The music behind the new Howling Bells album, Radio Wars
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|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.
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Tagged: Australian bands, new albums, pop music, rock music
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The Grates: an ongoing diary by Patience
We love Australian band The Grates. So much so that we asked their frontwoman Patience to write an exclusive diary for Lost At E Minor over the next week, giving us the inside word on what the band are up to. We’ll run a new posting from it each day. This is her entry from last Saturday: ‘Today nothing happened. Actually, that’s not true. Today by sheer coincidence we all went and saw Batman independently. Awesome. So good. Don’t see Batman because you want to, see it because you need to. I don’t care what you think, just see it. Spend your money. At the very least it will give you something to debate with your friends about. This is something we do all the time at Grates headquarters. It’s a fun way to find out more about your friends and also solidify your own opinions. Who knows when your already explored opinion on weather it’s okay to kick a robot dog will be challenged. Trust me, something like this will one day happen to you and if you take part in regular debates with friends you will be more than able to cope with the situation’.
Listen to The Grates track, Sukkafish.
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Producing a string of international hits without releasing an album in the space of four years isn’t the norm for most artists. But Australian electro-pop outfit Miami Horror aren’t your average musicians playing by the rules. The band started off as a solo endeavour turned augmented four-piece live incarnation who incessantly test the boundaries of electro territory. I chatted with founding mastermind Benjamin Plant about their recently released debut album, Illumination Read more
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Chicago artist Damara Kaminecki (aka Damarak the Destroyer) creates the some seriously bad-ass woodcuts. With a darkly gothic, antique aesthetic, and subject matter tending towards ye old curiosity shop, Kaminecki has a body of work which truly stands out. Read more
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