tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34377741818675654732024-03-22T01:33:52.094-07:00Love You BrisbandsDARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-6655659098051897152024-03-22T01:33:00.000-07:002024-03-22T01:33:19.399-07:00The Veronicas - "Gothic Summer" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6I1xx9Oe8zrSWFWMc4XbNwp7455n2io2_3YBc9_r1BQyjW7hcg-Ktg4ysmWAUkGpRkUsyZtwtXXqOKNdUk3Jiw4LjSIoo5Mb1FN27x30RtM-1qsX_ka2LUdwCyHknn5QXOL9O8lZI8rrxLkinBhFcUI7s1Kml1Oyg2l9uUE6sIR3bFE5VgwJCL6isVIA/s300/gothic%20summer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6I1xx9Oe8zrSWFWMc4XbNwp7455n2io2_3YBc9_r1BQyjW7hcg-Ktg4ysmWAUkGpRkUsyZtwtXXqOKNdUk3Jiw4LjSIoo5Mb1FN27x30RtM-1qsX_ka2LUdwCyHknn5QXOL9O8lZI8rrxLkinBhFcUI7s1Kml1Oyg2l9uUE6sIR3bFE5VgwJCL6isVIA/s1600/gothic%20summer.png" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Artist: THE VERONICAS</div><div style="text-align: left;">Label: Big Noise</div><div style="text-align: left;">Distributed by: Ingrooves </div><div style="text-align: left;">Cat No: </div><div style="text-align: left;">Year: 2024</div><div style="text-align: left;">Produced by: John Feldmann, Ryan Linvill</div><div style="text-align: left;">Personnel: Jessica Origliasso (Vocals), Lisa Huffman (Vocals), Kerser (Guest Vocals on Savage), Travis Barker (Drums), Sierra Deaton (co-songwriter).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Running Order: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1) Perfect</div><div style="text-align: left;">2) Detox</div><div style="text-align: left;">3) Here To Dance</div><div style="text-align: left;">4) Savage (ft. Kerser)</div><div style="text-align: left;">5) Invisible</div><div style="text-align: left;">6) Ribcage</div><div style="text-align: left;">7) Jungle</div><div style="text-align: left;">8) Perfect (acoustic version)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Genre: Rock, Acoustic, Garage Rock, Hip-Hop, Pop, Punk</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Veronicas sixth studio album has been a mileston in their musical career so far. It is the first album for them as a newly independent band, signing to Travis Barker's Big Noise label. Now without the creative and commercial constraints of Sire Records and Sony Music, The Veronicas have had more of a chance to take their artistic faculties into full control and it shows on this album. </div><div style="text-align: left;">A refreshing change for many Vfans is the use of more guitars on this album, harking back to their early days of the first album "The Secret Life Of", whilst still digging some pop sounds on tracks like Savage and Ribcage.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">According to Jess in a recent interview with Rolling Stone: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The whole theme of Gothic Summer is that it’s basically exploring social commentary on what we think is reality versus how we create our reality. It’s a very metaphorical album."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Lisa's comment was: "</span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Gothic Summer</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> is about the highs and lows of life. Finding beauty, empowerment and self-love in the shadows and darker parts of life’s experiences."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Gothic Summer contains just 7 new tracks, most of which are under three minutes long. There has been some debate in their Facebook fan group as to whether this can be classified as an album with such a short running time and amount of tracks. However, the band Sparks did something similar in 1979 with their album "Number One In Heaven" which had only six tracks on it and was considered a groundbreaking album for them for ushering in the electro pop and New Romantic movement to come out of the UK in the early to mid 80's.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />The album opens up with the song "Perfect", which is a statement about being your own master and not conforming to the world's paradigm of what is perfect, and succeeding in life on your own terms rather than other people's expectations. A good solid rock track with a rousing chorus reminiscent of their early hits "4ever" and "Revolution", and the video is unforgettable with Jess singing whilst having a huge huntsman spider crawling all over her face. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pnmpCTt7eg0" width="320" youtube-src-id="pnmpCTt7eg0"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Detox" is about ridding themselves of toxic people in their lives and seeking quality people for their future. Lisa is now happily married to actor Logan Huffman, whilst Jess is engaged to an American jeweler called Alex Smith after a couple of toxic relationships with Ruby Rose and Kai Carlton between 2016 - 2020. The intro is reminiscent of the chorus of The Sonics "He's Waiting", and then explodes into a fast and furious punk number where they exorcise the ghosts of their past lyrically and vocally before suddenly going into a cod-reggae outro for the last 60 seconds.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BQvQ3F0NVGs" width="320" youtube-src-id="BQvQ3F0NVGs"></iframe></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Here To Dance" is inspired by 70's disco as well as the likes of Sly & The Family Stone and Donna Summer as well as 70's Brisbane girl pop act Chicks Incorporated. Opening with a good funky bass riff, it's a light-hearted track about dancing wherever you are no matter how you might be feeling at the time. This was the third single to be taken from the album and cost nothing to make, being filmed on an iPhone at Lisa's place on her front deck. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-aDzCchM1rk" width="320" youtube-src-id="-aDzCchM1rk"></iframe></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Savage" was written about a past relationship, containing Australian rapper Kerser whom Jess and Lisa have recently met. It starts out as a piano ballad with electronic claps and drumbeats before going into a shuffling dance track similar to the rhythms of the 90's Australian acts Caligula and Lavish.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Invisible" is about wanting to withdraw from the world after being disappointed by a lover. Travis Barker plays drums on it, and it was co-written by Sierra. Another good rocker with a catchy chorus. This song speaks to me a lot after being abused by a couple of parasitic ex-housemates and not wanting to associate with people too much except for eating, drinking and doing laundry. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />"Ribcage" demonstrates Jess' love for musical theatre which they grew up on from an early age. It was originally a love song, but has much darker overtones and talks about rebirth. A beautiful ballad with pianos and sonic sound effects over a gentle backdrop. The lyrics are very graphic in describing the downs of romance and the physical pain it causes to the other partner.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Jungle" is inspired by The B-52s and The Cramps with a 60's garage surf rock sound, and the beat reminiscent of a track from their Godzilla album "In It To Win It" but with more authentic 60's sounds. A great fun track to do milk cow and shimmy dancing to - I'd love to hear them experiment with more 60's sounds for future albums. The message is that life is a jungle out there and is not always fair, and you need to be thick skinned and open minded to deal with the curveballs that sometimes get thrown at you. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The album closes with an acoustic rendition of "Perfect".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fCtmlNA3IA0" width="320" youtube-src-id="fCtmlNA3IA0"></iframe></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Gothic Summer looks set to be The Veronicas first chart topping album in Australia (it has already topped the iTunes charts at times of writing) thanks to innovative and aggressive marketing techniques that they have offered via their music store on their website as well as an official album launch at the Crowbar in Sydney on March 23rd.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Rating: 5/5 <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Programme, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-26548717141018677802023-05-27T19:10:00.004-07:002023-05-27T19:10:36.316-07:00James Elliott Rock God - "Space Demons" (CD Baby)<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp7cTQsTQnILHD6U2DfrdgKJ4UXZm1fxCK8d1jFYK8asFUr3G9GqIMDBxp6Stjeq6y9k99VOlv8gy5Imu4yR1bVExTAj0yuAy-Hi64jpK5ZGC8nnFU3I1j4HT4DmLDXcMsqW1Motvs7l-u-wGFMvK0FExN783Bf4XgCQJi95g8OPQwTjkjEuhTGnv6/s400/james%20elliot%20rock%20god%20space%20demons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp7cTQsTQnILHD6U2DfrdgKJ4UXZm1fxCK8d1jFYK8asFUr3G9GqIMDBxp6Stjeq6y9k99VOlv8gy5Imu4yR1bVExTAj0yuAy-Hi64jpK5ZGC8nnFU3I1j4HT4DmLDXcMsqW1Motvs7l-u-wGFMvK0FExN783Bf4XgCQJi95g8OPQwTjkjEuhTGnv6/s320/james%20elliot%20rock%20god%20space%20demons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">James Elliot Rock God</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />Genre: Alt Rock, Glam Rock, Hair Metal, Rock'n'Roll</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the most surprising comebacks of 2023 so far has been that of James Elliot. Originally formed in Brisbane in 1973 and fronted by lead singer/guitarist David DeWitt, they went on to win the Brisbane Battle Of The Bands in 1975 which got them a one-off deal with RCA Australia and resulted in the local hit "Space Demons", a piece of glam rock in the style of then labelmates David Bowie and The Sweet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 1977, they released a further single "Better Rock'n'Roll" before retiring in the face of punk, disco and new wave which had surpassed glam rock in the Top 40 pop charts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fast forward to 2020, after languishing in the rock'n'roll wilderness, DeWitt decided to revive his alter ego with a more harder and heavier rock sound but maintaining the camp theatrics which made the original band a success in the first instance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Taking on a pickup band and producer, this album is one of the most fun and fresh that I've heard in a long time. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The album opens up with a re-recorded version of "Space Demons" still maintaining the glam boogie vibe of the original with harder guitar sounds. "Electric Man" blasts the band into 2023 with a catchy "Aye aye aye aye" chorus line which is up there with Violent Soho's "Hell fuck yeah!" from their main hit "Covered In Chrome". It tells the story about David being electrocuted on stage various times when he was doing gigs. Contains a good pumping guitar riff and some chinking riffs in the middle 8 part. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"I Am A Rock" is more towards the quirky arty side of glam rock like Roxy Music and Sparks, and like "Space Demons" has been given a C-21 remake (it was originally the B-side). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"Better Rock'n'Roll" is also a remake with the keyboards of the original scrapped for more frantic guitar playing and some tight power pop chords make this one of the most appealing songs on the album, an ode to youth hedonism of the 70's. "Somebody's Girl" is a more laid back rock ballad which wouldn't sound out of place in a beer garden, and a straightforward theme about unrequited love for a woman. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"Midnight Devil" is a bit more 60's rock in its delivery compared to the 70's vibe that this album is built around, but it's an enjoyable track nonetheless as well as "Not Welcome In My Head" (a contemporary social comment about mental illness which this modern world has become more aware of).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In all, it's an album that most rock'n'roll fans will take to instantly with plenty of hooks, distinctively camp vocals and solid beats. It's fun without being silly or overly tacky, but serious enough to be able to relate to what DeWitt's intentions of making this album was about.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4.5/5</div><p></p>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-39054872261630848312023-04-06T19:46:00.001-07:002023-04-06T19:46:19.655-07:00Scarlett Gunner - "It's Your Love"<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorbSpI_too74sn9dPbx7MQTFnUvlOVokrMjSI2zmfYMTmMiVyq9b-YS3oPOQQnUg4a1F_VFR_rxAfhwYD-85evb9ZwO6S1eI_dqIFBgXZQB1St8XLN8hBiuJ-agiQKK5VcCvQQvcg69qPD_B4OY2kpHGPlLplh6tYXUsQnOyUwSQwURvChKKskRQO/s296/296x296bb.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="296" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorbSpI_too74sn9dPbx7MQTFnUvlOVokrMjSI2zmfYMTmMiVyq9b-YS3oPOQQnUg4a1F_VFR_rxAfhwYD-85evb9ZwO6S1eI_dqIFBgXZQB1St8XLN8hBiuJ-agiQKK5VcCvQQvcg69qPD_B4OY2kpHGPlLplh6tYXUsQnOyUwSQwURvChKKskRQO/s1600/296x296bb.webp" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The second CD release from Scarlett Gunner is a very catchy upbeat country boogie number with a solid beat and call and answer boy/girl vocals from Jesse and Wacey. Already receiving interest from overseas countries as well as from local radio, this very well might be the song that will break Scarlett Gunner to international fame. One of Brisbane's most prolific performing duos out there, they certainly deserve it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">5/5</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-63528678582504954382021-10-13T12:20:00.001-07:002021-10-13T12:20:15.467-07:00Davey Page - "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghYahEPjsl1gk-IAAMQ_5uKy2lJmUsBbkfXtr1XqcPuHsJrlNbzzfW4o3ao3HkxAuRjPha91SKSkWchA4n-91LaLnkcNj005b4jShhnYcIR_M-lw186JapXjxoL3onk5FrtgsqE6a4fU/s557/Davey+Page+-+Happy+Birthday+Sweet+Sixteen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="551" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghYahEPjsl1gk-IAAMQ_5uKy2lJmUsBbkfXtr1XqcPuHsJrlNbzzfW4o3ao3HkxAuRjPha91SKSkWchA4n-91LaLnkcNj005b4jShhnYcIR_M-lw186JapXjxoL3onk5FrtgsqE6a4fU/s320/Davey+Page+-+Happy+Birthday+Sweet+Sixteen.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Artist: Davey Page</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Label: Atlantic Records</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cat No: 100028</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Year Of Release: 1975</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Produced and Arranged by: Jeff Wilkes</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Davey Page was an indigenous teen idol in Brisbane in the mid-70's, and he recorded this Neil Sedaka cover at the age of 13. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He was also the second Brisbane musician to sign with the Atlantic label in Australia, the first being Marcie Jones as a solo act after Marcie & The Cookies disbanded. Very sweet and pleasant cover, and he went on to release a glam rock single as the follow up "We Like Music Together".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Davey went on to become a well known and respected theatre star in Australia, before sadly passing away from cancer in 2016. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IB4Gc8wgX7s" width="320" youtube-src-id="IB4Gc8wgX7s"></iframe></div><br /></div><p></p>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-29795956576094800132021-05-30T06:32:00.000-07:002021-05-30T06:32:37.534-07:00The Veronicas - "Godzilla" (Album) - Sony Music (2021)<p>Album: Godzilla</p><p>Artist: The Veronicas</p><p>Label: Sony Music Australia </p><p>Catalogue Number: 1943-988188-2</p><p>Release Date: 28 May, 2021</p><p><br />Six years after the release of their previous album "The Veronicas", Jessica and Lisa produced a concept album which was mostly about their alter egos as pop/rock icons and the trappings of fame. The eclectic nature of the previous album was replaced with an experimental journey into synth-pop from the 80's and 90's. </p><p>It topped the Australian iTunes chart the first day it was released, but quickly pipped by the new album by their labelmate P!nk. </p><p><br /></p><p>Godzilla: Opening with a guitar riff reminiscent of Hole's "Celebrity Skin", the title track contains a vibraphone riff and irregular drumbeat topped with Jess and Lisa's vocals and the chorus screamed out, which is about how they are perceived to be show-ponies by the music and entertainment industry rather than multi-dimensional human beings. It was released as a single as a taster from the album, but did not chart.</p><p>Kaleidoscope: Contains a pounding digital piano intro before going into a somewhat overproduced pop track. Although this track has become a favourite with their fanbase, I personally find the autotuned chorus and hooks unnecessary, it would sound better if this was a more basic acoustic rock number.</p><p>In My Blood: Released in 2016, it was a chart topper in Australia. The song refers to finding love at first sight and the adulation of meeting somebody whom you feel you can instantly click with. It has an anthemic dance vibe to it. The song was helped to the top with a dramatic promo video.</p><p>In It To Win It: One of the most intriguing tracks on the album it has an early 60's pop drumbeat which is reminiscent of The Angels' hit "My Boyfriend's Back" combined with rapping and a siren-like keyboard riff and some heavily reverbed guitar scrubbing. </p><p>High Score: Their experimentation with synth-pop has an 80's sounding harpsichord synth riff which gives way to their vocals and a dreamy soundscape. </p><p>Stealing Cars: This song tells the tale of living in the inner-city suburbs amidst squalor and crime but keeping a sense of comradery in spite of what other people do to wile away their time and eventually getting tired of it to find a greater purpose in life. </p><p>Supernatural Girl: A beautiful pop ballad, which sounds like early 90's Duran Duran and Johnny Hates Jazz. </p><p>101: This is a poignant track about being able to live to be 101 years old, and the challenges to be able to sustain such a relationship. The keyboard riff sounds similar to Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", but the song has a more modern feel to it. </p><p>Catch Fire: A very beautiful and dramatic track, with some sitar playing and surf guitar interspersed with symphonic chords and unequalized vocals in the chorus. The track is interesting for its lack of drums, and has whiffs of Enya, Sarah McLachlan and even Sparks recent material to it.</p><p>Silent: Featuring Travis Barker on it, it's a pleasant track with some buzzy guitars and strings and a powerful rousing chorus.</p><p>The Only High: This was the last song to chart for The Veronicas in 2016, it's a song about reminiscing about long lost partying days and finally looking to human love for natural highs and dependency as one matures.</p><p>Sugar Daddy: The closing track is another one which started life several years before this album came to date. The subject matter is very much self explanatory - making oneself available for a wealthy man to treat them as a trophy girl. It's also one of the most anticipated tracks from the band's fan base, who had been wanting an official release of it since 2013. </p><p>9/10 </p>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-59692973580962316242021-03-26T18:14:00.001-07:002021-03-26T18:14:36.440-07:00The Veronicas - "Godzilla" (Sony Music)<p> "Godzilla" is the first single to be taken from the new album by The Veronicas titled "Godzilla". Reuniting with their first ever producer Toby Gad, they've delivered a massive audio orgy of screamed out verses reminiscent of Shampoo and Dream Wife, a blistering sonic grungy guitar riff borrowed from Hole's "Celebrity Skin" and topped with some 80's keyboards looming over the soundscape. </p><p>Just when I was fearing that The Veronicas were going to head down the dreaded dumper of pop and rock music with their last batch of EDM oriented singles failing to crack the Top 50, along comes this one where they both stick their middle fingers up to the Establishment saying "We're back motherfuckers, and this is what you all really wanted!!"</p><p>Sure, Jess and Lisa have matured over the last 10 years but the old wildness and sheer adrenaline inducing energy of their rock'n'roll days which endeared me to them is still intact. </p><p>Definitely a must-have. </p><p>5/5. And extra kudos to the video where they're looking brazenly hawt in black vinyl bodysuits!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfBoISmOgSqQLrR-1r2MWw3uRXvOf7G4HQa-GVG1xku1mdqfXlswask7nudwPmhO2apbm6CehwL73m_ai8zLvNa1ToHC66l6Fcu75Rk92nxvWQhLi82L4uP4xE1k0B4Z58UNFqBwrRCE/s440/The+Veronicas+Godzilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfBoISmOgSqQLrR-1r2MWw3uRXvOf7G4HQa-GVG1xku1mdqfXlswask7nudwPmhO2apbm6CehwL73m_ai8zLvNa1ToHC66l6Fcu75Rk92nxvWQhLi82L4uP4xE1k0B4Z58UNFqBwrRCE/s320/The+Veronicas+Godzilla.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tEFaHMAzcIA" width="320" youtube-src-id="tEFaHMAzcIA"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-6370887436354207712017-03-29T19:14:00.003-07:002017-03-29T19:14:37.276-07:00The Down And Out - Track previewsRecorded: March - June 1966<br />
Personnel: Tim West - Rhythm Guitar and Vocals<br />
Stuart West - Bass<br />
Graham Vincent - Lead Guitar<br />
John Jurss - Drums<br />
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<br />Some more recordings from The Down And Out have resurfaced recently. John Jurss had arranged to have them recorded with 4BC at their studio in Wharf Street during March to June 1966.<br />
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The tracks were: "One Day", "Down Man" and "It Ain't Right". The production and musicianship is pretty tight but with a good rawness and energy to it. "One Day" has 60's punk elements to it, whilst "Down Man" features some close-knit harmonies to it and some stops and starts to it similar to "Rain" by The Beatles. "It Ain't Right" has a fast, aggressive guitar riff which runs right through the song and half-talked, half-sung vocals with some good harmonies in the chorus and a guitar solo reminiscent of Dave Davies' playing.<br />
<br />These tracks will be available online shortly.DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-60260397089038505182017-03-10T14:29:00.002-08:002017-03-10T14:29:53.080-08:00Blues Arcadia - Self Titled (Independent)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhimfczlYaoqozmxuyZyrNYTcInXn7HJN_UPK6SYXmF-yffE7cRGcuBQrM1CRREWZL90652roVepEhHvv9vfnOw_v8EiCdQPe_lNrCnGN4k05PoHVQD4b_-kWXxzMrn61uljEoOALZYg/s1600/Blues+Arcadia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhimfczlYaoqozmxuyZyrNYTcInXn7HJN_UPK6SYXmF-yffE7cRGcuBQrM1CRREWZL90652roVepEhHvv9vfnOw_v8EiCdQPe_lNrCnGN4k05PoHVQD4b_-kWXxzMrn61uljEoOALZYg/s320/Blues+Arcadia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Personnel:<br />
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Alan Boyle - Vocals<br />
Jeremy Klysz - Bass<br />
Chris Harvey - Guitar<br />
Parmis Rose - Keyboards<br />
Steve Robin - Drums<br />
<br />Additional musicians:<br />
Brad Esbensen - Trumpet<br />
Shaun Ballagh - Tenor Saxophone<br />
Joseph Roberts - Baritone Saxophone<br />
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Produced, engineered, mastered and mixed by: Mike Wild<br />
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Website: http://www.bluesarcadia.com<br />
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Blues Arcadia is a relatively new Brisbane band, but it is quickly establishing itself as a favourite on the live music scene, particularly at the Royal Mail Hotel in Goodna.<br />
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Led by charismatic and photogenic Irish singer Alan Boyle, this is a fresh and upbeat CD which contains some good soulful and playing from each and every player on here. Showcasing guitarist Chris Harvey's twangy guitar riffs and keyboard player Parmis Rose's boogie runs, the album is sure to get people on the dancefloor.<br />
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Standout tracks are the ballad "Here Comes The Rain", the 70's funk inspired "Operator Please", the brass led "Miss Lonely" and the closing cut "Rockin' Chair" which sounds like The Beatles "Day Tripper" with it's beat and brass build-up towards the chorus.<br />
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Definitely looking forward to future releases from these guys, they deserve to be signed up.<br />
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5/5<br />
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DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-84147093657262212142017-02-28T04:15:00.001-08:002017-02-28T14:46:36.211-08:00Various Artists - "Kaptain Kavemen From Brisbane" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Artist: Various</div>
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Genres: 60's R&B, Rock'n'roll, Garage Rock, MOR</div>
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Label: Soundtrack Productions</div>
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Catalogue Number: STR-90,001</div>
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Producers: Andrew Ainsworth and Greg Cuffe</div>
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Artwork: Andrew Ainsworth</div>
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Track Listing:</div>
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Side 1</div>
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1. Geoff, Tony & Bob Ad - (The Down & Out)</div>
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2. I'm Not Talking - (The Down & Out)</div>
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3. Got My Mojo Working - (Jim Diamond & The Lancers)</div>
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4. Take A Look Around - (Bobby Dean & The Worried Minds)</div>
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5. Down And Out - (The Down & Out)</div>
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6. Good Morning Little School Girl - (Johnny B. Goode & The Feelgoods)</div>
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7. Purple Haze - (Thursday's Children)</div>
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Side 2</div>
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1. Nine Times Out Of Ten - (Jim Diamond & The Lancers)</div>
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2. Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut - (The Southtown Moods)</div>
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3. Tell Me (What's Going On) - (Bobby Dean & The Worried Minds)</div>
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4. There's No Use - (The Leather Souls)</div>
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5. E Too D - (The Chelsea Set) </div>
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6. I'll Wait And See - (The Down & Out)</div>
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7. The Old Oak Tree - (Unknown)</div>
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Soundtrack Productions was widely reputed to be Brisbane's first ever independent record label. Originally established in 1965, its offices and studios were located on Moncrief Road in Cannon Hill which was originally the site of a bakery. Soundtrack was more noted for providing a recording service for musicians rather than being a prolific label. Indeed, during the time of its tenancy it released only a handful of records, the rest being demo recordings to send to radio stations. The most famous of its demos came from boisterous R&B band The Purple Hearts who made a couple which eventually were commercially released on CD in 2007.</div>
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In 2014, whilst researching the history of Brisbane rock and pop music, I suggested to my 60's loving music kindred spirit Andrew Ainsworth that we get our heads together to revive the label to bring a lot of obscure local artists to contemporary pop and rock music awareness. He agreed to do so, and the next three years were a labour of love between himself and Gold Coast music retailer Greg Cuffe in unearthing a goldmine of rare recordings which only got a few plays on the commercial radio stations of the time like 4BC and 4KQ. </div>
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R&B band The Down & Out take up much of the limelight in this album with some good primitive vibes, whilst Bobby Dean & The Worried Minds adopted a more moderate guitar rock approach with their single "Take A Look Around" b/w "Tell Me (What's Going On)".</div>
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Thursday's Children do a vigorous and urgent cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and The Southern Moods cover of "Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut" is right up there with the cover that The Missing Links did, but still keeping their own identity on it.</div>
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The album closes off with an unknown act doing what is one of the strongest tracks on the album "The Old Oak Tree", and signalling there is more to come from the vaults from a lot of yet to be identified acts.</div>
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This album was recorded in mono and minimally remastered from the original recordings so there are some audio issues for people who are used to clean digitised sound. It has also been released in orange and splatter coloured vinyl as well as the default black, and the latter were given a minimal release mainly for the artists involved in the original recordings.</div>
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If you are a 60's music bookworm, then come and add to your collection with this album, and I suspect the general rock music fan who listens to Little Steven's radio show on Triple M as well as Nowhere To Run on 4ZZZ will love it too.</div>
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Stay tuned for more releases from this label.</div>
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5/5</div>
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DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-89874005195858999342017-01-30T13:02:00.001-08:002017-01-30T13:02:47.858-08:00Some Jerks - "Strange Ways"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Artist: Some Jerks<br />
Genres: 60's surf pop, 90's indie girl rock<br />
Label: Twelveyes Records<br />
Catalog Number: 07930-52118334<br />
Producer: Donovan Miller<br />
Overdubs & Mixing: Darek Mudge<br />
Mastering: Bryce Moorhead<br />
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Line-up:<br />
<br />Victoria Watson: Vocals and Bass Guitar<br />
Will O'Brien: Vocals and Guitar<br />
Simon Walker: Drums<br />
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Taking a couple of years in the making, Some Jerks are one of Brisbane's hippest rising bands. Led by photogenic and inveterate rock'n'roll chanteuse Victoria Watson (formerly of The Genies, The Aampirellas, The Fondells and Kewpie Doll) and guitarist Will O'Brien with Watson's husband Simon Walker on drums, this is a truly delightful album drenched every much in 60's surf pop mixed in with a bit of Merseybeat sounds as well as nods to 90's girl acts like The Breeders and fellow Brisbane 90's girl-orientated act Dream Poppies.<br />
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Opening up with the jaunty alternative fuzz rock vibe of "Napoleon", the track rattles on at a tremendous speed with Watson's urgent vocals and O'Brien's harmonies. "The Hunter" was one of my favourite songs and videos from 2016 which opens with Watson's chugging bass and some cool twangy guitar stabs before it goes into an early 60's rock'n'roll inspired track.<br />
<br />The album's title track continues in the 60's R&R genre with a haunting guitar riff and equally spine-chilling lyrics and a rousing chorus mixed in with some divine angelic backing vocals that closes the track similar to fellow Brisbane band Violent Soho's "Fur Eyes".<br />
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Slayer's "Raining Blood" gets a look-in on here given the SJ treatment as an instrumental and showcases the band's stylish musical badge-wearing together with their tight professionalism as a band. You can just picture the surfers and skater boys and girls going right off to this track out on the waterfronts.<br />
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"Rabbit Hand" is the shortest track on the album, lasting only 40 seconds but is highly enjoyable with it's mosh-pit vibe along with "18 Years".<br />
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The closer track "Dreaming" is a cover of a Blondie song from their fourth album "Eat To The Beat". Some Jerks do the track proud by giving it a more 60's vibe than the New Wave one that the original version had. <br />
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Definitely go out and get a copy of this album regardless of what musical genre you belong to. It brings a welcome smile back to the indie rock music scene and is the perfect modern rock'n'roll album you can listen to without getting distracted from your other musical appetites.<br />
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5/5DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-85031730348472487912016-11-15T03:26:00.003-08:002016-11-15T03:26:59.728-08:00Cheeky Velvet - "The Adventures Of Velvet (EP)"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Artist: Cheeky Velvet<br />
Released: October 2015<br />
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Cheeky Velvet (aka Jackie Boccaccio) is a Brisbane pop singer who has been on the local scene for a couple of years, and issued her debut EP last October. However, it's only over the past week I've been aware of her after she released the video to the song "Hickey". <br />
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It's not often that you get modern aspiring pop stars seeking to reach out to a variety of generations other than the rap, R&B and reality music fodder and having fun at the same time. With Boccaccio's first EP, she sounds like she has had a Friday night slumber party with the girls and raided her parent's secret record collection whilst sloshing down a load of goon and party mix candy.<br />
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Opening up with an obvious pastiche of Toni Basil's "Mickey" called "Hickey", the song brings a welcome smile to any Generation X-er who misses the times when MTV was genuinely enjoyable. Her voice sounds like a combination of Blondie and Kim Wilde with it's pleasant cool and collected sexiness minus Wilde's nasal tones.<br />
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"Velvet World" has nice stringy synths which could have come from a Yamaha DX-7 and a cheap drum machine, whilst "Crazy For You" tells the story of a shameless girl willing to do anything to get attention from the man she wants with some chopping air guitar riffs and a searing guitar solo that you can't get out of your head. "Bittersweet" is more clubby and contains very 80's-ish arpeggio synth riffs and a thumping bass drum beat. <br />
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"Toy Boy" rocks and tells of every girl's frustration of having to live with an immature, co-dependent man-child and seeking a more immature and interdependent man. You can just see Wendy James from Transvision Vamp and Rancine doing this number. <br />
<br />The closing cut "Placebo" sees her slow down to a slinky jazz pop number containing some nice sax solos and cocktail piano playing, and I'm taken back to remembering Kiley Gaffney's cover of The Buzzcock's "Orgasm Addict".<br />
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If you like your pop cheesy, cheeky and with an un-selfconscious silly smile then by all means check out this EP. She sounds like she is going to go onto great things in the future if she builds up on her reputation with her wild and camp live shows delivered with humour and panache.<br />
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5/5 <br />
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<br />DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-24714342634245552092016-06-16T19:14:00.000-07:002016-06-16T19:14:09.395-07:00The Veronicas - "In My Blood"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After their previous single "Cruel" just bubbled under the Australian Top 50 last year, The Veronicas have surprised their fans and critics by posing nude covered in body paint and glitter for the teaser video for this single as a means of embracing their bodies and sexuality, as well as fighting back against the trolls on Twitter and their Facebook fan page who have teased and bullied them over their weight and body shape.<br />
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Fans of 90's house music, especially that of Urban Cookie Collective and Kylie Minogue will take to this one easily. Good pulsating beats, jiggly keyboard riffs and lyrics telling the story of how Jess met the current love of her life.<br />
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For someone who was young in the 1990s, this song is a grower for me. Unlike many of the pop/dance music in the top 40 charts, The Veronicas don't need auto-tune or other technical wizardry to pull of great songs. They could do this as an acoustic guitar only number and it'll still sound good.<br />
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Definitely worth a number of listens.<br />
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4.5/5<br />
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<br />DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-3450507528566392162015-12-08T19:05:00.001-08:002015-12-08T19:05:35.436-08:00RAWR Vanity - "RAWR Vanity"<a href="https://www.facebook.com/rawrvanity/photos/a.10150286463965274.554902.475744680273/10156101028830274/?type=3&source=11"></a><br />
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Artist: RAWR Vanity<br />
Label: Self-published<br />
Catalogue Number: N/A<br />
Release Date: 7 December 2015<br />
Produced, Mixed & Mastered by: Wacey Coates except "California Dreaming" produced, recorded and mixed by Ric Parker<br />
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Personnel: <br />
Wacey Coates: Guitar and Vocals<br />
Jesse Simo-swer: Bass and Vocals<br />
Matt O'Reilly: Guitar and Vocals<br />
Carly Sinn: Drums<br />
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Track Listing:<br />
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1) Jealous<br />
2) California Dreaming<br />
3) Blue Jean Baby<br />
4) Sleepless<br />
5) Not This Time<br />
6) Brand New<br />
7) What You Live For<br />
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Three years since the release of their debut album "Allerton Place", Brisbane quartet RAWR Vanity have experienced a couple of significant changes in their musical career. Now adopting the DIY approach to production and distribution of their material, they have also dropped the synths and programming which played a major part in their previous album to becoming a harder rocking band with just guitars, bass and drums as well as Wacey and Jesse swapping instrumental roles for both recording and live work.<br />
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The album loses none of the sheen of its predecessor and opens up with a mosh pit anthem-to-be "Jealous" that has an infectious bass and guitar line and soaring harmonies in the verses leading up to the rousing chorus. The sprightly "California Dreaming" is their envisioning their recent successful American tour, and has nods to the Go-Betweens 1988 hit "Was There Anything I Could Do?"<br />
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"Blue Jean Baby" starts out as a gentle guitar ballad and builds up to an anthemic lighter-waving rocker which deserves airplay on Triple M and Triple J, "Sleepless" showcases a great interweaving of vocals between Jesse, Matt and Wacey in the verses and some fine guitar solos. "Brand New" is a fast paced rocker in a similar vein to The Ramones and The Buzzcocks with some good bass breaks in it, and a lyric line about entering a new relationship where the other party has to pull their weight in doing their fair share in making it work. The closing cut "What You Live For" contains a dreamy slide guitar intro and similar feel to The Cranberries "Dreams" with Wacey and Jesse sharing vocal duties.<br />
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This album is great radio-friendly rock that is well produced and not too gratuitous or over-angsty in its delivery.<br />
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5/5 <br />
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DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-51003134199540042192015-08-05T17:30:00.000-07:002015-08-05T17:30:07.462-07:00WAAX - "I For An Eye"Marie DeVita: Lead Vocals<br />
Ewan: Guitar and backing vocals<br />
Griff: Bass and backing vocals<br />
Chris: Guitar and backing vocals<br />
Tom: Drums<br />
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WAAX have been around for a couple of years now, but are fast establishing themselves as one of Brisbane's most exciting indie heavy rock/punk bands out there. Known for their formidable frontwoman Marie DeVita's hyperactive stage presence they look set for major things with their second release. Opening with Marie's banshee-like hollering "I'm just a girl! I'm just a girl!" before the rest of the track kicks in, this song grabs you by the head and smashes it into the floorboards with the same ferocity that Marie smashes a couple of mirrors in the striking video clip to go with it. The song is a polemic on the superficiality of female relationships and competitiveness.<br />
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It has been No.1 on 4ZZZ's charts and also got considerable attention from Triple J as well. In all, the song races along like a Japanese bullet train with plenty of guitars and machine gun drumming. This is one band from Brisbane that when you see them once you're hooked even badder than an ice addict. <br />
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iNf-1Gfq_sDARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-15832031745085001022015-02-06T14:21:00.000-08:002015-02-06T14:21:32.578-08:00My favourite songs to come out of Brisbane<div></div><br />
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<div>1) "A Matter Of Time" - Railroad Gin (Polydor) 1974. They were the biggest Brisbane band of the early 70's fronted by charismatic rocking chanteuse Carol Lloyd. A fine piece of post psyche rock with guitars phased to 11 and an ultra catchy flute solo together with Lloyd's delectable but powerful vocals. It was written by Laurie Stone, and later covered by 90's all-girl band The Dream Poppies as the opening cut on their album "Poppycock" and still sounded great after all these years. Why it wasn't a number hit escapes me.</div><br />
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<div>2) "! (The Song Formerly Known As)" - Regurgitator (East West) 1998. Quirky and innovative genre-bending legends Regurgitator took the mickey out of wallflowers and social misfits with this cheeky but sassy funk track with some nice funky guitars, vinyl scratching and some shouting samples from 70's disco band Silver Convention's "Get Up And Boogie". Don't know where the "Thank you Mr. Dj" bit at the end came from, but it's fucking funny.</div><br />
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<div>3) "I'm Feeling Hostile" - The Busymen (Wild Eagle) 2002. Inveterate 60's garage punk revivalists The Busymen were formed in 1997 but this single didn't come out until 2002. Gritty, punchy and aggressive, it has a certain fondness with me as I helped to record it and it was also the last ever recording to be done at the legendary Red Zeds studios before it closed its doors. </div><br />
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<div>4) "I Don't Wanna Be Left Out" - Powderfinger (Polydor) 1999. Not one of their better charting songs compared with the likes of "Passenger", and "These Days". This was apparently written about a friend of Bernard Fanning who was in a band with me at the time who suffered from schizophrenia and felt lonely and ostracised from everyone despite that I found her a very friendly, caring and personable type. It is heart-warming to see bands of this ilk be able to put themselves in the shoes of people who are misunderstood by society and therefore kept at arm's length.</div><br />
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<div>5) "Trashed" - Lavish (Festival) 1998. If there was one Brisbane band that never lived up to their fullest commercial potential, it would have to have been these guys. Opening with some screeching guitar feedback, this adrenaline rousing rocker teared along with the force of a tv set being chucked through a hotel window. With a harrowing video showing a girl being raped in a nightclub interspersed with the band done up as 80's New Romantics, the song was on high rotation on Triple M and Triple J from 97-98. They signed to Festival but were dropped the next year and quietly split in 2002. Guitarist Jeff Lovejoy returned to producing and fronting his own band Lovejoy with sister Kylie, and bassist Luke Thomas has found more success with Davey Lane's band The Pictures.</div><br />
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<div>6) "I Gotta Get A Message To You" - The Bee Gees (Spin) 1968. Manchester born boys who emigrated to Brisbane in the late 50's scored their second number one hit in the UK in 1968 with this beautiful ballad. They have to be the most successful Brisbane band in history. </div><br />
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<div>7) "To The Moon And Back" - Savage Garden (Roadshow) 1998. Two ultra-cute and unassuming Brisbane boys scored their first ever Number One hit in 1998 with a nice AOR number about a girl with dysfunctional parents who cut herself off from people in order to wait for her dream guy to make life better for her. Nice acoustic guitar solo and a gorgeous piano and string orchestra in the fadeout of this song.</div><br />
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<div>8) "I'm Stranded" - The Saints (Philips) 1976. Arguably the first and finest punk band to come out of Brisbane, this was written by guitarist Ed Kuepper one night whilst waiting for a bus out in Inala. The song was quickly picked up by Philips and Power Exchange in Europe and the UK and became an instant cult hit with its minimal riffing and Chris Bailey's yobbish drawl. They defected to EMI/Harvest records which gave them a UK Top 40 hit with "This Perfect Day". The lineup eventually split with Kuepper going solo and Bailey having a successful chart career in Australia in the 80's. The original lineup reunited in 2007 for the Pig City festival at Univeristy of Queensland. </div><br />
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<div>9) "Streets Of Your Town" - The Go-Betweens (Mushroom) 1988. Along with the Saints, The Go-Betweens are one of the most critically lauded Brisbane bands although they are scarcely in the same league as The Bee Gees and Savage Garden where record sales are concerned. This was their sole top 50 hit in 1988. Sadly, guitarist and vocalist Grant Maclennan passed away a few years ago and the band is now pretty much the vehicle for Robert Forster. </div><br />
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<div>10) "Footpaths Of Brunswick Street" - The Natives Of Bedlam (Independent Release) 1993. Eccentric guitarist Evan Clarry formed this madcap folk outfit in the early 90's fronted by vocalist Marita Mangano, and bassist Adele Pickvance (now working with The Go-Betweens). This song is an amusing light-hearted look at life in the notorious suburb of sleaze and poverty but rich in music and talent. </div><br />
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<div>11) "Nicotine" - Animal Boy (Oracle) 1996. Brisbane hair metallers Animal Boy delivered this biting rant about the evils of cigarette smoking from their "Walking Stick" EP. After the band split, Ian Pool turned his career around to becoming a highly acclaimed fine arts and commercial photographer. </div><br />
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<div>12) "Jive To Stay Alive" - Chicks Incorporated (RCA) 1977. One of the most intriguing acts to come out of Brisbane in the late 70's was Chicks Incorporated who started out as an all-girl disco-funk instrumental band with one male guitarist. They signed with RCA Records and brought out this two-minute bright and funky piece of pop. They went through many lineup changes over the next 5 years due to difficulties with finding good musicians. Drummer Miriam Curtis produced their album "Security" which had songs written by jazz pianist David Bentley and well respected songwriters Laurie Stone and the late Peter Moscos.</div><br />
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<div>13) "Say Goodbye" - Indecent Obsession (Melodian) 1989. Styling themselves on Duran Duran and Pseudo Echo, these pinup predecessors to Savage Garden were signed to Molly Meldrum's Melodian label in 1989 and broke the top 10 with this great boppy rocker. The song was lampooned by The Comedy Company that year as "Hair Gets In My Eyes", and the band went onto greater heights in the early 90's with having massive hits in South Africa after which they called it a day. Singer David Dixon now works in musical theatre whilst the drummer Daryl Sims joined Sydney industrial techno punks Insurge, and keyboardist Michael Szumowski wrote the No.1 hit "Poison" for Popstars winners Bardot in 2000. As for guitarist Andrew Coyne.....hmm, wonder whatever became of him? Nobody seems to know. The song recently regained some cult popularity in underground film "All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane".</div><br />
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<div>14) "Cocaine" - Emma Dean (Independent Release) 2008. One of Brisbane's fastest rising stars, her music is a clever combination of classical and art rock. This song is about some internet rumour mongers who libeled her as being a cocaine addict. I can totally relate to this song with some of the nasty things that have been said about me being a nudist recently by people who don't know me and have never met me. Their karma will come back on them eventually.</div><br />
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<div>15) "The Flea That Ate My Stash" - The Pineapples From The Dawn Of Time (Sundown) 1987. This large, loony mob of 60's psyche-rockers meets 80's New Wave had a cult hit with this song back in the late 80's. The band split for a while, but made a comeback in 2007 for Pig City and since then have become much in demand again on the garage punk circuit. There is also a video on Google of this band performing the song at the Step Inn with garage rock DJ Judy Jetson doing some nifty go-go dancing.</div><br />
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<div>16) "Oh" - The Whats (Reverberation) 2005. 2/3 of indie rock trio Screamfeeder did a White Stripes thing and formed a spinoff band with just guitar and drums with a great video of heaps of punters moshing to the song at the back of the now defunct Skinny's Music.</div><br />
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<div>17) "Stepping On" - Sexing The Cherry (Volition) 1994. Just before the wave of Brisbane rock hit the top 40 in the 90's came this glamourous disco act which got it's debut play not on the likes of B-105, but on Peter Dick's show on 612-ABC Brisbane. The song is mostly remembered for the piercing wail by the lead singer towards the end which could even put Mariah Carey to shame. A pity this band never had any other hits after this.</div><br />
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<div>18) "Happy Days" - Silver Studs (Philips) 1975. Probably the third Brisbane band after the Bee Gees to crack it nationally. The song was a good old fashioned rocker that was released to tie-in with the 50's sitcom that launched Ron Howard, Henry Winkler and Scott Baio to international stardom as well as boosting Suzi Quatro's music career in the U.S. The band were a trio led by Lance Reynolds, but eventually became a disco orientated duo. Lance is now a successful film industry mogul in America, whilst his son Nigel was in critically acclaimed Brisbane act My Three Sons in the late 80's.</div><br />
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<div>19) "Tom Tom Turnaround" - New World (RAK) 1971. Brisbane folk trio were the second act to make it big nationally and in the UK in the late 60's - mid 70's with their signing to Mickie Most's RAK label and produced by legendary Nambour lad Mike Chapman. Chapman performed this song himself to Mickie Most whilst trying to land a production deal and almost instantly scored it. The rest is history - he went on to produce some well respected artists in the 70's, 80's and 90's like Suzi Quatro, Mud, Pat Benatar, Blondie, Nick Gilder, Divinyls, Australian Crawl, and in the 90's Baby Animals and Tina Turner. A very moving version of this song was also recorded by The Sweet for their debut album "Funny Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be". </div><br />
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<div>20) "Orgasm Addict" - Kiley Gaffney (WEA) 1995. Former techno diva Kiley Gaffney reinvented herself as a punk princess with an off-the-cuff cocktail piano rendition of the Buzzcock's ode to masturbation. Taken from her EP "Bitter Fluff", she was signed with future husband Paul Curtis' management company but was eventually slammed by the critics. Nevertheless it's still enjoyable listening.And finally a few more.......</div><br />
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<div>21) "Please, Cindy-Louise" - Darren J Ray (Independent Release). Darren J Ray is a good-time rock'n'roll troubadour who specialises in 60's rock and pop music both as a solo artist and with his fine band The Fabulous Sounds Of The 60's and The Love Bugs. This country orientated rocker was engineered by Oliver Jones (brother of Daniel from Savage Garden), plus the band have also had connections with Carol Lloyd who was then working as a music agent a couple of years back, as well as being friends with Sexing The Cherry. Darren's band has also featured Natalie Blair from Neighbours, and has legendary producer Jeff Lovejoy's dad Arnold on guitar.</div><br />
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<div>22) "Sausage Roll" - The Nudists (Independent Release). I'm probably the only person in Brisbane who has actually gone out and bought both albums by this experimental garage hip-hop ensemble, whom both them and d-wizz 2.0 were the support acts for Talkshow Boy in 2005 just before The Orient closed its doors to live bands to become a capitalist pokies paradise. Cute and kooky guitar lines blend with languid half-spoken half-sung vocals about forsaking healthy foods for sausage rolls. </div><br />
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<div>23) "Nude Twister" - Hot Liquid Sex (Not Released). This is my favourite song by a rising girl power-pop trio whom I've been into for some time now. A hilarious ode to the party game enjoyed by daring teenage party animals (a la Corey Delaney) and swingers alike. Don't play this if you are over 80kg.</div><br />
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<div>24) "Listen To Your Mother" - Squelch (Independent Release). Electronic rock outfit Squelch were a popular live act in the early 90's fronted by guitarist/vocalist Lana Gishkariany and Robert Lennox. Her banshee like vocals complimented the glam rock beat and menacing electronic effects. Robert eventually helped form Taiyo and is still performing on the local circuit. </div><br />
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<div>25) "In Another Life" - The Veronicas (Sire). The closing cut on their latest album "Hook Me Up" sees them veer away from their angsty bubblegum punk pop and into a more mature rock territory. Sounding similar to Radiohead's "Creep" and Tom Petty's "Free Falling", it is about learning to deal with the harsh realities of sacrificing childhood romances for coping with the pressures of the music business. If you listen carefully, you can hear Jessica Origliasso sniffling towards the end as apparently she was in tears when recording it. </div><br />
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<div>26) "Thrill" - Dream Poppies (Pod). Cheesy, fluffy but very satisfying power pop number from local girl band who were quite popular during the 1990's. They were loved by the critics even though they performed a number of classic covers in their repertoire. Great video of them enjoying go-karting at the Caboolture race-track.</div><br />
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<div>27) "Stole My Love" - Mike Furber & The Bowery Boys (Kommotion). British born wide-eyed innocent lad Mike Furber tried to contend for the King of Pop in the 1960's with Normie Rowe (whom he was often compared to). His attempt to do so failed miserably, but this is a great and catchy song. He signed to Columbia Records at the end of the 60's by which time his star had long since faded with no sign of it returning. Sadly, in 1973 he was found dead by hanging.</div><br />
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<div>28) "I Would If I Could" - Marcie & The Cookies (Columbia). Melbourne pop/rock princess Marcie Jones teamed up with Brisbane's Cook sisters to form this all girl cabaret pop outfit. A pleasant, jaunty if somewhat ethereal song and astonishingly this act is still around recording, touring and doing live gigs on the Melbourne circuit.</div><br />
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<div>29) "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful" - Darren Hayes (Powdered Sugar). Former Savage Garden lead singer had a more modest offering of success following the break-up of the band. After being dropped by Columbia Records, he moved to the UK and started up his own independent label. Interesting track with a great video to go with it.</div><br />
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<div>30) "Singing In The 80's" - The Monitors (Festival). Quirky band who were one of the first Brisbane acts to make the charts in the 80's. Very New Wave orientated electronic pop featuring Gayle & Gillian Blakeney on backing vocals. They were 14 years old at the time and were wearing KISS makeup in the video. After the Monitors were finished, they went on to become TV personalities including doing time on Neighbours and recording with Stock, Aitken and Waterman in 1993 with a song that only made No.53 on the British charts. </div>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-2106931810356024922015-01-21T00:25:00.000-08:002015-02-06T14:20:13.271-08:00Shifting Sands - "Beach Coma"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2xKi-TaPfmV9aPdz1tf_ftK2NgOIJpBXLnq_7Ll99fsuBuSBQYAhHcen_GKLEFnAaQHhMWpy7k9qKY4h4ToAB8ioTTTKy9iiDh1wU-pkTdsnJOgkN7aPvyYjc6pWZDGupORSQp_3jIo/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2xKi-TaPfmV9aPdz1tf_ftK2NgOIJpBXLnq_7Ll99fsuBuSBQYAhHcen_GKLEFnAaQHhMWpy7k9qKY4h4ToAB8ioTTTKy9iiDh1wU-pkTdsnJOgkN7aPvyYjc6pWZDGupORSQp_3jIo/s320/cover.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Release Date: January 14, 2015<br />
Label: Spooky Records<br />
Distributor: ?<br />
Producer: Darek Mudge<br />
Cat No: ?<br />
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Lineup:<br />
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Geoff Corbett: Lead Vocals<br />
Danielle Golding: Keyboards, Violin and Backing Vocals<br />
Dylan McCormack: Acoustic Guitar<br />
Dan Baebler: Guitar<br />
Alex Dunlop: Drums<br />
Anna Clifford: Backing Vocals<br />
Ben Corbett: Lead duet Vocals on "Dead Memory"<br />
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A nice thing about Brisbane rock'n'roll is the ability to be able to shift your genre to a totally different entity altogether without compromising your own identity. So it goes for Geoff Corbett of Six Ft Hick fame's side project Shifting Sands. This band has been around for a few years now and have been one of the most persistent and prominent bands on the live local circuit.<br />
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"Beach Coma" is a wonderfully perverse mixture of the beautiful, exotic, exquisite and the dark and disturbing rolled in one. Corbett digs deep into the musky depths of his record collection like a late night fishing trip in Mariana's Trench and brings out memories of Alexis Korner, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, early Dave Graney, The Bad Seeds and Serge Gainsbourg with his husky whiskey sodden vocals. Coupled with Dylan McCormack's delicately scrubbed guitar and Clifford and Golding's siren-like backing vocals that they share equally, this album is the perfect companion to a Sunday afternoon on an MP3 player out the back deck with a classic Penguin novel in one hand and a Jack Daniels & Coke in the other.<br />
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The mainly gentle lilting songs such as "New Flame" and "Airway" and "Girl In The Sinking Canoe" (if the violin playing on this doesn't bring you to tears, you are one heartless bastard/bitch) have nice AM radio friendly melodies unsettlingly woven with morbid dark lyrics about death and near death experiences and romantic love together. The second single "The Other Girls" sounds almost like they had roped in 60's & 70's MOR songwriting team Roger Greenaway & Roger Cook into the production team, and the video for it directed by guitarist Dan Baebler is just magical telling the life of an ageing fishermen all in a night's work.<br />
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Elsewhere, the album has it's rocking moments with "Didn't I" and "Unrelenting Surf" that have traces of The Cars and The Rentals in them, but they don't overshadow the largely lounge theme of the album.<br />
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A truly great album which deserves not just community radio airplay, but also crossover radio airplay. It could just be the perfect introduction to Corbett's alter ego for those who tend to shy off from the wild rock'n'roll shenanigans of Six Ft Hick.<br />
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5/5<br />
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DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-80968700753271637042014-12-26T15:01:00.002-08:002014-12-26T15:01:23.670-08:00Sheppard - "Smile"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtKjoZPOi3rYxazQwBt1iVq3sJbqsRmQHhvYwgh1f5K27ffMQom4DpBt2owPKR3b6Q8Khg7ilNdysEDyTPk4SmOfK_jhGBn23rg1hRbmTDy1Nnh6vBPzzgOxnY4NUVprBsQdWCXfLlZs/s1600/Smile_-_Sheppard_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtKjoZPOi3rYxazQwBt1iVq3sJbqsRmQHhvYwgh1f5K27ffMQom4DpBt2owPKR3b6Q8Khg7ilNdysEDyTPk4SmOfK_jhGBn23rg1hRbmTDy1Nnh6vBPzzgOxnY4NUVprBsQdWCXfLlZs/s320/Smile_-_Sheppard_cover.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Issued: 15 October 2014<br />
Label: Empire Of Sound<br />
Producer: Stuart Stuart<br />
<br />
The third single from the "Bombs Away" album is a very cute pop number brimming with ukeleles and a catchy singalong chorus, which is typical of their trademark sound. Although it has not fared as well as "Geronimo", nevertheless it will capture the hearts of the fans. <br />
<br />
Rating: 4/5 <br />
<br />
DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-78205138877131859512014-11-29T01:37:00.000-08:002014-11-29T01:37:24.863-08:00The Veronicas - "The Veronicas"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.josepvinaixa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Veronicas-The-Veronicas-2014-International-1200x1200-300x300.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.josepvinaixa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Veronicas-The-Veronicas-2014-International-1200x1200-300x300.png" /></a></div><br />
Artist: The Veronicas<br />
Label: Sony Music<br />
Cat No: 8887-50129628<br />
Year Of Release: 21 November, 2014<br />
Produced by: Roger Alan Nichols, Toby Gad, Josh Alexander, Dreamlab & Ruffian, Chris Loco, DNA, Alex Shield, Nellee Hooper, Martin Hansen, Sandi Chilia<br />
Personnel: Tyler Bryant (Banjo, resonator guitar, electric guitar and vocals on "Sanctified"), Billy Corgan (Guitar on "Did You Miss Me? (I'm A Veronica)"), Anthony Egizil & Khaled Rohaim (Keyboards and programming on "If You Love Someone"), David Musumeci (Guitars and Bass on "If You Love Someone"), Alex Dezen (Guitars on "You And Me")<br />
<br />
Running Order:<br />
<br />
1) Sanctified<br />
2) Did You Miss Me? (I'm A Veronica)<br />
3) Cruel<br />
4) Line Of Fire<br />
5) Teenage Millionaire<br />
6) Born Bob Dylan<br />
7) Always <br />
8) Mad Love<br />
9) You Ruin Me<br />
10) More Like Me<br />
11) If You Love Someone<br />
12) Cold<br />
13) Let Me Out<br />
14) You And Me<br />
<br />
Genres: Electronic, Pop, Alt-Country, Rock, Dance, Adult Orientated Rock<br />
<br />
It is a well known saying in the music industry that third albums are the most difficult of a musician's career. It's the one that either makes or breaks them into the 'legendary' league and identifies their audience. No band has known this the harder way of late than The Veronicas.<br />
<br />
After being embroiled in a massive power struggle with their former label Sire Records in 2009 due to several staff changes in the CEO and A&R departments, the newcomers didn't know what to do with The Veronicas or even bother to lift a finger marketing them in the international market after breaking the UK and European markets. In October 2013, Jess and Lisa had decided enough was enough and took to an Australian music forum to slag the living daylights out of Sire Records. Upon their return to Brisbane, they were quickly snapped up by Sony Music which their old friend Hayden Bell (who helped them sign with Sire in 2004) is now working as an A&R head at. Jessica had mentioned on Twitter that the new album would be an eclectic affair in which they were evolving from being a simple teen pop act to one that could cater to a variety of tastes.<br />
<br />
The album opens up with industrial drums of the sleazy swamp rock "Sanctified", in which Lisa's boyfriend Tyler Bryant contributes guitar and banjo to interspersed with some soulful wailing from Jess and Lisa. A very stark contrast to the opening tracks of their past two albums, it's one of the strongest and innovative songs that they've ever done and one of my three top tracks of the album. You can just picture this song being a favourite for pole dancers. <br />
<br />
"Did You Miss Me? (I'm A Veronica)" features Jess' ex-boyfriend Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins on guitar with some badass rapping, bleeping synths reminiscent of fellow Brisbane band Regurgitator and some cute whistling in the chorus. The sonic guitar sounds are incredible which contrast with the dancey beat. <br />
<br />
"Cruel" is a more brighter affair with a lively bopping beat, an 80's New Wave vibe and great power rock guitar riffing. This track was originally heard at the beginning of the video of "You Ruin Me" when Jess and Lisa are listening to it in the car on their way to the theatre.<br />
<br />
"Line Of Fire" is dark and sensual with the girls purring the lyrics in the most sultry manner they can muster. The track was also broadcast as an audio only track on YouTube prior to the album being released. Plenty of rhymes and hooks abound in this track, and could possibly be a future single release.<br />
<br />
"Teenage Millionaire" has a great pop/rock sound to it, and contains one of the best lyrics that they've written about being attracted to the more spiritual aspects of love over being materialistic. <br />
<br />
"Born Bob Dylan" is a laid back ballad, but not one of the most catchiest tracks on the album. However, the lyrics are very endearing as to how they wish that they could be more expressive and poetic like Bob Dylan. There is an unobtrusive use of strings as well as some solid acoustic scrubbing.<br />
<br />
"Always" sounds like they have borrowed a bit from the song "Always The Last To Know" by the band Emma & The Hungry Truth, but it did not make much impact on me.<br />
<br />
I first heard "Mad Love" in 2012 at an acoustic gig that they did at Brew in Queen Street Mall. This is a great upbeat and catchy song with a singalong chorus to it. <br />
<br />
"You Ruin Me" produced by DNA hallmarks a new found maturity in their sound as they embrace AOR. It sounds similar to The Carpenters "Yesterday Once More" and "Jar Of Hearts". This is them at their purest and emotional as Lisa sings about being used and dragged into the ground by an ex-lover and her voice comes close to cracking at times. The remix by Josh Katz issued as the B-side of the CD single sounds like he was influenced by Erasure, The Human League and La Roux when creating it.<br />
<br />
"More Like Me" is another energetic dance rock number, although again not one of the more stand out tracks on the album.<br />
<br />
"If You Love Someone" is going to the be the second single to be released from the album. Good soulful number with nice acoustic guitar strumming and a rousing chorus. Great message about not being afraid to tell somebody you love them if you do. <br />
<br />
"Cold" is one of the Vfans favourites, and several were hoping that it'd be included on the album. It sounds a bit like "Portrait Of An American Family" by P!nk, and it drips with attitude and anger over having a cowardly boyfriend.<br />
<br />
"Let Me Out" is another foray into the AOR territory, despite the gentle backing track the lyrics are about being trapped in a possessive relationship.<br />
<br />
The closer "You And Me" opens with a cute folksy backing a bit like The Beatles "Julia" and Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind", and harmonies reminiscent of their past labelmates Tegan and Sara. The song talks about loving each other from childhood innocence and braving other changes that take place in their lives.<br />
<br />
<br />
9/10 <br />
<br />
DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-2680037492543933552014-09-25T23:11:00.001-07:002014-09-25T23:13:01.562-07:00The Veronicas - You Ruin Me (2014)Label: Sony Music<div>Lyrics & Music: DNA & Jessica Origliasso/Lisa Origliasso</div><div><br></div><div>The best comeback of 2014 has come from The Veronicas beyond doubt.</div><div>After a much publicised acrimonious split with Warner Music in late 2013 and making a few local public appearances in Brisbane, they have bounced back with a new record deal and an unpretentious ballad about being messed about by former lovers.</div><div>Sounding similar to Wham!'s "Last Christmas" and The Carpenters, they are at their most emotional with Lisa's vocals almost cracking in parts from the sheer strain of the lyrics. </div><div>The single's B-side is a remix by Jess' boyfriend Josh Katz who gives it an 80's elector pop treatment in a similar vein to Erasure and La Roux.</div><div>It's probably fitting that they chose a ballad to be their new single as a sign of them growing up and leaving their past behind to look forward to a bright new future with Sony Music. </div><div><br></div><div>Get on it, girls!! </div><div><br></div><div>5/5</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6CKCWYn6UATVlU45crnmfYPFXBocwAB-3cWop-hZsxMmzom59QyzmWATJ5yfpE_3eQBZTa_K5xqnHVmIVxA87sEcThelHjChIlkjKol3SKu04ensPm_jUiZEq36b8cB7EqipeSANeew/s640/blogger-image-369353435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6CKCWYn6UATVlU45crnmfYPFXBocwAB-3cWop-hZsxMmzom59QyzmWATJ5yfpE_3eQBZTa_K5xqnHVmIVxA87sEcThelHjChIlkjKol3SKu04ensPm_jUiZEq36b8cB7EqipeSANeew/s640/blogger-image-369353435.jpg"></a></div>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-54668406499991512692014-07-28T02:11:00.000-07:002014-07-28T02:11:43.527-07:00Six Ft Hick: Chicken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxsXIVnm6VjwDaThelywzWGT8h9GuSgvuROoxlOXejvV591SmVhIlBmn_OotppaJnfVe3sl0QpIysncvzQ5lga4iDR5f3pquHw5JQeTVp3GavY_rS1agi52xkT59AVfbsSe35uVH1QOo/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxsXIVnm6VjwDaThelywzWGT8h9GuSgvuROoxlOXejvV591SmVhIlBmn_OotppaJnfVe3sl0QpIysncvzQ5lga4iDR5f3pquHw5JQeTVp3GavY_rS1agi52xkT59AVfbsSe35uVH1QOo/s400/download.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Label: Valve/East West Records<br />
Distributor: Warner Music Australia<br />
Cat No: 8573-85678-2<br />
Year Of Release: 2000<br />
Produced by: Tony Cohen<br />
Mixed by: Tony Cohen (tracks 1 - 4), Jeff Lovejoy (tracks 5 - 13), Loki Lockwood (track 8)<br />
Personnel: Geoff Corbett (vocals), Ben Corbett (vocals), Dan Baebler (guitar), Fred Noonan (drums), Karim Mellowship (electric banjo)<br />
<br />
Back in 1999 - 2000, Warner Music in Australia was riding high on the Brisrock bandwagon with Regurgitator, Pangaea and Pretty Violet Stain. This band slipped through the cracks commercially, but are one of the most exciting and energetic and controversial rock'n'roll acts to ever come out of Brisbane.<br />
Led by the Corbett brothers, the band grew up in the ultra-conservative bible-toting town of Nambour before starting out in Brisbane in 1995. <br />
This album is a holy combination of rockabilly, punk, and swamp rock bristling with some great fuzzy scrubbed guitars, more swagger that makes Iggy Pop look like a choirboy and frantic drumbeats.<br />
Geoff Corbett recently confessed to me that it was a very interesting time for the band during the recording sessions. You can virtually smell the alcohol and whatnot wafting through the studio during the making for a band that enjoyed their unmarried childless reckless yoof to the max.<br />
Some of the song titles ensured that this band would not get airplay on Austereo networks such as the delightfully titled "Dog Eared Porno Mag", "Oysters", "Jesus, Gimme Peace" and "Goddamn". The Corbett's naughty glands work overtime on this album as well as on stage (you have to witness Ben's throwing himself and writhing on the floor and smashing his microphone on his forehead as well as Geoff sculling beer out of his cowboy boots).<br />
If indie, emo and grunge bore you to death and you just feel like a good throwback to the days when rock'n'roll was fun and dangerous to like at the same time then definitely give this album a few spins.<br />
These days, the band are in their 40's and both the Corbett lads are married with children but the wild stage antics and their facetious and socially biting humour are very much still intact. If old age doesn't get to them, rock'n'roll will first.<br />
<br />
7/10DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-73058992313635364942014-07-28T01:48:00.000-07:002014-07-28T01:48:26.822-07:00The Veronicas - "The Secret Life Of"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_K1yFWAoFK46iGoWaSrW2A8aEYSESc0H6iEsZvgTjIVF0ZAsixPB8DasPNO04QB1gHoniQ8u0VKgb9vmuuppXgWNCwb7Ip4YI5mx6TtDrJB0W3UNTzA4TtsSZFW9FLHQgpRewttBUow/s1600/The_Secret_Life_of..._(The_Veronicas_album_-_cover_art).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_K1yFWAoFK46iGoWaSrW2A8aEYSESc0H6iEsZvgTjIVF0ZAsixPB8DasPNO04QB1gHoniQ8u0VKgb9vmuuppXgWNCwb7Ip4YI5mx6TtDrJB0W3UNTzA4TtsSZFW9FLHQgpRewttBUow/s400/The_Secret_Life_of..._(The_Veronicas_album_-_cover_art).jpg" /></a></div><br />
Artist: The Veronicas<br />
Label: Sire Records<br />
Distributor: Warner Music<br />
Catalogue No: 9362-49371-2<br />
Release Date: 17 October 2005 (Australia); 14 February 2006 (US)<br />
Produced By: Billy Steinberg, Greg Wells, Raine Maida, Chantal Kreviazuk, Max Martin, Rami Yacoub, Lucasz Gattwold, Toby Gad, Don Gilmore, Josh Alexander<br />
Purchase Album At: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/secret-life-veronicas/id81896220<br />
Personnel:<br />
<br />
Jessica Origliasso: Vocals<br />
Lisa Origliasso: Vocals<br />
<br />
Backing Musicians: Josh Alexander, Randy Cooke, Toby Gad, Dr. Luke, Abe Loriel Jr, Cliff Magness, Raine Maida, Max Martin, Tim Pierce, Greg Wells, Steven Wolf, Rami Yacoub<br />
<br />
Running Order:<br />
<br />
1) 4Ever<br />
2) Everything I'm Not<br />
3) When It All Falls Apart<br />
4) Revolution<br />
5) Secret<br />
6) Mouth Shut<br />
7) Leave Me Alone<br />
8) Speechless<br />
9) Heavily Broken<br />
10) I Could Get Used To This<br />
11) Nobody Wins<br />
12) Mother Mother<br />
<br />
Genres: Rock, Pop/Punk, Teen Rock, Rock'n'Roll, Adult Orientated Rock<br />
<br />
The Veronicas were no spring chickens prior to the release of their debut album "The Secret Life Of". They had been raised as performers ever since they were children by their parents Colleen and Joseph Origliasso. Prior to The Veronicas, they had released a few local singles under the name Jess & Lisa produced by Stuart Stuart from Chartsong.<br />
<br />
DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-89577232066709050372014-07-28T01:46:00.000-07:002014-07-28T01:46:49.362-07:00"NUDER THAN NUDE"<div>Artist: The Nudists</div><br />
<div>Label: Independent</div><br />
<div>Cat No: RR002</div><br />
<div>Year Of Release: 2007</div><br />
<div>Produced by: Jonny Romeo at Antfarm Studios</div><br />
<div>Personnel: Conwae "Buble" Burrell (Vocals, Bass, Guitar and Drums)</div><br />
<div>Jonny Romeo (Drums, Guitar and Keyboards)</div><br />
<div>Danny McGirth (Lead Guitar)*</div><br />
<div>Kendall Penance (Guitar on @, Bass ( ^, Vocals)</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>Additional Musicians: Robby Viagra (Vocals)* (</div><br />
<div>Matt Shoobedoo (Vocals) (</div><br />
<div>Joanna Nilson (Vocals)* $ #</div><br />
<div>Edwina & Camille (Vocals)* #</div><br />
<div>Chloe (Vocals)*</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>Purchase album here: </div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>Tracklisting:</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>1) NUDE SCHOOL</div><br />
<div>2) SMELLS LIKE ROSES</div><br />
<div>3) F'N'C! *</div><br />
<div>4) WORK IT OUT (</div><br />
<div>5) CROCODILE $</div><br />
<div>6) C'MON Y'ALL GET NAKED #</div><br />
<div>7) SHITTY RIMITS</div><br />
<div>8) RIBENA</div><br />
<div>9) WHAT IS WRONG?</div><br />
<div>10) IN THE LIBRARY</div><br />
<div>11) I'M YOUR MAN</div><br />
<div>12) TO THE HOSPITAL (</div><br />
<div>13) DRINK DIARY ^</div><br />
<div>14) SPACE SHIPS</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>The Nudists were the underground of the Brisbane underground and started in 2004 and ran till late 2007. The band's core members were the multi-talented Conwae Burrell (from Extra Foxx) and Jonny Romeo along with several friends and hangers on who would randomly join them on stage at gigs (random people who yelled into the band's mics were NOT members of the band or staged by them).</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>"Nuder Than Nude" title is a pastiche of the cult porn film "Sexier Than Sex" which I remember seeing advertised on the billboard for a sleazy adult theatre in Lutwyche that my bus used to pass on my way home from high school (anybody else remember it??). The theatre was eventually closed in 1985 to become an office for Telstra, and eventually Fernwood Fitness Centre.</div><br />
<div></div><br />
<div>As can be expected from the title, it is full of cheap thrills and shoThe album is an eclectic mix of electronica, rock, garage, and funk. The songs "Nude School" and "I'm Your Man" are not covers of the songs by Painters & Dockers and Wham!</div><br />
<div>Most of this album's charm lies in Conwae's languid vocals and lyrics which makes you wonder what they are on about half the time, let alone on. The best tracks on the album include "Nude School", the anthemic "C'mon Y'All Git Naked" complete with raps and snippets of female giggling from the "Nudettes", the trippy synth-funk of "To The Hospital" where they talk about using google to find out what the fuck a bilby is and where Jonny's cigarettes got to. "What Is Wrong?" is a more mellower number with dodgy mixed drums and moody guitars but it suddenly speeds up into a power pop number for 20 seconds. </div>DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-24437073031080147772014-07-28T01:45:00.001-07:002014-07-28T01:45:17.133-07:00Streamer Bendy EP<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDf47PSP5v1wRbdMocsZq1jO19j4xf-wWcRNYzkDD8PtXpv-jRzqdAHuzJ57I_dv3Beyhf5GAHNqtGCpjpT7yoFsKEWyCiVLI8GAiqIa772ptOB8kCS2NeiIv8OCr_asYfvl4EwA2KZJc/s1600/mzi.iyfjkvjl.170x170-75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDf47PSP5v1wRbdMocsZq1jO19j4xf-wWcRNYzkDD8PtXpv-jRzqdAHuzJ57I_dv3Beyhf5GAHNqtGCpjpT7yoFsKEWyCiVLI8GAiqIa772ptOB8kCS2NeiIv8OCr_asYfvl4EwA2KZJc/s400/mzi.iyfjkvjl.170x170-75.jpg" /></a></div>Label: Independent<br />
Distributor: Self-distributed<br />
Release Year: 2009<br />
Catalogue Number: 09492222854-3 (CD)<br />
Producers: Andrew Markwell & Streamer Bendy<br />
Purchase EP here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/streamer-bendy-ep/id316716508<br />
<br />
Streamer Bendy were formed by Matt Newton and former Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan's daughter Erinn in 2008 following the breakup of Erinn's previous band Nina May. Friends with The Veronicas (Jessica Origliasso took the band's photo for the EP), Streamer Bendy sound like they dug through their parents record collections and partied with their Blondie, Beatles and Transvision Vamp albums. Opening up with the attitude ridden "Boy Oh Boy" with its staccato guitar and drum fills, it goes into the glam rock-ish "Trophy Girl" which gives the finger to boys who think that sex with a girls is an entitlement to brag about to their mats. "Minnesota" has a Veronicas-ish vibe to it, whilst the ballad "I'm In Deep" about recovering from a hangover sounds like one of the songs from The Beatles "Abbey Road" album. It quickly picks up again with "Sweet Treat". Erinn's vocals drip with sex, energy and attitude and you can't help but feel excited and refreshed upon hearing their music.<br />
Whilst the EP got rave reviews on Triple J, it did not catch on with commercial radio stations despite the songs being laden with good singalong choruses and great guitar hooks.<br />
In 2013, Streamer Bendy decided to change their name to The Hangout, but not too much has been heard of them since.<br />
<br />
5/5 DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-41353483648551223812013-09-21T17:55:00.001-07:002013-09-21T17:55:57.183-07:00Laissez-Fayre - Nekkid (2013 Demo)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xFRgC-0fRik" width="459"></iframe><br />
<br />
Laissez-Fayre is a Brisbane girl/guy band project which is out to capitalize on nudism, vegetarianism, veganism, environmentalism, women's rights and equality and GBLT rights and equality to the Generation X, Y and Z target market.DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3437774181867565473.post-32723409224739154332013-09-13T19:00:00.001-07:002013-09-13T19:04:20.705-07:00Violent Soho - "Hungry Ghost"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://mushroompromotions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Violent-Soho-album-cover-Hungry-Ghost-e1373007295826.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://mushroompromotions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Violent-Soho-album-cover-Hungry-Ghost-e1373007295826.png" /></a></div><br />
Artist: Violent Soho<br />
<br />
Label: I OH YOU Records<br />
<br />
Distributor: Mushroom Records/Universal Music<br />
<br />
Catalogue No: IOU32. UPC No: 934100402070-2<br />
<br />
Release Date: 6 September, 2013<br />
<br />
Producer: Bryce Moorhead<br />
<br />
Purchase Album Here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/hungry-ghost/id665829307<br />
<br />
Recorded at: The Shed, Brisbane<br />
<br />
Personnel: Luke Boerdam - Guitar and Vocals<br />
Luke Henery - Bass<br />
James Tidswell - Guitar and Vocals<br />
Michael Richards - Drums<br />
<br />
Genres: Grunge, Rock, Retro, 90's<br />
<br />
Running Order: <br />
<br />
1) Dope Calypso<br />
2) Lowbrow<br />
3) Covered In Chrome<br />
4) Saramona Said<br />
5) In The Aisle<br />
6) Okay Cathedral<br />
7) Fur Eyes<br />
8) Gold Coast<br />
9) Liars<br />
10) Eight-fold<br />
11) Hungry Ghost<br />
<br />
Third albums are always considered the be the most difficult one of any recording artist's career as it is the one that usually makes or breaks them as a band, especially where becoming a household name. "Hungry Ghost" is no exception and with the media attention and airplay it's had could very well be the one that will take Violent Soho out of the indie ghetto and into the main league of Brisbands like Powderfinger, Custard, Savage Garden, and The Butterfly Effect before them.<br />
<br />
Three years since their second eponymous album, "Hungry Ghost" has seen the band sign to Melbourne label I OH YOU Records, a division of the mighty Mushroom music emporium. Recorded by estwhile friend Bryce Moorhead in Brisbane, but mastered in the US, this album sees Violent Soho show signs of maturing with their sound whilst still holding on to the shards of retro grunge that made them great in the first place.<br />
<br />
The album title originates from the Buddhist philosophy of people who spend their lives being driven to their emotional needs in an animalistic manner and only living for the moment. This especially pertains to consumerism and gluttony. <br />
<br />
DOPE CALYPSO: The second video taken from the album, it's a simple take on frustration on the world not being the way that we may wish for it to be. Opening up with some phased guitar, it goes into a huge grungy chorus similar to Radiohead's "Creep" and Stiltskin's "Inside".<br />
<br />
LOWBROW: More even paced song, which is supposed to be a rant about upper-class people who are about worshiping military war but are vicious animalistic people underneath their luxuriant and civilised exterior. <br />
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COVERED IN CHROME: Their second single from the album, it is a rueful number about wishing for the ideal working life of having a 9 - 5 career and empty promises similar to the American Dream of the 1950's whilst underneath many people live lives of cynical sexual desparation as evidenced by the line "A pussh is a piece of skin wrapped in pocket" whilst giving their power away to evil, corrupt religious and political leaders "Raised their arms to a leader outside. Praising the Devil they said 'Hell, fuck yeah!' The song could very well be a crowd favourite with the screaming "yeahyeahyeahyeah" line in the chorus.<br />
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SARAMONA SAID: Underneath the easy pace of this track with some nifty icy guitar licks, the song is about becoming unconnected and desensitised to the media and carnal passion using drugs as a form of escapism "cause I'm a free man" and living a leaderless life.<br />
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IN THE AISLE: The first single from the album featuring me riding a bike naked in the video, the song tears along at a breakneck speed with a solo rhythm guitar intro which the song is constructed around and finishing up with a great moshing guitar battle. The song relates to churches that ostracize people like me who think and behave on a different level to the masses and reprimanding the religious leaders for their callousness and superficiliaty with the chorus "Why does everything you say sound hollow?" This lyrics refer to an eccentric gentleman from Brisbane who haunts the Southside Tea Room in Stones Corner run by The Grates and always carries a cricket bat and his own tea bags which he asks the staff to boil for him rather than purchasing drinks at their place.<br />
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OKAY CATHEDRAL: From the album's most aggressive rocker to a grunge ballad, it is about the Tall Poppy syndrome that exists in our Australian culture and searching for one's own innate spirituality for strength and reassurance, hence the title. Beautiful arrangement which doesn't overplay itself and even the feedback towards the end is just as unobtrusive as the rest of the instruments.<br />
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FUR EYES: As I stated elsewhere, this should be released as the third single from the album and could most likely break the band into the Top 40 singles chart. It is the most radio-friendly pop orientated track on the album which could get good rotation on the Austereo networks as well as Triple J. Opening up with a gorgeous scintillating guitar riff reminiscent of Morrissey's 1991 hit "My Love Life" and Boerdam seriously contending with Billy Corgan in the vocal department, this song has nice dashings of tremelo fuzz guitar in the instrumental break and gorgeous backing vocals from James Tidswell that run throughout the track and form the outro.<br />
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GOLD COAST: Despite the title alluding to Australia's most popular tourist city, lyrically it is a much different affair and showcases Boerdam's electrifying sneering vocals to the hilt.<br />
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LIARS: Name-checking one of Brisbane's main southside roads Old Cleveland Road at the start, it's about living the life of a youngster in Brisbane in the middle of scorching summers and social class clashes "Smelt like fear with the rich kids and their parents". A good catchy track with some disorderly rhythm-less guitar crashing in various parts of it.<br />
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EIGHTFOLD: A pun on the word sevenfold, lyrically it is about people who dress to the nines to impress religious leaders in churches, and disavowing materialism and Pentecostal Christianity which includes speaking in tongues, the cult of egoism and nihilism of the preachers, wearing expensive designer clothes for worship services and eventually having to account for their behaviour. Another great rocking track sounding quite similar to "In The Aisle" and the Sex Pistols "Holidays in the Sun".<br />
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HUNGRY GHOST: The closing cut is a chilled out track which is about chilling out after a stressful day and regaining a sense of inner-peace and propriety from the world.<br />
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5/5<br />
DARIO WESTERNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05616966000546905850noreply@blogger.com1