The Great Australian Music Search

Steering By Stars

2010-01-30T11:03:00.003+11:00

Oh Steering By Stars, where have you been all my life? This Adelaidean four-piece make the kind of music I love - dense, atmospheric, melodic dark pop/rock. Lovely ambience offset by driving rhythms and such.

Their influences are a curious mix of Doves, Deerhunter, Sigur Ros and Vangelis - the latter can definitely be heard in their song 'Blush Response', which is a surprisingly beautiful post-rock tune. Its kind of offset by their other work, notably their song 'Closer' which has this wonderful shoegazy element.

This is definitely a band to look out for. Apparently they have an album out, which I have been trying to hunt down with no success so far. A little help?

Seriously, check out a few tracks of their's. They have a MySpace AND a profile page on Triple J Unearthed.

The Vignettes

2010-01-30T10:53:00.003+11:00

I saw this band a couple of years ago supporting a band I was reviewing and have seen their name floating around the place so I thought I'd give them a proper listen.

The Vignettes are a great two-piece from Sydney. This music is pretty raw, loud and rhythm/riff-heavy. Its all very lo-fi, yet for a duo they make a lot of noise that reminds me a little bit of older Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and kinda harks back to music from the late 90s/early 00s when I was a lot more active in seeing live local music. In a good way.

These guys are really fun live - I highly recommend checking them out.

MySpace highlights include: Hey Little Girl and the tres cool Could've Been

Yves Klein Blue

2010-01-30T10:44:00.004+11:00

I have to admit, I do love a good art reference in a band name (there was this great post-rock band called Ukiyo-E who existed maybe a decade or so back, loved that name too).

On my search for something original and refreshing, Yves Klein Blue managed to tick both boxes. A little pop, a little folk and a little rock too - their song 'Digital Love' is a surprisingly dense, raw number quite unlike their other music on their MySpace - these guys seem like the real deal.

I really like their song 'Make Up Your Mind' - it has this lovely summery, happy vibe. This seems to be a trend with young local music these days. A reflection of the warm climate in Brisbane (where these young upstarts hail from), or just a general positivity? Either way its all quite fun.

Cloud Control

2009-12-04T16:00:00.004+11:00

Coming back from weeks of neglect with a bang; let me introduce you to Cloud Control.

Things seem to be picking up for these guys. The Blue Mountains band enjoyed a very full audience at their recent show at the Annandale (with Leader Cheetah) and I am hearing whisperings from all corners about their awesomeness. And it's no real mystery as to why. Its a little like... uplifting folk-pop. This music is infectiously summery and hella catchy. Just ask the guy who I saw at the merch desk singing out the chorus of 'Gold Canary'.

See more of my photos from said Annandale gig at my Cloud Control/Leader Cheetah Flickr set or just go directly to their MySpace for some sampling of tunes.

The Middle East

2009-10-31T11:43:00.003+11:00

Image by Mathew Jonson, from their MySpace page.

According to the bio on The Middle East's homepage, the band are "... from Townsville, and we play music."

Not that hard to figure out (perhaps not the Townsville part), but what the bio fails to mention is that The Middle East play some truly gorgeous music. Like Art of Fighting meets Belle and Sebastian, their songs have a tranquil, moody vibe, wrapped in a beautiful organic feel and full of harmonies and soft melodic vocals; a little bit of haunting pop at times, some ambient post-rock at others.

This band seem to be picking up a lot of attention of late (including many notable support slots). In fact, three separate friends with very different music tastes actually recommended that I listen to them. I think this says a lot about their music - its not commercially accessible, but it has a very universal kind of appeal, with elements that speak to everyone.

Spunk have released their ep The Recordings of the Middle East. This is the only music of theirs I have heard so far, but its a lovely collection of songs.

Check out The Middle East at their website.

Save the Hoey

2009-09-28T22:27:00.002+10:00

I heard today that one of Sydney's music institutions, the Hopetoun Hotel (known affectionately as The Hoey) has been closed until further notice.

This seems an appropriate place to post this, seeing as I spent the better part of my late teens/early 20s in this venue listening to music. It was a weekend ritual: Friday night; get the train to Central, do the massive walk up that ridiculous hill that is Foveaux Street, get stamped, buy a schooner of New, run into people, watch music, drink more beer, go home. Or to the Townie.

I saw a lot of great Australian music at the Hoey. Bands like Swirl, Bluebottle Kiss, Big Heavy Stuff, Crow, Further, Smudge, Sneeze, Ratcat, International Karate... The list truly does go on. The Hoey is an iconic venues, one where so many bands have cut their teeth, and where many a music fan has honed their love of local bands. It felt like OUR venue, you know? One where you could just turn up when a decent gig was on and you would know half the people there.

The reasons for the indefinite closure? Noise complaints, lack of security, lack of money and... well, lack of money.

A lot of people are getting behind this though, so you should too.
There's a Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/group.php?gid=142845142317&ref=mf
And a Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/savethehoey

SAVE THE HOEY!

Songs

2009-09-22T12:41:00.004+10:00

In my day job I'm a sub-editor I have developed a dislike of bands with non-band-like simplistic names that are difficult to fact check. Like Songs for example: a band name that defies any useful google/bing search, even if you are as specific as possible (unsurprisingly, a search like "songs band music sydney" yields no useful results).

But I shouldn't judge by name alone, because if I did I wouldn't like half the bands I do; and its also quite unfair for a band like Songs who, once you manage to locate their presence on the internet, are actually quite good. A little on the experimental indie side, they remind me of a more laid back Velvet Underground, a more cohesive Sonic Youth. There is a lovely lo fi quality about them - gives their music a nice raw quality. Could this be the return of true 'indie' music? Songs seem to be doing a lot of shows around town lately; ample opportunity to check them out.

To save you from performing a fruitless net search like myself, here is where you can find this awesome four-piece on the interwebs:

Official website: http://www.songssongs.net/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Songs/38313259952?ref=ts#
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ssongsssongs

The Crayon Fields

2009-09-22T12:25:00.003+10:00

There is something wonderfully geeky about this mild-mannered band from Melbourne. And that's not just cos it seems like 99 percent of the band members bear nerd glasses. This music is moody, melodic and cruisy. It reminds me a little bit of Belle and Sebastian meets Papas Fritas. I really dig that spacious echo-ness that seems to canvas their music. It gives the songs like Mirror Ball a wonderfully nostalgic sound.

Please check out this lovely band's MySpace page for more tunes.

Firekites

2009-08-31T15:36:00.003+10:00

One of those bands whose names I often saw around the traps, I actually happened across Newcastle acousmatronic (see what I did there? I'm just taking the liberity of creating my own hybrid genre names now) band Firekites while browsing the Spunk website (an excellent source for superb music, by the way - home to the likes of Bat for Lashes, Explosions in the Sky, Mates of State etc).

The music of Firekites is very lush - warm, folkish acoustics with the lightest of electronica-style touches - and it sounds a bit like Kings of Convenience meets Fleet Foxes, with the lush warmth of Belle & Sebastian thrown in for good measure. They're a pretty new band - formed in 2005 - and have released one album, some tracks of which can be heard at the official Firekites MySpace page.

Their clip for 'Autumn Story' is VERY cool. Chalk animation!

The Dead Sea

2009-08-27T16:19:00.004+10:00

The Dead Sea are a three-piece from Sydney, and I heard of them through their drummer, one Mr Nick Kennedy, who told me I should check them out on account of my love of Sigur Ros. I haven't physically managed to make it to a gig (and it seems like I may have lost my chance - did they relocate to Berlin?).

Their music certainly does have that haunting, sprawling, post-rock sensibility bands like Sigur Ros possess, but there is something slightly more... earthen? Organic perhaps? .. about The Dead Sea. Their song 'Departure Gates' is all kinds of awesome: cinematic, exploratory, melodic, dark. It struck me as soon as I heard it.

There doesn't seem to be much of a market for post-rock nowadays in the local stakes - or perharps there are hundreds of bands like this waiting to be discovered as well - so I give huge props to them for creating a sound which is not of the norm. Its lovely, lovely stuff and I say this every time, but I really do think everyone should check them out. Their MySpace has a few sample tracks for your pleasure.

Dappled Cities

2009-08-23T11:37:00.004+10:00

Dappled Cities are more of a re-discovery; they were just gaining momentum around the time I stopped going out to see live music as much, and my memories of their earlier gigs are vague. But after hearing some tracks from Zounds at their MySpace, I realised that it was time I sat up and started paying attention again.

I love a band who likes to test the limits of the precarious balance between indie rock and electro and manages to blur the line. The inclusion of full time keyboardist Ned Cooke seems to be serving the band well. Their music seems to have more emotional depth, more exploratory arrangements and a lovely electronica-esque undertone and melodic sense.

I saw the band play at the Metro last night. It was really great to see a band, who I used to see supporting bands at venues like the Hoey or the Annandale, headlining a venue like the Metro; not only that, packing it out on a Saturday night. They're a tight and dynamic live act too - just another thumbs up to a band who I am liking more and more each day.

Le Kingste

2009-08-18T11:35:00.001+10:00

I am often wary of friends pimping friend's bands, but if they make music like Le Kingste then I have zero complaints.

This Sydney four-piece straddle several genres, and as a result their music has a wonderfully compelling quality about it. Perhaps one of the closest references might be Muse, but the songs of Le Kingste are far more interesting than the UK rock act both in its riffs, arrangements and in vocal range (sorry Matthew Bellamy).

There is a lovely darkness and intensity about this music. Do like I did and take yourself to their MySpace page. Standout tracks currently on their player include 'Astronaut' - that underlying synthesiser line and wailing guitar, oh yes - and their latest single, the multifaceted 'The Way The World Looks'.

The Red Tree

2009-08-15T17:51:00.001+10:00

I never expected that the first time I've listened to the radio in... well, a long time, I would make my first, albeit relatively unknown, Australian music discovery.

The Red Tree sound like what would happen if M83, Postal Service and Sigur Ros had a musical menage a tois: their music is full of lush harmonies, dreamy pop melodies and a gorgeous airy ambience. This Melbourne band is apparently a Triple J Unearthed entrant; I was genuinely surprised, I had almost been expected the song to be a new Postal Service tune or something.

Their album was for sale in iTunes so I thought, what the heck. Its called I Am Not A Bird and it's quite a lovely record, very moody and laidback. Also, I cannot say no to a band who have taken their name from (I presume) the very poignant book by Shaun Tan...

Check out their music, in particular the song 'Ziah' (which is what caught my attention on the radio this morning) at their MySpace

I think makers AND lovers of this type of music are a fairly rare breed. Its still some of the most interesting music I've heard in this country in awhile though.

Let the search begin....

2009-08-12T16:11:00.001+10:00

There was a time, in the not too distant past, when local music was all the shiz, and I was often found at any one of sydney's greatest indie music venues. Nowadays, I flip open a Drum Media and stare blankly at the gig guide wondering who the hell these bands are.

Thus begins the The Great Australian Music Search. i am not convinced that there are that many amazing local acts around anymore; however, i'm very open to be proven wrong.

My mission: to find out what all the local kids are listening to, and see for myself what they're like. I'll post about the best of my findings here.

Music lovers - please feel free to share with me your favourite local musicians; not just your mates' bands, but bands you really dig.