(Independent)
>Mr or Mrs?
These guys are good. Despite the misleading artist name, Mrs Bishop is a flawless dream-pop duo, consisting of former royal British choristers. The five angelic compositions found on this EP remove you from your surroundings and place you in a distant euphoric trance. The single, Broken Wing, is an uplifting piece placing subtle vocals over a heavy-thumping backing track. This electro theme continues throughout the whole of the extended-player with love being the main focus on subject. Sweet vocal harmonies captivate the listener and call to mind similarities of Bon Iver or Jonsi. Although Broken Wing was the main focus, the personal favourite for this reviewer was Way Down The Wishing Well, as it had the ability to really draw you in and experience all the intricate sounds and notions included. This is an exceptional debut and only entices you for more to come.
SAM CUEVAS
Opening the night is Klaus, who are given the unfortunate task of warming up a small crowd of sober punters. Upon launching into their second song of the set, Eat. Sleep. Disco!, a cowbell is chimed awaking the audience from their sleep and launching a reaction more favourable for any performing band. Keyboardist Robbie is introduced as a new member, greeted with welcoming cries from the audience before Leatherman is executed in a Foals-eque style. Jack, who seems to be the silent achiever hidden behind a row of guitars and keys, leads the way with bouncy bass lines. Robbie shows that he is truly at home in Klaus as he dances with such precision to his playing it almost has a choreographed effect on Colin (yes the song, not another band member or mascot). Closing on a crescendo to their set, with heavier vocals, synth laden Martha concretes Klaus in a list of bands to follow (in the least stalker-ish way).
Friends of Ben grace the stage as a very non uniform, quirky style of characters. Less than five minutes into the set, vocalist Rory announces how happy he is to be playing Black Bear Lodge as he has “never been so close to public urination in any other venue” due to such complete intoxication. An awkward silence in the room naturally followed, I’m not sure if the ice broke or only cracked. The visual aspects of the drummer caught my attention for most of the set. Seeming quite stiff, though every now and then throwing a few body grooves and shapes into the mix, reminding me of the YouTube clip, ‘Drummer at the wrong gig’. The set was again interrupted as the lead vocals mic alarmed the room with feedback, dropping the band to the floor, waiting it out for the horrific noise to stop. Removed from such distractions, Friends of Ben held beautiful harmonies and played as a tight group, though their individual characteristic were much more entertaining.
A vintage combination of feel good licks and smooth vocals, calmed the crowd through Blackwood Willow’s set. With guitar parts and lead vocals that lift you onto a different cloud I found it bizarre that the audience wasn’t being as absorbed as I was, instead most chatted amongst themselves during the set, the epitome of rude.
Launching their new EP, Open Invite, Fushia are supported by a very vocal audience who don’t hold back on showing how much they love the music being played to them. With track after track of high energy, indie fun there’s no wondering why the ground can be felt shaking beneath your feet as the crowd jumps and dances around. Charasmatic frontman, Ryan pumps 110% energy into his playing, only returning to the front of the stage when it’s necessary to sing into the mic. Fushia are the perfect ending to a night filled with talent, the punters speak for themselves when they cry out at the end of closing song Brunswick Street for an encore.
TESSA FOX
>THE EDUCATOR from THE WINNIE COOPERS and MUSIC INDUSTRY COLLEGE wins an award but fails in his mission to meet Kamahl as he takes you inside the MusicOz Awards at the Sydney Opera House
I am a competition addict. There I’ve said it. I guess admitting it is the first step. Whether it is movie tickets on the radio, a meat tray raffle at a school fete or a car on Wheel of Fortune, I will enter and I want to win. One of the difficult things for artists however is when you enter your music into a competition, you are not just emailing an MP3, you are submitting your heart and soul. Frustratingly, the judging process of a music competition can be quite subjective and biased. I guess that is why there were so many disenchanted faces at the MusicOz Awards, everyone believes in their own music, but not everyone shares this belief.
For example, in our category of Urban, which is a classification I still can’t define, there were artists reminiscent of Usher, Linkin Park, Moby and The Cat Empire. How can such a diverse range of styles be judged in the same category? Now, I’m not sending my award back, but perhaps there needs to be more of a distinction between genres instead of grouping styles like World/Folk together.
Hosted by a nervously awkward Sarah McLeod, the night showcased such music industry dignitaries as Dickie Wilkins, Chooka Parker, The Playboy Bunnies and the evergreen Kamahl, who proved too elusive for me to grab a Facebook “selfie” with. (As a side note, wouldn’t it be great if he and Charli 2na did a collaboration? Serious bass). Sometimes dwarfed by the imposing Sydney Opera House itself, the ceremony really came to life with performances by Dallas Frasca and Kid Mac, the latter taking out Artist of the Year.
However, I was a little disappointed about some of the promises that were not kept by the organisers of the function. Instead of a stretch Hummer, nominees were treated to a ride on a fire engine leaving me to feel like I was on a very trashy hen’s night. Instead of a red carpet, there was the cold rubble of the steps of the Opera House. Nevertheless, for many artists, the night was a pat on the back for undertaking the arduous journey of being an independent musician.
It would be easy to be overly critical of the MusicOz Awards, in fact 73% of viewers of the live YouTube broadcast disliked the video. But one has to remember their motivation and desire to promote independent Australian music to the world. As Kamahl would say, “Why are people so unkind?”
THE WINNIE COOPERS ARE SUPPORTING YUNG WARRIORS AT SURFERS PARADISE BEERGARDEN 30TH MAY, RACECOURSE HOTEL 31ST MAY, THE ZOO 1ST JUNE AND CABOOLTURE HOTEL 2ND OF JUNE. THEY WILL ALSO PERFORM AT VALLEY VIBES, JULY 14TH, VALLEY PCYC.
>These boys could play toy instruments and it’d sound bloody amazing.
They certainly sound just as good live as they do recorded, if not even better. King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard don’t really boast about having a lead vocalist as they all pretty much shout into the microphones – except for one who deep throats the amplifying apparatus like a seasoned corner-worker. Guitar solos are replaced with heavily distorted vocal harmonic solos and fuck having a keyboard player when you’ve got you’re designated tambourine man, who occasionally swings his arms around some apparatus creating wicked sounds.
These punks definitely have 60′s garage influences like The Music Machine and The Sonics, tossing in a bit of The Cramps also to their sound I’d say. One Gizzard (or Lizard) broke a string on his guitar but still continued to play for 15 minutes till the end of the set. For a gig in an auditorium it was surely good. Golden medals to the sound and lighting people, as it sounded great and looked brilliant.
The only downside to the show is that attendance was low, probably pertaining to the expensive ticket price, as even I probably wouldn’t have paid that much. Kids underage wouldn’t want to toss $15-20 for some bands they probably hadn’t heard on commercial radio. They’d much rather spend the money on some goon sacks and a pack of Marlboro’s, speaking generally. Not saying all teenagers drink goon. Sometimes their classy, with passion pop or Smirnoff’s wonderful vodka sacks, bringing teenage binge drinking to another level.
Must say though, other than a great performance by King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard the highlight of my night was walking home down Brunswick St and having some beefed up muscle man beg me to touch his cock. With that being said this is the end.
COCO BAULCH
From the small town of Yorkshire, UK Daniel Pearson has evolved into an acclaimed artist with delicately constructed acoustic guitar, which accompanies his heart-warming vocals. Daniel’s debut album Satellites, set to release on the 9th of July has a diverse range of moods from the deep and at times sorrowful sounds of Civilians track 6 to the upbeat and feel good sounds of 4th July track 5. I really just loved the build up that was evident in the first three songs and the arrangement of the CD having a mixture of easy going acoustic songs and up beat ‘step in time’ tunes. After listening to the album start to finish, I could picture myself in a country pub’s beer garden on a Sunday afternoon. Even though I don’t even drink beer that is the kind of atmosphere the music reminds me of. This album is definitely different to anything I have heard and if I were to give it a rating I would give 4 out of 5 overall. This album really meets my expectations of an album, a mixture of up beat, feel good tracks and the reminiscing easy-going tracks.
NICK ZISCHKE
>Wake me when the Blues revival ends
You can’t deny that The Thomas Oliver Band is full of talented musicians, no matter how much you may want to. The problem is not with the musicianship, the recording, the lyrics or the vocals but rather the fact that this group and a myriad of others are continuing to flog this blues/roots horse to a bloody pulp. I mean how many variations on the 8-bar blues can there be? It is the desire to emulate Ash Grunwald, John Lee Hooker and at times JBT, that is the issue. There is nothing necessarily wrong with the album, but that doesn’t make it right either. The guitar work on the title track is a highlight, but I could find myself singing the lyrics to a thousand other similar songs whilst listening to Baby, I’ll Play. Perhaps even a lullaby before bed.
REID FENNELL
Gold Coast hip hop stalwarts, The Winnie Coopers, have been nominated for a Musicoz Award with vocalist The Educator heading to the Sydney Opera House for the awards ceremony. “We’re humbled to be nominated. I am hoping to meet Kamahl”, explained The Educator. The Winnie Coopers submitted material from their third and latest LP, Surface Parasites, into what is regarded as Australia’s biggest independent music competition and are now finalists in the Urban category. A secondary teacher by day at Music Industry College Brisbane, The Educator hopes the nomination will encourage his students,”I have the privilege of working with some very talented young musicians…everyone should take advantage of opportunities such as Musicoz.”
SAM TURNER
>A revolutionary road to the retro
I was finally able to drag my lazy ass to a computer to write a review after being busy not trying to make a difference. I hope our readers will forgive me! Before even listening to the song I became excited, although some members of the band look pretty typical of the current music scene, with their tattoos and smouldering eyes. You realise after hearing this single you really, regardless how much of a true know it all you think you are, can be wrong. Anyhow, the reason for the excitement came because the Gracenote database in iTunes couldn’t recognise the song. The first guess the database had was “Grease Lightning- Grease”, yes it was quite out of the ordinary. After hearing the first opening growls and the songs flustered lyrical style mixed with a to die for instrumentation, Too Young proved to be a song that could open the door of a more interesting and ambitious style in the local scene. The Piano skills shown off by Mike Ting without a doubt can sure be considered the highlight of the song, pressing his fingers perfectly across every key. After the explosive exhibition finished, I realised that the band really could have a decent fan base if they can even get me on board. The tune could relate to almost anybody that has broken out in song inappropriately in a Myer store or busted a move at a wedding sober. It could be a flamboyantly modern Grease lightning, a nutbush or anything reminiscent of the Clash. The point is, it’s there.
DYLAN ANDERSON
>CALEB ROSSI gets the 411 with Charles from THE MEDICS
What made you want to start a band together?
We were all mates in school and we thought, Hey! Lets start a band! and that’s how it started.
What made you move to Brisbane?
The music scene up in Cairns isn’t very large, so we decided to move down to Brisbane where the scene was bigger and a lot more energetic.
Is the music scene in Cairns different to Brisbane? How?
Definitely, it’s a lot better and more serious. Everyone seems to get into the music a lot more.
Your first official E.P, This Boat We Call Love was a big success. Would you say that’s what started the ball rolling?
I think it was a stepping-stone to bigger things. Definitely getting signed to a record label and being played on Triple J is what started us off.
You’re releasing your new album Foundations on the 18th of May, what can people expect from that?
We want people to be like Wow, this is amazing. So that’s what you can expect. We’re all extremely happy with the final product and we’re looking forward to when it’s released.
Are you planning to go on tour for the release for that album?
Yeah we’re releasing tour dates for later this year after Foundations is released.
What can people expect from your live performance?
People can expect an energetic alive show. It’ll definitely be lots of fun and we try to get our fans really into it.
Your song Joseph is a favourite, what made you decide to redo that song?
We weren’t too happy with the original version, the song and the recording quality. We wanted to try and capture the live effect on the video while experimenting with some other things.
What would you say the bands major influences are?
Some major influences as a band would be, At The Drive In, Manchester Orchestra, La Dispute and The Mars Volta.
What are the plans for the future for The Medics?
Sell a whole bunch of albums and retire, that’d be awesome. Apart from that, there might be a new album coming soon. We’re hoping to just go out on a trip for about 3 weeks just writing songs.
How has being in a band changed you?
It’s definitely opened my eyes, made me realise that nothing is impossible. Like, who would have thought a Cairns band would make it this far.
And finally, is there any advice that you’d give to aspiring musicians?
Just keep going, don’t give up no matter what. Try to keep your own sound as much as possible.
CALEB ROSSI
(Spank Betty Records)
>Dallas hits hard, but I’m not talking about the Cowboys
There is a real magic associated with this album. From the initial sight of the artwork to the moment the play button is pressed on iTunes, you feel a rush of true grimy rock overcoming you. Then the bittersweet vocals of Dallas Frasca begin. By this time the chair cannot contain your excitement, as what your ears have been deprived of hearing, since the likes of Janis Joplin; have finally returned. Sound Painter is a hard-hitting, soul-shaking album that lives up to Dallas’ renowned title of being the queen of Australian Roots. The album was recorded in a New York warehouse with producer Andy Baldwin (Bjork, Living End, Cat Empire) with absolutely no click track involved throughout. This was in an effort to show that they can perform their creations live, and they’re very successful in doing so. Dirty, memorable and energetic, Sound Painter is a record that you can’t miss out on.
SAM CUEVAS
