This week saw beloved indie rockers Modest Mouse make a long-overdue, very welcome return to Australia. Their first Australian tour since Splendour in the Grass 2011, they are in town to perform at Byron Bay’s Bluesfest, ahead of which they visited Sydney and Melbourne for a pair of headline shows.
Last year saw Modest Mouse release new album Strangers To Ourselves, their first studio album in eight years. Considering their ever-increasing distance to the live music scene, we were incredibly excited to catch them in the flesh at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre this Monday night. Supporting the six-piece were Melbourne band Pearls.
This weekend, Modest Mouse perform at Bluesfest alongside Kendrick Lamar, D’Angelo, Kamasi Washington, Brian Wilson, Eagles of Death Metal and a tonne of others – full details here.
Pearls
Modest Mouse
BIGSOUND is once again upon us here in Brisbane, and soon The Valley will be swarming with delegates and punters trying to catch a glimpse of the next big thing. Two nights, 12 stages, over 150 bands and too many beers; it’s safe to say this is our favourite time of year. But, it’s a pretty hefty task to take on that timetable, so we took it upon ourselves to give you our top 10 must see acts for this year. Take it from us, you CAN’T miss these acts!
Green Buzzard
One of the great unknowns of this year’s Bigsound, they’ve scarcely played any gigs together and the only song they’ve released is the (utterly ridiculous) Brit-rock garage throwback Zoo Fly. They’re freshly signed to I Oh You though, who are behind relatively unknown acts like, oh, Violent Soho and DMA’s, so they aren’t known for being here to fuck spiders and I’m happy to assume they’re bringing the goods once again with Green Buzzard.
Wednesday September 9th, The Winn, 8:50pm
City Calm Down
Speaking of I Oh You, City Calm Down are also a recent addition to that label. If you’d dig some kind of a love child between The National and New Order then City Calm Down are the stork, bringing you that baby real hard. They create an immense wall of post-punk meets electro noise and they should be a bloody joy to catch live.
Wednesday September 9th, The Winn, 11:20pm
Skegss
These Byron Bay dudes are Dune Rats-endorsed (they’re the first artists to sign with old mates Dunies’ very own Ratbag Records) so you just know they’ll be an absolute mental party of a live show. Their sun-drenched surf punk is utterly perfect to boogie down to and they should be well worth a look.
Thursday September 10th, Ric’s Bar, 11:30pm
Holy Holy
If you missed their disgustingly good set at Splendour this year then you should be ashamed, but whatever blows your fur back I guess. These Melbournites bring gargantuan throwback riffs and songs that are larger than life and their live show will knock your socks straight off, guaranteed.
Wednesday September 9th, triple j Unearthed stage (Oh Hello), 11:30pm
Gang Of Youths
Son of a bitch. SON of a bitch. I am absolutely fiending to see these guys live for the first time ever, with their debut LP The Positions still on insanely high rotation in my life. Monstrous guitars, gorgeous synths and, above all else, heartfelt lyrics that cut to the bone, their set promises to be full of absolute belters like Magnolia, Radioface and the raucous Poison Drum. Miss them at your absolute peril.
Thursday September 10th, The Zoo, 11:30pm
Pearls
Melbourne indie outfit Pearls has been on high rotation in my house, my work, my car, and well everywhere, with their debut album Pretend You’re Mine. Their foot stomping glam rock is more infectious than the common cold, and you would need to be a little bit insane not to see them play.
Wednesday September 9th, Elephant Hotel, 9pm
Banff
Benjamin Forbes might just be one of the most exciting names in Australian indie music right now, with debut EP Future Self out last month. With stellar production and languorous vocals his set will be a moment to catch your breath and soak up those blissful atmospheric vibes.
Thursday September 10th, Elephant Hotel, 8:20pm
Big White
Big White make you feel like you have been transported into a John Waters film with 80’s drenched melodies aka The Psychedelic Furs. I am very much looking forward to throwing my hair back to their infectious throw back ditties. Who doesn’t love a good old bit of pan flute?
Wednesday 9th September, The Zoo, 8:10pm
Hockey Dad
Hockey Dad make fun, boisterous garage surf anthems ala Wavves or Cloud Nothings with a distinct local flavor. As this years Unearthed winners there is a lot of hype surrounding these guys, and I’m pretty sure they will more than deliver even in a timeslot directly competing with Gang of Youths.
Thursday 10th September, The Alehouse @ The Wooly Mammoth, 11:20pm
Tiny Little Houses
With only a single track that I have been able to track down, this might just be my most anticipated act. These lo-fi bedroom guitar melodies have been swimming in my head for days and it’s pretty exciting to imagine what else the set my hold.
Thursday 10th September, Black Bear Lodge, 10pm
Too many videos, not enough time! Thankfully, we have delivered once again and have brought you our picks for the videos that have been released over the last few days. This mix is a bit of an eclectic one, so there should definitely be something here for everyone – enjoy!
Many Things – Holy Fire
This one tells a great, albeit it strange story. Featuring an alien that is singing the lyrics through a mega phone, the silver being wanders through what looks like a disaster zone. A strange old lady with a silver face, a bride on a stretcher, a “zombie army solider” and more bizarre characters appear in the clip, before ending in everyone waving their hands in the air. The track is inspired by the music of Jon Hopkins, and the clip is a culmination of director Simon Green (XX Teen) and Many Things member Macks Faulkron, who says of the clip ““The idea began with the birth of the gold alien coming to earth to preach the lyrics of ‘Holy Fire’.”
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – The River
The second track off their forthcoming album Quarters has now been released. Following on with the promise that each track is 10 minutes and 10 seconds long, The River is a sprawling, jazz infused psych number that has been complimented by typically tripped out visuals. Featuring a combination of live footage and crazy animation, I couldn’t think of anything better to do for the next 10 minutes than to watch this bad boy! Try to get this one out of your head.
TORRES – Sprinter
Taking a turn for the dramatic, the new clip for TORRES‘ new single Sprinter is an enigmatic black-and-white video filmed with borderline eerie scenes before colour works it’s way in amongst the soaring guitar solo. Directed by Casey Price, she says of the clip, “this video is an origin story. It’s about the evolution of this earthly creature’s path through disillusionment and danger to a higher form with a broader understanding.” It’s complex, emotional and heartfelt, and has me extremely excited for her album to drop in May 8th!
Pearls – Pretend You’re Mine
Melbourne three piece Pearls dropped their debut album earlier this year, polarising critics who were for or against their nostalgia-tinged pop sensibilities.Pretend You’re Mine is the stand out track from this album, and has now been treated to some bright, fun and at times nonsensical visuals. Directed by Nicky Wiate, Cassandra Kiely (vocalist/keyboardist) said of the clip, “The first spark of inspiration for the clip came by way of a hazy hangover, with the girls watching the Marc Bolan TV show in bed after a night out. It was the perfect comedown, Bolan in his bright pink satin suit, struttin around singing ‘Ride A White Swan’.” It’s a clip that has to be seen to be believed.
Oscar Key Sung – Skip
This year is shaping up to be Oscar Key Sung’s biggest yet, and his latest single Skip only furthers this expectation. The accompanying video for the light and crisp R&B track shows a different side of Oscar, who is filmed in Collingwood, Melbourne, in the early hours of the morning. Waiting for something that never shows up, the black and white clip is quite intimate and personal as he sings into the night. This video was a collaboration between Key Sung and director, Ryan Alexander Lloyd, and is a key indicator of what we can still expect ahead of Oscar’s second EP Alturism dropping in May.
Ah, the dilemma of offering up a tremendous first – and second – single. Have you given all you’ve got, and left your album without anything else to give? Or, is your album enough to back these up? With each new single, EP, album, mixtape, whatever you want to call it, it seems genres are becoming a thing of the past. No longer do we have “rock” albums, or “pop” albums. Instead, we have hyphenated sub-genres of “rock” or “pop”, and it seems the more hyphens the better (or not…) The problem with this is, how much is too much? How do you include everything you want, but retain cohesion and balance to deliver a great first album?
These are the questions I found myself asking upon listening to Melbourne band Pearls, and their debut album Pretend You’re Mine. Good, not great, Pretend You’re Mine could have been amazing had they developed their sound a little more before heading into the studio. Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic moments on this album, and I can’t wait to see these live, but for the most part – it sounds like not even Pearls know who they are, and it shows.
First track, and first single, Big Shot, a sultry, sassy glam-pop but also psychedelic number, things are off to a great start. The chords have attitude, the vocalists have even more, and the thumping, stomping track really gets you going. This pretty much a perfect first single, and had me hooked on this band from first listen, eager to hear more. Bookending the album is second single Pretend You’re Mine, which satisfied my need for picking up where they left off with Big Shot. In the same vein as T-Rex or even Tame Impala, these two tracks are winners, and had me almost betting their album would be the same.
However, the truth is I was sadly disappointed. Although encompassing a lot of different styles and a lot of ambition, the in-between tracks are pretty much just dreamy shoegaze, stacked on reverb and spacey, ethereal vocals. With the exception of Better Off Alone or Baby, there really isn’t much going on here. It’s a bit messy, which is unfortunate given the calibre of their first two releases. Although these tracks show promise, they repeatedly fall short as the band struggles to figure out what they want to sound like. All the right influences are there, but they just can’t seem to get there. Maybe they want to be a glam pop band, but to me they’re a 90’s dream pop/shoegaze band with nostalgia for the 80’s. Pigeonholing yourself so early on can be a dangerous game to play, and it seems to have been counterproductive here.
There is no question that Pretend You’re Mine does indeed show a lot of promise for Pearls. It’s clear they are capable of outstanding work, and has left me curious to see how they would re-create this on stage. Perhaps they needed this to happen to figure out for themselves where they want to go, as it’s this clarity and direction that will help them step things up in the future. My only wish if for them to not play it as safe next time around, there needs to be more Big Shots or Pretend You’re Minds released, and less not-so-special dreamy shoegaze into the world, and these guys are the ones to do it!
Pearls tour dates:
27th February
Camp Casual, Gippsland
19th March
Goodgod, Sydney
21st March
The Curtin, Melbourne
Here it is folks, my weekly round-up the best new tunes. Click below for an awesome playlist for your weekend! Lots of garagey guitar stuff this week, with a little soul, a little electronic, and one epic funk track for good measure!
- Pearls, Big Shot
Big beats and bluesy chords open this understated track. The light, punchy male & female vocals lie somewhere in between The Dandy Warhols and Arcade Fire. A deceptive slow burner, it’s subtle, simple, but so catchy and so damn smooth. An impressive new track for Remote Control’s new signees. - Sunbeam Sound Machine, Wandering, I
I love the sun-drenched shoegaze sentimentality of this track. Another crooner with rich guitars and jangly effects, this is a summer soundtrack waiting to happen. The chorus is so hypnotic with its mantra-like vocals. A beat track from the Melbourne man. - Moses Gunn Collective, Mary
Moses Gunn Collective’s new one Mary is one demanding, catchy as hell psych-blues track. Thisis the stuff that the ’70s was made of, but there isn’t an ounce of irony or nostalgia throughout. It’s punchy, it’s funky, I love it. So keen for more from the Brisbane band. - Hamilton, You’ve Got Me Wrong
Some people might think this is a kinda strange entry, but I really digit. It sounds like the kind of music played during some sort of demented circus act. Lovely lyrics and a gorgeous voice lead the way, with some quirky brass leading the backing music. The heavier chorus packs a punch, darkening up the carnival feel. Weird, and great. - Born Joy Dead ‘Hey Blood’
My first reaction was, WOAH. This is great. The first few moments remind me of Monster by Kanye, but as the track progresses, it grows into something so special. It swings, it rocks, it rolls. I love the wailing guitars and the syncopated rhythm SO much. The new project of former Hungry Kids of Hungary bassist Ben Dalton, I am excited about Born Joy Dead. - Total Giovanni, Human Animal
I wasn’t sure about this one at first but it really grew on me. A great blend of crunchy guitars and super spacey bleeps and bloops, this is cool. I particularly dig the FUNKY bass washed-over guitars (which remind me of Pink Floyd’s Learning To Fly), topped with distinctly Beck-esque vocals, this is probably what Talking Heads would sound like if they released something today. - Mont Oliver, White Sheets
I wrote about Mont Oliver last week too, but they’ve just released another new one ‘White Sheets’, and I love it, so i’m writing about it here as well. This one’s packed with hip hop elements, from the lagging beat, the gangsta-style string backing riffs and the tampered vocal licks. It all opens up into a soulful space, with sensual rhythms and a serious groove. Fuck yeah. - Late Night Hysterics, Limerick
Another slow-burner for today, I love the beautiful organ-style ambient opening. The vocals are light, nearly nasal but not, and packed with emotion and intimacy. The track picks up halfway through, gaining momentum with a swift rhythm and big chords, with a full synth build later on. A really interesting tune from the West Australian indie band. - Cosmo’s Midnight, Snare (ft. Wild Eyed Boy)
Cosmo’s Midnight are back, and they’ve got a gorgeous new track for you. Gentle and catchy, Snare is the thing of balmy sunsets and summer escapes. An intricate soundscape with gorgeous electronic and melodic layers, this gets me so excited for the forthcoming EP. - Chiefs & Nick Acquroff, Inside Out
Oh man, this is so smooth from the first moments. The vocals are rich, harmonised and demand your full attention. Combine that with the driving synth and the strong beat, the rhythm builds up and drops into a space that I don’t want to leave. I just want to listen to this track over and over again. I LOVE electronic with soul/R&B aspects, and this is exactly that. - Mark Ronson, Uptown Funk ft. Bruno Mars
You’ve probably heard this song by now. Our first glimpse into Mark Ronson’s star-studded new album, set to drop in January, this track is a MOTHER of a funk track. I don’t usually like Bruno Mars, but he exudes Michael Jackson in all the right ways on this one. Those brass sections? So good! - Bernaccia, Manifest (ft. Ellen Chetcuti)
Ominous whistles and brooding guitars lead this track, before seductive swing vocals lead the melody. I love how this track glides way under the radar, maintaining a mysterious feel throughout. Chetcuti’s unsweetened, husky vocals are the perfect complement to the main melody. Deep drums and a great fuzzed-up backing section, I’m digging this track from the Newcastle (UK) four-piece.