Grieg Retaliates Ferociously

Grieg are a newish band in Brisbane with some serious pedigree. John plays in Dick Nasty and Undead Apes; Alex plays in No Anchor and is involved in brilliant project A Savage God; and Tamara is from gargantuan party-starters/killers HITS. Their debut LP Retaliate First combines all the brutal elements from these backgrounds, presenting a triple-pronged assault on the senses. There is the acidic humour and hubris in the lyrics; the black riffs of 80s metal at its highest ebb; and thundering, deliberate drumming that controls as it pummels. The jacket once again emblazoned with Gillies' brilliant artwork, this is a record that is nests in your brain, with more to unlock with each listen, a hook to savour, a line to chuckle or cheer for, a break that halts the breath. Bring on the noise.

Getting Grieg On The Humpday

(Photo by Steven Schnorrer)

It's the middle of the week, and I'm keeping things decidedly Australian and heavy in this humpday. New band on the Brisbane block Grieg is ripe with hardcore knowledge and noisy neglect, and they have just announced that they finally have an album in the wings, recorded by Cameron Smith at Incremental Records and coming out in March. Named after the composer Edvard Grieg (but more likely named after the Grieg Funeral Home in seminal thriller Silence Of The Lambs, if I know Alex Gillies at all), the trio are taking all comers and ripping them new breathing holes - politely of course. And the acerbic wordsmithery of John Mercer shows no signs of slowing down if the name of the first taste of the album is anything to go by. Bring the filth and the fury - this sounds excellent.

The Roar Of The Golden Geordie

You can never keep a good Geordie down. Especially when talking about Brisbane’s Geordie Stafford. The guy has been fully entrenched in Brisbane’s hardcore and punk scene for many years, and his work with Dick Nasty and Teargas in particular have left indelible marks on the sonic landscape.

He is never not busy though. Over the course of the last few years he has been constantly churning out solo stuff under the moniker Golden Bats. He is up to his sixth EP – released back on Record Store Day on CD-R (as have all his EPs, and the very small run booklet containing them all sold out by 11am on the day). Admittedly it’s been a year or so since V came out – and VI is in the same vein, all snarling doom metal clamour, a one man maelstrom that draws from, plays with, bows down to and turns his back on all the basic tropes of metal. That drum machine (except for on opener ‘Mountain Eyes’) holds its own over much of the drumming you hear in other, more profile-laden acts – whether that’s an indictment, a technological miracle, or just plain cool, is up to you. But Stafford loves roaring with delay, gnashing with dirge-dripping delirium; slaying riff after riff. Golden Bats is his excuse to live in his perfect netherworld – and we should be thankful that he lets us in.

You can grab all six EPs for free download here. There are 15 copies of VI as CD-R left too – expect them to fly out the door.

Ain't No Sad Summers With Texas Tea

 

After bringing out a cassingle – yes, a cassingle – a month ago, local alt. country luminaries Texas Tea have just delivered their 3rd LP Sad Summer Hits (through Mere Noise), just in time for the summer heat to rear its ugly/attractive head (the Brisbane heat has to be one of the most debated topics of conversation that I know of come October every year), and hot damn if it isn’t a doozy!

It isn’t surprising that the 12 songs on offer are electric – Kate Jacobsen and Ben Dougherty have been in scintillating form in the live arena of late, especially when they flesh out the combo to four or more – but the levels of satisfaction is. It’s all down to both the growing confidence and maturity of the duo’s songwriting, the stripping away of what little apprehensions that may have still been in place, and a surety of aim and purpose. Such is the case with ‘Lily’, a song that there is a burly, robust nature to the track that juxtaposes the stately melancholy of ‘I Know That I Let You Down This Time’ perfectly. You’ll know that I don’t write about this stuff often, but seeing as two of my favourite all time are Neil Young’s After The Goldrush and Songs:Ohia’s Magnolia Electric Co., I don’t take this lightly either. Texas Tea are still in my mind a criminally underrated Australian band, and if Sad Summer Hits doesn’t do great things for them, then the Powers that Be are cruel, maniacal bastards of the greatest disrepute. There…I said it.

 

Sad Summer Hits is out now – get it here (as you will see, they love their trinkets, what with the personalised tea towels and teaspoons on offer). They are launching this beauty at The Zoo on October 26, with help from The Gin Club and James X Boyd and the CEOs. I can’t say I'm happy about this, seeing as it falls on both the Dick Nasty album launch (you’ll hear more about this soon) but also (and more importantly) on the middle night of the Waiting Room/Sonic Masala Presents celebrations… But you gotta do what you gotta do, I guess…

Texas Tea - Lily
Texas Tea - I know That I Have Let You Down This Time

Set These Bats Aflame

I have to say - Brisbane, you are doing a fine job in razing conventions to the ground, with some excellent doom-laden acts scorching the earth. Of course the leading contender (in my heavily biased opinion) is No Anchor. One you may not be aware of though is Golden Bats, Geordie from Dick Nasty/Teargas' solo project. He has two EPs available on Bandcamp (called I and II), and the plaintive yet evocative cover spells it all out for you. A skull spewing a skull spewing fire? A besaddled rat with some dude sleeping on its back? Its dark, heavy dirgey metal with a sense of humour. You've gotta love that!

Golden Bats - Wooden City

You can get I for free here, plus purchase II there too. Georgie has almost finished the third release and is ready to roll out the fourth - its an assembly line of destruction kids! There are tremblings that Golden Bats will be on an SM show further along in the year (maybe creating a nuclear winter...) but you MUST go see him play next Friday, May 4. He is the opening act at Alhambra Lounge, supporting Hope Drone, No Anchor and Heirs! Holy fucking shit! Take your ear plugs, forget your mind, and lose yourself in the beautiful horror...