Twelve Months Of Snowy Nasdaq Starts - Let's Get Physical

Apparently 2014 is the Year of the Nasdaq - Snowy Nasdaq AKA Liam Halliwell (The Ocean Party/Zone Out/Mining Boom/Pencil/etcetfuckingera) is releasing a single a month over at Why Don't You Believe Me? Records. January's kick-off is 'Physical Parts', a pop confection littered with disco simplicities, sampled quirks and sonic sleights of hand, culminating in a cute pop jam that nonetheless takes you down dark, hallucinogenic side alleys in the process. This promises to be a very interesting journey indeed...

Bad Dreems Of Mining Palms At The Alhambra

Goddammit! Why does there have to be so many great shows all on at the same time? Tonight I'm going to Dinosaur Jr and Red Kross - so am missing the Neapolitan Tour that sees Melbourne's Mining Boom, new Sydney act Palms and Bad Dreems from Adelaide killing the Alhambra Lounge tonight. Fark. Anyway, if you aren't doing anything tonight, GO TO THIS. If you need more incentive, here is the new single from Bad Dreems, 'Caroline'. A classic tale of toxic love, jealousy and self-sabotage set against a backdrop of crystalline guitar riffs and a surf infused rhythm section - says them. Says me - it represents low down dirty soulful good times. Prepare for a solid EP that'll hit you in the jugular later in the year. (Oh, and when at this show, order a Toadfish).
 

Here are the other tour dates for the threesome -

SYDNEY 

Saturday 16 March 

Brighton Up Bar 

with Palms and Mining Boom 

ADELAIDE 

Friday 22 March 

Cats @ Rocket Bar 

with Palms and Mining Boom 

MELBOURNE 

Saturday 23 March 

The Gasometer 

with Palms, Mining Boom and Danger Beach

Mining Calls In The Dining Room

Last year I mentioned a newish band down in Melbourne (via Perth) called Mining Boom. Their track 'Craigie' was the kind of blase, laidback, wasted guitar pop that was endearing and infectious, even though the threat of a punch, accentuated by the c-bomb, confronts and amuses in equal measure. It is a great track. Since then, the four-piece (which mow also features Snowy Nasdaq from The Ocean Party on keys) released a follow up to their Dining Room EP, a cassette imaginatively titled Dining Room II, back in December, and it had this delicious little track on it. 'Telecom', for those not up to speed on the Australian telecommunications industry of yesteryear, was the state owned Telecommunications network, which ran a virtual monopoly on Australian Telecommunications from 1975-1992, and as Telstra are still very much the top dog. More importantly, this song is great. The 80s reference, theme of wanting to get out of work, smoky keys - its a lo-fi winner.

Mining Boom - Telecom

More importantly, the band are about to embark on their first national tour, and are bringing along Adelaide's excellent Bad//Dreems and Sydney's Palms in what they are coining the "Neapolitan tour". I bet Mining Boom is the chocolate. They drop into Alhambra Lounge here in Brisbane on Thursday March 14 - buy tix here. Really looking forward to this.

Mining Boom In Your Dining Room

Mining Boom is a Perth based trio that liken themselves to Royal Headache, Boomgates, Twerps and the like. Great reference points. And I'm happy to say that their debut release Dining Room fits in rather nicely with these sounds. 'PDA' is laconic, sunny, with a lazy-sounding guitar hook that surreptitiously sinks its barbs in and has you humming along. There is something lackadaisical yet focused about these acts, and Mining Boom, whilst a little more hushed than their contemporaries, offer a lithe kitchen sink glimpse into inner suburban malaise. Furthermore on 'Craigie', we have the humorous titular tale of Craig that definitely isn't going to be charging the charts, but is an incredible sub-two minute scraggy pop tune. This is definitely one band to watch.

Mining Boom - PDA
Mining Boom - Craigie