Belles Will Ring

Debut album from Sydney band Quiet Evenings

After a day in the studio, I sometimes struggle to fall asleep due to the music still going around in my head. The debut album by Quiet Evenings has been an antidote to this audio overload. They provide a perfect ambient grace that allows me to drift off into slumber. Out now on Sydney based label, Preservation.

Cassette Kids

We checked in with Sydney-band Cassette Kids, who have been creating quite a buzz of late, and asked them about the highlights of their extensive touring over the past six months: ‘We literally just stepped off a plane from LA. We played at SXSW in Austin over the last week and it has probably been the most awesome experience to date. It’s amazing being able to play shows and go and see shows non-stop over five days’. Read more

Bearhug’s Candy Avalanche

My music reading has been inundated with Pitchfork, Stereogum and others’ Top 100 songs of the Year lists lately. Which got me thinking: there should be a Top 100 Unsigned Song List for 2009. If such a thing existed then unsigned Sydney indie band Bearhug would be included on my list. These melodious music-makers sound just as great live as they do when recording in the studio. You can download their Cartoon Islands demo EP for free. And check out their song Candy Avalanche below.

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Ummm, Beyonce’s Single Ladies anyone?

It’s not surprising that the fifteen-year-old boy I tutor introduced me to this video. Spatial geometry and the causes of the Vietnam War gathered dust, as he made me view it numerous times, pointing out which girl was his favourite and why: the one on the left, because she’s hot; the one on the right because she is ‘hittin’ her moves’; and Beyoncé, because, well she’s Beyoncé. To be honest, after the first ten seconds of our first viewing, I became a very willing participant in the whole discussion. We talked about why Beyoncé’s pseudo-feminist lyrics sometimes annoy me (Jay-Z did ‘put a [HUGE] ring on it’) and which moves were our favourites (mine occurs at the 52 second mark, he likes the one at 1:32). Truthfully, I barely like this song, but this video is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I wonder if we could cut the sound and get Sir David Attenborough to narrate it.

Children Collide interview

It’s hard to find a misstep on the full-length debut from Melbourne band, Children Collide. The Long Now doesn’t sound like a first album: its mature, yet completely varied sound and lyrical concept makes it feel like something you’d expect from a band on their third or fourth album (you know, after the ‘cursed’ second album). Children Collide are most definitely in control, something that could have been lost while working with big-name producer, Dave Sardy. It’s rare that you pick up a CD and feel like the band has decided on everything, right down to the artwork that encases their killer album. We threw guitarist-singer Johnny Mackay a few questions about how they managed to wrap everything up in such a … errr … tight little package. Read more

The John Steel Singers’ Rainbow Kraut video

I can say with an unwavering amount of conviction that kaleidoscopes are the greatest things ever invented. Well, one of them at least. Brisbane band, The John Steel Singers, take that statement and turn it into a super cool video for their song, Rainbow Kraut. I think Oliver Sacks would agree: phantom hands should always play keyboards.