Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

MINE

I wanted to like it, really I did.  This was picked as an Album of the Year for Aussie Youth Radio network Triple J, and I like to think I've got a bit of an insight into what those young people are on about.  No, seriously.  Stop snickering, you.

But all I could think while listening to this was - Beatles Rubber Soul and Revolver,  but without the variety the Fab Four managed on those albums.  Amped up a bit with some beats here and there, but essentially a bit hippy-trippy.  Which is alright for a song or two, but a whole album?  Nice dinner-party music, but that's about it.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

Yet more proof that there is something in those isolated waters of Western Australia that keeps producing some of the best music in Australia. 

Citing a laundry list of influences, including Beck, Kyuss, Massive Attack, RZA and The Beatles (boy, are they covering all bases or what), Tame Impala are anything but locked into a single style.  Yet the cohesiveness of Innerspeaker, their debut album, is surprisingly strong, thanks to the overall production aesthetic   While it is definitely psychedelic, it also reminds me of some of the shoegazer bands around the late 80s and early 90s.

Listening to Lucidity, for instance, took me back to house parties, where most of us were floating from a cocktail of various fixings.  And the music, like Innerspeaker is to a new generation, was not just background but an integral part of the journey.  Maybe the fact I'm relatively straight and sober these days dulled my appreciation slightly but not by much.

There are treats of sharp, effected pop gems like Solitude Is Bliss and I Don't Really Mind as well as surprises like the sludgy psych-rock of The Bold Arrow Of Time.  And while I think the band could have done better with a name, I expect it will be one I'll be hearing of for some time to come. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg

YOURZ

Okay, I'm gonna do my damndest to avoid using any of the cliched descriptions that have been used to describe Wolfmother in the past.  Nope, you won't read that they sound like a cross between Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.  Nor will you see me saying Stockdale takes his vocal cues from a combination of Chris Cornell and Robert Plant, with a little Jack White thrown in the mix.  I won't mention stoner rock, blues rock, Kyuss or Hendrix either.

Now, with all those unmentionables out of the way, lets talk about Cosmic Egg.  Erm...  Well, it rocks like...  ah, nope, can't say that.  They rock out like...  can't say that either.  And Stockdale's voice, well...  Bugger it!

Okay, how about I try it this way.  If you like any of the bands above, in any form, then you will dig Wolfmother.  They are, with a doubt, one of the best revivalist rock bands in the world.  Some of the biggest names in music profess to be fans and they attract an unusal amount of attention from b-list celebrities as well.  But then, I suppose any road to success is a good road.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I suppose the advent of Wolfmother won't deter any of those boys who want their own version of Led Zeppelin from doing it - but it should.  This is how it should be.

How can I tell?  Because while I was listening to this CD it really didn't matter what volume I used, low or soft, I could clearly hear the lyrics and understand what was being sung, while at the same time enjoying every layer of A-grade rawk accompanying them.  OK, this type of music isn't generally a favourite of mine, but I had no difficulty listening to any of these songs from beginning to end.

It's good music, done well.  Now, will all those other spotty boys trying to do the same thing pay attention?  Probably not.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

Kyuss - And The Circus Leaves Town

YOURZ

Oh, wait until Mine gets a load of this.  I think her head is gonna explode all over the windscreen hahahahahahaha... (not that her head exploding is a funny thing, mind you).  Anyway...

If it weren't for Kyuss, we might not have Queens Of The Stoneage, Mondo Generator, Eagles Of Death Metal, Fu Manchu and Them Crooked Vultures, to name of the biggies.  Hailing from Palm Desert in southern California, Kyuss made a name for themselves playing heavy, distorted and groove-laden songs, and featured future QOTSA members Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri.

Throughout their short-lived career, the band seemed to be in a constant state of change, before finally calling it quits shortly after releasing And The Circus Leaves Town.  Of all their albums, this is most certainly my personal favourite and the only one currently residing in our collection (mainly because Blues For The Red Sun and Welcome To Sky Valley both walked out of my house at some stage).  The rest, as they (whoever they are) say, is future history.

If you're a fan, you'll know all about this album.  If you're not but want to be, then this is as good a place to start as any (in fact, it probably is the best place to start, as far as I'm concerned).

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

What, another Led Zeppelin tribute album?  (YourZ sez: I beg to differ - this is stoner rock at its finest!  Led Zep were never as sludgy as this)  How do these bands get record deals, anyway?  Oh, that's right, the recording industry is full of never-grew-up testosterone. *sigh*

VERDICT:THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/kyussmyspace

Queens Of The Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyse

MINE

The boy music just never lets up... but actually I've been reasonably impressed by QOTSA.  Perhaps because I just loved track one on their debut album, Rated R.  So if you've never heard Feel Good Hit of the Summer take a clicky walk and have a listen.

See what I mean? Two minutes 46 seconds of a rawk mantra that just rolls you along.  Ironically used by the LAPD in its anti-drunk driving campaign... but that's another Josh Homme story.  Which I'm sure YourZ has more than enough of for this post.

YourZ is a rabid Josh fan, and I can see why.  We both love the Eagles of Death Metal - and when the pointy stick finally lands on Them Crooked Vultures, stand back, the gushing from my beloved will knock you over.  QOTSA's not really my cup of tea, although it's still well put together with more real singing and a decent mix.  Does this mean I have to admit - his boy music is actually Man Music?  Oh, the ignominy...(YourZ sez: fuck yeah, I win!)

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

While the music press has been lauding Jack White's prodigious output over the last decade, I've been plumping for Josh Homme.  I mean, look at his track record - first Kyuss, (okay maybe not strictly in the last decade but...), the Desert Sessions, QOTSA, Eagles Of Death Metal, production for Arctic Monkeys and various others and, of course, Them Crooked Vultures.  What's Jack White done, huh?  (Okay, I know what he's done - I've admitted it on these very pages but give me some latitude, 'kay?)

Not only this, but he plays Matons (most of the time), which is also my axe of choice.  And he is married to Brody Dalle, one of the sexiest rock chicks to come out of Oz.  The man has is all going on.  But enough of this insipid gushing...

Lullabies... is the fourth full length release from QOTSA and the first released after bassist Nick Oliveri was fired for fucking up once too often.  When I first heard this album, I was kinda missing the crazy shit Nick usually brought to the table but after a few listens, I realised there was enough crazy on this album to satisfy even the most discerning of rock loonies (of which I am proud to say I'm one).

I must listen to this album (and all QOTSA's output) at least once every couple of weeks and there isn't a single track on it I don't want to hear again.  There is just so many flavours, though, it is hard to pick out which tracks are favourites 'cause it depends on my mood on the day.  But notable mentions have to be Tangled Up In Plaid, Little Sister (the cow bell fuckin' rocks) and the dirty blues that is You Got A Killer Scene There, Man... (which also features Shirley Manson from Garbage on backing vox).

All indications are there is gonna be another QOTSA album released this year.  Coupled with the rumours of a full-blown tour later as well, 2010 is shaping up to be a very rocking good year indeed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, put it on repeat and rock out

For more information: www.qotsa.com

In our collection we also have Queens Of The Stoneage (debut), Rated R, Songs For The Deaf and Era Vulgaris