Mark Seymour’s Thirteen Tonne Theory

The music behind the new Howling Bells album, Radio Wars

The last time I caught up with London-based, Australian band, Howling Bells, was in New York in early 2007 when they played a show at one of the many seedy Lower East Side bars. Since then, they’ve recorded a new album, the aptly named Radio Wars [listen to their song, Treasure Hunt, below], a remarkable follow-up to their 2006 self-titled debut. I checked in with guitarist Joel Stein to find out what music the four-piece had been listening to around the time the album was written: ‘The Byrds’ Eight Miles High always sounds so futuristic to me. It has one of the best guitar sounds ever and really moves me with its color and power. Every time I hear the Tortoise track, I Set My Face to the Hillside, I instantly get transported to the ocean. Beautiful! Joy Division’s Isolation is incredible. I love the intro keyboard riff, in particular (the keyboard was self-built). It expresses urgency and truth. And then there’s Neu!’s Hallogallo, a truly inspiring instrumental track that I always want to go on for longer. Its fuzzy guitars are so warm and vibrant. Perfect!’ Read frontwoman Juanita Stein’s Playlist of inspiring songs.

Frente! Ordinary Angels

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.

The Grates’ Aw Yeah

Oh man, Brisbane band, The Grates, make me want to jump up and down like a kid at a third grade birthday party. Their music is like jello and ice-cream: sweet, bouncy, and weirdly coloured.

I Was Told There’d Be Cake

Full-time writer, part-time maker of dioramas, New Yorker Sloane Crosley has released a collection of her witty essays entitled I Was Told There’d Be Cake. Recounting tales of plastic pony collections, wanting to raise her unborn kids in Belgium, and locking herself out of her apartment twice in one day, Crosley’s stories will make you think of Larry David if he was a cute thirty year-old woman. No wonder HBO snapped up the rights to the book.

Teddy Thompson’s In My Arms

Teddy Thompson’s fourth album is the reason why I have been ignoring this year’s other new releases. A Piece Of What You Need is teeming with sophisticated pop tunes, such as the first single In My Arms, a song that’s so memorable I may need to go into therapy if it isn’t out of my head by year’s end.

Nine Inch Nails’ The Slip

Until recently Trent Reznor has been the Terrence Malick of music. Now he is releasing albums like it is nobody’s business. And free ones at that. Read more