Someone In The Major Leagues, Sometime

Brisbane mellow guitar pops Major Leagues have punched above their weight again with 'Someone Sometime', a dreamy mid-pacer that slips through the less pastiche elements of HAIM and the melodic euphoria of Screamfeeder under a prism of sepia-toned yearning. It's an incredibly addictive song and a great introduction onto the Popfrenzy roster, with an EP (their follow-up to Weird Season a couple years ago) in the works.

Loving Being Grey

Great instrumental duo The Sea Shall Not Have Them played a wonderfully measured and stately set at this year’s Sonic Masala Fest a couple of weeks back. Since releasing great debut album Mouth a few years ago (I put on their Brisbane launch), they have supported the likes of Om and Russian Circles, while also releasing download-only two-song epic Walking Through Walls. But this post isn’t really about these lovely chaps, but about a band that guitarist Curt Emerton turned me onto – fellow Gold Coast duo Greys. Now there are a number of bands out there that have taken that name on as their own – in fact we have spoken about the Canadian version in the past – but with the release of this Greys’ album Lyre, I now have a new favourite.

The first track to really grab me (and it still slays) was ‘Holy War’ – an incredible maelstrom of emotion, squalling guitar and vocal integrity, reminding me of fellow GC band from the 90s and early 00s, Gaslight Radio – it’s stunning, a homage that didn’t have me clutching for those older classics but rather keen to hear what else Greys had to offer. And procure the goods they do – the slow oscillating melancholy of ‘Data Meta Theta’; the melted pastoral psych drift of ‘SS’ (somewhere in the slipstream of a dreamier Unknown Mortal Orchestra and The Beta Band – and Emerton pops up on guitar); the slow burn ephemera that coalesces into lo-fi solar flare that is the impressive ‘The Golden Years’; the fractured articulate rock of ‘El Eternauta’ that cascades in sparks and cymbal fire; the hushed fadeout of ‘Apollo 8’ with its hushed instrumentation and sampled vocals… Lyre is the kind of album that would have been taking the dark horse route on Triple J back when I used to listen to it (says the old curmudgeon…) – loud, emotive, a little experimental, a little weird, filled with epic swells and euphoric catharsis. Let’s hope we hear a lot more from these talented guys this year and beyond.

Lyre is out through Strange Yonder later this year – get on this.

Broncho's Hip To Be A Woman

Oakland outfit Broncho have just released their new album Just Enough Hip To Be Woman, and it’s eleven slices of slightly-reverbed, massively-addictive guitar rock in the self-effacing, humorous, garage-tinged vein. The staccato delivery of ‘Class Historian’ is instant hookworm material, that also bares some resemblances to The Cars (I goddamn love The Cars). ‘Deena’ stretches further back, taking carbon copies of 60s surf rock and dropping it into the hyperdrive of 80s synthesised synapse-eroding rock. 'Stay Loose' could be a Joan Jett cover done by Unknown Mortal Orchestra at half speed. ‘Taj Mahal’ is a young Finn brothers cast-off. Its this pastiche of rock evolution that permeates Broncho’s song deconstructions that makes their songs both imminently likable and eerily recognisable. It is so indebted to past “glories” at times that a clear personality becomes opaque – as much as I dig ‘Stop Tricking’ and especially ‘Taj Mahal’, I can’t shake the comparisons off. It’s funny then that the last three songs are so intent on blowing the speakers, the groove and growl suddenly at the forefront when most other bands would top-load these tracks. ‘Kurt’, ‘China’ and ‘It’s On’ blast forth with a newfound grit, set in sepia and leather – it’s here, as in the giddiness of ‘Class Historian’, that Broncho become a combustible beast in their own right. A strange ride, then, yet it’s hard to resist their charms.





Just Enough Hip To Be Woman is out soon on Dine Alone Records - buy it here.

Taking The Ancient Night Bus

Not too long ago I posted about 'Molokai', the first single from Melbourne psych-pop maestros The Ancients' forthcoming third album Night Bus (out through the inimitable Chapter Music). They now have a second release in 'Hey Now', and damn it is so much better! It's like Unknown Mortal Orchestra spent their winter in Scandinavia with Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised - I haven't heard their first two records. But this had me absolutely in the Ancients camp - so warm, sepia-tinged and raucous in a fuzzy, overtly happy kinda way. They have a couple of shows coming up in October in Melbourne (including an in store at Polyester), but more importantly for Brisbane folks The Ancients are playing Black Bear Lodge Thursday December 5. Lotsa time to save the pennies and swim in the waters of adulation - seriously, this song has one hell of a hook.

Running Out Of Alex

When Ruban Nielson left behind his New Zealand home and disbanded The Mint Chicks, endeavouring to embark on a psychogenic pop adventure in the form of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, I was incredibly excited – and understandably so, as his two albums have proven to be warbled pop delights, revelling in the left of field whilst imbued with a strong knack for hook, melody and longevity. I didn’t think it could be replicated, and I don’t believe that Edmonton's Alex Calder’s debut EP Time (out now on Captured Tracks) is endeavouring to do that. Yet opening track ‘Suki & Me’ is a damn fine reiteration of the same musical tropes, and rather than scratch the noodle in bemusement over apparent artist pilfering, I’ve been mesmerised. The rest of the album veers into the jangly beach pop fare that the Dustin Payeurs and Jack Tatums of the past few years have propagated, and some of these tracks toe the line a little too closely to truly stand out. But Calder is a definite presence – songs like 'Fatal Delay' and the title track straddle the line between psych pop meandering and sunny malaise...meandering... It's the kind of album that soundtracks a morning of sunshine and haze after a particularly big night out, scattered order, addled yet laconic. It's certainly an intriguing hit-out

You can purchase Time here - listen to the EP below.

VIDEO VACUUM - Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Morning Harvey, Bleached, Gravel Samwidge

Wow, so we are having possibly the sunniest day in Brisbane since - well, I can't remember. I've mentioned before that the rain hasn't bothered me, that I've enjoyed it in fact, but maybe I'm just lying to myself. Before I go outside with my shirt off, I thought Id give you chumps who are stuck indoors something worthwhile to look at. OOO LOOK AT THE MOVING PICTURES...

I've mentioned already that Portland-via-Auckland psych dreamers Unknown Mortal Orchestra's sophomore LP II hasn't grabbed me as much as their eponymous debut. Nevertheless, the more I hear 'Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)' I think that this is the best song they may have crafted, a real sleeper gem that floats along, and takes your grinning ass with it. Now there is this amazing puppeteer-driven video for it, which features masturbation, humiliation, USB STICK graffiti, horse laughter...and more masturbation, with a laugh out loud ending. Think stop-motion Wes Anderson by way of Todd Solondz - dark yet breezy brilliance.

The first of two music vids from my fair city of Brisbane comes from mood ramblers Morning Harvey. 'Sundown' is a typically haunting guitar driven track, driven by young adult malaise and hedonism, further augmented by the equally evocative film that oozes sensual desperation and vice. It's a classy effort all round, and has me mightily excited for their upcoming debut record, due out sometime this year.

LA sisters Bleached have shown a lot of promise, releasing some great 7" (especially Carter on Art Fag) and next month will finally be launching their debut record Ride Your Heart through Dead Oceans. Attractive yet highly stylised girls playing rock - it could be bland and unadventurous yet successful due to hipsterfied saturation (think Dum Dum Girls), but sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin manage to lend their pastiche on late 70s punk the right mixture of sweet vocals and bitter issues and pills to swallow, that attitude and ambition often equals their actual output. In short, Bleached often hit the spot with a raw rock sound that doesn't sound half-assed - unblemished by outside influences. 'Next Stop' perfectly captures this attitude, and bodes well for the LP.

Can you believe Gravel Samwidge are still going, let alone this good? This is the same band that formed in 1989 and played opposite the likes of Lubricated Goat, King Snake Roost and pre-Cruel Sea Tex Perkins, after all. With a forthcoming cassette release imminent through Long Gone Records, the now Brisbane-based slimy guitar riff band have put together a black and white vid for the track 'Ferris Wheel' starring ringleader Mark Spinks and cameoing the inimitable Gerald Keaney (from Gerald Keaney & the Gerald Keaney's) as a tortured unloved gimpish guitar pedal.

 NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!!

Video Vacuum - Crime & the City Solution, Sherpa, Hotel Mexico, Circular Keys

 

A couple weekends ago I was at ATP Melbourne. What a blast! But I also missed some of the greatest film clips on Rage courtesy of iconic reviewers Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, highlighting the foundations that a lot of today’s great innovative filmmakers cut their teeth on. It’s this kind of retrospective that really makes you appreciate the music video platform. That, and rewatching The Woken Trees’ ‘Yells’ clip yesterday. So today, here are four more good little music videos to lose yourself in (and lose some valuable work minutes while you’re at it…)

I thought we’d start with one of the bands I saw whilst missing the said Rage special. After a twenty year hiatus, Berlin-based Australian (maybe?) art band Crime & the City Solution are back, led by Simon Bonney and featuring the likes of Dirty Three’s Jim White on drums. They were underrated to the point of forgotten in the wake of the rise of the likes of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (now ex-Bad Seed actually convinced Bonney to move to England at the genesis point of Crime…, whilst Rowland S Howard played guitar with them, and they even play in Wim Wenders’ excellent Wings of Desire in this guise), even though they bore many similarities. Now they are back (having relocated to Detroit for the most part) and playing fairly solid sets (it wasn’t always my cup of tea, but there were some old crackers and some new growers, and White is always a delight to watch, one of the most underrated drummers in rock history), they are releasing a new record in American Twilight (the title track, when played at ATP, reminded me of a less aggressive Girls Against Boys, which was a huge surprise…). ‘Goddess’ is the first single off it, and although buoyed by fairly jubilant lyrics (Love the light of which you give / A human touch eternal gift / Against the dark a gentle face / I celebrate your sensual grace /Oh Goddess), it remains a roiling psych-inflected tune, and the video accentuates this. Whilst I'm not entirely sold on the new stuff, it at least has shone a light on a band that were incredibly undervalued when they were at their peak – well worth peering into the back catalogue.

   

Now here is an interesting thing. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of Sherpa, a psych pop band from Auckland, New Zealand. They appear to be following in the footsteps of like minded (and bizarrely NZ-led) acts Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Opossum, yet I’ve only heard this one track. I wouldn’t have paid it much mind to be honest – but this bonkers film clip, done on the cheap, sold me and then some. This is like a 90s bad paisley psych band, taking barbs that went stale in the 90s, which somehow coalesces into that netherground of good trip/bad trip unease. A lot of fun – let this Sherpa lead you where it may…

   

Two bands close to home – now for one that is distinctly Australian. Circular Keys is a duo that delve into dreamy, ethereal synth soundscapes, and their video for ‘Possessed’ is just as otherworldly – evoking the fear of isolation in nighttime lockdowns (in this case, a storage facility), an overtly-frilled-and-laced hotel and a ghostly beauty navigating it all. True comedown.

   

Finally we have Hotel Mexico, who are from where? Kyoto Japan, of course! This new track from the six-piece is everything that the hipster masses love – the 80s synths with slight wear and tear, distorted reverbed vocals with female backing vocals humming just under the mix, and a film clip that is obtuse and looks shot on VHS, Harmony Korine-lite. I should despise this on principle. But this track ‘AI In Dreams’ is a lot of fun – not least because the band, dressed up in faux zombie chic, look like they are having such a good time. The bands that enjoy making music – regardless if it’s in a genre that irks me – tend to imbue their sounds with the kind of joviality that pushes them to the top.

  

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Pastoral Pastiche Pop Amongst The Nomadic Firs

The solo warped outpourings of Tennessee's Ryan Boos, Nomadic Firs' self-titled record is something of a anomaly in that it had been gestating for six years, is a pastiche of colours and ideas that have coalesced into finite songs, and yet is cohesive much farther beyond what is thought possible from such an amalgam of sounds and grooves. Reminiscent of the breakout hazy debut album by Unknown Mortal Orchestra (especially on 'Vines'). There is a rustic underbelly to these jams that echoes from Boos' rustic life (he owns a petite farm with his wife), and it is these pastoral colourings that infuse Nomadic Firs with a sense of elegiac beauty. That sense of being at one with nature is akin to some of the randomness that comes of the Inner Islands label, except Boos is much more of a pop song traditionalist. The experimentalism even evokes Deerhunter ('In The Morning') or the Beta Band ('Cover Bombs') at times, but above all this is an album that rewards in myriad ways, often all at once.


You can grab Nomadic Firs in cassette form (with it's own knitted holder!) from Crash Symbols here. Well worth it my friends.

Nomadic Firs - Vines
Nomadic Firs - In The Morning
Nomadic Firs - Cover Bombs

VIDEO VACUUM - UMO, St. Spirit, The Boom Bang, Jay-Z/Kanye

New week, new day, and I am chasing my tail already. So much I want to get done but I won't be able to do any of it - it's like having a camera and being asked to only take photos of other cameras (or rolls of film - the analogy is weird and totally random, and it is an in-joke, but Im rattled and caffeinned up to the yin yang, so you will have to excuse this one...) So let's procrastinate, shall we?

Who doesn’t want to hear foreign pop break beats, psychedelic riffs, and out-of-this world vocals that make you think you’re listening to a young Michael Jackson-think “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough”- performed in a futuristic building in Yugoslavia? How about a video-driven music discovery platform, documenting the most talented emerging musicians from around the world? Well the truly innovative Noisey collective (curated by VICE and backed by Dell and Intel) have been scoping the world for new talent and music scenes to bring to the videomatic masses, one of the best initiative going, and recently they flew to Los Angeles to see what outer space was like by filming Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s infectious live set at L.A.’s Satellite. Noisey.Com’s segment includes an intimate interview to get the low down on the mysterious band mates, life on the road and getting weird on the streets of L.A. Watch the below clip then follow Noisey.com avidly kids!



One of Sonic Masala's "discoveries," Philly louts The Boom Bang have released this lo-fi vid for new single "Vietnomnomnom" off their LP World War Fun (through Nice People Records). It's more of the same loud, shambolic fun - and it's exactly what we need on a Death March Monday! Crank it up...

The Boom Bang - Vietnomnomnom from The Boom Bang on Vimeo.

Now here is something a little different. I was sent this last week - a music video by a band called St. Spirit. St. Spirit are a band of 19-year-olds from South London, who love Brian Wilson and My Bloody Valentine... All good things mind you, but that could describe anyone. Then I listened, and watched, and was blown away by this band. This isn't some half-arsed first attempt at a video in the parentals' backyard whilst they have nipped down to the shops. The animations fits beautifully with the melodic track and has made a mighty impression...



And finally, who doesn't need some bombast to chew on at the start of the working week? Who better to dish out the pomp than Kanye West and his bud Jay-Z. Sure, Watch The Throne is good but underwhelming. But if every track had a powerful, provocative video like 'No Church In The Wild' does, it would make heads explode. Having Odd Future crooner Frank Ocean on the periphery certainly boosts things too...

Kanye West and Jay Z - No Church In The Wild (music video) from High5Collective on Vimeo.

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!!

Minting The Unknown Mortals

I mentioned Unknown Mortal Orchestra and their track 'Ffunny Ffrends (New Bounce)' last week as part of my warped dance mixtape. Well there has been a helluva lot of hoopla around the band in the past few weeks, culminating in the release of their selftitled debut album (on Fat Possum). The influence of lead Ruban Neilson's former band, the ace, sad-to-see-you-go NZ noise pop trio The Mint Chicks, is more evident on second track 'Biocycle', yet UMO is a very different kettle of fish, glamming up the punk, infusing it with bizarre dollops of soul, and selling it down the river Styx - and hell, probably to the band Styx too. It jumps genres, more than once per song, falls through the gaffer-taped gaps, claws its way back onto the Yellow Brick Road and keeps on dancing. Unknown Mortal Orchestra really is a yellow-tinged bad acid trip, but one that you will gladly endeavour to undertake time and time again. And the kicker? Its those spaces between that truly brings the money - there is so much to unearth, unpack and unravel here that it will take myriad listens to get the true experience.

Or, its just a fucking great album.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra is out now (Look at that cover art! Genius...). They play tonight in London at the Lexington - get tix here or here!

UMO - Biocycle
UMO - Ffunny Ffrends
UMO - How Can U Luv Me