Gelbison - See The World

YOURZ

Gelbison, named after a mountain in Italy (or so I'm led to believe) were a Sydney-based band who released two well-received albums before calling it a day.  In reality, the name was only ever a vehicle for songwriting brothers Edo and Nadav Kahn, who now front a band called, appropriately, Kahn Brothers.

Mine and YourZ (truly) came to Gelbison in a roundabout fashion, having first heard of the brothers through their involvement in a band we've yet to review here, Nations By The River.  This band also features Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson (and yesterday's Empire Of The Sun) and Sarah Blasko, who we've reviewed here and here.  The album was produced by Ian Ball, of Gomez, one of our very favourite bands and who we've also reviewed here.  So, really, there wasn't much doubt we were going to love this album.  But this doesn't account for the fact it has languished in our collection, forgotten for so long.

See The World is an absolute listening pleasure and not only includes appearances by the aforementioned Australian indie luminaries, but also from Ben Lee and Ohad Rein (Old Man River) among others.  There are definite overtones of Ball's day band, but this similarity is more due to the strength of the song writing and the smart production.  Instead of singling out any particular songs, I'm just gonna simply say listen to this record.  It is truly a Forgotten Gem.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Oh, I have to agree... and then I don't.  You see, while the songwriting is terrific - love the jangly guitar-pop - and the arrangement and production only serve to highlight how truly beautiful the songs are, that can't be said for the singing.  Not on all the songs, I hasten to add, but on most of them.  That lead vocal has the whiny slacker/stoner indie-band inflection I just can't stand.  And it's not that Edo Kahn can't sing, I can hear him actually singing in parts, it's that he chooses to barely push the notes out in a monotone during the verses and then suddenly remembers how to sing in the choruses.

I loved this album.  And I hated listening to it.  I'm confused. 

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

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

Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream

MINE

The magic of Luke Steele once again, this time paired with Nick Littlemore from P'Nau.  I can't be objective about this album, as it's been on my gymPod since we first got it - days after it came out, I think.  The only problem with Walking on a Dream is that I don't really know the names of any of the songs, so I've had to do a quick run-through with the Amazon sampler to identify my favourites.  And I don't have any.  Song follows song, and each is as individually beautiful and fantastically produced as the next.

I can say that Country sounds like the theme from Twin Peaks - Swordfish Hotkiss Theme is just cool bouncy dance - and Without You always makes me close my eyes.  Dangerous while driving.  Which is strange because the opening two songs, Standing on the Shore and Walking on a Dream are possibly two of the best-ever driving songs I've heard.  Makes me want to take to the country on a warm summer's day with the windows down and not another car in sight.

But for anyone who loves really well-put-together pop music, BUY THIS ALBUM.  There you go, Luke, did I do well?  Well enough that you'll come and play music at our place some time?  Ah, go on....

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I like Luke Steele.  I like that he consistently remains unpredictable and interesting.  When I first heard he was joining up with Nick Littlemore, of dance duo P'nau, it really made me wonder what the results might be.  Thankfully, they're suprisingly good.

Walking On A Dream straddles the past and the future beautifully, without giving in to either.  There are tracks on here that could easily have sat at the top of the charts in the mid-80s and tracks that sound so now, you can almost taste their freshness.  There are overtones of Steele's other band, The Sleepy Jackson, as well as Littlemore influences as well.  Given the disparate sounds both employ, this set is surprisingly coherent and cohesive.

I can't help but think of Bowie when I listen to this, such is its inventivness, from the pop beauty of We Are The People, the surreal repetitiousness of Swordfish Hotkiss Night and the bouncing energy of Half Mast.  Only time will tell if Steele's output has the same influence as Bowie's has done, but so far, it's looking very good.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

June - Wrapup

MINE

Whatever else this month might be to our readers in far-flung parts of the globe, here in Australia this will always be the month we finally got ourselves a female Prime Minister.  Yay for that, though not so yay was the way Julia got in, by challenging our reigning PM for the job.  But hopefully she'll be voted in all proper-like by the end of the year, and then I can do my happy dance for real.

And to celebrate the girliness of our nation, this month we're handing a CD to daisyfae, who's commented occasionally and I believe is currently swanning around Greece with two other bloggers.  In keeping with our theme of sending out music we think the recipient will like, I have to admit I was a little stumped at first.  But then I lit on Augie March, and it was easy.  Just because I think everyone will like him/them.

Wow, that's six months.  Half way there, or all downhill form here?  Anybody's guess.

YOURZ

As Mine pointed out, we've hit the half-way mark for the year.  I'm not going to belabour the point we've made previously about how much we enjoy doing this except to reiterate: we really do enjoy doing this.  And while it has certainly highlighted some of the differences in our tastes, I am happy to report there no major disagreements or bouts of juvenile pouting have occurred so far.

Our tastes are very different but also strikingly similar.  There are junctures where we meet up so appropriately, we can almost finish off each other's thoughts about a particular artist.  On the other hand, we have very opposite opinions about some artists, we might be from different planets (for a good example, see both the Pet Shop Boys and Deftones reviews from this month).

But it doesn't take away any of the enjoyment we have for doing this.  In fact, those differences help to bring us closer together when we do find something we both love.  This month, without a doubt, it would have to be The Raconteurs (or Saboteurs - depending on which side of the world you live).  I was already fan and honestly thought Mine would not like it.  Her review, however, surprised and delighted me, which again goes to show how much we still have to learn about each other.  And thats a really good thing.

Free CDs - June throwouts

Free to a good home this month:


Brassy - Got It Made

Still going begging from previous months:

A Gun Called Tension - A Gun Called Tension
P-Money - Magic City
Pink Floyd - Echoes
New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
Gyroscope - Breed Obsession
Audioslave - Audioslave
George Michael - Ladies & Gentlemen The Best Of George Michael
Roots Manuva - Awfully Deep, Run Come Save Me and Slime and Reason
Queen - Greatest Hits II, Greatest Hits III, Made in Heaven (we're keeping the others)
Come - Near Life Experience, Eleven : Eleven and Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Ben Harper - The Will To Live and Diamonds On the Inside
Sugar Ray - Floored


These CDs are available free to anyone who wants them. We even pay for postage - so if you'd like to see an Australian stamp just e-mail us at yourzenmine at gmail dot com.

If I Were A Carpenter - Various Artists

YOURZ

This is the first compilation we've done dedicated to the songs of a particular band or artist.  Fittingly, it is this 1994 tribute to The Carpenters, one of the most sublimely beautiful pop groups of the last 50 years.  Astoundingly, it is one of the most avant garde bands of the last 50 years, Sonic Youth, who provide the best track on this compilation, with their version of Superstar.  Its so good, it has pretty much ruined the original for me.

There are a couple of very pedestrian tracks on If I Were A Carpenter, none more so than the very bland version of Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft by Babes In Toyland.  Thankfully, it is tracks like Dishwalla's updated groove of It's Going To Take Some Time, Cracker's subdued version of Rainy Days And Mondays, Shonen Knife's hilarious Top Of The World and Redd Kross' rocking version of Yesterday Once More that make up for the few dodgy tracks.

If you're a die-hard Carpenters fan, you might want to avoid this but for the rest of us, this is a wonderful tribute to a truly talented duo.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

When we were looking for compilations to do, I voted for this album months ago - but weirdly it vanished, only to reappear this month, when we were looking for a different compilation to do.  How strange is that?  It reappeared in the kitchen, which is no surprise as I'd classify this as the ultimate in cooking music - all these songs I know all the words to, but done with a different twist.  Seriously, you can't listen to Shonen Knife's version of Top of the World without a smile on your face.

I once lent this album to a friend who was a mad Carpenters fan, and got it back pretty quickly with the verdict that it "ruined" the songs.  But I don't agree.  I'm a big fan of the tribute compilation album  (we have another, for Aussie band Cold Chisel, that's pretty awesome too) and fully expect to keep on buying them in the future.  (YourZ sez: don't we have one for The Go-Betweens as well?)

I have to admit I love Grant Lee Buffalo's version of We've only Just Begun  the most.  Makes me cry.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_I_Were_a_Carpenter_(album)

The Cranberries - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?

MINE

I bought the album because I loved Linger - but I've kind of avoided playing it since the next album came out.  That's because the teenage kids I was living next door to at the time bought it and put Zombie on high rotation at full volume.  Caused a bit of an antipathy to Dolores O'Riordan's voice, but I'm happy to report that seems to have subsided.

Mostly I love the Irish brogue that creeps into all of their songs.  There's something so warm and friendly about the way Dolores says "dere" for "there" and "tings" for "things".  It's a beautiful album that's spent far too long at the back of the drawer.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I remember jokingly saying way back when Everybody Else... was hugely popular, "Everybody else is getting it, so why don't I?"  Listening back to it now for this review, this hasn't changed.  At the time, I was in guitarist/writer for an indie pop band with a female vocalist and as a consequence, tried to avoid listening to bands of a similar nature.

Having said this, I shared a house with said singer and a couple of other girls who were all fans of this album, so I must have heard it a lot of times.  Funny thing is, I don't remember much of it beyond the obvious, being Linger and Dreams.  But I'm sure this is because I heard these two tracks (along with Zombie) so many bloody times over the years, they're embedded in my subconcious somewhere, taking up precious, valuable real estate where I could instead store decent movie quotes (something I can never seem to remember).  As a consequence, I have only one choice: (Mine says: Come on, there are many much more horrible songs that take up equal brain space - Copacabana, anyone?) 

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

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

Buck 65 - Talkin' Honky Blues

YOURZ

Buck 65 (real name Richard Terfry) is a Canadian MC/DJ known for his both his lyrical and musical articulateness.  His samples are often obscure and characterise his production, as do his beat poetry-like lyrics.  Experimental and unforgiving, Buck 65 follows similar roads to artists such as Tom Waits. 

Talkin' Honky Blues, winner of a Juno Award for Best Alternative Album in 2004, came to me via the song Wicked & Weird, which was all over local alternative radio when it first came out.  Unusually, the samples Buck 65 has used are blues (hence the title - a reference to a blues style called Talkin' Blues).  I tried to find his sources but failed miserably (the small print on the CD sleeve proved impossible to read - why do they do that?)

There are some absolutely brilliant tracks on Talkin' Honky Blues, but, like a lot of what Mr Waits does, this is not for the casual listener.  It's not the sort of hip hop you will hear blaring out of overly-loud car speakers nor is it likely to be filling the dance floor at a local RnB club.  This demands attention and, to those who pay it what it deserves, they will be well rewarded.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I think he thinks I wouldn't like it.  (YourZ sez: yep, I really did but in this case, I'm glad I'm wrong)  But I did.  As YourZ says, it's not for the casual listener, and as such, I'm not going to be putting any Buck65 songs on my gymPod any time soon.  But damn, the guy's intelligent!  This is what I think more hip-hop and rap artists ought to be doing.   I mean, where else are you going to find someone talking about the real emotions he felt when he cheated on his girlfriend?  More often they're boasting about how many hos they've had or how many baby mamas they're paying for.

Maybe it's because he's Canadian....

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://buck65.com/

In our collection we also have Situation