Tag: Australian music

The Top 100 Songs of 2014, Part Four: 40 – 21

Posted on by David James Young in Uncategorized

We’re so close! Parts one, two and three… missed ’em? Not to worry? You can revisit them here, here and here. Let’s get down to some top 40 pop hits. Starting now.

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40. Fucked Up feat. J Mascis – Led By Hand

Here’s a strange proposition: The best Dinosaur Jr. song of the year did have J Mascis in it, but it wasn’t by Dinosaur Jr. In a standout moment from their exceptional Glass Boys LP, Pink Eyes and co. paid homage to proto-grunge wigouts while still maintaining their hardcore punk roots. There was perhaps no greater yin-and-yang in the year than when Mascis mumbled the song’s chorus as Pink Eyes let out a Roger Daltrey-worthy “YEAH!” atop of it. An unlikely pairing on paper, “Led by Hand” had everything making a whole lotta sense quite quickly. Follow it around.

39. St. Vincent – Digital Witness

What did Annie Clark learn from her time making music with David Byrne? Two major things. The first: Horns. They’re a weapon. Use them wisely. The second: Is something categorically weird in your song? Make it weirder. Taking this on board, “Digital Witness” is one of her finest tracks to date. Whether it was the spiralling pre-chorus melody, the stinging guitar wail or that all-encompassing hook, it was nigh-on impossible to deny the resonance of this rebirth. During one of the song’s many earworms, Clark boldly states “I want all of your mind.” You got it. Anything else?

38. The Kite String Tangle – Words

We’re still learning a lot about Danny Harley, the prodigious figurehead behind Brisbane bedroom phenomena The Kite String Tangle. Tracks like “Words” allowed us as listeners to edge slightly closer in this regard, and it was something to be extremely thankful for. A restrained exploration of post-dubstep balladry, Harley shrouds himself in light-and-shade contrasts, gently coaxing out confessional lyrics as distant lights flicker and glow on the outskirts. It shouldn’t add up that such depth and maturity has been achieved at such an early stage, but one would suppose The Kite String Tangle has always been against the odds.

37. Jane Tyrrell – The Rush

Lovers can fall hard and fast for one another, but where does one find oneself when fire turns to ice? It’s a complicated subject, and one that Tyrrell details with an outsider’s eye and an insider’s mind. She may have set up two characters in the song, but it’s safe to say that she sees more than just herself within them. Driven masterfully by the unmistakable drumming of PVT’s Laurence Pike, there are soaring highs and crushing lows that weave through the song’s relatively-short runtime. Tyrrell sees us through to the bitter end. It’s not like it’s her first time.

36. Ken Stringfellow – Kids Don’t Follow

If any song is stretching the friendship for its inclusion in a 2014 list, it’s surely this: A cover of a Replacements song from the 80s that was recorded in 2004 for a tribute album to the aforementioned college-rock legends that ultimately never came to be. This hazy barroom take on the anti-authoritative punk number came from acclaimed Posies and R.E.M. alum Ken Stringfellow; and collected dust until the release of a rarities compilation at the beginning of 2014. So, here we are. You best believe this sucker was worth uncovering. A smart, somewhat-sombre reworking from a truly underrated craftsman.

35. Babaganouj – Too Late for Love

Go Violets didn’t fade away, they burnt out. Their embers remain flickering within Brisbane’s still-thriving indie-pop village, as two of its members have resumed full-time positions in this little jangly garage outfit that could. “Too Late for Love” may have been born in the sunshine state, but it’s more European in flavour – there’s a strong dose of Camera Obscura, a hint of The Wannadies and sprinklings of Belle and Sebastian’s early work. None of this is said to deride the song, of course. It’s a reflection on how it immediately feels like home. May this band burn longer and brighter.

34. Kelis – Breakfast

Her milkshake brought all the boys to the yard, but what happens when one of those boys sticks around? Now in her thirties, Kelis is exploring the concept of finding love in wake of divorce. It’s quite an adult prospect, recurring on perhaps her most mature LP to date, Food. Many went with a helping of “Jerk Ribs” when asked to name the album’s standout, but it would be foolhardy to dismiss this triumphantly horn-laden take on neo-soul, complete with stunning chorus and adorable children’s backing vocals. Much like in life, “Breakfast” is the most important meal of the day.

33. Ben Howard – Conrad

A lot of pitch-black darkness took up Ben Howard’s second album – hell, it even took up most of the cover art. Positioned towards its latter half, “Conrad” allowed the LP to let a glimmer of light into the spectrum. It continues to look at where a past love went awry; and yet the song plays to the pop sensibilities that rewarded Howard such attention to begin with. Its shipmates are his exceptional guitar work, layered to the point of being a battalion front; as well as a hummed refrain that would even garner due respect from the Crash Test Dummies.

32. Luca Brasi – Borders and Statelines

Luca Brasi’s dues have been paid in full and with interest; and many within Australia’s punk community have spent the last few years in particular wondering as to when it would be their time. It was answered not with words, but an extremely loud action. The forceful, crashing drums, the stellar twin-guitar attack and the rousing, spirited chorus they always had in them… “Borders and Statelines,” contrary to its lyrics, will come to define this band in the very best way imaginable. There is a wolf in the throne room, and its name is Luca Brasi. There will be blood.

31. Swans – Oxygen

2014 saw Michael Gira turn 60 years old. He continues to haunt the realm of alternative/avant-garde music after thirty-plus years in the game with unfinished business. Amid an exhausting two-hour-plus release – the double-LP To Be Kind – came this truly terrifying beast. “Oxygen,” already a live favourite, can now officially stand as one of the biggest, boldest compositions to ever come out under the Swans moniker upon its long-awaited recording. Its opening moments are spent picking out one of the year’s most distinctive basslines; its dying moments forcefully hurls everything it has built up into the inferno. The in-between is unforgettable.

30. Death From Above 1979 – Right On, Frankenstein!

Yes, the most hyped new rock band of the year may well have been a bass-and-drums duo; but a vengeful return from the very band that made it cool in the first place made sure we all knew whose yard we were stepping into. “Frankenstein” fires off on all cylinders from its opening seconds, pounding through a barnstorming, breakneck dose of rock & roll that exists purely on Keeler and Grainger’s terms. Plus, it’s gotta be the best false ending to a song from this year: The dust settles, the bass rings out… then, POW! Right in the kisser!

29. Bertie Blackman – Run for Your Life

Another new Bertie Blackman album means another new Bertie Blackman. From the days of her favourite jeans to her flirtations with electronica on later releases, the chameleonic Blackman has rarely allowed herself to get too comfortable within a particular style in her decade-and-change of songwriting. “Run for Your Life” is no exception to this, although it would be wise to suggest she spend a little more time in this specific corner. She sounds right at home with the gated snare, thickly-layered synthesizers and the whoah-oh’d call and response. She may well have just stumbled across her own pop paradise.

28. Kiesza – Hideaway

Fred Armisen may have sung that the dream of the 90s was alive in Portland, but his radar was a little off. The dream of the 90s, friends, is alive in Kiesza, a twenty-something Canadian up-and-comer who dominated dancefloors throughout the entire year with this certified banger in her arsenal. From a crafting perspective, “Hideaway” is retro in the sense that it can appreciate that there was a “What is Love” and a “Rhythm of the Night” for every “Teen Spirit” and “Black Hole Sun.” Its spirit is alive and shuffling once again. Mash it.

27. Coldplay – Magic

In the year that the phrase “consciously uncoupling” entered the cultural lexicon, you could well have been forgiven for forgetting that Chris Martin actually made music this year. Sure, some people would like to forget it altogether, but that’s another story for another time. We’re here to talk about “Magic,” a single that allowed Martin and co. to recall the pop simplicity of their early days while connecting it to the fresh pain of a then-recent separation. If “Magic” proves anything, it’s that we can begin again. That, and Chris Martin can still write a bloody tune.

26. Tkay Maidza – U-Huh

Don’t let Tkay Maidza’s age fool you, nor the simplicity of her big-business single. MCs twice her age would kill for a flow so tightly syncopated, hooks this high in both quality and quantity and a beat as bright and boisterous as the one that fills the spaces of “U-Huh.” There are constant surprises around every corner in the current Australian musical climate; and Maidza is the latest to make a substantial impact. One hopes the fire spat here leads to a phenomenal debut LP next year. After all, as she puts it, “We don’t tolerate broke behaviour.”

25. Yoke – Jabiluka

A phrase as simple as “I never told her” is what centres itself thematically at the core of “Jabiluka,” so named after a mine in the Northern Territory of Australia. Each time it is uttered, there are further layers peeled back to reveal the pain, the regret and the loss that comes with delivering such a line. It’s conveyed emphatically, almost taking on new meaning with every repetition. Similarly, the song itself may externally feel like a Dev Hynes-flavoured slice of downtempo indie-pop, but further listening will see those very same layers revealing. A smart yet complicated song.

24. DZ Deathrays – Reflective Skull

Who gives a fuck about how many notes you can play? If you can play the right ones, in the right succession, you needn’t worry about a single thing more. The riff that “Reflective Skull” lives and dies by was not designed for any greater intellectual pursuit. It’s a primitive headbanger, locked into an undeniable stomping groove and launched forth with reckless abandon. Ironically enough, with its less-than-more approach, this could be one of the biggest sounding tracks that the Deathrays duo have ever put their collective name to. Altogether, now: DUN, DUN-DUN, DUN DUN DUN-DUN, DEWWWW DEWWWW DEWWWW.

23. Sia – Chandelier

Ten years removed from her previous signature song, the inimitable “Breath Me,” Sia Furler has penned herself a new standard; an anthem which will forever define her as one of not only Australia’s greatest singer-songwriter exports, but as a true mastermind behind pop music in the 21st century. Hyperbole? For Christ’s sake, go listen to that chorus again. Seriously. It feels like that Maxell ad campaign where the guy is being blown away by the sound in his chair. Maddie Ziegler may have given the song a second life, but it was all a part of Sia’s grander plan.

22. The Gaslight Anthem – Get Hurt

Don’t call it a comeback. Don’t even call it a reinvention. What we are seeing here is Brian Fallon and co. going out on a proverbial limb, gazing forlornly at what lies beyond. In leaving their comfort zone and exploring the possibilities of slower, more refined songwriting, Gaslight have undertaken a greater journey all with a single step. The title track from their latest record also served as one of their most striking, honest songs ever put to wax. It’s murmurs and whispers from a band defined by their shouts and screams, and it makes for a remarkable listening experience.

21. Tiny Ruins – Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergardens

The single greatest ode to love in 2014 came from the humble, warm abode of Auckland; where you’ll find the quaint, gorgeously understated sounds of one Hollie Fullbrook on the wind. The story is simply told, beautifully painted and pristinely arranged, as we follow the scent of young love through two uniquely different workplaces that somehow not only complement on another, but serve as a reflection on the resolute power that can come through finding love. Its greatest achievement, however, is its ability to accomplish all of this majesty in a decidedly slim 155 seconds. It just comes and goes.

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20 – 1

Top 50 Albums of 2014, Part Two: 40 – 31

Posted on by David James Young in Lists

He’s at it again! Part one is here ICYMI.

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40. Modern Baseball – You’re Gonna Miss It All
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

There’s an endless stream of great lyrics that flow through Modern Baseball’s second album, but perhaps its most telling moments come through its asides, its mumbles and awkward fumbles. “Yeah… about that…” comes with awkward pauses on ‘Fine, Great,’ while the line “I could not muster the courage to say a single word” practically falls over itself in ‘Apartment.’ It’s an awkward and uncomfortable record, but in a way it has to be in order to convey the dissatisfaction and blank, distant gazes that come with such sighing honesty among its smart pop-punk and understated alt-rock. Whatever forever.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Two Good Things, Notes, Your Graduation.

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39. DZ Deathrays – Black Rat
Spotify || Rdio

With the wizardry of Gerling alum Burke Reid guiding them, Brisbane’s finest party-starters maintained the rage on their all-important second album. It’s worth pointing out that there was far more to the album than what was presented on surface value: While DZ kicked their boots into several slices of snarling garage rock, they also found themselves slowing to a crawl and exploring the possibilities of more than one guitar – let’s try a half-dozen. Why not? Black Rat is the sound of a band expanding their empire, refusing to be either restricted or defined by what’s previously been laid out.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Northern Lights, Reflective Skull, Gina Works at Hearts.

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38. Jane Tyrrell – Echoes in the Aviary
Spotify || Rdio

A supporting player that has had people begging for a lead, Jane Tyrrell is regarded as one of the finest vocalists to emerge out of Australia’s hip-hop community. Here, she takes those lessons learned and breathes fresh life into them. Assisted by a stellar team of producers and multi-instrumentalists, Tyrrell revels in deep, dark secrets; conveyed with the kind of sorrow that can only come from raw-nerve connections to every last lyric. At once breathily intimate and unreachably distant, Echoes is the sound of an artist taking flight for the very first – and certainly not the last – time.

THREE TOP TRACKS: The Rush, Echoes in the Aviary, Raven.

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37. Mere Women – Your Town
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

The bloodline of Mere Women runs through DIY punk, indie rock, basement electronica and warehouse post-punk. It fits in everywhere and nowhere at the exact same time; such is the nature of its genre traversing and integral versatility. Truth be told, there’s very few bands that quite match what it is that Mere Women do, and that’s never been more the case than on Your Town. Each note feels cacophonous, cold to the touch and bristling with anxiety and defeat. It all falls into place, painstakingly detailing what happens when things between people disintegrate into nothing at all. Truly jawdropping.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Our Street, Golden, Home.

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36. Outright – Avalanche
Bandcamp

There is no band in Australian hardcore right now more important than Outright. There is no band in Australian hardcore right now that will sit you down, shut you up and give you the severe reality check that you need the way Outright will. No album in Australian music this year was able to encapsulate such fury and such authoritative defiance like Avalanche did – and in such a short amount of time. How much more evidence do you need in order to see Avalanche as a milestone for its scene and its genre? Do we have everybody’s attention now?

THREE TOP TRACKS: A City Silent, Troubled, With Your Blessing.

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35. Megan Washington – There There
Spotify || Rdio

What kind of year has it been for Megan Washington? It’s all out in the open now. Everything. She’s publicly confessed to having a stutter, told all about a failed relationship that even had a wedding on the cards… hell, she’s even performing under her full name now. The details are not spared on There There, and its seemingly-cathartic release benefits both her and those that have always perceived her to be an excellent and important songwriter. This is Washington’s single best collection of songs, and those that investigate its innermost secrets are the ones that will be rewarded greatest.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Limitless, Marry Me, My Heart is a Wheel.

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34. St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Spotify || Rdio

It doesn’t matter if it happened when she dropped her debut, when she teamed with David Byrne or even when she stole the show during SNL: You’ve fallen in love with Annie Clark. As St. Vincent, she has been responsible for some of the most arresting, envelope-pushing art-rock this side of the century. Not only was this reaffirmed on her self-titled LP, it showcased some of the finest examples of it. Whether she’s shredding with the flair of an 80s metal star or tiptoeing around delicate arrangements with the grace of a ballerina, the love affair remains in full swing.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Digital Witness, Bring Me Your Loves, Birth in Reverse.

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33. Tiny Ruins – Brightly Painted One
Spotify || Rdio

Hollie Fullbrook may be a particularly quiet artist, but there’s a certain je ne sais quoi about her that will stun you into silence. She’ll be recalling a specifically-detailed story from her childhood at one point, falling helplessly in love with a nearby worker at another. What ties it all together is both Fullbrook’s knack for stunning melodies and impeccable, tidy arrangements incorporating warm horns, pinches of strings and her exceptional rhythm section. Brightly Painted One deserves to be seen, heard and known.

THREE TOP TRACKS: She’ll Be Coming ‘Round, Me in the Museum, You in the Wintergardens, Ballad of the Hanging Parcel.

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32. Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

It was always going to be driving a hard bargain in order to make people care about Slipknot again. Six years have passed since their previous record, a tragic loss almost ended the band entirely and perhaps their best-known player exited the fold permanently. It’s either on account of this or in reaction to it, but The Gray Chapter is an album that overcomes every obstacle. It’s an album that makes the impossible possible, pounding its fists through the coffin and rising up to complete unfinished business. It’s the sound of a band who won’t go down without a fight.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Custer, Sarcastrophe, The Devil in I.

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31. J Mascis – Tied to a Star
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

On paper, an acoustically-oriented record from one of the most prominent, inventive electric guitarists of the past 30 years would appear to be fruitless, confusing and counter-productive. One pities the fool, of course, who would ever think to doubt or question the motives of one Joseph Donald Mascis, Jr. Whatever style of music he lends his formidable songwriting abilities to, the Dinosaur Jr. mainstay is sure to make it a worthwhile endeavour. Star marks his strongest solo album, delving into Nick Drake-esque introspect and sweetly-soft falsetto. It betrays what you know him best for, making it all the more fascinating.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Every Morning, Me Again, Wide Awake.

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Top 50 Albums of 2014, Part One: 50 – 41

Posted on by David James Young in Lists

It’s the most magical time of year — list season! A couple of days ago, I kicked into my top 100 songs of the year, which you can catch up on over here. Over the next month, I’ll be sharing that as well as my top 50 albums of the year. While there was a lot of controversy over the fact that no album went platinum this year, I feel it’s more a sign of the times than an indication of the quality of the music released in 2014. Across the 300-plus albums I experienced throughout the year, I completely ran the entire spectrum; from the uplifting and inspiring to the menacing and terrifying and back again. Let’s take a look now at the records that defined the year for me and see what you think. Love them? Hate them? Haven’t heard them? Let me know!

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HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Hilltop Hoods, Lanie Lane, Indian, Colossvs, Panopticon, Fishing, Swans, Xerxes, Sturgill Simpson, Collarbones, Mary Lambert, Cynic, OFF!, Shellac, Mastodon, The Roots, Woods of Desolation, The Magic Numbers, Spoon and Pharrell Williams…

50. La Roux – Trouble in Paradise
Spotify || Rdio

Did you honestly ever expect to see or hear from Elly Jackson again? After her universe of hype imploded in her early twenties, she’s made sure that if La Roux was to ever return, it was going to be precisely calculated and on her own terms. The hooks are just as sharp, the production just as crystallised and pristine – but it’s delivered with a smarter and more restrained look at broken hearts and ambiguous relationships. Think of Trouble in Paradise as less of a sequel to the project’s exceptional 2009 debut and more of a reboot of the franchise.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Silent Partner, Kiss and Not Tell, Tropical Chancer.

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49. IDYLLS – Prayer for Terrene
Bandcamp

From the depths of Brisbane, a firebrand of heavy Australian music re-emerged with a new lineup and a new approach to their tactical, cacophonous grindcore. The introduction of squealing, churning saxophone mixed in a touch of the avant-garde, while the album’s longer songs allowed the band to explore their own musical surroundings with arresting, impressive results. Prayer for Terrene was more than just some sort of post-apocalyptic soundtrack – it was the sound of a band realising its full potential and making the most out of it. An essential step forward from a band leading the pack in their field.

THREE TOP TRACKS: PCP Crazy, Crashing Boar, Lied To.

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48. Behemoth – The Satanist
Spotify || Rdio

Everything about The Satanist is defiant. A band venturing into its tenth album should have none of the vitality and maintained-rage that is omnipotent and omnipresent within the tracklisting here. Furthermore, The Satanist is defiant in respects to to Behemoth itself still being here – frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski was struggling with leukaemia for a couple of years, a devastating blow in any context. Perhaps it’s this that has given the band the rush of adrenalin it needs – a scream to the heavens, a clear and open statement of unfinished business. The devil rides on.

THREE TOP TRACKS: The Satanist, O Father O Satan O Sun!, Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel.

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47. Loudon Wainwright III – Haven’t Got the Blues (Yet)
Spotify || Rdio

At 68 years young, the senior Wainwright has a lot of grief with you people. His dog’s misbehaving, there’s nowhere to get a beer, the news is always awful and – to top it all off – he might have depression. Maybe. If he doesn’t, he will soon. At least, so we think. It doesn’t matter what subject he tackles – it’s always given a unique spin and approached with Wainwright’s distinct kind of wry, often black, humour. With The Blues, the Third remains one of the more underrated songwriters around. He just hasn’t had his respect paid – yet.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Harlan County, Harmless, Man & Dog.

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46. Chumped – Teenage Retirement
Spotify || Rdio || Bandcamp

The cover art of Teenage Retirement is a photo of a dude on his lonesome, chilling out in his pool and watching the world go by. It’s reflective of perhaps the best way to enjoy the debut album from this exceptional Brookyln outfit who, in a way, are picking up where albums like the Speedy Ortiz and Waxahatchee records from 2013 left off. It all ties into forward-thinking alternative rock with an all-important and oft-ignored central female voice – and as far as that realm was concerned, few dominated with such aplomb the way Chumped did. We’ll all float on.

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THREE TOP TRACKS: Hot 97 Summer Jam, Old and Tired, December is the Longest Month.

45. Miranda Lambert – Platinum
Spotify || Rdio || YouTube

Country’s crazy ex-girlfriend next door doesn’t do things by thirds. Her albums are always packed to the brim, with an A-team of producers, co-writers and instrumentalists filling each song. It’s this that has allowed her to rise to the top of the food-chain on her own terms – while her bro-down peers want any random girl up in their truck, she’s telling the same dudes that they “can’t ride in her little red wagon.” She may as well be saying that they couldn’t lace up her boots – and she has the songs to back it up. Giddy up.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Priscilla, Platinum, Old Shit.

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44. Vales – Wilt & Rise
Bandcamp

Sometimes, what you need is a record of furious, unforgiving post-hardcore. Not that fringe-flicking shit with the superfluous keyboardist and the neck tatts – we’re talking about the purest definition of the term, insofar as that it’s a progression from the standards and moulds set. Wilt & Rise goes beyond your average tough-guy shit and is completely devastating on its own terms, delivered with pure conviction and a seething, unshakable rage. The band are not only the most important new voice being heard above the drone in their native UK, they’re threatening to do the same on a global scale.

THREE TOP TRACKS: White Horse, Dead Wood, Wildfire.

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43. Copeland – Ixora
Spotify || Rdio

Immediately, there was a sense that Aaron Marsh and co. were headed far beyond any cash-in reunion territory when they announced their reformation – there was a new album on the way, six years removed from their finest hour, You Are My Sunshine. If Ixora did anything as an album, it validated their return to the fold. Copeland remains Aaron Marsh’s most important vehicle, with each new song delivering on stirring indie rock and heartstring-plucked balladry that stand up with any of their prior works. Ixora blossoms and blooms, reminding listeners to never take bands such as these for granted.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Ordinary, Erase, I Can Make You Feel Young Again.

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42. Neil Cicierega – Mouth Silence
Soundcloud

User:neilcic has been responsible for more internet sensations than you’d ever begin to think. Put it this way: If the phrase “Snape, Snape, Severus Snape” means anything to you, then there’s plenty more where that came from. Here, Cicierega delivers a sequel to his Smash Mouth-obssessed debut, and no-one is safe. He continues to terrorise the world of pop culture and 90s nostalgia with some truly nightmarish pairings – Soundgarden and The Carpenters, System of a Down and Elton John, Oasis and Oasis. It’s jarring, it’s bizarre and it’s hypnotising in its brilliance. Keep the internet weird, son. BEST!

THREE TOP TRACKS: What Is It, Wndrwll, Crocodile Chop.

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41. Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx
Spotify || Rdio

Barely a year after yet another exceptional record from The Bronx, their alter-egos have emerged in a fanfare of trumpets, percussion and enough sing-alongs to last until The Bronx V. Despite an all-too-simple game plan and a very specific stylistic palette to draw from, MEB have substantially matured their sound across three albums; adding in a much-needed personal touch to the traditional folk music. There’s a lot of introspection going on in regards to the album’s lyricism, which serves as a beautiful contrast to the outward and extroverted music. Their greatest achievement yet – it’s high-time you joined the procession.

THREE TOP TRACKS: Everything Twice, Sticks and Stones, Right Between the Eyes.

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INTERVIEW: Diafrix (AUS), September 2012

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

I knew very little about Diafrix prior to actually interviewing them. That’s probably a recurring thing from this point on in my writing; a lot of “Hey, want to speak to [x]?” and me going “Yeah, why not.” I’m quite happy I did this one – I really like what Diafrix are about, and I think having more notable people of colour in Australian hip-hop is always an important part of the progression of it here. You’ll see in the interview, anyway. It’s not too bad, I don’t think.

– DJY, December 2014

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It’s a long-serving and tirelessly true phrase of hip-hop that goes along the lines of “it’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.” Much has been made of where Diafrix are from – both members are of African descent, refugees that met at a workshop in Melbourne nearly ten years ago. Where they’re at, however, is now a different matter entirely: They’re one of Australia’s most ambitious and interesting hip-hop groups, currently readying their second studio album, Pocket Full of Dreams.

“It’s definitely very different from our first album,” says Momo. It’s still got Diafrix all over it, though. We wouldn’t really know how to achieve anything else.” He elaborates further on just how far the group have come since their last album: “I think we’ve changed sonically more than anything. It was pretty much a new chapter for us – Concrete Jungle had already said what we wanted to say at the time, and we’re still very much a part of that album. We really wanted to tackle this album in a really different way.”

Of course, they don’t call it the Difficult Second Album for nothing. If it hadn’t been for a change of heart regarding the songs on the album, we may have ended up with a completely different version of Pocket Full of Dreams altogether – one that Momo would not have even been close to as satisfied with in comparison to what was ultimately achieved. “It’s funny – this record was more or less done twice,” he begins to elaborate with a slight incredulous laugh. “What happened was that we were making all these songs – about twelve or thirteen of them – and although we were digging them, they just didn’t feel 100%. The concepts were all cool and everything, but it just didn’t feel like where we wanted to take the album. So we started over again: Brand new concepts, none of the songs were rewritten bar one. We more or less just made a whole new album. It expands over a good year or so, and it definitely feels like we’ve made two albums.”

The album brings in a myriad of guests, from go-to rnb hook man Dwele and Australian Idol winner Stan Walker to local MCs like 360 and N’Fa. It was a huge part of the album’s creation for Momo – “I grew UP listening to Dwele!” he enthuses at one point – but he also makes note of the fact it was just as important for the guests as it was for Diafrix. “All the collaborations that we’ve done on here, everyone that we got to be a part of the record – I’m really happy with it,” he says. “Bringing them all in meant that we were sharing the experiences with them, learning from them and vice versa. It really meant a lot to us as a group.”

He continues: ““I’m more about individuals as artists, and what they bring to the table. You could have someone that’s a rapper, but you get them to sing a hook and they could do it better than someone that’s an actual singer – all depending on what you want to get out of the song.”

Of course, having relatively “mainstream” guests on the album like 360, Walker and Daniel Merriweather will always get a cry of ‘sell-out’ from hip-hop’s highest ranks of snobbery. The album’s slick production is certain not to sit well with some more alternative fans. It’s something that’s brought up after Momo makes a bold statement about exactly what he likes to add into his music. “I need soul in my music. No matter what style of music it is that I’m listening to, I’m all about the soul – the music I listen to has to have it.” So, how do you achieve “soul” of any kind through shiny production and Idol guests? Simple, really – it’s all in the producer.

“What made that [having “soul” on the album] very easy was Stylez Fuego,” says Momo. “The dude is prolific – the thing I love about him is that he is one of a few producers that can take tracks from a certain level and make it appeal to a much bigger crowd, while still keeping that soul in there. I think that’s really rare these days. People get confused about it, but it’s all a matter of channelling it the right way. He knows what sounds good, and his musical knowledge can be heard through what he creates.”

Pocket Full of Dreams comes at an interesting time for hip-hop, both full of bold experimentation and risk-taking, as well as it arguably being a more viable and influential product than ever. Diafrix have seen a lot come and go in their nine years as a group, but they maintain that they wish to keep as positive an out look on the Australian community as possible – regardless of who rolls with what clique.

“From the get-go,” he begins, “when hip-hop was still relatively fresh and young on the scene – the only act that was really up at the top was Hilltop Hoods, and there was a massive drop-off after that. We always stood on our own feet and created our own music. We’re really not a cliquey group – we just want to be a part of hip-hop in Australia. If a group gives us love, we will always show love back.”

Recently on Facebook, Diafrix called for there to be more festivals dedicated entirely to Australian hip-hop. Momo feels that, while things like Come Together and Sprung are great, there’s even more waiting for us around the corner. “We’re watching hip-hop really growing right now – there needs to be more festivals and more tours coming through,” he says both definitively and excitedly. “Rather than having festivals where it’s just a novelty of having just a few hip-hop artists, it’d be great to see more dedicated festivals like Sprung, which is making a lot of noise for everyone. Why wouldn’t we celebrate our music? What’s being created in our own backyard?” It’s tough to argue with him – and even tougher to not have nothing but Diafrix love.

INTERVIEW: Tonight Alive (AUS), August 2013

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

This was my first interview for BLUNT, and I was quite lucky in that it was with someone I know quite well and have quite a bond with. There was a time where my world revolved around Tonight Alive — I met so many awesome people through their shows, and they toured so often that a lot of said friends and I would double and triple up on shows to see them as many times as possible. It was a time to be alive, I’ll tell you what for. I’ll probably explain more about it when I get to their Ten Timers’ Club entry, but just know that I love this band and couldn’t be prouder of their successes. 

Jenna’s a very smart young woman and she’s making a difference in a lot of people’s lives through her music. So I’m quite proud we got to talk about it a couple of years after meeting her for the first time.

***

When you’re a big fish in a little pond, it’s important to make the jump before you’re stuck there for good. For many Australian bands over the years – ranging from The Birthday Party and The Go-Betweens up to current acts like The Drones and Royal Headache – the most important part of their career was forging a name overseas to finally receive the respect deserved in their homeland. Although they’re not quite within the same spectrum as your Nick Caves or your Gareth Liddiards, this logic could easily be applied to Tonight Alive.

After humble beginnings in 2008 in Sydney’s northern suburbs, the five-piece took to every pub, club and PCYC you could think of; picking up international support slots and a slew of high-stature gigs without even an album to their name. Of course, once their Mark Trombino-produced debut was released, 2011’s What Are You So Scared Of?, the big fish jumped. With a fanbase stretching from New York to Jakarta, the band’s international presence has undeniably risen – and it’s something that has even taken the band aback somewhat.

“We did everything that we could without a label and without management when we were starting out,” says lead vocalist Jenna McDougall, who was all of sixteen when the band formed. “Even when we did get both of those things and started getting more of those big support slots, you can get into such a loop in Australia. You keep playing the same venues, and you keep struggling to get radio play. It’s difficult to get any further off the ground. We knew straight away that we had to branch out. It was always a goal of ours to tour internationally, but now it’s become a priority. It’s going to be really interesting to return to Australia in September to see what’s changed there.”

By the time the band gets back to Australia, they will have released their second studio album, entitled The Other Side. Comparisons between the record and their debut will inevitably be drawn, but it is certainly worth considering that the band put roughly three years of work into WAYSSO?, including re-recorded songs from their earlier releases. This album sees the band starting from scratch, and McDougall herself is the first to admit that it proved to be one of the greatest challenges when creating the material that would end up on the album.

“It really is true what they say about having a lifetime to write your first album and roughly a year to write your second,” she says. “A lot of the songs from What Are You So Scared Of? come from when we were either in high school or from when we were fresh out of high school, barely even established as a touring band. We didn’t really know enough about ourselves as musicians or as people to write a record that was going to…” She trails off at this point, perhaps unable to properly describe what she means to say. It’s only a temporary lull in the conversation, though, as she picks up once again. “I guess we didn’t really have the experience that we do now, and I think that’s really affected the songwriting.”

“We wrote this album over two years,” she continues. “In that time, naturally I faced a lot of new challenges and experiences. It was kind of like being thrown in the deep end a lot of the time, and having no clue how to handle things. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a person in that time, and the lyrics have become a lot more honest. If you look back at a lot of our older songs, there’s a bit of love and a bit of relationship stuff… it’s all quite exterior things. The songs on the new record, though, come from the deepest, darkest place. I’m not talking about death or passing or acceptance in that sense on this album, but I went through my first real break-up that opened my eyes to a lot of things. There are a few songs on the record that are me coming to terms with that, as I really wanted to share that with people. I think it’s quite relatable.”

The Other Side saw the band – completed by drummer Matt Best, bassist Cameron Adler and guitarists Jake Hardy & Whakaio Taahi – return to working with producer Dave Petrovic. As Jenna herself points out, Petrovic has worked on every Tonight Alive recording to date, either as a mixer or producer, with the exception of What Are You So Scared Of? She even considers him “the sixth member of Tonight Alive.” It’s a curious contrast – a band attempting to establish a new sound and style collaborating with such a prominent figure of their past. In this instance, however, it feels more as though the band are coming full circle.

“The whole idea of doing What Are You So Scared Of? with Mark was to break and see what we were capable of. It was a really good experience for us, and it really changed us as a band. When we were writing these new songs, though, we all knew that we wanted to work with Dave again. We have a really strong connection with him, a real chemistry… it just seemed to be the right thing to do. And it was – the album really wouldn’t have been the same without him.”

At the time of writing, Jenna and co. are in the middle of the Warped Tour, which they will also be a part of when it reaches Australia in December. It’s somewhat notorious for its gruelling nature, packing in dozens of shows across the country on an impeccably tight schedule. This marks their second go-around with the festival, where they are appearing on the DOMO stage alongside acts like Big D and the Kids Table, The Early November and even fellow Australians Hands Like Houses. The question has to be asked, given it’s an unforgiving and extensive run of dates, whether cabin fever has set in by playing the same set every day.

While McDougall doesn’t wish to dwell too long on the struggles of live touring – “I don’t like putting negative stuff out there in the foreground,” she says – she does confess to a struggle in keeping up with the tour’s demands. “It’s not that I don’t like to play live – it’s what I love. It’s just the constant performing can almost make you feel like you’re turning on a switch. I’m still stuck in this routine of playing for half-an-hour every day, so I’m pretty excited to break it up once we start doing our own tour. The new album cycle is really exciting for us,” says McDougall.

Being one of the first major victims of “comparamoring” – a lazy, sexist barb in which any and all female-fronted pop-punk bands are accused of ripping off Paramore – the band have silenced the majority of their critics and developed a devoted audience in their own right, from people following their extensive tours to anonymously writing disturbing fan-fiction (ask any Tonight Alive fan about the phrase “majestic dolphin” at your own peril). Perhaps the most notable aspect of the evolution of Tonight Alive, however, is Jenna herself becoming somewhat of a role model to younger music fans, particularly Australian girls that may someday wish to start their own band.

“I can remember being eleven years old, sitting on my bed trying to write my first-ever song on the classical acoustic guitar that I learned how to play on,” she says. “I don’t know why I started saying it, but I said that I wanted to help people that need help. I didn’t really think of it again until maybe a couple of years ago, when I realised that our music was starting to somehow affect people; changing not so much their life, but maybe their direction or perspective. That’s really important to me. I do feel responsible for our fans in that sense – today, I read a few letters that we’ve been given on tour. Jesus Christ, some of them are super heavy. If you can mean so much to someone, it feels like you’re doing something right. It certainly puts things into perspective – I can be really shitty, and then open a letter from a fan and start to think that this is where I’m meant to be.”

She takes a deep breath, and adds succinctly: “It all makes sense again.”

INTERVIEW: Seeker Lover Keeper (AUS), July 2011

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

In 2011, I saw Seeker Lover Keeper five times. I also met all three of them and welled up like an infant. It was three of my heroes from the class of 2004 (go check out all of their releases from that year and thank me later) making remarkably beautiful music together. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I get really happy when I think about that time in my life – I was super-close to finishing uni, I felt like I was getting somewhere with my writing and I had this goddamn album! So yeah, I spoke to Sarah Blasko and despite seeing all three of these women in public several times since I have never had the guts to go speak to any of them again. I’d probably bore them to death, anyway.

– DJY, October 2014

***

Anyone can dream up a supergroup, but it’s very rare that these fantasies actually come to fruition. It’s also very rare to see it happen of late outside the field of big, burly rock – anyone for Chickenfoot or Hellyeah? It’s interesting that it’s taken something as left-field and unexpected as Seeker Lover Keeper to break this mould. The collaboration between Sarah Blasko, Holly Throsby and Sally Seltmann was first brought to wider attention upon their announcement as a part of the 2011 Splendour in the Grass festival, but the idea of uniting three of Australia’s finest voices has been in the works for quite some time.

“I think I saw Holly play live first – we had a common manager at the time,” says Blasko when asked to recall the origins of her friendship between her counterparts. “Sally, I remember hearing on the radio for the first time and really loving her music – that would have been around the time of her first album. After seeing each other around all the time, I guess it was natural that our friendship developed. We’ve all got a lot in common, and have the same kind of sense of humour. I guess it was only a matter of time.”

It was after a show that Seltmann showed the other two a song she had been working on entitled Rest Your Head On My Shoulder, which would go on to become the final track on the SLK album. “That was really the turning point,” recalls Blasko, “where we all genuinely wanted it to happen. Sally came up with the name, and we scheduled to record not long after all of that.” Considering that Blasko’s last album, As Day Follows Night, was recorded across a month in Stockholm, it certainly came as a notable change to record Seeker Lover Keeper in New York across a fortnight.

“We all wanted to have a really different experience from the last time we all recorded albums,” says Blasko. “We kind of set ourselves a few parameters for this record. We wanted it to be recorded in a really large way. The harmonies, the base of the sound, we just wanted it all to be really natural, really organic. We decided very early on that we wanted it all to be very simple. Kind of like a folk album – I mean, it’s obviously got other elements in there as well, but our sole intention was just to create a simple, beautiful album.”

Mission accomplished. Seeker Lover Keeper is an album of cohesive musicianship, strikingly honest lyrics and kind of freeze-in-tracks, jaw-on-floor close harmony that would normally only come through shared bloodlines. Blasko is particularly enthusiastic about just how liberating it felt to be singing alongside these women, describing it as a “really wonderful” experience. “I think probably the last time I ever really sang like this, in this way, is with my sister when I was really young,” she adds. “In a way, all three of us kind of become children again when we start singing together. It’s a really special, pure thing to do. All of us have had harmonies on our records before – Sally, especially – but I guess we’ve never really had the means to properly replicate our harmonies live. It’s been so fun rehearsing these songs, and finally being able to do it like this.”

Another interesting aspect of Seeker Lover Keeper was its songwriting process. Rather than simply penning songs for themselves to sing, each of the three women wrote songs for the others to sing. Blasko, who sings the most lead vocals out of the three, says that although it was certainly a challenge, the end result was more than rewarding. “I’ve often enjoyed doing covers and things like that,” she comments. “When you sing someone else’s words, you have to put yourself into their mind a bit. You have to draw on your own experience, but you’re struck by these words that you wouldn’t say yourself. It really makes you pay attention to the way it’s been constructed. To me, it was a real pleasure to sing those songs.”

With the role reversed, Blasko emphasises just how amazed she was with what Throsby and Seltmann did with her songs. “It’s really quite amazing to see your songs take on a different meaning when they’re in someone else’s hands,” Sarah notes. “People just have different inflections, different ways of saying the one thing. Hearing Sally do On My Own, I thought she just sounded so sweet and so pure. It was really lovely to hear it done so differently.”

The songs will be brought to life on the band’s first ever tour, extensively taking in most of the east coast of Australia. With Dirty Three drummer Jim White at the helm, Blasko is really excited to be performing songs from the album, as well as each other’s songs. “We’ll definitely throw in a few of our own,” she promises. “It’s going to be really special.”

INTERVIEW: The Butterfly Effect (AUS), June 2010

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

I loved this band so much back in the day. They’re an opportune band for angst-ridden teenagers in Australia, what can I say? Begins Here is a fantastic album, one that definitely holds up in the wave of so called “progan” (prog-bogan) bands of the time. I really didn’t like their third album, Final Conversation of Kings, but I think I only subtly dug at it in this feature. Glenn’s a good dude and an easy interview. I remember being in a great mood during this talk as I’d just finished uni for the semester. I was recording on a barely-working USB mp3 player with a completely cracked screen. Punk as fuck, right?

Also worth pointing out that the fourth album discussed in the interview never happened. Clint, the band’s singer, quit in 2012 and they’ve only briefly played since with a new vocalist. Not sure where that’s at, maybe they’re done?

– DJY, October 2014

***

“Hey, mate, what’s going on?” It’s refreshing to hear the voice of a successful Australian musician – in this instance, The Butterfly Effect’s bassist Glenn Esmond – sounding like they’re chatting to an old mate as opposed to a scheduled interviewer.

It’s early Thursday morning, and Esmond has been enjoying a bit of time off from the road and working on some new material with the band. “Writing songs of all sorts and kinds!” he reports enthusiastically. He continues to discuss the influences behind the early stages of what will become the band’s fourth album.

“We try not to get too easily influenced to the point where whatever you’re hearing at the time ends up on record. I think that it’s always just life stuff when it comes to the writing – y’know, if you’re in a bit of a shit mood you’ll go and write some dark riffs. If you’re in a happy mood, you’ll be writing happy riffs. But yeah, I think it’s all sounding pretty cool so far. It’s sounding a bit more demanding than our other stuff – like, you’ve got to give it a bit more time. We’re only at the demo stage at this point, though; so we could end up with a set of three minute pop songs. Who knows?”

Who indeed. If one can criticise the Butterfly Effect for anything, it certainly can’t be for resting on their laurels. Though their last album, 2008’s Final Conversation of Kings, didn’t fare as well in a commercial or critical sense as its predecessor Imago, the band’s attempts at expanding their sound and progressing were definitely sewn amongst the tracklisting.

This was evidenced especially by the seven-minute Worlds on Fire, complete with some of guitarist Kurt Goedhart’s most brooding and dark guitar sound yet, as well as incorporating a jazzy trumpet solo. Is there any clue as to which direction the band will be taking this time around? Esmond isn’t so sure just yet.

“Ahh, who knows, man? The kind of music we’re doing – y’know, it is what it is. There isn’t too much thought into the process. It’s kinda more that we just see what happens and you work with what you get. Some bands will say that they work towards a certain idea or concept, but we’ve never really been one of those bands. I think that each of our albums are totally products of their environment. Any of our recordings is just a reflection of us at the time, just going with it.”

Even though the album is far from completion stage – Esmond predicts an early 2011 release – he promises that the band will be playing a handful of new songs on their upcoming tour dates. The band’s tour dates for the rest of the year kick off this weekend, as the band take to the stage of Luna Park this Queen’s Birthday long weekend for the annual Come Together festival. “Yeah, that’s gonna be a good one!” Esmond enthuses when we broach the subject.

“We’ve played that a couple of times and it’s always pretty good – the crowd always has kids that are really into it and I’m really keen to be kinda co-headlining alongside Gyroscope. The Gyro boys are always up for a laugh and they’re a killer live band. I’ve heard a couple of good things about House Vs. Hurricane, too; will see if I can check them out, for sure.”

Shortly afterwards, the band are gearing up for a tour entitled ‘Four Wheels And A Heartbeat’. It begins in Adelaide in late June and ends in Darwin (“the ski club there is in a really beautiful place!” says Esmond) in early August. The band will be stopping in a string of remote and regional areas – a far cry from their capital cities tour of last year that culminated in the filming of their live DVD at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre. When asked about the extensive tour dates, however, Glenn is quick to point out that it’s not as great a stretch from what the band have been doing normally for the past few years.

“Yeah, I think we’re known for being a band that is known for playing a lot of regional shows. We’ve been doing it for so many years, so we just thought it would be good to just get back to doing it. It’s cool we’re getting to play a lot of places that bands don’t normally visit. We’ve played a couple of these places before with a band like Grinspoon, but I think it’s really remarkable to be able to play a bigger place like the Enmore and then play some RSL to a couple of hundred people.”

No matter where you see the band over the next few month – from Come Together to Campbelltown – rest assured you’ll bear witness to a solid, energetic performance from the Butterfly Effect boys. Esmond’s certainly looking forward to the rest of 2010.

INTERVIEW: Red Riders (AUS), November 2009

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

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

***

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.”

Of course, going to see the Red Riders on tour in a small pub or club means a lot more in our current live music situation than it has in quite some time. Last month, Grigg angrily posted on Twitter against Sun Herald columnist Sam de Brito and his article commenting on the live music situation that the city of Sydney has found itself in.”

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.

INTERVIEW: Bluejuice (AUS), February 2009

Posted on by David James Young in Interviews

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.