The Music (Perth) Issue #8 by TheMusic.com.au

# 0 8 • 0 2 . 1 0 . 1 3 • P E R T H • F R E E • I N C O R P O R AT I N G

JINJA SAFARI T H E Y W E N T O N AN ACC T UA L J I N JA S A FA R I . . .

fashion

NEW ROMANTICS

travel

AYAHUASCA HUASCA

eat

HOMEMADE EMADE

drink

STUDENT UDENT DRINKING

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THE ACADEMY

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FT: Anchored + Nicholas Cage Fighter + Hollow Ground

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4 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 5

themusic 2ND OCTOBER 2013

#008

“THIS TRACK HAS GOT ME INTO A LOT OF TROUBLE IN THE PAST.”

INSIDE THIS WEEK La Veen

Silver Hills

review

Jarrad Seng

NEWS

N’fa Jones Mulder Tumbleweed Sage Francis Big Sean

FEATURES Jinja Safari

Sleigh Bells Deep Sea Arcade CHVRCHES Swervedriver Man Man Novacaines

ALBUM REVIEWS Oneohtrix Point Never

Eleventh He Reaches London Icona Pop Justin Timberlake Glasser Gooch Palms

LIVE REVIEWS ListenOut Resound

AZEALIA BANKS PLAYED HARLEM SHAKE AT LISTEN OUT [P41]

“VOCALIST NOAH SKAPE COULD HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THE MIDDLE OF A BROADWAY PERFORMANCE.” KANE SUTTON GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL AT RESOUND [P41]

“THE BAND’S BEEN CLASSIFIED AS “REAL EXCELLENT, DUMB, AUSTRALIAN ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC”; AN UNEXPECTED COMBINATION OF ADJECTIVES THAT SEEM TO REFLECT CANNON’S INTERPRETATION OF WHAT MUSIC IS, BUT HOPEFULLY NOT THE ENTIRE NATION’S.” KERSHIA WONG DOESN’T LIKE CANNON’S NEW RECORD [P40]

“THERE’S A SHELL PETROL STATION WHICH HAS STALE SAUSAGE ROLLS AND THAT WAS ABOUT THE CLOSEST THING TO LIFE AROUND THERE” SILVER HILLS’ MARK MCGLUE, ON THE ART OF SUBURBAN RECORDING [P35]

feature “I’M LITERALLY LIVING MY DREAM; YOU COULD GIVE ME EVERY DOLLAR IN THE WORLD AND I’D STILL DO SLEIGH BELLS THE WAY I DO IT NOW.” SLEIGH BELLS TELL DANIEL CRIBB [P20]

Xavier Rudd

THE GUIDE Ermine Coat Simo Soo Tapeheads The Ghost Hotel Student Drinking Ayahuasca

gaming 6 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

“THE EXPERIENCE SERVES AS A PORTAL TO A CHILDLIKE VIEW OF GAMING – ALLNIGHTERS LACED WITH PIZZA AND RED-CREAMING SODA SPIDERS.” SIMON HOLLAND PLAYS SAINT’S ROW IV [P44]

FREMANTLE

WWW.YA-YAS.COM.AU

WED 02 OCT

EGO W/

The Itch, The Lake and the River, The Strychnine Cowboys $5/7:30PM

THURS 03 OCT

JAZZ AT YAYA’S 1ST BIRTHDAY! W/

The JC5, Max Koenig, The Brodie Stewart Collective $5/7:30PM

FRI 04 OCT

ROBERT HINTON ALBUM LAUNCH

FRIDAY 4TH CARUS THOMPSON SATURDAY 5TH VDELLI ALBUM LAUNCH SUNDAYS THE ZYDECATS TUESDAYS QUIZ NIGHT WEDNESDAYS CHET LEONARD’S BINGOTEQUE

CITY BEACH FRIDAY 4TH BELLEVILLE GYSPY JAZZ QUARTET SATURDAY 5TH FROM 5:30PM BELEZA SAMBA DANCERS SUNDAYS SALT SHAKER SUNDAYS W/ DJ BOOGIE & THE SALT SHAKER SELECTORS

THURSDAY OCTOBER 3rd MOANA

+ LATE NIGHT HYSTERICS + THEY’RE THERE

Tashi, Eleven Eleven, Turin Robinson $10/6:30PM

SAT 05 OCT

FROM THE DUNES SINGLE LAUNCH W/

These Winter Nights, Lunar Inverse $10/7:30PM

MON 07 OCT

BIG TOMMO’S OPEN MIC

SUNDAY OCTOBER 6TH

THE DE NIROS + ORDER OF THE BLACK WEREWOLF + THE BOB GORDONS + CHAINSAW HOOKERS + PAT DECLINE + DJ HOLLY DOLL

coming soon

THURSDAY OCTOBER 10TH

The Aunts

+ Queens Boulevarde + The London Bureau

Our solution to the Monday blues

SUNDAY OCTOBER 13TH

Free/7:30PM

Southern Grits Band + Datura + DJ Holly Doll

TUES 08 OCT

FRESH JAMS W/

Discordians, Tooths, Crawjaw $5/7:30PM

WED 09 OCT

THURSDAY OCTOBER 17TH

The Crooked Cats + Special Guests

SUNDAY OCTOBER 20TH

Special Brew + DJ Razor Jack + Special Guests

HAHA’S @ YAYA’S Tien Tran, Dayne Rathbone, Sean Woodland, Emmet Glynn $15/7:30PM Cnr James & Lake St Northbridge 147 James Street Northbridge 6003

FREE ENTRY

46 LAKE ST, NORTHBRIDGE 9328 2350 LIVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK ENQUIRIES info@mustangbar.com.au www.mustangbar.com.au

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 7

CREDITS PUBLISHER

Street Press Australia Pty Ltd

GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast

EDITOR Callum Twigger

ASSISTANT EDITOR Cam Findlay

MUSO EDITOR Michael Smith

ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Cass Fumi wa.arts@themusic.com.au

GIG GUIDE Justine Lynch wa.gigs@themusic.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS Aarom Wilson, Adrienne Downes, Amber Flynn, Andy Snelling, Annabel Maclean, Athina Mallis, Chantelle Gabriel, Christopher James, Claire Hodgson, Daniel Cribb, Eli Gould, James Hunt, Jeﬀ Kit, Jeremy Carson, Jessica Tana, Kane Sutton, Kershia Wong, Kitt Di Camillo, Liv Gardner, Lukas Murphy, Luke Butcher, Mac McNaughton, Marcia Czerniak, Mark Neilsen, Matthew Tomich, Michael Caves, Natasha Lee, Rachel Inglis, Renee Jones, Ross Clelland, Scott Aitken, Simon Holland, Steve Bell, Tess Ingram, Tom Birts, Troy Mutton, Zoe Barron.

THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 2 OCTOBER - 8 OCTOBER 2013

eat

PHOTOGRAPHERS

look

David Lewis, Daniel Cribb, Ebony Frost, Elle Borgward, Jacinta Mathews, Michael Caves, Kieren Chew, Rhys Machell, Ted Dana

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Brett Dayman sales@themusic.com.au

ADVERTISING DEPT Bronwyn Bate bronwyn@themusic.com.au

ART DIRECTOR Nicholas Hopkins

ART DEPT Eamon Stewart, Brendon Wellwood, Julian De Bono wa.art@themusic.com.au

ADMIN & ACCOUNTS

King Street, the imperial centre of Perth from which great things radiate outwards, has a new occupant: La Veen. A coffee/light meal joint of the Melbourne school, La Veen offers on-the-go type edibles, consumable goods that can be put into the mouth while the feet are walking. Muffins, cakes, sandwiches, et al. They handle a sharp espresso – the team behind La Veen partook in the Melbourne International Coffee Expo earlier this year. Inner-city fuel.

WA photographer Jarred Seng is a fixture in the Perth music community: a working definition of a Perth band is a band that has been shot live by Mr Seng. For a l l t e r v a t n, Jarred trains his lens to a stranger plane indeed: shooting out of the window of a light aircraft, he has captured the feverish imagery of volcanic rivers among Iceland’s mountainous lava deserts and wastelands. a l l t e r v a t n launches Sunday 6 October at the thrilling new MYRE creative space in Fremantle.

Loretta Zoppolone Shelley Neergaard Jarrod Kendall Leanne Simpson accounts@themusic.com.au

DISTRO Anita D’Angelo distro@themusic.com.au

SUBSCRIPTIONS store.themusic.com.au

CONTACT US Tel 08 9228 9655 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au 1/205-207 Bulwer St, Perth WA PO Box 507 Mount Lawley WA 6929

Suburban psychedelic-rockers who’ve spent half a year knitting their sound into a rich tapestry, Silver Hills unveil their debut EP Plasticine Daydream on Friday 4 October at The Bird. Denizens of Subiaco’s wonderful Corner Gallery and regular performers therein, the Hills’ sound is colour. Psychadelia has become far too broad a term in the musical lexicon, but the Hills carve out the shit and tighten galactic guitar-riffs back to the fundamentals. PERTH

launch

BEEN TO A FESTIVAL IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS?

WHY YOU DON’T GO TO LOCAL GIGS

industry

AGE GROUPS 80

100

60 91.9%

93.2%

94.7%

68.7%

96.4%

50 40

7.5%

0.5%

2.3%

3.3%

4.7%

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7.5%

28.5%

81.3%

AFFECT A BIT OR A LOT

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68.9%

82.4%

92.6%

83.5%

79.1%

94.2%

98.6% 29.2%

33.2%

35.4%

39.6%

11.1%

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55.8%

19.4%

20 15

DOESN’T AFFECT OR INDIFFERENT

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5 0

State Of The Industry 2013 Australians don’t go to festivals because they don’t like the line-ups and they cost too much. That’s the conclusion we can take from the Moshtix State Of The Industry 2013 report, which The Music has exclusively got its hands on this week. Covering festival habits to local gigs (“But there are no venues near me!”), the report’s latest edition surveyed 5,000 people from around the country and we take a snapshot of the key facts on this page. The festival stats are incredibly interesting given the upheaval in the market at the moment (Harvest cancelled, Soundwave’s AJ Maddah buying into Big Day Out) and confirm that at the end of the day it’s the music that matters. “When we started the survey we hadn’t been exposed to some of the stuff that has come out recently,” says Moshtix CEO Harley Evans. “We didn’t have the context then that we have now.”

Recent festival developments, including an event’s decoration or theme, food and drink variety and after parties, ranked low in the poll – with few saying they had any effect on the festival experience. Out of the respondents, 93.7 per cent have been to a festival in the past two years. “It’s difficult to come up with an all encompassing festival statement,” says Evans. “Some festivals are known for their line-ups and headliners and others are hoping to have a mix of artists and may not

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What Stops Aussies Going To Festivals?

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need a headliner… I think nirvana is for a promoter to announce their festival without a line-up and still get a response.” Compare the reasons not to go to a festival over the past five years to the same question over the past two years and both costs and sub-par line-ups are growing concerns. Evans says, “Artists aren’t getting cheaper, but [promoters have] got to keep ticket prices in check. We’ve seen that once prices get to a certain point people start to fall off.” Alternatively, the talent and costs aren’t the biggest hurdles to local shows in Australia – it’s the lack of venues. With the sustainability of live music venues and the perceived illegality of small ‘warehouse’ venues ever in the news, 68.7 per cent of Australia believe there’s no local venues in their area. All figures published with permission from the Moshtix State Of The Industry Research Report 2013, carried out by CoreData THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER • 9

national news news@themusic.com.au LORDE

LANEWAY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS

From little things big things grow, and Laneway Festival continues to move on up. With dates already announced for this year – 31 Jan, RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane; 1 Feb, Footscray Community Arts Centre and the River’s Edge, Melbourne; 2 Feb, Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle; 8 Feb, Esplanade Park and West End, Fremantle – we can now tell you who will be delivering the soundtrack to the festivities. In alphabetical order: Adalita, Autre Ne Veut, Cashmere Cat, Cass McCombs, Chvrches, Cloud Control*, Danny Brown, Daughter, Dick Diver, Drenge, Earl Sweatshirt, Four Tet, Frightened Rabbit, Haim*, Jagwar Ma, Jamie xx, King Krule, Kirin J Callinan, Kurt Vile, Lorde*, Mount Kimbie, Mt Warning, Parquet Courts, Run The Jewels (EL-P & Killer Mike), Savages, Scenic, The Growl, The Jezabels*, Unknown Mortal Orchestra*, Vance Joy, Warpaint, XXYYXX and Youth Lagoon. And if you see this * next to the name above, guess what, you can only catch them at Laneway. Don’t miss out on what’s already shaping up to be one of the festivals of 2014; tickets go on sale Thursday from 9am.

A DIFFERENT SHADE OF RHYME

MARCH AS ONE

After a 15-year gap, the mighty Hunters & Collectors have announced they will once again headline nationally, bringing their no-bullshit, total passion approach to fans right across Australia. Responsible for some of our most iconic songs, the guys will be expecting your full voice when they play A Day On The Green concerts 25 Jan, The Hill Winery, Geelong; 1 Feb, Bimbadgen Winery, Hunter Valley; 2 Feb, Sirromet Wines, Mt Cotton; 22 Mar, Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley; and 29 Mar, Kings Park and Botanical Garden, Perth, with a cracking selection of undercards that include the likes of You Am I, Something For Kate, British India and Diesel. H&C also clock in for a couple of special headline performances, taking place 4 Apr, Enmore Theatre, Sydney and 11 Apr, Palais Theatre, Melbourne. Both these shows are all ages, with support from The Panics; grab your tickets from 11 Oct.

DOWN WITH THE DOUCHEBAGS

Perennial party starters Bluejuice are back at it once more with baiting pop gem S.O.S, and are keen to remind you just how they get down with some capital city shows to celebrate the release. Dress up, dress down – whatever the fuck you want to do, the lads all but encourage it. Just be at Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 1 Nov; Capitol, Perth, 2 Nov; Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, 3 Nov; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 8 Nov (all ages); and The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 9 Nov. THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS

Beat poet, spoken word artist, battle rapper, indie hip hop artist; however you know Sage Francis, you’ll be happy to learn the husky American is coming to Australia with first time visitors from Sweden Looptroop Rockers and local flavour Tenfold. Microphones will be rocked at The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 12 Dec; The Hi-Fi, Sydney, 13 Dec; The Hi-Fi, Melbourne, 14 Dec; and Villa Nightclub, Perth, 18 Dec.

OUT OF THE CANE FIELDS Since emerging from the sleepy Northern Rivers town of Mullumbimby to chase her American dreams as a 15-year-old, Iggy Azalea has had a one-way ticket for stardom. The American-based MC will be returning to Australia at the end of this month as main support for Beyonce’s arena tour. If you want to see the Aussie freestyler in more intimate surrounds, however, you can catch one of her headline club shows, happening at Trak Live Lounge, Melbourne, 25 Oct; Arena, Brisbane, 27 Oct; and Metro Theatre, Sydney, 2 Nov.

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING

Pulling the final cut, Blinded, from their ARIA top ten album, Controller, British India will make one final play on the road to cap off 2013. The evergreen Melbourne rockers play The Hi-Fi, Melbourne, 18 Oct; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 1 Nov; Play It Loud, National Convention Centre, Canberra, 15 Nov (all ages); The Zoo, Brisbane, 22 and 23 Nov; Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, 28 Nov; Settlers Tavern, Margaret River, 29 Nov; and Capitol, Perth, 30 Nov.

“JUST SERVED JOE STRUMMER A PINT IN NYC. SO HAPPY”

UM, ODDS ARE YOU DIDN’T AJAX KENTISH [@THEAKA]. 10 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

WELL AND TRULY BACK

Brisbane’s favourite sextet The John Steel Singers are ready to remind us all what we fell in love with not that long ago. Three years on from debut record Tangalooma and the guys are set to give us Everything’s A Thread, a colourful collection of indie rock which they’ll launch on a national tour, happening 8 Nov, Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne; 9 Nov, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; 13 Nov, Beach Road Hotel, Sydney; 14 Nov, The Den, Wollongong; 15 Nov, Small Ballroom, Newcastle; 16 Nov, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney; 28 Nov, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba; 29 Nov, The Zoo, Brisbane; 30 Nov, Solbar, Maroochydore; and 7 Dec, Slanted & Enchanted Festival, Perth. Tickets on sale now, with all dates proudly presented by The Music.

national news news@themusic.com.au BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB

FRANZ FERDINAND

LUCKY LUCKY

Harvest has been canned – it sucks, we know. But on the upside, there’s a bunch of buff headline tours being announced from some of the biggest names that were featured on the 2013 bill. First up we’ve got stylish Scot rockers Franz Ferdinand, who will bring their brand new record Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action to Aussie stages for the very first time. Catch them along the east coast: 14 Nov, Forum Theatre, Melbourne; 14 Nov, Metro Theatre, Sydney; and 17 Nov, The Tivoli, Brisbane. Tickets on sale Thursday.

HALF MOON RUN

RISING UP

Since visiting us as an unknown quantity almost one year ago, Canadian indie folkies Half Moon Run have been constantly kicking goals and now, after getting a worldwide release for their record Dark Eyes and touring with the likes of Mumford & Sons and Of Monsters and Men, they return to our parts invigorated and ready for anything. Proudly presented by The Music, the quartet’s tour will wrap right around the country: 2 Jan, Solbar, Maroochydore; 3 Jan, Old Museum, Brisbane; 4 Jan, The Northern, Byron Bay; 9 Jan, The Small Ballroom, Newcastle; 10 Jan, Heritage Hotel, Bulli; 11 Jan, The Standard, Sydney; 14 Jan, The Brass Monkey, Cronulla; 16 Jan, Fly By Night, Fremantle; 18 Jan; Karova Lounge, Ballarat; and 19 Jan, Corner Hotel, Melbourne.

GET STUFFED

Never Loved Elvis, the much celebrated third record by The Wonder Stuff, was the pinnacle of the alt. rock group’s career, and now the quintet will celebrate that landmark full-length with their fans this side of world. The Brits will play four capital city shows, taking place 27 Feb, The Zoo, Brisbane; 28 Feb, Corner Hotel, Melbourne; 1 Mar, The Factory, Sydney; and 2 Mar, Rosemount Hotel, Perth. Tickets available this Thursday.

FULL THROTTLE ROCK

Another Harvest casualty who is running the red light is Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, with the band arriving off the back of their scintillating sixth album, Specter At The Feast. Inspired by the death of bassist Robert Been’s father, the record is heartbreakingly honest, with the aching lyrical content dictating sonics that are both awkward and inspiring at once. Catch the leather-clad fury on stage at Metropolis, Fremantle, 13 Nov; Billboard The Venue, Melbourne, 15 Nov; The Hi-Fi, Sydney, 16 Nov (all ages); and The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 17 Nov.

“IF YOU WANT TO GET TO KNOW SOMEONE, ARGUE WITH THEM” [@KELLYOXFORD] CALLS FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF BONDING.

PRECIOUS METALS

NEVER TOO LATE

SMOKING ‘WEED

LARGER THAN LIFE

The brains and creative soul behind American FM rockers Live, Ed Kowalczyk, will be celebrating the release of that band’s seminal second record Throwing Copper by performing the fulllength in its entirety, plus a collection of fan favourites from the band’s and his own catalogue. He will pull into Metro City, Perth, 5 Feb; Forum Theatre, Melbourne, 8 Feb; Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 11 Feb; and The Tivoli, Brisbane, 12 Feb. Tickets on sale this Friday.

Wollongong legends Tumbleweed are well and truly back, with new album Sounds From The Other Side yet another victory from a group with nothing left to prove. They’ll let it out on stage at Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 21 Nov; Mojos Bar, Fremantle, 22 Nov; Central Club Hotel, Melbourne, 29 Nov; The Tempo Hotel, 5 Dec; Metro Theatre, 6 Dec; and Waves, Wollongong, 7 Dec.

Since their Timbaland assisted single, Apologize, gave them a number one in 16 different countries, OneRepublic have continued to present us with hit after hit. Hear the back catalogue and tracks from their latest LP Native when they play 9 Nov, Metro City, Perth; 11 Nov, The Tivoli, Brisbane; 12 Nov, The Star, Sydney; and 14 Nov, The Palace, Melbourne. Local lass Emma Birdsall supports on all dates, while American pals Boyce Avenue will be on the bill in Sydney and Melbourne.

After setting the hip hop world alight with his Kendrick Lamar assisted sonic boom Control, Big Sean has become one of the most buzzedabout rappers on the planet. Now, the GOOD Music artist is going to get your head nodding to the bangers when he hits Australia, taking over the Arena, Brisbane, 14 Nov; The Hi-Fi, Sydney, 15 Nov; The Prince, Melbourne, 16 Nov; and Capitol, Perth, 17 Nov. THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER • 11

local news wa.news@themusic.com.au BIRDS OF TOKYO

N’FA JONES

CALLING DR JONES

MIGRATION SEASON

In between massive support slots for rock powerhouse band Muse later this year, Birds Of Tokyo will also perform a few of their own headlining shows. It has been a stellar year for the local band on the back of their hugely successful album March Fires, which debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums chart when it was released earlier this year. The record is also slated for a North American release sometime next year. The band only recently completed their March Fires album tour, but they’re hitting up the country - including a stop at Homebake - with the local leg hitting Metropolis Fremantle on Fri 29 Nov, the day before their Muse support slot at Perth Arena.

SOMETHING BLUES

One of the most prodigal musical outfits in this city, Perth Blues Club is celebrating its 21st birthday very soon. The party is going to be so big is that it couldn’t be confined to just one night or one stage: two days and two stages are being given over to a weekend of blues in celebration of PBC’s coming of age – Sat 12 and Sun 13 Oct. Fittingly, the Charles Hotel - where the club has resided for the past 21 years - will play host to the celebrations. Running from midday to midnight on Saturday and throughout the day on Sunday, there is way too much going on to fit in here. Head to perthbluesclub.com for the full lineup, chock-full of bluesy goodness.

JUST IN TIME

Kris Nelson is taking his dark/jazz infused rock project Minute 36 back on the road to launch his third studio release The Secret EP. Although recording started back in late 2011, tracking was put on hold due to the opportunity to tour his project internationally to Toronto for Canadian Music Week. Since then Nelson attended the ‘JB Seed’ program in The Blue Mountains and also toured the eastern states and WA numerous times. In a small break in tours, Nelson finally found the time to finish the tracking for The Secret EP in June this year. He launches it at PICA Bar on Sat 12 Oct, with Simone & Girlfunkle, The Polly Medlen Band and Mossy Fog in support. Free entry. 12 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

BREAKING THE MULDER

N’fa Jones, formerly of much loved old-school hip hop trio 1200 Techniques, is back with the first taste of his latest solo venture with the track Life’s A Game. Taken from forthcoming studio album Black + White Noise, out early 2014 on Drapht’s label The Ayems, Life’s A Game sees Jones looking back on his rollercoaster of a life and sees the singer catching up with his new take on life. Back with a vengeance, N’fa Jones will embark on a national tour this spring to celebrate the release of his latest track. He heads to The Manor on Fri 18 Oct; Electric Vines in the Swan Valley, Sat 19; and a special DJ set at GETDOWN Festival at Fly By Night Sun 20.

On Thurs 24 Oct at Flyrite, Mulder are set to launch their new double single Magic Mike/Love Will Tear Us Apart. The release is a journey into the heavier side of the Perth duo’s take on electronica with hard technoedged beats, frantic breakcore and Mulder’s signature vocal sound. The duo have had a big year so far: from a tour of South Korea to play the Boryeong Mud Festival and club venues in Seoul, to playing to their biggest crowds in Australia at venues such as Metro City, Capitol, Villa and Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club, and supporting acts such as Six60 and What So Not. The new double single release promises to up the ante. The festivities kick off at 8pm with supports from Lilt and Ssnoob, tickets $10 on the door.

STICKS AND STONES

RTRFM’s flagship dance music program Full Frequency comes to life at Broken, Beaten, Scratched – a night showcasing Perth’s thriving electro, breaks, d’n’b and dubstep scenes with unrelenting dance floor action on Fri 18 Oct at Geisha Bar. The Broken, Beaten, Scratched line-up features Monday Full Frequency’s Micah and Philly Blunt‘s potent mix of electro, breaks and other up-tempo dance music styles, and Wednesday Full Frequency’s Dart and Sardi serving up wallshaking drum’n’bass. Plus, local stalwarts Ekko & Sidetrack, Riot Class and Charlie Chan join in on the action. Head to rtrfm.com.au for tickets, with the usual bonuses for subscribers.

ONEREPUBLIC

ALL FOR ONE

Lead by multi-Grammy Award winning songwriter and producer, vocalist Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic is one of the biggest pop acts around at the moment. Tedder has contributed to some of the biggest pop songs of recent memory, including Beyoncé’s number one smash Halo, Leona Lewis’ Bleeding Love and Adele’s Turning Tables and Rumour Has It, for which he won his first Grammy. Formed in 2002, the band exploded into the spotlight five years later with the release of the Timbalandproduced track Apologize, but have not slowed down from there. The band head to Metro City on Sat 9 November. Onerepublic. com and livenation.com.au for tickets.

john mayer dave matthews band doobie brothers erykah badu boy & Bear steve earle &the dukes gary clark jr russell morris plus more to be announced!

tickets on sale monday 14th october from moshtix.com.au, moshtix outlets or 1300 get tix 18+ event (children with parents permitted). for under 18 ticketing details see website. artists and lineup subject to change

sunday 13th april 2014 fremantle park, fremantle www.westcoastbluesnroots.com.au

THE MUSIC â&#x20AC;˘ 2ND OCTOBER 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ 13

local news wa.news@themusic.com.au

NOSAJ THING

ON THE NOSE

LA-based electronic experimentalist Nosaj Thing makes his anticipated return to Australia this November following the release of his lauded sophomore album Home, released earlier this year. Returning to the country to showcase his innovative mix of hip hop and electronic-infused production, the show is not to be missed for music fans from both sides of the spectrum. Having been three years since the release of Nosaj Thing’s highly acclaimed debut album, Drift, anticipation has built for his return, which touches down at The Bakery on Fri 15 Nov, with some awesome local support in Kit Pop, Sable and Mei Saraswati. Tickets through nowbaking.com.au.

SWEET SENEGAL

Here’s one for diehard fans of African music: Kulcha, in partnership with Djibril Diagne, are hosting an African Drum & Dance camp in Senegal between 7 and 27 Jan 2014. The program will be delivered by Senegalese world-class professional artists, experienced in teaching both Western and African pupils. Students will have the opportunity to learn Sabar and Djemba drumming and dancing techniques. The camp would take place at ‘Ecole des Sables’, a fishing village of Toubab Dialaw, 55km from Dakar on the coast. That’s pretty bloody exciting stuff, and if it interests you (and you have a spare three grand) then contact Djibril at 0411021966 or jandjibril@gmail.com by 31 October 2013.

OLIVER “TUKU” MTUKUDZI

SOUL OF THE COUNTRY

Ambassador Oliver Mtukudzi, or “Tuku”, as he is best known to his fans, was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and recorded his first album in 1975 before being crowned Music Ambassador by the Government Of Zimbabwe. He is arguably the most powerful creative force to emerge from Zimbabwe in the past four decades. The legendary world music icon’s skills encompass lead singing, songwriting and finger-tipped, soul-filled guitar-playing. Distinguished by his deep, gravelly voice that seems to come from the depths of his spirit and a huge talent for writing songs that reflect on the daily life and struggles of the people of his homeland, Mtukudzi can rightly be called not only Zimbabwe’s, but one of Africa’s greatest musical artists. He heads to Ascot Racecourse on Thurs 7 Nov. Tickets through Oztix.

“JIM MORRISON’S POSTER CAREER IS FAR SUPERIOR TO HIS MUSIC CAREER” CAMDEN MARKET VENDORS WOULD AGREE WITH JULIAN MCCULLOUGH [@JULEZMAC].

WED OCT 2 SEPTEMBER SUN + Triangle Fight 8pm, $10 entry (UK) + Umpire + Runner THU OCT 3 SWERVEDRIVER 8pm, Tix rosemounthotel.com.au EP LAUNCH + Jacob Diamond + Morgan FRI OCT 4 BEDOUIN SEA Bain + China Doll 8pm Tix from website EP LAUNCH + The Floors + Blackbirds + Antelope SAT OCT 5 APACHE 8pm, $10 entry (SWEDEN) + Prescient SUN OCT 6 SOILWORK 6pm, Tix from rosemounthotel.com.au + Heavylove + Lights Of Berlin

for more details and tickets head to www.rosemounthotel.com.au the rosemount hotel, corner of angove & ﬁtzgerald streets, north perth.

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16 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

music

OPEN TO EVERYTHING Words Benny Doyle. Photos Shantanu Starick.

The enthusiasm with which Jinja Safari tackle life helped shape the band’s long-awaited debut. Now, Pepa Knight and his comrades want to show you the world through their eyes, writes Benny Doyle.

he blissed-out sounds. The Afrobeat percussion. The more sun we’re getting on our skin, the more Jinja Safari’s music feels right. But as much as their refreshing blend of indie seems perfect for all that good summer gear, like road trips, barbecues, bonfires and early morning surfs, it goes a bit deeper than that – a bright, shimmering reflection of the inspiration and experiences behind the songs. For it was with wide eyes and open ears that Jinja Safari founders Marcus Azon and Cameron ‘Pepa’ Knight explored foreign lands, and when the eccentric multi-instrumentalists returned with new tools and stories they released that unbridled energy into the band’s first record. “It’s been pretty cool where we’ve got this project where we could go to these places and record samples from each place we went to and we got more of

we went to, no one spoke English there so you’re doing a lot of hand signals,” he recalls, “but when it comes to music it’s like a universal language in a way, hey. It was nice just being able to enjoy each other’s company and smile at each other and have a little jam.” One need only listen to Jinja Safari briefly to marvel at the magical collision of sounds and instrumentation surrounding the vocal harmonies. Suitably, the band broke through into the mainstream with their song Peter Pan, and that idealistic Lost Boys wonderment still plays heavily in their musical make-up and visual aesthetic.

I’m going to use parts from and do some arts and crafts and see if I can come up with this keytar,” he adds. “It might go horribly wrong but we’ll see how we go. I’m really keen to get an autoharp [also], but at the same time I have collected a lot of instruments, and a lot of them I can’t even play yet so maybe I should start learning the ones I have before I start buying other ones?” he ponders. No matter which angle he’s coming from, Knight’s enthusiasm for music is tangible. Case in point: the shaggy-haired muso should be happy resting on his laurels with Jinja Safari’s long-awaited debut finally in the bag – he produced the thing, after all. However, The Music discovers he’s already getting restless for the future. Knight mentions that his head’s a bit spacey and cloudy today after getting too into the recording of new ideas: “Forgive me if I’m a bit strange,” he chuckles a little sheepishly, before expanding on the statement. “At the moment, ‘cause obviously we’ve released the album earlier this year so now it’s time to start thinking about what we can do next, so I was just riding my bike and had some inspiration so I had to quickly get it down before the interview,” he remarks in a pretty surprising admission. “I’ve got so many dodgy little ideas on my phone and most times I

“I’M REALLY KEEN TO GET AN AUTOHARP, BUT AT THE SAME TIME I HAVE COLLECTED A LOT OF INSTRUMENTS, AND A LOT OF THEM I CAN’T EVEN PLAY YET SO MAYBE I SHOULD START LEARNING THE ONES I HAVE BEFORE I START BUYING OTHER ONES?” an understanding of where the sound we’ve been so influenced by, where it’s coming from,” says Knight. “It has been a cool little experience being able to see these places and get a lot out of it.” The locales were found off the beaten track and away from any sort of culture that resembled the life he and his fellow bandmates enjoy in Sydney. Travels throughout the African continent provided his running mate Azon with great scope for the record’s lyrical content, and also allowed him to connect with the Ugandan township of Jinja – his grandmother’s home and the place that spawned the band’s name. For Knight, however, his soul was squeezed in the subcontinent. “I spent a lot of time in India and I absolutely love the way they live over there; they live so simply over there. But everywhere I went, you heard this amazing traditional Indian music that had really crazy and complex rhythms and melodies, and the whole time you’re there your head is just bursting with ideas. And being able to meet musicians in each place that we went to, and getting to record with them and getting some of those sounds on the album was a really cool thing.” And even in sleepy towns and hidden villages, the power of a melody or the beat of a drum allowed Knight to share moments with locals that may not have blossomed otherwise. “The Himalayas where 18 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

“I’ve got some new instruments that I’m using this tour so I’m keen to give them a try,” Knight reveals with glee. “I’m going to be taking the harmonium with me; I got that in India – Delhi – but I’ve been recording with it. A lot of the songs have the harmonium in it in the recordings but it’s been too delicate to travel live, but Marcus just made a massive padded box for it so it looks good, it looks like it’s going to be very safe. “And I’m making a keytar at the moment – I lost my other one – and so what I’ve been doing is getting scraps from the backyard and I found an old MIDI controller that

listen back to it and [it’s] like, ‘I’m not even sure what that is or why I came up with that’. But [I work] quickly, even if it’s just recording down the MIDI parts in Pro Tools and just getting it out of my head and quickly arranging it; so just then I put in a core acoustic guitar and put in some bass and a simple drum beat just to get the vibe I had in my head.” Creativity sprouts fast in Knight’s mind, but he’s dedicated when it comes to seeing things through. Nothing gets forwarded to Azon before it’s at least “half-decent”, and following that there’s much to-ing and fro-ing between the creative lynchpins before it’s time to work the song up with the rest of the band. He admits that he hopes listeners take the same care with the record, especially since the quintet are adamant the best gem is found in the full-length’s final moments. “The songs sort of all work as a whole in my opinion, but I think all of us agree that our favourite song on there would be Bay Of Fires,” he opines. “It’s the last song on the record and it has a bit more of that Indian drone and has that raaga scale included in there, and it’s a good ol’ sing-along live. Out of the songs we have played live that one has been getting a really good response, so we’re naming the tour after it because we like it so much and we want other people to listen to the whole album until the end and make sure they hear it.”

MUSICAL ATLAS From their band name to album covers, film clips to fashion, Jinja Safari clearly look further than their neighbourhood familiarities for inspiration. Their unapologetic global sounds are as free as the band members creating it, and their eponymous debut references this curious nature more than once. Mombassa On The Line Good spot; there is indeed an extra ‘S’ in this song title. We’ll assume though that the track is speaking of Mombasa, the second largest city in Kenya. Referencing lepers, child soldiers and soulless media, its political lean is well hidden beneath warm instrumentation.

The Afro-indie troupe are excited by the opportunity to deliver an extended and more rounded setlist on this run of dates. Knight admits that after touring with the Locked By Land material for the past three years they’ve sailed that ship to shore. And although the band have been operating as a five-piece for many years – Azon and Knight’s song templates brought to life by Jacob Borg, Joe Engstrom and Alister Roach – this most recent batch of tunes are recognised as the first that have really been penned with a band in mind, a fact which now makes their live set feel more natural and fresh. The Bay Of Fires tour wraps its way around the country throughout the next month, and will see Jinja Safari extending the sensorial thrills for fans more than ever before. They want you to be a passenger in the jeep with them, and have developed ways to maintain the tribalism of those old shows, without the breakage bills that would follow. “We’ve got some visual artists from Sydney to help put a projection show together, and we’re making it more of a concept

show; we want people to feel like when they come to our shows it will be a bit of a weird cult experience. We also wanted it to relate to our latest clip to Dozer,” Knight adds, referencing the playful sect like story that’s played out. “Our past shows have gotten a bit out of

hand, to be honest, and we’ll climb on the wrong lighting rig or have too many people on stage. Some people can get pretty cranky when we do things like that and so we’re looking at ways that we can make our shows bigger and at the same time be safe – have fun but have safe fun.”

WHAT: Jinja Safari (Island/Universal) WHEN & WHERE: 4 Oct, Settlers Tavern, Margaret River; 5 Oct, Astor Theatre (all ages); 6 Oct, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury

Source Of The Nile Obviously in relation to the longest river in the world, the lyrics in fact delve deeper, referencing Blue Nile – one of the most important tributaries of the Nile – which starts in Ethiopia and runs through Sudan before connecting up with the main flow to head through Egypt and out into the Med. Bay Of Fires Growing up in Tasmania, Marcus Azon’s lyrics mention this incredible stretch of north-eastern coast in the Apple Isle while talking about leaving voices of the past behind. A suitable song to conclude the record on, this track seems like a fitting finale for these upcoming tour dates, but we’ll leave that decision with the boys.

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 19

“This record’s just coming out, so I don’t want to be obnoxious and start talking about the next one, but I’ve been thinking about it obsessively… I couldn’t make Reign Of Terror again, and I wouldn’t want to and I couldn’t make Bitter Rivals again. I’ve been writing and recording since we left the studio and it already feels different. Everything to me has a certain freshness at all times; I don’t get bored very easily. I’ve lived on the same block for three years but I usually see something different every time I go outside.” With three records in as many years, they’ve managed to land an impressive amount of their songs on movies, TV shows and ads. So if you haven’t made a conscious effort to follow Sleigh Bells, you’ve probably heard one of their tunes around the place. Most recently their song Rill, Rill, off 2011’s Treats, was used in the iPhone 5 commercial. The voice portraying Miller’s ever-evolving lyrics and driving the sound of the band is the other half of Sleigh Bells, vocalist Alexis Krauss.

music

On other records, Miller did almost everything, but Krauss lifted her game for album number three. “In the past I was doing a lot of the melody work, but with this record I gave her instrumentals and lyrics and let her do whatever she wanted. I was very hands off and it’s not that I was inhibiting before, but she wasn’t ready to take such a large role and she stepped into it perfectly this time. I was sort of blown away because she works very quickly and always has a tonne of great ideas; she compliments me perfectly and vice versa.

THE GLOVES ARE OFF The pop-infused sound of Sleigh Bells’ new record may give the impression guitarist Derek Miller has somewhat mellowed out since 2012’s Reign Of Terror, but as Daniel Cribb finds out, the guitarist is in the midst of an emotional and physical battle.

hen you think of escaping from work, there’s usually a secluded beach or luxurious hotel suite in the mix. Most find sipping on margaritas on a remote island beachfront relaxing, but for Sleigh Bells’ Derek Miller, waking up at the crack of dawn for a tireless workout is about as cathartic as it gets. “I’ve been training to box, so I box every morning for an hour,” Miller begins. “I’m not a tough guy, I don’t go around beating people up, but it’s just a really good way to get in shape and learn a skill. It’s certainly not the worst thing you can know how to do. It’s not a Hemingway thing, it’s just getting in shape and you will not go out the night before if you’re going to box the next morning; you just won’t do it, it’s hell,” he laughs. It’s 9pm in Brooklyn when the exhausted guitarist answers his phone and, if his newfound passion for boxing wasn’t the first subject for conversation, such exhaustion would have been a little surprising, considering the band has been on somewhat of a break since February – their longest time away from the stage since forming in 2008. The again, Miller’s quick to reinforce his non-stop take on music. “I don’t do anything outside of the band; it’s not a hobby to me, I love it to death. I really, really, really love it, so even though I just called it a break, we’ve been in the studio the entire time. If we try to take a break this is usually what I end up thinking about. I know first hand just how fragile life is; it can just be taken from you senselessly in the blink of an eye. You know, you’re walking your dog and get hit by a bus. I know that happens, I’ve had an experience like that and I don’t believe in wasting time, so while I can, I make these records.” “I’m literally living my dream; you could give me every dollar in the world and I’d still do Sleigh Bells the way I do it now. I don’t really like taking vacations. I can’t go

20 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

sit on a beach somewhere because I’ll start working on the band – it’s my life and I’m lucky to be able to do it. I don’t take it for granted.” It was losing his father in a motorcycle accident in June of 2009 that triggered such a proactive approach to music. Like a diary entry, each song Miller pens reflects a specific moment in time. Usually the feel of the song reflects the emotions brewing within whilst he was writing it and 2012’s Reign Of Terror had a deep-seeded darkness to it – even the title fortified such themes. “By the end of Reign Of Terror it was clear to me that I wasn’t in a very good place,” he tells. “It’s very dark and it’s very heavy and so halfway through this record it was so obvious to me, at least to my ears, that I was coming from a much better place and a totally different headspace and I was just so thrilled.

“HALFWAY THROUGH THIS RECORD IT WAS SO OBVIOUS TO ME, AT LEAST TO MY EARS, THAT I WAS COMING FROM A MUCH BETTER PLACE AND A TOTALLY DIFFERENT HEADSPACE AND I WAS JUST SO THRILLED.” “The abstract, ‘magical’ part of the band, it’s specific to two people and can never be the same with anyone else. She was so excited to finally be fully invested in the band and have it be her band as much as is my band, so I think she came to love it as much as I do and I think that made the record stronger and I feel like it’s there in the music, you can hear it…for me, it’s the record I’m most excited about because it’s our first true collaboration. She’s infinity better at singing and writing melodies and I can’t wait to do more; I feel like we’re just getting started.” WHAT: Bitter Rivals (Liberator)

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 21

n how she found out she was nominated for two Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards this year, Courtney Barnett reveals, “I think [how] you find everything else out – on social media.” Was it a tweet? “Yeah, I think maybe someone like you guys [TheMusic],” she laughs. When asked what the last thing was that she won, Barnett chuckles, “I don’t think anything. I came runner-up in a colouring-in competition in primary school… And I only know that because when I was at the APRA Awards, I was gonna say that in my speech if I won. But I didn’t win.” It was a Lego colouring-in competition, so the prize was “a pack of Legos”, but Barnett admits, “I’ve always felt guilty about it ‘cause my dad did most of the colouring.”

awards

GET LUCKY

The eighth annual Independent Music Awards have partnered up to become the Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards this year. Bryget Chrisfield checks in with some of this country’s rising stars (all multiple nominees) – Courtney Barnett, Seth Sentry, Harley Streten (aka Flume) and Jo Syme (Big Scary) – to find out about the changing income streams of independent artists and the secrets behind their success.

After financing the manufacturing costs of first EP (I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris) with “all [her] own money”, Barnett was “lucky enough to get a grant from Arts Victoria” for follow-up EP, How To Carve A Carrot Into A Rose. When asked about the endless paperwork one needs to fill out when applying for a grant, Barnett confesses, “My manager wrote the majority of the grant. I tried to write grants over the last few years when I didn’t have him and I just failed.” When Barnett was 21, she was fortunate enough to meet her manager, Nick O’Byrne, through The Push’s FReeZA Mentoring Program “for people under 25 or something”. “I was flailing around for years, not getting very far,” she reflects. Increased motivation and success followed once she paired up with O’Byrne: “It’s just being put in touch with people and, you know, socialising with those like-minded business people.

courtney barnett

n how Big Scary financed th their Best Independent Album-nomin Album-nominated album Not Art, drummer/vocalist Jo Sy Syme shares, “All our finances have come… it’s a little bit of touring, a little bit of album sales from Vacation and I guess we’ve got a really great publisher [Gaga Music]. I think for independent artists, the publishing is really the mother lode ‘cause it’s really changed, people’s income stream. But if you can sync your songs on some TV or movies – the big payers are on adverts and I think we had a bit of that [money] stored away.” This will be the first time the duo grace the awards stage. “I think it’ll be really fun,” Symes enthuses. “I get along with everyone at AIR [Australian Independent Record Labels Association], and all the other bands playing, so I just said to them, ‘Can we please not be last?’ ‘Cause I still wanna have a drink [laughs].” Syme and her Big Scary musical partner in crime, Tom Iansek, recently collaborated with Sydney producer Jonti. “People would say they wanna collaborate all the time and I’m always like, ‘I think it would be awkward’,” Syme reflects, on previously being skeptical about collaborating with other musicians. The Jonti experience made her change her tune, however: “That was so fun. He came in and we just started playing… I think ‘cause it was so easy it made me much more open to wanting to work with people. A unique situation has occurred this year in that the Best Independent Artist nominees are exactly the same as those for Best Independent Album. So much for the Death Of The Album, huh? Syme raises a good point when discussing the genre divide: “Dance bands

22 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

“We work together on every single thing that comes up. So it’s really good having that kind of support… Just to bounce ideas off each other, it really helps, as opposed to just being in complete charge and – you know how you can go a bit crazy by yourself?” Barnett’s History Eraser single is also available as part of a split-7” (with Jen Cloher’s Mount Beauty). Barnett plays in Cloher’s backing band and, before they embarked on a double headline tour earlier this year, the pair decided, “We need something to take with us,” because they were both in between releases. Although technically Barnett defines being an independent artists as “not being part of a major”, she adds, “but to me it just means being in control of my own career, or my own music.”

Two nominations: Breakthrough Independent Artist Of The Year and Best Independent Single Or EP (History Eraser).

are really forging the single release and that’s working for more electronic dance music, but I think you need the album to promote the tour and you need the tour to promote the album, you know?” As such, it’s become increasingly important for artists to be able to back it up live in order to balance the books. “It shouldn’t be that the artist has to be good live if they’re just good at making songs,” Syme laments. “Sometimes [it seems] they have to be to make a living. I find that unfair. “[Even] if festivals and shows have kinda taken a bit more precedence over the money coming in from albums, I think people are still enjoying album tracks. Like, we get comments from people on songs that aren’t singles, so that’s really cool.”

big scary

Three nominations: Best Independent Artist, Best Independent Album (Not Art) and Best Independent Single Or EP (Luck Now).

f you have a visual of indie artists packing their own EPs into boxes and driving around to record stores, begging for some shelf space and hoping to leave ten copies on consignment, this fits Seth Sentry (if you rewind four years). To distribute his The Waiter Minute EP, Sentry says, “I’d go around to shops and – because I wasn’t very good at it, ‘cause I’m not a very good businessman – I’d forget what shops I’d go to, I wouldn’t write down how many [copies] I left. I only recently went into a shop in Brunswick and I was gonna buy a hat and, when I was in there, I was like, ‘Fuck, this shop seems familiar!’ And then I remembered I’d given the guy ten of my EPs to sell, like, four years ago and never came back in to see whether he’d sold ‘em or anything. And when I asked him, he was like, ‘Ah, I can’t remember’… and I couldn’t remember, so I was like, ‘Oh well, that’s why I shouldn’t do everything myself ’.” Nowadays, Sentry operates as part of a trusted team. It all began when he was approached by his nowmanager, Rowan Robinson, after “a random show in WA” in “late 2008, maybe early 2009”. At the time, Sentry was working in hospitality. “To be honest it wasn’t a particularly good show, either. There was just something that he liked about the music.”

seth sentry

Two nominations: Breakthrough Independent Artist Of The Year and Best Independent Hip Hop Album (This Was Tomorrow).

eflecting back on the recording of his self-titled debut album, Flume (aka Harley Streten), shares; “There was nothing fancy about it, really, and that’s the beauty of it I think: You really don’t need money at all to write music these days: Good music doesn’t require money. I think that’s what a lot of artists who get signed to major labels don’t realise.” Streten’s the first to admit that his story would be markedly different had he found himself in the centre of a major-label bidding war. “If a major label had stumbled across me I would’ve just signed some huge contract with them and, um, I would be nowhere near where I am right now. And I think there’s a lot of luck involved with that,” he muses. “I think [advances] put a lot of pressure on the artists once they’ve spent some of the money and they realise, like, ‘Man I’ve gotta make this back!’ I wasn’t really offered money and stuff and I think that worked in my advantage... It was a really healthy environment to write in.” Streten remembers his first meeting with Future Classic well. “It would have been a year and a half ago or something like that and I came home from the meeting, and the last thing that they said to me was – essentially as I was walking out the door – they were just like, ‘So what we want you to do is basically make your own genre,’ like, as a joke. “It was about the attitude of the label. It just ticked all the boxes in the sense that, first of all, it wasn’t a money thing – like, any major label, you know, they need to make money really badly and unfortunately a lot of the time that’s what it’s focused around. And [Future Classic] just wanted to put out new interesting stuff that they liked and it seemed really legit.”

For his debut album This Was Tomorrow, Sentry wanted to create an album that people would want to purchase in its physical form and digest in full. In recruiting the same artist who designed his EP cover for the album artwork, Sentry created an incentive for fans: “If you fold out my EP and my album, the artwork makes one long panorama if you join them up together.” He builds a strong case for CD buyers, recalling excitedly: “I remember my dad playing me Dangerous by Michael Jackson – that was the first album that I ever bought – and it was a two-hour drive back from the record shop, which was in the city. I spent the whole two hours just reading that shit front to back, like, reading every liner note and looking at the artwork. I think that’s starting to get lost these days when people just download stuff off the Internet and, you know, listen to a couple of the singles and maybe a couple of

Don’t worry; Streten is acutely aware that Future Classic uses Warner’s back-end “to do some of the things like distribute the record, which a company like Future Classic could never do”. “I don’t wanna be badmouthing majors or anything,” he stresses, “they have their pros, they have their cons. I feel very fortunate to not be on one… I think it’s just about having a good balance and, depending on the kind of artist you wanna be depends on where you should be. I mean, if you’re gonna be a pop star, I definitely would recommend going with a major over an indie. So it really just depends on your situation.” Although Streten’s “never been one to wanna be in the spotlight”, he’s getting used to it. “At first, like, doing interviews and going and playing in front of people every weekend, I was very uncomfortable,

the album tracks and then [they’re] kind of done and move onto the next thing.” Sentry won the Channel [V] Oz Artist Of The Year Award in 2012 and still sounds shocked. “I don’t even know how I won it, but I won it. “There was obviously a lot of exposure and stuff after that, and that led to a lot of cool things,” he reflects, “and I guess I felt like maybe people took me a bit more seriously in the music scene or whatever.” More than 1.66 million votes were tallied Australia-wide before Sentry was presented with this “cool trophy”. The fact that the rapper enjoys social networking would certainly have helped. “I really dig [social networking], it’s never really seemed like a hassle or something that I had to do or anything.” Even though Sentry is no longer a one-man operation (“we’ve got a great publicist and we’ve got a great booking agent that we really trust”), he still approaches music as a hobby: “It still doesn’t feel like a real job to me and I’d like to maintain that attitude as long as possible.”

Five nominations: Best Independent Artist; Best Independent Album and Best Independent Dance, Electronica Album (Flume); Best Independent Single Or EP and Best Independent Dance, Electronica Or Club Single (Holdin’ On).

flume

but after time I knew that would fade and it would be easier and I would benefit from that. So I just persevered and didn’t turn down any opportunities and always kinda put myself out there as much as possible… It definitely forces you to grow up quickly and I got dropped in the deep end pretty hard, but I feel like now I’m way more on top of it all and I’m pretty comfortable with everything.”

WHEN: 9 Oct, Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER • 23

music

A BRITISH EDUCATION

Which is fortunate because, while most bands tip their hats in the general direction of ‘60s music, Deep Sea Arcade positively wallow in it. The band is psychedelic Beatles all over again – heavy on the melodies, swirling guitar licks, soft vocals, plenty of reverb.

Deep Sea Arcade has just flown home from London and boy are their guitars tired. Nic McKenzie regales Zoe Barron with tales of finicky poms, so many festivals and a brand new album almost ready to pop.

eep Sea Arcade had a plan. They were going to go over to Europe for a few months, play at a festival in the Netherlands, then spend some time in London recording the new album with producer Dan Grech-Margueray. Maybe they’d go to a few gigs, maybe they’d get a bit of writing done, but in general they would just hang out with other musos and get a sense of how the poms did things. That was the plan, anyway. Things didn’t exactly work out that way. “We played one festival and then suddenly we were put on a gazillion others,” Nic McKenzie, lead vocalist of Deep Sea Arcade, says. “From going over in March and playing in the freezing cold this one festival, we got booked on Secret Garden Party, Wilderness Festival, The Great Escape, and six or seven other UK festivals.” He starts listing: five more festival shows in the Netherlands, some other smaller shows, headline shows in London, a few gigs in London, a few up north. It’s an impressive list. Fortunately, and despite the chaos, they did manage to get some writing done. Many of the songs they played at those gigs were new ones, allowing the band to roadtest new material and figure out what was resonating with the crowds over there, while becoming comfortable with the fresh songs ahead of their return home. Meanwhile, they discovered a few aspects of British culture they didn’t necessarily expect. “Their attention to detail on everything – it’s almost autistic,” McKenzie says. “First of all, they’re very interested in the way that they look. Bands over there will practice their songs for like two years. They’ll get the look down to a T, and they’ll work on the songs down to this precise thing, and they’ll get up on stage and it’ll all be very precise. And they’ve got this academic knowledge of music history.” “I mean, lots of the bands over there, they don’t go to the pub, because they’re too poor,” he continues. “Like, even quite successful bands are pretty poor over there. What they’ll do on the weekend is just go to each others’ houses and they’ll sit around. And they’ve got the off license there so you can buy a beer for a pound. And

they’ll just sit around drinking beer and on YouTube, trying to outdo each other with who can find the most obscure ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll B-side that no one’s ever heard

“I’m drawn to it,” McKenzie says simply. “All those harmonies and those chord progressions. They are something I get so much pleasure out of.” He says he finds lots of eras of music compelling, but the ‘60s had the magic of genesis to it. “It’s where it all started,” McKenzie explains. “And whenever there’s a movement in music, it always nods its hat to that. Like, if that’s in your DNA you can go anywhere. We often go off on tangents and we certainly will be going off on tangents with this new record but I feel like if you have that in your DNA, it’s like you know the rules so you can break them. You can kind of go anywhere with that knowledge.”

“THEY’LL JUST SIT AROUND DRINKING BEER AND ON YOUTUBE, TRYING TO OUTDO EACH OTHER WITH WHO CAN FIND THE MOST OBSCURE ‘60S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL B-SIDE THAT NO ONE’S EVER HEARD OF. AND THEY’LL DO THAT THE WHOLE WEEKEND.” of. And they’ll do that the whole weekend. They’ll stay up from Friday doing that until Tuesday.” This all sounds incredibly unglamorous, pretty freaking nerdy, and not at all in line with the cocaine and hookers usually associated with a rock n’ roll lifestyle. McKenzie doesn’t seem to mind though. “I felt like I went to music university,” he says. “I learned a lot about ‘60s music.”

“A lot of stuff that we’re doing at the moment, there’s definitely a nod to ‘90s shoegaze,” McKenzie says. “We also have a bit of glammy stuff going on. The new record is very interested in instrumental hooks and riffs. And vocal riffs as well. And there’s a lot of electronic stuff in there, and stuff that’s more aware of beats, especially, and not only modern beats but ‘90s beats as well, which has always been an influence for us. But whether it’s a big guitar riff hook, or if it’s a synth hook, there are a lot of instrumental things that go off on tangents. There’s a feeling and there’s a mood and there’s a place that it’s coming from but I couldn’t necessarily describe that. I couldn’t give you a whole bunch of references and say that’s where we’re going. It’s a development of our sound.” WHEN & WHERE: 6 Oct, Amplifier

T h e Lo w e r L a n d s An exhibition by Holly Story with spoken words by Jennifer Kornberger.

An initiative by the City of Melville,

The Lower Lands describes both a physical and a

Tilt annually invites an artist to develop

psychical space. It is the name given to the area of

a site responsive body of work to

remnant bushland below the buildings that historically

Point Heathcote and its history.

comprised the Heathcote Mental Reception Home, and it is also a potent image for that part of our selves where out-of-sight yet powerful impulses move

SATURDAY, 5 OCTOBER TO SUNDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2013.

and shape outward behaviour. These two aspects characterise my response to Point Heathcote - a place where mind and land intersect in revealing ways.

ARTIST’S FLOOR TALK SUNDAY, 3 NOVEMBER 2.30PM.

The Lower Lands, video still, 2013, Holly Story.

Heathcote Museum & Gallery • Heathcote Cultural Centre • Swan House • 58-60 Duncraig Road. Duncraig Rd, Applecross Gallery hours: Tuesday - Friday 10am - 3pm • Sat & Sun 12 noon - 4pm • T: 9364 5666

Apache creatures single launch

The Floors Black Birds Antelope The Rosemount Hotel 5th of oct i $10 THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 25

theatre

CHARACTER LOVE Shane Adamczak explains to Zoe Barron how his Blue Room play Trampoline evolved from something much less substantial.

rampoline started as a joke. “I had an idea with a friend where I just pretend that this guy, as part of his therapy, had to write a dream journal,” Shane Adamczak explains. “I just thought I’d keep it online and see if I could convince people that it was not something I was writing but just a website that I really enjoyed sharing with people. I wrote that for about a year and it kind of started as a joke but then I fell in love with the character a little bit.” The character is Matt and the blog is called Matt’s Dream Journal. Adamczak initially had Matt just describe

his dreams but by the third or fourth post, other elements of Matt’s life had begun to creep in – his parents, a bully at school, something about a creepy uncle. “It was really fun and I kind of just let my brain just spew it out because I was like, ‘it doesn’t really matter what I write because it’s Matt that’s writing this’. I left some typos on purpose and weird ideas and tried not to edit it too much and just wrote it as candidly as I could.” After a year of surreptitiously writing and sharing these blog posts, Adamczak discovered he had himself a fully fledged character. So, he decided to write a play about him.

music

In Trampoline, Matt isn’t a kid like he is in the blog, but he is still pretty strange. His dreams are exceptionally vivid: so vivid, in fact, that they have begun to creep into his waking life. “We have a lot of these imaginary creatures that appear that are mostly puppeteered by Ben [Russell] in the play,” Adamczak says. “We have a snake and there’s a couple of monkeys and a few other surprises that pop up while Matt’s just trying to live his normal, everyday life.” These days, Adamczak is based in Montreal but the Perth actor and writer wanted to come home for Trampoline. Weeping Spoon Productions, which consists of him and four others, has a good relationship with the Blue Room Theatre and they’ve already debuted a number of plays there. He plans to stick around for Perth Fringe in February, then head to Adelaide Fringe, and finally back to Montreal, where he intends to remount the production for a Canadian audience. Most of what he’s been doing lately has had to do with his alter ego Zack Adams (Adamczak’s Ziggy Stardust, according to one description), which he’s been touring through Canada for the fringe festivals over there. He’s looking forward to getting away from his Zack Adams material and doing something a bit different. “Most of my stuff is comedy and it always tends to be a little bit dark, so in that way [Trampoline] is the same, but it’s the first play that I’ve written in a while... it’s my return back to doing ensemblebased work, rather than it being all about me.” What: Trampoline WHEN & WHERE: 8 to 26 Oct, Blue Room Theatre

BEHIND THE MASK Islands are five albums in and continue to sidestep tradition. Nick Thorburn discusses his propensity for disparity with Brendan Telford.

hen incredibly underrated pop tricksters The Unicorns called it a day in 2003, it was difficult to ascertain where the band members would end up. Nick Thorburn didn’t stray too far from the path, though, and his formation of Islands has been one of distinct vision and innovation. Over their four albums to date, Islands have delved into calypso, dancehall, psych and electronica among many other seemingly flippant influences. So it’s a surprise that fifth album, Ski Mask, rather than run in yet another direction, is peppered with the best elements of these disparate genre shifts. “The decision to make Ski Mask was a little bit of both wanting to bring everything we’d done to a logical conclusion as well as feeling like the next port of call for us,” Thorburn states. “It happens to sound like some of the other albums because some of the songs, such as Winged Beat Drums, were originally written almost seven years ago before we made (third album) Vapours. There wasn’t a conscious thought to do anything, but after recording the songs we could hear this overall reflective mood as opposed to a new direction, which in some ways is a new direction for us.” That said, this reflective tonality of Ski Mask is a paradox. One of the strengths of Thorburn’s songwriting is his ability to weave dark lyrical tales within overtly 26 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

powerful melodies and time signatures, creating sweet pop tunes with a bittersweet core. Ski Mask delves further into the murk and mire lyrically. “I see Ski Mask as a violent record lyrically. On a surface level I don’t think I’m exhibiting any violent desires or tendencies; it’s just that the metaphors I tend to use are more self-inflictive. And with this record the themes are more external, I’m projecting outwards; the aggression and violence is directed at someone and somewhere else. I’m attracted to that contrast; I find it interesting. It’s a fun device, a nice little piece of misdirection. I think it’s fun to be lulled into a song by the

melody then find out it’s about a stalker or getting a blowjob; this dark undercurrent that isn’t apparent upon the first listen. It’s all allegorical; it’s not how I process my feelings. That outward projection idea is very new for me; maybe that’s why I have to wear a mask.” The mask refers to Islands donning the facewear in their latest press shots, and indeed the cover art itself, featuring a tar-dipped face both terrifying and absurd in equal measure. “Islands has traditionally been a beautiful, open outfit, but we have always been changing, and with the lyrics predominantly focusing on identity of some sort it felt appropriate to strip the identity away. We feel like we have been anonymous for some time now, and can do whatever we want, but we also want a little taste of the good life. So the mask plays with that idea, but it could also be me shooting myself in the foot.” WHAT: Ski Mask (Stop Start/Inertia)

EPIC RETURN Free from compromise and with a point to prove following a founding member departing, Sweden’s Soilwork again set about becoming a “melancholy, melodic, epic metal band”. Drummer Dirk Verbeuren and Brendan Crabb revel in this momentary bliss.

“I

’m not sure how the pressure got there, but when I joined, I started touring with them for (2003’s) Figure Number Five and went through to (2005’s) Stabbing The Drama,” Soilwork sticksman Dirk Verbeuren explains. “I would say that definitely at that time, certain band members had got to this point where they wanted to kind of simplify things a little bit, and make the music more accessible. Which ultimately produced some really great songs for us, I think… I’m not really trying to criticise that, I just think that in the event of that happening, the initial feeling of the band may have got lost a little bit. “The band initially started out being this melancholy, melodic, epic metal band and some of that kind of got lost because I think we more simplified our stuff. So over the years, I didn’t fight that because I was one of the people that wanted the band to have just more angles. You could have some songs like that, but not every song needs to be like that… You can’t be one of those people who can really voice their opinion in the band; you don’t do that the week you join the band. But eventually over time I became more vocal about those things, and I think now we’re definitely at a point where everybody gets to truly express what they feel about stuff, and other people will listen to them and not just dismiss them, which in the past may have happened.”

After the aforementioned period whereby they lost sight of their initial modus operandi, the Swedish sextet sought to redress the balance. The inaugural step was 2010’s excellent The Panic Broadcast, which was rammed home by this year’s The Living Infinite, touted as melodic death metal’s first double-album. The progressive effort contrasts their signature shred-fests and 260BPM hyperblasts with much tantalising ear candy. What makes tackling such an ambitious venture more admirable is it represents their first long-player since founding guitarist, songwriter and producer Peter Wichers’ latest exit. Verbeuren chuckles when the “first ever melodic death double-record” tagline is raised, suggesting while it could

be correct, it was merely a label promotional tool. “For us, it was really just about making a statement in the first place to ourselves. We’ve been through some turmoil in recent years with the line-up, and just

music for us,” the drummer admits. “Peter’s talent is undeniable, but I think every musician in this band is very proficient as far as what they do, and that includes songwriting. After separating with Peter for the second time, we definitely wanted to prove that, ‘hey, Peter’s not just the only guy who makes Soilwork what it is’.” Further galvanizing the troops was the only prior Wichers-free long-player, 2007’s Sworn To A Great Divide being widely viewed as a creative nadir. “That’s definitely a record that I personally feel is flawed because the band was torn between musical directions. Some people wanted to go one way, some people wanted to go another way, and we didn’t really manage to fit those things together. Even though there’s some great tracks on that record, in the end I don’t think it came out as well as it could have, if we had been more on the same page.” Nowadays, they are. Obviously any double-album risks someone’s vision being compromised or quality of material being diluted. They weren’t unaware of this

“FOR US, IT WAS REALLY JUST ABOUT MAKING A STATEMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE TO OURSELVES.” the band being a little bit torn musically in different directions. For us The Living Infinite and this new line-up was really something where we wanted to prove to ourselves that we still have a lot to say. We can still grow, become a better band and even take it to the next level.” The result was a twoLP set projecting a far more collaborative ethos. “Peter was a very active songwriter and did write a lot of classic

prospect: “We first had the idea to do a double-album, pretty much before we had a note of music written. We didn’t want to have filler; we didn’t want to compromise anything. If it was going to be a double-album, we needed it to be a strong double-album. That was the first requirement for us. So we started writing. We got a bunch of demos together, looked at it, and said, ‘there’s so much variety here, there’s so many different ideas; this can work’. That’s when we sealed the deal on it. “I would definitely say that starting with Panic Broadcast, we really had that spirit, where there’s not a worry about radio songs, singles or this or that. It was just to write kick-ass tracks. If it’s a good song and we’re all feeling that, we’re gonna put our heart and soul into it.” WHEN & WHERE: 6 Oct, Rosemount

music

HEAVENLY SOUNDS They’ve made one of the most progressive pop albums of the year, but Iain Cook and Chvrches are still keeping it as real as possible, writes Benny Doyle. Pics by Kane Hibberd.

ecause of its mid-September release date you won’t see The Bones Of What You Believe on the 2013 shortlist for the Mercury Music Prize. Doubt it will be there in 2014, either. But for Chvrches, that’s inconsequential. The electro-pop trio from Glasgow are happy to avoid the hyperbole that comes with a record as consistently brilliant as their debut, with Iain Cook more interested in the experiences he and bandmates Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry are squeezing from their music. “People keep mentioning that things are going so good and we don’t even have an album out,” Cook says, on the phone from Chicago after soundcheck for a soldout show at the Metro. “And I guess it is, but we’re just trying to stay focused and not think too much about things like hype and buzz – these things that people keep saying to us. We run a day-to-day operation; we’re just trying to do what we do and not get carried away with everything or not get bogged down about stuff. But the positive side is definitely worth dwelling on and we feel really honoured to be out here [in Chicago] and indeed in Australia in a couple of months,

of excitement; it also showcased Mayberry as a special kind of frontwoman, her purity managing to cleanse whatever production Doherty and Cook put behind her. “I think the vocals are probably the most significant contributing factor to [our] sound,” Cook agrees. “Obviously we’ve all played in other bands before and they sound nothing like Chvrches, but I think there’s just something about the juxtaposition of [Lauren’s] voice against what we’re doing with the production and the

pad the record out with a bit of filler and watch the blog-generated hipster dollars flow into their pockets. Instead, they challenge us and keep us intrigued, taking the 12-track everywhere from the dark and depraved to the washed out to the come-down. There’s not a dull moment found on The Bones Of What You Believe, and it comes back to the group’s commitment to perfection. “I think it’s really important that when we put out an album it has a shape to it: a sense of purpose and momentum, and [is something that you can listen to from start to finish,” Cook reasons. “We grew up listening to music that way, particularly on vinyl, and we had that in mind when we were sequencing songs. We didn’t just want to top-load it with the songs everyone knows and have it then taper off, we wanted to maximise the impact of the peaks and the troughs and try and show everyone the full picture of what we were doing.” Having just been a part of Laneway Festival’s first foray into America, Chvrches are thrilled to be a part of the Australian event next year. And if Cook’s vibe is anything to go by, the shows will arrive fully formed for audiences Down Under; just make sure you Insta that shit so the band can continue improving their dancefloor sermons. “We all come from indie and rock backgrounds – we’re not just standing there and pushing buttons, we really want to put on a show and a performance, and it’s something that we’ve grown into in the last year since we’ve been playing live and hopefully we’ll continue to do so,” he explains. “We’ve grown into just the three of us on stage and we’ve worked really hard to try and fill the stage in

“IF YOU DON’T GET EXCITED ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING THEN IT’S TOUGH TO EXPECT OTHER PEOPLE TO GET EXCITED ABOUT IT.” playing to people that really enjoy our music so far away from home – it’s a really exciting thing for us.” Forming a couple of years ago after falling for the voice of diminutive Mayberry, whom Doherty and Cook had called in to do some backing vocals, Chvrches took a variety of different elements – carnal synths, hip hop beats, earthy electronic textures – and let them spark off each other. Album opener The Mother We Share “first defined the band”, but the full-length was still a slow build as opposed to a specific “eureka moment”, as Cook calls it. “There were quite a few [times] in the studio where we all got really excited and started shouting and jumping around, and those things are essential because if you don’t get excited about what you’re doing then it’s tough to expect other people to get excited about it,” he says. While tinkering in Cook’s basement studio in Glasgow, the band drip-fed our ears with singles Recover and Gun. Each new song brought with it further waves 28 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

dirty synths with that sweetness put against that harshness – that’s really what [makes] the sound of the band. As well, I think she has a very natural sounding voice and her accent comes across in a really gentle but honest way which doesn’t sound affected – those are things that are really important to the sound of the band.” The balance works so well that it would have been easy for Chvrches to throw a few more singles in,

terms of what we’re doing and the interaction with each other, but also in terms of lighting production. We’ve got this guy Louie who has built a set for us based around our artwork and iconography, and some of the stuff he’s doing with a reasonably small set-up is pretty mind-blowing, but I don’t get to see it because I’m facing the other way. But I’ll jump on Instagram after the show and just [look at] what people are seeing, and it’s like, ‘Holy shit!’. So we want to keep working on that, on the production, because there’s only three of us on stage and there’s no live drums so it’s just trying to make things as exciting as possible.” WHAT: The Bones Of What You Believe (Goodbye/Liberator) WHEN & WHERE: 8 Feb, Laneway Festival, Esplanade Park and West End, Fremantle

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 29

music

FEEL SO REAL One the eve of revisiting their debut album Raise for the first time, Swervedriver mainstay Adam Franklin reminisces with Steve Bell about flogging the guts out of his Mum’s car, and his attempts to escape mundanity via volume and distortion.

rash Oxford guitar four-piece Swervedriver had already unleashed a cunning strategic plan to boost their profile before their debut album Raise hit the shelves in late-1991. Instead of singles they’d released a string of strong EPs in the leadup to the album’s release, meaning that when their debut dropped there were a lot of eager ears keen to revel in the scorching guitars, pummelling rhythms and evocative (albeit downcast) lyricism. The album was a stunning continuation of the UK ‘shoegaze’ sound pioneered by bands like Ride and My Bloody Valentine, even though the Swervedriver aesthetic was rooted more in the tuneful racket produced by US precursors and contemporaries like Hüsker Dü, The Stooges, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. Now decades after the fact the recently-reformed outfit are touring Raise in its entirety for the first time, and frontman and chief songwriter Adam Franklin is clearly excited to be revisiting this fruitful creative era from his youth. “I think over time you realise that people don’t really change that much, so people generally have the same overall mindset,” he reflects. “I think there was a mixture of youthful aspirations and enthusiasm, and it was exciting because we were just starting out as a band, and getting to travel to places that we’d never been to before to play shows was the dream come true. I think also alongside that youthful thing, there’s also a lot less confidence – probably paranoia, although the paranoia wouldn’t properly kick in until a few years later. Sometimes you imagine going back to these things and you think you’d probably do it better – you’d probably operate in a much more logical manner – but at the same time, the music wouldn’t have been what it was without that youthful mindset. And we certainly never thought of it as being a career, that was like an anathema to us – ‘This is just what we’re doing now, we’ll be doing something else in five year’s time blah blah blah’ – so on that level it’s amazing to be asked back to play this album twenty-two years later.” From a lyrical perspective Raise was concerned primarily with youthful notions of escape – all fast cars, open

30 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

roads and evading the drudgery of everyday life. “You know, the first car that I ever drove was a Ford – it wasn’t a Ford Mustang, it was my Mum’s Ford Escort and I used to take that out,” Franklin smiles, referencing Raise single, Son Of Mustang Ford. “I remember one time

gigs to go to or shows to go to – and even though a song like the b-side Afterglow had lyrics about driving across the desert, it was really about a relationship. I think lyrically there was just a lot of ‘boys’ stuff ’ in there – cars and space travel and stuff like that – but at the same time it’s also grounded in reality, there’s songs about young relationships and break-ups that mean the end of the world until you meet another girl the next week. I think there’s a balance there. “Someone who saw one of the original Swervedriver reformations in London said to me that there was always a certain world-weariness to Swervedriver so it

“I THINK ALSO ALONGSIDE THAT YOUTHFUL THING, THERE’S ALSO A LOT LESS CONFIDENCE – PROBABLY PARANOIA.” taking it to one-hundred miles-an-hour on the Oxford Ring Road, almost like a mythical rite of passage – ‘I’ve got to do this!’ – something that I’d never dream of doing now. But all of those driving analogies were almost like a wanderlust in a way, the car imagery was like a vehicle itself for the lyrics. Rave Down is about small-town boredom and wanting to have something to do – have

suited us being older – we might’ve had more hair back then, but we weren’t just singing about teenage lust, so it still works as older guys. I think it’s an interesting balance between youthful enthusiasm for the world and wanderlust, and there’s that world-weariness as well.” Musically, Raise has stood the test of time impressively. “In some ways you think we were sixth down the list or something, but people are still talking about it today. I think the most rewarding that was that people definitely got the Swervedriver ‘thing’ – there was definitely imagery involved and a certain individualistic style – and I think that people really grasped that. I think that all bands are an amalgam of their favourite things, and people sort of got what we were about from the outset.” WHEN & WHERE: 3 Oct, Rosemount

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 31

comedy

CRAIC DEALER

to us’. Now, there isn’t a viable other system to hand at the minute but I think people are struggling with the idea that we’ve ended up in a situation where banks own everybody’s houses. How did we end up like that?”

Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan talks to Baz McAlister about taking time out from his ‘world tours’ of the Emerald Isle to whip Down Under for some craic.

ommy Tiernan is one of those rare comedians, more philosopher than funnyman. Sure, the jokes come thick and fast, but they’re woven from experience and plumb deep notions: death, love, sex, religion, identity. One of the Galway-based 44-year-old’s favourite subjects is what it means to be Irish, especially since the Celtic Tiger lost its roar and the economic boom of the ‘90s in Ireland collapsed. Tiernan’s Australian tour is titled Stray Sod, recalling a mythological Irish concept. “A stray sod is something that you stand on in a field, that makes you disoriented, so my

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notion is, could Ireland be the stray sod of the world? Could there be something so totally not in tune with the rest of the planet about our country that encourages that? People here no longer know one end of an economy from the other, so this is a lamentation about that – a desire for strangeness, a refusal to see the world in purely economical terms. Money is ugly. I think it’s left a really bad taste in people’s mouths here that we’re suffering economically. I think what’s going on in Ireland now is that a lot of people are thinking, ‘Hang on, this isn’t right. This [capitalist] system can’t be working given what it’s doing

Tiernan gets out to all the usual international comedy festivals, but has a slavish devotion to his countrymen. That’s why he fills the time between with his ‘World Tours’ of the counties of Ireland, playing small venues, driving from town to town, off the beaten track. “It’s a great way for me to work,” he says, on the eve of his ‘World Tour of Leitrim’. “When I’m doing press for these shows, it’s local papers like the Leitrim Observer or the Meath Chronicle. This Australian tour, I’m doing national press and it’s almost like there’s a degree of importance to it. But doing regional stuff, it’s wonderful and normal and ordinary and gentle. But it’s challenging in terms of stand-up – you’re going to places where the audience are delighted you’ve come because nobody else comes to their town. Maybe a C&W singer passes through every now and again but not a comedian. So they bring that energy to the show, of being excited that you’re there. But you’re definitely in their country and they let you know really quickly if you’re not up to scratch. It’s very good, creatively, for my stand-up.” One of the more memorable spots Tiernan recently played is a pub in Waterford called Henry Downes – a cavernous old place with, seemingly unwisely, its own rifle range. “I don’t know under what vision giving people guns when they’re drunk is a good idea. They make their own whiskey in that pub as well, which they’re very happy to let you buy. What could possibly go wrong?” WHEN & WHERE: WHEN & WHERE: 1 Nov, Riverside Theatre

INSIDIOUS POP Fake voices, isolation, carnivale grotesquerie – Philadelphia’s Man Man know no boundaries. Frontman Ryan Kattner ushers Brendan Telford into their heady world.

ver the course of four albums, idiosyncratic rock collective Man Man have crafted a sonic world steeped in warped variation. Steadfast in their convictions of subversive lyricism, and inhabiting their vignettes with garish brushstrokes, the band defy categorisation simply because the fluidity of their music leaves nothing to hang a label to. It’s all weirdly immersive, continuing with On Oni Pond, an album that the band has stated is both a natural progression from 2011’s Life Fantastic and a musical reboot. Ryan Kattner (who immediately breaks the ice by speaking in an intentionally ridiculous deep voice) maintains that it’s the contradiction inherent within the band’s aesthetic that continues to fuel the band’s seemingly boundless propensity for creativity. “It’s a natural progression because I constantly evolve, which helps when not feeling bogged down by what people’s expectations are of what you should or could be,” Kattner explains. “To evolve is to stay relevant, to remain hungry, to force challenges upon yourself.” This conscious shift in focus on the construction of music mirrors Kattner’s shift in emotional weight over the past few years, resulting in a hitherto unseen restrictive veil being lifted. “[Life Fantastic] was written in a pretty bad place, whilst On Oni Pond was written with my drummer

32 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

Chris (Powell),” Kattner explains. “By stepping away from bouncing ideas off of four guys, the intimacy of working with a partner allows you to take stock more wholeheartedly. I didn’t want to gravitate towards the personal world that the last record inhabited, and the reality of the situation was that Chris was the only one who wanted to write songs with me. Plus we had decided that if the songs didn’t come by the end of the summer, we might have to go our separate ways. It was a terrifying thought, and made us put the blinkers on. It was like, ‘Fuck it, let’s make a great record’.

It’s not like we have 401K or mortgages; we have nothing to lose. If nobody likes it, fuck ‘em.” On Oni Pond encapsulates the fearlessness, intellect and absurdity that pervades the band. The sequencing of the tracks swings from carnivalesque jeers to jaunty eclecticism, the musical intricacies reflecting the juxtaposition between melody and subject matter, and Kattner sas that he is only getting started. “I get really bored with one-dimensionality; we are not onedimensional beings, so why should music be? Why can’t a song break your heart, make you laugh, contain nightmarish imagery, be a children’s story – why can’t one song embody all these things, and still be catchy and poppy? That’s the insidious nature of the lot of our songs; they are catchy in really sneaky ways. I feel like has congealed into something special here. I feel like an overzealous father showing everyone photos of his hideous kids. They are beautiful to me, promise.” WHAT: On Oni Pond (Anti-/Warner)

SMOKIN’ ‘WEED

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Tumbleweed’s classic line-up first reunited a few years back, and now they’ve finally gone the whole hog and released a new album. Frontman Richie Lewis talks to Steve Bell about turning their back on nostalgia to remain relevant.

or a while in the ‘90s, Wollongong rockers Tumbleweed were one of the hottest bands in the country, dominating the airwaves with a stream of fuzz-laden singles, EPs and albums, and taking their powerhouse live show all around the globe both on their own and alongside a slew of high-profile bands such as Nirvana, Mudhoney and The Lemonheads. The original (essentially “classic”) Tumbleweed line-up split in 1995 and it wasn’t until a 2009 offer from Homebake to reform that they played together in anger once more. That initial foray went well enough to prompt more ecstatically received shows and now the five-piece have taken matters to their logical next step with the release of new album Sounds From The Other Side, following a realisation that they needed some new tunes if they were going to be more than a mere nostalgia act. “That’s exactly the catalyst for deciding to record again in the first place,” frontman Richie Lewis recalls. “A few years ago we thought, ‘Well, what are we? Are we a nostalgia act or are we a band?’ Bands write stuff and bands record stuff and bands are creatively vibrant and relevant, not only for the musical landscape out there but personally, you know, to challenge yourself creatively. That’s what we wanted – we wanted that outlet in our personal lives.

just the synchronicity of the five members,” Lewis reflects. “With our previous releases there were things that we didn’t like about them: we didn’t like the cleanliness of [1992’s self-titled debut], but we thought that Galactaphonic (1995) sounded pretty cool. There were some

“But at the same time, as far as the band goes and the legacy of whatever Tumbleweed is from our years of being together, we’re not an RSL act, we’re not a nostalgia act – we can’t do that, it’s not we’re about as people or as a band. We’re totally against that sort of shit. We did it for a little while and it was fun – we didn’t think that was going to happen – and when we realised that we still had chemistry as a band and as people we were left at that crossroads, and it was either, ‘Okay, let’s stop now because we’re not going to do that anymore, or we write stuff’. It’s very exciting to be at the tail-end of that decision and have the record in the can.”

songwriting issues; what we wanted to do was write the record that we’d always wanted to make but we didn’t feel that we’d made. We were always a little bit disappointed with our albums back in the day because we just didn’t think that it sounded like what we thought we sounded like when we played live.

Once they’d decided that new music was required to remain relevant, Tumbleweed roped some old colleagues back in and basically just waited to see what happened next. “Well one thing that we’ve always done is just try to be ourselves, and just try to be natural and organic and leave a certain amount of what comes out up to the spirits or the synchronicity of life, and I suppose

was one of the definite things – we thought, ‘Okay, if we’re going to do this we’re going to do it with Paul, because the sound that he got on Galactaphonic was the most definitive Tumbleweed sound’. Also we wanted to record it that same way, which was to two-inch tape, and to try and keep those elements the same as in the original days. We wanted to keep almost the blueprint for what we did back in ’92, however bring [in] the musical knowledge we’ve acquired since then – just growing up and playing lots of different music with different people – and write better songs.” The new album sounds defiantly Tumbleweed – they were often pigeonholed as ‘stoner’ or ‘grunge’ back in

“‘WELL, WHAT ARE WE? ARE WE A NOSTALGIA ACT OR ARE WE A BAND?’”

“We thought that the person that had gotten closest to that ever was [producer] Paul McKercher, so he

the day, but where does Lewis see them sitting in the overall scheme of things? “I’ve never seen ourselves as a stoner rock band,” he tells. “I do like stoner rock – I like the sound of it – but we don’t write those sort of songs. And as far as grunge, well, not really – what is that anyway? I sorta think that we’re just a rock’n’roll band – back in the day we were inspired by a lot of great rock’n’roll from The Stooges to local bands like The Celibate Rifles and The Stems and early Hoodoo Gurus, whatever. There was so much stuff that contributed to our sound, and before Nirvana came along we were making very similar music but it just didn’t have a name – it was just Australian alternative music, or Australian independent music. Rock’n’roll.”

WHAT: Sounds From The Other Side (Shock) WHEN & WHERE: 21 Nov, Rosemount Hotel; 22 Nov, Mojos Bar THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 33

music

NEVER HAD IT IN YOU Perth punk rockers The Novocaines have just released their new single Don’t Wait. Guitarist Jay Marriott chats to Eli Gould about the changing musical marketing landscape, organising a music festival and redefining the band’s sound.

“R

ight now we kinda feel like the market is changing and we’re not really in a position to put out an album and for people to be 100 per cent interested in it,” says The Novocaines guitarist Jay Marriott when quizzed on why the band has opted to release another single, as opposed to an album. “We’re trying to stay as current as possible; the idea is to put out a single or two every couple of months because it might pique people’s interest some more.” Marriott’s clearly onto something with the band understanding the importance of keeping their profile fresh and new, while continuing to have a presence in the scene. “Everybody, including myself, is about having the new thing now,” he states matter-of-factly. “Whether it be [a] band’s single or an album or their favourite television series or movie or whatever it might be.” It’s a bold and calculated move by the band to continually release new singles and tour extensively in support of them but it’s one Marriott says bands and artists have to take advantage of. “Nowadays everything is so right now and immediate. The idea of putting out singles as opposed to an album is we can put out six things every year rather than once a year.” While the inclement Perth weather put a halt to their release plans at the band’s live music show at Resound on Sunday 22 September, I find Marriott hard at work, frantically finishing rescheduling the event for Sunday 29 September. “I’m just putting together the final pieces that need to be looked after, ‘cause we’ve had to reschedule – it’s been an absolute nightmare, we’re just trying to make sure everything runs to schedule,” Marriott jokes. Resound is an all-day music show to be held at the Perth Cultural Centre and will see the The Novocaines headline, with support from locals Faim, The Floors, Puck, Pat Chow, Turin Robinson and Nevada Pilot. “Resound was an idea I have been working on for a couple of months, along with Stefan Caramia from Teledex Collective, who also plays guitar in Faim; there’s no way I could have organised this without him,” he says. “The whole premise was to put on a show that was more than one just at a venue, you know, being able to

do a show outdoors in the James St Mall and get it broadcast right around Australia.” Marriott needn’t worry too much; his band is one of the most respected DIY punk bands in Australia and one whose profile is ever growing in

band’s live set then maybe we would give all of the bands a chance to tour over there [East Coast] more,” he says. “It was in an effort to help as many people out, really, and we just wanted to do something really interesting.” The Novocaines formed back in 2006, with the intention of bringing audiences a unique blend of hard hitting punk rock complemented by an energetic and ferocious live stage show. Their style is in-your-face, aggressive and somewhat truculent and pugnacious. While the band has released numerous EPs, and one full length album in 2011’s Idle Time, their most recent bold attack is on living in the present and releasing their singles as soon as possible. Their latest single Don’t Wait sees the band’s sound move into darker and heavier territory – mixing the elements of punk, hardcore, grunge and rock. Marriott says the change in their direction has been largely influenced by a change in their own musical catalogues. “We’ve been listening to a lot of punk and metal,” he offers. “[And] especially the American punk, hardcore and metal scene; naturally, the more you listen to stuff, it influences the way you play, and it’s sort of the direction that we wanted to head.”

“NOWADAYS EVERYTHING IS SO RIGHT NOW AND IMMEDIATE. THE IDEA OF PUTTING OUT SINGLES AS OPPOSED TO AN ALBUM IS WE CAN PUT OUT SIX THINGS EVERY YEAR RATHER THAN ONCE A YEAR.” the international scene, but Marriott is adamant that Resound is more about promoting Western Australian music and supporting the other bands in their quest to grow on the East Coast. “The reason for that is the cost of touring these days is so expensive [so] I thought that if maybe we could record everybody’s live sets and promote it as an event other than just a

They spent the most of 2012 writing and selfproducing their new material, pinpointing a new direction for the band – creating short, yet succinct, direct energetic punk rock, with influences from modern contemporaries Fucked Up and Pulled Apart By Horses; yet they are able to create their own style. “We have the advantage to take our time when we write and to be able to jump into the studio whenever we’re ready and we want to continually put out things and use it to our advantage,” Marriott concludes.

WHEN: 29 Sep, Resound, Perth Cultural Centre

A LIGHTER SHADE British electronic artist Pále has been steadily building success for the past two years and it’s starting to pay off. He chats to Scott Aitken about touring Australia and playing live for the first time.

ritish musician Pále - aka Leo Marcus - says he’s excited to finally bring his unique brand of intricate low-frequency bass-driven house music to Australia. “I’m really looking forward to it,” he says. “I’ve never really done a tour and so it’s going to be really quite different for me but I’m really

looking forward to it.” After only DJing shows for the past two years, the 19-year-old British musician is road-testing his new live shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. “It’s the first time I’m doing live sets rather than DJing so there’s loads of new songs and I’m going to be doing a lot of changes to the material. I think the live set is definitely a lot less dance-driven than my DJ set but hopefully that won’t be taken the wrong way by people because I want it to be a bit more about the sound rather than just making people dance.”

Included in the new material will be Marcus’s latest release All Silver, a unique lo-fi jam packed with crisp drums and percussion that stands out as another prime example of his distinctive talent. The track was a product of a year-long process for Marcus, which he says was needed for the song to take shape. “I have quite a lot of tracks but I’ll work on them for a month and then leave them and pick them up again later,” he says. “It was weird going back to that a year later because I think my quality of production has really changed since then. You sort of create music from what you’re feeling and so when I came back to it a year later it was completely different because I felt different. So that’s when it turned out with loads of different sections and bits... I know a lot of people who can make a track in a day and release it and I can’t really imagine myself doing that because I don’t think a day is enough time to think about anything. But I also think that that kind of sets me apart a little bit.”

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Marcus also reveals he’s got ideas for a follow-up EP, once he’s gotten some feedback from the Australian crowd. “I think after doing all the live gigs I’ll know how people react to the new songs and so I’ll take them back to England and edit them. I’ll do another EP, I’m thinking of working on some more stuff with Joshua Idehen like the last EP so there will be a lot more vocal stuff. But I’ve got a load of tracks waiting so it will be interesting in terms of what I do because I don’t really have any plans.” WHAT: Catacombs (Fat! Records) WHERE: Sat 5 Oct, The Bird

SLOPE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

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Local psych/shoe-gaze quintet Silver Hills are on the cusp of releasing their debut EP Plasticine Daydream, but as Amber Fresh finds out from singer and guitarist Mark McGlue, they’ve drawn from a deep well to create the dream.

old the name Silver Hills in your mind for a moment and you may get a sense of what this quintet are about. Close friends, a little quantum physics, dreamy guitar tones – you’re on the same page. “You know people say, ‘Oh spirituality, take it or leave it’,” McGlue says, after a brief recap of his current reading on Simulation Theory. “Or people say ‘It might be there’ or ‘It’s not there’, but to me the fact of consciousness is spirituality, it’s just a different word.” Recording Plasticine Daydream in a warehouse in Bayswater provided an antithetically sparse location to contrast their idea-filled inner world. “There was nothing really around,” McGlue explains. “There’s a Shell petrol station which has stale sausage rolls and that was about the closest thing to life around there! “ McGlue explains that Plasticine Daydream captures the band’s progression towards a “more dreamy, shoe-gazy sound”, which is inextricable from the thematic ideas the band are exploring, both in songwriting and in lived experience. “There’s a song which is about me waking

up from a dream and realising that I just wanted to be back there because it was so perfectly idyllic – completely at peace. I mean, the EP is called Plasticine Daydream, and that’s kind of an existential thing I wrote, about the question: ‘Is life a dream?’” Although the band are at the beginning of their trajectory, at the silver foothills, they have found a shared ethos along with an increasingly cohesive sound. “I think we all have a philosophy of not getting caught up in financial

prosperity or similar things. We just think that feeling something sincere and beautiful is the apex of the pursuit of what you want to do – good friends, plenty of happiness – that’s the goal. And that’s the undercurrent within the EP; I think that binds it together.” But McGlue and the band have still kept both feet firmly on the ground to create songs which are accessible despite their esoteric starting points. “We’ve gotten into unabashedly writing pop songs which have melodies which tug at the heartstrings, or express ‘feels’ or various philosophy, but then we just put textures which evoke emotions or feelings which we enjoy,” McGlue says. “That really appeals to us, or to me. That dreamy sort of sound we’re getting seems to fit with our personalities. We’re all kind of gentle, loving people really, and it feels right.” WHAT: Plasticine Daydream (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Fri 4 Oct, The Bird THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 35

36 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

reviews

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

This Week: embrace old school gameplay (and shooting aliens) in Saints Row IV, Gooch Palms are lo-fi with potential and Nicholas Jaar gets in touch with his Darkside to fantastic results.

PANIC! AT THE DISCO

Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic/Warner Always fond of the vaudevillian and the histrionic, in their earlier days it was near impossible to disentangle this element of their music from the overly wrought angsty and verbose theatricality of so many of their peers. With Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! (a title lovingly lifted from Hunter S Thompson’s Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas) Panic! At The Disco have grown into their idiosyncrasies and now own them. Always ambitious, past incarnations of the band seem, looking back, to have been hampered by generic affinity – a pop punk band can only do so much (so too a slightly older pop punk band who had now found The Beatles) but unburdened this ambition abounds, the transition to the cutting edge of pop is complete.

★★★★

TRACK LISTING

However, having not decreed themselves to be the saviours of rock’n’roll, it doesn’t seem incongruent when Panic! At The Disco deliver an album of quirky wigged out pop. Similarly, the ego of such big, arty pop isn’t let loose. At ten songs in a little over half an hour it doesn’t overstay its welcome; it doesn’t vainly clasp at opus-like length in search of the cutting edge. It’s just weird, slightly nerdy – a hybrid of sci-fi leaning, classicallyinfused, incredibly taut, expansive pop.

1. This Is Gospel

6. Girls/Girls/Boys

2. Miss Jackson ft Lolo

7. Casual Affair

3. Vegas Lights

8. Far Too Young to Die

4. Girl That You Love

9. Collar Full

Early indications of a penchant for excess, blossoming across subsequent releases, now seem fully realised; this is weird and rare and still pretty odd… and thoroughly impressive.

5. Nicotine

10. The End of All Things

Dave Drayton THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 37

album reviews

KORN

BUSBY MAROU

Prospect Park/Caroline

Footstomp/Warner

This is the album Korn fans have been waiting for. The guys have moved past their dubstep flounderings and Brian ‘Head’ Welch has let go of the holy hand and returned to the line-up. The Paradigm Shift should, all things considered, be exactly that for the science of nu-metal.

After wowing lovers and allcomers with their 2011 debut self-titled record, Tom Busby and Jeremy Marou return with Farewell Fitzroy, a full-blooded sophomore effort that will consolidate the pair as one of the premier songwriting duos in the country.

Farewell Fitzroy

The Paradigm Shift

Shame it’s not. Ray Luzier’s drumming is incessant and gives these songs a lot more power that they deserve. The newly reunited axe duo of Head and Munky reel out sludgy chords end-to-end, with Fieldy’s unmistakable slap bass fattening the riffs out further. But Jonathan Davis sounds like he’s on autopilot – a parody of the Freak On A Leash insanity we once knew. Prey For Me, What We Do, Never Never – it all follows the same formula. Sonic chaos surrounds Davis, while he just phones it in. And even when he does explode briefly – Paranoid And Aroused

★★ for example – it’s clear that studio knobs and production sheen are creating the intensity more than the man on the mic. After driving through the heart of Bakersfield, California, on a scorching spring day earlier this year, this reviewer can understand where Korn’s angst and rage once stemmed from – the city is soulless. But now, with 12 albums under their belt, a 20-year career behind them and an undisclosed pile of Benjamins in the bank, it’s hard to see the band’s aggression as anything more than a uniform that has to be slipped on every few years. Benny Doyle

Hailing from Rockhampton (the Fitzroy River flows by the city’s sunny streets, seemingly providing the album’s name), Farewell Fitzroy is filled with three- to fourminute acoustic tunes – country inflections regularly rearing their heads but rarely overwhelming (Luck being a notable exception, with lap steel guitar and lyrics like “We were chasing after gold and we blew it/We were young and were in love and we knew it”). The pair’s vocal harmonies are pitch perfect as one would expect – the principal difference between Farewell Fitzroy and their debut being the morphing from a duo to a band. The rhythm section and arrangements are more than nominal, the Nashville recording experience obviously having an

ELEVENTH HE REACHES LONDON

WORLD’S END PRESS

Hobbledehoy

Supporting everyone from Bloc Party to Hot Chip this year, World’s End Press have had no shortage of exposure in the lead-up to their debut album release. There’s a hunger for these songs from the indie set, and understandably so; favourites like To Send Our Love and Drag Me Home were easy to like, what with their grand textures and the ever-bouncing bass work of Sashi Dharann. The thing is, away from small pockets of glorious dream disco, this self-titled record doesn’t do enough to hold your attention.

Calling EHRL’s previous records “high concept” might be a bit of a cop-out, but it’s pretty hard to argue against the vast themes and environments the five-piece build into everything they do – one of the reasons there are such big gaps between albums. It’s a matter of perfection, and you can immediately tell how much effort they’ve put into each track. Where 2009’s Hollow Be Thy Name upped the dark elegy stakes, Bānhūs sees a lot more technicality and space. Openers The Dragging Cloud and Code Entwined kick things 38 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

effect on the band’s sound; they recorded with Brad Jones ( Justin Townes Earle, Josh Rouse, Missy Higgins) in that city. It would be unthinkable that Farewell Fitzroy would not succeed in America, where the likes of Zac Brown Band are all-conquering, but with the familiar Australian twang ever-present and Marou’s Indigenous roots firmly planted in home soil, mainstream success on the domestic scene is only a matter of time. It’s a sidestep from their debut and its unashamed love ballads, but Farewell Fitzroy is a well structured, restrained record that destines the band for great things. Dylan Stewart

World’s End Press Liberation

Bānhūs

Bānhūs is the perfect title for Eleventh He Reaches London’s long-awaited third album. Translating from Old English to “bone-house”, it’s dark, mysterious and takes a while to wrap your head around. This album of seven droning, knife-edge tracks doesn’t let up; morbid, curious and ever-present, it’s a pretty strong statement from the Perth band.

★★★½

★★★½ off with noisy dirges, before the Nick Cave-ish Body Unbind lets in some air with a slight country twang over a driving beat. Deep harmony ebbs through both No Funeral and Veil, with banjo effectively leading the latter from the start. Glass Harmonium and To Whomever excel in delivering punches of warped sound between muted lines of shadowy dialogue. It’s pretty hard to top EHRL’s effort here, the one major problem being its inaccessibility to those who aren’t already fans. The band’s style is, well, different, especially in the Perth musical climate. But it’s a tradeoff: what EHRL do, they do well, and Bānhūs is yet another example of that. Cam Findlay

It just seems to go to sleep in parts, a fact that John Parkinson’s vocals – as lush and syrupy as they are – don’t help with. Someone’s Daddy is all kinds of living-for-theweekend, with the keyboards and percussion leading this fluid Balearic journey. But then your vibe is snatched

★★ ½ away by the piano meandering of Vanguard. Showing full artistic scope is great, but here it just feels like a hurdle. The latter track sees in the record’s most tedious passage, and it’s not until Your Time Will Come (Part 1 and 2) that you remember why you’re here in the first place. This album is fine – it would be a pretty amazing soundtrack for a blazing beanbag session with your pals. But every element here could do with an energy lift and, overall, it fails to capture the conviction that the World’s End Press live experience is continually delivered with. Benny Doyle

album reviews

★★★½

★★★★½

★★★

GLASSER

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

DARKSIDE

THE GOOCH PALMS

Interiors

The 20/20 Experience 2 Of 2

Psychic

Novo’s

Modular/Universal

Anti Fade

Young American Nicholas Jaar continues to surprise. Joining him for their first full-length album is guitarist and instrumentalist Dave Harrington, whose gentle krautrock sensibilities push Jaar in fascinating directions. There’s a terrific sense of balance to the record that reveals a fully successful collaboration between the two artists. Heart has a swagger to it that must be all Harrington’s doing, but then it drops the muffled kick and bleeds out purple synth over the arrangement, while Golden Arrow has Jaar’s sinister alchemy all over it. Psychic is a fantastic listen: a fluid blues/ deep-house cocktail that boasts breathtaking depth. Dive in.

This debut from Newcastle natives The Gooch Palms, aka Leroy Macqueen and Kat Friend, is quick to disappoint. They’re a pair renowned for raucous live shows, but Novo’s fails to capture their raw energy and intensity, instead relying on punk chords and plenty of shouting to fill the gap. But it’s a lo-fi album with potential, even if you only realise each song is different after repeated listens. They really hit their stride with the catchy teen angst-ridden Loudest Mouth, but never quite measure up to opener, their lead single We Get By.

True Panther/Remote Control Interiors, the second record from Glasser (aka Cameron Mesirow), is the natural progression from 2010’s Ring, adding lysergic beats and space to her redolent vocals while intimating an intricate relationship with urbanity, architecture and identity. Opener Shape is the epitome of hypnotic pop; the synth and snaking bass that underpins Design evokes the pop world’s fascination with nostalgia.. Much of Interiors’ instrumentation wouldn’t be far removed from a ‘hip’ label such as Not Not Fun, hence Interiors proves to be bridging the gap between awesome ingenuity and mainstream accessibility – hopefully this is the future of pop.

Sony JT fans have been spoilt rotten in 2013 – two albums in one year is almost unheard of in modern music. Here Timberlake continues to throwback to the good ol’ soul days with single Take Back The Night and the romantic You Got It On. He’s playful and slightly twisted on True Blood and Gimme What I Don’t Know (I Want), and with Drake on Cabaret, he’s come up with another classic collaboration. The album’s predecessor was a more solid fit overall, but part two is bold enough to be justified. Sally-Anne Hurley

Brendan Telford

Hannah Story

Matt MacMaster

★★½

★★★★

★★★½

JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS

THE APE

DR. DOG

PINK MARTINI

The Ape

B-Room

Get Happy

Unvarnished

Ape Records

Anti-/Warner

Rogue/Inertia

Blackheart/Liberator Maybe it’s the grandiose expectations, justified though they may be, but the latest release from the lady with punk rock’s biggest lady-cajones leaves a little to be desired. It kicks off with a powerful hit into Any Weather, and rolls on pretty strong from there. However, there’s a certain attitude that seems synonymous with Joan Jett that is lacking in many of these tracks. Admittedly, those which do foot-stomp – such as Reality Mentality and Fragile – do it damn well. In all, the album is passable, yet there’s a want for another (more ballsy) release.

Tex Perkins, man of many musical faces, has adopted The Ape for his new outfit. Crawl Back is a rollicking, rambunctious statement expertly fitted to the pub stages Perkins has made his home for a long time, with the track building QOTSAstyle stagger-rock into pure sex. Meanwhile Man On A Mission punches out grungy rock from the start. The album is much the same for the entire length, with swift injections of punk and funk at opportune times, and then some beautifully bluesy ballads halfway through. Not anything new, but a kick-arse Perkins record, like most.

Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog aren’t here to set the world alight with their originality, but what they can do is breathe new life into an overtly retro/throwback sound. The dual singing/songwriting and incredibly prolific front of Toby Leaman and Scott McMicken can certainly hold their own as top-shelf tunesmiths and the finest of vocalists on this here eighth long-player. The band channels more soulful references here than ever before but, as always, the genre-jumping sextet simply can’t sit still – The Truth is a sublime slow-burn, Cuckoo turns a little psych-rock while Phenomenon keeps it folky.

Lukas Murphy

Cam Findlay

Ben Preece

Another classy foray into the glamour and sophistication of lounge and easy-listening music. Supported by frou-frouescent arrangements, China Forbes wraps her icy cool vocals around standards Quizás and Sway. Forbes steers the ship, but an unusual roster of guests almost steal the show. The late Phyllis Diller sings the old Charlie Chaplin song, Smile, and The Von Trapp Family Singers of Sound Of Music fame provide backing vocals for Rufus Wainwright. Get Happy and Happy Days come together in a stunningly beautiful and complex duet. A Pink Martini is all you really need to get happy. Guido Farnell

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 39

singles/ep reviews

★★★★

TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS Born In The 90s Independent Tim and his Infidels forget the wonders of SNES, Tazos, Supersoakers and Goosebumps and let the naysayers get them down. But in a rollicking, goodfor-sing-alongs kinda way.

ANDY BULL Baby I Am Nobody Now (Todd Rundgren Remix) Island/Universal Quirky electronic beats, dirty synth chords, and an eternally youthful voice that sounds effortless are Bull’s charm. Given the Tod Rundgren treatment, Baby I Am Nobody Now keeps it’s charm but becomes a totally different beast.

★★★½

★★★★

ANNA CALVI

PETE CORNELIUS

One Breath

Groundswell

PETER GABRIEL/ VARIOUS

Domino/EMI

Only Blues Music

...And I’ll Scratch Yours

Anna Calvi’s second album, like her first, is awash with wild drama and passion. The difference now is that the results edge towards an overall sound that aims to be more subtly beautiful. Becoming more personal in tone, Calvi doesn’t strike any obviously self-conscious poses to provide songs that feel more real than imagined. As we move from the glorious rock stomp of Eliza to the spaghetti western orchestrations of Sing To Me, it’s Calvi’s soaring vocals and gritty guitar that commands our attention. An intense album that establishes Calvi as an artist to be reckoned with.

The most recent album of Tasmania’s answer to New Orleans is a classy one, in a boozy, smoky, sexy way. Pete Cornelius and his band, The DeVilles, thump out a mix of classics (the likes of Tom Waits, Freddy King and more) and originals, each with a new approach to an age-old sound. The band is solid, the tunes are tight and the solos are even better. This is the kind of album that makes you want to go see the music in person. Brilliant studio work, but seeing it live is next on the list.

RealWorld/Caroline

Lukas Murphy

Guido Farnell

Long delayed part II of a cultural exchange project from 2010 with Scratch My Back, where the onetime Genesis frontman covered 12 artists in orchestral style. The reciprocation has most subjects (except party poopers Bowie and Radiohead) returning the favour. Arcade Fire’s swaggering take on Games Without Frontiers, Paul Simon’s refitting of Biko and Randy Newman’s sinister Big Time all rise above standard tribute fare. Magnetic Fields’ Stephen Merritt channels the Human League, David Byrne funks and Brian Eno simply fucking terrifies through Gabriel’s darkness in enticing other lights. Mac McNaughton

ANCIENTS Hey Now Chapter Music There’s a distinct DIY feel to this track, as we’re treated to elements of psych rock in the choruses and a simple yet incredibly catchy melody. This is what summer driving music sounds like.

CANNON

EVES

ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER

ICONA POP

It’s Cool, No Worries Bon Voyage

R Plus Seven

Neon/Warner

Cannon’s been classified as “excellent, dumb, Australian rock and roll music” – an unexpected description that seems to reflect Cannon’s interpretation of what music is, but hopefully not the entire nation’s. The tongue-incheek EP includes lead singer Callan Murray screaming incomprehensible lyrics in an off-key manner, while the electric guitar delivers a more musical array of classic rock riffs. The chaos and insanity perseveres with rapid tempos, like the Tasmanian Devil on speed. Ending on an uninhibited rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s Everywhere, you’ve got to give Cannon credit for knowing how to have a good time.

Warp/Inertia

If your daily routine involves coffees and energy drinks to get you through the day, This Is Icona Pop is set to save you money! I Love It – the Swedish duo’s apocalyptically massive breakthrough hit – sets the pace for the entire 33 minutes. The vocals are destined to win no awards other than ‘Year’s Best t.A.T.u Soundalike’. On A Roll, We Got The World and Then We Kiss provide a decent hit rate twerking the fringes of the cool kids, ensuring I Love It and Girlfriend don’t maroon them on twominute wonder island.

Zen Independent Zen is an appropriate name for Eves’ second single release ahead of her debut EP. Sitar-esque tones feature heavily alongside pensive lyricism and a chorus reminiscent of Florence and the Machine.

BOOTLEG RASCALS Sharks Independent It’s easy to see why Bootleg Rascals have gotten around recently supporting Sticky Fingers – their brand of rootsy, Latin-infused, acoustic classic rock matches well. Could not be more laid-back. Andy Snelling 40 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

★★

Kershia Wong

★★★★

Give the man credit: he takes chances. Having worked his way up the electronic music food chain, Daniel “Oneohtrix Point Never” Lopatin has made his debut on the esteemed Warp records by abandoning his overlapping drones and giving his fuzzy, crackling sound a shave. But “he who dares, wins”, as they say, as R Plus Seven contains some dynamite material: stunning adventures in crystalline hi-fi, with the likes of Zebra and He She revealing a deviously skewed intellect and expectation-defying compositions. It’s pure magic. Christopher H James

★★★½

This Is Icona Pop

Mac McNaughton

live reviews

CALEXICO, DEPEDRO, QUARRY MOUNTAIN DEAD RATS, TINY RUINS Astor Theatre 27 Sep Calexico comes with an entourage. If value for money is a consideration, this was the gig to go to, with three tight, high-quality support acts before headliner Calexico took their place under the lights. It made for a very long gig, but worth it for those with the stamina to make it to encore.

and was soon joined onstage by several members of the band early on in his set. DePedro is the stage name for Jairo Zavala and, under the heat of the spotlight, Zavala has the playful way with audiences that an experienced kindergarten teacher has with children. He had people joining in almost immediately. And then, finally, came the headliners. Calexico is a musician’s band: led by Joey Burns and John Convertino, the group is a selection of incredibly accomplished musicians who rely on the quality of their music rather than falling prey to devices. A portion of the set came from Calexico’s 2012 album Algiers, but songs from the back catalogue also made a strong appearance. A number were taken from Carried To

FAIM @ RESOUND. PIC: JASMINE EALES

The Astor often starts off early and this was no exception. Doors were open at 7.30pm with New Zealand’s Tiny Ruins on not long after, giving us a haunting, delicate and warm introduction to the evening. Hollie Fullbrook was to return much later in the evening to help Calexico’s Joey Burns by singing the female vocals for Slowness. This mood shifted pretty quickly after the Quarry Mountain Dead Rats took to the stage and lined up with their string instruments all in a row. This is bluegrass the way it should be; the Victorian five-piece played a blisteringly fast, incredibly tight set that even had people moving in the seated section. Which brings us to DePedro, who entered to a thoroughly warmed audience ready for the headliners. This was fortunate, seeing as the Spanish muso is currently a Calexico member

rock‘n’roll-inspired day, and the group pulled in plenty of passers-by. Next up was Mossy Fogg, who eased up the tempo a little but enchanted the growing audience with an incredibly raw and personal performance. Pat Chow picked up the pace merely 15 minutes later with another strong rock performance. Their technical ability and songwriting finesse was supreme, with Bad Thoughts being a particular standout. PUCK brought an element of seriousness into the mix, the moody band offering the audience a drawn out, subdued fuzz-rock metal sound, delivering damaging drums and intense guitars. FOAM followed with an even fuzzier set of tracks. The Floors were the next act to take up the reigns, and they raised the bar even higher with an extremely entertaining form of

NOVOCAINES @ RESOUND. PIC: JASMINE EALES

Dust, while their cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart Again earned a strong response from the audience. Calexico finished up their set at midnight, nearly two hours after taking the stage, leaving their audience reeling from a set steeped in impressive stamina and utter quality. Zoe Barron

RESOUND

Perth Cultural Centre 29 Sep Dangerous-looking clouds may have threatened to drench the performers, but it didn’t stop a horde of people heading down to Perth Cultural Centre to enjoy a mini-festival’s worth of WA musicians do their thing on Sunday afternoon. Nevada Pilot began proceedings in what would end up being a very

Donned in thick eye makeup, vocalist Noah Skape could have been placed in the middle of a Broadway performance and not look out of place in the slightest. The Novocaines rounded off the evening, the day essentially being a lead-up to their single launch for Don’t Wait, their third single release this year. The single in the limelight was certainly a take on the band’s heavier experiments of late, and the crowd responded very positively to it, especially considering the theme of the day. Despite the shitty weather, it was fantastic to see so many people showing their support for some of Perth’s hardworking artists, the old and the new. It was certainly a testament to the talent we have in this city, and we can all rest assured it shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Kane Sutton

DISCLOSURE @ LISTEN OUT. PIC: DARCY RAHN

bluesy rock’n’roll. They’re known for their widespread popularity amongst the local scene and this was exemplified on the day, as the band drew the largest and most enthusiastic crowd yet. While the instrumental work was spot-on, Luke Dux’s vocals were outstanding; tidy yet raw, and his expression in the delivery was incredible. The audience crept up to the very front of the stage for the first time that day for what was an engaging and enjoyable show. Punter patience was required after that set when a downpour threatened to ruin everything. Such was the commitment and high spirits of the organisers that it was instead decided to move the entire thing inside the PICA Bar for the last two acts. This ended up being a blessing in disguise, as FAIM charmed the crowd with a theatrical take on ‘80s inspired punk rock.

MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA Astor Theatre 28 Sep Depressed though I’m sure many punters were from the result of the grand final, you couldn’t tell from the vibe going around on Saturday night at Melbourne Ska Orchestra’s second and final Perth show. It quickly became apparent that this was definitely a gig to sit back and just people-watch; there was eclectic mix of old rockabillies in leather pants and GoGo boots weaving around the younger ska reggae crowd, and they proved themselves entertaining to say the least. Heavily British-influenced cover band Mod Squad had the steadily growing audience up on their feet right from the THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 41

live reviews beginning of their set. By the time they played Van Morrison’s Jackie Wilson Said (I’m In Heaven When You Smile) the dance floor had quadrupled in size and the majority of the older audience was singing along. Blur’s Parklife proved to be a crowd favourite, and the energy of mullet-clad lead vocalist Ian Falk translated heavily into the audience participation; they were a band reminiscent of a bygone era that catered for this particular audience very well. One of the many projects of Nicky Bomba (Bustamento, ex-John Butler Trio), the Melbourne Ska Orchestra played a whopping two-hour set; no easy feat when the band’s sound is this huge - definitely a credit to them. Barely fitting on the Astor’s sizeable stage, the twenty-six piece big band

certain: the night was made for techno. Allstate and Craig Hollywood locked horns to the sounds of everything bassy and brooding, before Emerald Cabal and Reece Walker continued on a similar sort of vibe. Everyteen kept things ominous, but mixed things up a little with a few welcome house numbers of sorts. Laurel Anne Chartow, more commonly known as Laurel Halo, takes influences from her early musical education as well as her place of origin. Almost hidden behind her mountain of hardware, Laurel twisted knobs and triggered drum machines to form what felt like one constantly evolving track. Textural percussion and bizarre but delectable synth lines crept in and out in a set that could be best described as pure otherworldly wonderment. Berlin based, British

ALUNAGEORGE @ LISTEN OUT. PIC: DARCY RAHN

gave an upbeat, ska and reggaeinfluenced performance that had everybody dancing like awkward dads with two left feet. Ending on a high note with a cover of Madness’s Night Boat To Cairo, band members and audience alike went absolutely nuts – shit got real, is all I can say. It was an interesting night unlike anything I’d seen before, and the audience left thoroughly breathless and satisfied. Tash Edge

LAUREL HALO, OBJEKT The Bakery 28 Sep With a line-up from some of Perth’s most respected techno selectors supporting two of the globe’s most esteemed techno producers, one thing was for 42 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

you smile, as he brought members of the crowd up to help him sing. Such a thing was certainly not out of place on the night, as the vibe that was going around was certainly one of peace and love. Frankenreiter brought up several people over the course of his set, and while the singing was not always quite in tune, it was still a wonderful thing to witness.

30 Sep

A short time after the second set of the night had finished, the main rigs were revealed from under their tarpaulins and blankets: two drum kits, numerous didgeridoos, Rudd’s centre-stage seat and several depictions of the Australian Aboriginal flag. Behind, there were lit up images of the Australian landscape and its native flora and fauna. As the

Fremantle Arts Centre

One would think that an outdoor event such this one would be safe, almost a whole month into springtime and even well and truly past the spring equinox, but the chilly and wet weather that has persisted thus far put an end to such an assumption. Sunday evening’s show out in the courtyard of the

NAHKO BEAR @ FAC. PIC: TED DANA

born Objekt has been at the forefront of the contemporary techno scene since early 2011 where he released the sporadically treacherous and innovative Objekt #1 EP. Objekt began his performance by momentarily teasing the crowd with demonic drones and barely audible sub bass, before unleashing a set packed full of the relentless and ingenious techno that he has found himself so inseparable from. Scrimmaging through a lusty crate of vinyl, the crowd was served a goodie bag full of unreleased hard wax that have only seen the light of day through subpar YouTube rips, including the likes of Mosca and Randomer. Be ready for the highly anticipated Objekt #3 EP, which will be hitting shelves early next month. James Hunt

XAVIER RUDD, DONAVON FRANKENREITER NAHKO AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE

Fremantle Arts Centre saw a persistent drizzle and many soaked patrons. While many people would be downtrodden and cantankerous about the weather and accordingly not enjoyed the show, this was certainly not the case with fans of Xavier Rudd and his talented friends. Rather, people amassed early on and relished the opportunity to dance in the rain. The night began with Oregon-based acoustic thump-hop troupe, Nahko & Medicine For The People, who gave way to a very intimate performance by Donavon Frankenreiter, accompanied by his (usual) bassist, Matt Grundy, on this occasion playing acoustic guitar and harmonica. Frankenreiter’s performance was heartwarming and made

XAVIER RUDD @ FAC. PIC: TED DANA

lights dimmed and the rain poured, sounds of kookaburras and other birdlife erupted from the PA system, and the masses responded in the same way when the man himself walked out to play. The set saw Rudd’s patented lap-slide style of guitar playing and Alu’s turbo-Latindisco drumming cover a range of favourites, from Messages, to Food In The Belly and Let Me Be – all with drawn-out interludes and extended jams between the pair of performers. The set eventually reached its summit in the final piece, where the distortion was kicked up, and the energy built until the final hit. Rudd followed up with an encore of Spirit Bird, and an a cappella message of peace, love and equality, just to give everyone a bit of love to pass on to others. Lukas Murphy

arts reviews

THANKS FOR SHARING

THANKS FOR SHARING Film

In cinemas 3 Oct Stuart Blumberg, co-writer of generally well received The Kids Are Alright (2010) makes his feature directorial debut in Thanks For Sharing, a comedydrama about sex addiction and 12-step support groups. It is neither particularly funny nor emotionally gripping whatsoever. The usually likeable Mark Ruffalo has slightly more personality than a soggy biscuit here, and is distractingly inconsistent as the protagonist. There is real

chemistry in his scenes with love interest Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow), but this storyline could have been further developed. The other few scenes that make you care for the characters include those between reformed addict/ Adam’s sponsor Mike (Tim Robbins) and his estranged, formerly drug-addicted son (Patrick Fugit), and also Adam’s bumbling sponsee Neil ( Josh Gad) and fellow support group member Dede (Pink, who’s one of the film’s highlights and underused in her acting debut). In attempting to take the stigma out of sex addition – to put it on the same level as alcohol/drug addiction – the film’s message is muddled between ‘sex addiction is a disease’ and ‘everyone has problems that consume them’. There is a constant sense of overt justification – which more often misses than hits the mark – with all the characters learning their respective lessons too neatly in the end; you can basically predict how the plot plays out from Thanks For Sharing’s first scenes. Everyone is redeemed, relationships are mended, all the shitty things the

addicts did are therefore negated. Hooray. If you want a film about sex addiction, see Shame instead. Stephanie Liew

THE ACT OF KILLING Film

In cinemas 3 Oct The Act of Killing has had almost universal critical acclaim, and for good reason. This film’s an engaging (and surprisingly beautiful) documentary that delves into the long term aftereffects of the systematic murder of over 1,000,000 people. It’s a non-judgemental exploration, focusing not on the actual events

THE ACT OF KILLING

that happened in Indonesia in 1965, but on the impact that those killings have had on the people (victims and perpetrators) living in North Sumatra today. Key among these people is Anwar Congo: a self-professed gangster and executioner who begins the film bragging about his methods for efficient mass murdering. Key to this film’s power is the ease and openness with which these horrific events are shared; filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer invited Anwar and his colleagues to re-enact their killings, who do so with terrifying candour. Responsibility is shifted from person to person, making it clear that in 40 years nobody has thought too deeply about what they did... but over the six years this documentary was shot the truth of that era begins to be driven home. Oppenheimer strips back the concept of ‘goodies and baddies’, and shares with us real, honest and haunted people who are coming to realise the horror of what they did. This film is an absolute must-see, I can’t say that strongly enough. Danny Delahunty

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 43

games the pregnant stitchface will look left, then right, before... resuming a 3.7km/h walk along a preordained patrol route.

in a spaceship with like ten billion different levers, switches, buttons, dials and a 6-inch floppy drive, then says GO! The ambience lends itself to an abject loneliness which is unlike anything I’d felt before in a game. What makes you feel even more helpless are the puzzles.

★★★ ½

MIRROR MOON EP Santa Ragione PC/Mac So: in case you’re wondering, short indie games often label themselves “EP”s, often lack a tutorial or written instructions when you begin, and also generally rely on intuitive progression to teach you the mechanics of the game. Mirror Moon, however, does not. Mirror Moon dumps you

Once you manage to land on a planet, you assemble a gun that can move the planet’s moon, which is actually a mirror image of the planet you’re standing on. You navigate using beacons you shoot at the moon/planet-mirror, which subsequently appear on the planet. After you beat the first planet, you enter this multi-player metagame where you can land on and explore seemingly endless gorgeous but boring planets. If you land on an unnamed planet and “beat” it, you get to name that planet for the next player who comes along. Not that it matters, though, because the name doesn’t really mean anything, which is when you realise the whole game has become kind of pointless. Still, it’s interesting, beautiful and unlike any other game in memory. Lachlan Petersen

OUTLAST

★★ ½

Red Barrels PC

Outlast offers a cart ride through a haunted house, but to put it bluntly, examine anything too closely and you’ll find the balsa-wood and craft glue behind the scares. The arm that smashes the asylum cell’s glass window doesn’t belong to a skinfree insaniac - it’s just a disembodied limb rigged to spring when you walk past. If you hide inside this locker,

and enslave the population. As an unconventionally handson President of the USA, it falls to you to enter the digital illusion and take Zinyak down from the inside. Cue a bizarroworld filled with guns, gangs, spaceships, superpowers and sprawling cities waiting for your sandbox-style destruction.

★★★★

SAINTS ROW IV Volition, Inc.

PC/Xbox 360/PS3 The folks at Deep Silver have torched convention to produce an incredibly entertaining adventure that’s probably the best action/ humour alien adventure since Destroy All Humans. The earth has been rocked by an alien invasion spearheaded by the brutal warmongering Zinyak, who proceeds to construct a Matrix-y digital world to trap 44 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

Naturally you can still jack a car and drive, but Saints Row’s narrative provides enough variation for even the most demanding attention spans with an excellent mix of conventional missions and insane experimental side quests based on rad retro-gaming formats and it’s within this homage that the game shines. The experience serves as a portal to a childlike view of gaming – all-nighters laced with pizza and red-creaming soda spiders. While wacky concepts have taken a bit of a beating between literal mass-population behemoths and the quirky indie game markets, Saints Row fills the niche nicely. Tap into that underutilised well of fun and imagination and embrace an old-school adventure with the new-school immersion. Saints Row is pure win. Simon Holland

★★★ ½

THE WONDERFUL 101 Platinum Games Wii U

From the creative genius of Platinum Games comes The Wonderful 101 (W101), a bold new IP that crosses Pikmin and Viewtiful Joe with sexy results. Players control a mob of superheros, building colossal weapons from their body parts and striking down mechanical

You’re cast as an investigative journalist who breaks into a spooky old sanitarium in pursuit of a story, and the game’s visual themes are predictably oversaturated. Every bathtub contains a pair of feet-stumps, every wall is smattered with blood graffiti, every mirror has been smashed in with a big fat head. Outlast contains zero molecules of Amnesia: The Dark Descent’s measured restraint and the player is quickly inoculated against in-game shocks. There are some surprisingly gleeful chase scenes, but more often, the game regresses to infuriating searches for arbitrary items – keys, keycards, fuses and levers. These searches in turn trigger the emergence of the next shambling troglodyte, this time armed with maybe rusty scissors or a dinosaur bone. Outlast’s tension is sapped by these predictable systems, leaving it little more than a cardboard cutout of a better horror game. Michael Pendlebury alien invaders; a premise that is absurd. Combat is too chaotic, as often there was no indication what the game wanted you to do. There is so much depth, but so little guidance. It takes serious patience to understand the game’s mechanics, but if you can stomach the relentless smack-downs, W101 is a top class beat-em-up. Boss battles are W101’s grand centrepiece. Overblown and brilliant, these showdowns with hulking techno-monoliths are superb. Second only to Bayonetta in scale, Platinum have once again proved they are kings of one of gaming’s oldest traditions. However, all is not well in W101. The camera is downright dastardly and the combat is repetitive. Combined with the unreliable controls, W101’s difficulty can become overwhelming. It’s a shame that so much is wrong with W101 as there really is nothing like it on the market. The game is a hard sell. Kid-friendly visuals might alienate older players, while young’uns may feel shunned by the crushing difficulty. If you can handle the steep learning curve, W101 is an explosive adventure. Andrew Sutton

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SOUND & MUSIC Video sound pro recording, editing, mixing & mastering for film. Video editing full HD. Music arranging / composition & production for film. Voice overs dubbed into video etc. $40 hr. Enquiries ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 21481

RECORDING STUDIOS RECORDING STUDIO AudioVault Music- Recording Studio Great rates, awesome room and live event space. Email us info@audiovaultmusic.com.au or call Ryan 0439 953 774 or visit www.audiovaultmusic.com.au iFlogID: 23011

REHEARSAL ROOMS REHEARSAL SPACE AudioVault Music- Rehearsal Space Great rates, awesome room and live event space. Email us info@audiovaultmusic.com.au or call Ryan 0439 953 774 Or visit www.audiovaultmusic.com.au iFlogID: 23013

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 45

46 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

the guide opinion

drink

eat

the guide

With Alex Griffin What doesn’t Ermine Coat sound like? Making much money. What is the secret to success in the music industry? DIY and die. If you could perform at any gig, what gig would that be? Juggalofest ‘16. If Ermine Coat was an animal, what animal would that be? Trapdoor spider. What is your personal favourite record? Right now, Instinct by The Moles. Does the soul survive death? Can’t see it having much fun without a body. Probably just participating in electoral fraud. When and where are you next performing? Album launch in my backyard on the November 9! Heaps of local musicians and probably some goon of fortune. Have you a website? erminecoat.bandcamp.com! Pic by Girl

ERMINE COAT

travel

drink

DEAR RECENT GRADUATE Izzyy Tolhurst writes an open p letter to the university student that was was.

STUDENT DRINKING NIGHTS WHAT: Halfprice cocktails – (Wednesday Nights) WHERE: Carnegies, Perth FEED ME: $19 parma or $24 with a Sex On The Beach cocktail WHAT: Bliss – (Wednesday Nights after 9pm) WHERE: Leederville Hotel, Leederville CASH, MONEY: Free Entry, standard drinks between $8 to 14 WHAT: Cheek – (Wednesday Nights) WHERE: Club Red Sea, Subiaco

ere is a list of things you may not be proud of. It is a list of tactics crudely implemented to maintain frugality and limit the use of your Centrelink-funded allowance during your tertiary years, and some things you should, looking back, be ashamed of. It is a list of methods that shredded you of considerable dignity. It is also a list of activities and products that you will almost certainly indulge in again, but in this rare moment of clarity let’s together acknowledge the error of your ways. 1. First, drinking out of large pots and pans in the absence of glasses does not make you cool or make the drinks taste better – it simply makes them taste like pots and pans. 2. Second up, university drinking games, a common form of initiation at your institution, are silly at best and disastrous and career-ruining at worst. This misinformed attempt to build camaraderie and steadfastness between students can easily end with a degree’s worth of well crafted and embarrassing nicknames, no friends, and a bloke you wish would stop sitting so close to you in your Introduction To Fantasy Narratives 1 Class. 3. Thirdly, the internet and alcohol don’t mix: as pioneers of both binge drinking and social media, you’d think such crafty inventors would have better control of the fruits of their labour. However, we’re like Thomas Edison at a strobe light party, and it is relatively safe to say that most of what is affixed to the walls of Facebook in the throes of a night out is grossly unflattering, what is bought on eBay is random and unwanted, and your Google search predictor is likely to yield results that will shock and appall even you. As a result, you are particularly familiar with the “clear browser history” function of most operating systems. 4. Next, embarrassingnightclubphotos.com... Need I say more of the perils of young people and drinking? 5. Fifth up for scrutiny is goon: as Australian as a Hills Hoist or kangaroo, goon is a staple of the lowly university

48 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

student’s diet. In drinking it, you conquer a rite of passage. A most reliable social commentator (Urban Dictionary) defines goon as: “Cheap wine that comes in a box and leaves the consumer with an extreme headache the next day. Convenient because the remains of the vessel can be inflated for use as a pillow after consumption.” If this wasn’t clear enough, used in a sentence it reads a little something like this: “I’ve only got $8 so I guess I’ll be drinking a goon bag tonight.” However, if offered this “vessel” now, I think I’d politely just take a turpentine on the rocks instead, thanks. 6. The hip flask is next in the line of fire: cheap and discreet, it was an easy solution to bartender arrogance and overpriced mixed drinks. However, your Lee Strasberg method acting is not of the calibre you had first envisaged, because you’re not fooling any of the venue staff when you order “just a llllemonade please, maaaaaate!” while falling over surrounding punters and laughing at an offensive volume. 7. The penultimate offence, and a true bottomshelfer, Passion Pop, is without doubt the worst mark against your name. Containing noticeable traces of fish, nuts and eggs – the absolute trifecta for any poor sod with allergies – it’s something no decent human should be subjected to. One particularly impassioned contributor to a Yahoo thread – thanking you, VioletVixen14 – wrote appropriately on the beverage, saying, “ahahahah u dummy passion pop is TERRIBLE!!!!!!” Well, VioletVixen14, after more than four-and-a-half years of moving steadily toward the Passion Pop, I couldn’t agree more. 8. Last on this list of assaults to your reputation: riding your bike home. You look ridiculous. With Barry White pumping through your headphones you are not only a hazard to yourself, but to everything else on the road. Engaging in an affected ride home may also result in your name appearing in the aforementioned Google Search, and really, haven’t you done enough already?

WHAT: Xport – (Thursday Nights) WHERE: Causeway Bar, Vic Park CASH, MONEY: Pizza specials, free bus to Clubba and live acoustic artist till 10pm. DRINK PRICES ARE TIME-SPECIFIC CHECK WEBSITES FOR MORE DEETS.

eat/drink

FOOD IS ART

BAR PROFILE

“LET’S TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE THE HUMBLE TOMATO” - ANON

FOOD TRIPPIN’ EATING AROUND THE USA WITH SOFIE MUCENIEKAS AND LLOYD HONEYBROOK

ADAM COURT Which cafe/bar/restaurant do you cook at? Five Bar Address: 560 Beaufort St, Mt Lawley Three words that describe the place? Humble, honest, smooth. If you were a patron of your establishment what would you select from the menu? Entree: Roast field mushrooms on toast Served with? Stone & Wood Pacific Ale

CHICAGO

At Revolution Brewing we drank $2 ‘sample’ sizes of the 16 beers on tap with one bowl of bacon-fat popcorn, applewood-smoked wings with blue cheese potato salad, BBQ pulled pork burger with honey-jalapeño slaw, and for dessert Rosa beer ice cream with raspberryrhubarb coulis and candied hazelnut, and a Eugene Porter chocolate cake with Eugene Porter ice cream.

CHECKOUT

Main: Crispy confit duck salad with cucumber, chilli, herbs, hazelnut and red wine vinaigrette Served with? First Drop Mother’s Milk Shiraz

What’s the average price of a main? $26 Three ingredients everyone should have in their pantry? Sea salt, olive oil, kecap manis. If your food was compared to music what style would it be? Dream pop. What music is likely to be playing in the kitchen when you’re cooking? The xx. Where do you usually eat after your shift? Home. What’s your dish of choice to enjoy after work? Raw salmon sushi rolls, kewpie mayo, pickled ginger, wasabi.

Dessert: Chocolate brownie

Is your chef lifestyle more Anthony Bourdain or Pete Evans? Anthony Bourdain.

Served with? Kopke 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Website link for more info? fivebar.com.au

BLACK SWAN FARMERS BEST CARAMELISED FRENCH ONION DIP

For anyone who loves French onion dip. This Farmers Best caramelised french onion dip smashes all others out of the ball park. Cost: $3.70 THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 49

travel HALLUCINATORY

JUNGLE FEVER

DRUGS

Peyote (aka cactus, mesc, buttons)

Usually found in Texas and Mexico, peyote is a type of cactus containing mescaline that’s been used for centuries by Indigenous Americans for its hallucinatory affects. It’s usually chewed or transferred into a liquid form then ingested.

Sarah Reid heads to the Amazon to get to the root of what’s got musos going gaga.

urling up in a hammock, I struggle to suppress my gag reflex. I’ve just forced down a glass of muddy liquid with the consistency of blended socks – all in the name of spiritual awakening. If you’ve backpacked through South America or have a keen interest in psychotropic medicine, you probably know I’m talking about ayahuasca. For centuries, Amazonian shamans have used this plantbased hallucinogen to treat spiritual and physical maladies. More recently, a growing Western interest has spawned a new style of holistic tourism. Sting, Madonna and Tori Amos were onto the stuff years ago. Today, a new generation of indie artists (including The Bees, Klaxons and Ben Lee, who named his latest LP, Ayahuasca: Welcome To The Work) are leading the charge to the Amazon to try this Quechua ‘spirit vine’. During a recent backpacking adventure, I sure as hell wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to join them. Chaperoned by a local guide, I’ve been ferried to a remote jungle camp in the Ecuadorean Amazon. We arrive to find the local shaman stirring a cauldron over an open fire in preparation for the ceremony. Having fasted for the past 24 hours and abstained from tyramine-rich foods like cheese, salami and alcohol – which can hamper the effects of the natural brew – I am primed for life changing visions. Necking a small cup of the foul liquid, I recline into a hammock to wait for the show to begin. Struggling to stay awake, I’m soon distracted by the whomp-whomp sound of a helicopter trying to land in our camp. I ask my guide about it, and he just chuckles. “Relax,” he says. “It’s starting.” Then, Bam! Bright, colourful lights flash across my eyelids. They soon begin to contort into animals, people. A wise-looking black man appears, dressed in a loincloth. He points to the horizon, and I follow his gaze to watch a scarlet orchid unfurl, revealing a metallic emerald beetle clinging to its stamen. 50 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

LSD (aka acid, blotter, doses)

It’s like a dream, but I’m totally lucid. The hallucinations are multi-sensory now, and I begin to wish the crickets had a volume dial. Opening my eyes briefly, I’m see every living thing in sight encircled by a quivering white light. I begin to laugh, but chunder instead. Violently. This is the most ungraceful aspect of ayahuasca – it can induce vomiting, sometimes from both ends, and often continuously. As Sting himself once told Rolling Stone, ayhuasca ain’t no party drug. Taking a swig of water and climbing back into my hammock, my body feels like a bag of sand. But my brain is buzzing. Unconscious memories begin to bubble up from a forgotten internal chamber, and I feel like my own therapist as I stumble into a session of self-evaluation. By morning, I’m knackered. But far from hungover or anxious, I feel calm and cleansed – as if I’d purged my psychic garbage along with the remaining contents of my stomach. I can see why scientists are increasingly looking at the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca, with numerous studies demonstrating its effectiveness in treating mood disorders. But the ritual isn’t without risk. While US studies have found no evidence to suggest taking ayahuasca in a ceremonial setting is harmful, several deaths have been linked with the drug. Other users report struggling with heavy visions caused by dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a naturally occurring psychedelic compound in ayahuasca. The legality of the drug remains a grey area in Australia, with no precedent for prosecution. There was a federal government plan posited in 2011 to ban plants containing DMT, but nothing has come of it. It’s a tricky subject, given our national flower, the wattle, is chock-full of it. While ayahuasca certainly isn’t for everyone, I admit my experience – as a cynical journalist – was unexpectedly cathartic. I don’t know, as Lee says, if it’s the “medicine of our time”, but if you’re mentally prepared for it, ayahuasca is one hell of a ride.

LSD was synthesised by Albert Hoffman in 1938 and is derived from a grain fungus. It’s been used for military chemical warfare and psychosis treatment throughout history.

Magic Mushrooms (aka ‘shrooms, mushies)

Magic mushrooms are a psychotropic fungus that, when consumed, cause euphoria and hallucinations. The substances act on the central nervous system and slow brain activity.

Angel Dust (aka PCP or wet) This has a similar affect on the brain as ketamine and was originally developed as a WWI anaesthetic.

DMT (aka dimitri)

DMT is usually vaporised and smoked, potentially mixed with other drugs like marijuana. The drug’s chemical agents are found in ayahuasca.

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 51

opinion

MODERATELY HIGHBROW

WTF

OG FLAVAS

AAROM WILSON LOOKS AT WHAT THE FUDGE IS GOING ON IN THE WIDE WORLD OF MUSIC.

URBAN AND R’N’B NEWS BY CYCLONE

ARTS, CULTURE AND THE INBETWEEN WITH CAM FINDLAY Glancing at my bookshelf, I can count the number of random objects I’ve used as bookmarks. Coles receipts, train tickets, Just Cuts club cards, napkins, pieces of tape and sometimes actual bookmarks. It all tells me one thing: I have way too many books I haven’t finished reading. One I’ve just finished is Jonathan Franzen’s How To Be Alone, the critically-lauded author’s collection of essays over 20 or so years. Franzen’s work is often confrontational and unorthodox, and he prides himself on writing socially relevant fiction. At the same time, he argues what he sees as the death of serious fiction, as the internet, TV and other media eat up our leisure time. In a way, it’s true: the amount of time our ancestors spent reading books, and the cultural sway such books had, has waned in the face of a never-ending parade of lists of celebrities without make-up, household pets on trampolines and oversexualised fanbait riding construction equipment. That’s pretty bloody sad. Novels like Cannery Row, How To Kill A Mockingbird and yes, goddamn it, even The Fountainhead held cultural implications within their pages. If they didn’t call for social change, they addressed the culture at the time, and asked, “is it worth it?”. Now, we’re lucky if what we take from the most read media out there is as astute as, “Ha, see that ex-Disney girl/ washed-up drug-fucked rockstar/ crazy lady with all the cats? What a loser!” Rant over, as I realise I’ve gone from mourning records to mourning books. Something not about obsolete technology next week, promise.

JONATHAN FRANZEN 52 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

ONESIE SPRINGING

Look, I don’t want to sound like a gargantuan grouch but WTF’s silence on the whole onesie thing can’t be contained any longer. Spring’s sprung so by now you’d think the fad would have farked off and everyone would have returned back to plain-clothed normality. So how why the flaming frick are people still thinking it’s okay to leave the house wrapped in a furry leopard one-piece? Like any annoying fad, it’s spread with vulgar degrees of virality. In May this year there were over 140,000 individual searches for onesies on eBay alone. As reported in news. com.au, this was “up more than 200 per cent compared to the beginning of the year… And total sales jumped by 40 per cent in one day in June when the east coast of Australia was battered by cold, wet weather.” Skip a few months ahead and now there are online clothing businesses making most of their money off onesies. Not only are these stats staggering, it’s shocking that our high profile ‘news’ services are ‘reporting’ on onesies at all. Is it just this jaded scribe or do you too feel an intrinsic hatred for the incredibly fast rise of the onesie, like you want to punch a tiger? It could be the similarities this reign of abysmal clothing choices has with the nonsensical Paul Frank pajamas pandemonium, or perhaps it stems from a general disdain of wearing anything to bed that will uncomfortably crinkle. Either way, there’s something about the onesie that gets

goats fleeced the wrong way, and it’s end is long overdue. Perhaps frustration is more so attributable to the fact that a bunch of talented acts either toured here or launched their releases over winter to much smaller crowds than some of the onesie parties attracted. Promoters realized that you could easily fill a venue with people wanting to show off their latest animal atrocity, with the music for the nights becoming a secondary concern, if one at all. Why would people see such a flimsy theme as more important than the quality of a line-up? Sadly it seems to reflect that, on the whole, people would rather follow a trend than be their own person; people would rather be told what to wear than actually be an individual, and the same is reflected in people’s music tastes. Chart-rulers often get to that point because they have a whole team of people telling others that they should listen. Word up: Unless you’re Wilfred then onesies do not make you look better, interesting, cuddleworthy, cool or unique. Just because you look like you’re going to bed doesn’t make people want to bed you. In fact, if ever you were in need of a chastity belt, look no further than an onesie. Dudes, it’s even worse. If your partner is into it, cool – keep it in the bedroom; happy fluffing to you. Outside of the house, you look like someone who is either obese, hiding a nappy, insecure, in need of help or covering up accidental poop.

Is The Weeknd over before it even began? The critical response to Canadian illwaver Abel Tesfaye’s debut ‘proper’, Kiss Land, has been mixed. Tesfaye has already given us so much music since 2011 via de facto albums (repackaged for Trilogy). Kiss Land uses the same sound library, so its impact is diminished. Strangely, Tesfaye has sought new producers, rather than reuniting with Illangelo and Esthero’s Doc McKinney. Tesfaye’s quiet storm has never been immediate – he’s a master of sublimation. His vocal delivery evokes Michael Jackson’s soulfully quivering falsetto – yet lyrically he’s closer to R. Kelly, only less ‘ghetto-centric’. Some reviewers take exception to Tesfaye’s sexism – the women in his songs are anonymous and he treats them as disposable commodities. Tesfaye doesn’t ‘do’ romance like John Legend, who wrote piano ballad All Of Me for his now wife Chrissy Teigen. Kiss Land is a concept album about the touring life. As such, a sense of transience, loneliness and unrelatability is inevitable. Tesfaye is ambivalent about, and unnerved by, fame. The “insecure” singer told Complex: “Kiss Land is like a horror movie.” What is dope about Kiss Land is really dope. The two-part opener Professional harks back to Vangelis’ synthesised score for Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, Tesfaye creating cinematic atmosphere (tellingly, the album’s last song is entitled Tears In The Rain). Professional also effectively borrows from post-dubstep techno type Emika (cooler than the Portishead ‘sample’ on Belong To The World). Tesfaye actually goes uptempo with Wanderlust – ‘80s disco. Other songs evaporate on listening, the least impressive being Tesfaye’s derivative – and predictable – current single, Live For, featuring his muso bestie Drake. ogflavas@themusic.com.au

THE WEEKND

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FRONTLASH

LIVE THIS WEEK

VULGAR SEMANTICS

American NFL commentators last week conceived the word “buttfumble” to describe a botched play by a footballer, we are keen to incorporate this word into every day swearing.

INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE Insane Clown Posse are coming to Perth in December, it’s like Christmas come early.

BROKEN BAD

FOR EMMA

Breaking Bad is now over. We can’t write much else without giving it away but if you haven’t started watching it, start watching it, and you’ll get how big the ending is.

In what can only be described as a remarkable 12 months, Emma Louise has gone from an emergin singer-songwriter to world-class talent. She heads to The Astor Theatre on Fr 8 Oct. Tickets through showticketing.com.au.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

THE BIG BAMBOUNOU

With new single Dozer out, Jinja Safari invite Australian audiences to gather in, and discover the mysteries of their new, out-there live show; catch it at Settlers Tavern, Margaret River on Fri 4 Oct and Astor Theatre Sat 5.

Social Club resident Bambounou is one of the coolest cats in the current Paris dance scene. Now, the man himself makes his way to Geisha Bar on Thurs 3 Oct for one special show. Geishabar.com.au for tickets.

LEGS ELEVEN

LOVE LIFTS US

Having spent the last two years building a loyal and enthusiastic following The Lucky Numbers are poised to make a lasting mark on the Australian music scene. Catch them at The Fly Trap on Sat 5 Oct. Tickets through flybynight.org.

Old Blood produce classic surging blues rock, somewhat in the league of early Joe Cocker – that, actually, is pretty goddamn cool. Get lifted when they head to Mojos on Wed 2 Oct, with some ace supports. $6 from 8pm.

CROOKERS LITTLE VEIN

SILVER LINING

One the back of a huge couple of last years for Italian dance music, it’s now all coming up Crookers. Straight outta Milan, catch these genre-swerving dogooderts at Villa on Sat 5 Oct. Tickets through Moshtix.

Rainy Day Women master the art of bright, savvy songwriting. Catch the local lads at Amplifier on Sat 5 Oct; Newport Hotel, Sun 6; and Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, Fri 11. Rainydaywomen. com.au for more info.

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INSANE CLOWN POSSE

BACKLASH RAIN CHECKMATE

When we write weather backlashes we’re scraping the barrel but fucking hell it rained so much on the weekend and there was so much good stuff on, fuck that, it’s September already.

THIS WEEK’S RELEASES… GLASSER Interiors True Panther/Remote Control BLITZEN TRAPPER VII Shock SOULFLY Savages Nuclear Blast/Universal BUSBY MAROU Farewell Fitzroy Footstomp/Warner

DOCKED The Dockers lost, it sucks, but hopefully they’ll spend the next twelve months figuring out how to actually kick a football into a goal and take home next year’s premiership.

BAROLLED Italian pasta-maker Barilla is in hot water because the company’s CEO said they wouldn’t feature a gay family in their ads, and if gay people don’t like that, they can eat somebody else’s pasta. With boycotts being called for in response, it sounds like they plan to. THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 53

the guide wa.live@themusic.com.au

SINGLE FOCUS

LIVE THIS WEEK

HAVE YOU HEARD

THE GHOST HOTEL With Woodrow Wood Single title: Hell To Pay What’s the song about? It’s about my general uneasiness with politics of late and the astounding stupidities attributed to all forms of the game. How long did it take to write/record? The whole process took about a minute and a half. We were pretty short on time so we tracked at double speed then slowed it down later. Is this track from a forthcoming release? It’s from our forthcoming album tentatively titled Use Your Illusion III. We’re still working through the litigation, so that title may change in the near future. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? In no particular order: Clarke and Dawe, VB, dogs, videos of dogs, Spencer the pug, internet shopping, Gibbo’s warm and gentle hand on my cheek while tracking. We’ll like this song if we like... Batman. If you don’t like Batman then you must like Superman. In which case, you will despise this song. Do you play it differently live? We tend to play it at the regular speed nowadays. We have a bit of trouble with replicating the nuances of the original double speed tracking. When and where is your launch/next gig? Launch 5 Oct at Pica Bar. Best $10 you’ll ever spend, unless it gets you something worth $20, which sounds like better value. More info? theghosthotel. bandcamp.com

54 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

TAPEHEADS Answered by: Aldo Margio

LONDON CALLING

How did you get together? Originally best mates. We didn’t think anything would come of it at all; was exciting and something completely new. Was chilled, bounced ideas off each other and wouldn’t even have to speak; we knew what was up.

After a four year wait, Eleventh He Reaches London will finally launch their new album, Bānhūs, at The Bakery on Sat 5 Oct. Bānhūs is Eleventh He Reaches London’s most ambitious work yet, and that’s saying something. Tickets via nowbaking.com.au.

Sum up your musical sound in four words? Tarzan eating gamma rays. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Not being funny, but we both agree it would be Crookers. They have inspired us form the beginning. You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album – what would it be? Dead Letter Circus – This Is The Warning. Completely encapsulates the period of time of us running amok and having no boundaries. To us, this album represents freedom. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? By far it would have been playing after Zeds Dead at Ambar. The whole place was shoulder to shoulder, we were throwing down some old school beats and the crowd was chanting “Tapeheads... Tapeheads!” Was a damn good feeling. Why should people come and see your band? ‘Cause you never know what to expect. Not even we know what’s going to happen, but it’ll make you groove. When and where for your next gig? We’re handing over to Crookers at Villa on 5 Oct; dream come true! Come cause a ruckus. Website link for more info? facebook.com/ TAPEHEADSofficial

FEARLESS FREQUENCIES

THE GREAT PÁLE

Outlands is an accomplished debut from Deep Sea Arcade, and gosh, have they been raking in the smiles from critics and fans around the world. Now they head to Amplifier on Sun 6 Oct. Tickets through Oztix.

Nineteen-year old UK beatmaker Pále is lauded for his productions, and more specifically the “fog” of synths and vocals that hang to his crips percussion. Hear him at The Bird on Sat 5 Oct, tickets $10 on the door.

SILVER RUSH

TAKE NO PRISONERS

Plasticine Daydream is the debut EP from Perth beachadelic dream-gazers Silver Hills. Brimming on a love of psych jams, Brownes Mocha Chill and the Love Supreme, catch the bug at The Bird on Fri 4 Oct. $5 on the door.

After rinsing it out at Stereosonic last year, Sander van Doorn is keen to keep the journey continuing. Yet another premium product of the Holland electronic scene, catch him on Thurs 3 Oct at Metro City.

NO USE CRYING

EASY LIKE…

Blackmilk return to the Fly Trap on Fri 4 Oct for a night of sonic seduction. The band are currently writing for their second album, and will be playing tunes from last year’s In Lak’ech plus unveiling something new on the night. Tickets through Flybynight.org.

Sunday Music returns to FAC in 2013 with one of its strongest line ups to date. First up, it’s big-haired maestro Tomthy Neslon & The Infidels bringing you sun-streaked melodies and snappy indie gems on Sun 6 Oct. Fac.org.au for the full lineup.

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LIVE THIS WEEK

IT’S CEBERANO TIME

THAT’S HARSH

Kate Ceberano celebrates her new album Kensal Road when heads to Albany Ent. Centre, Wed 2 Oct; Bunbury Ent. Centre, Thurs 3; Mandurah Arts Centre, Fri 4; and Regal Theatre, Sat 5. Tickets through the venue websites.

On the back of chart-topping remixes for the likes of Cher, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, DNA, Control and Melanie C, plus the release of Full Frequency, Jodie Harsh returns to Connections on Sat 5 Oct. Free entry until 11pm, $15 until 1am, $20 after.

TAKE A DIP

AIR UP THERE

After the success of their recent single Drunken Kings, local dreamy folk outfit Bedouin Sea are releasing their debut self-titled EP at The Rosemount Hotel on Fri 4 Oct. Tickets through Oztix or more on the door.

Stratosfunk are all about sharing their love of Soul Music from the ‘60s and ‘70s. But it’s not just about the music for them; it’s also about getting you on your feet and dancing away the night. Catch them at Devilles Pad on Fri 4 Oct.

GIBSON GUITAR

FUCKING YEAH

Having honed his skills busking on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne, Alex Gibson is celebrating his debut album This Is Life with a quick-fire national tour. Catch him at The Ellington Jazz Club on Sat 5 Oct. Tickets through ellingtonjazz.com.au.

Feel like getting your weird on, and supporting some of the best local music out there at the same time? Thurs 3 Oct sees cool-as-fuck trio Fucking Teeth supported by the ever-lovin’ Nick Allbrook, HAMJAM, Dianas, Mudlark and Dust. Ooh yeah.

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PERSONAL BEST RECORDS

HAVE YOU HEARD

SIMO SOO

IBIS ELM

Best record you stole from your folks’ collection? Tie between Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Cheech & Chong’s Wedding Album.

With Em R

First record you bought? Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion 1. I grew up playing piano so I really liked November Rain as a kid. Slash playing a guitar solo on top of a piano looked so boss. Record you put on when you’re really miserable? I like to listen to really heavy music if I’m down. Last time that happened I listened to Deafheaven’s Sunburner and then felt much better afterwards. Record you put on when you bring someone home? Anything from Flying Lotus to Aaliyah to Outkast to Kate Bush. Whatever we’re into, babez. Most surprising record in your collection? My taste is so random nothing’s really surprising. Maybe most random is a Paris Hilton CD single I once found. Last thing you bought/ downloaded? Last thing I downloaded was Le1f ’s new mixtape, Tree House, which is amazing and very future thinking as usual. Website link for more info? simosoo.bandcamp.com

How did you get together? Lorree and I sat around her lounge room hoping some people would show up and play music with us; thankfully Eiles and Emily did. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? I’m sure the rest won’t agree but Dylan’s World Tour 1966. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? When our drummer makes soup is pretty good, but if you mean live, there have been times when we haven’t sucked, and that’s been AWESOME. Why should people come and see your band? Well, at next gig we’ve signed baby shoes for a door prize, plus something something heart on sleeve. When and where for your next gig? North Fremantle Bowling Club with Sprawl, Mad Rabbit, Government Yard, In Orbit and Mind Canary on 5 Oct. Website link for more info? facebook.com/IbisElm

THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 55

the guide wa.gigguide@themusic.com.au

THE MUSIC PRESENTS HORRORSHOW: OCT 3 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; OCT 4 Amplifier; OCT 5 Mojos JINJA SAFARI: OCT 4 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River; OCT 5 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; OCT 6 Astor Theatre DARKWAVE: OCT 11, The Rosemount

THE BREEDERS: OCT 31 Astor Theatre BOY & BEAR: NOV 22 Metropolis Fremantle; NOV 23 Astor Theatre

ONGOING: GIGNITION: Upcoming band showcases 4-8pm last Sunday of each month at The Railway Hotel

GIG OF THE WEEK: KATE CEBERANO, 2 OCT; ALBANY ENT. CENTRE; 3 OCT, BUNBURY ENT. CENTRE; 4 0CT, MANDURAH ARTS CENTRE 5 0CT, REGAL THEATRE

HORRORSHOW: 3 OCT PRINCE OF WALES; 4 OCT AMPS; 5 OCT MOJOS

Paradise Paul + Baron Gutter: The Aviary, Perth

Lokie Shaw: Captain Stirling, Nedlands

Michael Brittliff: The Craftsman, Cannington

DJ Roger Smart: Grand Central, Perth

Fiveo: The Generous Squire, Perth

Island Nite+Various DJs: Hula Bula Bar, Perth

DJ Mikeee: The Saint, Innaloo

Fiveo: Sovereign Arms, Joondalup Nothing New Volume III+Jeffrey A + HW Sims + Viv G + H Maxwell: The Bird, Northbridge

Kate Ceberano + Guests: Albany Entertainment Centre, Albany Sugar Blue Burlesque: Brass Monkey Hotel, Northbridge

CLUB GUIDE

WED 02

SAT 05

Japan 4 feat. +Bezwun + DNGRFLD + Dead Easy + Tee EL + Meet Mark: Ambar, Perth

Open Mic Night with +Chris Gibbs: Carine Glades Tavern, Duncraig Chet Leonard’s Bingoteque: Clancys Fish Pub, Fremantle 5 Shots: Crown Perth (Groove Bar), Burswood Night Cap Session + Florisson James + Crompton: Ellington Jazz Club, Perth Howie Morgan : Lucky Shag, Perth Old Blood + Red Mexico: Mojos Bar, North Fremantle

Little Nicky + Jordan Scott: Bar 120, Hillarys

Peter Bibby + Andrew Ryan + Fabian Rojos: Moon Cafe, Northbridge

The Hi-Fi Lounge+Various DJs: Hula Bula Bar, Perth

DJ Peta + Jewel: Brass Monkey Hotel, Northbridge

Envy + DJ James MacArthur: Mustang Bar, Northbridge

DJ Grizzly: Kalamunda Hotel, Kalamunda

DJ Grizzly: Brighton Hotel, Mandurah

DJ Peta: Leisure Inn, Rockingham

Jay Mackay: Como Hotel, Como

September Sun + Heavylove + Lights Of Berlin + Triangle Fight: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth

DJ Boogie: Swallow Bar, Maylands

Parker Saturdays+Acebasik + Axen + Jackness + Chiari + Paul Scott: Parker Nightclub, Perth

THU 03

Outerwaves + Simo Soo + Eleventeen Eston + Spirit Level: The Bird, Northbridge Fiveo: The Craftsman, Cannington

FRI 04

Vicktor + James Ess: Brass Monkey Hotel, Northbridge DJ Hages: Hyde Park Hotel, North Perth DJ Grizzly + DJ Merqury: Lakers Tavern, Thornlie Earthlink Sound + The KBI Sound System + Future Soundz + Simmo T: Mojos Bar, North Fremantle Roger Seventytwo + Acebasik + Oli + Paul Scott: Parker Nightclub, Perth DJ Reuben: Queens Tavern, Highgate Little Nicky: Sovereign Arms, Joondalup Lokie Shaw: The Avenue, Perth

Kenny L: Queens Tavern, Highgate DJ Jon Ee: The Avenue, Perth Zel + Sam Spencer + Paradise Paul: The Aviary, Perth Pale + Sid Pattni + Leon Osborn + Ssnoob: The Bird, Northbridge Lokie Shaw: The Wembley Hotel, Wembley Crookers + Tapeheads + DNGRFLD + Mo’Fly: Villa Nightclub, Perth

SUN 06

The Date + Guests: The Paddo, Mt Hawthorn Retriofit: Universal Bar, Northbridge Scott Basham: Whalers Restaurant, Exmouth The Strychnine Cowboys + Ego + The Itch + The Lake & The River: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge Cupid Falls + Illuminator + Severtone + To Catch A Fox + Mourning Lilith + Pending The Silence + more: YMCA HQ (All Ages / 1pm), Leederville

THU 03

Umgawa+Various DJs: Hula Bula Bar, Perth

Kate Ceberano + Guests: Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre, Bunbury

DJ Hages: Lakers Tavern, Thornlie

Monarchy: Crown Perth (Lobby Lounge), Burswood

Fiveo + Sam Spencer: Queens Tavern, Highgate

Oktoberfest Rock & Roll Krautaoke+Various: Devilles Pad, Perth

Rooftop Sessions feat. +Troy Division + NDorse + Dj Ben Sebastian: The Aviary, Perth DJ Jon Ee + Az-T: The Saint, Innaloo

Night Cap Session + Malmac: Ellington Jazz Club, Perth

Arts Martial + Black Birds + New Animals: Flyrite, Northbridge

Acoustic Aly: Brass Monkey Hotel (5pm), Northbridge

James Wilson : Lucky Shag, Perth

Trevor Jalla : Broken Hill Hotel, Victoria Park

Sander van Doorn: Metro City, Northbridge Fucking Teeth + Nick Allbrook + Hamjam + The Dianas + Mudlark + Dust: Mojos Bar, North Fremantle Moana + Late Night Hysterics + They’re Here + DJ James MacArthur: Mustang Bar, Northbridge

CoverUP: Brooklands Tavern, Southern River Velvet: Carine Glades Tavern, Duncraig James Wilson : Chase Bar & Bistro, Baldivis Dove: Citro Bar, Perth

Horrorshow + Marksman Lloyd + Jimblah: Prince of Wales, Bunbury

Carus Thompson: Clancys Fish Pub, Fremantle

Performing ‘Raise’ +Swervedriver + Umpire + Runner: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth

Belleville Quartet: Clancys Fish Pub, City Beach

Open Mic Night with +Claire Warnock: Settlers Tavern, Margaret River

Elouise & The Infinite Squeeze: Claremont Hotel, Claremont Stratosfunk: Devilles Pad, Perth

Jen de Ness : The Boat, Mindarie

Northern Muse: Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough

Why Georgia: The Laneway Lounge, Perth

Dean Anderson: East 150 Bar, Ascot

The Dave Brewer Band + Diamond Dave Billing + On The Level + Kniki & Joh Meyer: The Northshore Tavern, Hillarys Voudou Zazou: Vic, Subiaco C5 + Max Koenig + The Brodie Stewart Collective: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge

FRI 04

Make The Face feat. +Philly Blunt + Bezwun + Tonic + 4by4 DJs + Fendi: Ambar, Perth Horrorshow + Marksman Lloyd + Jimblah: Amplifier Bar, Perth Emma Louise: Astor Theatre, Mount Lawley Hi-NRG: Bailey Bar & Bistro, Joondalup Mike Nayar: Balmoral, East Victoria Park Voodoo Zazou + Feisty Burlesque : Belgian Beer Cafe, Perth Matt Angell: Belmont Tavern, Cloverdale Tandem: Best Drop Tavern, Kalamunda Frenzy: Boab Tavern, High Wycombe

1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 56 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013

Chill Devine: Brook Bar & Bistro, Ellenbrook

Briana Cowlishaw: Ellington Jazz Club, Perth Howie Morgan : Empire Bar, Rivervale Motown & Soul Night+Various: Fly By Night, Fremantle Dirty Scoundrels : Gate Bar & Bistro, Success Chris Gibbs: Gosnells Hotel, Gosnells Greg Carter: Greenwood Hotel, Greenwood Ricky Green: Hyde Park Hotel (Courtyard / 5.30pm), North Perth Ben Merito: Indian Ocean Brewing Company, Mindarie Almost Famous: Kalamunda Hotel, Kalamunda Retriofit: M On The Point, Mandurah Kate Ceberano + Guests: Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Mandurah Adam Hall & the Velvet Playboys + Cheeky Monkeys + DJ James MacArthur + Swing DJ: Mustang Bar, Northbridge Acoustic Nites+Various: Peel Ale House, Halls Head

the guide wa.gigguide@themusic.com.au One Trick Phonies: Port Kennedy Tavern, Rockingham

Light Street: Gosnells Hotel, Gosnells

Pat Nicholson + Steve Hepple: Swinging Pig, Rockingham

Bury The Heard + Echostone + Living Dying + Mitchell Jones: Railway Hotel, North Fremantle

Chris Gibbs Duo : Greenwood Hotel, Greenwood

Menagerie: The Bird, Northbridge

Karin Page : Hotel Rottnest, Rottnest Island

Stage Fright! +Various: The Fly Trap, Fremantle

Bedouin Sea + Jacob Diamond + Morgan Bain + China Doll: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth

Shawne & Luc: Indian Ocean Brewing Company, Mindarie

Howie Morgan Project: The Saint (3pm), Innaloo

Howie Morgan Duo: Sail & Anchor, Fremantle

Rhythm 22: M On The Point, Mandurah

Matt Angell: The Saint (Cider Bar / 12.30pm), Innaloo

Nightshift: Sail & Anchor (Upstairs), Fremantle

Horrorshow + Jimblah + Marksman Lloyd: Mojos Bar, North Fremantle

Retriofit: Universal Bar, Northbridge

Jinja Safari + Cub Sport: Settlers Tavern, Margaret River Greg Carter: Swinging Pig (3.30pm), Rockingham Rockit: Swinging Pig (9pm), Rockingham Silver Hills + New Animals + Spacemanantics + Mitchell Freeway: The Bird, Northbridge Nathan Gaunt: The Boat, Mindarie Blackmilk + Red Engine Caves + Huge Magnet + David Craft: The Fly Trap, Fremantle

Rocket To Memphis + Milhouse + DJ James MacArthur + Rockabilly DJ: Mustang Bar, Northbridge Sprawl + The Government Yard + Mad Rabbit + In Orbit + Ibis Elm + Mind Canary: North Fremantle Bowling Club (6pm), North Fremantle Back2Back: Peel Ale House, Halls Head The Ghost Hotel + Umpire + Sean Pollard: PICA Bar, Perth

Gillian Moorman: The Laneway Lounge, Perth

Kevin Curran: Port Kennedy Tavern, Rockingham

Easy Tigers : The Paddo, Mt Hawthorn

Acoustic Flavour: Quarie Bar & Bistro, Hammond Park

B.o.B: The Principle Micro Brewery, Midland

In The Dead Hours + Cothe + more: Railway Hotel, North Fremantle

Robert Hinton + Tashi + Eleven Eleven + Turin Robinson: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge Anchored + Nicolas Cage Fighter + Ruthless + Dropbears + Finders + Protest: YMCA HQ (All Ages / 6pm), Leederville

SAT 05

Kate Ceberano + Guests: Regal Theatre, Subiaco Apache + The Floors + Black Birds + Antelope: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth Better Days: Sail & Anchor, Fremantle Tom Fisher & The Layabouts: Settlers Tavern, Margaret River

Chris Gibbs: Wanneroo Tavern, Wanneroo James Wilson : Whistling Kite, Secret Harbour

RAINY DAY WOMEN: 5 OCT, AMPS; OCT 6, NEWPORT HOTEL

Justin Burford: Brighton Hotel, Mandurah

Carus Thompson: Yallingup Caves House Hotel, Yallingup

MON 07

Pale + Sid Pattni + Leon Osborn + Ssnoob: Mojos Bar, North Fremantle

Gerry Azor: Brooklands Tavern, Southern River

Time To Jam +Various: Mojos Bar (Afternoon), North Fremantle

The Oom Papas: Carine Glades Tavern, Duncraig

Tailgate Sundays feat. +Pat Decline + Order of The Black Werewolf + The Bob Gordons + Chainsaw Hookers + DJ Holly Doll: Mustang Bar (4pm), Northbridge

The Zydecats: Clancys Fish Pub, Fremantle DJ Boogie + The Salt Shaker Selectors: Clancys Fish Pub, City Beach B.o.B: Como Hotel, Como Jack & Jill : Crown Perth (Lobby Lounge), Burswood

TUE 08

Kris Buckle: Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough Greg Carter: Gate Bar & Bistro, Success

Shotdown From Sugartown: Parkerville Tavern, Parkerville

Jack & Jill : Crown Perth (Groove Bar), Burswood

Leah Miche & The Regular Hunters + Patient Little Sister + Sam Carmody: Indi Bar, Scarborough

Sophie Jane : Peel Ale House, Halls Head

Hans Fiance: Crown Perth (Lobby Lounge), Burswood

Jinja Safari + Cub Sport: Prince of Wales, Bunbury

Open Mic Night with +Anthony Kay: Kalamunda Hotel, Kalamunda

Retriofit: Indian Ocean Brewing Company, Mindarie

Better Days: Quarie Bar & Bistro, Hammond Park

Jinja Safari + Cub Sport: Astor Theatre, Mount Lawley

Kizzy: Kalamunda Hotel, Kalamunda

Soilwork + Prescient: Rosemount Hotel, North Perth

Eleventh He Reaches London: The Bakery, Northbridge

Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts: Lakers Tavern (3.30pm), Thornlie

Lightening Jack: Settlers Tavern (Verandah / 3pm), Margaret River

Chill Divine: Boab Tavern, High Wycombe Carbon Taxi: Brook Bar & Bistro, Ellenbrook Astrobat: Brooklands Tavern, Southern River Vdelli: Clancys Fish Pub, Fremantle Sunset Belly Dancers: Clancys Fish Pub, City Beach Antics feat. +Red Engine Caves + The Dukes of Porn + Antics DJs: Claremont Hotel, Claremont Why Georgia: Crown Perth (Lobby Lounge), Burswood Cuban Independence Day feat. +La Nueva Salsa Orchestra + more: Devilles Pad, Perth Roger Roger: Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough Jonny Dempsey: East 150 Bar, Ascot Alex Gibson: Ellington Jazz Club, Perth Greg Carter: Gate Bar & Bistro, Success

Jay Lee Lloyd: The Generous Squire, Perth

Big Thommo’s Open Mic Variety Night: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge

Open Mic Night with +Josh Terlick: Brass Monkey Hotel, Northbridge

Greg Carter + The Oom Papas: Swinging Pig (12.30pm), Rockingham

The Lucky Numbers: The Fly Trap, Fremantle

Triple Shots: Mustang Bar, Northbridge

Deep Sea Arcade + Rainy Day Women: Newport Hotel, Fremantle

Frenzy: Swinging Pig (9pm), Rockingham

Mike Nayar: Belgian Beer Cafe, Perth

Wide Open Mic+Various: Mojos Bar, North Fremantle

Blue Gene + DJ James MacArthur: Mustang Bar, Northbridge

Rainy Day Women: Amplifier Bar, Perth

Retriofit: Balmoral, East Victoria Park

Wire Birds: Brass Monkey Hotel, Northbridge

Nathan Gaunt: M On The Point, Mandurah

Anthony Nieves: South St Ale House, Hilton

Chu + LC McKenzie + Owl: Mojos Bar, North Fremantle Danza Loca Salsa Night: Mustang Bar, Northbridge Barefaced Storiebattle 2013 - Heat 1+Various: The Bird, Northbridge Discordians + Tooths + Crawjaw: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge

Shotdown From Sugartown: Swallow Bar, Maylands

Nicola Milan Trio + Brenda Lee Duo: The Laneway Lounge, Perth Huge: The Shed, Northbridge From The Dunes + These Winter Nights + Lunar Inverse: Ya Ya’s, Northbridge Perthcore Goes Pop feat. +Severtone + Let The Evil Go East + Defy The Leader + To Catch A Fox + Take It or Leave It: YMCA HQ (All Ages / 6pm), Leederville

SUN 06

Deep Sea Arcade: Amplifier Bar, Perth

Electrophobia: Balmoral, East Victoria Park Shawne & Luc: Beaumaris Sports Club, Iluka Big Al & The Deacons: Belgian Beer Cafe, Perth Dove: Belmont Tavern, Cloverdale

2 X TICS

TUES 3 OCT

IL TIX AVAOR AT DO

NICK ALLBROOK

SAT 5 OCT

EMAIL: WA.GIVEAWAYS@THEMUSIC.COM.AU

FROM THE DUNES

1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013 • 57

the end

TV FINALES [SPOILERS!!!] MASH KNOWN FOR

Ending 11 seasons of the Korean War-set US sitcom in 1983.

BANG OR SIZZLE It broke viewing records in the US – 121 million people watched.

PROS It was a mercy killing.

CONS Eight writers were credited for this final ep, it was all over the shop.

AND THEN… It spun-off into AfterMASH – no one watched.

SEINFELD KNOWN FOR

Ending nine seasons of the ‘show about nothing’ in 1998.

BANG OR SIZZLE While never a ratings scorcher, the final of the US sitcom drew 76 million.

PROS It refused to get sentimental.

CONS That’s exactly what all the characters ended up as… (they were all jailed).

AND THEN… The greatest TV cast reunion ever? Yes… but you need to watch season seven of Curb Your Enthusiasm to see it.

DEXTER KNOWN FOR

Killing off the serial killing serial after eight years.

BANG OR SIZZLE The AV Club rated it an F… we say that’s generous.

PROS Can’t think of any.

CONS Besides the worst CGI ever?

AND THEN… Oh gawd… there’s talk of a spin-off. Say it isn’t so.

58 • THE MUSIC • 2ND OCTOBER 2013