What Goes On

Hello! I promise, there is an *actual* post which does not consist of us linking photos of Vampires and sexy musicians in the works. It's quite fun actually.

Will it be worth the wait? In all honesty not likely, however I truly doubt there is a populace of anonymous readers desperately hovering over computer screens awaiting a new installment. Fairly sure everyone was enjoying the most perfect weekend weather conceivable for a Sydney winter.

So I am being a truly atrocious blogger and doing a sneaky list-cum-diary post. I know- the worst form of update imaginable as no one actually cares what I do with my time. So if you don't want to know, feel free to click away. I won't be offended. But I will know. I know everything. Why, I can see you right now. That's right- wave hello! I'm watching you, I'm the Edward Cullen of bloggers.

1. FLRL-

So that 'venerable' little hipster joint Oxford Art Factory turned two this week and had a big fat bash for all the scene kids to come down and fight it out to see who in Sydney could rock the thickest nerd-googles, tightest jeans and most offensive vintage gear.

I was more interested in checking out a band I have been intending to catch for some time now without success.

Fashion Launches Rocket Launches (FLRL) is a bit of a Sydney music collaborative with members drawn from Lost Valentinos, Midnight Juggernauts and the now-defunct Mercy Arms amongst others. They have quite the verbose and assumptive musical manifesto posted on their myspace, so I recommend that as they capture their vision far better than I could.

Their shows are performed with all members forming a tight circle, with dominant vocalists even facing away from the audience for the majority of tracks. There is very little in the way of theatrics or fanfare beyond that which exudes from the evidently flamboyant members own spirits. Instead, the audience feels as if they have been welcomed into an extended jam as songs blend seamlessly, with musicians rotating between instruments, interwoven by the symphonic, effects-heavy drone of Kirin Callinan's guitar work.

Late in the set, audience members/band friends are picked from the crowd and asked to interact, with percussion being passed over heads and drumsticks thrown hopefully.

Overall, its an experience unlike any other available in Sydney at present. The energy is both tanigble and infectious. It's impossible not to be swept away on some form of imaginary journey as the band guides you on some form of trip without the assistance of illicit substances.

Well worth a listen, and until they list their next Sydney gigs, check out track Poppies on their myspace.

2. Saturday Hopetoun fun-

Following the bliss of FLRL and Leader Cheetah, we here at SIDAR swung by the Hopetoun to check out long time favourites Kid Sam.

Launching single Down to the Cemetery, Kid Sam were supported by Kirin J. Callinan. If you haven't already seen a Callinan solo show, then what are you waiting for?

Words cannot do justice to the spectacle that is a Callinan performance. SIDAR have seen him perform several times now, supporting Jack Ladder as well as at Spectrum, and every show delivers a new angle.

Callinan is captivating as he shapes an orchestral cacophany of sweeping guitar loops exacted through a heavy reliance upon effects pedals perfectly executed. His vocal stylings and on stage mannerisms are certainly confronting for the uninitiated and unexpecting, however the entire combination soon emerges as more than endearing.

Highly recommended, however you shall not see SIDAR at a Callinan-related performance for some time now lest he believe we are actually bizzare for having attended performances on consecutive nights.

Callinan was followed by Otouto, a Melbourne-based three-piece fronted by Hazel Brown and including Kid Sam's Kishore Ryan. I won't devote too much time to them, as to be perfectly honest, cutesy female vocals are not my style, save for the redemptive qualities of stellar performers such as Sarah Blasko and Lykke Li. However for their niche, they were enjoyable, but perhaps their brand of quiet, inquisitive melodic ditties were a poor fit for the rambunctious Hopetoun crowd.Similarly, please see our previous review of Kid Sam from their Jack Ladder support slot. It really is a shame that the Hopetoun crowd was not more appreciative of the understated, utterly sublime musical style of this duo. Having seen them in intimate form at the Annandale, and then at the Brass Monkey in Cronulla, I know just how captivating the Ryan boys are when not challenged by inebriated punters more concerned by their own little game of 'spot the hipster' than the delightful tunes.

3. Sunday Sublime-

There really is no better way to spend a perfect Sunday morning than at Paradise Beach, Avalon. Taking my notebook, banana and sandwiches, I sat at the end of a pier watching yachts sail past and tinnies chug by, leaving me with that instantly recognisable smell of petrol through an outboard motor.

The sounds and smells of summer have come early, and I couldn't be happier.

4. Self reflexive, or just plain rude?

You may have noticed I am a little against self-important scene kids perceiving their brand of music/art/design as earth-shatteringly unique and culturally significant. In a form of total hypocrisy, many of the lyrics I have written address this type of person, therefore implicitly living up to L's allegations of hipsterdom on my part.

So it makes me happy to hear artists write about what I choose to detail, but far more effectively and enjoyably than I ever could.

Try:

-Fergus Brown: Nerds in Love (too cute)

-Okkervil River: Singer Songwriter (oh Will Sheff you little genius).

Hope your weekend was just amazing... only 5 days until the next one. Until then, go totally fucking Mexico.

Music Makes You Lose Control...

I have often criticised fashion blogs for the tendency to blindly reproduce catwalk shots in list format and pass this off as avant guarde.

Anyone empowered with Google power can present a vertical slideshow of the latest Balmain campaign, or this seasons' Balenciaga accessories range.

However.... (massive hypocrisy alert).... I am committing a similar sin, however in musical form.

I am the kind of person who could quite happily be stuck alone on a desert island, provided of course, with sufficient gin and a very well stocked ipod. As I write this, I am cocooned in my study, radio blasting the Triple J Hottest 100 of all time. I am having quite the animated discussion with Richard Kingsmill as to what I think of the chart listing (Hating the high position of Hilltop Hoods... appalling). Strangely enough, the conversation is somewhat one way, as evidently I cannot convey my opinions through my powers of telepathy.

Nonetheless I am thoroughly enjoying my Sunday afternoon, and hence feel inclined to share some of my favourite new tunes in the hope that I can spread the love, and perhaps someone will reciprocate this joy.

So here are my favourite musical tidbits I am currently obsessing over:

Kid Sam

A two-piece band from Melbourne, I was introduced to this group as part of the support for the Jack Ladder tour earlier this month. Quite simply, they are sublime. Their debut self-titled EP has been receiving high (cyber) rotation on my playlist and the songs grow on you with each subsequent listen.

Well worth checking out at myspace.com/kidsam or you can do a sneaky free download of a few tracks at the Triple J unearthed page (I highly recommend 'We're Mostly Made of Water')

Red Riders

A cheeky four piece from Sydney, Red Riders have released their second feature album, Drown in Colour this week. When not digesting the Hottest 100, I have been enjoying little samples of this record, and it really is hard to go past the delightful second single, 'Ordinary'.

Check the film clip- it's positively Mighty Boosh inspired






Finally (for today)...

We Say Bamboulee

A charming three-piece electro-pop group from the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney. This eclectic bunch of little hipsters have emerged through the vibrant Sydney University music community and have been playing regular shows around Sydney for some time now, including support slots for Art vs Science, and soon Philadelphia Grand Jury.

Live, the group has the feel of an electric garage band, where audience members are invited to form an intimate formation of friends. The almost deliberately haphazard approach to shows (including a Popular Penguin propping up a synth in a gig in Glebe not so long ago) is positively charming, and tracks such as 'Funeral Social' are so poppy and infectious, its almost impossible not to smile.

www.myspace.com/wesaybamboulee

Hope this music gives you the same happy times it delivers me... please help me out with some equally delightful tunes

xx

Jack Ladder- Annandale Hotel June 28th 2009

It was with anticipation and expectation that we ambled down to the Annandale Hotel on a rainy Sunday evening, excited to finally check Jack Ladder off our list of ‘must-see’ gigs. Needless to say, we were not disappointed.

After getting sidetracked by salt and pepper calamari, we missed part of the set from warm up band Teeth and Tongue, however I must admit the forced female vocals, fuzzed guitar riffs and overt stylised referencing by lead singer Jess Cornelius was perhaps at odds with the nature of the main performer.

All this was forgotten though, by the conclusion of the second supporting act Kid Sam. A duo from Melbourne, their self-titled debut LP has received recent airtime on FBi, and I was interested to see how the lush sound translated live. Despite the initial appearance of two students ditching high school band practice to jam, cousins Kieren and Kishore Ryan quickly dispel any preconceptions with an intense, lyrical sound far richer than you would expect to be produced by just two musicians.
Kishore’s innovative percussion provides far more than metronomic accompaniment to the lyrical aspects, with creative inclusions of a kitchen pot and wok far from gimmicky adding rigidity and tension to stand-out track We’re Mostly Made of Water. Kieren’s vocals enmeshed with nimble guitar work deliver haunting lyrics across musical silence in Close Your Eyes And It All Goes Black. Their live performance renders this group a step up from other emerging subversive pop groups.

After being so delightfully surprised by the sheer maturity in delivery and earnest performance from Kid Sam, my expectations for Jack Ladder had been subsequently raised.
Long time bandmates Laurence Pike (Pivot) on drums, and bassist Donny Waples (Triosk) are joined by recent addition Kirin Callinan (formerly of Mercy Arms, now with Fashion Launches Rocket Launches). Callinan provides a jaunty lift as his performance appears to channel a pixie-ish Angus Young crossed with some indescribably androgynous, yet quite sexy being (well according to my companion) as he deftly floats across stage, juxtaposing light guitar solos and heavy reliance on effects pedals to breathe new life into Jack Ladder’s songs replacing the honky tonk piano, horns section and violin of the album. Combined, the musicians provide maturity and depth far in excess of mere backing band.
A recent interview with Jack Ladder quoted him expressing his distaste for artists who simply perform their works as heard on the original recording, and it is clear he has carried such a notion into the rehearsal of this tour. Songs have been reworked with the personalities of each performer given freedom to be expressed, resulting in performance rich with attitude alluded to in Ladder’s second album Love Is Gone.

This attitude is accompanied by a subverted meaning in many of the more well-known songs, achieved through a re-think in instrumentation and arrangement. This is seen most clearly in title track Love is Gone. The original recording provides an almost twee uptempo piano and guitar melody which appears to deliberately contradict the resigned lyrics detailing the death of a relationship. Live, the song is reworked as a progressive and melodic requiem setting the tone for a very different Jack Ladder.

Similarly, You Won’t Be Forgotten (When You Leave) maintains its raw instrumentation, with sentimentality set aside with the addition of Callinan’s almost animalistic barking percussive accompanying vocals. Whilst this is for the most part an extremely welcome interpretation, it unfortunately somewhat diminishes the devastating desperation conveyed in the earlier tracks such as Two Clocks. This seemingly saccharine testament to devoted love disguises a sinister alternate meaning, and sadly this duality is lost in its translation from quiet acoustic contemplation to live rock.
Acclaimed favourites are interspersed among new tracks, and the occasional reference to debut recording Not Worth Waiting For. Two new tracks are included as tantalising tastes of the new record to come, with final track Position Vacant infusing Ladder’s typical acerbic wit with deadpan emotional appeal. Ladder’s voice permeates every nook and cranny of the Annandale, and manages to overcome the sometime soulless drone which overcomes many groups attempting to conquer the venue. Collectively, the catalogue provides an introspective glance into the mind of an emerging local songwriter, whose unassuming demeanour and subtle charisma more than charm the pants off every woman in the room.

Jack Ladder tours nationwide throughout July, including a return to Sydney at the Brass Monkey in Cronulla on July 16. We are all now seriously considering a Sutherland Shire roadtrip…

*photo credit: courtesy dsvision.net

Jack Ladder eating a banana.... enjoy kiddoes