David James Young is a music journalist living and working on unceded Dharawal land. Bylines include NME, The Big Issue, Junkee, Music Feeds, The Australian and theMusic.
“This ain’t my first rodeo!” Actually, this was – I’ve interviewed members of Every Time I Die four times, and this was the first of those. I’m pretty sure it was Keith Buckley who answered the questions. This was for the Boys of Summer tour – remember when that was a thing? Another emailer; this was pretty sweet as I was just getting into these guys. I finally got to see them live in 2013; and their headliner ended up being one of the best shows of the year. Now, on with the show.
– DJY, April 2014
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Welcome back to Australia! Have you been looking forward to coming back?
We absolutely have, especially because where I live there’s about four feet of snow on the ground. Now I’m out here sitting pool-side. When I go home, I’m gonna be the cats pyjamas! But we also love being here because the shows are amazing. Everyone is super nice to us. Sometimes aggressively nice. That’s sometimes a bad thing, but it’s rare.
Looking back on 2009, what were some of your favourite moments?
I got married, which was pretty monumental. It was a good year for us. We’ve been touring a lot on the newest record and did our first legit headliner for Epitaph. The reception was better than we could have hoped for.
My little brother has fond memories of Keith getting nailed by bottles at Sydney’s 2009 Soundwave. Did this kind of stuff happen at every stop?
I tried to encourage it as much as possible. We want to make the people watching us feel like they’re a part of the show. Since the stage was so big and we really weren’t close to them, I wanted them to come to us. It kept me on my toes too. I’m a lot faster than anything thinks.
You must be upset that Trap Them are no longer on the bill?
I am indeed. I’m an enormous fan of that band.
What do you think of the other acts you are playing with on the Boys of Summer tour?
I think they’re all really cool. They have a lot of support from the kids coming out so it adds a great element. They’re familiar to people. The guys are super nice too.
Many bands speak of how gruelling touring schedules can be. Has that ever been a difficulty in the ETID camp?
No man, it’s just a part of the job. You know what you’re getting into when you sign up. Well, at least you did years ago. If people complain, it’s because they put their music on the internet and got signed before even playing a real show. Either it took them by surprise or they’re just spoiled and didn’t realise that the instruments they bought with daddy’s money didn’t come with a ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card and they’d have to suffer for their art.
What have recent set-lists consisted of? Is there even a slight chance of playing at least one Burial Plot track?
There is ZERO chance of a BPBW song. Haha. It’s a good mix, about four songs from each record.
Can you tell us any more about what’s happening with The Damned Things?
I just did some demo/pre-production right before leaving for Australia. Things are coming out splendidly. A lot of solos; a lot of huge choruses. My dad heard a song and said it sounded like Foreigner. That’s a real good thing.
Holy hell – I actually interviewed a one-hit wonder band! This is the equivalent of interviewing the Born to Be Alive guy; or the Disco Duck. For those that don’t remember, The Phenomenal Handclap Band were everywhere (read: everywhere) at the end of the 2000s with their roller-disco earworm 15 to 20. I won’t recite any of the lyrics here, dare I awaken the hellbeast that is the song’s catchiness.
All things considered, this was a pretty cool interview. The guy was polite and insightful enough, and I can start to see myself finding my own voice in my features. Let’s dance.
– DJY, April 2014
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The name Phenomenal Handclap Band might not mean much to you, the name Daniel Collas even less. Break into a disco beat with continuous counting in fives, however, and you’re bound to get some kind of reaction. After all, it’s the Phenomenal Handclap Band themselves – of which Collas is a founding member – that are behind one of the year’s biggest radio hits in 15 to 20.
If you were unfamiliar with the rest of the band’s work, you might suspect that the rest of the band’s sound revolves around a similar formula – hooky, slightly derivative and cheaply catchy. You may be surprised to know, then, just how incorrect this presumption is.
“It’s an anomaly,” Collas states from his New York residency – which he claims is currently “colder than anywhere in Europe” – when quizzed on 15 to 20’s success. “So much so,” he continues, “that I kind of didn’t want to include it on the album. There was back and forth talk about its inclusion, given it was so different to all the other songs.”
Despite Collas’ weariness, he’s still satisfied with the acclaim the song itself has received. His goal is to convert passing interest via the song into something more genuine. “I think it would be really neat for someone to hear that song,” he says (never once referring to the track by its title), “and check out the rest of the record, or come to a show, and see how different it all is to that one song.”
This is a trait that Daniel himself has adhered to in the past, noting that he has a self-described “weird history” of following bands with one distinctive hit that none of their other work has topped – at least, in commercial terms.
“You can tell from that song that there’s a good chance their other songs are going to be pretty cool, too,” he notes, using the example of Swedish band The Cardigans. “Back when they had that song Lovefool, I was already familiar with them, but that song was a really big hit. You can tell by the way that song is recorded and produced and written that their other stuff must have an inkling of something ‘cool’ in there.”
So with 15 to 20 labelled an anomaly, where then does that leave the rest of the work of the Handclap Band? The unique, retro boogie found in their tracks on their self-titled debut record can be traced back to a period of Collas’ very interesting listening experiences when moving back into creating music, after having spent time working as a DJ.
“The stuff I’d been listening to at the time that was really inspiring to me was kind of proto-techno stuff… early eighties dance music that was making heavy use of synthesisers and set sequences,” Collas explains. “I don’t know what it was about it, but it really flicked my switch for me. At the same time, I was also getting into groups like Dungen, and a lot of older bands that they were obviously influenced by – that kind of pastoral, psychedelic rock element.
“I found that those were the only two styles that I wanted to listen to. I had a background in soul music that I predominantly listened to, but at this point all I was really into was either this robotic dance music or this kind of psychedelic rock.”
It’s once Daniel himself explains this bipolar listening habit that the influences behind PHCB’s music begin to make a little more sense and connectivity. “The fact I was into these two styles at either end of the spectrum was really inspiring to me. It even started influencing my DJ sets – I was playing these long, blended sets of Contra or Jo Jo Moroder and people like that, and then I’d put on some Rare Earth or Wool; that kind of thing.”
The seven-piece live band that Collas has been working with have had a huge year of touring, including several European dates and shows with names like Friendly Fires and Franz Ferdinand. Despite the fact that a multitude of New York musicians are credited as having worked on the record – including former Blues Explosion man Jon Spencer and TV on the Radio drummer Jaleel Bunton – Collas maintains that getting the band together for the live aspect of the project wasn’t nearly as difficult as it could have been.
“It didn’t end up being that difficult, as a lot of the key players involved with the record were available to being involved with the live project,” Daniel explains. “We were kind of going the auditioning route to find the singers, because obviously everyone on the record has their own careers to think of. But instead of that, we just had enough people that were willing to do it, and it kind of took shape that way.”
The Phenomenal Handclap Band will see in 2010 with a visit to Australia. Not only is Collas looking forward to experiencing his first visit to our shores – “the natural phenomenon and the wildlife we’re all really looking forward to checking out” – he’s also anticipating the tour dates with fellow New Yorkers, Chairlift. Despite being in similar scenes, the two bands are complete strangers.
“We have some friends in common, but we have never even met them before,” Daniel confesses with a laugh. “It’s funny, because we’ve never played in Australia and we’ve never played with Chairlift, even though they live like a mile away – so we’re not going to meet until we get all the way down to Australia!”
Sure, it’s an odd way of going about things, but with their powers combined, we’ll be sure to be experiencing some very enjoyable shows in the coming weeks.
Ahh, Jono. This is the first time we ever crossed paths – we met properly sometime later in 2010, I believe. I met the Parades guys not long after, and up until his relocation to Berlin I would see Jono around the traps quite a bit. He’s a wonderfully talented man, and someone that I am constantly inspired by. Anyway, I won’t go on too long about this one – I think my excitement is pretty reflective in the writing; as well as Jono’s non-chalance. We’d get a lot more comfortable as the years passed. He’ll have a new record out this year. That’s exciting. This is way back when the first one came out – what a time to be alive!
– DJY, April 2014
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The contrasts that exist between music and its musician remain as glaring as ever. Take twenty-one year old Sydneysider Jonathan Boulet. Speaking over the phone on an early Friday afternoon, he is shy and somewhat reluctant in his answers – a tough egg to crack, if you will.
Listening to his debut self-titled album, however, we are treated to a display of bright, exuberant and boisterous confidence that slips through every aspect of the music itself. It’s the musical equivalent of a student doing their homework on the bus, handing it in just as the bell rings, and getting full marks. Boulet may be exceptionally late, but he just might have put together the best Australian debut album of 2009.
“I’ve been making music by myself for a long time,” he explains. “Whether it’s been more electronic or more heavy, it started by just playing around on a keyboard. After getting more recording equipment and developing a few more recording skills, it started directing towards what I’m doing now.”
Indeed, Jonathan has had his finger in a variety of different-tasting but equally delicious musical pies. Even for someone so young, he has managed to work his way through a variety of genres and subsequent gig circuits.
“With the [Sydney band] Parades guys,” he makes note, “we started out in a kind of post-punkish band.” The sound? “It was heavy music, but we didn’t really want to sound like everyone else. We’d turn up to gigs in board shorts when everyone else was in tight pants and fringes. We didn’t think we fit in, but somehow we did – it was really weird.”
After working his way through a variety of bands, Jonathan’s creativity has shifted to focus on music under his own name. The album, consisting of songs written over the years up to now, was recorded in Boulet’s garage – he wrote, played and recorded the entire thing on his own.
“I guess the record was free to make,” he comments sheepishly, “but all-up the gear I was using cost about $1500.
“I think independence does help – the whole studio thing is a part of the industry you could just bypass and get a better result,” he responds when questioned about how important his D.I.Y. ethics have been in getting his music out there. “Of course, if you were on a major label backing, you wouldn’t care – you’d have the massive studio and the dollars to afford it. But I think it’s better, doing it yourself – you have more control and you’re more satisfied with the end result.”
It might have taken a while to get the whole thing together, but Boulet’s 2009 certainly hasn’t been garage-bound for its entirety. You might have seen him playing with W.A. wunderkinds Tame Impala or Queensland joy-bringers The Middle East earlier this year, in addition to a handful of his own shows.
He enthuses that Tame Impala are “”just the nicest dudes ever”. “We’d all be happy to play the shows and encourage each other,” he said, before laughing and adding: “We tried to get one of the guys to stage-dive, but they sadly never took the bait.”
He also shares a surreal experience backstage at Sydney University’s Manning Bar, opening for The Middle East. “Before they went on, they went downstairs to do their vocal warm-up. They started singing [Backstreet Boys hit] Backstreet’s Back – and they were doing it in perfect five-part harmony! It was sort of beautiful because it was ringing all the way up the stairs and back down again – it was just amazing.”
If it wasn’t in the live arena, perhaps YouTube may have guided you to the breathtaking video made for Jonathan’s brilliant lead single, A Community Service Announcement. The colourful video was filmed over in New Zealand, an experience Jonathan describes as “amazing – I couldn’t believe how different it was, two hundred metres from where we were standing!”
If this experience wasn’t great enough, imagine finding out that Kanye West was not only happy for you and would let you finish, but also thought you had one of the best videos of all time? West linked the video on his blog, Kanye Universe City, with the all-caps headline “WATCH THIS VIDEO, IT’S FUCKING AMAZING”.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Jonathan coolly comments in what could be the understatement of the year. “There’s not much more you can say about that. It’s funny, though, how some people don’t care until someone says they should. But, yeah…It’s cool, I’m happy – and the Special Problems guys [who created and directed the video] are getting some exposure out of it.”
Is Jonathan Boulet nervous? Overwhelmed, perhaps? Or just shy? Whatever personality traits he shows, don’t worry about it for a second – once the music of this baby-faced pop whiz graces your ears, not a great deal else is going to matter.
A quick one – I had the chance to email some questions over to Andy Strachan; and he answered them all within about 90 seconds. Super-easy; although it doesn’t make for the most gripping read. I dunno, I’ll always love this band; regardless of the quality of their more recent output. This is the band that got me into Australian rock music. Hell, this is pretty much the band that got me into rock music. Their self-titled changed my life. I can’t say that about a lot of records. Anyway, enough waffle.
– DJY, April 2014
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Congrats on a mammoth touring year. What were some of the highlights for you?
Thanks! I think playing the Reading and Leeds Festivals was pretty special. The Big Day Out was amazing as always too.
Splendour was an interesting one, being the last minute replacement for Jane’s. How did you guys feel about that one?
Yeah, that was a bit different. Most of our gear was still over in Europe from the last tour so we had to scrounge around and put together enough gear to get by and pretty much jump on the next plane. Once we got there and got our heads around what was going on it was great, we just got up and played and had a ball! Hopefully we didn’t offend too many Jane’s fans!
Do you feel like you’ve been cemented as Australia’s “festival” band; given just how regularly you appear on lineups? And how comfortable are you with a tag like that?
I can think of worse tags to have! We’ll take it.
Chill Island will be your first festival appearance of 2010 – are you looking forward to another year?
It will be our first and last of 2010! We will be writing for a new record so that will be our only show for the year. We’d better make it a good one.
The festival’s in a pretty unique location. Where do you think is the strangest place you’ve ever played in your time as a band?
Wow, there has been a few. I would say playing at the NRL grand final in the middle of the oval was fairly strange.
You’ve got a 90-minute set as the Chill Island headliner. Any plans to try out some new material?
You never know. We’ll be working on new stuff by then so we might want to test drive something.
Anyone on the bill you’re particularly interested in checking out?
Bob Evans, great guy, great songs – can’t wait.
Once the White Noise tour is over, what’s the plan? Straight back into the write/record/tour schedule or a bit of downtime from it all?
We get home mid-December and do a couple of shows before having Christmas off and pretty much jump back in to the rehearsal room after that.
I love Alex Grigg. I call him Sydney’s Oldest Teenager – even in his early 30s, he’s living the twentysomething dream of kicking around in bands, working part-time at a cool shop and hanging out with mates all over the joint. We first met several years ago at a Living End show, at which the Riders opened. I was just excited to meet a real-life rock musician; but it wasn’t until a few years later that we got properly acquainted. This was the start of that friendship.
Although it was simply an interview to promote the new album and tour, we went off-track for a bit to talk about what a piece of shit Sam de Brito is. Hey, Sam, if you’re reading – you’re still a piece of shit. Anyway, these guys are sadly no more – you can catch Al and drummer Tom as one half of Palms; and guitarist Brad is off doing a bunch of stuff in the Shire where he’s from. I still keep in pretty regular contact with these guys, and it’s always a treat to catch up with them. For now, let’s cast our minds back to the tail-end of the 2000s and see what happens…
– DJY, April 2014
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Sometimes, an artist can misrepresent themselves through their music. Take Red Riders’Alex Grigg, for instance. In the latest single Ordinary from his band’s second album, Drown in Colour, he sings: “Nothing I do ever seems to go my way/Everything I do is ordinary.” Yet when asked about his day, Grigg casually talks about some extraordinary things.
“I had to go do a thing for Cleo magazine today,” he says on a late Friday afternoon with a chuckle. “It sounds a really bizarre thing to say it out loud, but I had to go and pretty much dress a girl, and tell them what to wear. There was a lifesaver, a comedian, a corporate guy, a rowing guy…it was just some funny thing to do. ” If that’s ordinary, who knows what’s different for him?
2009’s been a busy year for Grigg and his band. Drown in Colour, their first record since the departure of guitarist Adrian Deutsch, was released in July. It’s only now, however, that the band has been performing their own headline shows in support of the record in a variety of places up and down the east coast. According to Grigg, this delay was an initially intentional move to bring more singing mouths than scratched heads to shows.
“Our booking agent told us that you don’t want to tour straight after your album’s been released – it needs time so that people have heard it, so they know the songs when they come to the shows,” he explains. “The Little Birdy tour came along when we might have done an album tour, anyway; so that happened and now we’re out on our own tour.”
With them for most stops of the shows is Brisbane quartet The Boat People, who have just released the first single from their upcoming third album, entitled Echo Stick Guitars. “We met those guys at SXSW in February of this year,” Grigg says of the indie-pop collective. “We got to hanging out and got on really well, and our releases coincided to tour so it all worked out!”
Conversation moves to the creation of the record itself – and just how much of a challenge it was for Grigg to write on his own. The last RR album, 2007’s Replica Replica, was a 50/50 collaboration of music, lyrics and vocals between Alex and Adrian. This time around, however, it was entirely up to Grigg to get new material happening.
“While it was a little more stressful to create something and put my stamp on it,” he contemplates, “it also became a lot more personal. I think a lot of the time with me and Adrian, we were so worried about trying to keep it distinct that there were times where we had to kinda tone it down a bit.” So there’s no need to restrain anymore? “I think I don’t have to contain myself,” Grigg affirms. “I feel like I can let my personality out a lot more.”
In Deutsch’s place is Brad Heald, whom many will recognise as the bassist of The Vines. Don’t perceive him as a generic fill-in, though – as Alex explains, he is bringing something quite different to Red Riders.
“They’re such different guitarists,” he muses. “Whereas Adrian would always be filling in every last gap, Brad’s playing is kind of effect-heavy and reverb-laden, with a kind of washy sound. He even plays the old songs differently!”
Rather than lament on the departure of a member who contributed so much, Grigg chooses instead to remain optimistic about the band’s new line-up. Heald’s arrival into the fold, he believes, has injected a new dose of excitement into the band, with everything seeming new once again. With that said, is the mindset any different between the release of Replica Replica and the release of Drown in Colour?
“With the last album,” muses Grigg, “it was one where I was proud of a lot of it; but at the same time there’s a lot of it that I’m kind of undecided about.” And with this record? “I’m really proud of this one,” he says. “It’s a great feeling to make something that you really like, and getting closer and closer to creating something that even I would like even if I wasn’t in the band.”
De Brito wrote: “If we are serious about saving live music in Sydney, promoters and venue owners need do only one thing” – please note: FasterLouder is NOT making this up – “get hotter chicks to gigs.” Reacting to this, Grigg slammed de Brito, calling him “a useless wanker” and “everything that sucks about Sydney” when replying to Grinspoon frontman Phil Jamieson.
“I think everyone I knew felt like punching him in the face,” he notes as we dissect the gaping flaws of the article. “I mean, the guy has just completely missed the point. He should just stick to what he understands, like doing coke in the Ivy or something. Leave us to our world and he can stay in his.”
Grigg also sees de Brito’s depiction of women in his column as despicable. “It was mainly offensive to women and girls that go to shows, y’know?” he says. “That it’s somehow bad to want to go to gigs. And that all the women in Sydney want to be like the ones off Sex and the City. I mean, it’s just ridiculous.”
In response to news of events such as the closing of the Hopetoun and the Annandale Hotel being in trouble, Alex turns our discussion to what should really be done, instead of listening to de Brito’s oblivious and glaringly sexist advice. Getting hot chicks to gigs is not the answer – simply going to them is.
“If all the people that got really worked up that the Hopetoun was closing actually went to shows all the time, maybe it wouldn’t have closed,” he ponders. “Yes, it’s about the licensing laws and the council and all these things, but it’s also about actually going out and supporting these young bands. It’s the same with what happened with FBi – it’s as much about the people as it is about the laws and what have you.”
Lack of interest isn’t the only thing to blame – people new to the area, in Alex’s humble opinion, may well have something to do with it. “The thing that gets me,” he says, “is that the Annandale’s been there forever. It’s just people that are moving into the area after the venue’s already been there for so many years – why would you move into an area where there’s a live music venue nearby if you didn’t like noise and just wanted a quiet suburban life?”
Whatever the solution may be, Grigg and the Red Riders are more than willing to contribute and support as much as they can. With a strong album to support and a fresh new energetic live show to accompany it, it will be well worth your time and effort to catch the band in action on this tour.
There are times when Alex Lloyd feels like an Australian in-joke. He skyrocketed to fame with Amazing, the single from his breakthrough LP Watching Angels Mend; and then spectacularly crashed to earth. He’s spent the last decade or so in and out of the public eye, occasionally dropping albums that a dozen people might buy. He’s still kicking around, from what I’ve gathered. Good on him.
Anyway, this was another emailer. Not quite what I was after in terms of answers, but I’ve put it up here for completion’s sake.
– DJY, April 2014
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You’ve been fairly on the quiet in-between the release of your self-titled record and Good in the Face of a Stranger. What did you occupy yourself with in this downtime?
My family and I moved to London about two and half years ago. After we got settled I managed to find myself a studio not too far from where we live in North London. It was an old photography studio. I had to then build a box inside the room, so this kept me busy. Then once the studio was ready I started writing and recording Good In The Face Of A Stranger.
Some of the songs on the new record, I feel, are more polished revisitings to your early work, particularly of the Black the Sun era. Is that a sentiment you agree with?
I don’t know if I would say more polished, but it’s a much smaller, more compact sound than the previous self-titled album. I think it is reminiscent slightly of Black the Sun, but mostly due to the fact that, like Black the Sun I ended up playing the majority of the instruments on the record.
Was there a need to create something more intimate, dark and mellow after making more commercially-aware records such as Distant Light and your self-titled?
I think due to the fact that I was in London when I started to write the album I was able to get lost in the grey sky and the more introspective nature that it provides. I have always been partial to a more melancholy sound I guess. Being where I was enabled me to really embrace it.
Good in the Face of a Stranger was released very quietly, and has thus far seen very little media coverage or response. As a now-independent artist, what is more important to you at this stage of your career – the exposure of your work or simply to have the finished product out there?
I guess it has been a bit of a learning curve on this album. I feel that we have done it the right way as far as my soul is concerned, but I definitely feel like I have learned a lot about being an independent artist at the same time.
Your career has seen you take both ends of the musical spectrum, to being a platinum seller on a major label to a hard-working independent artist. What do you see as the pros and cons of both situations; and which do you honestly prefer?
It is really hard to say, because I honestly feel as though I had a great time at major labels. However, to be contractually obligated to a company can feel pretty claustrophobic from time to time, but then they do provide a valuable service. But I can honestly say I am happy with my current status as an independent artist.
You’ve chosen some very intimate, unpretentious venues for this tour. What can fans expect in terms of your set-list, and how the songs will be played?
We will be doing a pretty laidback set for this tour, with a slight electro influence. It will be Alex Lloyd songs old and new with a real sense of wood and wire in its presentation.
Whether you love her or hate her, Amanda Palmer is a fantastic interviewee. Trust me, I’ve done it twice. We’re not like this (wraps index and middle finger together) but I’ve been a very interested and involved fan since around 2004. I remember seeing Girl Anachronism on rage; then rushing to my diary and writing The Dresden Dolls‘ name on every page so that I wouldn’t forget it.
Of course that kind of fire has died out – I don’t think I care about anything the way I cared about things in 2004. Still, I have all of her albums (both solo and with the Dolls) and I’ve always found her to be a unique and interesting figure in modern music. There’s certainly never a dull moment with her, regardless of whether you agree with her or not.
I remember being REALLY excited about this interview – at the time, I probably thought this was the best interview I had ever done. Apart from maybe the Adam Green one. You never forget your first. Looking back on it, I think I handled it pretty well. I’d change a few things now, but I was all of 18. I was just stoked to be talking to someone that wasn’t in my immediate family.
– DJY, April 2014
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Amanda Palmer is tired. Exhausted, even. You can hardly blame her, given her excessive touring schedule and the almost shocking contrast of minimal break-time in-between them. What’s worse is the fact that, even in her free time, she is scheduled to speak to journalists about stuff she’s spoken about a million times before.
Even still, amidst the exhaustion there is quite obviously an introspective, chatty and friskily intelligent woman. She’s best known as the leading lady of the Dresden Dolls, but as of recent times a solo artist in her own regard. Last year saw her release, at long last, her debut solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer?, produced by the one and only Ben Folds.
After in-depth tours of both the States and Europe, it’s time to bring WKAP to Australia, along with the Danger Ensemble, her performance troupe. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to celebrate. AFP (Amanda Fucking Palmer) will be visiting out fair shores to coincide with the annual Mardi Gras festival in Sydney.
“I’m a sucker for a good party,” Palmer confesses with a giggle. “I deliberately planned to be in Sydney for the Mardi Gras. I narrowly missed it in Sydney back in 2000; I wound up at the Adelaide Fringe instead and I never forgave myself. It’s a perfect time to be in the city with everybody getting their freak on and going nuts!”
Fear not, non-Sydney fans. Melbourne, a city Palmer herself has oft-described as beautiful, will also be getting its own distinctive visit. This one is going to be even more of a special, exclusive event – she is planning a slumber party.
“I’m taking a little vacation in Melbourne before my shows in Sydney and I wanted to do a really low-key show. So I came up with the idea of doing a free show by making people submit their dreams to be considered for admittance. We’re only letting in twenty people plus one guest each, and it should be REALLY fun.” Amanda also tells of a very special surprise for each of the lucky guest winners, but insisted it to be kept mum (Melburnians, get to it if you wish to find out!).
Despite not having visited our shores since very late 2007, fans here in Australia and the rest of the world have been able to keep in touch with Palmer via her intricately detailed and very interactive blog. Updated regularly, fans worldwide have read on as she discusses the finer points of her own life and the world around her. When questioned on the blog’s importance in regards to connection with the fans, Amanda is, in turn, lightening quick in praising it.
“I’ve grown really attached to it – I kind of rely on it,” she responds timidly. “It’s so amazing that I can have these really direct hits and connections with individual people that I just can’t have when I’m playing a show to 2500 of them. I can do it in the quiet of my own living room with a cup of tea and really sit down and listen to what people are saying and feeling and thinking… I’m a total ‘people junkie’ that way; I really, really like it.”
At the time of our interview, Amanda’s latest blog entry was entitled “On Abortion, Rape, Art and Humour.” It’s all about her latest single from WKAP – Oasis, the ironically upbeat number about a girl who got drunk, got raped and had an abortion. Next to every radio and music video station in the U.K. is refusing to play the song. Whilst one could theorise that Palmer knew the song’s lyrics would elicit some kind of outrage, she insists that she truly wasn’t expecting something of this level.
“I definitely assumed that conservative people wouldn’t like it, but I was really shocked to find out that they wouldn’t play the song,” she states, before adding, “especially things like NME and Kerrang!, who really pride themselves on being ‘edgy.'” Despite her very open frustrations, AFP is quick to look at the positives of her situation. “It brings up some really interesting points, at least,” she continues. “I was happy to write that blog and get people talking about the topic – I think it’s important.”
Amanda Palmer’s body of work is daring, funny, melancholy, theatrical and purposeful – but, most importantly, it is completely open to interpretation. “If someone was to take anything away from it,” begins Palmer, in reference to her music, “I would hope that they would just be inspired to follow their own desires and impulses; maybe be a little radically honest with themselves or with their situation.
“I’m starting to feel lately that it’s really important not to have a ‘message,’” she continues with a slight laugh. “Because I think people need to come up with their own. The minute you have a specific message that you’re preaching, then you close off possibilities for other people. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, because the Oasis thing was a good example. That song doesn’t really have a message, but it doesn’t really have to – sometimes it’s enough to say, ‘I got this idea and I sat down and I did it, and here it is.’ And the undercurrent in that is that so can you, y’know?”
The guys from Bluejuice are one of the best bands to interview. I’ve done it a few times over the years and it’s always a treat – they’re great people, a hard-working band with an outstanding sense of humour and a great set of stories. This was my first interaction with them in that regard, being for The Big O festivities (remember that?). This was also why I spoke to Ben Lee around the same time, albeit accidentally.
Like the Owen Pallett chat, this was done via email; so I had next to no control over it beyond the questions. I was very happy with the results, however. This has dated quite well; what with the MySpace references at all. Good times. So, here is a Q & A of sorts with the band’s bassist, Jamie Cibej; as well as their dearly departed keyboard player, Jerry Craib.
– DJY, April 2014
***
2008 has been and gone; how was it in the Bluejuice camp?
Jerry: 2008 was incredible. We played at over 20 festivals, which was a real privilege… for them. Obviously.
Your Homebake 2008 performance was a fucking triumph; has to be said. That must have really been the icing on the cake for you guys, playing on the main stage of such a big Australian festival?
Jamie: Ha ha – a ‘triumph.’ We don’t have triumphs; we have slow, grinding victories, but thank you. It was amazing to play the main stage at Homebake. It was Ned’s last show with the band, which made things a little sad. The intense heat liquefying our genitals also made things a little sad.
How have things gone since Ned’s departure? Newb settling in well?
Jerry: Our new drummer James Hauptmann has settled in better than a moment of unintentional irony in an Australian reality TV show.
Jamie: Ned was a dead weight. He’s currently in Guatemala extorting crop yields from peasant farmers, or something equally shameful. Booooooo! Hissssss! (Hi Ned.)
When are we going to get to hear some new material from you guys?
Jerry: A new single – very soon. An album – in a couple of months. A Christmas album – end of the year. Best Of – fairly soon after that.
The Big O tour is just around the corner. Are you excited about these shows?
Jerry: My work colleague Lorin asks me that question every day. “Are you excited about such and such..?” No Lorin, I’m not. Not usually until it’s the same morning or at least the same week of the event. Premature excitement is a fool’s game. Of course we’re excited. Put your hands in the air, bitches.
How many of the ‘Juice camp actually attended uni? Will any of the shows bring back some old memories?
Jamie: I’m not sure exactly – I think three of us finished Bachelors of Uselessness. I did mine via correspondence, so I have no memories of campus life. I assume all universities are like those in American frathouse comedies from the 1980s. Bikini water fights and such.
I recently interviewed Ben Lee and he hadn’t heard of you guys before. How do you think you’ll introduce yourselves?
Jerry: Who’s Ben Lee? Catchy name.
Jamie: I hear he digs flowers – maybe we’ll bring him a bunch. Plus, Stav and I have both been to India, so maybe we can break the ice by talking about gurus or burning ghats or aloo palak.
After that comes the Bacardi Express tour. What is the band’s stance on that kind of product placement involved with live music?
Jerry: Let me just take a minute from this FasterLouder interview to have sip of my Toby’s Estate coffee and relax in my Wilkhahn office chair.
Jamie: I dunno – it’s not like the music industry is any less obsessed with capitalist whoring than the alcoholic beverage industry. It kind of depends on the manner of the product placement. There have been a few alcohol company events we’ve done which turn out to be poorly-planned, poorly-attended soulless exercises in shameless plugging. But at least this Bacardi thing has a good idea behind it, and as far as I know it’s free for the (overage) kiddies.
Your four top MySpace friends are Dostoevsky, Erik Satie, Captain Planet and Avril. Who would win in a fatal four-way for the title?
Jamie: Everybody knows that Captain Planet doesn’t kill people, so that puts him at a disadvantage. Avril is too frail for mortal combat. I don’t know too much about Satie’s physical condition (when alive), but if his melancholic minimalist tunes are anything to go by, he’d be a pushover. Dostoevsky lived through a mock execution, and was sent to a Siberian prison – I think he’d know how to handle those other sissies.
Don’t you just love it when Australian hip-hop brings the funk? The lads who gave us “Unemployed” find themselves with a brand new job as professional party-starters- and hilarious video makers (you have not properly experienced this song if you have not seen the video).
79. Arctic Monkeys – Old Yellow Bricks
Another fabulous number from Favourite Worst Nightmare. The harmonies featured here are quite possibly the best on any Monkeys recording, and the guitar and lyrics are, as always, exceptional. Best line: “I want to sleep in a city that never wakes up…but Dorothy was right, though.”
78. Maxïmo Park – Your Urge
There’s something strangely enticing about this band and their music, and I think it lies predominantly with Paul Smith. His catchy hooks and his brilliant lyrics help define the band’s personality, and here is no exception. On this track, Paul deals with desperations and his both his interpersonal and intra personal struggles. A true standout of the magnificent Our Earthly Pleasures.
77. The John Butler Trio – Better Than
Surprisingly for a JBT song, there is not a guitar in sight here. Butler, instead, opt for a banjo, and creates one of the poppiest and catchiest songs the band has ever done in the process. The instrumentation is bright and layered, and the lyrics give out a positive and thoughtful message: “Life’s not about what’s better than.” Check out the Little Richard reference in the lyrics, too.
76. Tegan and Sara – The Con
My favourite Canadian lesbians served up one hell of a record in 2007, and with it came one hell of a title track. Taking cues from everyone from The Killers to Kate Bush, this track is one of many examples on The Con of the sisters’ old style given a new twist.
75. Maxïmo Park – Karaoke Plays
Another amazing tune from Our Earthly Pleasures. I find something interesting about this song every time I listen to it – it’s a very engaging little number, especially the big-arse chorus. The mix of both calm/intense contrast and heart-on-sleeve emotion is also a winner.
74. Bloc Party – Waiting for the 7.18
The first of a few Bloc Party tunes to make it in to the list. The best thing about this song, much like many of its brothers and sisters on the album, is that it makes you feel so ALIVE. It makes you feel so wide-eyed and in awe of everything. It’s a truly great thing to experience. On this track, Kele talks about his life and suggests we drive to Brighton for the weekend. He’s made me an offer I can’t refuse…
73. Arctic Monkeys –Teddy Picker
The drum intro pounds and the Arctic ones blaze into my countdown yet again with a song that just exudes cool without even trying. Bonus points for the tripped-out guitar break, courtesy of the amazing Alex Turner.
72. James Blunt – One of the Brightest Stars
A mix of Don Henley songwriting, Bee Gees harmonies and Reveal-era R.E.M. It might sound odd on paper, but this song is a complete and total winner. None of that annoying whine that was ever-present on “You’re Beautiful” and other rubbish Blunt songs is here, either – an easy bonus 10 points.
71. The Used – Paralyzed
Not since the days of the band’s self titled album have I been so excited about a Used song. Everything about this song, from the manic guitar hook to the wild vocal performance, right down to the horn section, is exactly what “In Love and Death” was lacking. To find such a vast improvement of a previous record all in one track is an exceptional feat, but Paralyzed pulled it off. Such a pity the album as a whole wasn’t as good as this.
70. Radiohead – All I Need
Further proof that Radiohead are rarely, if ever, at musical fault- especially when they’re making the music that they want to make as free agents. This is a beautiful number, probably my favourite song on the In Rainbows record. It has a spaced out, almost cinematic vibe that is a nice progressive statement of the album as a whole. Thom Yorke, again, fits the song perfectly.
69. Interpol – The Heinrich Maneuver
On a fairly disappointing record (Our Love to Admire), this song stood out head and shoulders above its counterparts on the album. Another infectious hook, Paul Banks showcasing his Ian Curtis/Michael Stipe lovechild vocals, is what made this song the Amercian summertime alt-anthem that it was. Worth checking out, too, is the video- you always pick up something new upon every viewing.
68. Josh Pyke – Sew My Name
Fewer musicians this year released music that was just plain lovely as Mr. Josh Pyke. Finally dropping his debut album in Memories and Dust, this gorgeous little love note was a highlight for its simple instrumentation and perfect vocal harmonies. Something Ben Lee could have done if his latest album didn’t suck so much.
67. Animal Collective – Peacebone
Obviously not the best song of 2007, but my god it was one of the weirdest. Whurrs and buzzes bring in the song along with the best non-sequitur of the year (“Bonefish”? “Boneface”?). While all this is happening, we somehow find the song itself in the middle of a ridiculously catchy 6/8 stomp that was, basically, a skullfuck to anyone who has never experienced experimental music. Confused? Scared? Wait until you hear Strawberry Jam. Animal Collective are just getting started.
66. Serj Tankian – Empty Walls
System of a Down are one of my all-time favourite bands, so it was going to be very hard for anything Serj Tankian released on his debut solo album, Elect the Dead, to not make my list. This track, the second single, stood out for me in particular – its soft-loud contrast in the verses and chorus, the multi-layered vocals of the bridge and the excellent video clip, creating excellent metaphors and drawing very clever parallels between the war and child’s play.
65. Josh Pyke– Fed and Watered
Josh Pyke is an excellent lyricist, despite occasionally becoming prolix. This flaw is proudly presented on his behalf in this song. But somehow, he makes it work on this song – a fast-paced and catchy tune that also showcases Josh’s love of vocal range- from the high-pitched “ahhhhh”s to the lower key bridge. If Josh keeps making songs like these to go on albums like Memories and Dust, he could well become the next Paul Kelly.
64. Jimmy Eat World– Big Casino
The Jimmy boys came back in a big way in 2007 with the excellent Chase This Light. You can argue if you like, but to me there were very remote few better opening tracks in 2007 than this. The urgency of the guitar, the anthemic guitar and the completely soaring chorus with Jim Atkins the driving force- to put it simply, they haven’t sounded this big or this great since Clarity.
63. Editors– Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors
If “The Back Room” saw English darlings Editors playing clubs and small venues, then “An End Has A Start” should have seen the band bound for the stadiums- at least, so the confidence and soundscapes found on the record would have you believe. This isn’t a bad thing, of course- the production was excellent and this song, in particular, saw the band better themselves completely.
62. Bloc Party– Hunting for Witches
One of the defining riffs of 2007 comes from this, another cut from Bloc Party’s amazing second record. While Lissack melts his fretboard, Kele preaches to all who will listen about a daunting future of Britain, torn apart completely by terrorism and racism. If you needed any reason why Kele Okereke is an amazing songwriter, then it can most certainly be found here.
61. Queens of the Stone Age– Sick, Sick Sick
Dark, sexy, confident, brooding- only one rock song had the winning combination of all four of these characteristics in 2007, and it was, unsurprisingly, Josh Homme and co. Massive guitar chug kept the backbone of the song, while everything else from random synth bleeps to Julian Casablancas was thrown in for good measure.
The name Lauren Denitzio may not mean anything to you – but if you give her just 20 or so minutes of your time, she could change your life. After years of slugging it out with the perenially underrated punks The Measure [SA], Denitzio formed Worriers in 2011 – a revolving door collective of friends and musos that were up for something short, fast, loud and purposeful. On her debut LP under the Worriers moniker, she presents a set of songs that provoke and ponder as much as they exhilarate and astound. It’s not an easy task to allow the two factors to cooperate without one spilling into the other’s territory, but here it is made to look completely effortless. Cruel Optimist is the year’s shining example of quality over quantity.
THREE TOP TRACKS: Never Were, Cruel Optimist, Best Case Scenario.
LISTEN:
9. Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience Spotify || Rdio
In the movie Chicken Run, Mel Gibson’s character of Rocky returns just in time to (spoiler alert) save the day. Julia Sawalha’s Ginger slaps him in the face angrily when he arrives. “That’s for leaving!” she shouts. She then goes in for the kiss, adding “…and this is for coming back.” Pop fans were essentially Ginger when The 20/20 Experience dropped back in 2013’s first quarter. As angry as we got for the seven-year wait between FutureSex/LoveSounds and this, the frustration subsided as soon as the orchestra swelled and introduced “Pusher Love Girl.” The slick, sharp and surprisingly progressive album that followed certified that there is room for only one Justin at the top of the pop stratosphere – not even a disappointing sequel later in the year could knock this record down a notch. Dressed to the nines, scoring a perfect ten and turning it up to eleven – that’s The 20/20 Experience.
THREE TOP TRACKS: Mirrors, Blue Ocean Floor, Tunnel Vision.
He may have started at the bottom, but it’s lonely at the top. That was the message received on 2011’s game-changing Take Care LP – loud and clear, too. The song remains somewhat the same for its follow-up, although when you are following an album as important as Take Care, it’s somewhat forgivable to side-step in a way to take a moment and enjoy the view. Drake is just as despondent and disconnected from his supposed friends and increasingly-distant family, and he still talks us through each detail atop of cloudy, reverberating beats. He still keeps his ego in check, even when he knows it has the ability to get the very best of him. This may sound like Drake is stalled or running out of ideas. Au contraire – Nothing Was the Same is his moment of reflection, a balcony monologue recited while no-one else is around. It’s everything it can be… for now, at least.
THREE TOP TRACKS: Too Much, Hold On, We’re Going Home, Furthest Thing.
Dave Hause swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He did it back in the day with his heartland-punk vehicle The Loved Ones (not to be confused with the legendary Australian band), and it continues here into his second solo LP. The stories are still vividly told, the characters constantly desperate yet laced with hope… and you’d better believe that’s Hause’s heart, pounding away on his sleeve. Musically, he begs and borrows (not quite stealing) from your Springsteens, your Pettys and both your Segers and your Seegers. Devour isn’t defined by these influences, though – they merely guide Hause on his path to creating something plainspoken yet powerful. This is as close as he as ever come to achieving true musical greatness. For those that feel honesty truly is the best policy.
THREE TOP TRACKS: Autism Vaccine Blues, The Shine, The Great Depression.
Who is Wil Wagner when we’re not looking? On-stage, he’s the boisterous and charging frontman of the Smith Street Band; delivering some of the most consistently excellent rock music this country has to offer. If you’re interested in perhaps scratching below the surface, however, then Laika is the album for you. Matching bedroom intimacy with the production finesse of Lincoln Le Fevre, Wagner delves into confessionals ranging from his shitty neighbours to his life on the road. The album takes its title from a tender recount of the namesake dog from its perspective; but perhaps a more fitting title track could have been found in “I’m Not Gonna Lie to You.” It reflects what a genuine product Wagner is – his warmth, his familiarity and his ability to tell both strikingly personal and worldly relatable stories. An exercise in the importance of being earnest.
THREE TOP TRACKS: How They Made Us, More Like Signals Midbest, Laika.
Even with the ultimate dismissal of charges, the arrest of Surfer Blood’s John Paul Pitts in March 2012 threatened to destroy the band entirely. Their reputation in tatters, Pythons was released with next to no fanfare and minimal promotion. It slipped under the radar for most and garnered only a brief glimpse of attention – notably via a Stereogum piece, a revealing Pitchfork interview and a furious comment section over at (where else?) Brooklyn Vegan. And so it was: Surfer Blood – of all bands – released the single most underrated album of 2013. Those that actually stopped to listen to Pythons were rewarded with a smart and sprightly album that carried darker undertones and an air of unease – and it was this yin-and-yang that kept it so interesting. With Gil Norton behind the decks, the band dipped into both his production discography (Pixies, Ed Harcourt, K’s Choice) and key elements from their 2010 debut, Astro Coast, to create something that could not be pinned down definitively to either. An essential extraction from the “maybe” pile of 2013.
THREE TOP TRACKS: Gravity, Demon Dance, Weird Shapes.
Safe Hands released an album. For people that have followed the band from its mid-2000s beginnings, the previous sentence felt as though it would never be uttered – at times, at least. Still, here we are: Montenegro is the end result after roughly a dozen line-up changes and eight years under their collective belt. It was more than worth the wait – it may be the finest example of what is achievable within Australian music’s heavier field released this decade. It brushes off the normal nerves and jitters that come with the weight of a debut LP and storms through a set of blistering, rampageous metalcore that takes no prisoners and suffers no fools. It attacks with brute force, yet revels in enough subtlety to not be overcome by it. It is an intelligent, unrepentent and decisively bold album. Most bands wish their debut sounded as half as good as this. Montenegro is a case study in never giving up. This is the light at the end of the tunnel. At last, Safe Hands have arrived.
THREE TOP TRACKS: My Very Own Vesuvius, Alma Martyr, Montenegro.
The best album to come out of Australia in 2013 was also its most damning portrayer. On his second album, James Alberts is merciless and unapologetic in his representation of alcoholism, drug dependency, broken families and media manipulation. He is disgusted with the way indigenous communities are torn apart and neglected. Phoenix is not a pleasant, reassuring listen. It’s tough to get through at times. This is what makes it so worthwhile – others within Australian hip-hop may speak more broadly and to a wider audience, but Jimblah is down to brass tacks the second he steps up to the mic. It’s certainly not always what one wants to hear, but Alberts sees a way out. He seeks clarity and closure, both a resolution and a revolution. The march starts here. The most important new voice in Australian music is speaking. It’s high time you paid attention.
Four hands, four feet, twenty fingers, twenty toes and two voices. That is what’s solely responsible for General Dome. Let that sink in once you’ve heard the layered, mathematical and intrinsic arrangements that are prevalent throughout the entire LP. Something doesn’t quite add up – and it’s perhaps this very sentiment that make Buke & Gase such an intriguing project. Performing on custom-made hybrid instruments and churning out a mechanical blend of avant-garde experimentalism and twists on rock tropes, the duo make music that doesn’t so much think outside of the square as much as it throws entirely new shapes at it, leaving dents all over the outside. The tiniest of earworms will pull you in and there is a very strong chance you won’t be able to get back out again. General Dome is an engrossing album, one with everything in its right place and yet one that projects that everything could fall apart at any given second. The best album of 2036 to be released in 2013.
THREE TOP TRACKS: Cyclopean, Hiccup, Houdini Crush.
In 2013, Donald Glover turned thirty years old. He also killed off Troy Barnes in Community, posted a series of Instagram photos detailing his inner anguish and defiantly released an album at Christmastime even though he was fully aware that his album was about as empty of the holiday spirit as something could possibly be. It was a particularly interesting year for a man adored for his character acting and writing, respected enough for his stand-up and incredibly divisive when it came to his hip-hop alter-ego, Childish Gambino. That he has given up the first two to focus on the latter is an incredibly bold move, and one that is firmly cemented on because the internet.
With the album’s release, he also attached a screenplay and a series of silent short films to accompany listening. A peculiar prospect, to say the least. So, has he made the right choice in putting all of his eggs in one basket? All signs are pointing to yes: On his most ambitious project to date, Glover pushes himself in every musical direction he can muster. The album features his most sweetly melodic and sentimental moments, as well as his most brash and blunt. It flash-cuts from one idea to the next, not pausing to let others catch up. Incredibly, in spite of nearly filling its disc space, it barely feels as long as it actually is.
In what was a mammoth year for hip-hop releases – Drake, Kanye, Jay-Z et al – nothing was as shocking as Gambino’s last minute victory over their (and everyone else’s) albums. because the internet is the sound of the clown crying. As the make-up chips away and falls off, the man behind it is finally revealed. Hold me close, my darling.
THREE TOP TRACKS: Telegraph Ave, 3005, Sweatpants.
David James Young 