It’s still the stupid season (or “silly season” if you’re a purist). This means lots of parties and EVENTS, and exhaustion because you are getting old. And you can’t party too much anyway because your nosy neighbour wants your tree trimmed but you still feel like you are too busy having FUN! And in the end your idea of fun is settling for marathons of Revenge and Parenthood because there’s not much hard hitting drama lately.
And while you haphazardly try to clutch at the crumbling remains of your youth, all of the female musos are modelling. Lana Del Rey, Lykke Li… Is that the next step for artists now? Modelling? Isn’t it usually the other way around?

Oh right, this is a music post! There’s plenty of good new music out there lately and I’ve also delved into the archives (i.e. my falling-apart cd booklets) for a couple of old nuggets that the internet has tried to make you forget about.

Rihanna – You Da One

Howler – Back of Your Neck

San Cisco – Rocket Ship

Machine Gun Fellatio – Pussy Town

The Rapture – No Sex for Ben

Noddy – Black Heart

Foxes – Youth (Monsieur Adi Remix)

Let me know your thoughts and feel free to list or link your tops of 2011. Happy 2012! I feel it’s going to be a wonderful year, especially for music!

10 Little Dragon – Ritual Union

This is sadly not their best work. But I can’t leave such a talented and subtly engaging band off the list. I’m not sure what it is about the rhythm of their music and the at times almost dreary flat pitch ebbing from beginning to end; it is dark but deeply soothing and almost hypnotic and meditative.

Little Dragon – Little Man (Woodhead Remix)

9 Oh Land – Oh Land

With all the serious players out there sometimes you need something a bit dumb and silly. Oh Land’s girlish up-beat pop, though not entirely new, is refreshing. I’m not sure if I’ll love this album forever but I’m thankful it was a bit of fun for last year.

8 Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx – We’re New Here

I take no issue with The xx’s Jamie Smith exploiting the hype of Gil Scott-Heron’s husky and embattled I’m New Here from 2010 and adding his own beatsy signature.

After seeking permission, in hand-written letters, Jamie xx gainfully added texture and further musical substance to the beautiful bold ramblings of the wise jazz poet. Sadly, it has become a final collaboration, with Scott-Heron’s passing last May.

Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx – I’m New Here

7 Jezabels – Prisoner

I can understand why some have found this album somewhat disappointing. Early on in their career Jezabels gave us lighter songs like Disco Biscuit Love. It seems that after the song Hurt Me gained some attention, though, they’re eager to dunk their songs into the melancholic. And while the result of this is an album which, at times, begs for a breather in tone, each songs stands firmly on its own feet. Pull any song from the album and you’ll love it.

The promising thing with Jezabels is that they are eager to challenge themselves. Rather than releasing a debut half full with already released hits, they introduced a bold new single Endless Summer ahead of 12 new discoveries.

Jezabels – Long Highway

6 Florence + the Machine – Ceremonials

Florence Welch didn’t do anything too new this time around, but it would almost be a shame if she had. Even from a relatively early listen of the album it’s obvious that, as with the last, the songs will shake off the confines of the album and become singles of their very own, remixed, reworked, and loved by many.

With Ceremonials Welch precociously observes a fundamental part of religion and extends it out to the rituals of daily life; something which Lady Gaga last year failed to do.

5 Bon Iver – Bon Iver

I never really caught onto For Emma, Forever Ago because the music, while easy on the ear, was a bit too samey. There was certainly nothing “wrong” with the album, it just didn’t stand out for me.
Receiving some attention from Kanye West and trying out his own hand in electronic music has perhaps lent Iver some perspective. I find this self-titled LP more accomplished and developed. Each song offers something new; a bit more guitar here, a bit of bass saxophone there, and the vocal arrangements are divine and affecting. It’s no wonder the vocals are more striking – Iver says he brought in a lot of people to change his voice. I’m not quite sure what he means by that but the end result is rewarding.

Bon Iver – Wash (seath Remix)

4 Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne

I almost don’t want to like this album because both Jay-Z and Kanye West have conceitedly taken this opportunity to pat themselves on the backs for fame well done.

And yet, like West’s My Dark Twisted Fantasy, it’s hard to ignore the music itself. The songs are emotive and moving, sampling songs like Feeling Good and Cassius’s I Love You So but adding their own swagger. And the album is a great introduction to Frank Ocean; a natural vocal talent deserving the praise of these self-congratulatory rap gods.

3 Theophilus London – Timez are Weird These Days

Nope, last name-London, first name-Theophilus, is not from London but from Brooklyn. And you get that impression from his music. The album explores a range of styles, never straying too far from the catchy rap-cum-R&B at the core.

Every single song on the album is a slice of near-perfection, delivered with a succulent take-no-prisoners beat. It’s usual for a lot of American rappers to disappear up the arse of their own ego, almost mocking their listeners as if they were begging their heroes to shit out the next bar of gold (see number 4 on this list).

Not so with the seemingly keep-it-real London, whose experiences are shared not overlorded. On a couple of songs he lends the mic to a couple of lesser-knowns named Holly Miranda and Sara Quin. London hasn’t cheated by riding the coat-tails of his more formidable contemporaries. He knows his music is good and he has waited patiently for it to reach the ears of his potential fans.

Theophilus London – Stop It

2 tUnE-yArDs – whokill

I first saw New England’s Merrill Garbus (a.k.a. tUnE-yArDs) in New York City at a free gig in Central Park supporting yesterday’s news, Basia Bulat. I was there for Bulat but I left feeling way more excited about this energetic tribal-like drum basher. She is a force to be reckoned with and in a fight between her and M.I.A I’m not really sure who would win.

Merrill’s talent is founded perhaps by her self-confidence. On stage she was so vibrant and happy that I thought she was going to burst out of her own skin!

It’s ironic that tUnE-yArDs supported Bulat because the contrast highlighted what has become something of a sad pandemic; wussy female performers – whose gentle, careful and mundane lullabies bore – scoring top billing time and again. More female performers, indeed more performers in general, should have a bit more fun and get a bit messier with their style.

tUnE-yArDs – My Country

1 SBTRKT – SBTRKT

SBTRKT (pronounced ‘subtract’) is like the Banksy of the music world: no one knows who he (she?) is but his reputation precedes him amongst his peers. Which is perhaps why for the debut album, SBTRKT cleverly employed the guest vocals of Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nayano and the irresistible Sampha (his voice is like golden syrup!).

The influences are evident in the music SBTRKT has remixed (Modeselektor, Radiohead, Underworld, Basement Jaxx). For the most part though, this dub is smooth and subtle, unique and incomparable. It captures the buzz of the city at night, and the soul of an alienated wanderer. The album, brimful with strong singles brought together with the magical instrumental, is the rare kind that will stand the test of time.

SBTRKT markets himself in such a way as to avoid scrutiny and publicity. He wants the music to speak for itself despite journalists (like me) attempting to characterise his work. In a recent interview SBTRKT said, “I’ve always had the belief that people should respond to the music foremost, based on whether it’s good or not, not based on the story of the person who made it.”

For those yet to have heard the album, I recommend you heed SBTRKT’s words.

SBTRKT – Hold On (Live Lounge)

TRIPLE J HOTTEST 100 VOTES:

Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle

Avicii – Levels

Apart from playing the Laneway Festival, Active Child is also doing sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne. Which is great for those of us who can’t make the festival (wah!)!

Tickets to the Sydney show may be purchased here

Tickets to the Melbourne show may be purchased here

Active Child – Johnny Belinda (Unreleased Version)

Wolf Gang – Back to Back (Active Child Remix)

The attention motivated Husky to move forward, recording the album Forever So. While they seemed eager to develop an album relatively quickly, they also put in the hard yards to ensure their debut was of a high calibre. Forever So was recorded patiently over a number of months, not in a recording studio but in Gawenda’s backyard bungalow. Of course such a venue requires setting up with sound-proofing, among other things. The decision not to record in a rented studio space was designed to spare them from “the feeling that time’s running out and that we had to finish by a certain time. We knew that recording an album would take space and time, and we wanted a cosy feel that would carry across to the sound of Forever So.”

But it wasn’t an easy process. “We based most of what we did on blind intuition and watching instructional videos on YouTube,” Gawenda says, slightly unhinged. “Honestly we didn’t know what we were doing. We spent quite a few months feeling our way through it and teaching ourselves how to record, where to put microphones… But once we found our footing, and realised that we were achieving what we had set out to achieve, we gained a little more confidence and it became an amazing experience! It was really satisfying knowing that we had arranged it all ourselves.”

In promoting the album’s release, Husky is currently touring Australia, pretty much everywhere. They even performed in Belongil (Byron Bay), including an impromptu gig. They are playing just about everywhere, it seems… except Canberra! “A couple of people have asked us about that,” Gawenda starts, sheepishly. “We were playing so many towns that I didn’t really think about it until somebody mentioned it. And I thought to myself ‘why not Canberra!?’ So I will be making sure that on our next tour (sometime early next year) we come to Canberra.”

The current tour involves performing at the meritorious Laneway Festival. “They always have amazing line-ups,” Gawenda marvels. “Rather than booking a few huge headliners and then not such good quality bands for the rest of the line-up, the primary goal of Laneway seems to be to have a consistently good line-up throughout. I think Laneway also has a way of booking great bands that maybe no one’s heard of or heard a lot from. But [ticket holders] know that when they attend, most of the acts are going to be enjoyable.”

You can catch Husky live at the Laneway Festival at the Sydney College of the Arts on Sunday February 5. Tickets through the festival’s website.

Husky – How Do You Feel

The end of 2011 approaches and I’m quietly pleased. It has been a busy year and looking at the amount of annual leave I’ve racked up, not a very fun year. So bring on 2012 I say! The suppose end of days year should be a blast! And who knows, I might even USE some leave and have a bloody break.
BUT before I get too cocky and annoying, 2011 isn’t over. I may be hit by a truck tomorrow and all of my 2012 wishes will be dashed, along with whatever spills out of my body, all over the asphalt.
Unless that happens though, there’s some bizniz to take care of: the top ten albums of the year, as compiled by a LOT of blogs and magazines! I’ll be compiling mine for BMA Mag (and this insipid blog) soon and I’ll say this much, there’s a fair bit of r ‘n b this time!

For now, chilled stuff along with my incessant commentary…

Nina Simone – Black is the Colour of My True Hair (Jaffa Remix)

So this old time crooner has had her fair share of attention, especially when Kill Bill came out. But her music transfers well into a modernised and remixed environment. There’s some nice groove and rhythm in this remix.

Daniel Laufer – Gentleman (feat. Chloe Charles) (Arthaus Version)

Daniel Laufer is a young German who is fairly new to the scene. He grabbed my attention when I saw that he employed the vocal assistance of Chloe Charles (whom I’ve blogged about before). I am told that Laufer “had the pleasure to shoot a music video with her for the original album version of “Gentleman” recently while she was on tour in Germany. I first met her in April at a gig in my hometown where she was the support act and contacted her afterwards for two album songs.”

Submerse – Hold it Down

SBTRKT is likely to make mytop ten list. Ahh, who am I kidding! He’ll probably be my number 1! No surprises everyone! You don’t have to read my top ten anymore because I just revealed my number 1 which means you don’t care anymore!
He did a very cool dj set which you can find here and this song from it stood out. It’s the kind of song that back in 1999 would have found its way onto those Chillout albums or Cafe Aroma from Sanoma or whatever compilations it was my sister got that contained artists like Groove Armada.

Modeselektor – Art & Cash (SBTRKT Remix)

And while we’re ont the subject of SBTRKT, as you will probably read again later when I gush more about him, this guy just has a very distinctive style. It is comparable to others, I’m sure, but none that immediately come to mind. It’s just good dub and I’m not a huge dub person. But he also knows how to remix well and I think this aspect has been overlooked a bit. This remix betters the original by far.

Niki and the Dove – Drummer

Like Alex Winston, Niki and the Dove is perhaps an obvious pick and fresh off the Hype Machine gamut. She sounds a lot like Kate Bush and when Kate Bush has released an album this year already, you might ask, do we really WANT another Kate Bushian artist?
Well, I don’t think she’s quite as Bush as maybe you’d like! Her style is quite tribal and a wee bit silly and childish. Maybe not as teen boppy as Madonna’s new single but more 19 year-old-getting-ready-to-go-out-clubbing boppy.

Skindive – No More Good Guys

I’ve been watching Queer as Folk here and there. I could (and have to my friends) harp on about its inaccuracies and the frustration of watching this homogenised gay world where supporting parents are basically clowns and the gays are all caught up in ridiculous drama (the sub-plot line about Emmett joining a ‘get-well-soon-and-turn-straight-please’ church group was unconvincing, considering the level of queen he usually emits).
But sometimes the music is great.
Skindive is one of the slower songs that despite its dramatic almost Antony and the Johnsons-like approach, contrasts against the usual beat-heavy dancefloor anthems.

Kimbra – Two Way Street

I was pretty disappointed with Kimbra’s emergence this year. I loved Settle Down until I heard her crapping on about how sick she is of seeing people “settle down”. We can’t all afford to HAVE LOTS OF FUN. Some of us actually NEED stability.
Anyway I was a bit disenfranchised once I saw her ego inflating to the same heights as Robyn, but without the back catalogue to support it. So I didn’t bother listening to the album.
But, surprise-surprise, one song reached me, Two Way Street. A simple love-aby song where she states “and there’s no conspiracy behind the way to heist me”. And the strings are worked in nicely. What a beautiful song, Kimbra!
Well, I think my whole ‘her head is up her arsehole’ judgement was made too quickly and too unfairly.
It’s kind of a relief because now I can go back to thinking she’s got a lot of promising talent.

CAMERAS- Defeatist by manimal vinyl

The good thing about Facebook, and really most social media platforms, is that sometimes someone will recommend a song or somesuch to your friend and out of sheer whateverness you’ll listen. This is how this song by Cameras, Defeatist, found its way to me. I always get excited when an Aussie talent sparks up! I’m going to see them live the moment I get the chance. You’ll hear more about this band from me as their movements unfold.

Black Light Dinner Party – Gold Chain

These guys are just incredible! I’ve been playing Older Together sooo much this year, putting it on my friends’ mix tapes and just generally loving it to death. But it won’t “die” like some songs do when you play them too much. And Gold Chain is going to be another Older Together. Plus Small Boxes is a solid song.
If they released an album this year, Black Light would have made my top ten. Instead I will gag for the next musical nugget.

Jack Colwell’s sound is similar to Patrick Wolf’s but more organic and thankfully less dramatic. With Glee songs playing in shops and whatnot all the time I really need a little less drama in my songs lately.
Colwell has been classically trained and his control over the music makes it a rewarding listen!
Colwell was recently interview by mutual friend, Josh Brown (aka, Music is my Boyfriend). You can read the article here.

Jack Colwell & the Owls – Hopechest

Colwell is touring regionally at the moment with remaining dates below:

NOVEMBER 19 (SATURDAY) – CANBERRA
The Front Gallery, Lyneham
w/ Lachlan Bryan
$5 on the door

NOVEMBER 26 (SATURDAY) – MELBOURNE
The Empress Hotel, Fitzroy North
w/ Tully on Tully and Townhouses
$8 on the door

“But we aren’t focussed on another album,” he insists. “We’ve been working on new material but one of the lessons we learnt from the last round was that once you say you’re working on a new album, suddenly there’s a giant ticking clock on your shoulders; we’re actively avoiding that.”

It is reasonable for The Aston Shuffle to avoid that high-pressured anticipation from listeners, particularly because even if they are not immediately working on album number two, they are also not the type to dick about self-indulgently. Among the usual band-y things, they hint at co-production opportunities and continue to put together an impelling weekly radio show (The Friday Night Shuffle) on triple j, perfect for any clubber preparing for a night out. The rewarding experience for listeners is clearly a result of The Aston Shuffle’s considered approach.

Musgrove explains, “Deejaying at its most ideal for me is people going crazy to music they’ve never heard before. And there’s always a fine line between playing something that everyone will know and pushing them a little bit. It’s a matter of context, and time and place. When you’re in a club you need to be able to stand in front of the crowd and gauge their reaction as the set is happening. You’re supposed to take risks because you can’t always predict how people are going to respond to a track… But on the radio, sometimes we’re undecided and we want to know what listeners think. You can cast a wider net, and that’s something we’ve always enjoyed. It’s way more fun than we ever expected it to be!”

Despite the nation-wide weekly audience, The Aston Shuffle frequently tours their hometown, Canberra, with Musgrove asserting “Canberrans have always been some of the more open-minded crowds we’ve played. Growing up in Canberra, I found it was always pushing boundaries.”

If this is the case, one might wonder why there’s an apparent lack of enthusiasm for Stonefest, which has been downsized this year. “I think music festivals in Australia are evolving,” Musgrove speculates. “Older festivals like Splendour and Big Day Out have perceptively lost numbers in the last 12 months. But your Laneways and Weekend Playgrounders are entering a golden age.”

The Aston Shuffle – Won’t Get Lost

After initially changing band members a few times, Hey Rosetta! have solidified as a band, dolling out an exuberant array of prepossessing music. I even detect a Celtic sound, which may be a result of their Newfoundland roots. “I think we’ve been influenced but it’s not conscious,” Hogan ruminates, sounding somewhat unsure of my suggestion. “It could be the strings that bring it out in our music so maybe it seeps through… It seems like more and more, the stuff we’re listening to is Canadian. [Canadian music] is pretty vibrant and has been for a few years.”

Whatever the overall style of their latest album Seeds, each song (written primarily by frontman Tim Baker) has been written independently, compared by the band to seeds (hence the album name), which may grow in the listeners’ minds as intended. “Tim brings in lyrics and some basic chords on the piano or guitar and maybe a skeleton of a song,” Hogan explains. “It’s nice to have a songwriter come up with these really nice songs, and bring in this canvass that we can paint all over. We’re pretty comfortable with our roles and how we work together. There are a couple of songs from Seeds where I’ve tossed in a couple of riffs that I’ve been kicking around… But it doesn’t happen that often with us.”

This approach gives Hey Rosetta!’s songs a level of focus, while each band member draws out the breadth of sound with which a song may be performed. As Hogan sees it, “Each band member has their own preferred style and particular preferences… I think when the six of us put it all together it allows us to vary, album to album. We don’t think too much about what our unique sound is. It’s hard for us to identify this because we’re on the inside. It’s probably easier for our listeners to identify what we sound like… Our goal is to make the best music we can at any given moment.”

Along with the marvellous Alpine, Hey Rosetta! will be supporting The Jezabels as part of their nationwide tour, at ANU Bar on Wednesday October 19. Tickets are $30.65 through Ticketek, and doors open at 7.30pm.

Hey Rosetta! – Seeds

Sadly I’m a bit sick with a cold. I’m writing this at 6:30 on a Sunday morning and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Not good? I guess it’s better to be sick when the weather is warm. It’s a bit weird though. I managed to avoid major illness through most of winter, now that we’re crawling out of it my body is succumbing.

But through the seasons and through sickness and health, there is music. And man has there been some great stuff lately! Chad Valley has been quietly making a name for himself. Jay Z and Kanye West showed that their work together isn’t just pure exploitation (though I’m sure  there’s a bit of that going on) but that they can produce solid stuff. Florence + the Machine is leaking music like she needs a new washer. Bjork has re-emerged with an interactive iPad app which I hear is a lot of fun…

Otis Redding – Try a Little Tenderness

I have loved Otis Redding for a long time, like many folk. A Change is Gonna Come is a beautiful “we’ll have our rights one day” song which illustrates a piece of history but which manages to also rise above its own time as a constant reminder that with blacks, gays and women there is still a way to go with equal rights and fair treatment.

And Jay Z and Kanye West sampled Try a Little Tenderness in their bass-bouncing sausage fest single Otis, released ahead of Watch the Throne. And it works well!

Sia – Numb

I think I just wanted to blog about Sia because even though she’s not doing much in the grand scheme of 2011 I just wanted to point out how far she’s come. Earlier this year We Are Born made it into Triple J’s Top 100 Australian Albums of All Time (albeit not as high up the list as she should have been and perhaps because she may be viewed as an international artist, rather than Australian).

And of course just generally across the world she’s got a name for herself. But it was probably Colour the Small One which yielded some attention in the first place. While We Are Born shows that Sia knows how to make you dance, with Colour the Small One her music is quite sad and affecting.

Bjork – Oceania (Feat. Kelis)

Bjork is releasing some pretty good new music but it doesn’t quiet strike me the way some of her older music does. I’m waiting till I can get my head around the whole album. I’m sure, as with much of her work, it will all make a bit more sense in the context of an album.

I love this old collaboration she did with Kelis for the single Oceania. Can they collaborate again please? They’re an awesome combination!

Slow Club – Two Cousins

I saw the video for this song on Rage the other night while I was avoiding bed (this cold and my pillow make bad bed fellows). And this cool song came on with some Charleston dancing. It’s nice and simple and doesn’t try too hard. Exploring other Slow Club songs I realised either this is a great one-off or they’re heading in the right direction with their music and only just starting to sound really good.

The Touch – Sermon (Chad Valley Remix)

This song released via Kitsune is pretty great! I’d love to hear more from The Touch. There’s a Depeche Mode feel to it and though there’s a constant beat there’s no repetition. Which is maybe why Chad Valley chose to remix it. He threads a beautiful piano line through the whole song, making it more emotional and less soundscapey. And it’s rewarding to hear because, like with many of his remixes, he doesn’t assume that people just want some heavy-handed beat drowning out the unique elements of the song.

Active Child – Playing House (Chad Valley Remix)

Chad Valley is no one-trick pony. Firstly though, those who don’t have Active Child’s album You Are All I See, go get it. With harps and a very unique voice, the style of music feels like it would be best heard while looking out over the Manhattan skyline at night.

Valley takes the new single and reworks it with piano while allowing the song to pause and build. The original has a constant beat which ties it into the album well. But as a single, Valley’s version actually betters the original. Notice the difference between the original bridge and the Valley remix version of the bridge. It’s really beautiful!

Sampha – Indecision

Sampha to SBTRKT is what Frank Ocean is to Jay Z and Kanye West: Beautiful singers who show so much potential on their contemporaries’ albums that it’s seriously worth checking out their own material.

Of course Frank Ocean is getting his deserved attention, and the album Dream Killa is wonderful. But Sampha, and perhaps this is because he doesn’t have much in the way of an album yet, hasn’t received his acclaim yet.

So have a listen to his own material and acclaim him already!

And shall I name drop here? She has supported Little Dragon, The Album Leaf, Azure Ray and Efterklang. In other words, her music is complex enough that we can expect future releases to be as rewarding as Inky Drips.