Contrified Dusk, Urban Sprawl Dawn - Welcome To Natural Child And Endless Prowl

Two albums that I've only just started dipping into as I do some late-night work. First up is the new record from Tennessee garage cowboys Natural Child, Dancin' With Wolves (out today through Burger Records). It is true countrified sojourns, a campfire travail into the heartland of the South, and the now five piece really revel in the warmth this approach gives them. The devilish, ramshackle charm that informed their earlier records is almost non existent, something that listening to Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings may do to you - in a good way. Dancin' With Wolves is one of those rare records that is both perfect background filler and immersive delight - rustic inebriation on the languid stories of Natural Child.

Then I stumbled across Endless Prowl, which is actually a collaboration between Brisbanite Daniel Ford (Black Vacation/Thigh Master/Kids Cryptic/Evening Hiss/probably other things...) and Teva from Upclock. This is the opposite end of the sonic spectrum to Natural Child - the kind of late-night jams that discombobulate and contort between the worlds of night and day, never light nor dark, just a never ending tide of wavering existence between the beginning and the end, both seductive and weary, sensuous and lurid. In short, this is some great stuff. Whether Endless Prowl will actually amount to much more than this one collab remains to be seen. Lets hope that we do.

VIDEO VACUUM - Kirin J Callinan, Bleached, Charles Howl, Evening Hiss

It's November already?? Wow. No wonder I'm so tired. And lazy. I'm going to stop doing work now (it's 10am) and watch some music videos. You can too if you want, I'm not the boss of you.



Kirin J Callinan certainly ruffled a lot of feathers and beguiled many others with his debut album Embracism. I personally find his music far better in person, with visuals. That's why I tend to look forward to his film clips more than sitting down for just an aural taste. He hasn't disappointed thus far, and this incredible video for that album's 'Landslide' is incredible. Whilst it certainly helps that the song is probably my favourite from the album, the sight of Callinan hanging upside down above an ocean - that's in the sky - is incredible. And for whatever reason, I always get a kick out of seeing a dog swim. So win win, really.



Lots of bands get a kick out of having Halloween-themed songs for this bizarre commercialised holiday in America, whether it be kitschy tweaked originals or covers. Bleached have taken the former with 'Love Spells', a song that isn't really any different from what they do in the daytime, but have a decidedly ghoulish 80s VHS-era video to go with it. It's all incredibly fun, even if there are some evocative images held within (the woman with the severed hand and bloody crucifix in particular stick in the mind...)



Charles Howl is on the prowl, but he promises he will do you no harm. That doesn't appease me though, what with his extensive usage of white and the sleeping girl. He kicks off with his crotch in our face as he does up his fly! There's a glowing orb and smoke! Wait - he's going to smother her! Or is he? What a creep...or is he actually hugely misunderstood? Meh. He plays a mean garage line, and seeing as he has aligned himself to PNKSLM, he can't be all bad... Really looking forward to hearing more of this.


Evening Hiss - Melt from Daniel Ford on Vimeo.

Daniel Ford know no limits. I could be referencing seminal 90s act 2 Unlimited there. Maybe Ford should cover it? Probably not. He is in a gazillion local bands that would do a good job of it though - Black Vacation, Thigh Master, Kids Cryptic, just to name a few. Here is a song from solo project Evening Hiss, that started as a complement to an art exhibition he has coming up. This effort will be put out on limited release, and based on this track you will be sorry if you miss out. Or just pissed that someone has so much bloody talent to burn.

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!