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

A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory

YOURZ

This is without a doubt one of the best hip hop records ever made, hands down.  Not only is it ground breaking in its use of jazz samples expertly produced into some of the greatest beats in the genre, the lyrics are smart, funny and relevant to the times, while pretty much avoiding any profanity (well, okay there is a little, but compared to most other records in the genre, this is almost squeaky clean).

Cited by scholarly types as being a generational link between the old (jazz) and new (hip hop), The Low End Theory uses a diverse array of samples from many artists including Miles Davis, Average White Band, Steve Miller, Minnie Ripperton, Sly Stone, The Last Poets and James Brown.  But it is really quite a hard job to spot any sample in particular, such is the genius of Quest's production.

I’ve not heard this album for some time, but listening to it was reminded why I loved this era of hip hop.  The production is clean and relatively uncluttered, the beats are fat and simple and the flow is playful and intelligent at the same time.  And while they approach a number of different issues, they do so with tact and don't sound preachy.  No wonder it keeps making appearances in greatest 90s albums lists: it is near perfect and where it isn’t, well, it only adds to the overall charm.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I was wondering why I hadn't played this album - given that I'm a big acid jazz fan and have a bunch of Tribe songs on my Rebirth of Cool compilations.  I have no answer for that.  This is my kinda music - albeit it's a little heavier on the rap than I prefer, they still have the great melody lines and jazz samples I spent most of the mid-90's listening to.

I was almost certain I'd seen these guys too, but a short consultation with Dr Google tells me they toured here for the first time ever this year (damn it, why didn't I know that?).  Must be getting mixed up with some other acid jazzy dudes.  Maxi Priest, Ronny Jordan - there were a bunch of 'em.

I guess I get a bit confused with YourZ calling them a hip-hop act - because I just don't see them that way.  What this conjures up to me is long nights playing pool at Kinselas, drinking vodka tonics with my Kiwi friend Anne and working out how we were going to make it to next payday, given that we were going out four nights a week.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to: http://atribecalledquest.com/html/

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

28 Days - Upstyledown

YOURZ

Hmm, I don’t think I actually paid money for this – more likely it came to me through my time as a drastically under-paid rock journalist.  I remember liking the singles, Rip It Up and Sucker, but only because 28 Days were one of the first Aussie bands to mix hip hop and rock (at least, as far as I can remember, anyway).

Most of the album, however, is straight up so-cal punk, albeit from Bacchus Marsh, Victoria.  In fact, Jay Dunne’s vocal delivery sounds very like Dexter’s from The Offspring, that kind of shouty, helium-sounding voice accompanied by loud, distorted riffs that might have once got my heart rate up but now more annoy me than anything else.    

While it is consummately played and energetic (to say the least), and apart from the fact I’d forgotten about it, the reason why Upstyledown has sat in our collection for so long being ignored is because I just don’t have the sort of energy required to appreciate it.  And, at the risk of sounding like an old fart, most of this album ends up sounding all the same after a couple of listens.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT




MINE


Seriously, how many CDs do we have that feature men SJHOUTING at me while playing LOUD guitars REALLY FAST?  Can we have one less?  Please?


VERDICT: THROW IT OUT


For more information go to http://www.28-days.com.au/

Stereo MCs - Connected

MINE

I know every single song on this album so well... because it became a regular on the CD player very shortly after it was released.  And it's been much too long between plays!  OK most people know the title track but Playing With Fire, Ground Level, Fade Away... all of these are firm friends.

Ranging somewhere in the lines between dance, acid jazz, rap and hip-hop, Stereo MCs had an unpreposessing-looking lead singer, some awesome girly backing vocals and a set of songs that still rock my world.

As a completely weird aside, I was channel-surfing a while ago and came across one of those lifestyle shows that looks at problem children and how to fix them.  I became convinced the father of one of these kids was vocalist Rob Birch and spent ages trying to find out if he was.  So, anybody?  Did he appear on "The House of Tiny Tearaways"?  Interested minds want to know. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (to the left... to the right...)

YOURZ

For some one who has admitted on more than one occasion to not like hip hop or rap, Mine sure has some great examples of it.  And for this I am glad.

Stereo MCs were one of those bands who, except for the title track, completely slipped by me, while I concentrated on all things grunge.  Thankfully, she had a broader palette than me (if the truth be told, she still has) because this album is nothing short of awesome, even if the sounds are dated.  It's so good, there are tracks on here I kinda wished I knew back then.

Thanks honey, for keeping this one.  It's a beauty! Let's turn it up real loud at our next party.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

Spoon - Transference

YOURZ

Spoon are one of those bands whose name I saw recurring in both movie and television soundtracks.  I kind of had an idea what they were like due to the labels they'd been signed to over the years, Matador and Merge to name a couple.

There were also various recommendations and appearances on bucket lists from those whose opinions I admire.  To be honest, I thought Spoon were akin to bands like Fuel or Train.  How wrong could I be?

Transference, their seventh and latest album, is full of quirky dark pop.  While Mine suggests their sound to be crowded (see below), I actually think the opposite.  To my (dodgy at best) ears, this sounds almost as though it is recorded live, albeit in a studio.  I really dig the sound of it.  There is something essentially pure about this, something I think a lot of over-produced, shined-up bands of today could learn from.

If anything, this is an album full of great ideas.  It's like a notepad full of doodles by a really good artist.  Most of it captures something truly worthwhile and works brilliantly but some of it was most probably done after he'd been out really late with the lads and he can barely remember what he was trying to do and, well, is shit.

Having said this, I really took to Got Nuffin', Nobody Gets Me But You and Writing In Reverse, even if it contains the bloody awful couplet "I'm writing this to you in reverse, someone better call a hearse".  But the centre piece, for me, is the drama and menace of the dark disco that is I Saw The Light.  A great idea, well executed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

While kicking around for a little background on this band, I read that this was the first album they'd done without the help of an outside producer.  I have a message for Spoon: BIG MISTAKE.

Seriously, I liked the songs, the guy can sing a bit, although he did occasionally descend into indie-whine, but the production?  My eight-year-old nephew could have done it.  In fact he might have: there's a LOT of stuff on there, so much so it sounds like someone with ADD just ran around the studio pushing buttons.

The rockier numbers are better, and I liked I Saw the Light enough to listen to it all the way through.  But if I'd been listening to this in a record shop, I would have given up after the first three songs,  Gah.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

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

Josh Pyke - Memories & Dust

MINE

Yet another of the "troubador" lads that line our collection, Josh Pyke stands out to me because of his unashamed Australian accent.  There are many people who jump up and down in this country about hip-hop artists if they rap with US accents, but nobody seems to give a damn about singers.  And yet here's Mr Pyke, flattening his vowels with the best of them.

Apart from that I think he's got a lot to offer.  The melodies soar and swoop, he's got a nice line in romantic imagery beyond the trite moon-and-June stuff, and his voice can hold its own with any of the other man-and-his-guitar (plus some additional orchestration) albums we own.

I haven't listened to this a lot before - and I'll have to remember it for some kitchen music, as it forms a thoughtful background for mindless tasks like chopping and stirring.  Nice.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I first remember seeing Josh Pyke out front of his band, An Empty Flight, when they supported Sick Puppies at a small local Sydney venue.  Although I was more interested in the headliners, I was suitably impressed by Pyke's smart and sharp indie rock.  This was in the early 00s.  (Mine says: and one of our fist dates, as I recall!)  Since then, both the Puppies and Mr Pyke have seen their respective careers bloom.

But his solo work is very removed from his band.  Instead of taking a further step down the math-rock road, Pyke stripped himself back to reveal the bare, beautiful bones of his song writing.  After first gaining exposure with the single, Kids Don't Sell Their Hopes So Fast and its accompanying EP, he followed up with a number of EPs before releasing Memories & Dust.   As a début, it deserves to be hailed as a classic, not only for the strength of the songs but also for the sheer weight of his talent.  Boy, can this man sing and play.

Unfortunately, this is another of those discs we've added to the collection at some point then promptly forgot about.  This is not indicative of a bad record, more of a bad memory (on my part).  But I can't help but listen to this and get a hankering for Elliot Smith.  The similarities between the two artists are striking.  This isn't a good or a bad thing, but its there for all to hear.  Maybe it is because I'm such a fan of Elliot that I'm unable to fully appreciate Josh.  However, I'm willing to make an effort because I really do believe he's worth it.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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