October Wrapup

MINE

Scraping through the remnants of our collection has both of us wondering - will we make it to the end of the year without repeating any artists?  Well, I figure we can get through at least November on our own.  Maybe December will be all compilations - goodness knows we have enough littering our shelves.

This month is Spring in Sydney - time to get some sun on our faces and mess about in the garden.  Time to see Paul Weller - who was fabulous again.  Time to look at the end in sight of this year-long journey that, I can't help but say, has been alternately exciting and draining, thrilling and wearying.

What will we do next?  Delve into the vinyl?  Move over to DVDs?  Get the iPod to select a random song to review?  Any ideas?

YOURZ

I'm a happy chappy.  We've just booted another winter away and the days are officially longer thanks to Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.  Mine has got the veggie garden flourishing again (for a girl who always said she had a brown thumb, the garden is doing very well).  I can't wait for the days when the weather is warm and the smell of BBQs hangs in the air when I'm walking home from work.

As Mine said, we got to see Paul Weller live, making it the second time for me.  He was every bit as good as the first time, if not better.  It was a top night.  Next up is tickets to see Gorillaz in December.  I can't wait!  And the line-up for Big Day Out 2011 includes Deftones, The Black Keys and Iggy & The Stooges.  Heck, I couldn't see all three as side shows for the price of a ticket, so we might just have to gets ourselves along to one of the shows.

This month, we've decided to give our freebie to our friend know as Cape D'Avenger.  We have a little inside knowledge so are hoping he will enjoy The Eels.  So if you're reading this, Cape D'Avenger, while we know where you live, we don't know your exact address, so send us an email with it and we'll send you a padded bag of musical goodness.

Not long to go now, folks...

You Am I - Sound As Ever

MINE

Ladies, may I present You Am I lead singer Tim Rogers, thinking woman's crumpet.  Especially when he takes his shirt off, as he is wont to do. (Check out the website for some confirmation of his lean, ripped, tattooed torso.  Hoo.)  This album - their debut - might tempt you think of them as just another Aussie pub rock band, You Am I have come leaps and bounds since it was recorded in '93.  Their following album, Hi Fi Way, is the one that got them the most acclaim and cemented their standing in Australia's hearts.

I've not had that much of a history with the band, coinciding as they did with my voyage into all that is dance.  Not that I was unaware of them, just that I didn't won their music.  But if I'd been paying attention, I might have.  As I recall I got this album and another as part of a chuckout at the company I worked for.  Score!

One performance of theirs I particularly enjoyed was at the Sydney section of the Sound Relief concert (sample here) where they joined many other acts, including my local MP and Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, in raising funds for the victims of the Queensland floods and Victorian bushfires.  We love a sunburnt country, indeed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I’ve been looking forward to writing about this band pretty much ever since we started this blog.  They are, without a doubt, one of Australia’s premier rock bands, one who I’ve seen live more than any other Aussie act, in their various guises, from the early full on rock shows to their more stately, but still sweaty, latter years.  They have a well-deserved reputation are renowned for their live shows and Tim Rogers is considered to be one of the best singer/songwriters Australia has ever produced.  Over the years, I've owned a lot of their albums but living in group houses has seen the collection drastically depleted.

Consistently cited by both fans, industry insiders and some of the biggest bands in the world as a favourite, it is a mystery as to why they’ve never been able to grow a decent following beyond our fair shores.  That they have been a constant in the hearts of the Australian music-loving public for nearly 20 years and are the only band to have 3 albums in a row debut at the number one spot on the ARIA charts only adds to this conundrum.

Sound As Ever, their debut album, was produced by Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo who agreed to the job after he saw them perform at the Big Day Out in 1993 and was blown away by their presence and the songs they performed.  It is almost certainly because of his involvement at the early stages of You Am I’s career that gave the band the confidence they needed to continue.

There are so many good songs on this album, it is hard to pin down a single, defining track.  I really love their full on rock tracks like Off The Field, Corporalia and Berlin Chair but personally, the song that got inside  me the most was Jaimme’s Got A Girl, one of the more mellower tracks.  It not only highlighted Rogers sense of melody and his great voice but acts as a harbinger for the future sound of the band. 

Just about to release their 9^th studio album as a band (Tim Rogers has a well-established solo career as well), You Am I, while veterans of the Australian scene, are still as popular and probably more relevant now than they’ve ever been.  All they need is for the rest of the world to catch up.  And I need to add a few more to our list of must-haves.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to: http://www.youami.com.au/

In our collection we also have Hi Fi Way

Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix

MINE

I knew this story would have to come out some day.  It's one of those moments I'll remember for ever, and to this day it elicits a wince and a blush when I think about that night.

I can't remember what year it was (91? 92?) but I think it was the Bandwagonesque tour, well before Grand Prix came out.  While I didn't own the album (hey, why not?  It's even better than Grand Prix as I recall) I did love the songs and was determined to see them play.  As luck would have it, they were performing at my local pub (I've seen many international acts there but Selinas doesn't operate as a band venue any more, more's the pity.)  I couldn't get anyone else to come with me, as that was my heyday of dance dance dance and all my friends at the time thought jangly Kinks-evoking guitar-based pop was so several years ago, so I bought myself a solo ticket.  No biggie, I'd done that plenty of times.

I was a single girl then, and prone to party hard.  As I had done that week. When the evening rolled around I was feeling a little weary, so I thought I'd have myself a disco nap, set the alarm and left the light on (my sure-fire way of ensuring I'd wake up).  And woke up at 3 am, when I'm sure the band were into their fourth or fifth post-gig drink.

I can laugh about it now, but I've never seen them live.  DAMN IT ALL...

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

It wasn't until I started doing a little bit of research for this review that I realised I've actually seen Teenage Fanclub at the 1994 Big Day Out, when it was still at Sydney Showgrounds (a much more intimate location).  On the same day, I also saw Soundgarden, The Breeders, Smashing Pumpkins and The Ramones, so hopefully you can understand why the poor old Fannies slipped back into the forgotten recesses of my memory.

The thing that gets me about listening to Grand Prix (and, in fact, just about anything by Teenage Fanclub) is the fact this is a band from Glasgow.  The harmonies, sound and production are pure West Coast, reminiscent of everything from The Beach Boys and The Byrds to contemporaries The Posies and Urge Overkill (who were also on the bill at that magical BDO all those years ago).  These are one of the bands I heard much of over the years but never actually owned anything by them.  Bandwagonesque was probably the most discussed among my peers at the time, but this comes a close second.  I mean, how can you go past the pure bliss that is Sparky's Dream, for instance.  There is so much to like about this, I can't help but smile when I listen to it.  It probably means we have to add yet another few discs to that growing list, Mine.

Now, if only I could actually remember that show all those years ago...

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.teenagefanclub.com/

Resin Dogs - Grand Theft Audio

YOURZ

Brisbane hip hop collective, Resin Dogs, released Grand Theft Audio in 2000 but if you listen to this mix of beats, live instrumentation, scratches and samples, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a big beat release, as the dance influence throughout the record is obvious and, in fact, won the band an Australian Dance Music award.

To me, these guys represent what hip hop is truly about.  There's none of the poseuring or posturing often associated with the genre.  Instead, there are some really well produced tracks that combine great use of samples and live instrumentation.  The cross-section of samples from jazz to lesser-known hip hop artists also show a depth and broad-based musicology.  Not only this, but the band pulls it off live, with extended jams and an energy and live dynamic that is hard to ignore.

The other thing about Grand Theft Audio is most of the tracks are instrumental-based, often only relying on sampled vocals to carry the hooks.  Unburdened, as such, makes for some interesting, although limited-tricked, arrangements and production.  However, this small criticism aside, it is a great high energy record that isn't pretending to be anything else and would bring life to even the dullest of parties.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Hip-hop collective?  This is Big Beat!  And I'm speaking as a woman who has a Big Beat 3 CD collection.  This is a CD simply crying out for a party to go to, one where the guests break off from conversations to take a trip around the dance floor, pulled there by the infectious rhythms pumped out by the Dogs.

Grand Theft Audio should have a place in any collection that has any respect at all for dance music  because that's what it encourages you to do, in the best of all hip-swinging, foot-tapping, hands-in-the-air type ways.  I think I got to see them at a Big Day Out one time, but my memory could be failing me.  (YourZ sez: nah, I was there and we were dancing in the bleachers)  That happens.  Or so they tell me.  Whoever "they" are.  Usually the ones telling me I can't do whatever it is I want to do right now.

Which is to put this on and have a party.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.resindogs.com.au/

In our collection we also have Hi Fidelity Dirt and More

PJ Harvey - Dry

YOURZ

My second-favourite rock chick (after Adalita from Magic Dirt), although I will admit Polly Jean is probably far more well known around the world.  She is another musical pixie - the word petite doesn't really cover it - but with a booming voice and the gumption of a fully-formed rock star, her territory is songs that demolish the facade of beauty and uncover the true heart lying beneath.  But don't call her a feminist.

As a debut, Dry ticked all the right boxes when it was released, way back in 1992.  At the time, Grunge was big around the world and PJ's stripped back blues rock and angst-ridden vocals often garnered comparisons to Patti Smith, Godmother of Grunge, although Polly hardly agrees, instead calling it, simply, lazy journalism.

From the opener, Oh, My Lover, with its plea of "don't you know it's alright, you can love her", Polly plays out her passions straight from her heart and guitar.  And her attack is relentless throughout the album, where, black widow-like, she lures the listener into her web with soft-sung vocals and delicate arrangements before pouncing.  The only exceptions to this winning formula are the Breeders-like Plant And Rags and Water.

Yes, the production is rough and the mastering limited, but nonetheless, this is a stunning debut from a talent who has since proven herself to be a major musical force.  Personally, I still think Dress is one of the best songs she's ever written.  For this reason (amongst many), I'm calling this another Forgotten Gem.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE:

Oh, Polly Jean... my favourite rock chick.  Not my favourite album, but the one I bought because Sheela-Na-Gig was such a revelation when it came out.  I remember having an intense conversation in a dance club with a very stoned girl about the song, what it meant, and how PJ's voice just drew something out of us, while her boyfriend watched us and occasionally tried to interject, but eventually gave up in disgust.  Which is kind of appropriate, given it's about carvings some say represent a female fertility goddess.

Listening to Dry now, I can hear faults with its composition and its mix (it's a first album, give her a break!).  And I wonder why I can love Polly's way of not-singing but hate Nick Cave's.  I remember seeing her perform at a Big Day Out, looking dwarfed by her guitar and teetering across the stage in huge red sparkly heels that made her look a little like Minnie Mouse. 

Such a powerful voice from such a small and frail-looking woman, but whose hard-rocking performance puts her up there with any of the other rock chicks I've seen.  She's made better albums than this.  I believe we own them.  But for its faults, there's still that voice, bring that growl, breathy whine and moan that make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

VERDICT:TURN IT UP

For more information: http://pjharvey.lucidwebs.co.uk/

In our collection we also have Stories Of The City, Stories Of The Sea and Uh Huh Her

Eskimo Joe - A Song Is A City

MINE

OK, here's my theory about Perth.  The Westralian capital was accidentally built on a convergence of musical ley lines, so that anyone who starts a band here is instantly three steps in front of anyone else in the country.  How else can you explain the proliferation of artists from a city that has a quarter the population of Sydney and yet seems to spew forward the most amazing talents?

Eskimo Joe is a case in point.  Quite simply, neither YourZ or Mine(self) can understand why they're not headlining stadiums across the world. Kayven Temperley's voice is outstanding, thier compositions and arrangements are truly world-class, and while I can't really remember their live performance - I haven't seen them since 2005 Big Day Out - YourZ assures me they deliver as well in the flesh as they do on CD.  Although I was momentarily stumped when track 3 - Life is Better With You - sounded just like 72 by Turin Brakes.

But all I can say is world, get amongst this band.  They're well worth it.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

My theory about Perth is slightly different to Mine.  Primarily, I think it is the isolation factor, with Perth being particularly remote.  Bands there don't know much else except each other.  Apart from the huge acts who can afford to get tour there, they only really have each other.  This makes for a particularly supportive music community and inspires all to greater heights.  Either this or they want so badly to get over to the other side of Australia to play, they work doubly hard to 'make' it.

Whatever it is, I'm glad of it.  Some of my most favourite Australian bands found their feet in Perth, including INXS (as the Farriss Brothers), Karnivool, Jebediah, The Sleepy Jackson and this band, Eskimo Joe.  While I was writing the recent Grant Lee Buffalo review (see it here), I commented to Mine that they reminded me of someone else and lo, here it is.  The comparisons are the wide sounding, epic quality both bands have, along with detailed arrangements and awesome production.  But it is there the comparisons end.

Eskimo Joe are a natural successor to bands like the aforementioned INXS, sounding quintessentially Australian yet more so at the same time.  A Song Is A City is a pearl of an album - every track on this album is a fucking winner with superior musicianship, killer vocals and arrangements as well as lush production.  As Mine says, why Eskimo Joe aren't fucking enormous around the world is a big question and the answer is beyond me.  

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, tell your friends, buy their back catalogue and make them HUGE!




For more information go to http://www.eskimojoe.net/

In our collection we also have Black Fingernails, Red Wine

The Smashing Pumpkins - Adore

MINE

Yes, it's not their biggest seller or anything but I like Adore.  I was thinking that  I have to say that, because I bought it, but actually I don't, because I've freely admitted to buying dross before.  I guess I like it because I really wasn't exposed to a whole lot of Pumpkins before this.  I mean, I'd heard a fair bit of Siamese Dream but never owned it, and every single one of my radio-school mates owned Melon Collie so I never bothered buying it, and then when I heard the band had a new album out, I thought, well, it's bound to be good.  And I really think it is.

It's a quiet, reflective album and I particularly like Ava Adore and Once Upon A Time.  I think it's one of those albums that's nice to put on when it's rainy outside and I'm inside reading a book and occasionally something will make me look up and listen to the music.

But maybe that's because I'm focusing on what Adore has, rather than what it's missing. I will say that Billy Corgan's voice can give me the shits after a while.  He's almost as whiny as Thom, but at least the tunes are better.

VERDICT:TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Ah, the finicky, fickle fall of the pointy stick. If only for a few centimetres, it might have hit on a few better albums from The Smashing Pumpkins. But it didn't, it touched down on Adore instead. At least I get to tell you how fucking awesome it was to stand between the crowd and the stage at the Big Day Out in '94 while the Pumpkins ripped the fuckin' place apart. (Yes, for those more observant readers, yes, it was the same occasion I saw Soundgarden - truly memorable).

What followed this tour was recording and releasing Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and the touring accompanying it. This in turn led to drummer Jimmy Chamberlin being sacked from the band due to his implicition in the OD death of keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin. Chamberlin's massive drumming was replaced by machines and session musos for the Adore sessions. It might have, as one reviewer said, sorted the 'true' fans out from those who liked them for their big sellers but the reality is The Smashing Pumpkins without Jimmy just weren't the same band.

This was the beginning of the end, as far as I'm concerned.  Eschewing the huge stadium rock they were well known for and presenting a set of more subtle electronic-laden material frankly made them sound like Garbage wannabes (no offence to Garbage, of course.  Ironically is was Butch Vig of Garbage who produced the first two Smashing Pumpkins albums).  To top it off, Billy's petulant and increasingly meglomaniacal behaviour only drove a wedge between him and the rest of the band, eventually leading to departure of D'Arcy and the inevitable breakup.

There are a few nice moments on Adore, but these are more associated with the its lavish production and soundscapes, almost sounding like a soundtrack for a movie at points, something furthered by Corgan's admission that this is a "concept album without a concept."  Yeah, thanks for trying to be clever, Billy, but its simply not enough to hold my interest.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN before I bitch slap the whine outta ya, Billy-boy!

For more information: http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/

In our collection, we also have Gish, Siamese Dreams, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Pisces Iscariot and Machina

Audioslave - Audioslave

YOURZ

I had high hopes for Audioslave, both the band and the album, I truly did.  I've been a big fan of Chris Cornell, both as a guitarist and vocalist since his days with the mighty Soundgarden.  (I saw them at the 1994 Big Day Out while standing in the pit between the stage and the audience, thanks to an ex-girlfriend's press pass - hi Leah!).  RATM hasn't had the same impact but I certainly can't deny their appeal.

This self-titled debut has all the bits of both Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine that made both bands something special.  RATM fans would probably disagree with me but Chris' vocals add such a fuckin' huge dimension to the powerhouse trio from Rage, it's hard not to be blown away by the huge sound Audioslave achieve.  At least at the start, anyway.

The reality of what they do, however, is somewhat disappointing.  I wanted it to be more than what it was.  The first few songs teased me into believing it would be.  Cochise is the best song Rage never did and I haven't tired of listening to it.  Show How To Live backs up the promise with brooding intent - Cornell's croon is just superb.  Then Gasoline's groove adds another dimension and had me nearly sold.  But the rest of the album falls over its great, stumbling rock feet and the smash I expected suddenly becomes kind of predictable and, frankly, formulaically boring. (Mine says: what a shock- we agree!)

The best piece of news I've heard in ages is that Soundgarden are getting back together.  Perhaps then Chris can put this behind him and move forward.  As for Audioslave, well, the aforementioned tracks will be making their way on to the iPod but that's about it.   

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

MINE

Does every rock guitarist want to make a Led Zeppelin album?  Really, take a listen to Cochise.  Is that, or is that not, Whole Lotta Love?  A pretty poor version, too.  Quite frankly there's a whole bunch of songs on this album that are either versions of Zep or Black Sabbath or some other shouty-boy music.

I did like Hypnotise, and again this album is well constructed and mixed.  Just boringly derivative for the most part.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.audioslave.com/

The Polyphonic Spree - The Beginning Stages Of...

YOURZ

I remember seeing The Polyphonic Spree at a Big Day Out some years ago.  Being in the audience felt a little like I was attending some huge revival meeting except everyone was cool and not even slightly religiously righteous.  That this huge band choose to wear robes probably didn't help with this feeling.

I also recall the smiling faces everywhere and just how joyous the whole occasion was. For anyone even slightly curmudgeonly, wandering into this uplifting experience would have felt like they were in the first ring of Dante's hell.

Listening back to The Beginning Stages Of... is not like seeing the band live.  How could it be?  As a result, this album comes off a bit bland.  Oh yeah, the ideas are nice and there are sunny shiny horn sections and uplifting choruses aplenty but if this was a normal-sized band instead of 23 musicians working together (how they squeeze that many egos into a room is a feat in itself) I think it would probably sound pretty ordinary.

VERDICT:TURN IT DOWN

MINE

I defy anyone to listen to the Spree and not get a great big grin on their face.  The mere concept of the group, with its multithat's nothing until you experience the songs, particularly It's The Sun with its sudden bursts of full-fledged vocal force.

We were lucky enough to see them in concert, and the whole festival audience that came to witness the event just beamed and clapped and called for more.  My one regret that day was I didn't get to the merchandise stand in time to buy one of their t-shirts, which the staff told us had sold out in record time.

I've previously spoken about songs to play at my funeral, and while there's nothing on this CD to actually make a point of playing, I think it'd be a great background album for when people were just gathering before the actual event.  God, I can be morbid.  (YourZ sez: are you keeping notes because I'm not gonna remember all this).  But this is one album I think would fit well in just about anybody's collection.  Have a listen - let us know what you think!

VERDICT:TURN IT UP and really listen

For more information: http://www.thepolyphonicspree.com/

The Fauves - Future Spa

MINE

This puts me back at that time - the mid 90's when I gave up my flourishing(!) accounting career for radio. And there were a whole bunch of Aussie bands I came to know and love then.

You see I went to radio school the year this album came out.  And while I've not really listened to the album as a whole before, the singles Dogs Are the Best People and  Self Abuser certainly featured on the playlists we put together while programming our own shows (a big shout-out to AFTRS radio class of '96).

I will admit to being more fond of Custard and Spiderbait at the time, but these guys rock too.  I did originally say to YourZ that I generally preferred indie-rock bands like this who had girl singers (like the Breeders) but on reflection, there were a bunch of floppy-haired boys fronting the bands I bounced up and down to at many Big Days Out in the 90s.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (relive that misspent youth)

YOURZ

The fuckin' Fauves are on man, the fuckin' Fauves, man, the fuckin' Fauves...  This was the greeting I received outside a little venue in a small town capital many years ago.  My friend, who shall remain nameless to protect his burgeoning career as an upright citizen, was stoned to the eyeballs and half drunk as well.  Mind you, he was also playing drums in the support.  The night turned out to be a spectacular one of rock and roll high jinx and over-indulgence.

It was around the time of Future Spa too.  I remember listening to this album many times, astounded as to why The Fauves didn't become the next best thing around the world.  This is the major problem with being a musician in Australian (and New Zealand for that matter) - the isolation.  Although these days the interwebs has made things a helluva lot easier, thanks to sites like MySpace (now there is a sentence I thought I'd never write).

Still clever, articulate and rocking after all these years, Future Spa, which includes two of my favourite song titles - Understanding Kyuss and Don't Get Death Threats Anymore - is definitely going to be my first Forgotten Gem for March,

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information, samples of songs and to buy their music: http://www.thefauves.com/

In our collection we also have Lazy Highways