OM Supports Singled Out

Two of my favourite Brisbane acts have both jagged the support slots for the Brisbane leg of US drone merchants OM's national tour. The gig is at the Hi Fi this Wednesday and is going to be incredible (drummer Emil Amos' other band - well, ONE OF his other bands - Grails was a definite highlight of last year also) - you should come and hang out. And in anticipation of the show, they are each releasing a single!

Andrew Tuttle is better known in musical circles as annoying Anonymeye. But he has laid the moniker to rest, preparing instead to trek out under his own biological label, and 'Rain Transplant' is the ceremonial unveiling before his "debut" EP 4064 (the suburb postcode for Paddington where he lives) hits the internet shelves. As you can here, it's not far removed from the instrumental deconstructions that earmarked Anonymeye's ten year oeuvre, which is great to hear, but the change in direction comes in subtle moments  - the amorphous segue into an effects-laden bridge, bookended by interplay between Tuttle's beloved banjo and bubbling synth - that implies there is a lot more to come that will take our breath away. I for one cannot wait.

Ghost Notes is a great instrumental rock band. Furthermore, they endeavour to create mood and sound scapes that fail to adhere to the quiet/loud dynamic that many of their contemporaries misinterpret and bludgeon to death around them, making them a more nuanced (and therefore far more interesting) prospect. It does feel like they have been riding out their last album, 2011's In Cover Of Night, for eons though, seeing as the vinyl launch came over a year afterwards. This is probably most felt by the five-piece themselves, and so they are on the cusp of correcting this conception with not one but TWO albums recorded and waiting in the wings. 'Go Where It Takes You' is the first taste of the first of those albums, entitled Hidden Horizons (out through Lofly), which will hopefully see the light of day in the next few months.

You really should get to OM. I will be posting my excellent interview with Emil Amos on Wednesday, but until then, grab your ticket now.

EXCLUSIVE GIVEAWAY - Dolls Are Back In Town

In the leadup to Sonic Masala's first ever live showcase, we have had our first exclusive streaming of an album (Icarus Himself's Career Culture). Now, our first proper giveaway! Glam punk legends New York Dolls are hitting the Brisbane Hi Fi Next Thursday (October 13, supported by Velociraptor, HITS and Millions), and to celebrate we have TWO DOUBLE PASSES to give away! In order to get yr grubby mitts on them, answer in the comments section what your favourite NYD song is and why. A simple question, but it is setting the fans apart from the wannabes here...

New York Dolls "Fool For You Baby" Official Music Video from Jeremy Johnstone on Vimeo.

Smudged Sebadoh Go Hi Fi

I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am! A month or so ago my sister and good friend Leigh went to see seminal lo-fi rockers Sebadoh play in London. They had just re-released Bakesale (my personal fave Sebadoh album), so the anticipation was very high. The report coming back were overwhelmingly positive, and now, tonight, I get to taste it all for myself as the trio play here in Brisbane at the Hi Fi Bar. What's more, 90s Australian stalwarts Smudge are dragging themselves out of the sandbox to join them! If you haven't yet (and Im not sure you still can...), try to buy tickets here. Pay in rent money, the barter of your children, in blood if necessary, just ensure you are there!

Trail Of Dead/To The North/Nikko - A Triumvirate Of Glory

Im getting goddamned excited! Texans ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are playing in Brisbane tonight at the Hi Fi Bar in West End! The band always puts on electric shows, so it promises to be one not to be missed. Ably supported by To The North and SM faves Nikko also, so some serious bang for your buck! The times are -

8.20 - 8.50pm - Nikko
9.20pm - 10.00pm - To The North
10.30pm - 11.40pm - Trail Of Dead

Grab tix here or on the door. DON'T MISS THIS!!!

Trail Of Dead - Isis Unveiled by Superball Music

Some Touring Deets For Brisbane Folks...

OK, so this is random and heaps of bands come and go, but I thought I should relay at least a few national and international acts that are doin their thang very soon in the capital of Queensland...

Starting small (in many ways), local band Tiny Spiders (whose 'Shadows' vid we showed yesterday) are vebnturing out this week for a quick tet-a-tet -

Friday September 9th @ The Crown & Anchor, Adelaide
/w Fake Tan, Beige Abrasion

Saturday September 10th @ The Cornish Arms, Melbourne
/w Passport For Amy, The Battery Kids

Plus a whole lot of other stuff, Im sure...


Akron/Family are closing the GOMA Surrealism Up Late program September 30th. Unfortunately this one is sold out, but they are playing interstate - hit their website for details. This will be an amazing show...


Monolithic Japanese post-rockers Mono are hitting the Hi Fi Bar full force on Wednesday October 5. This promises to be one of those shows that takes the quiet/loud dynamic to breaking-point extremes, where in the space between you will hear a pin drop, along with your jaw. Get tix here.


Alt-country heroes Okkervil River are playing the Hi Fi Bar Wednesday October 19, in what is their fifth sojourn to these fine shores. The Texan six-piece come armed with a swag of new songs from their recently released sixth album, I Am Very Far, which is a startling break from anything the band has ever created before. Terrifying and joyous, violent and serene, grotesque and romantic. It's a celebration of forces beyond their control. This is likely to sell out, so get on these ASAP.


This year's Meredith Music festival is massive, but with the current trickle of side-shows about to turn into a flood come December, missing out won't be a hard pill to swallow. Already some of the bands have announced shows, including the seminal Mudhoney (The Zoo, Monday December 5th), the abrasively brilliant Future Of The Left (The Zoo, Tuesday December 6th), and the untouchable Explosions In The Sky (Hi Fi Bar, Tuesday December 13).

Most of these international tours are put on by the brilliant Handsome Tours.

Akron Family Trails The Dead In A Handsome September

Brisbane, you are about to be blessed (and not from that amazing Selleck pic above - but wait, as it does relate...), as from the final weekend of July onward its an onslaught of killer international talent coming your way! Starting with the biggest Splendour to date (Mogwai, Kanye, The Kills, Warpaint, Dananananaykroyd, Elbow, Modest Mouse, Pulp), the gigs keep on hitting - Jim Ward, Times New Viking, Jason Simon (Dead Meadow), Wet Hair, LA Vampires, Russian Circles, Monster Magnet doing Dopes To Infinity in its entirety, Sebadoh...does it get any better?


Actually, damn straight it does! Intermingled in all that awesomeness are two tours put on by Handsome Tours that Im going schoolgirl-giddy over. First up at the beginning of September we will be blasted away by the incendiary Texan act ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Having completed seventh album Tao Of The Dead earlier this year to much rapturous acclaim, Conrad Keely, Jason Reece and co will bring their extremely physical live show to the Hi Fi Bar on September 9, featuring snarling refrains, fervent stage diving, epic anthemic jams; multiple instrument changes and the odd bout of stage destruction, all punctuated by flailing limbs and Keely and Reece’s ping-pong vocal exchanges and hooks in overdrive. You can get your tickets here for what could possibly be THE show of 2011...


But Handsome wont let you off that easy. Brisbane's world class Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is closing out their Surrealism: The Poetry Of Dreams exhibition (NOW do you get the pic above???) with mystical psych mainliners Akron/Family! Their latest foray into longplayerdom, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT was possibly their best album yet, continuing pushing genre boundaries with a leery sense of abandon. Imagine watching Mullholland Drive, looking at pieces by Man Ray and Salvador Dali, then seeing these brilliant freak rockers blow you into hyperspace! Its happening all right, on Friday September 30 - get your tix here. This one is stupidly cheap too, only $21.50, so expect these to fly out the window like toasters with wings.

AND - both gigs are on Fridays, so losing your shit is mandatory! SOOOOOOOOO good...

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Weight Of The Sun
Akron/Family - So It Goes

Black Angels @ HIFI

Super psyched about this. Austin, Texas' purveyors of all thing psych The Black Angels are finally touring Australia, and they are playing the Hi Fi Bar in Brisbane tonight. They are supported by up anc comers The Laurels as well as a DJ set by none other than The Brian Jonestown Massacre's Joel Gion! This is going to be amazing - Ive seen The Black Angels twice in London and they just flat out refuse to put on a bad show! You can buy tickets here.

The Black Angels - Ronettes
The Black Angels - Haunting At 1300 McKinley
The Black Angels - No Satisfaction (Black Mountain cover)