The Vignettes

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

Cloud Control

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.

Songs

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 Dead Sea

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

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

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'.