Review: Brisbane Sounds 2008

I don't like to get self-referential in a review, but I feel that I can only talk about the Brisbane Sounds 2008 compilation in relation to Before Hollywood's own compilation. Though I have to point out that it should be seen less as a competitive relationship and more as a companion piece of sorts. Indeed, Brisbane Sounds 2008 manages to only cross paths with Stranded on the inclusion of 6 bands; an incredible indication of the depth on Brisbane's music talent given the breadth of each compilation.

Brisbane Sounds 2008 is the brainchild of one Blair Hughes. The Brisbane music afficianado is currently travelling through Europe, using Brisbane Sounds 2008 as a launch pad to advertise and advance the cause of local bands.

The twenty-four bands featured on Brisbane Sounds 2008 mostly flit around the vague genres of pop/rock and alternative rock, but there are a number of widely varying inclusions. Andrew Morris' 'Here You Are, There You Go' opens proceedings with Morris stealing some of Josh Pyke's more commendable traits, while managing to still keep things interesting. The song flows on nicely to The Gin Club's '10 Paces Away' (My previous comments on this song can be seen here), followed by a trio of decent pop/rock songs from Kate Bradley And The Goodbye Horses, The Westminsters, and The Boat People. 'Macy And Me' is Texas Tea doing what they do best (i.e. country-rock); the wistful yet fast paced song is somewhat reminiscent of some of Emmylou Harris' recent work.

Dick Desert & The Shotgun Country Club start to take proceedings in a more rock direction with the surreal 'George Bush's Chicken'. Intercooler and Regurgitator deliver with a brace of pop-punk tunes, while Sixfthick's 'White Light, Wet Heat' is exactly what you'd expect from a band that lists smashing beer glasses on their faces as a hobby. Little Vegas & The Fuzz Parade's contribution, 'Gift Horse', isn't quite on par with their current material, but entertaining none the less. The Butcher Birds' 'The Deal' is a rumbling grunge number, followed by the Warm Guns' unique 60's girl band/garage rock combination, and Black Mustang's ultimately forgettable Stereophonics/T.Rex mashup, 'The One'.

The Vegas Kings' witty 'I Great Ape' is one of the highlights of the compilation, but it rubs up against the frankly horrible 'Sense Of Falling'; Upsize's contribution sounds like a karoake version of a forgotten Cold Chisel song. I Heart Hiroshima thankfully rescue things with the excellent 'Punks' (Previously reviewed here), and Gentle Ben & His Sensitive Side maintain the quality. Big Red Candle's 'Tropic Of Cancer' is a strange mix of The Fall and Black Flag, which, amazingly, they manage to pull off successfully. Butterfingers' serve up a slice of their unique brand of hip-hop with 'Nothin' Much Happens'. Personally I'm not a fan, but they definitely have their audience; basically if you like Hilltop Hoods, Blink 182, and Eminem, you'll probably enjoy this.

The Whats' 'Ants' is next, and, I have to say, I was pleasantly suprised by this song. The almost 8-bit track has an excellent set of lyrics, but it fits uncomfortably between Butterfingers and the next act, Kissy Trouble Company, who provide an interesting take on the current blue-eyed soul revival (i.e. Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Adele, etc.) by taking the voice and backing it with an electronic sound akin to Jamie Lidell or Fujiya & Miyagi. The Late Great Russian Revolution's 'Gettin Lucky' is an interesting instrumental punk track, but it feels somewhat like filler here at the end of the compilation, whereas the closing song, 'Alcohol' by Spitfireliar, is just downright dumb Oi! punk.

The drop in quality towards the end of the compilation doesn't detract too much from the overall experience, however. Brisbane Sounds 2008 is an interesting and rewarding take on one of the many spectrums of Brisbane's musical output. Hughes has made a valiant effort here, and he can only be wished luck in his mission to spread the gospel of Brisbane sounds.

Read More...

Summary only...

Review: Regurgitator - Love And Paranoia

Regurgitator have always been known as a bit of an amorphous band, but with their latest album Love and Paranoia they have certainly outdone themselves. This time around Quan Yeomans, Ben Ely and Peter Kostic have been joined by Seja Vogel (of local popsters Sekiden). Recorded in Rio De Janeiro, Love and Paranoia stands up to Regurgitator's formidable back catalog.

'Blood & Spunk', the opening track, is classic Regurgitator, blending a shouty, pop-punk verse with a good dose of electronic instrumentation. The excellently titled second track 'Drinking Beer is Awesome!' continues in the same vein, but this time exchanging the lyrics for a subtlety poignant comment on the culture of fear in contemporary Australian society (something that is present throughout the album). Next up is Love and Paranoia's highlight, 'Romance of the Damned', a track co-written and sung by Quan and Seja. The new wave-style love song, written from the perspective of a stalker, has some of the creepiest and most humorous lyrics("I was lost in your eyes/I knew you were mine/The first time I Googled you") that I've heard in a while. Following this is the grunge-tinged title track, and Quan's emotional lyrics can really only be described as being about love and paranoia (funnily enough). The musically upbeat but lyrically depressing 'Hurricane' is next, and the track again raises the spectre of paranoia and fear. The trademark 'gurge humour raises its head again on 'Destroy This Town' in one of the couplets of the year: "Phil Collins is a fucking genius/Who knows if he really means it." Other than that, however, the track falls flat on the ears. 'Psychic Dirt' is next, and while its rockabilly riffs would definitely entertain in a live show, they come across a bit tame on record. The short interlude of 'Sun Comes Through My Window' is the only track on Love and Paranoia with its samba drumming is the only evidence of the band having recorded in Brazil. 'Magnetic', written and sung by Seja, is the first Regurgitator song to not have any lyrical input from either Quan or Ben. Anyone who is familiar with Sekiden will know what to expect; a joyful combination of keyboards and pop-punk guitars. The love songs continue (quite unexpectedly for anyone familiar with Regurgitator) with 'Michelle', a song that, apart from Seja's keyboards and the (hopefully) ironic cock-rock solo in the middle, brings to mind some of the band's earliest works. The closing track, 'Armageddon Premonition', is the unlike anything the band has previously recorded. Returning to the paranoia side of the album, 'Armageddon Premonition' combines vocodered vocals from Quan with music that sounds like the lovechild of Can and Radiohead. The result is a track that operates as a perfect closer to an engaging album, and one of Regurgitators' best to date.

Read More...

Summary only...

Pig City Festival (14.07.07)

It'll be a bit hard describing the atmosphere at the Pig City Festival as it was unlike anything I've experienced before, but I'll give it my best shot. First off a massive congratulations to the Queensland Government, 4ZZZ, and anyone else involved in organising the event. I was unsure what to expect but the Festival definitely exceeded all expectations. Around 6,000 people turned up to the University of Queensland on the day, and they squeezed into the big top marquee. Another congratulations is in order, this time for the sound crew. Pig City was probably the first festival I've been to where there hasn't been a major technical fuck-up. But now to the performances.

First off were the Apartments. The opening slot is a hard ask for any band, and Peter Milton Walsh led the band through a well preformed set; albeit one lacking in any sort of fanfare. With a selection of old and new tracks the Apartments set an excellent precedent for the day.

Next off the mark were Screamfeeder. The trio, sporting stalwarts Tim and Kellie and new recruit Steph on the drums, launched into a set made up of some of their more energetic songs. 'Explosive Friends', 'Hi C's' and '1 2 3 4 5' were stand out tracks and the band left the stage with the crowd salivating.

The Ups & Downs were the only band on the lineup I was unfamiliar with, and after their first few songs I was still skeptical. I was soon swept away by their beautiful melodies, however, and by the time they broke into 'The Living Kind' the entire crowd was singing along. 'In The Shadows' and 'Perfect Crime' capped off a perfect set; one which the band seemed to enjoy as much as the crowd.

While at first glance Kev Carmody may have seemed an odd participant in the festival, his banter in between songs demonstrated how integral part of Brisbane music he is. Kev is as much a storyteller while speaking as he is singing, and his tales of Brisbane's past entranced the crowd, as did the songs 'Thou Shalt Not Steal' and 'Images of London'. A beautiful rendition of 'From Little Things Big Things Grow', in which the entire crowd sang out the chorus (as they did for Kev's take on 'Midnight Special' also), had to be one of the highlights of the day.

Following on were the ever-entertaining Pineapples From The Dawn Of Time. The seven-piece, which included go-go dancers and clergymen among its numbers, got the crowd rocking and dancing with its quirky psychadelia. 'Saha' and 'Too Much Acid' were set highlights (probably the only band who you'll ever hear sing "one day I'll shave my back for you").

My failure to read the set times properly meant that I missed the one-song set by The Parameters and thus the next band I saw were Dave McCormack and the Polaroids. Kicking off with one of my all-time favourite tunes, 'Bedford', Dave & co. played a tight set comprising mostly of Custard songs (with a little laser gun thrown in for good luck). An amazing performance of 'Alone' was followed by 'Girls Like That' and 'Apartment'; both of which got the crowding singing and dancing again.

The singing and dancing didn't stop as The Riptides hit the stage. While many of the songs lacked the rawness of the recordings nothing could stop the crowd from jumping around. The Riptides upped the ante towards the end with 'Shake It' and 'Sunset Strip' both of which received rapturous applause.

Regurgitator were the first band of the night to run into trouble (keyboard and microphone malfunctions, both of which were soon rectified). Fortunately they were also the most energetic band of the night, and blew away the problems with and excellent set. The band mixed a set of classic songs ('I Sucked A Lot Of Cock', 'My Friend Robot', 'I Wanna Be A Nudist' some of the best) with two excellent sounding new songs (the questionable 'Blood & Spunk' being the best of the two); all in all a perfect entree to The Saints.

Next up was the Go-Betweens tribute featuring Kate Miller-Heidke and the Brisbane Excelsior Band. While the set may have been awkwardly placed between the two loudest bands of the night, the crowd enjoyed the short set comprising of soaring versions of 'Streets Of Your Town', 'Clouds', and 'Cattle And Cane', the latter of which ended in some opera from Miller-Heidke; something which seemed to unsettle the elderly punks standing behind me.

Well, what's there to say about The Saints? Arriving on stage to tumultuous applause the original trio, aided by a stand-in bassist and a three-piece brass & saxophone section, quickly launched into a searing version of 'Swing For The Crime'. While the band perfectly executed the first three numbers they didn't hit their stride until 'No Time'; a song frontman Chris Bailey claimed resulted in the band being kicked out last time they played it at UQ. The song, now with added brass section, showcased the amazing roar of Ed Kuepper's guitar. A crowd sing along to 'A Minor Aversion' preceded a hilarious monologue by Bailey which segued into the Saints' trump card '(I'm) Stranded'. While Bailey mistimed the first few lines of the song it was difficult to notice with thousands of people singing along. The set reached another highpoint with 'Know Your Product' with it soaring trumpet and Bailey's massive stage presence sending the crowd into hysterics. Following this was a soaring rendition of 'Messin' With The Kid', a song that benefited greatly from the touch of horn the Saints added. The band rounded up the set with an epic 7-minute rendition of 'Nights In Venice'. Returning to the stage for the encore they performed a haunting version of a song I can't for the life of me name (points for you if you can tell me what it was) as well as a fired up version of 'River Deep, Mountain High'. Overall I enjoyed The Saints first proper gig in over 25 years. While a few people were taken back but the achingly over the top performance Chris Bailey gave (To quote MP: "the self-indulgent little turds."), the contrast of Ed Kuepper's and Ivor Hay's excellently subtle performances combined for an amazing spectacle in my eyes.

All up it was the best day I've had all year and here's to the Queensland Music Festival rocking it out next year!

Check out the photos I took here.

Read More...

Summary only...