Firekites’ The Bowery
Emanating from Newcastle, Australia, Firekites are the unlikely love child of Kings of Convenience and Arcade Fire, with eyes the colour of Texas geniuses, Midlake. Ambient indie-pop dives into a sea of lo-fi jazz infused melodies, such as Same Suburb, Different Park, which drowns poetically in the other-worldliness of one of the most surprisingly magical four pieces to emerge from the dark underbelly of the Australian music scene. The Bowery is the sonically rich debut LP by four music aficionados who have been floating around in the biz long enough to know and differentiate between what is regurgitation and what is revolutionary.
Tagged: , Australian bands, indie-pop, pop music
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The music behind the new Howling Bells album, Radio Wars
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Oh boy, this song reminds me of the misspent years of my early-twenties, living large within the cloistered, sweltering surrounds of Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Marvin The Album was a typical Saturday morning soundtrack, a bouncy kickstart to the weekend ahead, as I dusted off the mental cobwebs from the night before and looked out over my balcony onto this vast beckoning expanse of sun-kissed sand. Yes, beam me back Scotty! To those days of relative innocence, where the subtle swing of a feel-good song was only ever a couple of hotsteps away. Frente! were like the icing on a lush chocolate cupcake: a little sweet, kind of gooey, but always concealing something a little darker just beneath the surface.
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Also by MONIQUE ROTHSTEIN
We checked in with Sydney-based songwriter Fergus Brown to get the inside story on his wonderfully quirky and catchy pop song, Nerds In Love [below]: ‘It was was a fun song write. Some songs can be tortuous, but this was an imagined, tongue-in-cheek vignette of my life spent together with a certain girl I’d seen around. That’s all it was. At least, until a friend of mine blurted to this girl that I’d written a song about her. And he gave her a copy. We’re friends now. She’s a very talented, and successful, visual artist. She was flattered. Recently, I heard that another person thinks it was written about them. I’m looking forward to that awkward conversation sometime in the future’. Fergus Brown has just been announced as the support for American singer-songwriter, Martha Wainwright on all eleven shows of her Australian tour.
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Sonic alchemy, lyrical mastery and melodies to melt even the coldest winter heart, anyone? I introduce you to my new favourite indie darlings: The All New Adventures of Us (alternatively nicknamed TANOU). With their offbeat blend of indie pop, this seven piece British outfit evoke elements of their most talented contemporaries such as Belle & Sebastian, Connor Oberst, Sigur Ros, Ben Folds, and even the fragile vocal sensibility of Elliot Smith. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (2)
Zolton said | 16 April, 2008
Hi Andrew, where are you seeing Kings Of Convenience playing? I heard they had broken up, but great to hear they’re still playing around.
HAVE YOUR SAY
It’s been nearly two years since I left the cultural overload of London for a quieter life in Seattle. Has the change of scenery influenced my work? I think so. Read more
Photographer Mando Alvarez does the whole ‘modern life is lonely and desolate’ thing really well, but there’s a playfulness to his images that keep them from being too depressing. Read more
History is the story of the winners, and western dominated culture recounts few triumphs from the east. Mongol is an effort to correct this balance, and the eastern influence is evident in much more than just the storyline. It is more like a fairy tale or legend handed down through generations, than based on fact, with mythical elements playing a major part, and the character’s motivations remaining simple. Read more
What If H.R.Giger, Miquel Barcelo and a seasick alien got really drunk and decide to decorate a Pizzeria? The answer is the U Costella Pizzeria in the heart of Prague. And if the visual experience is not enough for you, they sometimes have the Gipsy Kings as background music.
Our friends at College Humour have taken a decidedly literary tack with their latest spoof on newly minted classic book titles. We can’t wait for the next installment: The Girl Who Mistook Herself For a Hat. Read more
The song Blasphemous Rumours by Depeche Mode is just about the most dark, beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. There’s something very compelling about it all: it’s gloomy and depressing during the verses, but then this sexy, almost hypnotically melodic chorus bursts in out of nowhere. The song came out in 1984 and is reputedly based on a true story, with singer Dave Gahan concluding at the end of it all: ‘I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumours but I think that God’s got a sick sense of humour, and when I die, I expect to find Him laughing’. Brilliant.
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So here’s the scoop. Every six weeks, T-post subscribers get a new t shirt issue in the mail, with a news story on the inside and an artist interpretation of that story on the front. Yes, we agree. It’s clever, clever. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Never ever, ever, ever, ever park here
Some friendly advice for the neighbours, who simply don’t get it, or street art? You decide which one it is.
Communication prosthesis by Sascha Nordmeyer
This ‘communication prosthesis’ by designer Sascha Nordmeyer is hilarious and awesome. I want to wear one to a job interview.
Nerd-attack! Man, this TARDIS zipper robe is so much cooler than any Star Wars crap people are hawking this days. This is for the true gangsta nerd.
A little infectious lollipop rock anyone? Feel free to embarrass yourself singing along at the stoplight. If the other drivers give you that look, roll down the windows and spread the love.
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Cookie Boy’s creative cookie designs
I don’t eat cookies, so good thing Cookie Boy’s cookies are little pieces of art too pretty and cute to eat. Read more
New York-based artist Suzuki Mariko has made this handmade felt doll set of a mom and happy baby bear sitting on a sofa. At just three inches wide and two inches high, it’s perfect for your side table. It can even watch TV with you. Aw! We have it for sale in the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
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andrew said | 15 April, 2008
nice sound…
and for kings of conv. fans – i’m seing them next week… yeeeeah!