Perth, Australia
Making my breakfast this morning I was super chuffed, as I had gotten up early to make a crazy tasty breakfast sambo. As I held it above my head in triumph, a shot of light burst through the blinds as the breeze whisked by. Oh the pain. Not my eyes but the fact that my Ham, Cheese, Tomato, Avocado on Turkish was now covered in the floor's crust. Quickly putting the 3 Second Rule into action my mourning was short lived (2.5 seconds to be precise) and the tasty breakfast treat was back in my hands and dripping through my fingers once more.

Sitting down at my computer to view the latest in muse and current affairs, a gritty, dusty, lint covered guitar oozed its way in over the myspace player. I was visiting the site of THE FLOORS. Like the sandwich I picked up from the floor, I quickly realised (2.5 seconds to be precise) how far these guys have come since my first sampling in December last year. Sure there is more production behind them but discounting all that 'fluff' The Floors had still retained their gritty 'just picked up off the floor sound'. I love it! Without a doubt it is hard to retain this in music without coming off tasting like a 3 day old peanut butter and gherkin sandwich. That is why I am so happy for these guys from Perth. Their bluesy, psychedelic rock is amazing for your audio taste buds.

I love eating in Perth, The Big Western Deli for Australian music. With bands like Streetlight, Sugar Army, and The Floors popping up on the menu, I think they have found themselves a lifetime customer.

The Floors - Borrowed.mp3
The Floors Myspace
The Floors Site

Melbourne, Australia

Its rare these days to find a band name that is truly representative of a band's sound. Khancoban is a little town in NSW at the foot of the snowies. Apart from beautiful pine forests and snow-capped mountains, it's also a kickarse place to go trout fishing in summer.

Khancoban's music is a combination of both the folksy and the modern. The male lead and female backings fuse effortlessly and the band's instrumental prowess reads like a traveling circus. An assortment of guitars (including a lap steel), banjo, keyboards, cornet, chord organ, violin… Khanoban take a new spin on an ancient genre, and with the help of Audio Engineer, Hugh Counsell (he also did Pitching Woos EP), their music takes on a frosty, blustering atmosphere. Think Decemberists vs Mount Kosciusko. If you can imagine a band of ex-convicts living in the snowies in colonial times, playing gigs for tuppence, this is what they would sound like.

The kicker is that this music comes from inner city Melbourne.

Khancoban - Smoke and the Light.mp3
Khancoban - I Wish I Was On a Plane.mp3

There is always a time and place for any type of music. Some more so than others of course - think Spoon: anytime while driving, Sufjan: sometimes while drinking & Guy Sebastian: only once because the alternative would have damned all Australian music to hell.

Yesterday was a shit day for me. I worked 10 hours then came home and cleaned my apartment for 7 hours (the cockroaches were encroaching on my corner of the room). With good music though, cleaning isn't that bad (who doesn't like thrashing on a broom stick to the tune of Van Halen while rubbing your nipples as you watch yourself in the mirror?). So the music of the moment went to Wollongong artist Adam Buckland. I cannot tell you how much I like his music. The first time I heard it I was immediately reminded of Beck - cool, cruisy acoustic with a hint of electro and a beat. The more I explored though, things got stranger. I don't know how to describe it yet but it's like he's quirky without all that quirk. From his little studio at home he churns out awesome pop anthems with just a dash of psychedelia throughout. These outbursts of pyschoness leads me to think that he's either doing it to grab a reaction or he is actually psychotic... probably the latter methinks - this is probably what happens to those people who 'work from home'. Take note 'homeworkers', cabin fever is a real condition and they only way to cure it is to GET A REAL JOB (lucky bastards all of you).

So far in the Unearthed contest Adam is my pick and that's not only because of the music... There's a fair chance you'll win the lottery if you vote for him:

Adam says: 'I've entered into Triple J Unearthed. The more you play my tracks, the better my chances of being played nationally on Australia's radio network Triple J. Each play will add to your good karma points somehow, or will increase the likelihood of you winning the lottery. The perfect win-win situation...'

Newcastle, Australia
I spent most of last Friday in my strange, cigarette-scented hangover mood, the kind of mood I like to think only people around my age or so can get away with: cataloguing the shadowy, smoky flashes of memory that my battered brain managed to grab onto, still taking a little bratty pride in how late I was out, and prone to sudden attacks of undergraduate Ennui-with-a-capital-E that leave me slumped in my chair, tired of the afternoon.

Actually, I wasn't really that trashed last Thursday (despite what the photos might imply), and I spent most of Friday at uni, watching films and having coffee with a mate and generally bludging/nerding out. But whoring around the Unearthed website that evening I came across Lover, and with "Never" and "She Knows Better" in my head I was overcome with the kind of mind-fug that takes hold after a huge, grimy night out. Club-hopping. Vodka-inhaling. Dancing with random people who smell strangely appealing underneath the sweat and whatever they're drinking. Yelling your order at the barman over the guitar that grinds into your ears. Wandering home alone at six or so, singing Cure lyrics under your breath, dirty fingers wrapped around the neck of the beer that the doorman let you take outside because he just wanted to be shot of you. Trying to tightrope your steps along the curb. Wondering why the only person you really wanted to see didn't come out.

Amongst some really impressive talent on the website, Lover stand out (and not just because their name makes people calling themselves things like Surrogate Turnip look like right twats). Amongst the crushing avalanche of asymmetrically-coiffed New Wavey electro-pop acts jerking about local stages, Lover still stand out. Not because they're doing anything that groundbreaking - bands in the vein of The Automatic, Editors or a male-fronted Yeah Yeah Yeahs are impossible not to reference - but because they do this sound really well. In the space of two songs, they establish themselves as the bratty younger brothers of Expatriate and the Red Riders; the catchy tunes and denim-tight energy don't so much hint at as guarantee a cracking live show. Next time the Novocastrian trio play down here, I will be front and centre, singing along and trying not to think about the next morning.

Lover - Never.mp3
Lover - She Knows Better.mp3
MySpace
Vote, rate and/or review on Unearthed

Brisbane, Australia
Just when you thought The Sandwich Club had exhausted every last culinary metaphor, along comes a very well-seaoned band called The Bakery who have been baking up some of the tastiest tunes this side of a Bordelais Boulangerie, and fulfilling their vital role in the evolution of the beloved sandwich.
The Bakery incorporate your traditional ingredients of guitar, bass, keys and drums. But knead all this together with a little yeast, stick it in a big warm oven and out pops quite a remarkable little bun.
Whether it be a wholemeal country blend, a poppy-seed bun, or even a delicious rock-cake, The Bakery appeal to a variety of musical tastes.
So reject that asinine Atkins Diet and spread your ears between these two yummy slices from The Bakery...

The Bakery - Murder.mp3
The Bakery - If Only.mp3
myspace

Oh No! Oh My! are one of the latest string of bands to get up all in our faces with some badass exclamation marks. Following in the footsteps of !!!, Die! Die! Die!, Thunderbirds Are Now! and The Go! Team, Oh No! Oh My! seem to think that they need a name that packs as much of a punch as their music. I have to say though, I think it brings a lot of unwanted pressure to these young lads. It doesn't matter how many gigs you've sold out or how many killer shows you've played, if you play one flat song then there's always going to be some jerk at the back of the room complaining to his girlfriend 'you know I'm not really sure they deserve that exclamation mark'.

I have to say though, that I think these guys are very exclamation mark-worthy, albeit a big fluffy one. Oh No! Oh My! seem like the kind of guys that invite you over to their house, and when you get there they're just really happy to see you for some reason. And you go into their room and you see that they still have Care Bears on their beds, and their mum makes you celery sticks, and your thinking 'wow these guys grew up on the sunny side of lollypop lane'. But then as you're leaving you find a note in their desk drawer that has a list of the top ten ways they would like to disembowel a cat, complete with diagrams. But before you leap out of the nearest window you just kind of shake it off, assuming you're going a bit crazy cos you've been over-exposed to niceness. Kind of like sun stroke.

No better example is the glorious pop gem that is 'Walk In The Park'. The whole song is just an ode to what a wonderful day it is, complete with a singalong chorus of 'ba da bup bup ba da ba da'. It's just tailor made for a tampon commercial or something. But then on my 40th listen to the song, I realised that amongst all those fluffy lyrics, they sing "Nice day for a driiiiive by shooting" and I was thinking 'what the fuck? Did they just say...?'. But before i could finish that question they were bup bup bup-ing away and I was like 'yeah cool shooting whatever. Mmm guns.'

It's funny how if there's happy music you just go with the flow. Like in Reservoir Dogs when Michael Madsen is cutting that dudes ear off and 'Stuck In The Middle With You' comes on. You don't get grossed out at all. All that happens is that while you dance around the living room with an invisible partner you just wish your girlfriend would get home early so you could cut her face. Even the Benny Hill Show was seriously fucked up if you took away the funny music. Every sketch was based on a big fat guy running around trying to grab girls boobs. And you're thinking 'that's statutory rape', but then the saxophones start up and you're like 'Get her Benny! She's under the bed!'

So basically I think that Oh No! Oh My! are a bunch of fucked up individuals who are trying to infiltrate our minds until we kill each other. But you know what - I'm all for it, cos they can write some really great tunes! Have a listen to some of these babies, and then check out some more on their myspace page.

Oh No! Oh My! - Walk In The Park.mp3
Oh No! Oh My! - I Have No Sister.mp3
Oh No! Oh My! MySpace

And remember I warned you about them beforehand. Listening to their music is going to make you want to skip through the park until you find a lost puppy. And then you'll just want to hug it and squeeze it. Tighter. And tighter. And tighter...

this tasty sandwich by marc

The Sandwich Club @ Candy's is up for another serving. A great show lined up:

The Mares, are hailed as one of Sydney's best. We don't mean to name drop (no actually we do) but they've supported the likes of The Liars, Louis XIVth, The Shout Out Louds, Rolling Blackouts, The Grates and The Presets. Anyway we reckon they're grouse but if you don't believe us just check out their myspace site: The Mares MySpace SEEEEE! Told you

Altona another big up and comer Sydney act getting airplay both locally and nationally on FBi and Triple J. They're making waves in the Sydney scene having sold out recently at the Hopetoun with rave reviews for their performance.

The New Black from Melbourne which is both their EP launch and their debut in Sydney - again national airplay. One of the better known bands in Melbourne but are yet to get exposure up here - in the words of Tina: they're 'Simply the Best' (out of all honesty, I'm really looking forward to seeing these guys).

Old Kent Road as openers. They're new but are going places. If a uni band comp is anything to go by, they're killing it. About to play their hearts out to the masses while they battle it out for first place in the UNSW band comp finals. So make sure you get their early. Give them some added confidence by cheering your lungs out (not too loud, you'll scare them)

Our DJs, DJ BLT. We don't know much about them except they're mysterious. They may have made their debut at the Hopetoun last Saturday, and they may be named after a Sandwich. That's all we know.

FINALLY the most pleasing sandwich to the eye. Yep the famous Rebel Belles girls will be heating up the stage between sets. After leaving tongues wagging and hearts broken at events such as Come Together Festival, the Belles are guaranteed to provide you with the perfect appetizer before your main meal. You may taste but don't touch. Hot sambo coming through!

Details:
Thursday 24th August
Candy's Apartment
22 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross
Doors open 8
$10

The Mares - Charslton.mp3
Altona - Alligator.mp3
The New Black - Karenin's Smile.mp3
Old Kent Road - A Cold & Lonely Lie.mp3

The Mares MySpace
Altona MySpace
The New Black MySpace
Old Kent Road MySpace
The Rebel Belles Myspace
DJ BLT Myspace

Melbourne, Australia
With the huge surge in DIY bedroom indie over the last few years and the emergence of MySpace as a means of distributing it, a new frontier has emerged for musos the world over. All you need these days to create a veritable percussive masterpiece is a mic, a computer, a chopstick, and a few half empty bottles of beer. Our homegrown scene is blossoming. Tom&Duds has already sung the praises of The Motifs (a tale of one girl and her computer), who's a shining star for this form.

Big Cats is a fusion of grass roots indie, technology, and a crazy idea. Armed with a guitar and a drum machine, one man called Robert has under 2 hours to write a tune, record it, and whip it up on MySpace. Understandably the sound is a little frenetic, but somehow it stacks up. Have a listen and if you like, bookmark his MySpace. He knocks out a tune pretty much every week.

Big Cats - There There.mp3
Big Cats - Turn Around Ted.mp3

Big Cats MySpace

Quite crazy when you consider they took days last year- at least their website didn't crash out like another festival I know.

So now all the talk will begin. How many tickets did the scalpers get? Possibly a few (there are a number of tickets selling on ebay as I type this - some close to the $500 mark).

If you're not into paying the illegal scalpers fee all hope is not lost. There will be a small allocation of tickets available in December....

Comments people?

Also I fixed up the links to my previous post - all working now.

Port Macquarie, Australia
I've been sitting on my arse all day trying to work out what fluorochromes go with what interference filters to use on the confocal (the Baron's talking jibberish - holy shit, he's a scientist). Molecular immunoligist to be exact. Yes I'm a nerd. So my abnormally large brain needed a break this afternoon. On a tip, I decided to check out the Triple J Unearthed website (shh - don't tell FBi) and found many a lovely tune (I'm still going through them but I'll post a best of the best later). Anyway, I ran into Sickboy's unearthed site... they're sick.

Hailing from Atlanta US (not homegrown) and moving to Port Mac (homegrown) this three piece rock it harder than a semi-trailor to the head (it's Tuesday afternoon - metaphorical speech struggle). Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that these guys are sick. Ever wondered where grunge went? Well it's living and breathing in these guys, albeit at a more modern sound. Lots and lots of guitars - they thrash, they shred, they even sing! (don't expect to understand it though - it took me 5 years to learn their secret language). Here are a couple of goodies from them. And remember, if you like, vote for them on the Unearthed website.

Sickboy - Flying.mp3
Sickboy - It's Ok I'm Scared Too.mp3
Sickboy Myspace
Sickboy Unearthed Site

Sickboy are playing at SOL bar tomorrow (details here). This is their last gig until December where they'll be playing to the masses at the Festival of The Sun in Port Macquarie. Speaking of FOTS... got this in my inbox this morning. Some of you budding film makers/musicians may be interested:

"In its second year, SunScreen is Australia's first and only Independent music video competition.
The aim of Sunscreen is to give independent artists a chance to showcase their music videos without the competition of big budget videos from the majors. We accept all genres of music.

Please note: Since we are looking for videos, artists who submit must have a Supersonic EPK with a video uploaded. Also note that the competition is only open to Australian artists and videos with a budget of less than $15,000 AUD.

Selected artists will be entered into an audience interactive competition, which will run approx 2-3 months prior to the event. 2 Australian 'Independent' artists will be showcased per week at www.sunscreen.net.au from October 1st through to December 1st. 2 of the 4 videos from each week will be considered the winners based on the amount of votes they receive. This means that 16 videos will be considered finalists. Finalist videos will be showcased at the Festival Of the Sun (www.fotsun.com) on December 15 & 16, 2006. The winner, who will be selected at the Festival of the Sun will get $10,000 worth of Industry prizes towards your next video. Last year’s winners were Broken yellow who spent their 2005 winnings on shooting The Herds 'I was only 19', which has since been downloaded by thousands.

SunScreen provides the opportunity for directors to gain credibility as well as artists to gain huge exposure. All Sonicbids members that enter before October 1st will be considered for an allocated, guaranteed spot to play live on the Festival of The Sun Stage."

More details here

I know I only just posted a couple of hours ago but occasionally you find something so awesome that you have to put it up.

Browsing through the MySpace universe I happened to come across a Melbourne artist by the name of DC Cardwell. It's my first taste of his music and it's really really good (let me give him a bit more of a listen before I properly post him - but I will!). Anyway, the awesome thing I was talking about was one of his songs. He wrote a song about MySpace Tom! Yes someone finally did it and did it well (it's actually a great song). Check it out for yourself...

DC Cardwell - Tom Is Everybody's Friend.mp3
DC Cardwell's MySpace
Tom's MySpace

We all have a dark side. Think OJ, Bilbo Baggins, Anakin and even Dr Phil (in fact I'm convinced he's evil after just sitting through one of his shows). To a sad housewife in tears: "No wonder you're fat, you eat all day long. You just have to look at yourself in a mirror." And this coming from a man that looks as if he's never missed a meal in his life... hmm.

Even I have a dark side. There are times I like to sit in my room, the shades drawn, planning over and over how I'm going to kill my brother; Tool - Aenima playing in the background. Death will be slow and painful my precious. Recently though, the trips to my psychotherapist have calmed these thoughts and for a time I completely forgot about them. That is until I began listening to Midnight Juggernauts. These repressed feelings are welling up again and oh how I love it! Thumping bass lines, loads of synth and twisted vocals: "Oh The horror" "We'll be hiding in the shadows" "Draw the devil within". This is the music that homicidal madmen listen to.

I'm sitting here listening to their most recent release, Secrets of the Universe. It's slightly more electro than their debut, Raised By Wolves, but this hasn't taken anything from their distinct gothic style. You could really split this EP into two. The first half more rocky and darker while the latter lighter electro pop reminescent of Daft Punk (they do it very well). The tracks are repetitive but somehow it works. You feel yourself hanging on, salivating for the next loop.

Of course, this may not be for everyone so I warn you before you go out and grab this one. But if you're into sacrifices, witchcraft, satanic sex orgies or Oprah Winfrey (the root of evil) you'll love this music. Go on, feed the darkness within.

From Raised By Wolves
Midnight Juggernauts - Raised By Wolves.mp3

From Secrets of the Universe (purchase here)
Midnight Juggernauts - Shadows.mp3
Midnight Juggernauts MySpace

Montpellier, France
So I'm still in love with Emilie Simon - must be the accent. Check out these little ditties. Beautiful acousitic version of Flowers and a great cover of Iggy's I Wanna Be Your Dog.

Baron's useless fact #5467: Emilie Simon composed the original soundtrack for March of the Penguins. Simon's music was scrapped for the US version however. It was considered too electronic for the North American audience - wow!

Emilie Simon - Flowers (Acoustic).mp3
Emilie Simon - I Wanna Be Your Dog.mp3
Emilie Simon's website (French)
My previous post on Emilie

So the Sandwich Club is now entering its sixth month of existence (time flies when you're having fun). We've grown and grown to the point where this damn blog is taking over our lives (like cancer - it's slowly eating away at our soul). Anyway, for the past few weeks we've been trying to work out what to do with the Saturday night post - it's the last thing any of us wants to do on a Saturday night. So while watching a South Park rerun the other day I had the thought... why don't Sandwich Club post a few reruns? huh? genius hey? There have been so many great bands we've posted in the early days - well before this site got to the size it is now - and we feel that our beloved new readers may have missed out on them. Anyway without further blabbering, here's one of our personal favourites by Marcy Sandwich (where are you Marc? We miss you)

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

As soon as you first glance at this photo of Sure Juror, you can tell that they're a band of many different characters. For starters, there appears to be one giant bearded man, two medium sized men and two midgets. I mean, they're just one talking goose short of a children's story.

Oh don't worry, I'm no fool. I understand the wacky world of optical illusions. In fact, I just eat those magic eye books up. I once finished a whole book in five minutes, that's how good I am. But anyway the point I was going to make is that Sure Juror seem to have so much diversity within the band, and it really comes through in their music. Not only can you see the range of their influences from song to song, but also within each song.

I seriously think that Sure Juror custom make songs for me. I don't know how many of you know me personally, but I have the attention span of a gnat. I can honestly say that when I'm watching TV, I look forward to the commercials. They are so bright and loud and clever and they only last 30 seconds. There's this Sea World ad that's on at the moment that is just too fantastic for words. In 30 seconds they show people surfing on dolphins, polar bears dancing, roller coasters... I get so excited I could just POP. Wow I really have a problem don't I?

So anyway, Sure Juror really appeal to me because they have so much going on in every song. There are a million different adjectives that I could use to describe each different verse, chorus, and melody, but I'm not even going to try. When one has a brain capacity that explodes while watching Sea World ads, then trying to come up with a million adjectives ain't exactly a walk in the park. I find when most bands try to have many different musical styles within the one song then it just doesn't flow too well. Sure, there are some good ideas in there, but as a whole it never really does it for me. But Sure Juror do it, and they do it well. They manage to go from punk to pop to indie rock, jumping in and out of genres so effortlessly that its music to my attention-deficient ears.

I would love to announce them as "my new favourite band", but I know it's not going to take long before I'm distracted but something newer, louder and more colourful. Either that or I'll want to run outside and chase butterflies around the garden. But for now, here are the excellent Sure Juror.

Sure Juror's Blog (you can download the entire album from here - such nice guys!)

(Part two in my no doubt never-ending series entitled "Bands I Have Fallen In Love With But Who I Desperately Want To Record Something In A Proper Studio, or, The Natalie Portman In K-Mart Phenomenon". Nuff said.)

London, England
Now, I can't stand reviews that consist purely of listing soundalike contemporaries, but in some cases you get an image in your head... LAW's music reminds me of a dream I think I must have had once of a lagered-up Oh No! Oh My! chasing a pixelated Supergrass around the inside of Schroeder's toy piano from "Peanuts".

This London three-piece create blanket-wrapped synth pop that's a curious mix of the tongue-in-cheek and the heart-on-sleeve. "I Couldn't Get It Up", with all its impassioned wails of despair, sounds like Art Brut guest writing a bonus track for The Trials of Van Occupanther on an ancient Casio. (I thought it was hilarious. I know people who won't.) "Broken Record Heart", on the other hand, is the candy-coloured, playground-sad flipside of the Postal Service's ethereal, grown-up resignation.

The schizophrenic and addictive self-titled record was cut in the lead singer's bedroom in May of this year; it's fuzzy (although it's hard to guess how much distortion the band would deliberately transfer into a studio recording), fun, mostly sweet and reassuring, a little sad, and occasionally a tiny bit dark, like your old collection of soft toys that makes you all wistful about being little, but then there's those couple of menacing-looking teddy bears your scary aunt made you, obviously working from the Tim Burton Guide To Needlecraft...
But here's the best bit: The album is, most delightfully, available in its entirely for exactly zero dosh on their MySpace. Their philosophy is encapsulated in a quote taken straight from their blog there: "No money involved, just free beautiful music." Head over and go wild.
And don't take it too seriously. Some wanker from Pitchfork will do that for you in a few months' time.

LAW - I Couldn't Get It Up.mp3
LAW - Broken Record Heart.mp3
MySpace (check their already impressive following...)

Adelaide, Australia
If only my art history teacher at school was into indie rock. Maybe then my appreciation for artists like Rubens and Delacroix would have been justified by more than just voluptuous women with no clothes on. I have to confess, my young virile mind found it difficult to comprehend how a hot naked chick could symbolise the innocence and vulnerability of the world and its people.
So in the hope of inspiring a renewed and more acute appreciation for the baroque style, I tried out the old 'art with an ipod' experience, and turned a seemingly everyday dead European's artwork into a motivational masterpiece.
The soundtrack comes from Adelaide band, All Made of Rubies, who possess a wicked strike and a fire in the belly. They will sink their teeth into your jugular, drag you to their den, and eat you alive. If given some serious studio time, these animals may well tear their way through your favourites, so brace your ears. It will send you out with clenched fists, on the hunt for lions (and there's a constructive metaphor there for even the horniest of teenagers). Theres a beast on the loose! So sharpen your wits, and show no mercy!

We might never see you again...

All Made of Rubies - A Lion Tamed, A Clenched Fist.mp3 (rabid rehearsal version) (right click > save target as)
myspace

And as you drag the big cat back into camp, here's your victory pop song from Swedish indie kids, La Concorde, to wash away the dirt from those bloody wounds...
La Concorde - Here Comes The Knight.mp3

(right click > save target as)
myspace

Sydney, Australia
I'm sitting up in bed, my voice rendered Gollum-esque by the most dramatic, persistent death rattle of a cough, one that could rival the most tragic consumption-ridden heroine of any bodice-ripper. But I can't stop singing! Luckily nobody can hear me, because I sound like somewhere between Tom Waits and Derek Zoolander's "black lung". But I have a tune stuck in my head - one of SClub's favourite Sydney bands, the Red Riders, has a smashing new single out that they've christened "Slide In Next To Me". Stuey, Chuck and I caught it live this time last week at the Snowball party, where it proved to be a highlight of the RR's live set on the Purple Sneakers stage downstairs at Manning Bar. (Pic courtesy of nice purple sneaky folks.) The crowd went WYLD! There were blunt fringes and plastic beads flying everywhere as the indie chicks screeched the refrain along with Alex and waved their fists about in dark fits of glee. It's a slinky, crackling beast of a tune, and the boys have been so kind as to make it available for download on the Triple J free-mp3 page (always worth a visit anyway). Allow me:

Red Riders - Slide In Next To Me.mp3
MySpace

Now I just need to find out what that mindblowing final number was. I am so psyched for this new album after seeing that show. If you can catch the boys as they tour the little green apples out of their new material, DO. Expect more raving when Replica Replica hits shelves next month.

Update on my new favourite band, Cloud Control: here's about 10 minutes' mp3age of Heidi and Alister on FBi on Tuesday (I think). Gorgeous acoustic version of "Ashes" in there.

Cloud Control interview on FBi.mp3

Oh, and just for the record - I love the new Scissor Sisters track. I love the pink-leather-pants swagger of that syncopated piano. I love Jake Shears' facial hair that would be seedy as day-old Tooheys Red on anyone slightly less fabulous. I love the fact that Elton John, by dint of contributing his ivory-tinkling skills, is being played on Triple J. I love that it sounds like the Bee Gees playing dress-ups with Mrs Gibb's feather boas and strings of cheap pearls. I love that there is only one style of dancing to accompany this bright yellow slice of tasty cheese, and that is Boogieing. I love that even though by this admission I am utterly massacring whatever musical credibility I might have established with you lot up until now, I completely do not care because I'm singing two octaves too high in my Smeagol lost-voice rasp and I've got a silly grin on my face the likes of which I haven't had since I heard THIS remix on FBi a little while back...

Belle & Sebastian - I'm A Cuckoo (Avalanches remix).mp3

Perth, Australia
Believe it or not, New Rules For Boats is not a manual recently published by Amanda Vanstone. That was ‘New Rules For Boat People’. New Rules For Boats is a band from Perth that wear funny hats and play swingin’ country pop. Marc le Sandwiche put me onto these guys about a year ago for their delightful track ‘You’re Out’, which I would use to psyche myself up before games of Twister. Remember that honey coated popcorn you could buy at the Easter Show all those years ago? Well, throw a handful of that and some peanut butter between 2 pieces of wonderwhite, and you’ve got NRFB.

I rate a band that can switch up the vocals. NRFB have 3 singers who all take the lead at some point, and their EP “All At Sea” has some tinkling piano, horns and harmonica thrown in too. It’s good time music. All handclaps, harmonies and lollypops. Toe-tapping fun for the whole family, Granny included.

They’ve just finished recording their debut album, but it won’t be released till next year. If you want a taster though, they’re sailing all round Oz with the Panda Band over the next 3 weeks. Its their first big tour out of WA, so strap on a life jacket and check em out when they’re in your town. Their dates are listed on their myspace.

New Rules For Boats – You’re Out.mp3
New Rules For Boats – Not Impressed.mp3
New Rules For Boats MySpace

Like music? This year's Archibald didn't quite cut it for you? Then I suggest you head down to Surry Hills this weekend to check out the photographic exhibition 3 Songs. No Flash.

3 Songs. No Flash features three of Australia's best in rock photography. Sydney's locals, Matt Booy (resident photographer of Triple J), Nic Bezzina (Annandale resident) & SClub favourite Daniel Boud of Boudist fame (we occasionally 'borrow' a few pics). And since a picture is worth a thousand words and there is no way I'm going to write a thousand words on each, let me post a few of their works instead. (Click for a larger view).

I felt a bit like Marty McFly in Back To The Future last night. No no, I didn't pash my Mum (that was years ago. It's behind me) but I did go to a high school concert filled with high school kids. And no, I wasn't there to pick up the young ones (again, that was once, and I swear she said she was 18). I was there to see Angus & Julia Stone. The Northern Beaches brother and sister duo were playing a gig at their old high school for a charity event. Despite the fact that these two have had massive rotation over the last couple of weeks, I admit to having heard very little of their music - last night was my first real taste and what a pleasant surprise it was.

From the opening song, I was captivated. Julia Stone's voice is simply beautiful and inspiring and I draw comparisons with Juanita of Howling Bells fame. Back that up with acoustic surf rock melodies reminiscent of The Beautiful Girls (in fact their drummer, Mitchell Connelly, is a former Beautiful Girls member). These guys have an undeniable talent for music and this was clearly displayed by their fluent skill on a number of instruments - the guitar, piano and trumpet to name a few. But there was more to this music than just skill. There is something about it that stirs you from within. I still can't put my finger on it. The whole concert I went up and down on an emotional rollercoaster - sometimes feeling very uneasy and other times loved up with a broad smile on my face. I walked out of that hall satisfied and worn out - this is what music is about.

Angus & Julia Stone - Mango Tree.mp3
Angus & Julia Stone - All of Me.mp3
Angus & Julia Stone MySpace

Buy their amazing EP, Chocolate & Cigarettes here.

Angus & Julia are off to the UK but will be back to play at this year's Homebake in December

A truly promising artist whose recordings are still in the budget-bedroom-demo stage is as frustrating to one's sense of artistic justice as Natalie Portman modelling in a K-Mart catalogue. You open the thing and wham! You are overwhelmed both by the sheer power of that dark brown gaze, and by the sheer injustice of such quirky, engaging beauty being clothed in a cheap rayon imitation of last season's Sass & Bide signature minidress. "Oh my God," you think, "this enchanting creature should be gently draped in the finest gossamer and painted by Rembrandt, bathed by a soft candlelit glow. Fluorescent studio light?!? Heresy!!!"

So I have a girl-crush on Natalie Portman. Deal with it. Anyway, it mirrors rather well how I feel about this band. They have a quirky and thoughtful originality to them that screams of potential, but their demos are immensely frustrating at first because they also scream "GET ME A PRODUCER AND SOME DECENT STUDIO TIME!" After a few listens, though, you can get past the dodgier bits and appreciate the quality of the music beneath the cheap production, just as you would eventually learn to ignore Natalie's hideous green sequinned top and just get lost in those eyes. (Before you start talking about stripping the music down to its barest essentials to truly appreciate, yada yada - give up. The analogy's over, and you're never going to see Natalie Portman naked.)

Cloud Control are a young Sydney group currently caning it in the USyd Band Competition. Their sound wraps itself in the Fleetwoodesque, shadow-laced guitar harmonies Midlake have been aping so successfully. Their striking male-vs-female vocals (the guy sounds almost Bowie-ish at times) play off each other to great effect, and I squirm in anticipation when I think about what some decent instrumental layering will bring out in their earnest, intelligent pop-rock arrangements - like puzzle pieces, they seem a little irregular on their own but interlock perfectly to form pictures that make you cock your head and squint to see what they're really showing you. Catch them at the Band Comp semis later this month.

Cloud Control - Ashes.mp3
Cloud Control - Community Action.mp3
Cloud Control's MySpace

Well I can safely cross one of them off today - that is unless some horrendous fate befalls me before the end of the year. It won't... I'm an optimist. Yes Modest Mouse is headlining the bill for the Falls Festival(s) this year and I'm excited as a child with ADHD.

Anyway I'll stop my rambling... here's the bill for the first announcement (click for their mySpace).

Looking pretty bloody good.... So with 50% of tickets already allocated, you better jump on the festival bandwagon and grab some. Remaining tickets on sale 9am August 16th. Check out the Falls website for more details.

Modest Mouse - Paper Thin Walls (Live 26/9/01 - from Mainstream Isn't So Bad blog)

The bestest most greatest (and nicest) radio station in the world has been nice enough to share music over the web... well, no, they've linked songs off artists pages but all the same really. Anyways, there are some little ditties to sample off here. I'm just going through the archives and they've featured some top local artists in the past: Andy Clockwise, The Dawn Collective, Faux Pas, The Glass Age, Junk Circuit, The Mares, The Model School, Pinky Tuscadero, The Russian Brides, Sound Casino and even, wait for it, Fauce from SClub's Frangipani. Holy cow.

Anyway here are some little ditties from the FBi archives:

The Model School - Sweet Tooth
Junk Circuit - World Citizen

and for anyone who has ever lived or grown up in the North Shore of Sydney, this is for you. God I love my shallow and sheltered existence....

Frangipani - Are You Sure or Are You North Sure?

FBi's Website