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Primary Format : Indie Language : Unknown Also Listed as: City : Sydney State/Province : New South Wales Country : Australia Region : OC User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of Open Your Eyes Podcasts Methings.com listings of Open Your Eyes Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

The Beach Boys What follows is an erratic look into the career of The Beach Boys. It's not definitive, nor is accuracy guarenteed, but hopefully you'll share in my renewed appreciation of their music.The Beach Boys' legacy is an odd one. Far from the fairy tale of The Beatles, their career suffered its fair share of hiccups (and genuinely bad songs), leaving their story fragmented and at risk of being unheard by generations to come. It real shame because theirs is a story worth hearing.Till I DieThe Early ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Red Riders Red Riders had me worried for a while. Band members were leaving and time was ticking by without much action. It was a shame, not just because of the awesome music they proudce, but because they're genuinely nice guys. So it's great to see that they're back on track and sounding better than ever. They've picked up Brad Heald from The Vines and will be releasing their second album in early July. The first single to come off it was You've Got a Lot of Nerve. I liked it from the beginning, but ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dappled Cities - The Price It begins. In just a few months, Dappled Cities will release their 3rd album, Zounds, and if past experiences are anything to go by, it should be totally freakin' amazing. I’ll save my schoolgirl swooning for the actual release, but let’s just say I’m excited. Yesterday the band unveiled the first single off the album, The Price. I’ve been drawn to this song from the moment I first heard it in a sound check. That was a full 12 months ago and since then it’s undergone plenty of tra ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Peter Bjorn & John - Living Thing I had high hopes for this release. Their first album had grown to be a favourite of mine, and despite the downright strangeness of their second album, it had some promising moments. Sadly, Living Thing hasn't delivered. It continues in a direction of unorthodoxy, narrowing in on a style that will cater to just a minority of their fans and alienate the rest.Peter Bjorn & John have always been a minimalist band. Instrumentation has been scarce and subdued, directing the focus to the vocal ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Last Dinosaurs This band divides me in so many ways. On one hand, I've found their sound refreshing and instantly appealing, but at the same time I've been listing the bands they appear to be ripping off. One minute I'll be digging a melody, the next cursing them for repetition. There's so much contradiction going on, I'm beginning to wonder if we're schizophrenic. But whatever the case, this is a band to watch. They have a number of very strong songs that are sure to get some attention. In fact, it's mor ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A (not so) quick hello Of Montreal - LiveThey're probably the most mentioned band on this blog, but you can never get enough Of Montreal. They're in Australia for the first time and their Sydney show was pretty awesome. Sure, it was disappointing that they didn't play any old stuff, but when a band is over a decade old, you sort of expect it. What makes them impressive though, is that despite so many of my favourites being absent, nearly every song they played I loved. It's testimony to the strength of their cata ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A (not so) quick hello Of Montreal - LiveThey're probably the most mentioned band on this blog, but you can never get enough Of Montreal. They're in Australia for the first time and their Sydney show was pretty awesome. Sure, it was disappointing that they didn't play any old stuff, but when a band is over a decade old, you sort of expect it. What makes them impressive though, is that despite so many of my favourites being absent, nearly every song they played I loved. It's testimony to the strength of their cata ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Valentines Day Hopefully everybody reads this in time because you would be terribly upset if you did something wasteful tomorrow, like have a romantic picnic, when there was so much good music on offer. After all who doesn't love music?The Alandale All Stars play Holiday RoadThis is a concept born heaven: a group of Sydney's funniest musicians have gotten together, formed a cover band and play for free on Saturday afternoons. The super line-up consists of Jake Stone and Jerry from Bluejuice, Lindsey from ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Laneway Wrapup Wow the day went fast. I was bouncing from stage to stage, enjoying my day, when all of a sudden Architecture in Helsinki began playing. The day had disappeared from underneath me! But I think all in all it was another satisfying Laneway experience. I still maintain that even though it has modest (but still awesome) lineups, it succeeds because the secondary factors (layout, organisation, crowd, atmosphere etc.) are great, allowing the music to flourish. Highlights included:Crazy antics fro ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hottest 10 It took at least 5 bands spamming me on Facebook, but this year I got my act together and voted in Triple J's Hottest 100 (last year I planned on voting solely for Vitriol but sadly, left it too late). I never actually realised this, but apparently the Hottest 100 is the world's largest song poll. And while its far from perfect, it certainly presents a much healthier look at the current state of music than any Billboard Top 20. So do your bit; vote now before it closes this Sunday. YES WE C ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Remixes As any regular reading would probably know, I'm no fan of remixes. This is simply because the vast majority of them aren't needed. They tend to just hack up a decent track and stick a fat beat on it, hoping to cash in on the fame of the original. It's a blunt and cynical view, but hey, its all too often true. But that's not to say I'm a total hater. When a remix comes along that enhances the original and brings something new to the table, I'll gladly respect it. Here's a couple that have re ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Guilty Pleasures Considering this blog recently passed the 300,000 visitor milestone (!!!) and we're right in the middle of the Christmas/New Year period, I think it's appropriate to do some indulging. You know those songs that you put on, and love, but only you and friends appreciate them, because only you know the back-stories behind them? Well these are some of my songs. And the back-stories. Cause with all the serious music journalism I've been doing this year, it's about time I had a break. Will Smith ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Real Tuesday Weld - Last Words I present to you a single-listen blog. It's always a special occasion when you hear a song for the first time and instantly feel attached to it. The feeling is one of warmth and satisfaction, but also quiet anticipation of what more could await. It's a feeling that happens far too rarely for me, so I had share it while it lasted. Sadly though, the very nature of a 'single-listen' means I can't offer much in the way of description. However I do remember the chorus having some great vocals. T ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 4 - The John Steel Singers I wouldn't exactly call this Brisbane band a highlight on the Laneway bill, but after seeing them live recently, I can testify for their worthiness. The first time I saw them, they were a fun six-piece with a sit-down keyboardist (meh). Now they're a rockin' troupe with some killer songs and great live energy. If only their album didn't come in a Jeans pocket.....hehe. Shame on you Levity.Rainbow Kraut| myspace | Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Howling Bells - Into The Chaos It's been well over a year since I've even thought of this band and then all of a sudden, BAM, this song comes on the radio. One round of the chanting opening riff and I was hooked. The slow, haunting vocals took over in the chorus and the Howling Bells memories came flooding back. It's been so long that all I can really remember about their last album is that it was good. With a second album on the way, the band couldn't have found a more perfect lead single than Into The Chaos. My attenti ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Seekae - The Sound of Trees Falling On People Another album which I've been listening to lately is the debut release by Sydney electronic outfit, Seekae. So early in their career, I would hardly have expected them to have an album, let alone one with 18 fully developed tracks. Their music is some sort of dramatic techno, mixing strange electronic clippings with looping keyboard melodies. I'm only just getting into it, but already I'm discovering an incredibly diverse array of sounds. My current favourite, Void, sees them really live up ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Motifs After listening to Jay Reatard, I don't think I could have stumbled across a starker contrast than The Motifs. As 'Matador Singles 08' finished, iTunes moved into 'Matches', easily the indiest indie release I've ever bought. You really can't fault it, with a mini CD, cover made of glued-on pieces, hand-drawn insert, individual message, sticker and even a sleeve hold it all. Believe it or not, the music is even cuter. The 6-track EP comes in at just 10 minutes, but offers an abundance lovely ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 3 - Born Ruffians I've been pleasantly surprised to discover that this band are more than just one-hit wonders. The rest of their album may not match the brilliance of Hummingbird, but it's got plenty more of their signature slurred vocals, jagged guitars and edgy rhythms. I'm expecting good things when they swing by.Hummingbird| myspace | Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 2 - Jay Reatard I haven't listened to much, but then it doesn't take much to realise that this will be a performance not to miss. Short, fast punk-pop can never fail.Always Wanting More| myspace | Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 1 - Girl Talk The first album was a novelty. The second album is.....also a novelty. But its a damn fun novelty. The insane variety of samples, mashed together so effortlessly, is almost too much for the mind to comprehend. But whilst the last 50 years of music are competing for a cameo, there's wicked beats flowing through every song. I'm looking forward to this live show so much that it will also be my first sideshow for the year.In Step| myspace | Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website John Columbus Residency This Sunday will see the final installment in a Hopetoun residency by my good friends, John Columbus. The band (not a person) have recorded their second EP and will be offering it exclusively at these shows. This new EP was recorded live and is slightly quieter and more reserved than their last release. Give it a few listens and you'll begin to see that its strength lies in its subtleties. John Columbus create some of the most soothing and finely crafted music in Sydney. Catch them from 8.3 ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Decoder Ring Last Saturday, Sydney band, Decoder Ring played as the feature act of the Riverbeats festival, a multicultural arts celebration on the banks of the Parramatta River. The location was certainly out of the ordinary, as far as gigs go. The stage was set up on one side of the river, with audience on the other. Above the stage was a giant white dome, with images being projected onto it. As you went down the river in either direction, there was an assortment of lights and candles and two more gia ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Top Australian Artists of 2008 Oh how I hate compiling these lists. They are damn near impossible to sit back thinking 'Yes, that accurately represents my tastes'. You just can't do it! For starters, how do you compare an awesome live show with a solid album? Does it count if I got into an album this year that was released last year? I can barely remember back to the start of the year, let alone try to piece together which bands had the biggest impact! And so the list comes to you with so many faults. Missing bands, stra ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Homebake Incentive 2008 Grand Final I know I've gone on about this competition, quite a bit, but if you're looking for a sample of rising talent in Sydney, you won't find much better. The grand final will be held over two nights, at The Hopetoun Hotel, with 4 bands playing per night. Here's a quick overview of who made it to the final 8:Night 1 - Monday 3rd NovJordy LaneJordy Lane's music has two very distinct sides. There's the warm, soft and downright gorgeous side, seen on tracks like Gallileo, and then there's the erratic ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Flamingo Crash - Triangle Island Flamingo Crash have been bouncing in and out of my favour for a couple of years now. I saw them once or twice, here and there, but never really followed up. But then I caught them at the FBi birthday gig and was quite impressed. It was a fun, energetic set, filled with some really cool songs. They were like an Australian version of Hilotrons. That probably doesn't mean much to most of you, but for a fanboy like myself, it was great. If these guys had an album, I was buying it. Well that was ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mystery Jets The previous Mystery Jets album came and went without making much of an impression. But after hearing (and seeing) some of their new songs, I might just have to give them another chance. Haha brilliant. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ernest Ellis Ernest Ellis is a relatively new band out of Sydney, playing their first show just two weeks ago. I managed to catch the end of this set, and was quite intrigued with what I saw. What struck me most was the diversity of their sound. Each song seemed to remind me of a different artist. If you head to their myspace, you can hear a TV On The Radio song (Want For Anything), a Sea And Cake song (Holiday) and even a Bit By Bats song (Bad Blood). I don't make these comparisons in a negative way ei ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Temper Trap The Temper Trap are one of those bands gifted with an incredible voice. When lead singer, Doug, hits full stride with his singing, the result is a display of immense power. It's crisp, focused and seems to project endlessly. But of course vocals are just one part of a very complicated equation. You need to write music that supports and strengthens them.About 18 months ago, The Temper Trap burst onto the scene with their debut EP. The songs were solid and catchy, but it was the vocals that w ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Peter Bjorn and WHAAAT!? You may not realise this, but Peter Bjorn and John have a brand new album. Whatever you do, don't go out and buy this record based on the merits of their last one, because I can safely say this album is nothing like it. No, I don't mean that they've changed their style. Instead, they've gone out and created something that can only be described as utterly bizarre. The album is entirely instrumental, other than occasional snippets of foreign-language speech. Apparently the homelands of all th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New Devoted Few A few months back, I got my hands on an unreleased album and was told that should I leak it, I would die a horrible death. Not being too keen on such a scenario, I obeyed and kept it to myself. That album was the long-awaited third release by Sydney band, The Devoted Few. It's titled Baby, You're A Vampire and it's grown to be one of my favourite albums of the year. With it's release fast-approaching, I reckon it's about time everyone started paying attention.The Devoted Few have had some s ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Middle East The beauty of music in today's age is just how easily it spreads. Once upon a time it took money and major support to get your music heard. Such forces still exists, but the internet has changed the game. Music can spread purely on its own merits, independent of the band's efforts. If a song is good enough, the listeners will do the promoting. Take, for example, the song 'Blood' by The Middle East. By all logical explanations, I shouldn't know it exists. The band is based in Townsville, ove ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sparkadia: Jealousy Video Sparkadia have put out a video for their current single, Jealousy, and it's quite an interesting one. In tune with the song's lyrical content, it features the ceremony and subsequent celebrations of a couple getting married, whilst the best man looks on enviously. This wouldn't be anything special, but for the fact that these parts are played by the band members themselves. Alex (lead) and Tiffany (guitar) are the happy couple, while Nick (bass) plays the dejected outsider. Is it reflective ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Firekites Firekites make some great music. Really great. Their recordings show a band creating soft, intricate sounds that sit nicely alongside the likes of Yo La Tengo. There's so many subtleties in it that every listen offers something new. It's the kind of music that really comes into its own when you pop on some headphones and immerse yourself in it. BUT. There is a problem. Apparently they fail to recreate this atmosphere live. I don't want to judge them before I've seen them personally, but I'v ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website MGMT About a year ago, I came across MGMT on a music blog somewhere. The song I heard was Time To Pretend and while I thought it was good, it wasn't enough to make me want more. I seem to remember the reviewer writing them off as a bit off joke band, not being all that serious about their music, and I guess that image just stuck in my head. I certainly didn't expect to hear from them again. That's why it came as such a shock to see posters appearing all over town saying nothing but "Who Is MGMT? ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website "New Zealand's Dappled" Something about the above words struck a chord with me when I heard them last night. They were used to describe The Boat People. Now considering that they're actually from Brisbane, it was probably the comparison to Dappled Cities that I found intriguing. This may have been a bit of a stretch with some of The Boat People's earlier material, but with this latest single, I can certainly see the parallels. It has me quite excited for the arrival of their new album, Chandeliers, some time in J ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Seabellies Who would ever have thought that getting played by the country's only decent national radio station would have any effect on your popularity? Well it's certainly done wonders for The Seabellies. Sure they've played V Festival and won a host of competitions, but it was getting their single, Heart Heart Heart Out, played on Triple J that has catapulted them in to the public eye. It also hasn't hurt that it's a damn good song. Stream it below and experience the full glory of that keyboard ri ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Weezer - Pork and Beans clip I was recently introduced to this very funny video for Weezer's latest single. It's full of cameos by YouTube stars, so those who will appreciate it most will probably have already seen it, but if you haven't, you're in for a treat. It's the kind of nerdy brilliance that only Weezer could pull off.I wouldn't say the song is one of Weezer's best, but it's up there and shows promising signs for their upcoming album (The Red Album). Then again, they're disappointing track record means I probab ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs (2008) Last week I mentioned that the fake Narrow Stairs was possibly better than the real one. Well perhaps I spoke a little too soon. It's sounding stronger with every listen and memories of the 'other' one are quickly fading. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a great album. I like it the sense that it's new music from a band I love, not because it's outstanding in it's own right. But all this could easily change as time goes on. Even as I write this, I'm listening to the album and st ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website This blog isn't dead. It's lazy. Soldier’s Grin – Wolf ParadeWolf Parade has always been a bit of an anomaly for me. As you may know, the band is led by Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, both of whom feature heavily in other bands, such as Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes and Handsome Furs. Well I don’t like any of these bands. At all. Yet when they come together, everything fits and I’m enchanted. Early listens of their forthcoming album suggest that they’ve somehow done it again. Rather than looking for an explanation, I think I’l ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hjaltalin - Sleepdrunk Seasons Seeing as I’m yet to hear this album in it’s entirely, you probably wouldn’t classify this as a traditional review. Instead, I am inviting you into the process of consideration, as I try to decide whether this is an album worth investing in. The band in question, Hjaltalin, are yet another Icelandic band to emerge with a distinctly strange sound. Like their predecessors, they create music which is immediately engaging and yet ventures beyond the safe confines of standard musical technique. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A tasty treat for you Ba da da da da, BA BOW WA!You heard me.Custard - Love Measurer Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sydney Smattering Is smattering even a word? Who cares. Here's some music by a bunch of Sydney bands that have been on my mind lately:Telephone - Cuthbert & The Night WalkersI can’t believe I haven’t gotten around to talking about Cuthbert & The Night Walkers yet. They’re so cool! You may be thinking that because they have 5-piece choir, they are somehow a gimmick. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Underneath the choir is an incredibly solid band, with some excellent music. Whenever I watch them ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mix #34 (analytical edition) Love Me Already – Black KidsBlack Kids have a rather interesting sound. The keyboards and guitars are relatively standard, but it is the vocals that set them apart. The leader singer has a weird delivery style that isn’t quite yelling, but is certainly forceful, creating a rather washy sound. At times it works, but elsewhere it can get annoying. This song demonstrates this problem nicely, as well showing some of the underlying melodies that are driving people towards their music.On and On – ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix Maasai Mara – The Ruby SunsFor many of you, your first encounter with New Zealand band, The Ruby Suns, was when far off foreigners, The Shins, chose them as special guests for their tour of Australia. So much for our close relationship with NZ. But now they’re coming for their very own show (this Friday at Spectrum) and I’m getting pretty excited (for various reasons). Their music fits somewhere in the ‘twisted indie-pop’ category, alongside the likes of Animal Collective. Their debut album ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #31 The Opposite Of Hallelujah – Jens LekmanAfter the success of ‘Your Arms Around Me’ it really comes as no surprise that Jens Lekman has released an album full of nicely polished pop gems. The lyrics can occasionally get a little awkward, but this is always made up for in pure sweetness.123456 (Pardon Us) – Aleks and The RampsSpeaking of lyrics, this song has some rather interesting ones. I bought Aleks and The Rams’ debut album on the back of some rather impressive reviews and I must admit, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Octopus Project and why you should pay more attention to your music. I’ve always been one who sees the allure of vinyls, indulge yet I’ve also done my best to avoid getting swept up by them. I do this because I know that it is neither practical nor affordable to listen to everything on vinyl, no matter how much better it sounds. Yet in recent times, my standards have been slipping a little and I’ve been indulging myself. The most striking thing I’ve noticed is how different the listening process is. The fact that you have to physically turn the record over, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mix # 30 something I Get Around – The Beach BoysLast week I had the pleasure of seeing Brian Wilson. Despite him missing many of his lines, barely touching his keyboard and just generally being out of it, it was an incredible show. It really is testimony to his genius and the strength of the Beach Boys material. His band were also excellent, especially Jeff Foskett who really carried the performance. Don’t ever let anyone put you down for listening to a bunch of men singing falsetto harmonies. It’s heavenly.F ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Hopetoun Hotel's Melbourne Menagerie! Just in case you didn't have enough great shows to go to in January, here's another one. This Saturday, three of Melbourne's finest indie-pop bands are coming up to Sydney to play one special show at The Hopetoun Hotel. It's an overdose of super sweet sounds. Melbourne really does beat us hands down when it comes to making warm, energetic and fun music. It's sure to be a treat. Here's some samples by each of the bands:The Zebras - You Look ReadySummer Cats - DiscothequeThe Motifs - Backward ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Soft Tigers - Gospel Ambitions If you know of Soft Tigers, it is most likely for their two biggest songs, M.A.R.I.A. and Mr Ice Cream. This is no surprise, because after all, these two songs are undeniably great. Catchy, energetic and fun, these two have ‘hit’ written all over them. You may also have seen them live and discovered a whole new side to them. Their on stage show is far more chaotic, mixing shambolic recreations of their recorded material with all sorts of new sounds. This experimental (and a little apathetic ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Grates Like many who have come before me, I’m here to exclaim that Patience Hodgson is one of the best damn performers ever. The Grates played a special Christmas show at The Annandale last Wednesday and it was amazing. She came out bouncing and didn’t stop bouncing. She jumps around like a crazed fan and genuinely gets into her own music. It’s brilliant. With her having so much fun up on stage, it’s pretty hard not to get involved. Her enthusiasm is infectious. For those who find her voice slight ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Brown Bear - Music To Swim To You’d be surprised how inefficient the promotional process is. Of all the emails and CDs I get sent, rarely does it lead me to discover something I like. I’m not sure if it’s my laziness and meticulous tastes or poor choices those sending me the music, but the success rate is pretty pathetic. However, every now and then, something incredible will land in my lap and it makes the whole process worthwhile. Brown Bear’s second EP, ‘Music To Swim To’ falls into that category. It only took a coup ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #30 Down On The Ground - British Sea PowerI’m relatively new to British Sea Power, with their latest EP being my first (and only) experience, but this has been more than enough to convince me that they’re worth some attention. I can only imagine what their live shows are like, but judging from the atmosphere they generate in their recorded music, it would be pretty special.Diagonal – The MotifsIn case you don’t know, The Motifs is mostly one girl, Alexis, from Melbourne, playing some unbelievab ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website I Heart Hiroshima When I was asked to name a lesser-known Brisbane band, my first thought was I Heart Hiroshima. This was despite having never seen them live and not really knowing what they sounded like (I’d heard them, but mustn't have paid attention). Clearly they were doing something right on the promotion side of things. Well now I have given them a proper listen and there's certainly no way they’ll be escaping my consciousness any time soon. I recently invested in their debut album, Tuff Teef, and it w ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bridezilla Bridezilla just keep getting better and better. Every time I see them, they impress me on a whole new level. It would be wrong to say that they were ever shy, but whatever they were, they’ve improved. Daisy (violin) and Millie (saxophone) strut around the stage in complete comfort and confidence, as if in their own bedroom, belting out powerfully emotive sounds that do justice to both their classical background and modern stylings. While those two are the heart of their music, Holiday is th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website It's a mix! Ending To Begin - Mercy ArmsWith all the hype and image surrounding this band, it’s sometimes hard to know what to think of them. But after hearing this song a few times and combining it with the brilliant ‘Half Right’, I’d say there’s more than enough reason to keep your eye on them, cool or not.Cracked and Crazed - Doug MartschThe story behind this song is quite remarkable. Filmmaker Devon Reed composed the soundtrack to his upcoming movie, Song From The Bigtop, and then went about recrui ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chritsmas Chart Attack I came across this on last.fm recently and it caught my interest. Basically they're trying to get a song into the number one spot on the Christmas charts using the collective might of indie music fans. If enough people buy it, it has the potential to rival some of the more traditional chart-toppers, ie Idol has-beens. The song in question is "Lips are Unhappy" by Lucky Soul. I've talked about the band before and considering they started their own label to release an album, becoming a DIY su ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Radiohead - In Rainbows It’s a bit late, but I’ve finally gotten around to featuring Radiohead’s latest ‘event’, i.e. the release of their 7th album, In Rainbows. I won’t go into the details of its release, because I’m sure you are more than familiar with it. Instead, I’ll just offer my opinion on two important aspects:1) The MethodThere’s no doubting that the release of this album was a spectacle, propelling the future of digital music into the spotlight. Full credit to whoever came up with the idea, I thought it ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dr Dog - Easy Beat As you may or may not know (or care), I’m not a very big fan of remixes. More often than not, they just kill the vibe of the original. But that’s a rant for another day. I have, however, discovered a nice little use for these annoying remixes: they point to good music. Any song that’s being remixed must have had something going for it in the first place (you’d hope). So when I heard that Beck had remixed Dr Dog, it got me interested, not in the remix, but in the band. I owe a lot to that re ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website More music! I’ve found that as I’m continually trying to present new music, it doesn’t always reflect what I’m actually listening to. Though of course there’s plenty of overlap, my music tends to get divided into two categories; firstly is all the new albums that I’m sifting through and secondly is the music that I listen to when around others (in the car, at parties or venues etc.). This post aims to restore the balance between those two equally import musical avenues.Frequency ShiftTo everyone who at ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday (+1) Mix #27 Energy – The Apples in StereoI’d heard of this band here or there, but it was only very recently that I actually got around to listening to them. As I put in New Magnetic Wonder, their latest album, I instantly liked what I heard. This song sums them up perfectly; powerful, energetic and happy. If you like what you hear, I’d definitely recommend looking further into them. Let’s Replace The Cityscapes - The TrianglesIf you thought the song above was happy, get ready for an explosion of pu ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Agnes Kain - Keep Walking or I'll Kill You It’s weird. I’ve been buying music lately. This shouldn’t be a rare occasion, but sadly it is. I’ll save the whole music downloading debate for another day, but something’s not right, that’s for sure. So whether it’s an act of redemption or simply a reaction to the incompleteness of illegal markets, I’ve been doing my bit and supporting some local artists. Agnes Kain are one of those artists and I am now the proud owner of their debut album, Keep Walking Or I’ll Kill You. Don’t be fooled by ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website débuts, remplisseurs et moments monumentaux de baise Le poteau qui ne contient aucun anglais compréhensible (et a besoin des poissons de babel pour y arriver)12345678910 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website No Man's Woman I’m not sure if a CD that has me singing The Veronicas’ songs is good thing. It may be testimony to the quality of this particular album, but it certainly doesn’t do much for my credibility. For those who aren’t aware of what this album is, it’s basically Australian men covering female artists. All the artists, on both sides of equation, are quite high profile and it’s pretty impressive for Dew Process to have assembled such a line up and made this CD happen. I must admit, I wasn’t very opt ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Plastic Palace Alice Ah Melbourne. I’ll probably never know if it truly is superior to Sydney, but with all the excellent music I’ve been discovering lately, I wouldn’t be surprised. The latest Melbournians to deserve a mention are Plastic Palace Alice. I’ve known them for a while now (as you may too have), thanks to their song ‘Empire Falls’. To put it simply, it’s brilliant. They’re currently in the process of launching this single and if you haven’t yet heard it, I’d highly recommend it. But ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #25 The Lowest Bitter - Les Savy FavLes Savy Fav are a band that I’ve never really embraced, but after hearing their latest record, I’m starting to wonder why. In the past I’ve found them a little rough, but perhaps I misjudged them. I'll certainly be giving this album (and their last) a thorough listening Big and Small – Sui ZhenI saw Sydney artist Sui Zhen for the first time at her EP launch last Saturday and was quite impressed. She has one of those very special voices and uses it w ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EP Launches: John Columbus & Cloud Control Not that I’ve ever personally done it, but I can imagine that launching your very first EP must be quite a special occasion. To finally get your name cemented in music’s history books would have to be satisfying. In reality, it’s one of the more minor steps in the path to musical greatness, but to the fledgling band, it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Well it just so happens that two of my current favourite Sydney bands are going to be reaching this milestone; ON THE SAME DAY. On Saturday ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Yves Klein Blue / Oxford Art Factory At long last I got to see (and hear) Yves Klein Blue. They developed a bit of name for themselves, winning the MTV Kickstart competition, but as far as the wider community is concerned, they are relatively unknown. I’d been meaning to catch them for a while, but until last Saturday, it just hadn’t happened. I’m glad I am finally acquainted with them because what I saw was quite impressive. Hailing from Brisbane, Yves Klein Blue look and sound like a major band. As I was listening to them, I ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Kevin Drew - Spirit If... If James Brown was the king of soul, Kevin Drew would be the king of whisper. That soft, delicate singing style of his is one that isn’t often matched. We got a taste for it with Broken Social Scene, but here we get to experience it in its entirety. Even when his music does enter more lively territory, it seems to maintain a calm atmosphere. It’s hard to say whether he plays a key role in shaping the BSS sound or whether they just played a major part in this album (probably both), but eithe ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil A while back I wrote about The Ocean Floor and mentioned how their music wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, but it was a heap of fun regardless. I’d have to put Black Lips in the same category. For me, it’s the kind the music I would listen to when I’m looking to change things up. The album certainly never sits still, with no song exceeding the 3 minute mark. As it progress, the sound varies greatly, at times entering some rather bizarre territory. Even the lyrical content ranges fro ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Go! Team The Go! Team have come along way in the last 3 years. In fact, for those who aren’t aware, they have evolved from a one-man bedroom project into a collective very worthy of their name's exclamation mark. When you see this colourful, excitable bunch live on the stage, it’s hard to believe that much of their music began on one guy’s laptop, but that’s (pretty much) how it was. When Ian Parton produced the brilliant Thunder Lightning Strike, the next, not-so-logical step was to get a band toge ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #24 Skinny Boy – Amy MilanFor those who don’t know, Amy Milan is the girl from Canadian band, Stars. While there are of course similarities, her solo album is actually quite different from the band’s sound. It has an overarching country element to it, though I seemed to have picked the least country, and most stars-like song of the lot. Typical. It’s a great album nonetheless. You Sound Like Louis Burdett – The WhitlamsI recently saw The Whitlams with a ninety-something piece orchestra at ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam I’ve always liked Animal Collective, but never really embraced them. In fact I never really gave their last album, Feels, a proper listen because by then I’d figured they just weren’t for me. However, in recent times this view has been changing, in part due to the brilliant Panda Bear album, and I’ve been giving them a second chance, to see what I missed. A few weeks ago I was at uni, listening to Feels. It came to an end and rather than looking for something new to put on, I took the easy ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #23 We’re Here – The GuillemotsI never really mentioned The Guillemots when they came through last year, because to be honest, I didn’t think they were that special. Looking back, I found that their album actually had some pretty impressive highlights. This song in particular is just plain brilliant. It feels more like a joyous moment than an actual song.Yamanote Line – The Paper ScissorsThis one goes out to some friends in spite. We were recently struck with ‘last song syndrome’, where we woul ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Whitley I remember when Whitley (not White-ly) first entered my consciousness. I had bargained my way into a band night at Spectrum and was looking forward to seeing The Seabellies. They were great (surprise, surprise), but it was another artist who caught my eye. In between the bands, everyone I chatted to seemed to suggest that this Whitley guy was pretty special. I had no idea what to expect and when I saw him walk out with just a stool and acoustic guitar, I was a little sceptical. But as is s ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Good Shoes - Think Before You Speak I've noticed something interesting amongst my musically minded friends. While we all have similar tastes, we each have our own little 'niche' that only we enjoy. I guess it makes sense if you think of the entire musical spectrum as a giant piece of paper and you're personal preferences as a circle that covers a certain area (I should write a thesis on this). It's unlikely you'll find people whose 'area of interest' is exactly the same as yours, but usually they'll overlap enough for you to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #22 Melody Day - CaribouCaribou is one of those artists who sit at the back of my collection and don't often get a look. But after putting his latest album on and getting hit by this brilliant opening track, I'm starting to think I should pay more attention.Come Along - Ice Cream HandsIce Cream Hands are yet another Melbourne artist that has entered my consciousness in recent months. Just when I was wondering who they were, their CD arrives on my doorstep. And now, just as I've come to like the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Gig Reviews Here's some of the highlights in my last month of live music for you to peruse:BluejuiceIf you had of told me a year ago that I’d be going to see Bluejuice, I would have laughed. This is because for all intensive purposes, they are a hip-hop band. And according to the laws of the universe, I don’t like such bands. I remember they had a song called Unemployed which I found amusing, but still far from my thing. Well this all changed with the release of Vitriol. As one of the years best Aussie ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lazy Tuesday Mix #3 Winter Wooskie – Belle & SebastianToday I had one of those “I’m sick of always listening to music I don’t know, just to see if I like it or not, just so I can go straight back to listening to music I don’t know” moments. Thankfully I put Belle & Sebastian on just in time and was instantly calmed. Phew.Pieces Of Me – The LovetonesLately I’ve had negative comments about The Lovetones coming from left, right and centre (i.e. myself). But on further inspection, I must say I don’t think it’s all ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bishop Allen - The Borken String I couldn't help but laugh when I heard a radio DJ make this statement not too long ago...."that track came off Bishop Allen's brand new album, The Broken String. They haven't released anything since an EP they put out in 2003, so it's good to hear from them again". Now I'm not normally one to pull up others' mistakes, but the enormity of this one just couldn't be overlooked. Firstly, in 2003 they released an LP, it was called Charm School and I really enjoyed it. Secondly, they have releas ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lazy Tuesday Mix #2 Be Gentle With Me – The Boy Least Likely ToIt’s always nice to come back to an old album you’d forgotten about; especially one this joyful. I came across The Boy Least Likely To rather early in my musical ‘enlightenment’ and they were probably my first foray into the tweeish side of indie music.Tonight I Have To Leave It – Shout Out LoudsI’ve been enjoying the Shout Out Louds of late, though not as much as I’d have hoped. They seem to be sitting just below the point of greatness and just ca ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Weezer - Weezer The problem with having so many new albums to listen to is that often it means your attention gets divided and none of them get the time they require. So when it came time to do a review and I had about 5 albums which showed some promise but hadn’t yet proven themselves, I decided to go for a classic. And what better classic then Weezer’s self-titled debut album (the blue album). I was exposed to a few songs from this album early in my life, thanks to my older brother, but it was until abou ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals were part of the first post I ever unleashed unto the internet. I hadn’t really listened to them much, but a bizarre instrumental track called Oi Frango managed to catch my attention. Thankfully this led me to devote more time to their then-new album, Love Kraft, which I discovered to be equally bizarre. But in a world saturated by reused formulas, it is the bizarre who reign supreme. Their different approaches are what keeps music fresh and interesting. They add colour ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #19 Single Days – Pale Young GentlemenFor the record, this ISN’T Franz Ferdinand. They may share similarly deep vocals, but that’s where it ends. Still, I’m quite impressed with my Mum for hazarding such a guess. Next she’ll be telling her friends about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Getting back on track, Pale Young Gentlemen make a quirky blend of music that seams to combine foreign flavours, circus themes and radio pop into formula that quite bizarrely, works.Salvador – Jamie TJamie T is a bit TO ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Assorted Musings THE SHINSI finally got to see The Shins the other day. I loved it. It was kind of odd because it wasn’t one of those shows that ‘went off’ and yet I came out thoroughly satisfied. They played a perfect mix of new and old and played it all brilliantly. Even if their drummer did happen to be asleep…..MP3: Turn A SquareQuarter AcreI’m gonna do something out of the ordinary here and recommend a band. That band is Quarter Acre and they put on one of the best shows you’ll ever witness. I saw them ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War When I think back to Star’s previous album, I’m always reminded of the emotional, climatic moments they produced so well. Through a combination of duel vocals and rich instrumentation, they always managed to create music that was positively uplifting. For a moment, I thought they’d lost it with this new album. If I had trusted my own instincts, I would have pushed it aside. But sure enough, as I began to immerse myself in it, the beauty soon emerged. When Stars make music, they do so to mak ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Architecture In Helsinki I must say that my initial impressions of Architecture In Helsinki's latest album were less than favourable. In fact they were awful. But having learnt my lesson from the lead single, Heart It Races, I decided to stick at and see if things improved. After about the tenth listen, things were certainly getting better, but I still wasn't loving it. It was crazy. It was energetic. But it lacked that sense of pure joy that originally brought me to them. Why had they changed? Were they now appeal ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #17 Mad World - Gary JulesI must admit that it was a bit of a shock to discover that the dirty 80s electro version of this song was actually the original. I, however, will always prefer this cover version, commonly known as the Donnie Darko version, largely because that film had such an impression on me.Tread Easy – The Bank HolidaysI was trawling through all my old songs, trying to get them sorted, when I discovered this gem. The Bank Holidays are from Perth (I think), but I haven’t heard of t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Harry Potter Trilogy Now I’m not one who would normally go around proclaiming this, but there’s no denying that the Harry Potter books are pretty damn addictive. So when the latest one arrived, I was amongst the millions doing pretty much nothing but reading it. However there was a slight twist to my story…..around the same time I had acquired a heap of albums and was in the process of evaluating them. Amongst these were three albums by bands beginning with the letter S, all of which I had never heard of. This ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Ocean Floor Ahhhh. Listening to this band is such a soothing experience. It empties your mind, makes you feel light. But The Ocean Floor aren't like any other band I've previously described as soothing. They don't have the smooth, harmonious sound that usually warrants such a description. Rather, their music is simply unassuming. You'd don't have think hard to enjoy it. The musicians all seem relaxed whilst playing and it really rubs off. I'm not saying their music is simplistic, it's not, just that th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #16 Drunk On Election Night – Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males I had always liked Dank Kelly’s music, but when I saw him live it was great. His friendly personality really brings out the hilarity in his music. If you get a chance to see him, I’d highly recommend it.7/4 (Shoreline) - Broken Social SceneI never really embraced Broken Social Scene like many, but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy them. When I heard this song recently I knew it was time to put them up here.Plasticities – Andrew BirdFor s ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Thrills As far as I’m concerned, The Thrills are to Ireland what Belle & Sebastian are to Scotland: The Best. Forget U2 or Snow Patrol, The Thrills are a band worthy of occupying the national pedestal. Their first two albums were brilliant and now with their third, they have cemented this spot at the top. If you’ve never really listened to The Thrills, you have much to discover. I’d always found their music enjoyable, however it wasn’t until I listened with good headphones that I realised how rich ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dog Day - Night Group Biographical information about Dog Day is quite scarce; there isn't even a Wikipedia entry about them. How on earth am I supposed to pretend I'm knowledgable when nobody has neatly laid out the information, ready for me to steal! But alas, I seem to have gathered a rough idea of just who and what Dog Day are. Originating from Canada (apparently from Halifax, though such detail is meaningless to me), they are a four-piece with both sexes equally represented. Their sound, I must admit, is a r ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #13 Earthworm – The StaticsI saw these guys the other night and loved it. This was always guaranteed to be the case, seeing as they’re headed by the legendary Patrick Clayton (affectionately known as the K-man), but I was doubly impressed when they turned up and played some great music. This song is a REALLY old demo off their myspace, but it still gives a good idea of what to expect.The Taste In My Mouth – Shapes and SizesI don’t know what it is about this song, but it has completely taken ove ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation Seeing as a deluxe edition of this album has recently been released, I figured that now would be as good a time as ever to talk about it. It is after all, an album more than worthy of a few words. Sonic Youth’s tale is a rather bizarre one. Despite so many people being oblivious to their existence, they remain as one of the world’s most influential bands. They have never reached a status of stardom and nor did they need to. They managed to touch all right people and it was through notoriety ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Handsome Furs - Huh? Sometimes I wonder why I like Wolf Parade. They are second band I ever wrote about and I used to be obsessed with their album. Yet every time a band member puts out a solo album, it fails to impress me. In fact, before I wrote this, I went back and listened to Wolf Parade, just to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. Originally I thought dilemma was due to Spencer Krug, seeing as I never particularly fancied Sunset Rubdown or Swan Lake. But now that Dan Boeckner has released an album that I ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #14 Heinrich Manoeuvre – InterpolWhen I heard this song, it got my hopes up for Interpol’s upcoming album. However after listening to the whole thing, I’m saddened to report that it’s the only song that really sticks out. Hopefully time will change this.Vitriol – BluejuiceBluejuice are right up there on my list of bands I wanna see live. Their music is a blend of hip-hop and rock, but more importantly I’d say it’s a lot of fun. I’ve heard reports that they’re one of Sydney’s most entertaining a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Frenzal Rhomb Recently, whilst passing time on an afternoon car trip, I rediscovered the brilliance that is Frenzal Rhomb. As soon as I heard one of their songs, I was reminded about how important this band was; both to my musical upbringing and Australian music in general. You see, Frenzal Rhomb represent all the values that Australians cherish, yet don’t go parading. We may not be proud of it, but it’s hard to deny that alcohol, violence, profanity and deviance aren’t integral to our history. Well rath ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lucky Soul Listening to Lucky Soul has been a rather bizarre experience. As I go through their debut album, I find myself enjoying their melodies and singing along, but their music just doesn’t seem like my thing. For example, if I was scrolling through my ipod (read: superior equivalent), compiling a playlist, I doubt that I’d choose any of their songs. Yet at the same time, I can’t deny that they make some great music! It’s such a ridiculous contradiction that I am at loss to explain it. However, I ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Editors - An End Has A Start It’s hard to write anything about Editors without mentioning the obvious comparisons to Interpol. They have the same dark sound, fuelled by very deep vocals. On their first album, the similarities were a little suspicious, but now that they’ve backed this up with another solid album, I think it’s fair to say that they are a significant band in their own right. While many bands try to reinvent themselves on their sophomore album, Editors have stuck to their tried and true formula and it work ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website (Not Quite Monday) Mix #13 Did You See The Words - Animal CollectiveI don’t listen to these guys anywhere near as much as I should. This was made clear to me when I heard this song on the radio recently and realised how much I liked it. They have a sort of primal energy about them and their music simply radiates hyperactivity. What’s not to love about that? They have another album on the way so I’ll be sure to give it a proper listen.The Magic Position – Patrick WolfI don’t know what to think about his guy. I’ve hear ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website We All Have Hooks For Hands A 9 member, all male band. Now there’s a line up you don’t see everyday. The size alone would be significant enough, but it’s the lack of women that really stands out to me. There’s no denying that the music industry is male dominated. As much as I love pissing off feminists, I’m not going to say it’s justified or for that matter a good thing. But it’s a fact of life and these guys aren’t doing much to help the situation. I actually commend them for not opting for the token female, because ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Annuals - Be He Me If anything, this record deserves to be here for its persistence. As bigger records fought and died in a bid to gain my dwindling attention, it stuck around in the background, tapping me on the shoulder, long enough for me to realise that it was actually a REALLY great album. I’d always liked it and was planning to use a song on the site somewhere, but when I went to pick one, I discovered that they were ALL good. Annuals make a calming blend of music, which is then mixed up with some more ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Polyphonic Spree When I heard reports that the new Polyphonic Spree album wasn’t very good, I was worried. When I listened to it and found it rather underwhelming, I felt like I had been let down. I had become so emotionally attached to this band that it was devastating to think that they had gone off track. But then I remembered, I NEVER liked them on record! For me, their albums have always played a minor role. Occasionally put on as a means of re-living their live show. OH WHAT AN EXPERIENCE. Seeing The ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The White Stripes - Icky Thump To be honest, I really wasn't that excited about this album. I guess you could say I was beginning to get sick of them. This is weird because it's not like I didn't enjoy their previous albums. Get Behind Me Satan (almost wrote satin) may have been a little experimental, but I seem to remember liking it. Perhaps it was all a bit too soon. Perhaps I was feeling like their sound had reached its limits. Who knows. But when I finally did get my hands on it, my attitude quickly changed. This wa ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #11 Echo Train – Chad VanGaalenYou know a label is doing something right when you check out their bands, merely for the fact that they signed them. Such is my respect for Sub Pop. Unfortunately I didn’t uncover an army of Shins-calibre bands, however I did find a few interesting songs.It's A Hit - Rilo KileyThis one’s been sitting in the vault for a while now. They aren’t groundbreaking, but this song’s full of spite which must count for something. I think their standing has been raised by the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse “Rich with Beach Boys style harmonies, Roy Orbison reverbs and orchestra, Pink Floyd's pacing and Freddy Mercury's falsetto, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse”I see no point in trying to describe this band when their official website does it so accurately in just one sentence. The Besnard Lakes truly do have a sound of incredible grandeur and while it may not put them at the same level as the above artists, the comparisons are certainly warranted. Most striking for me is the pace. The so ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #10 Adventure – Be Your Own PetSometimes Be Your Own Pet can be a little too in-your-face for my liking, but there’s no doubt that they’re bursting with energy. This song has always been a favourite and I can imagine it being pretty fun live.Liquorice Nights - Sly HatsAnd now a song that compliments Be Your Own Pet perfectly. It’s the side project of Geoff from Crayon Fields, in case you hadn’t already noticed. It may be incredibly similar to his normal work, but it has enough variations to giv ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Break Your Necks Tour (or how to get your favourite band to play at your school) Dappled Cities Fly and Red Riders are quite possibly two of Sydney’s most cherished bands. For them to play together is almost too good to be true. If you haven’t got you’reticketyet, you had better hurry because it looks like all their shows will sell out (Sydney at any moment now!).While I’m sure this show will be special for all fans of the bands, it has even more significance for me. That’s because both these bands actually came to play at our school. It’s quite ridiculous when I think ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #9 Josephine-Ghostface Killer et. al.I never thought I'd say this, but this week features a couple of hip hop songs. I like to think I keep an open mind about all types of music, but that's hardly the case. These two songs should go some way towards repairing the horrible image of hip hop I have in my mind.Hurt Me Soul-Lupe FiascoForgive me for thinking that all hip hop is about prostitues, but thats often the way it can seem. I'm slowly learning to appreciate the way these artists can string ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Albert hammond Jr. - Yours To Keep I avoided this album for far too long. I figured all the hype it was getting was more to do with him being a Strokes guitarist than the album itself. After all, it's well known that Julian Casablancas was considerably anal about song writing on their first two albums (and when he did open up, things went slightly off track), so Albert Hammond Jr. didn't really have a history of good music to fall back on. Well perhaps I should have spent less time justifying why this album wasn't worth my t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #8 S.T.E.A.K.–Peelander ZRecently I trekked across blog land, collecting over 60 mp3s, in the hope of finding something good. After listening through them all, I emerged with just one usable track. It was absolutely worth it. Medium rare!!!!!Easier-Grizzly BearIt took my while to get into Grizzly Bear’s critically acclaimed Yellow House. In fact I didn’t even give it a listen until recently because I had found their previous album rather boring. Thankfully however, I got there eventually and w ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Basics The Basics were along time coming. The world desperately needed a band who knows how to put on a good show, who knows how to have some fun. We finally have just that. It’s funny because a lot of current bands are being criticised for ‘channelling’ sounds from times gone by (it seems to be the only way Australia can produce a big band these days), yet with The Basics their influences are so blatantly obvious and it’s not a problem. I think it comes back to the fact that they are such great e ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Voxtrot - Voxtrot I have been familiar with Voxtrot for a while now. This is strange because rarely do I pay attention to EPs released by overseas bands and yet with Voxtrot I was getting excited by the release of each successive one. What’s even stranger is that these EPs weren’t even of a calibre that would warrant such devotion. They all had their moments of brilliance, but at the same time were far from perfect. So with this in mind, what was so special about Voxtrot? The answer lies in the track list of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #7 Nag Nag Nag Nag - Art BrutI really enjoyed Art Brut’s first album, however I never felt they’d be able to transform their sound from a novelty into a distinct style. But after listening to some of their newer material, I think they’ve pulled it off. Their next album probably won’t compare to the first, but it will definitely be worth a look.One Two Three Four – FeistI never seem to be able to get into Feist whole-heartedly, but with a voice like hers, I’ll always have a reason to keep comin ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Kissaway Trail - The Kissaway Trail When I first heard the name of this band mentioned on radio, I laughed. It probably wasn’t helped by the fact that the song I had just heard was called ‘Smother + Evil = Hurt’. There’s no avoiding it, English is not The Kissaway Trail’s biggest strength. Horrible word choice and unorthodox pronunciation are just part and parcel of this. But being from Denmark, I’m willing to let it slide (especially since they make some excellent music). Like many of their Danish counterparts, they seem to ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Birthday Bash Today marks one year since I began this blog. It is has been a lot of fun and to celebrate the occasion, I’ve prepared a short history, not because you’ll want to read it, but because I want to write it. I’m a sentimental chap and will take any chance to tell a yarn or two. It’s worked for 12 months so why stop now? But to make it worth your while, I’ve re-uploaded 10 tracks that I’ve used over this blog’s lifetime (yes, the Hype Machine had EVERYTHING to do with this decision). Let’s hope ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #6 Your Eyes – AlohaThe only flaw in Aloha’s album, Some Echoes, is that it lacks a killer single. Otherwise, it holds its own against any of last year’s major releases. They have quite a warm sound that often reminds me of Field Music.Charmer – Kings of LeonI’m not too sure about all that PR rubbish about this album being the one that establishes them as a massive act, but it sure is bold. It probably won’t receive commercial success, but it’s already gained quite a bit of critical approval. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Malajube Late last year I remember there being a lot of hype around the French (Canadian) band, Malajube. The praise was endless and yet I never bothered to check them out. Why? Because they didn’t sing in English. I’d always found music in other languages to be unengaging and so figured this band would be the same. While everyone else was in love with them, I was stubbornly ignoring them. Well thankfully I saw through my own dodgy reasoning and decided to give them a listen because their debut albu ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs I’d heard about The Magnetic Fields before. I didn’t know who they were or what they sounded like, but I knew they existed. Well recently I’ve been trying to catch up on a number of bands that I wasn’t familiar with, but had a feeling I should be. The Magnetic Fields were one of them. I jumped on the internet to try and find out which album I should go for first. This usually consists of browsing through reviews and gauging success in attempt to get their best first. Normally I would be ra ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monday Mix #5 This week saw the arrival of the 100, 000th visitor to this site. Yay! To celebrate my ascension into the 6-figure club, you get 6 songs in today’s mix. More yay!We Will Become Silhouettes - The ShinsIt didn’t take long for these guys to feature again. I just can’t get over how different it sounds to the original and how well it stands on it’s own.Violets – Candy BarsThis band has a really bizarre singing style that almost sounds like whispering. However now that I’ve gotten used to it, I e ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Blonde Redhead - 23 23 is my first venture into the world of Blonde Redhead and I must say that I am impressed. The album isn’t breathtaking, but it certainly has an allure to it that keeps me coming back for more. Blonde Redhead have been around for 14 years now, releasing 7 albums. Over this time, they have received considerable comparisons to Sonic Youth. I can’t really weigh in on this argument seeing as a have a shockingly poor knowledge on Sonic Youth, but to me their sound feels very distinctive. This i ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website TBA How apathetic I'm becoming. I couldn't even be bothered thinking of a witty name this week. As the name suggests, I may think of something later and fill it in. But for now you have only the music to keep you happy, this music:1) You Only Live Once - The StrokesI actually think this is song is being played on the radio now so the fact that I have the whole album is negated. Yes, I have this album one month before it's release. The internet is sweet. Overall I think it's good, it definitely ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Exceptional This week's unintentional theme seems to be good songs off bad albums. Being an album person rather than a song person, I tend to use bands I like in general and then feature one of their songs here. However a few of the songs in today's episode I really don't like the album they're off. Also this week I've delved back into the unknown a bit. Whereas the last couple of weeks I've been name dropping from my back-catalogue, this week features songs that haven't yet passed the test of time. So ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reprezent This week features bands all from different countries. Nothing particularly special about this, I just noticed it as I was picking. Positive aspects of globalisation such as this far outweigh the slave labourers. It really only features us, United Kingdom and North America but come to think of it there isn't too many more predominately English speaking, quality music producing countries out there.....1)Are you the one?-The PresetsThese guys are Aussie electro-dance-rockers who are apparentl ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Indie Kids United I'm beginning to run out of REALLY unknown bands so I'm now delving into the semi-known bands. You may or may not have heard of them but either way you should like them. This week especially, features a few big (in my opinion) "Indie" (whatever it is this genre includes these days) names. Now if you think that sentence had poor structure you are correct. But enough said, on to the songs:1)Lapse in Conversation-NeonThis song fills my weekly local content quota. It is a good song however I wo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Freakin' Wolf References This episode is a bit bigger than previous ones but due to it's length I had to choose between size and quality. I'm currently trying to throw together a playlist for Triple J's Aus-Music Month so I didn't have TOO much time to go looking for songs. So a couple of these songs are ones I picked for that. Also this week there's a couple of songs which are in no way new but I thought perhaps some people might never have heard of them - what a shame that would be. And here they are:1)Colossal-W ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Big Cop Out This Episode is to celebrate the stupidly fast sell-out of Big Day Out and is designed to make those who got tickets feel good about themselves and those who didn't cry. It's also the first time I've delved into area of 'specials' - in other words 'easy way outs' for me. It contains songs by the bands I recommend from the first announcement. I decided not to use The White Stripes or Franz Ferdinand because they're pretty well known already and I think everyone has they're minds made up whet ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website She Says This week's episode features, for the first time, a couple of female singers. I actually considered at one point doing an all-female episode. But I decided against it which was probably for the best. As you can see I've also started naming each episode rather than just numbering them - just to make things more interesting. You shall be enjoying:1)Postcard of a Painting-Maximo ParkGreat British band who recently released a very solid (debut I think) album "A certain trigger". I've always fou ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chilly Chimps What an achievment, I've made it to episode two. This week consisted of agonisingly scrutenising over what the best song of various albums were and then ending up not using most of them. Maybe next week. Anyway here it is, some of the songs are a but strange but overall i think it's good. Songs are as follows:1)Cigarette Smoke-Arctic MonkeysI was recently introduced to this band and instantly liked them. They are British (i think) and only been around for a very short time, releasing their ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Welcome Listener(s) Here is episode 1 of "Open your eyes". It doesn't have as much variety as i would have liked but it will do for the first episode and hopefully there's something here you'll like. If not, don't be put off, it may just be a bad week. Each song is introduced by me despite the fact i can't stand my recorded voice and you probably can't understand it. They are also very crudely put together so may not sound too good but hopefully once i become aquainted with the technology things will sound alo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 2006 -Top 10 Albums It's only a month late, but here is my attempt at a top ten list. To be honest with you, I'm not the biggest fan of list-making (I'd rather read others' and steal their selections), but seeing as I'm planning on talking about the albums of 2006 I DIDN'T like, I thought it would be appropriarte to at least do some form of sumation. Choosing 10 albums was hard enough, ranking them would have just been impossible. So here are my favourite albums of 2006, in alphabetical order.Belle& Sebast ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Shins - Wincing The Night Away A few months ago I wrote about the new Shins album, Wincing The Night Away, when it leaked onto the internet. Within hours I was asked to remove it. It went like this…Leaks will always be an iffy issue. Then again, nearly everything I post on this site could in someway be considered illegal so what’s the difference! As usual, if you represent the band and want this gone, it takes only one kind word and it will be done. But also as usual, I only do this with the hope that it will in some wa ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Wrens - The Meadowlands I must confess that like a stray cat ravaging through the garbage bins, I recently found myself scouring through the Pitchfork archives in search of their highest rated albums. While the web giant may be frequently misguided and always up themselves, they sure make the task of finding great albums a lot easier. One particular find was The Wrens’ latest album, The Meadowlands. It was actually released well back in 2003, but I like to apply the logic that if it’s new to me, surely it must be ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Long Blondes When I first heard this band I thought they sounded quite interesting; which was true. I also thought the singer was male, probably of Scandinavian decent; which was horribly wrong. I blame all bands out there with misleading names. After discovering that The Beautiful Girls and The Mint Chicks were filled with anything but, I naturally assumed a band named The Long Blondes were making fun of the common ditz. Well I was right to an extent as none of the members are blonde and a couple are m ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pixies Australia, you disappoint me. One of the greatest bands of all time will be arriving on our shores for the very first time and the festival they’re headlining hasn’t even sold out yet. Who cares if they’re fat and old, the Pixies are just one of those bands that you MUST see. The only explanation for this atrocity is that some of you aren’t aware that the Pixies even exist. Or worse, you do know they exist, like a few of their songs, but have never taken the time to explore the rest of thei ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pixies - Trompe le Monde Trompe le Monde was the Pixies' fourth full-length album and it would also turn out to be their last. After its release, tension between band members led them to embark on separate projects, eventually resulting in the band ceasing to exist. The primary reason for the break-up was probably the dissatisfaction felt by Kim Deal. The last two albums had seen an end to her input and while there’s no doubt that it was Frank Black who was driving the Pixies’ success, it would no doubt have been f ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pixies - Bossanova Bossanova, the Pixies’ third album, is similar to Doolittle in that its sound represented a new direction. The term Surf Rock is thrown around quite a bit and I guess it’s pretty valid. That doesn’t mean they sound anything like The Beach Boys, rather the term refers to a heavier blend of such music. Calling it Surf Rock also seems to make sense in relation to the album’s sense of movement, something that really stands out for me. Unlike their previous two albums, Bossanova failed to achiev ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pixies - Doolittle Doolittle is easily the Pixies’ most accessible album. With its more polished sound and pop influences, it is much better suited to the mainstream audiences. It’s no surprise then that it is also their most successful album. But don’t be fooled into thinking that the Pixies sold out. None of their flair was sacrificed and Doolittle is as dark and weird as any of their other material. It just shows the depth and variety of their talent, especially highlighting Black’s creative genius. You’ll ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pixies - Surfer Rosa Surfer Rosa marked the Pixies’ first full-length album (coming in at a massive 33 minutes) and the first time their music was easily available in their own country. Despite being an American band, the Pixies were signed to UK label 4AD and so had nobody to distribute their albums in the USA. This changed shortly after the release of this album when Surfer Rosa and Come on Pilgrim were combined and offered to American audiences. This was rather fitting as the two are quite similar in sound. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pixies - Come On Pilgrim While it is features only 8 tracks and goes for just 20 minutes, Come On Pilgrim is generally considered an album rather than an EP. It was the Pixies' first and it set the tone for the greatness that would follow. Song after song comes on with its own hard-hitting sound and there isn’t a dud in sight. It’s a trend lasted throughout their career and they continue to amaze me with their success ratio that’s up there with likes of The Beatles. It’s testimony to their brilliance but it also ma ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pixies Australia, you disappoint me. One of the greatest bands of all time will be arriving on our shores for the very first time and the festival they’re headlining hasn’t even sold out yet. Who cares if they’re fat and old, Pixies are just one of those bands that you MUST see. The only explanation for this atrocity is that some of you aren’t aware that Pixies even exist. Or worse, you do know they exist, like a few of their songs, but have never taken the time to explore the rest of their music ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller I really don’t know where I should stand when it comes to Ben Kweller. When I hear his music, I get the impression that it’s exactly the sort of thing people with horrible taste would enjoy. The people who have no opinion of their own, listening only to what ‘classic hits’ radio and The O.C. tells them to. Does this mean I should I be steering well clear him? Are Ben Kweller’s fans really the mindless idiots I so despise or am I just being overly paranoid? Well whatever the case, Ben has wo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead Apart from having a really cool name, Trail of Dead (my preferred abbreviation) make some incredible music. Being an avid fad, there was no doubt in my mind that I would write something about them very soon. But the question was, which album to feature? Their latest? The album that got me into them? Or perhaps the album that scored them 10/10 from Pitchfork? Well clearly I never came to a decision because I’ll be writing about them all. For those who don't know, Trail of Dead are an indie-r ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Young & Restless I must be the only Australian Blogger that is yet to write about Young & Restless. To be honest, this is because I’ve never really liked them that much. For one this because their music is at a dangerous level of heaviness but I also think it is because I haven’t seen them live. So much has said about their thrilling on-stage performances, especially of the exciting antics of front woman, Karina Utomo, that I get the feeling that I haven’t experienced them where they truly shine. Clearly th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Regular John I really don’t know where to start considering I have never actually watched this band and all I’ve heard by them are the two tracks on their myspace. But what I do know is clearly this band has shown some promise, because otherwise they wouldn’t be here. Regular John made it to Homebake by winning the Hopetoun Incentive competition. While this may not have been as competitive as Triple J’s Unearthed competition, it’s mere format suggests that they may well be worth a look. You see unlike U ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dappled Cities Fly - Granddance I knew there was a reason why I followed this band around habitually.Dappled Cities Flyjust have a knack for entertaining and they’re yet to let me down. With their second album, Granddance, they have continued this trend, producing an absolutely stunning record that puts their previous work to shame. That’s not to say their previous work wasn’t incredible, it was, but it almost sounds dull when compared with the pure exuberance of this latest effort. You could probably put this down to the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rogue Wave - Out Of The Shadow By all reasonable accounts, I shouldn’t know about this band. You see, a lot of my music is found through other sites, such as Pitchfork and Coke Machine Glow and while I don’t agree with their opinions a good deal of the time, they save me sorting through a heap of mediocre music. But anyway, I was reading a review for some band (not only is their identity irrelevant but I’ve forgotten it) and an off-hand mention was made of Rogue Wave’s ‘Out of the Shadows’. Was I interested in the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Cribs - The New Fellas As I listened to this album recently, I began writing the review in my head. “A catchy, energetic sound that reminds me of the likes of Maximo Park and The Futureheads. However, while they make some great music, they lack the diversity to make them special”. But as I continued to listen through I discovered this initial analysis to be horribly wrong. I suppose I should note that this was on my 4th time through, after not listening to it for a while. The problem was that the opening tr ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Red Riders - Replica Replica I’ve written so much about this band, I literally had to go back and make sure I wasn’t repeating myself. Red Riders are a local Sydney band who are renowned for making incredibly catchy indie/pop/rock music. Suffice to say, I was REALLY looking forward to this album. Well now I can happily tell you that in typical Red Riders style, it is a blast. It definitely gives off a far darker feel than their previous work, almost to the point that it is unrecognisable. In fact when I heard the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Peter Bjorn And John - Writer's Block A few months ago I heard a song called “Young Folk” by Swedish band Peter Bjorn And John. I thought it was alright, but not really to my liking. Then it started to be played on the radio. At first just every now and then, but soon it was played more and more and MORE. I don’t know if it has happened everywhere, but here in Australia this song has been absolutely thrashed. This is largely due to the radio station Triple J, who christened it “the whistling song” and let their requesters ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Razorlight - Razorlight I was surprised to find, despite anticipating this album, that it had been released a few months ago. Clearly it made a big impact. But I’ve got it now and I must say it’s a pretty intriguing record. In terms of sound, it’s largely the same as before. It still features the same standard guitar sound and a mix of upbeat and slower songs. But what is most important, to this record and to their sound in general, is that Johnny Borrell’s vocals, which personally I enjoy, are still central ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Razorlight - Razorlight I was surprised to find, despite anticipating this album, that it had been released a few months ago. Clearly it made a big impact. But I’ve got it now and I must say it’s a pretty intriguing record. In terms of sound, it’s largely the same as before. It still features the same standard guitar sound and a mix of upbeat and slower songs. But what is most important, to this record and to their sound in general, is that Johnny Borrell’s vocals, which personally I enjoy, are still central ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Jet - Shine On I can’t believe I’m saying this but the newJetalbum isn’t that bad. It’s a shame that I find this surprising because I used to be quite a big fan of Jet. Their performance at Big Day Out 2004 was a favourite and even today it’s hard to deny that their first album was pretty impressive. But like so many others, I turned against them due to either the direction they took or the nature of their newfound fans. I expected and almost hoped that their second record would be a failure. I put down t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah I should probably let you know that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Scissor Sisters’ self-titled debut effort. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. It contained a number of highly entertaining songs which I’d enjoy if they ever came on, yet I was never compelled to listen much to the album. I guess I saw it as more of a novelty (with a flamboyant homosexual on lead (high pitched) vocals, can you blame me?). Well with their second album they’ve produced largely the same effect. There’s ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah I should probably let you know that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Scissor Sisters’ self-titled debut effort. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. It contained a number of highly entertaining songs which I’d enjoy if they ever came on, yet I was never compelled to listen much to the album. I guess I saw it as more of a novelty (with a flamboyant homosexual on lead (high pitched) vocals, can you blame me?). Well with their second album they’ve produced largely the same effect. There’s ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love When I think back toThe Rapture’s first album, I think weird. Sure there were the dancy tracks, but they felt more like fillers, while the obscure, indie-rock songs led the way. Well on their latest album the dance tracks rule supreme and while it’s a fairly significant shift, I actually don’t mind it. The clear and constant mood throughout this album is quite simply, fun. I think the film clip to the lead single “Get Myself Into It” summed this up perfectly. Synchronised dancing on roller- ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love When I think back to The Rapture’s first album, I think weird. Sure there were the dancy tracks, but they felt more like fillers, while the obscure, indie-rock songs led the way. Well on their latest album the dance tracks rule supreme and while it’s a fairly significant shift, I actually don’t mind it. The clear and constant mood throughout this album is quite simply, fun. I think the film clip to the lead single “Get Myself Into It” summed this up perfectly. Synchronised dancing on ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Killers - Sam's Town The sound ofThe Killers’ new album holds all their familiar traits, but at the same time represents a move in a new direction. The guitars and keyboards still dominate and the vocals remain unchanged, yet this album sounds significantly different. I think the main difference lies in the tempo. They either seem rushed or stuck in two minds over what pace their aiming for. The result is an album that overwhelmingly feels off. Another thing that is immediately noticeable with this record is th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Killers - Sam's Town The sound of The Killers’ new album holds all their familiar traits, but at the same time represents a move in a new direction. The guitars and keyboards still dominate and the vocals remain unchanged, yet this album sounds significantly different. I think the main difference lies in the tempo. They either seem rushed or stuck in two minds over what pace their aiming for. The result is an album that overwhelmingly feels off. Another thing that is immediately noticeable with this recor ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Chalets - Check In When I was first introduced toThe Chaletsit was to their profanity filled ‘Love Punch’ and let’s just say it didn’t set my expectations high. It’s not that I’ve got anything against swearing, definitely not, but in such excess was just too much. But knowing full-well how misleading first impressions can be, I went out and got their album anyway. The Chalets are two girls, two boys and a drummer (their own joke) from Dublin, who formed because it sounded like fun. But lucky for them, they po ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Chalets - Check In When I was first introduced to The Chalets it was to their profanity filled ‘Love Punch’ and let’s just say it didn’t set my expectations high. It’s not that I’ve got anything against swearing, definitely not, but in such excess was just too much. But knowing full-well how misleading first impressions can be, I went out and got their album anyway. The Chalets are two girls, two boys and a drummer (their own joke) from Dublin, who formed because it sounded like fun. But lucky for them, ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bishop Allen I’ve talked about intimacy and closeness in bands before, butBishop Allenperhaps do it best off all. Whenever I listen to their music I feel like they’re performing it directly to me (expensive headphones definitely help). It’s a weird effect for sure, but it gives you a warm feeling and makes each song sound uniquely special. But this is just one in a number of things that make these Brooklyn based band rather unorthodox. Firstly, they don’t stick to conventional song structures, rather do ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bishop Allen I’ve talked about intimacy and closeness in bands before, but Bishop Allen perhaps do it best off all. Whenever I listen to their music I feel like they’re performing it directly to me (expensive headphones definitely help). It’s a weird effect for sure, but it gives you a warm feeling and makes each song sound uniquely special. But this is just one in a number of things that make these Brooklyn based band rather unorthodox. Firstly, they don’t stick to conventional song structures, r ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dappled Cities Fly Dappled Cities Fly – Peach Dappled are their own genre. They incorporate elements of traditional indie-rock sounds with experimentation, quirky lyrics and a healthy dose of high-pitched exclamation. The result is music with genuine intimacy, where you fall in love with every little twist and turn. It isn’t necessarily the type of music that strikes you as outstanding, yet you’d be hard-pressed finding a fault with it. Each song is masterfully created. The added bonus is that all this tra ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British India British India – The Time Listening to this song alone and making a connection with their name, you might make the incorrect assumption that British India is some sort of fusion between British rock and Indian strangeness. But no, this song is a one off foray into such quirky territory. Their main style would probably be better described as straight out garage rock. What makes them special however, is that with this and another favourite Outside 109, they’ve already proved they’re capab ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Red Riders Red Riders - I Think You're Blind I find it strange how you can listen to a band, not think anything of them, then weeks later hear them again and feel like you’ve always loved them. This emergence of dormant feelings towards music seems to be a common occurrence for me. In fact it seems that none of the bands I really like appealed to me at first. Well anyway, this is what occurred with Red Riders. I’d heard their EP off my brother’s friend’s brother a couple of times, but only upon s ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Figurines - Skeleton Listening to Figurines I am always very aware of the tempo. It ranges from ultra-fast to sparse and to all the betweens. As any listener would know, such tempo is measured by toe tapping and when listening to this album you’ll be doing plenty of it. The singer’s voice is yet another unique sound, the type that makes you wonder how odd they’d sound in normal conservation. As with most of the bands I feature, variation is plentiful here, something I very much value. Strangely enough I ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Occupational Hazards THE CAPES- When somebody recommends you music that you gave to them in the first place, you know something’s wrong. But when you’re overwhelmed with loads of great music, the slip can be forgiven. Once my oversight was rectified, I gave The Capes’ new album Hello its deserved play-time and it was indeed worth the recommendation. In short it’s a diverse serving of energetic pop pieces filled with innovative guitar and keyboard riffs that sounds fresh to the very end.Mexican Broads– Just list ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Islands Are Forever I surprise myself how many times I mistakenly refer to this band as The Unicorns. Now why would I do such a thing? Well because this band is actual two thirds Unicorn. Yes, The Islands are the official next project of half of everybody’s favourite quirky singing duo. Unicorns’ singer Nicholas Thorburn and drummer Jamie Thompson formed the band after the 2004 break-up and while similarities may be drawn, this is a brand new project, complete with a new sound. Speaking of new sound, some of t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 10- "Fin" I'm sad to say that the time has come for me to finish the particular series....For now. It seems you'll have to get high on your own supply of music for a while. But fear not, I'm not plunging you completely into darkness for there is a faint light at the end of tunnel and that light is my next series. So until then....er....hold me now? Anyway back to normal speak, I'm taking a break for a while in order to build up some new songs. Basically the musical world doesn't pump out good music a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fin I'm sad to say that the time has come for me to finish the particular series....For now. It seems you'll have to get high on your own supply of music for a while. But fear not, I'm not plunging you completely into darkness for there is a faint light at the end of tunnel and that light is my next series. So until then....er....hold me now? Anyway back to normal speak, I'm taking a break for a while in order to build up some new songs. Basically the musical world doesn't pump out good music a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 9- "TBA" How apathetic I'm becoming. I couldn't even be bothered thinking of a witty namethis week. As the name suggests, I may think of something later and fill it in. But for now you have only the music to keep you happy, this music:1) You only live once - The StrokesI actually think this is song is being played on the radio now so the fact that I have the whole album is negated. Yes, I have this album one month before it's release. The internet is sweet. Overall I think it's good, it definitely d ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website TBA How apathetic I'm becoming. I couldn't even be bothered thinking of a witty namethis week. As the name suggests, I may think of something later and fill it in. But for now you have only the music to keep you happy, this music:1) You only live once - The StrokesI actually think this is song is being played on the radio now so the fact that I have the whole album is negated. Yes, I have this album one month before it's release. The internet is sweet. Overall I think it's good, it definitely d ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 8 - "The Exceptional" This week'sunintentional theme seems to be good songs off bad albums. Being an album person rather than a song person, I tend to use bands I like in general and then feature one of their songs here. However a few of the songs intoday's episodeI really don't like the album they're off. Also this week I've delved back into the unknown a bit. Whereas the last couple of weeks I've been name dropping from my back-catalogue,this weekfeatures songs that haven't yet passed the test of time. So don’ ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Exceptional This week'sunintentional theme seems to be good songs off bad albums. Being an album person rather than a song person, I tend to use bands I like in general and then feature one of their songs here. However a few of the songs intoday's episodeI really don't like the album they're off. Also this week I've delved back into the unknown a bit. Whereas the last couple of weeks I've been name dropping from my back-catalogue,this weekfeatures songs that haven't yet passed the test of time. So don’ ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 7- "Reprezent" This weekfeatures bands all from different countries. Nothing particularly special about this, I just noticed it as I was picking. Positive aspects of globalisation such as this far outweigh the slave labourers. It really only features us, United Kingdom and North America but come to think of it there isn't too many more predominately English speaking, quality music producing countries out there.....1) Are you the one? - The PresetsThese guys are Aussie electro-dance-rockers who are apparen ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reprezent This weekfeatures bands all from different countries. Nothing particularly special about this, I just noticed it as I was picking. Positive aspects of globalisation such as this far outweigh the slave labourers. It really only features us, United Kingdom and North America but come to think of it there isn't too many more predominately English speaking, quality music producing countries out there.....1) Are you the one? - The PresetsThese guys are Aussie electro-dance-rockers who are apparen ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 6- "Indie Kids United" I'm beginning to run out of REALLY unknown bands so I'm now delving into the semi-known bands. You may or may not have heard of them but either way you should like them. This week especially, features a few big (in my opinion) "Indie" (whatever it is this genre includes these days) names. Now if you think that sentence had poor structure you are correct. But enough said, on to the songs:1) Lapse in Conversation - NeonThis song fills my weekly local content quota. It is a good song however I ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Indie Kids United I'm beginning to run out of REALLY unknown bands so I'm now delving into the semi-known bands. You may or may not have heard of them but either way you should like them. This week especially, features a few big (in my opinion) "Indie" (whatever it is this genre includes these days) names. Now if you think that sentence had poor structure you are correct. But enough said, on to the songs:1) Lapse in Conversation - NeonThis song fills my weekly local content quota. It is a good song however I ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 5- "Freakin' Wolf References...." This episodeis a bit bigger than previous ones but due to it's length I had to choose between size and quality. I'm currently trying to throw together a playlist for Triple J's Aus-Music Month so I didn't have TOO much time to go looking for songs. So a couple of these sings are ones I picked for that. Also this week there's a couple of songs which are in no way new but I thought perhaps some people might never have heard of them - what a shame that would be. And here they are:1) Colossal - ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Freakin' Wolf References.... This episodeis a bit bigger than previous ones but due to it's length I had to choose between size and quality. I'm currently trying to throw together a playlist for Triple J's Aus-Music Month so I didn't have TOO much time to go looking for songs. So a couple of these sings are ones I picked for that. Also this week there's a couple of songs which are in no way new but I thought perhaps some people might never have heard of them - what a shame that would be. And here they are:1) Colossal - ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 4- "Big Cop Out" This episodeis to celebrate the stupidly fast sell-out of Big Day Out and is designed to make those who got tickets feel good about themselves and those who didn't cry. It's also the first time I've delved into area of 'specials' - in other words 'easy way outs' for me. It contains songs by the bands I recommend from the first announcement. I decided not to use The White Stripes or Franz Ferdinand because they're pretty well known already and I think everyone has they're minds made up wheth ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Big Cop Out This Episodeis to celebrate the stupidly fast sell-out of Big Day Out and is designed to make those who got tickets feel good about themselves and those who didn't cry. It's also the first time I've delved into area of 'specials' - in other words 'easy way outs' for me. It contains songs by the bands I recommend from the first announcement. I decided not to use The White Stripes or Franz Ferdinand because they're pretty well known already and I think everyone has they're minds made up wheth ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 3 - "She says" This week's episodefeatures, for the first time, a couple of female singers. I actually considered at one point doing an all-female episode. But I decided against it which was probably for the best. As you can see I've also started naming each episode rather than just numbering them - just to make things more interesting. You shall be enjoying:1) Postcard of a Painting - Maximo ParkGreat British band who recently released a very solid (debut I think) album "A certain trigger". I've always f ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website She says This week's episodefeatures, for the first time, a couple of female singers. I actually considered at one point doing an all-female episode. But I decided against it which was probably for the best. As you can see I've also started naming each episode rather than just numbering them - just to make things more interesting. You shall be enjoying:1) Postcard of a Painting - Maximo ParkGreat British band who recently released a very solid (debut I think) album "A certain trigger". I've always f ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 2 What an achievment, I've made it toepisode two. This week consisted of agonisingly scrutenising over what the best song of various albums were and then ending up not using most of them. Maybe next week. Anyway here it is, some of the songs are a but strange but overall i think it's good. Songs are as follows:1) Cigerette Smoke - Arctic MonkeysI was recently introduced to this band and instantly liked them. They are British (i think) and only been around for a very short time, releasing thei ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chilly Chimps What an achievment, I've made it toepisode two. This week consisted of agonisingly scrutenising over what the best song of various albums were and then ending up not using most of them. Maybe next week. Anyway here it is, some of the songs are a but strange but overall i think it's good. Songs are as follows:1) Cigerette Smoke - Arctic MonkeysI was recently introduced to this band and instantly liked them. They are British (i think) and only been around for a very short time, releasing thei ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Episode 1 Here isepisode 1of "Open your eyes". It doesn't have as much variety as i would have liked but it will do for the first episode and hopefully there's something here you'll like. If not, don't be put off, it may just be a bad week. Each song is introduced by me despite the fact i can't stand my recorded voice and you probably can't understand it. They are also very crudely put together so may not sound too good but hopefully once i become aquainted with the technology things will sound alot ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Welcome Listener(s) Here isepisode 1of "Open your eyes". It doesn't have as much variety as i would have liked but it will do for the first episode and hopefully there's something here you'll like. If not, don't be put off, it may just be a bad week. Each song is introduced by me despite the fact i can't stand my recorded voice and you probably can't understand it. They are also very crudely put together so may not sound too good but hopefully once i become aquainted with the technology things will sound alot ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website