Sonic Masala Presents - Twin Haus' Nothing Lavish EP Launch and Australian Tour

Keeping the sporadic posts yet the more together premieres rolling, we have a release here that Sonic Masala is promoting. Nothing Lavish is the second EP from Brisbane band Twin Haus. The four-track release kicks off with the 9 minute long Radiohead-meets-cracked-Cordrazine 'Synthetic Egg' - the building atmospherics buoyed and pierced by the horns is both haunting and hedonistic, a swirling miasma of widescreen asceticism that is breathtaking in its audacity - the final euphoric moments evoking ()-era Sigur Ros. Lofty comparisons there, I know - but this opening track really slapped me in the face with how lavishly confident these boys are. It bleeds into the brooding ASDL stutter and Tortoise sharp sputters of 'Self-Love', spiralling outward into a distorted whitewash at the end of its meticulous two minutes. 'I Used To Think', the lead single, is the most "palatable" of the four tracks - the most obvious signifiers of Twin Haus all present and accounted for. It flitters on the edges of much-missed Sydneysiders Parades, while also offering the slight-psych sheen of early Temper Trap, while closer 'The Revue' is a serpent, slinking through the shimmering confines of their glossy aesthetic, again playing with artistic reverence (Holy Fuck combine with more prosaic psych rock touchstones) and aired avarice, in a double-digit-minute monolith that sounds like the record skips from 33 to 45rpms in the final third. Some seriously awe-inspiring moments on this record - Twin Haus have taken some recognisable, somewhat staid mainstream signposts and woven intricate, somewhat aggressive segues and flourishes around them. These tracks will sound brilliant live, and most of Australia will get the chance to experience this in April and May as they launch on a massive tour, taking in most of the country including plenty of rural outlets. See the artwork and full run of dates below.

Friday, April 1: Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane

Saturday, April 2: Grand Hotel, Bundaberg

Thursday, April 7: Soundlounge, Gold Coast

Friday, April 8: The Helm, Mooloolaba

Saturday, April 9: The Northern, Byron Bay

Thursday, April 14: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Sydney

Friday, April 15: The Small Bandroom, Newcastle

Saturday, April 16: Blurst of Times Festival, Brisbane

Wednesday, April 20: Rad Bar, Wollongong

Thursday, April 21: Hotel Steyne, Manly

Friday, April 22: Basement, Canberra

Saturday, April 23: Family Hotel, Katoomba

Thursday, April 28: The Workers Club, Geelong

Friday, April 29: Shebeen, Melbourne

Saturday, April 30: Major Tom's, Kneyton

Thursday, May 5: The Loft, Warrnambool

Friday, May 6: Pririe & Co Social Club, Adelaide

Wednesday, May 11: Four5Nine, Perth

Thursday, May 12: Highway Hotel, Bunbury

Friday, May 13: Dunsborough Hotel, Dunsborough

Saturday, May 14: The Carine, Duncraig 

Nothing Lavish is out today via Bedlam Records.

This Lamentable Au.Ra

Back in 2011-2012 I mentioned an artist from Sydney who went under the name Colours. That guy, Tom Crandles, pointed me in the direction of a lot of Sydney bands (such as Day Ravies, Unity Floors and Bachelor Pad) that I have since become massive fans of. Tom hasn't been sitting idly though - along with Tim Jenkins (Parades), he has transformed into the discombobulated pop of Au.Ra. Launching their debut LP Jane's Lament through felte Records, Au.Ra construct woozy soundscapes that envelop and entrance - the psych laced drift of 'Morning'; the jangle and drift of 'Sun'; the somnambulist float of 'You're On My Mind'. There are echoes of other lo-fi dreamers such as Beach Fossils in some of these tracks, with a lick of electronic sheen sliding in and out of the ether. The cover art is fairly indicative of what the album conveys - a seductive, flowing darkness, delivered with a slickness and vibrancy often found wanting elsewhere. Great stuff.

Grab Jane's Lament here.

Hittin' The Gubba

If you have been following Jonathan Boulet before now, rest assured that you have NOT been following Jonathan Boulet. More known for his sojourns into atmospheric rock with Sydney band Parades, or his "shouty-indie" solo fare (especially on the success of 2012's sophomore effort We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart). But Boulet and his band have bigger, doomier riffs to fry, and third album Gubba is about to shatter whatever preconceptions you may have had of the band before now. You see, Boulet is all about stretching parameters as far as they can go whilst getting the crowd/listener to collectively use it AND lose it. Gubba is a hodgepodge of rock explosions a la the best of John Dwyer's Thee Oh Sees efforts, just with added dirge and a tongue parked permanently in cheek. It's funny, heady, silly, heavy, and cool. In short - this is the Jonathan Boulet we've been waiting for all this time...


Gubba is out now through Popfrenzy in Australia, with Europe to follow suit later this month. Boulet is based in London nowadays (lucky me!), but is launching the album throughout August, with a show in Brisbane at Black Bear Lodge.