Sonic Masala Presents - Twin Haus' Nothing Lavish EP Launch and Australian Tour

Keeping the sporadic posts yet the more together premieres rolling, we have a release here that Sonic Masala is promoting. Nothing Lavish is the second EP from Brisbane band Twin Haus. The four-track release kicks off with the 9 minute long Radiohead-meets-cracked-Cordrazine 'Synthetic Egg' - the building atmospherics buoyed and pierced by the horns is both haunting and hedonistic, a swirling miasma of widescreen asceticism that is breathtaking in its audacity - the final euphoric moments evoking ()-era Sigur Ros. Lofty comparisons there, I know - but this opening track really slapped me in the face with how lavishly confident these boys are. It bleeds into the brooding ASDL stutter and Tortoise sharp sputters of 'Self-Love', spiralling outward into a distorted whitewash at the end of its meticulous two minutes. 'I Used To Think', the lead single, is the most "palatable" of the four tracks - the most obvious signifiers of Twin Haus all present and accounted for. It flitters on the edges of much-missed Sydneysiders Parades, while also offering the slight-psych sheen of early Temper Trap, while closer 'The Revue' is a serpent, slinking through the shimmering confines of their glossy aesthetic, again playing with artistic reverence (Holy Fuck combine with more prosaic psych rock touchstones) and aired avarice, in a double-digit-minute monolith that sounds like the record skips from 33 to 45rpms in the final third. Some seriously awe-inspiring moments on this record - Twin Haus have taken some recognisable, somewhat staid mainstream signposts and woven intricate, somewhat aggressive segues and flourishes around them. These tracks will sound brilliant live, and most of Australia will get the chance to experience this in April and May as they launch on a massive tour, taking in most of the country including plenty of rural outlets. See the artwork and full run of dates below.

Friday, April 1: Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane

Saturday, April 2: Grand Hotel, Bundaberg

Thursday, April 7: Soundlounge, Gold Coast

Friday, April 8: The Helm, Mooloolaba

Saturday, April 9: The Northern, Byron Bay

Thursday, April 14: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Sydney

Friday, April 15: The Small Bandroom, Newcastle

Saturday, April 16: Blurst of Times Festival, Brisbane

Wednesday, April 20: Rad Bar, Wollongong

Thursday, April 21: Hotel Steyne, Manly

Friday, April 22: Basement, Canberra

Saturday, April 23: Family Hotel, Katoomba

Thursday, April 28: The Workers Club, Geelong

Friday, April 29: Shebeen, Melbourne

Saturday, April 30: Major Tom's, Kneyton

Thursday, May 5: The Loft, Warrnambool

Friday, May 6: Pririe & Co Social Club, Adelaide

Wednesday, May 11: Four5Nine, Perth

Thursday, May 12: Highway Hotel, Bunbury

Friday, May 13: Dunsborough Hotel, Dunsborough

Saturday, May 14: The Carine, Duncraig 

Nothing Lavish is out today via Bedlam Records.

The Spectre Of Radiohead Past

I know that a gazillion posts about this song will have infiltrated and clogged the internet by now - but Radiohead recorded a song for the Bond movie SPECTRE (which it must be said was fun but incredibly overrated - but I'm not a Bond man so what would I know?) The song takes me back to Kid A/Amnesiac era Radiohead, which played a great part in my musical "development" - I may not listen to those albums (or this band) very much anymore, but the mists of nostalgia come over me when I hear Yorke's voice wafting over sweeping strings like this. Anyway, it's a far sight better than the insipid Sam Smith in my opinion...

A Communal Late Night At Gaza

I thought I would end on this piece of ambient brilliance tonight. I'm physically and mentally drained, and 'Nablus' from NY's Ajnabi (the song is one of two abstract reflections/meditations on the situation in Palestine crafted after spending a time volunteering in the West Bank) has me close to tears. I had a conversation only yesterday with James, the guitarist from Violent Soho, about those moments where music moves you in such a way, and that those moments don't appear as often as you get older, or wiser, or more cynical...I don't know. I still remember when I saw the emotion on display at the 2009 Glastonbury when Blur reformed. I didn't get it, that much invested emotion into one thing... But songs like 'Nablus' pulls me back. Ive been looking over the twinkling lights of Brisbane, this plugged into my cerebral vortex, and I started to remember all the moments when it DID mean something: dancing to Mogwai by the side of the road at 4.30am, the fog starting to lift, the sun starting to rear its weary head; listening to Sigur Ros as the sunset lit up Mt Cook in New Zealand in various pastel hues; Radiohead causing my breath to catch when 'Like Spinning Plates' staggered over an awestruck Melbourne crowd. The list kept spooling forth - listening to My Father My King for the first time, or Raveonettes' Whip It On ad nauseum one heady evening, or when Source Tags & Codes first came out...then there is the first time I heard The Who's 'The Seeker', or Led Zep's 'When The Levee Breaks'; Alex Maas sing 'The Sniper', or Dad playing Born In The USA. All of these things are me, they make me who I am. And at this very moment, at this core second within the miasma of infinite seconds, I am Ajnabi too.

Ajnabi - Nablus

The Elusive Lushness Of Banjo Or Freakout

Im not sure what made me ignore Banjo Or Freakout for as long as I have. It certainly wasnt a conscious decision - there was even a couple gigs where I spotted the name and thought "I should really check that guy out" - but never did. But then I inadvertently heard '105', the opening track off the Italian-born Londoner's self-titled debut (his real name is Alessio Natalizia). I think it was on Stereogum? Anyway, I heard it, and was sucked in by the warmth and sweetness to it. Sparse beats give the song a lilting feel, with guitars filling out the rest of the rhythm pattern and soft, faraway vocals. The album follows in a similar vein - an ambient pop album. There are influences smattered throughout - Deerhunter, Electric Light Parade, Radiohead, doo wop - and some of the tracks could do with some tightening. But I dunno - this really resonates with me, especially after several concerted listenings. I know in the past month Ive spoken about drone and psych albums being a full album experience - well, Banjo Or Freakout is a full album experience. But this is much more accessible - beautiful atmospherics, textured melodies, and Natalizia's gushy vocals, an understudy to Bradford Cox. This is a lushly created album, with some classic songs. Just don the headphones and drift away, the slimmest of smiles on your face, and you will find yourself considerably indulged.

Banjo Or Freakout is out now. You may have missed him in London earlier this month - but dont worry he lives here, he'll be back! In the meantime the US will be graced with his understated presence - touring the country with Papercuts in March/April.

Banjo Or Freakout - 105
Banjo Or Freakout - Dear Me

1 Millionth Post About Radiohead...

Yep, King Of Limbs is out. Im going to reserve my comments til Paul is back in the house. Ive heard he is morphing into a Thom Yorke/Jarvis Cocker hybrid - Jarvis Yorker? Thom Cock? Anyway, he's loving it. So watch Garth Jennings' vid for 'Lotus Flower' below... Its a bloody great video. Although the moves aren't original - I pull those suckers after enough tequila shots with a pint chaser down at the Duke Of Lonsdale...

Travolta Given The Chance At Another Comeback - via Oxford

The Rock Of Travolta hail from Oxford, a place that along with Leeds has produced its fair share of post rock behemoths in the past. The quintet have been around for a while - their last LP, the critically well-received and John Peel endorsed Uluru, came out eight years ago back in 2003, and Radiohead personally chose them to support them after its release - and finally, after a self-imposed exile and a lineup change, they are ready to drop their newie, Fine Lines.

The band - Jennie Bates alternating between playing bass, keyboards and cello, Matt Spooner playing guitar, bass and keyboards, Dave Warrington on guitar, Joe Durow on drums and Jon Carter playing bass - have carved out nine songs of bombastic, meaty riffs, coupled with thunderous percussive beats and atmospherics due to electronic glitches and the majesty of strings. There are times that you feel it shouldn't work, especially on opener 'Rock By Numbers', but it invariably does - 'The Goddamn Remote' is one track that showcases all elements of TROT's repertoire. Yet their most complete piece is the closer 'Something's Wrong With The TV Generation' - a slow building track that follows in the tire tracks of Mono or Slint at their earliest and most beautifully brutal. Good stuff.

Fine Lines is out on Big Red Sky Records on March 14th. The Rock Of Travolta will be playing at Monto Water Rats March 9th - well worth checking out.

The Rock Of Travolta - Last March Of The Acolytes
The Rock Of Travolta - Something's Wrong With The TV Generation

TV Candy Is No Good For Paperghosts

Sonorous Circle, a Wellington, NZ based collective (also helping out fellow Kiwis Glass Vaults), sent us the debut LP by Zach Webber AKA Paperghost, The Teledermatologist's Handbook. It is an eclectic affair, a sound pastiche of etchings of a computer dystopia, if said dystopia was in a Commodore 64. Think The Books and Radiohead as done via an Animal Collective-constructed TRON. It drifts along just out of your reach, each song an eerie mist that envelops you just to dissipate and lead you further away into disorientation. Its understated drums and xylophonic tappings in 'Sneaker Country' really got me, along with Webber's whispered AnCo-esque vocals. And then there's 'In The Future We Will Go To War So We Can Base New Computer Games On New Wars'... Its certainly a quirky album, but assured in its strangeness. Definitely worthy of your time.

You can pick up the LP from Paperghost's Bandcamp site here.

Paperghost - In The Future We Will Go To War So We Can Base New Computer Games On New Wars

Paperghost - Sneaker Country

Electioneering

Topical excuse for a track type post, 'cos today is the day the election, offically, kicks off. Or is it an excuse for me to post up an old Radiohead track? mmm... what do you think?

Radiohead - Electioneering

Pyramid Wings

YouTube subscriber fakeplasticandroid has created an amazing film clip to Radiohead's brilliant "Pyramid Song" Off 2001's Amnesiac, cutting the song to sections of Wim Wenders' wonderful film Wings of Desire. Great song, great film.

Jonny Greenwood Scores Again

As any Radiohead fan can attest, the band's brilliance is just as influenced by the weird wizardry of guitarist/multi-instrumentalist wunderkind Jonny Greenwood as it is by frontman Thom Yorke. If this was ever in doubt, a listen to the two film soundtracks he has scored - BBC human documentary Bodysong and PT Anderson's oil-drilling drama/horror opus There Will Be Blood (which he should have won an Oscar for - seriously, he wasnt even nominated! Babel was good, but not that good...) - will have you in thrall with his amazingly textured compositions.

So it is with an enormous amount of excitement that I can say that Greenwood is scoring again - this time for an adaptation of seminal Japanese author Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood, to be directed by celebrated Vietnamese director Anh Hung Tran (Vertical Rays of the Sun, The Scent of Green Papaya). It is a a bit of a way off, although the genesis of the score is said to come from a piece he has written called "Doghouse".

We will keep you informed. In the meantime, hunt down Greenwood's other soundtracks, watch the films, and read the book.

And fingers crossed (although highly unlikely) that the above picture can become reality this time around!!!

The Glove Fits #3 - Wish You Were Here (literally)

This week's trip down memory lane has been hastily erected - my original piece was all set and ready to go, but a tragic event has taken precedence - the tragic suicide of singer songwriter Mark Linkous, more commonly known by his bedroom folk pop moniker Sparklehorse. He was found outside his friend's home in Tennessee on Saturday with a self inflicted shotgun wound in the chest. This news has sent tremors throughout the music world - Linkous has collaborated with some of the world's greatests producers and musicians, and has left behind a unique canon of music that was engaging, ethereal and hauntingly beautiful.

So whilst my thoughts are tainted with sadness, Im choosing a song that, whilst not written by him, has stuck with me ever since I heard it, and his version has epitomised everything that I hold dear.

I first heard Pink Floyd when I was a kid. My father never listened to music that often, but one of my favourite memories of my childhood was when it rained on the farm on weekends. Dad would down tools and spend the Sunday at home, hanging out with me and my sister, playing his records. He put me onto Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen, my platform for my burgeoning love of music, but Pink Floyd wasnt his strong suit. Nevertheless, it was Dad who put me onto songs like Another Brick In The Wall, Comfortably Numb, and this one, Wish You Were Here.

And yet it wasnt until my first year of university that I truly embraced the song. I have my friend Hugh to thank. We used to sit around on a sunny hungover morning (and there were many) and sing along. These memories have always stuck with me, so that even when some two-bit busker or deluded cover artist is strangling it, I still hum along.

But my favourite version, for whatever reason, isnt the original. As Sparklehorse, Mark Linkous supported Radiohead on their OK Computer tour, where he became good friends with the band, particularly Jonny Greenwood, who spoke of Linkous' death on his blog:

"His first two records were very important to me, and I carried his music from the tour into my life, and my friends' lives too ... Mark wrote and played some beautiful music, and we're lucky to have it."

On that tour, Sparklehorse did an EP which featured Linkous and Thom Yorke doing a ghostly rendition of the song.

So I send out my condolences to all who have been touched by Linkous and his music, and endeavour to make sure his music lives on in our hearts.

RIP Mark Linkous (1962-2010) - wish you were here.

Sparklehorse (feat. Thom Yorke) - Wish You Were Here

Drop the Atom bomb on us, Thom!

Unless you've been living under a sound proofed gargantuan rock for some time, you would have heard of the 'supergroup' that Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke put together in order to play live his solo gear in a beefier fashion. The band - Yorke, Red Hot Chilli Peppers bassist extraordinaire Flea, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, REM/Beck/in demand everywhere skinsman Joey Waronker, and percussion man Mauro Refesco - finally have a moniker - Atoms For Peace. And they loved the performances back in October last year so much, they are touring again later this year. So far, only the US, ending with Coachella - but fingers crossed Thom drops the (Atom) bomb UK-side in the near future!

Got to start somewhere...

So the first blog entry, always a toughy. I've had this strange thing about the first song I play in a new house or flat. That moment when you set the stereo up for the first time, the first time is really important. Well it is to me and its always been a Radiohead track. Yeah I know, predicable if you know me. But hopefully the song wont be.

Well, you've got to start somewhere...

The Amazing sounds of Orgy - Radiohead