Cannon Wanna Be With You Everywhere - Cool, No Worries (Friday Cover Up)

(pic by Glen Schanau)

Another day, another Brisbane band spitting out thrashy garage rock. The thing about five-headed monster Cannon is that no matter how well you capture them on tape, they never emulate the sloppy, unhinged nature with which they deliver live - yet latest EP It's Cool, No Worries certainly does its best. Recorded by Donnie Miller at Nowhere Audio, the instrumentation on these five tracks really highlight how deceptively tight the band can be - the guitar lines are finally discernible, and you start to figure out that there are actual defined songs underneath the mania. But as always it is impossible to deny the rabid presence of frontman Callan Murphy and his ranting, incomprehensible vocals. Penetrating out of the abyss, self-flagellating, the bark of a madman - Murphy's vocals will always divide audiences. The thing is, it's this sense of unbridled passion (even when seemingly delivered with apathy, and the casual tearing of the oesophagus) that truly marks out Cannon as different from the rest.

It's been a while since local imprint Bon Voyage have put their name to something, but It's Cool, No Worries has gotten their seal of approval - and fair dues. You can grab the 7" here. And seeing as this is a Friday, this release doubles as a Friday Cover up, as the EP closes with a ramshackle version of Fleetwood Mac's 'Everywhere' (it's the last track). Nuff said.

Heavy Gospel

Let's double dip in Minneapolis for some slight psychedelia kicks, whaddaya say?

First up is Heavy Deeds, whose Light Lunch EP came out on Old Blackberry Way Records yesterday. It's decidedly throwback, delving forty years into the past to rake its fingers through the pastoral dirt of the sun-bleached, hypnotic West Coast of the early 1970s. It's clear that the group owe something of a debt to likeminded wanderers such as Galaxie 500, but seeing as Dean Wareham is content to delve into that band's small oeuvre without adding to the legacy, why not give the acolytes a shot at the title? Its a great calling card, an introduction in a candle-lit room, slightly inebriated on the vice of choice, as the sun dives for the horizon. You can get Light Lunch here.

Heavy Deeds - Light Lunch
Heavy Deeds - The Great Believers

We have mentioned Gospel Gossip in the past (here, in fact), yet I wasn't expecting to love their self-titled debut quite as much as I do. Alternating between the pastoral whimsy that permeates Heavy Deeds above, to more jangly pop, to coalescing sheets of distortion and electric squall, all bled through with a warmth and substance that invariably is left behind in favour of stylistic flourishes - I'm surprised Gospel Gossip (also out through Old Blackberry Way) hasn't had more glowing plaudits thrown its way. OK, some songs feel a little open-ended, maybe even undercooked - but as a whole (and in the instance of 'On The Edge' or 'Simpler Times', some bona fide classic pop tunes) this is an incredibly attractive and addictive effort - in the same realm that Rational Academy was in a few years ago before their final, heavier phase (a local reference, I know, but better than the standard "shoegaze Fleetwood Mac" mantras that get used). Listen to two of the tracks below, and buy the vinyl here.

The Fair Ohs Are Dancing

The London tropical pop rock band Fair Ohs err just on the right side of fun (see my thoughts on Vampire Weekend for those who traverse to the Dark Side…), and they now have a case of tracks for ya to catch some sun to! Everything Is Dancing came out last week on their own label Honey High (you can get it here) – it hits the global shelves via Lefse on July 26. According to the boys, Everything is Dancing is influenced by West African funk, 60's Psychedelic Rock, Eritrean Guayla music and a whole heap of Fleetwood Mac. Well, I'm certainly love Rumours again right about now (and it has absolutely nothing to do with those Glee fucks), so this description is floating my boat – as are the below tracks, all off the album!

Fair Ohs - Baldessari
Fair Ohs - Summer Lake
Fair Ohs - Eden Rock

The Father of Gods Makes A Musical Menagerie

Zeus, the Greek god of Gods. Ruler of Mt Olympus. God of the sky. Bearer of the thunderbolt. About to be played by Liam Neeson. Very now, in the then.

Zeus, the Toronto four piece. Melders of extreme influences - Fleetwood Mac, The Kinks, Syd Barrett, John and Paul. Purveyors of immaculate denim and moustaches a la The Band. Very then, in the now.

Zeus are (as is the way right now) splashing South By South West in sepia tones and fire tinged edges, in their first stage of taking over the world and dragging it back 30 years, into a world of 'classical' rock pop. Chaperoned by Broken Social Scene collaborator and influential singer/songwriter Jason Collett, the band, the core dreamings of kindred spirits Mike O'Brien and Carlin Nicholson, Zeus aim to bridge the Pro Tools era of now to the days of achingly simple harmonies and 45s. The guys dont have plans to tour Europe or the UK any time soon - slowly but surely - but it certainly is refreshing (?) hearing these vintage sounds in such a lovingly and engaging manner.

Zeus - The Sound of You

Zeus - Marching Through Your Head from Arts & Crafts on Vimeo.