Dressed In Wild Colonial Gold & Red

Brisbane's Nikko have been busy with supports for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and Boris, plus having made a brief sojourn to Melbourne. And although one member still lies ensconced in that chilly city, and other projects have occupied some (Ryan Potter's The Scrapes and The Maryettas getting shows around Brisbane), they are about to drag you further down into their darkly eloquent Gothic Outback Western apocrypha as they prepare to drop new LP Gold & Red through the stellar tenzenmen Records (alongside Music Fix).

Opening with the brooding, ominous 'The Child', Nikko envelop you with their atmospheric wall of sound, here perfectly captured by Cam Smith (of Tiny Spiders/Ghost Notes/St Augustus fame, and whose recording efforts include Velociraptor and the mighty No Anchor) in the cavernous orchestral hall of Brisbane's historic Old Museum. In fact, such an environment is perfectly suited to the band's melodic post-rock steeped aesthetic, with that lost country twang in the saddle also (the drawl of 'About The Spirit' perfectly exemplifies this). Aaron Cupples (The Drones, Snowman) and Nao Anzai (Laura, Because of Ghosts) mixed and mastered respectively, and their presence is immediate. Anzai in particular is well versed in these instrumental-based multi-layered sounds. Ryan Potter's voice is beautifully captured here, which isn't an easy task (his deep baritone can lose its rich timbre if not mixed properly). In fact Gold & Red is epic in every sense, the noisy moments are incredibly emotive, the quiet moments offered enough space to dance to its own tune without feeling perfunctory. 'Never Danced' is one of the most beautiful songs they have ever created, whilst the chugging rush of 'Dark Eyes' is a locomotive of smouldering tension. The title track is the most likely to evoke Western epics like Deadwood or The Proposition in its plaintive plinks, the itch before the storm, and it is the perfect example of how clever and evocative these guys' compositions are.


Nikko continue to carve a unique path across the Australian musical landscape, and Gold & Red is further proof that such rustic post-rock mysticism is warranted - nay, vital - to our Australian musical landscape.

The album is out on CD soon, and later on gold & red vinyl - I'm gettin' me some o that! They are also launching the album at The Waiting Room on Saturday June 23, as well as having an in store at Tyms in July before embarking on a national tour.

Brisbane Outfit Give Off Nihilistic Spirit

I posted a few months ago about an instrumental act from Australia, The Scrapes. We have seen some amazing acts come from their that really push the boundaries of sound (Dirty Three, Love of Diagrams, Because Of Ghosts), and it seems in my absence that this trend has continued. Another Brisbane band to stretch the sonic climes are Ghost Notes, a four piece intent on infusing jazz and folk compositions with post-rock melodrama. I don''t know much about them, other than they released an EP a while back at Incremental Records (which cane be found here), and are recording a debut LP - if the end result is anything like 'The Nihilist' though, consider me hooked.

Ghost Notes - The Nihilist

A Ghostly Presence

Another band that I havent got out of my system since gaining my iPod privileges back is Because of Ghosts. An instrumental rock three-piece that call Melbourne their home, Because of Ghosts have honed their post-rock leanings over almost a decade of incessant touring. They utilise looped guitar, bass, field recordings, wind-up toys and drums to merge eerily abrasive experimentalism with moments of gently shimmering calm. Its something special to think that a band that proscribes to the 'post-rock' genre can scratch out a niche all of their own - and these guys have easily done that. The organic nature of each track is not only impressive, but etches itself into your psyche so effortlessly that its unbelievable they haven't received more recognition! Even if they have some heavy hitters in their corner - Efren and Howard of Godspeed! You Black Emperor helped with the production of their 2nd LP, This Culture of Background Noise, with some appearances by G!YBE's Theirry and Jessica...

Well, I aim to rectify that today. Please hunt down their releases - there aren't many, and they are immaculately decked out, with the artwork done by guitarist Reuben Stanton. They are brilliant - make sure you give them their dues, stat!

Because of Ghosts - Dreaming Is Essential
Because of Ghosts - You Fool! Your House Is Built On A Frozen Lake

When The Brady Bunch encountered post-rock

Europe, and Scandinavia in particular, has been the home to some of the best 'post-rock' bands in the world. Coming from Australia, where post-rock seems destined to remain a fleeting undercurrent (bands such as Because of Ghosts and Laura, two of the best post-rock bands ANYWHERE, keep the flame burning, but only just), it is such a pleasant surprise to see and hear so many bands here expanding on the notions of what post-rock encapsulates. And whilst the term post-rock usually implies a lack of vocals, there are many bands adhering to the genre's dynamics whilst adding vocals as 'assistance'.

Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson is one of those bands.

These Norwegians met at school back in 2004, deciding to form a band and yet unsure of what sound they would make their own. So they wrote a clutch of songs that covered a range of genres. It was one song, A list not to be read at your wedding, that the guys were most happy with and went about constructing songs using this as their foundation. The result was their lovely debut Unnoticeable in a Tiny Town, Invisible in the City. It took another 5 years before they produced their second self-titled LP, out this month. It has all the hallmarks of 'vocal-assisted' post rock - dreamy, soaring shoegaze guitars, floating reverbed lyrics, echoing shouts, cascading cymbals and rolling snares, all building to that ephemeral release that so enraptures loud/quiet enthusiasts. YPOFH arent a generic band, however. The band has returned in such a lovingly grandiose fashion, offering a double album of immense appeal (both musically and packaging-wise) that will have listeners floating in the ether of their own mindscapes for hours, days, months to come. There is a calm serenity that permeates each song, even when exploding into more heavy landscapes like in I Think E.T. Is Involved In My Family (an admittedly terrible song title). They hold onto the esoteric wanderings of post-rock wizards Explosions in the Sky, and whilst not reaching the heights of the Texan legends, it really is the vocals that elevates YPOFH above the also-rans - no more so than the album closer, Scientists Now Think This City Is Overdue, where the vocals are brought to the fore.

Oh, and the moniker? Came from the boys sitting around and hearing the phrase 'nude pictures of Florence Henderson' on the news. It makes sense - that the titillation of Mrs Brady porn would elicit the nucleus for a Scandinavian post-rock outfit? If only all good ideas came from such realms...

Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson - He Can't Be Dead, I Got His Autograph Last Week