Showing posts with label Elvis Costello. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elvis Costello. Show all posts

Saturday, 10 October 2015

Keep Your Talk Tight During These Rolling Blackouts


There is probably a lot I could say about Melbourne rabblerousing guitar top-o-the-popsters Rolling Blackouts and their new EP Talk Tight. I could wax lyrical about the laconic sun-drenched meandering jangle of 'Tender Is The Neck', reminiscent as it is of the backwards-looking-forward warm fuzz that The Ocean Party happily inhabit. I could ramble on about the heady motorik rhythms and wavering effects that propel the rumbling rock of 'Wide Eyes', a track that has country twang, psych circularity and garage grit bashing out in a dingy basement bar, a gleeful blast that is as much a jailbreak run for the sun as it is a jam spilling into the early hours of a drunken bender. I could embrace wholeheartedly the upbeat canter of 'Wither With You', a sparkling bit of rough guitar pop that evokes a jagged Jonathan Richman or a young and carefree Paul Kelly, riding a steam engine of melancholy into the heart of the sun, the warm explosion masking the chagrin. I could even talk about the rambling on of 'Heard You're Moving', an Ocker Boss-type, maybe an Outback town Elvis Costello, revelling in adolescent masculine misadventures, the big fish frying in the small pond, as the wall comes down. But I can't keep hitting on 'Clean Slate' and wiping the slate clean, a raucous belter that starts off a little like Eddy Current's 'Rush To Relax' before we enter more parochial, golden-age Aussie rock realms, a shambolic jam (still...) that is the way I want to start every day.

Shit, I did say a lot, didn't I? Enough then. Get addicted to Talk Tight (through Ivy League) now.




Friday, 4 May 2012

Friday Cover Up - White Denim Gets Young


I had to cover this set of covers for two reasons. First and foremost, my girlfriend Alison will be winging her way back to the UK on Wednesday for at least 6 months, and although I will see her in that time, it's going to be hard. So having White Denim's James Petralli play her a cover of Elvis Costello's Alison is the least I could do...

James Petralli - Alison (Elvis Costello cover)

Secondly, because I clearly have some pulling power, we have the first cut from Neil Young and Crazy Horse's first album since Greendale, called 'Oh Susannah'. Petralli thought he could pay kudos to that too, so here is a Young cover. Happy weekend people!

James Petralli - For The Turnstiles (Neil Young cover)

And that new track/video...

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Predicting Another Bloody Success In The Surf


West Beach, Florida's Surfer Blood had a stellar 2010, what with their massive debut LP Astro Coast making them the new Weezer (IE when Weezer was good) and side projects such as the Jesus Lizard-heavy Weird Wives kicked some serious arse. Well they are hitting back out into new territory this month on their new EP Tarot Classics (on Kanine Records) In some ways its more of the same, esp[especially on the catchy opener 'I'm Not Ready'. However 'Miranda' is a catchy Elvis Costello meets - you guessed it - Weezer blast, whilst end-track 'Drinking Problem' is a fantastic sidestep, a bit of Deerhunter/Atlas Sound/Lotus Plaza styled airiness pervading throughout. They are great songwriters, and vocalist John Paul Pitts' voice is as clear and enervating as ever. Ive been bagged out by my interest in this band in the past, but seriously, there is something about Surfer Blood which is like drinking an ice cold beer after spending an hour mowing the lawn in summer's mid-afternoon haze. A truly enjoyable yet refreshing experience.

Surfer Blood have picked up the support slot for the run of Stateside Pixies shows - very nice! If you can, make sure you get tickets for that. For the rest of you, bide your time - rumours afoot that the touring bug continues to bite...

Surfer Blood - Voyager Reprise
Surfer Blood - Miranda