Sister Jane

Ghostwood’s Rest My Soul

Sydney’s indie music scene is peaking right now and one noteworthy band is Ghostwood. Their latest record, Rest My Soul [listen below], is just as ace as Red Version (the Pokémon-aluding hit from 2006). The melodic single bears elements of shoegaze, skilfully layering intricate guitar patterns with sultry bass, solid drumming and haunting vocals to create an ethereal ambiance. Fans can reserve an exclusive 7″ Rest My Soul vinyl this month via their Myspace page.

Sydneys Cad Factory, where all good bands hang

The Cad Factory is an inner-city warehouse space in Marrickville, Sydney that holds band and performance nights, as well as art exhibitions. The likes of Conway Savage from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Mick Turner from The Dirty Three have played solo gigs at the Factory, while electro-punk performance trio Toy Death have caused chaos onstage on a regular basis. Artists such as photographer Clare Pandemonium and painter Edwina Wrobel have contributed to the ambiance, exhibiting their works on the warehouse walls. Read more

The Archerbolds

Already with a Spectrum show under their belt, The Archerbolds are an up and coming Australian band well worth checking out. I saw the Sydney-based lads play recently at the Mars Hill Café and it was evident that they should be permanently rocking out on a real stage; not in front of coffee sippers. Their floating lyrics, smart guitar riffs and meaty bass lines are infused by The Strokes, Mars Volta, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin — ultimately producing a freshly spun modern-vintage sound. Lead vocalist and guitarist Geoffrey ‘Gep’ Rectin says The Archerbolds plan to create a solid sound for next year: ‘Over summer, we’re recording an EP and working on a set sound, defining more of an image’. If their track, Rest Your Soul, is anything to go by, then it should be pretty dandy.

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.