Posted by Audrey Lee on August 31, 2010
With two acclaimed albums in their respective release bags, Sydney’s Richard In Your Mind and Melbourne’s Pikelet are no strangers to contemporary psychedelic sounds. So, it stands to reason that they would eventually tour-team up. This September the bands are embarking on a co-headline East Coast tour. Together they will prove too (two?) much of a great thing isn’t such a bad thing after all.
After four years on the Sydney scene and counting, Richard In Your Mind recently stepped the epic psychedelic stuff up a notch with the released of their sophomore album, My Volcano. Sharing the tour spotlight, Evelyn Morris aka Pikelet will showcase material from her second album, Stem which also redefines the boundaries of conventional music.
Tour dates:
Friday 17th September – The National Hotel, Geelong, VIC
Saturday 18th September – Curtin Bandroom, Melbourne, VIC
Friday 24th September – ANU Bar, Canberra, ACT
Saturday 25th September – Gaelic Club, Sydney, NSW
Sunday 26th September – Gearins Hotel, Katoomba, NSW
Thursday 30th September – Spotted Cow, Toowoomba, QLD
Friday 1st October – The Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, QLD
Saturday 2nd October – The Clubhouse, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets are available for purchase on the Moshtix website (except Canberra) or at the door unless sold out.
richard in your mind, pikelet, my volcano, stem, evelyn moris
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 25, 2010
Here’s what’s been on high-rotation in the Kluster offices as of late: six synth-alternative pop gems from Mushu’s self-titled second EP. Hailing from Sydney, the quintet humbly cited Bob Dylan and Neil Young as their musical muses. Mushu create a lush and charismatic alternative sound with harmonies, reverb, synths and subtle distortion falling perfectly in place.
The first serving off the EP is ‘Neap Tide’, its graceful acoustic intro slowly builds to a synchronized harmony, accompanied by the catchy highs and lows of distorted guitars. The soothing voice of lead vocalist, Simone Macarounas really shine through in ‘Carousel’, while Soldiers’ adopts a different style with snare drums making it a satiating track to close.
Already hotly tipped, the band is polishing their good name to shine. Currently on an acoustic tour of the US and Canada, there is an LP in pre-production and heaps of shows to follow suit.
mushu, self-titled ep, neap tide, carousel, soldiers
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 24, 2010
Teenagersintokyo are no strangers to us. From their humble beginnings as a little-known band to the acclaimed success they are today, the Sydney quintet is proving to be an everlasting dark-pop stronghold. Following the celebrated-release of their eponymous EP in 2008, the band continues to steal hearts all across the UK and is now fast-becoming a firm favourite in the indie scene of both sides of the world. And they’ve done pretty well for themselves, with their debut album, Sacrifice (which dropped their single ‘New Day’), landing the number one spot on the Independent Record Store charts. Earlier this month, we hit up front-woman Samantha Lim for the lowdown on what’s been happening in their world.
Covered: Not aiming for hype, open air festival in Basel, Switzerland, eclectic tastes, touring in Australia and a weird tax scheme in London.
Audrey Lee: You guys have been pretty busy making waves around London and the rest of Europe of late. For the sake of our readers who weren’t privy to the history of the Sydney-gigging band that existed prior to the move overseas, fill us in: what’s the story behind Teenagersintokyo?
Samantha Lim: We're a five piece originally from Sydney, playing together for a number of years now. We released our EP in 2007, toured a bit and then decided to move over to the UK in 2009 after a mini-tour here gave us a taste for broader pastures. So now here we are a year later and we've finished our debut album with David Kosten. It's out in the UK and Europe, so now we're excited to release it back home where it all started.More...
teenagersintokyo, sacrifice, new day
Posted by Penny Cropper on August 10, 2010
Festival season may seem like a distant speck on the horizon but it’s really just around the corner, and in the interests of boosting morale and giving us something to live for through these last dregs of winter, the first round of the Peat’s Ridge festival lineup has been announced.
Some of the awesome musical stylings on offer this New Year will include: Angus and Julia Stone, Trentemøller, Built to Spill, Freestylers, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker, Space Invadas, Born Ruffians, Decoder Ring, The Audreys, Cloud Control, Washington, Shout Out Louds, Jonathan Boulet, Belles Will Ring, The Gin Club and The Delta Riggs.
Exciting times ahead, to say the least.
Check the festival's website for more details and the rest of the rad lineup. Tickets go on sale Thursday August 19 at 9am from Oztix.
Long live festival season!
peat's ridge festival, angus and julia stone, trentemoller, built to spill, freestylers, kate miller-heidke, the dynamites, space invadas, born ruffians, decoder ring, the audreys, cloud control, washington, shout out louds, jonathan boulet, belles will ring, the gin club, the delta riggs
Posted by KB on August 10, 2010
I may have been assaulted on my way into the venue. I mean, I can’t tell. I feel like I was assaulted. The memories of early that night come infrequently; a glazed, dream-like translucence when they do. I lay out on the floor – feet facing away from the stage. My eyes mostly closed. It was 1980-ish. A jaded Cyndi Lauper tribute show working through tired attempts at Fleetwood Mac. The feet around my head stood unmoving, planted. The most familiar hand, reaching down – recognition, pulling me up to comparatively fresh air, standing. It was over. Praise be to anything.
She lived in another city when Antidotes came out. In a Zach Braff pitch that almost was, the album became part of the soundtrack of that time; the first choice weeknight jacket hung on the coat hanger of drinking until you forget how much you miss her. In truth, the soundtrack fit better than most jackets of the time. Tension mounting all week – the strummed, yelping definition of a crescendo – to places seemingly beyond where you imagined tension was capable of being mounted.
Then suddenly, arrival.More...
foals, manning bar
Posted by Miss Kat Jade on August 8, 2010
Surfer Blood are some sweet looking Californian boys, who sound like a mix of Weezer blended with the Beach Boys, with a dash of falsetto camp added for jazz.
The boys played their last Australian show at the Manning Bar after some hectic touring with Splendor. Manning Bar, slap bang in the middle of Sydney Uni, was teeming with indie kids, students and bad haircuts, throwing me back to the days of beer in plastic cups and hangovers on Tuesdays. A fitting location for this campus-driven rock music.
They seemed a little worse for wear; even ‘Swim’ one of Pitchfork's 100 Best Songs of 2009 sounded a little dull. Regardless, the set was punctuated with great power-cord guitar riffs and hooks that kept you swaying and your foot tapping along. The wild-haired percussion player was the most enthusiastic of the lot, bouncing and belting his cow bell with enthusiasm.
Lyrics about girls, confusion, Twin Peaks and youth make up these simple, catchy songs of summer. With a little more studio time it feels like their music may get another layer of complexity to it, but at the moment it’s unashamedly fist pumping and hook riddled. The future of Surfer Blood shall remain to be seen with a new album and a few years under their belt. It’s not brain surgery, but for indie, heavy, guitar-laden pop songs it fits the bill to a T.
surfer blood, manning bar, splendour, sydney
Posted by KB on August 6, 2010
Brisbane two piece DZ have been making a lot of noise of late, keeping it real with a host of warehouse parties, as well as supports for the likes of Crystal Castles and Midnight Juggernauts.
They’ve still somehow found the time to release a new single, ‘Gebbie Street’, which you can download for free. Yes, free.
If you like what you hear, head along to a fundraiser gig for their upcoming New York trip. It’s August 27 at The Zoo, Brisbane, and tickets are on sale now.
dz, the zoo, downloads, mp3
Posted by KB on August 6, 2010
Fresh-faced and freckled, Two Door Cinema Club’s ginger-haired lead singer Alex Trimble has a look and elegant sonority that sets you up for the full pop experience. Standing up there in angelic purity, you imagine how proud his grandma is of how far he’s come since his days as the church’s head choirboy. So it’s somewhat of a shock to be blasted with the wall of sound that starts their Splendour sideshow at Melbourne venue Billboard. Far from poppy and light, it’s the heavier dance beat that comes through. The balance is good, the sound mix is right. It’s just not that melodious vibe that gets you craving an orange mocha frappuccino.
The Northern Irish trio – plus one with the addition of drum kit on tour – is one of those bands that seems to have appeared out of the ether and, with the help of MySpace and the ever-expanding global festival circuit, blossomed rapidly into a tight, respected outfit with a solid fan base. They fall under that broad, vague category of electro/indie/rock/pop, a term which encompasses a lot of bands these days and rarely expounds much about their sound other than the presence of synthesisers.
Expectations for the live performance are based on radio hits such as the catchy and vocally lithe Something Good Can Work, a pop tune that sparks comparisons with Vampire Weekend; and I Can Talk, with its edgy repetitive vocal percussion adding a dash of Presets flavour. More...
two door cinema club, billboard, alex trimble
Posted by Danni Le Toullec on July 27, 2010
With the sun clinging to the horizon, the speakers started to shake and just like any young ’un celebrating their 16th birthday, FIB Heineken’s Benicassim was anything but sweet.
As crowds scoffed paella and guzzled Heinekens over four days, the young bloods of the festival (Kasbian, Temper Trap, Vampire Weekend, Foals, Hot Chip, Calvin Harris, Two Door Cinema Club) worked their magic. Yet the more enthralling acts were from those that have been kicking it for more than 10 or 20 years.
The Prodigy prevailed with one of the best performances of the festival. Boundless energy and manic antics left the crowd eating out of their hands. Instructed to “Get the f*** down”, more than 60,000 people crouched down before jumping into an explosive wave.
English rock legend Ian Brown’s hollow-cheeked swagger and marching dance moves were as seductive now as they were in the ‘80s, as he belted out The Stone Roses classic track ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ along with tracks from his 2009 album My Way. Goldfrapp lured people in with their synthy beats and anthem inspiring tracks like ‘Rocket’. Relentless in his delivery, Boys Noize flaunted a gritty, raw manipulation of sound that had people dancing for hours.More...
spain, benicassim, dizzee rascal, ian brown, foals, midnight juggernauts, de la soul, goldfrapp
Posted by Audrey Lee on July 26, 2010
Making their way down under, LCD Soundsystem and US independent label, DFA Records, aim to chart out their inner workings and emotions through a visual retrospective of inspired artwork in the upcoming That’s Cool But Can You Make It More Sh*t? exhibition.
Set to coincide with LCD Soundsystem’s Australian tour end of this month, the exhibition will showcase works by BUREAU, DFA Art Director, Michael Vadino, as well as a selection of exclusive material from the madcap (but brilliant) founder, James Murphy himself.
That’s Cool But Can You Make It More Sh*t? will take place in Sydney from July 28 to August 3 at the Tom Dunne Gallery, 11 Little Burton Street, Darlinghurst.
lcd soundsystem, dfa records, bureau, michael vadino, james murphy
Posted by Penny Cropper on July 21, 2010
Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit, composed of teenage sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg, is bringing its brand of acoustic, woodsy, folk-inspired songwriting to Australia. Touring their first full-length album, The Big Black and the Blue, the sisters are sure to captivate crowds with their whimsical voices that suggest a world-weariness beyond their 17 and 19 years.
First grabbing attention in 2008 with their cover of Fleet Foxes’ ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’, the sisters have been steadily gaining traction since, including playing at some of the world’s biggest festivals, and their Australian shows should be a feast of warm harmonies and crafty melodies.
They’re playing in Melbourne on Sunday September 5 at the Toff in Town, and Sydney at the Oxford Art Factory on September 9. Tickets through Moshtix.
first aid kit, folk, the big black and the blue, oxford art factory, the toff in town, swedish, tiger mountain peasant song
Posted by Andy Ryan on July 20, 2010
Midnight Juggernauts will be letting their ‘Lifeblood Flow’ when they hit the road this August to launch their latest album. After setting hearts and ears aflutter both home and abroad with their distorted, disco-tastic debut Dystopia, the band decamped to a remote coastal NSW house to write their follow up album. Regaining their ‘Vital Signs’ and embracing ‘This New Technology’ Midnight Juggernauts returned with symphony-scaled synth-rock new platter The Crystal Axis. The new album was recorded at Melbourne’s Sing Sing studios with the band self-producing with the assistance of engineer Chris Moore (Liars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio).
The latest single from the album ‘Lifeblood Flow’ is released July 30th as a teaser for the band's imminent tour. After having become firm festival favourites across the globe, The Crystal Axis tour sees the Midnight Juggernauts ably supported by Dappled Cities and Canyons, with Kirin J Callinan joining the joyride for the East Coast Shows.
Dates are:
August 12 - The Gov, Adelaide
August 14 – Capitol, Perth
August 19 – The Forum, Melbourne
August 20 – The Forum, Sydney
August 21 – The Hi-Fi, Brisbane
midnight juggernauts, tours