Whats Not On Our Ipod - Floating Me - Self Titled

YOURZ

I used to get real excited about new music. I would browse record shops (remember those?) for hours, looking for something new and/or different. Once I had a selection of never-heard-befores, I'd spend the time, in the shop, listening to them to ensure it was worthy enough to be added to my collection.

I'd like to say I lost my excitement because modern technology meant I didn't have to go out and rub shoulders with others like me.  Instead, I can simply download anything that takes my fancy.  Or maybe, just maybe I'm getting old and cynical, something I have vowed I wouldn't let happen.

Thankfully, bands like Floating Me come along and restore my faith, renew my vigor and rock my little corner of the world.  Funnily enough, I happened to find this at one of the few local music stores near where I work.

Comprised of members of influential hard rock Australian bands Cog, Scary Mother and Karnivool, this was never going to be a soft project. There are hints of all three aforementioned bands in their sound - you can't listen to Andrew Gillespie sing and not be reminded of Scary Mother at times - but Floating Me have built something they can rightly call their own.

Along with Gillespie, Floating Me are Lucius Borich of Cog on drums, Jon Stockman of Karnivool on bass and ex Mothers Antony Brown on guitar and Tobias Messiter on keys.  Atmospheric and textured as well as filled with some huge rock riffs, Floating Me may well have produced the Aussie rock album of the year.

Don't believe me, then check this out.  And while it might not be on our Ipod at the moment, this is about to change.

VERDICT: VITAL

Lost Prophets - The Betrayed

YOURZ

This is another recent purchase I took a chance on recently.  The only thing I knew about this band was that they were from the same town in Wales of Sir Tom Jones, being the wonderfully Welsh-named Pontypridd.  And this is about all Lostprophets and Sir Tom have in common.  Musically, this five piece might have punk rock roots but their sound is from the same school as bands like Rage Against The Machine and Linkin Park. 

But some of the song titles reveal a touch of the emo-branding as well.  Mine mentions one such below and the other long-winded titles (If It Wasn't For Hate We'd Be Dead By Now, for instance) don't do them any favours.  Thankfully, the driving distortion and sharp melodies actually work well, in that MTV rock kind of way.

But when I compare it to favoured bands like Karnivool and Mastodon, unfortunately the Lostprophets wind up way down the list.  Maybe I need to be an angst-ridden post-teen to really get this.  But I'm neither and while I don't mind it, I'm not rushing out to buy anything else by them.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

MINE

Well, this wasn't just disappointing - it was downright infuriating.  These guys can't seem to figure out what sort of music they're playing, going from almost Rage Against the Machine-type songs, through downright U2 ripoffs, one number that sounded a bit like the Killers and another couple that said "Gee, 80's-sounding music is getting popular, maybe we'd better do that?"

Don't get me started on the lyrics.  Banal isn't among it.  I mean seriously, It's Not the End of the World, But I Can See it From Here?

Resolutely mediocre.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information go to http://www.lostprophets.com/

The Butterfly Effect - Final Conversation Of Kings

MINE

Oh god, more prog.  *deep, long-suffering sigh*

There are two emotions that chase themselves around my brain when I listen to this stuff.  Firstly I'm confused.  I mean, who really appreciates 8 minute songs?  Men, I suppose.  Really, how many women do you think actually appreciate this stuff?  It's just so turgid.

Secondly, I'm amused.  This sort of stuff just says to me - 16 year old who has no hope of getting laid, channelling all of that burgeoning testosterone into really intense music.  It's a bit like making emo music, really - you're guaranteed an audience.  A sad, sad audience, no doubt, but they've got nothing else to spend their money on.

I seem to recall we saw Butterfly Effect supporting some band or other long, long ago.  I remember doing my best to keep a straight face but just wanting to burst into laughter, because they take themselves so seriously. How can you, when you're playing this music?  I mean, it's just one step away from Spinal Tap, isn't it? (YourZ sez: ah c'mon, it doesn't even get close to 'break like the wind' territory)

Well, I know YourZ won't turf this, so...

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN way, way down... no, lower! Lower!  I can still hear it!

YOURZ

Okay, so I like some prog rock.  But it doesn't mean I'm going to start collecting Rush or Yes records.  The Butterfly Effect is the kind of prog I enjoy, coming as it does from a similar school of sound to another Aussie favourite of mine, Karnivool.  So I guess if I had to draw a line in the prog-rock sand, it would around about here.

Some time ago, a friend tried to convince me that if I liked music like this, I'd be sure to like Tool or A Perfect Circle.  And maybe I would, if I could be bothered.  But to be honest, every time I think of Tool, I think of Maynard J Keenan painted blue and then I think of the Blue Men Group and have a little snicker to myself while wondering who came first.  Hey, its just the way my brain works, okay?  It kind of dulls any shine those bands might have rather quickly.

Final Conversation Of Kings came out a couple of years ago, led by the single Window And The Watcher, a much more polished track with a soaring chorus.  While this album continued in the direction they'd taken with their previous album, Imago, they've taken it one step further, making it more accessible and radio-friendly.  I really like the sound overall, particularly on tracks like Worlds On Fire and Final Conversation,  but the pay off for me is when the band strips back and let their big riffs rock out.

So they're not doing anything really different but it is world class and, if you're a fan of this kind of rock (as I know a few of our regular readers are), I'm sure you'll enjoy The Butterfly Effect as much as I do.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP


For more information go to http://www.thebutterflyeffect.com.au/final-conversation-of-kings/news.php

In our collection we also have Imago

Birds Of Tokyo - Birds Of Tokyo

MINE


It's... interesting.  I mean, the tunes are good, and I have no complaints about the singing or the production or any of the other myriad things that can go wrong in putting an album together.  But it just doesn't appeal to me.

Much like you can put on an article of clothing when the cut, colour and fabric all look right, but you look in the mirror and you just don't... pop.  I like my music to make me pop, and this stuff, while I almost guarantee it'll go on to please audiences worldwide and sounds ideal for stadium shows, leaves me unmoved.

Frankly it's a bit MOR for my taste, although YourZ hotly debated this with me.


VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

More proof that there is something about Perth that produces world-class bands and music.  Birds Of Tokyo are yet another example, featuring Ian Kenny, lead vocalist with another Perth act Karnivool (who we've previously reviewed here) and members of former Perth band Tragic Delicate.

More commercial and accessible than Karnivool, the Birds Of Tokyo make soaring, melodic rock, hinged around Kenny's incredible voice, quite possibly one of the best around at the moment (and not a hint of an auto-tuner anywhere).  This man could sing the phone book and it would sound great. 

This self-titled long player is their fourth album, released earlier this year, has already gained gold status in Australia, with the first two singles, The Saddest Thing I Know and Plans, becoming local hits.  But the album is full of great tracks, some reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, some more rock orientated but all highlighting the Birds great sense of melodic drama. And while they're not doing anything new or challenging, what they do, they do very well indeed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For further information go to http://www.birdsoftokyo.com/

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

Karnivool - Sound Awake

YOURZ

If it weren't for a very late contender, Karnivool's Sound Awake would have been number one on my Top Ten list for 2009.  I won't tell what was  my number one choice just in case the pointy stick lands on it (I can only hope although Mine probably won't be happy).

Their previous album, Themata, could be considered a classic (in my mind it is anyway, so fuck it - it is).  Anything that followed was always going to be compared to it.  Karnivool could have choked and released something less than their debut but thankfully, Sound Awake is every bit as good and is a perfect follow-up, albeit with a few more radio-friendly tunes (as radio friendly as a band like this can be, anyway).

I'm not a big fan of prog rock or metal but for me, Karnivool, like Deftones, are so much more.  This is a band of incredible musicians working at the top of their game, be it the driving attack of Set Fire To The Hive, the melodic All I Know or the epic Deadman (at 12 minutes plus -  some of this is prog, remember).  It's dark, intelligent and, in parts, fucking brutal and is exactly what I need to motivate me, particularly on my early morning excursions to the gym.

While I know I won't get sick of listening to Sound Awake, I hope there isn't another four year wait for their next album. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Ech, more  boy music.  I warned you there was a bunch of it this month.  And this is a really good example of the genre.  No, I mean as in a GOOD example.  I hate to say it, but it's well put together.  (YourZ sez: the production is world class, without a doubt)  Still mixes the instruments up too high compared to the vocals for my liking, but here's another singer who sings, not yells.  I can see what YourZ sees in it.

But fear not, readers, I'm not so suffused with testosterone I'd actually play this by choice.  You gotta be wary of an album that includes a song that runs 12 minutes 4 seconds.  Although that's not a bad song, as it happens.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

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

In our collection we also have Themata

Asian Dub Foundation - Enemy Of The Enemy

MINE

Oooh, now I know what YourZ means when he bangs on about Forgotten Gems.  This cross-genre dancey, bangy, bhangra-reggae mix just got me itchin' to find a dance floor.  There's something so inspirational for the hips about the cut-through sound of a tabla combined with some really dubby bass.  I'm more familiar with their 2000 release, Community Music as I'd once had a copy of it (whatever happened to that?) but this is just as good.  Swinging between different paces, it's another one I want to select tracks from for my Shuffle's range of "gym-spirational" music.

Speaking of which, that's another area where YourZ and my good self couldn't be further apart.  When it comes to pumping iron, he's all about the shouty-boy music - Clutch, Karnivool, Queens of the Stone Age etc.  Whereas I like me some power-pop, big beat and dancefloor fillers - much like these dudes.

In case you're interested, the song 1000 Mirrors features Sinead O'Connor.  But that's one of the slower ones and I'm just looking around for a dance floor.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (dance, dance, dance)

YOURZ

Mine and YourZ (truly) had a discussion last night about categories in music.  This stemmed from my idea that, as an exercise, it would be interesting to categorise each band we review and put together some sort of statistical analysis at the end of the year.  Mine disagreed for a number of reasons but primarily because she shares my dislike of categorisations.  I countered that I didn't like them either but that the music industry thrives on them as do a lot of the fans.

For the sake of the argument, we went through the selections we'd made so far and applied an arbitrary genre category to each.  The problem with this is the word 'arbitrary' because where I might see a particular act as one genre, Mine sees it as another.  Asian Dub Foundation was one such act.

To me, this is mainly a hip hop album.  It has more melody and rhythmic complexities than rap and while is uses electronica elements, could hardly be considered so because of its live instrumentation.  Yet we argued about it.  In reality, it has all the above elements without being any one of them in particular.  Heck, it could even be said to encompass world music elements as well.  The argument's still not resolved and probably won't ever be.

Why am I telling you this?  Mainly to give you an understanding of what Enemy Of The Enemy sounds like, without applying a particular genre category to it.  It's undoubtedly great music, full of clever beats consistently crossing cultural boundaries.  It's what I call intelligent dance music.  And this isn't a category, this is a reality.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to: http://www.asiandubfoundation.com/