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.

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Review: The Gin Club - Junk

The Gin Club have been previously touted as one of Australia's premiere purveyors of folk-rock, but for their third release they have leapfrogged their compatriots with an amazing double album in the guise of Junk.

Double albums are often criticised for being self-indulgent and lacking in substance, or, when they are successful, they to tend involve a vast amount of genre swapping (i.e. London Calling, The White Album, Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness). Instead The Gin Club have avoided both of these circumstances, providing the listener with 26 songs that adhere to the band's take on folk-rock while maintaining a freshness to the sound that holds the listeners attention throughout. In this regard Junk can be seen as a stylistic descendant of albums such as Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde or George Harrison's All Things Must Pass.

Junk's strongest facet is the lyricism and songwriting on display, no mean feat when you realise that The Gin Club are operating with six different songwriters. Ben Salter is the first to flex those lyrical skills with opening track '10 Paces Away'. While the song starts of quietly it soon descends into a melting pot of orchestral melody and dirty guitars (this track, and a number of others on Junk, is sonically reminiscent of The Drones). 'Already Gone', penned and sung by Adrian Stoyles, is a much more jangly affair. While musically the track is hard to pinpoint, Adrian's lyrics are a clash of a realist and romantic personality, very much like those of Grant McLennan, and this is evident in the lyrics of 'Already Gone' ("Heartbreaker, cutting off the telephone/Theres a voice just near and familiar out the door.") Ola Karlsson is up next with 'Company Kept', a song which I partially like due to the excellent chorus and partially dislike due to the verse sounding very similar to Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here'.

The Gin Club keep the rotation steady with the Scott Regan penned 'Days', one of the catchier songs on Junk. Musically the song sounds a lot like something from Fleetwood Mac (this is a good thing), at least until the chorus kicks in and it all goes blues-rock. Conor MacDonald's track 'On A Mountain' follows on and goes for an alt-country flavour, a genre the Gin Club seem to excel at. The track is also the first one to distinctly showcase Magoo's excellent production work on Junk. Sixth song, sixth songwriter, this time with Brad Pickersgill singing 'Coming Round', another country tinged song with some excellent vocals and even better lyrics ("The chips on your shoulder got so hard to bear/It's my saving grace, it's my electric chair.") The seventh track, 'Something Rotten' is another Ben Salter number, but this time with help from Angus Agars and vocals from You Am I front man Tim Rogers. Rogers' channeling of Gram Parsons fits in perfectly with the self-deprecating lyrics ("And if apologies sound facile when they rhyme/At least it extricates whats rotten in his mind.") and some excellent pedal steel guitar work.

Up next is one of the highlight's of Junk, 'An Horse', a beautiful combination of Memphis soul and The Band-style folk-rock. Some great organ and horns juxtapose with the guitars superbly (especially during the solo), and, as usual, the lyrics are A class. Junk continues to run the gambit for the rest of the first disc, from the new-folk sounds of Ola's 'Down In The Valley' and the Nick Cave evoking 'Long, Long Time', to the haunting country-rock of the Brad Pickersgill penned 'The Fall' and Ben and Conor's atmospheric acoustic number 'All Your Men' (which features some excellent whistling). The first disc finishes with Ola Karlsson's proper folk (I say proper in that it's a ballad about a ship taking convicts to South-East Queensland) song, 'Abigail'. The slightly out of tune, yet yearning vocals evoke The Pogues at their best, and 'Abigail' serves as a superb ending to a superb CD.

The second disc begins with the title track, 'Junk', which happens to be the only song written by Bridget Lewis. The song's twee lyrics and stripped back sound a reminiscent of the Velvet Underground's 'After Hours', and it serves as a good transition into the next track, 'Tell Me'. The Scott Regan track is the standout song of Junk, no mean feat given the quality of songs The Gin Club have produced. The upbeat pop number combines jangly guitars a la The Byrds (with a touch of Big Star thrown into the mix) and a melody that would be at home on Rubber Soul with Beach Boys-style harmonising and quality lyrics ("Tell me what I want to hear/Instill my fears, distill my tears."). Next up is the country-noir of 'Girl Kills Man', a song as emotive musically (with a cool mariachi-style horn section) as it is lyrically. Adrian Stoyles, the song-writer in this case, seems to have a knack for penning lyrics that are as hopeful as they are despondent. 'White Smoke, Black Heart' is another solid song, featuring a rolling organ and violin, as well as a noticeable amount of reverb, which results in the song sounding like a Born Sandy Devotional-era Triffids song.

'Minnesota' takes a bluegrass route to great effect, while 'Brisbane, 1933' combines piano-driven blues with some Tom Waits-like vocals from Conor MacDonald, but it is the next track, 'Gas Guzzler', that leaves an indelible mark. The Bad Seeds-ish track features a great vocal effort from Salter, as well as organ-work that could almost be described as prescient, carving its way through the peaks and falls of the song. Again Magoo's subtle yet effective production come to the fore, with some great use of acoustics and reverb towards the end of the track. The atmospheric 'Brother' is up next, and it is probably the most avant-garde track on Junk with its undertone of looping noise and feedback evoking Galaxie 500 if they were from Nashville. Adrian Stoyles' 'Waiting In Line' falls somewhere between The Shins and The Flying Burrito Brothers, resulting in a neat little alt-country pop song.

The epic 'You, Me, And The Sea' is another highpoint on Junk. Ben Salter delivers again with some strung lyrics which juxtapose with the skeletal musical side of the track (violin, piano, and drums). The Gin Club keep things downbeat with MacDonald's 'Boat, You've Been Drinking', before speeding things up a little with 'Lies', a song built around acoustic guitar work akin to Elliott Smith. Ola Karlsson steps up to finish Junk with the beautiful 'Julia', a sweeping love song that is part Simon & Garfunkel, part The Band (especially the piano breakdown), and, at the same time, a sound that The Gin Club seize and make their own (Ola's amazingly emotive vocals are the biggest contribution here). It's hard to believe but after 26 songs The Gin Club manage to close with a bang.

Junk has to be one of the most comprehensive albums released this millennium. While it may be an effort for some to listen to this all in one sitting, Junk is a constantly rewarding album, with the listener noticing small lyrical and musical nuances even after a dozen listens. The songwriting prowess is the maker of this album, but The Gin Club also deliver musically. Overall Junk is as close to being a masterpiece as any Brisbane band has come in a long time, and hopefully The Gin Club will receive the attention they deserve for such a release.

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Review: The Young Liberals - It's The.../Dick Wolf

As promised I'm going to do a run down of The Young Liberals first two releases, It's The... & Dick Wolf. I'm not sure if these could be considered 'proper' releases as the are very lo-fi recordings, but the songs are solid so the point is moot. My details on the band are a little sketchy, the only member I can confirm is Ben Salter (of the Gin Club) and I definitely recognise the other members from different bands. I can tell you that they plan on recording an album for every month of 2008, a commendable effort indeed.

It's The... begins with 'Hayfever', and the songs starts like any good garage song should; with a blistering guitar solo. From there on in it's all catchy hooks, slamming drums and some very melodic vocals which I can't actually make outs. Next up is the brilliant ode to my favourite drummer, 'Oh! Ringo'. Short and too the point, a simple chorus is aided by some excellent couplets ("While John was high, and Paul retired/Well you learnt to play chess."). The Young Liberals keep the Nuggets-style rockers coming with 'Medieval Dress', with romance at a Renaissance Fair providing the perfect foil for Ben Salter's brilliant vocals. A thumping cover of the Small Faces' 'What You Gonna Do About It?' keeps things flowing along, however the next track, 'You Better Have My Money' feels a bit limp after the previous songs. The Young Liberals through a bit of psychedelic rock into the mix with 'Out Of Focus', before following it with a searing cover of MC5's 'American Ruse'. The last two songs, 'The Bucket's In The Sink' and 'Measure Once Cut Twice' are run of the mill garage rock, catchy yet ultimately forgettable.

Dick Wolf is a somewhat more memorable effort. The album kicks off with the explosive 'Hello Nitro!' which combines the garage rock of It's The... with shambolic vocals and a Hendrix-style guitar line buried beneath the distortion. While I couldn't pick up on the lyrical subject of 'Hello Nitro!', second track 'French Literature' is fairly self explanatory. You have to give kudos to a band who can incorporate Rimbaud and Balzac into their lyrics, however the track is a little lacking musically. The next track, 'The Roads Are Paved With Robbie Williams', has no such problems. Combining a bouncing riff and hilarious lyrics about unsold Robbie Williams CD's being used to pave roads in China, this track is the highlight of Dick Wolf. The title track, an ode to the creator of the Law & Order series, might also be funny but the vocals are rather distorted and all I could make out was "Dick Wolf's gonna wolf you down." I leave the judgement on that one up to you. '(He's A) Moshdog' is the only rock song I can recall being entirely dedicated to a dog, and it does it fairly well too. 'Joanna Says' is the runner-up for best song on Dick Wolf. Sounding something akin to what the Velvet Underground would have done if they'd hailed from the North-Western United States, 'Joanna Says' is easily the most diverse sounding song of the Young Liberals, and, given a proper recording, would probably be their best. 'Whippets' and '1 2 F U' continue with the garage rock theme, though the edge close to being filler. The Young Liberals then go on to cover the Velvet Underground's 'What Goes On' competently, but don't really depart from the original in a big way. The closing track, 'We're In A Band' is a satirical, foot-stomping country-rock number about being in a band. The song sounds something like the closing song for a non-existent TV show band like the Monkees, but don't consider that an insult as this track is the perfect end to the CD (and to live sets too).

Both albums are strong efforts given the means and time used to make them, but at the same time the listener will be left wanting more from the production. It's a little harsh to dismiss the records on those terms though, as the Young Liberals have quite a number of gems in the mix here. As I mentioned previously these guys (and girl) put on a great live show, so I suggest seeing them live first before getting the albums (chances are you won't find the CD's anywhere but at their gigs so you won't have much choice!).

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Weekly News - March 17th

• Yves Klein Blue and Chris Pickering are representing Brisbane at SXSW in Austin, Texas this week. Hopefully the guys do well for themselves.
  

• The Gin Club have released their latest album, a double LP by the name of Junk. Keep an eye out for a review in the near future.

• Garage-punk's Feelin' Lucky have released their debut, self-titled LP with local label Swashbuckling Hobo.

• Freshly recorded tracks: The Combovers' 'The Hard Part', Idle|Cranes take on The Beatles' 'Blue Jay Way', and The Presidents Bush provide us with 'Blue Skies Away' and 'Hair Plugs'.
  

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