We all make hard decisions in our lives. I'm not always willing to make them, no matter how prepared I am. I find myself a bit numb from a big decision and change in my life. It has been tough and unusual, and while some days are easier than others, mostly I've felt flat. The other night I was talking to a friend who said I suddenly seemed a bit more chipper. There was more energy and warmth in my words and I was enjoying the cobwebs glistening in the refracting sunlight outside the window rather than staring blankly [...]
I've often said that I could never live up to my father. At once, when necessary, commanding with a belly full of fire he knows how to manage people well and is built for work. He's never sick, he handles difficult situations deftly and works like a dog. If he's not working for the boss man on the weekend he's maintaining the house or helping his kids out with theirs (ever beyond the call). I don't mean to be a Warren, the son version, though I've learnt much from him and I think it sustains me, particularly during the [...]
Suave, minimalist, smooth, and a little dark, BURNS' recent involvement with Dems is a rare treat. The vocals in Poison introduces just enough hurt to add a dimension to BURNS' crazy sexy, cool approach. I'm sure I've heard of BURNS before but just to recap, this Londoner was born on Halloween and according to Last FM grew up with a mother who was an artist and a father who was a boxer. His music is thus a result of this influence of beauty and power, which comes through in his songs through melodic vocals propelled by [...]
Curated by Chloe Mandryk, the mysterious and ceremonial exhibition RED (Rise, Exist, Demise) focuses on physical, emotional and spatial binaries associated with the colour red. This provocative colour is connected to renewal and oppositional forces, for example birth, living with gusto, cycles and death. I sauntered in late to the opening on 15 March to browse through some very talented and unique works, beer in hand. What I had missed was a spectacular commencement where spotlights gradually introduced the artists' pieces while a naked guy drank paint. But I didn't miss out altogether. Not just a simple [...]
At first listen you might consider Melbourne's Tom Spender a bit like a slow cooked Tom Vek or a hark back to Neil Finn's stuff. Already a couple of good names to be compared to, right? Never Again unveils Spender with a little more complexity. The minimal use of horns and strings reminds me of Disclosure and Rhye, while Spender's smooth vocals and broad range proffers a sound which would mix well with Jessie Ware. What Spender has delivered so far is an appraisal of the sexy, seductive and elusive. Oh and he's been recommended by [...]
George Maple carries the beautiful voice on Flume's Bring You Down. She also has ties to the accomplished Flight Facilities. Maple has also kept busy working on her own material in a London studio with Bondax, Two Inch Punch, Juk Juk, Royce Wood Junior and Snakehips. It will be exciting to see her career unfold! First track released, Uphill, plays on the cool side, reminding me at once of Jessie Ware. Maple's latest leak, Fixed, is moody and unassuming, very trip-hoppy and a little sultry. In both songs, Maple has taken her mature, deep voice, and [...]
Canberra turns 100 this year and this long weekend marks its birthday party. 100 is pretty young when you consider that "neighbouring" cities Sydney and Melbourne are nearly twice as old. Many overseas eroneously believe that Melbourne is the capital of Australia. Not the biggest error considering it was our capital until 100 years ago. It is perhaps because of the decision to make this move that Canberra bares the brunt of insults like 'Canberra: a good sheep paddock ruined' and 'hell is empty and all the devils are here'. Sure, the satellite city's sprawling districts are divided with paddocks. [...]
Understandably citing Billy Joel, David Bowie and Nick Cave as influences, Colour Bomb (comprising duo, James Saunders and Tom Whitty) performs pop with a few surprises and a lot of promise. Their songs stay steadfastly true to their melodies but harness experimentation much the way that Sparkadia's and MS MR's songs have. This could be because these two Melbourne fellas have been playing music together for ten years. It's particularly rewarding to hear the richness of sound in the catchy and sweet Beautiful Parade. The accompanying fun video by Adam Perry has just dropped. Expect a debut album [...]
So here I am at the end of a month long vacation, preparing to return to work and the ordinary facets of life. I don't mind after visiting London, Paris, Milan, Florence and Rome. What beautiful cities in their wonderfully diverse ways! It was particularly nice to indulge in some of the night life, albeit it with nowhere near enough club visits and no gigs (woe!). My partner and I did have a chance to visit a club in Paris called Le Tigre, which apparently has a reputation for being exclusive and difficult to get into. We dressed nicely [...]
I haven't been this excited about an album release in ages! Everything Everything at first seem like an edgy Bloc Party or Two Door Cinema-like band, but as their second album proves, they also have a beautiful crooning and soulful side which reminds me of old Elbow and Doves. Somewhat melancholic and very harmonic but mature, approachable and relatable. While most songs are guitar-laden and magnetise towards radio rock, strings and electronic keys exalt songs like Duet to the same dramatic and epic heights you would have heard on Elbow's album The Seldom Seen Kid. And songs like [...]
It's so easy to vote so I will always vote. And the culling process to ten votes is made easy by the fact that I vote for songs I've only heard played on triple j. Anything else feels like a throw-away vote. I have tried to retain integrity. I have not voted for songs because they will do well, like Holdin' On (yes I've voted for Flume, but not this particular possible number 1 song) and I have not voted for Frank Ocean's 'Lost' which for some reason I feel will do well too. I have really simply voted [...]
The year 2012 was supposed to bring about 'the end of the world'. But here we are compiling 'best of' lists as if it were 2011 or 2010 or any other year from when blogging started. For me it was a big year with my new job travelling to remote Australia, and some pretty crazy stuff happened out there. On Christmas Island the craziness was the wild chickens and many nervous crabs, along with the locals who choose to live somewhere both remote and expensive. There was Darwin, a beautiful developing city, with an odd aggressiveness to it which [...]
A quick one from me before I head off for work to Christmas Island. Seasfire are about to release an EP! Seasfire are relatively new Bristol kids and have caught attention from the likes of BBC and The Guardian over the last year. Although I can't share any newer music from the EP, We Will Wake, I've had a listen and I must say it struck home with me and I had to promote it here. It reminds me quite a bit of Copeland for its straight-forward melodies and the way that a bit of [...]
I dropped off for a while again there. Allo! Don't worry, I have been keeping as fresh as the internets allow, listening to Flume, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and of course Bat for Lashes, Ellie Goulding, Zedd, the list goes on... But everyone is already blogging about them and has got them covered. Sun City are a pretty fresh Aussie band which is always nice cause they're easier for me to see live. They are Perth-based, which makes it less easy but they're soon to tour over the summer 'break' [it's only a break if you are a [...]
Did everyone see the 'finale' of Breaking Bad? I'm not sure if I'm spoiling people. How does that work? Australia is literally seasons behind with airing this show, I'm pretty sure... Anyway the closing scene was a real 'Oh, crap' moment. I do find it amusing that it closed with Hank mid-dump while discovering that his brother in law is a drug terrorist, or however they define it now. That Hank is a good cop! We need more cops like him. Seems to me that some cops are all about fining people for speeding and letting thugs get away [...]
So I was punched in the face brutally a number of times Saturday night by a total fuckwit/stranger. As a result I'm now busy thinking about how to get home from Darwin and if I can press charges against the mofo who turned 50 % of my face into The Situation's. A broken sinus bone means no flying and Australia is a SPRAWLING country! So I am now travelling back in style by snaking through the country on the Ghan, which is a nice train I can sleep on (which means I can take all the pain killers I've [...]
Well it's pretty much been half a year in this new job and it feels like it's only been a fortnight. It's like Inception but for my grip on reality, within reality. The real world is moving at a normal pace but my grip on reality is kinda flimsy. Instead of sands through the hourglass it's more like sands through my hands. And July disappeared into the proverbial sink-hole of time. See, I'm not even sure that makes sense or if I've just embarrassed myself and am gradually slipping into premature dementia. I'm working longer hours, more days, and [...]
I've been doing some life stitching lately. My last job really wore me down and I wasn't aware just how much it was affecting me. But I'm loving the new job and I've done some stuff I was neglecting; dentist visit, contact lenses, planning my future adventures, reconnecting with friends and not whining about negative shit all the time... I feel like I've woken up. And I'm not putting up with arseholes anymore. Things are good. The one thing that's dropped off is phoner interviews for this blog and bma. I'll have to get back into it very soon! [...]
Still early on in their musical career, Voltaire Twins are firmly representing Australian talent internationally, taking their addictive pop to the states and slowly but surely winning everyone over. One of the twins, Jaymes, shares his thoughts on the duo's latest movements. A Has Been: Tell me about your recent North American trip. Has it broadened your musical perspective? Jaymes: The North American tour was amazing. It was especially cool to play with so many other bands that we love and see how other bands approach touring. The Aussie [...]
It's not usual for me to blog about the same artist twice. It's not because suddenly I stop loving the music of an artist I've already covered. It's purely because I chew threw a LOT of music and have a very finite amount of time to blog (may your eyes be truly thankful). I also partly try not to blog too much because otherwise this could become a cut and paste blog (with quick one liners about songs I love which you can read about on 20 other blogs). And as a published author once advised "for every story you [...]
A Has Been That Never Was
![Washed Out - It All Feels Right [OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/qJILRWBKnQ4_130.jpg)
Video: Kanye West – Yeezus [Short Film]
The Swiss – Elouisa EP
Real Magic “Dancing On My Own (Robyn Cover)”
