Forming late 2008 around charismatic guitarist/vocalist Marty Frawley and bassist Rick Milovanovic, the Twerps have quickly risen to become one of Melbourne, Australia’s favourite pop bands. They play their own brand of warm and incredibly infectious pop, with elements of the 80’s Flying Nun sound and 90’s lo-fi. Marty’s cheeky but heartfelt songs are complemented by the crystalline guitar lines of guitarist Julia MacFarlane (ex Batrider) and the sympathetic percussion of drummer Patrick O’Neill. Twerps signed to Merge Records internationally in 2014 and released effortless eight song EP “Underlay” in August. Much anticipated second album “Range Anxiety” was released by Chapter Records for Australia/New Zealand and Merger Records for the rest of the world in January 2015
You probably haven’t heard of Husky before now. That’s because compared to most young musicians operating in this era of uninterrupted connectivity and non-stop self-promotion, the Australian quartet might as well have crafted their debut full-length somewhere atop the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. With its warm, acoustic timbres and carefully crafted songs, “Forever So” is the sound of a band that from its inception cared more about making one sublime album than acquiring a million followers on Twitter.
Front man Husky Gawenda and keyboard player Gideon Preiss are cousins who grew up together and discovered their love of music, together. Though the four band members have disparate tastes, their shared passion for classic sounds, rich harmonies, and artful song writing points back to the artists they grew up on: Crosby Stills & Nash, Bob Dylan, the Doors, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, the Beach Boys. Yet while Gideon took easily to the life of the performing musician, playing in myriad bands throughout his teenage years, Gawenda, who spent years writing songs alone in his bedroom, shied away from the spotlight. “I was actually terrified of performing,” he admits. “It took a lot of will power to start singing my own songs in front of anybody, but I was determined to do it, because I always had the dream of playing music as my way of life.”
The second half of 2013 was a period of feverish song writing for Husky Gawenda. The result of that time of intense creativity is Ruckers Hill, their second album for the much loved band, Husky.
While the songs sometimes came in a rush, there were times when Gawenda had to search for inspiration in the most unlikely places. He would walk around his local neighbourhood in Melbourne’s Collingwood and down to the Merri Creek recording snippets of ideas and poems and word plays on his phone. He borrowed a 1970’s Hermes portable typewriter from his father, the renowned Melbourne journalist Michael Gawenda, to try and make the ideas come.
At one stage he would drop into a Smith Street café every morning for coffee and while there he would read Leonard Cohen’s 1966 novel Beautiful Losers in tiny portions. The café had it in its bookshelf; he would take it out, read a page or two and put it back for the next morning.
The record took a long time to make, through 2013 and into this year. There were those periods of intensely creative songwriting but there were also times when the writing came slowly. “The first album was hard but this was really hard. Albums are difficult to make.” I was alone some of the time, but a lot of the time I had Gideon (keys and co-producer) working with me, testing, re-arranging, and being brutally honest about what he thought worked and what didn’t.’’
So here it is. Ruckers Hill, named after a spot in Northcote, Melbourne. The band have a new drummer – Arron Light – but Husky (vocals, guitar), his cousin Gideon Preiss (keyboards) and Evan Tweedie (bass guitar) remain.
Gideon, Evan and Husky and later Arron, worked on the songs, refining and deepening their sound and their resonance. The feel of Ruckers Hill came from playing live so often and always wanting the show to be bigger and better and bolder. “We wanted songs that would take the show to another level.”
So how does it sound? Ruckers Hill is a sophisticated record that is both delicate and tender – as we have come to expect – but also has an endearing simplicity and keen sense of fun. At a base level, it is great to sing along with. At a critical level it is a record that advances Husky’s songwriting and the band’s musicianship to dynamic new levels, where both the small beauties of a life and the universal wonders of that same life are documented. Gawenda says the songs are less burdened with detail (even though he acknowledges that as one of the band’s trademarks). He says the songs are more in the moment and more immediate.
Ruckers Hill is a little different to Forever So, the adored, breakthrough debut album of 2012. But this is Husky. It’s still Husky. It is still a very particular sound that only they could create: that sense of classic song writing after an adolescence filled with America, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, George Harrison, Simon & Garfunkel and Leonard Cohen records and infused with a very exact lyrical expertise.
Taken from the LP: “Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit”
Released on March 23rd Worldwide (March 20th in Australia/NZ) Courtney Barnett has a new album coming out soon, and that is a reason to be excited that you are a living human being with functional ears. Barnett’s already earned herself an Album Of The Week thanks to 2013’s great The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas, but her forthcoming Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit is actually her official full-length debut. We’ve posted the awesome first single “Pedestrian At Best,” previously and now she’s followed it up with this awesome track “Depreston,” a lovely, ambling, finely observed song about moving to California and then realizing that you are in a sad, sad place.and with a video of front lawns,
Pre-order “Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit”:
Sydney’s Spirit Valley exist within some strange, twisted limbo of the Australian music scene. To anyone who’s encountered them, they are undeniably, earth-shatteringly fantastic. There’s a Faster Louder review that introduces them as “Best. Band. Ever” and some live photos, but thats about it. Granted the “Death”EP is their first official release, and with distribution from the excellent Dream Damage it’s evident that things are about to change.
Made up of duo of Dave ‘Spirit’ Tomlinson and Chris ‘Valley’ Stabback, Spirit Valley provide the doomshine delivery of swelling guitars and huge drums. Although ‘Doomshine’ sounds like one of those fucking stupid genre names once you actually listen to Spirit Valley, it’s more than apparent that the phrase really does inhabit the sound. From the gradual growl and minimal strums to the slamming snares and reverb dense, furious strikes of the guitars on “Bring Out The Barrel”, each track blossoms up from its dark grinding roots into expansive aching choruses.
My only initial qualm when hearing the EP was coming to terms with the sheer ferocity and volume of DaveTomlinson’s vocals. It was only when I saw them live that everything clicked into place. Whether he’s crooning like a drunken pirate doing karaoke on the harpsichord opening “Sazerac”, or howling from the bottom of his lungs on Doomshine Blues, the rich roaring chants of Tomlinson are what makes Spirit Valley. And then there’s the title track. This song is what the EP is really all about, what Spirit Valley are about, and what a really fucking good song is about. “Death” is one of those freakily fantastic songs which immediately catapults the listener into a spine-shaking , soul-destroying riff and coupled the building kicks, hisses and howls, it’s a perfect song by anyone’s standards. This is what Spirit Valley do best, where percussion and guitar come together so seamlessly, and with such ease that you immediately lose yourself.
Dick Diver is the moniker of a carefree dream-rock quartet from Australia. But it turns out Dick Diver is a character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender Is The Night”, a literary reference about a doomed psychoanalyst that makes far more sense — and feels much more meaningful . Their third album Melbourne, Florida , is a wonderful listen , the surprises kept coming, like when the end of “Year In Pictures” breaks out into a lush saxophone solo, or on the next track, “Leftovers,” when the band’s only female member — drummer Stephanie Hughes — takes over lead vocal duty. For most tracks Hughes joins guitarist Rupert Edwards on vocals, and their musical chemistry is one of the most enjoyable parts of the record. It’s part of what helps them rise above clever, jangling pop and into more experimental and psychedelic territory without it ever feeling forced. Edwards sounds like he’s channeling Lou Reed sometimes, like on “% Points” when he clips his phrasing to flit around guitar parts and slides up and down to notes like Reed would. Though this is the group’s third album, none of them have been released in the US until now, but Melbourne, Florida is a great entry point regardless. Melbourne, Florida will be out 10th March via Trouble In Mind/Chapter Music.
Led by the fanciful charm of Tim Karmouche (Hollow Everdaze), Crepes bring about breezy pop ditties through infectious, guitar-laden arrangements.Crepes are a mellow band from Melbourne who have uploaded a proper recording of ‘Ain’t Horrible‘, a song that’s been around since at least the start of the year. Displaying a desire to hone in on their sound, they appear to have removed any previous work off the internet and are trying to start clean with ‘Ain’t Horrible’.
It’s chill and laid back like Dick Diver, Mac DeMarco, Twerps, but the chorus actually reminds me of a lo-fi version of Grizzly Bear with it’s careful drumming and vocal layering. It’s a pleasant mix between slacker lyrics such as “I just want to go back to bed” and the delicate craftsmanship of a band not content with just lounging around their house for the rest of their youth. It’s the kind of attitude that makes Real Estate stand out from the nonchalant pack.
Crepes perform live as a five piece band, and have a debut EP set for release in early 2015.
Alpine are an Australianindie pop band from Melbourne,Forming in 2009, they were originally known as Swiss before deciding to change their name on account of a similar-sounding Australian band, The Swiss. As Alpine, they released their debut EP “Zurich” in 2010 and their debut album “A Is for Alpine” in Australia in 2012 . The album’s second single, “Gasoline,” was released in July 2012. described as an “unforgettably light and charismatic gem.Alpine were nominated for “Best Breakthrough Artist in 2013. the band are just about to set on tour again in mid February 2015
Sydney is evidently the city of the week, because here comes Gordi, a 21-year-old indie folk/folktronic singer-songwriter whose pure, clear tones over sparse synthetic accompaniments and minimal acoustic guitar, have drawn comparisons with Angel Olsen, Asgeir and Laura Marling. “Nothing’s As It Seems” is about about “the struggle to move on from something or someone”, she says, explaining that the lyrics are a lot darker than the melody in order to show the difference “between the face we show others and what we’re actually feeling inside”. Breezy wintry melancholy at its finest.
The Church, a mystical indie band from down under; known well for the imagery layered under lush guitars and stand out riffs, absolutely met the expectation of a one of a kind, dreamlike experience. On this day in 1988, The Church released its fifth album, ‘Starfish,’ featuring the singles “Under the Milky Way,”“Reptile” and “Destination” One of that decade’s best works. it certainally has aged so much better than most albums of that era. Starfish is the fifth studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Church, released in February 1988. It was the band’s big breakthrough album, “Starfish” went gold in America and has remained the band’s most commercially successful release. The first single, “Under the Milky Way”, charted well into the USA Top 40, leading to significant exposure of the then relatively underground Australian act.
Starfish is a beautiful, magical album that stood out “Under the Milky Way”. The track has continued to be a from it’s usage in the movie Donnie Darko, “Reptile” is another specific track from Starfish that has just held so much power from the opening riff both powerful and sinister; the overall message of learning from your mistakes and moving on, but always seeing the past as it was, not through the rose colored glasses that color reality given enough elapsed time.
“A New Season” sung by Peter Koppes, was even better live that it was on the album. The band took a break after completing “Starfish” . The album was recorded/produced in Los Angeles by L.A. session musicians Waddy WachtelandGreg Ladanyi. The recording is more sparse and open than its predecessor, “Heyday“, which featured orchestral arrangements with brass and strings. Many of its songs have seen heavy rotation in live set lists, and the album remains a favorite among many fans.
The song “Under the Milky Way” was co-written by Steve Kilbey with his then-girlfriend Karin Jansson of Pink Champagne. Because the band was unable to get a drum track which sounded right live in the studio by Richard Ploog, the band played to a click track and later session musician Russ Kunkel was brought in to add drums and percussion.
The album’s title was taken from singer/bassist Steve Kilbey‘s nickname for friend/ musical partner DonnetteThayer, who signed herself that way on postcards she sent to Kilbey. Kilbey contributed a long untitled poem to the album’s liner notes. “Hotel Womb” has dream-themed lyrics relating to an imagined wedding. Music videos were filmed for “Under The Milky Way” and “Reptile.” The fifth season of the US TV show, Miami Vice, featured two songs from the album. “Under the Milky Way” was used in an episode called “Asian Cut” and “Blood Money” was showcased throughout “Heart Of Night” (18 November 1988).
Steve Kilbey – bass guitar, lead vocals
Peter Koppes – guitars, lead vocal on “A New Season”
Marty Willson-Piper – guitars, lead vocal on “Spark”
Richard Ploog – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
Greg Kuehn – keyboards
Russ Kunkel– drums and percussion on “Under The Milky Way
The Fat Angel Sings 