The All New Adventures Of Us
by 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.
The seven adventurers spend most of their days in a studio in Umea, in the North of Sweden, with friend and practical eighth member, Magnus Lindberg (who also plays in the band Cult Of Luna) constructing silly things out of string and making tummy achingly beautiful music.
With tinkling string arrangements coupled with lyrics such as ‘Home’s not a place, it’s not roads, nor walls, street signs, bed-sheets or local swimming pools … it’s the waves, the smiles, the pleasantries, those loving kicks in the shin when you forget to breathe’, you may very well need someone to kick you in the shin, because if you’re anything like me, this music will take your breath away.
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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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She & Him are actress and closet singer-songwriter, Zooey Deschanel (Almost Famous, The Good Girl, The Assassination of Jesse James), and juggernaut producer, one-man band and folk troubadour, M.Ward. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (2)
Philistine said | 28 June, 2009
Love your writing, Monique. You are an anomaly.
HAVE YOUR SAY
It’s Theme Friday on the Feature Shoot photo blog. The subject matter? Snapped! Photos of people taking photos. Clever. Read more
Greg Brotherton creates his sculptures by transforming such common-place objects as vacuum cleaners, mixers and cars, into fantastic interpretations of myth and imagination. With an innate sense of structure and balance, Brotherton crafts surprisingly organic shapes using steel, glass and wood. The strength and fluidity that dominates both his figurative and abstract work is dictated by the process and evolves from a subconscious mechanistic state. Read more
Oh, ok, so now I’ve seen it all. Or perhaps, in this case, I’m not seeing enough. Japanese game shows are so much fun. Seriously.
While the Belizean Islands are some of the most beautiful and tranquil in the world, Belize City is one of those uninspiring places that most people travel in and out of very quickly. However, if you do find yourself stranded there, as I did, the city does have one redeeming attraction. Approximately twenty kilometres west of the centre, you’ll find the Belize Zoo — which the founders call the ‘best little zoo in the world’. It relies on charitable donations and has gained huge respect for housing native Belizean wildlife, such as jaguars, howler monkeys, tapirs, ocelots and toucans, in natural, tropical surroundings. If you’re there on the first Friday in April, you can even join hundreds of visitors in celebrating the birthday of the zoo’s resident tapir, April. The zoo has an awesome rasta-vibe, and the hand-written information posts are guaranteed to make you giggle.
This has to be one of the best design websites going around. The greatest part of the website is how you can filter design by colour. Mix and match a couple of colours and BANG! It will show you all the designs that utilize them.
Hotly tipped by a handful of soothsayers to take 2009 by storm, Trembling Bells are an altogether different and refreshing musical experience to much of what seems to excite people at the moment. On first listen, it’s fairly easy to ignore — one could casually shrug it off as some limp take on Scottish baroque folk. Yet, there is something more to it. Rarely do you hear that high-pitched, warbling voice in mainstream music. Likewise the marching band cacophony going on in the background is both daring and highly intriguing.
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You’ve got to give it to the guys at American fashion label, Attus Apparel. Just over a year into business and already they are producing some of the more … ummm … interesting photo shoots out there. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more
Get lost in a daydream or a craving for something sweet while gazing at these cool sculptures by Brooklyn-based WiNK WiNK PONY. Made using clay, tree bark, wood, and mossy moss.
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.
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
Francoise Nielly’s Yellow series
Parisian visual artist Francoise Nielly brings technicolour to the forefront in her latest series, Yellow. Featuring thick impasto palette knife strokes and trippy neon hues, Nielly captures the vulnerable expressions of her muses to a tee. Read more
We love the re-Issue of the original Raised by Wolves and Furni digital watch collaboration, which comes with a built-in phone book, stopwatch, countdown timer and multiple alarm features with melody setting. Read more
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Jaime C. Macefield said | 30 August, 2008
well, well, well. Three holes in the ground.
You are just lovely
Thank you.
xo