the title track Heart is Black is on it's way to depressing), International Jetsetters are for you!

International Jetsetters MySpace page: myspace.com/internationaljetsetters  

Feel like dancing?
I do, but I'm off North tomorrow...but you can still go out!  If you live in Sydney that is.

Loaded at Madame De Biers in Kings Cross are having a christmas party this Wednesday (yes, it's Christmas Eve and you'd probably not get home until after Santa had been). I've always had a soft spot for Loaded. Back when it was on Fridays at the oh-so-seedy Kings Cross Hotel to its new location just up the street. Go check it out and report back to me, okay?

Tonight! Britpop at the Abercrombie Hotel is also having a Christmas party. All the cheesy Britpop you want (unless you ask them to play Dodgy)...with $10 jugs of coopers...yum yum.

Oh! I just wanna go out now! :(

Have a good one anyway!
Sal
(sally@weheartmusic.com)

 05/27/2008 11:24:46  ♥ written by vu ()

Happy Monday! Just thought I'd do a spot of writing to help me forget about the fact that it's Monday and there's still four more real work days left.

Anyway, I have a couple of tidbits to get you smiling for the rest of the week.

The Wishing Well
This little gem arrived for me today. Life On The Border, the debut single for the Melbourne band, The Wishing Well. The Wishing well, it seems, have only been together as a band for just over a year now. However, the quality of sound that they produce is not that of an immature group of musicians.
The song itself is airy and wistful; reminding me somewhat of being a child, playing in a park at sunset; the world at my feet. I apologise if that sounds a bit poncy.
At over 100 live shows to date, I can only imagine that after luring people to their shows with the recorded music, they would truly make their fans during their shows/ It's bands like this that generally suck me in, not by their releases, but by the magic they perform on stage.
The Wishing Well are: Jai Larkan (vocals/acoustic guitar/piano), Tom Morgan (bass/vocals), Zac Johnston (violin), Andy Reed (drums) and Rachael Byrnes (vocals/acoustice guitar).

See them soon at (if you're lucky enough to be in Australia):
22nd Feb - The National Hotel - Geelong (Victoria)
23 Feb - The Vic Hotel - Port Fairy (Victoria)
9th Mar - The East Brunswick Club - Melbourne (Victoria)
14th Mar - The Golden Vine - Bendigo (Victoria)
15th Mar - The Nerrina - Ballarat (Victoria)
....and continuing on a tour of the East coast until mid-June.

or check out their website: thewishingwellband.com

The Motive The Motive - LCD The Motive

The Motive
From one extreme to the other. The Motive are a punk-esque rock band from Birmingham way in England. I hate to say this (only because Rob was a beering friend many years ago) but these guys just don't do it for me. A lot of the reason is that punk music, well... I just don't appreciate it was much as some people do. I don't see the skill or talent in the players of it.That's my little rant though, so please don't pay attention.
Luckily, though, The Motive are far more rock than they are punk, which is a definite plus. Additionally, there are a great number of people in this world who this style of music would be right up their alley. You're standard four-piece: two guitars, bass and drums; although plain and sparse in the sound thickness, these guys can pump it out!
Everyone Lies is the bands latest release, which you can hear tracks off on their myspace page (which I have been told has an out-of-date biography). Keep your eye out for these guys, though. It's only going to get better from here and these guys know how to put in effort when it counts.

Who are they?
Add Jones- Lead Vox/ Rythmn Guitar
Chris Green- Drums
Paul Bradley- Bass/ Backing Vox
Rob Bamber- Lead Guitar.

That's all from me!

Sally ...who can only spell on thursdays

You'll be grateful to know that spending 3 months working in Paris back in 2005 holds me in good stead to translate this album title for you. Je M'appelle Stereo... it's french for "My name is Stereo". Very profound, don't you think?

Anyway, back to what I'm meant to be saying.

Fonda 500 are a 5-piece heralding from sunny Hull in England and according to my research Je M'appelle Stereo is their sixth album release. If you happen to live in sunny England or have ever been a fan of the amazing TV series Teachers (which, may i say, was mostly made amazing by it's soundtrack), you may already be familiar with these guys. However, me, sitting in windy Sydney, have not had the pleasure until today.

How can I describe what I'm listening to? Well, it's a fantastic mixture of synthesised and real instruments. It slightly reminds me of the Super Furry Animals, but less kooky. The vocals contain a strong but subtle lead with well placed harmonies. Let's just say....that compared to most of the indie/pop/rock (whatever you want to call it) bands that come out these days, it is obvious that Fonda 500 have a wealth of experience behind them in the field of musicology. In simple terms, what I'm trying to say is that, although the subjects of some of the songs are quite unserious, the vocals are quite the opposite. That is, they are obviously being performed by someone who is not a spotty teenager who decided to form a band to try with the aim to either pull some birds and/or be front page of the NME.

There's elements of many genres in this album. The tracks: Je M'appelle Stereo and Super Dots & Lights, would be totally suited to a cheesy britpop club (if someone was silly enough to give me a spot as a dj). I ♥ Stereo Cos Stereo's Good For Me is a short foray into electronic beats. Come Alight and Silver Sounds are beautiful and soothing tunes that would be best suited to lying in a park on a sunny afternoon.... and Music Should Always Be Played By The Hands Of The Animals is one of those songs that if you were sitting in a dark room alone you'd be checking your back a while for talking animals with guitars.... maybe i've lost the point there a little, but I do admit I'm freaked out very easily (see the video below and you'll see what I mean).

Fonda 500 are: Simon (Vocals), Nicholas (Guitar) Bod (Bass), Ian (Drums) and Jonee (Guitar); and you can get a sample of Fonda 500 on their myspace page.... Better still....you can get a free Fonda 500 gift if you mill about at: http://www.recordmountain.com/ .... or you can just keep an eye out for Je M'appelle Stereo in your local music store as it's due for release very soon indeed.

Now, I must go and track down some of their other stuff.

 Sal  ...and the talk of schnitzels

I first came across The Magic Numbers in an issue of either GQ or Esquire Magazine a couple of years ago. The article included a nice illustration of them by artist Zohar Lazar, which is what really drew me to the article. I wish I could find the article, but I can't find it; I may have thrown it out :(

The Magic Numbers are comprised of two pairs of brother/sister siblings; Romeo and Michele Stodart & Sean and Angela Gannon. They released their self-titled debut album in 2005 that was critically acclaimed. That same year, they contributed "Gone Are the Days" to a compilation album to help War Child International called War Child: Help! A Day in the Life. For the project, War Child invited artists to contribute a brand new, unique track and the songs were all recorded in 24 hours. Other artists part of the project include Coldplay, Radiohead, Bloc Party, Gorillaz, etc. "Funds raised by the charity's deal with Independiente Records will immediately go to their projects in Iraq and DR Congo. Further funds, profile and membership raised will go to maintain these projects and others in countries such as Afghanistan and Bosnia".

2006 brought their sophmore album Those the Brokes, but it didn't get released in the US until a year later. The album was well received though some reviews thought the songs were too long. In 2007, they released a limited edition 2-disc live album that was recorded by Concert Live at the Kentish Town Forum in London. I've only seen The Magic Numbers in concert once at Webster Hall (with The Elected opening) and they were absolutely outstanding live. I've posted "The Beard", a song they tend to close with during live shows and will probably remain a live-exclusive. According to Romeo when asked about it on their message board he said, "I don't think there'll ever be a studio version of 'The Beard' as it would seem strange without an audience". So enjoy a live recording or catch it at one of their live shows.

Most recently, they released a six-track EP consisting of their single "Undecided", an alternate version of "Let Somebody In" and four unreleased recordings.

Their vocals have also been part of songs by The Concretes ("Your Call"), The Chemical Brothers ("Close Your Eyes"), Ed Hardcourt ("Revolution in the Heart"), and a couple of others (List on Wiki).