Monday, July 31, 2006
The Panda Band releases new album
Perth, Western Australia
A panda walks into a restaurant, sits down, and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun, and shoots the waiter dead. As the panda stands up to go, the manager shouts, "Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter, and you didn't even pay for your sandwich!"
"Hey, man, I'm a PANDA!" the panda shouts back. "Look it up!"
The manager opens his dictionary and reads:
Panda: A tree-dwelling marsupial of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white colouring. Eats shoots and leaves.
I wish I could make claim to that joke. It's so fitting for this upcoming post - Sandwiches and Pandas.
Well if you've been listening to the radio this week you might have already guessed that this post is about The Panda Band. They've just released their debut LP, 'The Vital Chapter', and, having just gazed into my crystal ball I saw that it's the 2006 Australian album of the year. Unfortunately I think my crystal ball has been playing up (did anyone else just feel a chill go up their spine?) - hey, at least it knows good music.
This album is not short of pure brilliance. On first listen I was immediately reminded of albums such as Sgt. Pepper's and Islands - Return to the Sea. It is bright and refreshing psychedelic rock; full of horns, strings and a wonderful percussion section. It's as cute as the name of their band suggests. For a long time I thought this type of music was limited to North America but with bands like these guys and up and comers, The Paper Scissors, Australia has little to worry about.
And on that note I'd like to thank all the bands who played last Thursday night. The Dardanelles, Roger Explosion, Team Extreme Team, Kids in Colour and The Paper Scissors. A great night was had by all so thank you very much. Also a big ups to Meg for Saturday's Rebel Rebel gig. It's great to see Sydney's top night club hosting indie nights. Who'd have thought that a couple of years ago? They would have laughed and told you that your crystal ball was broken.
From Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town EP (buy here)
The Panda Band - Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town (EP Version)
The Panda Band - Fools 'n' Sharks
The Panda Band's MySpace (Listen to some songs on their new album there)
The Vital Chapter is available from iTunes.
Labels: Perth, The Panda Band
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ALL HAIL THE M'FUCKING SANDWICH!
P.S. Ben Lee sucks balls