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.

Gig - Phoenix - The Roundhouse, 29.03.2010

Its difficult to go wrong with the Roundhouse. A quintessential stalwart of the London creative set, the venue is custom built to impress, regardless of the the art that is on display. The amount of vantage spots, the superior sound quality, the capability to pull out all the bells and whistles, means that even the most mediocre creative hacks would be able to offer something exciting to the most jaded of audience members.

Two bands stepped into the round arena armed with only their instruments, and a helluva lot of enthusiasm and zeal. Two Door Cinema Club were first cab off the ranks. They ripped through an entertaining and well executed set that mainly mirrored their efforts from their debut LP, and their highly danceable indie disco guitar tunes impresses many. Although there is nothing new on offer here - any number of the Temper Traps and Big Pinks that have flooded the music scene over the past few years would have done an equally adept job - and there is enough here to entice, there is not enough to grab your attention enough to elicit an ecstatic reaction. They are the perfect primer for big and better talent - so in this instance they do it with aplomb - but one cant help but think that there needed to be more experimentation, more variation, more verve, if Two Door Cinema Club want to be packing eager punters into a future venue such as this like sardines, all on their own merit.

After much tinkering, a white sheet falls across the front of the stage. There is a heady pendulum of hushed tones and ecstatic euphoria from the crowd as the first few insistent notes of Lisztomania emanate throughout the Roundhouse's collosseum-like interior. The band are backlit by scorching light, so that their shadows jump forth in erratic interplay. Much like Sigur Ros' stage presence, albeit far less static, the tension builds until the sheet drops, and from the stage rises French guitar pop heroes Phoenix, vertical lights of blue flashing dominantly to emphasis their truly soaring from their beginnings (albums previous to 2009 were no means mediocre, but lacked some element of cohesion) to be the top of the hipster music heap (on the back of brilliant LP Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix), and for the next two hours set the stage ablaze.

There are elements of NY's The Strokes in Phoenix's tightly coiled and innately sexy pop vignettes, cooler than thou musical manipulations, and elegaic showmanship. However these boys have built on their initially simple song structures, have not rested on their laurels, and continue to push boundaries. Their songs are still infectious as fuck, causing myriad hips to sway and toes to tap. But Phoenix's brilliance lies in the seemingly effortless way in which each song, and indeed the entire set is constructed - it is easy to forget that every one of these French guys are freakishly talented at their weapon of choice. The set, a selection of songs gleaned from all four albums that make up their back catalogue, are heightened exponentially. It is difficult to remember ever not like Phoenix, let alone why it is that you dont listen them ad nauseum from the moment of rising from your slumber to the point where REM sleep inevitably kicks in. And will continue to do so for the term of your natural life. By the time they pumped out their 2 song encore, closing with seminal crowd fave (and superbly elongated) 1901, it was clear that the Roundhouse has showcased another slice of art. Phoenix - uber cool, tres accessible, and utterly transcendental. Tonight was a true precursor of what a band with this much potential will acheive as they engulf the Earth in all their effervescent glory. A complete success.