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Listening to ‘Invisible By Day’, the debut LP from San Francisco three piece Hey Young Believer, made me feel like I knew the band; or more to the point, that they knew me. The album followed me through my day – ‘Tidal Waves’ bounced me out of bed, ‘Waking Up On The Floor’ forebode my day at work, ‘The Funeral Shuffle’ got me through the paper pushing, ‘Walking Over You’ accompanied my romantic dinner, ‘Float Away’ took me for cocktails, and ‘Don’t Look Down’ put me back to bed. If every day could be like this album, I’d quite enjoy it.
Listening to San Francisco four-piece Dubious Ranger is a bit like watching an animation and trying to pick the voice actors. You can hear the various musical influences throughout, but it’s difficult to pin down exactly what they are. They describe themselves as a “union between high-art, classical-virtuoso pretension and take-your-pants-off rock and/or roll” and I think that’s the best way to describe this album. Guitarist, Jonathan Eccles seems to have an arsenal of styles at his disposal, from the cowboy disco of ‘Weapon’ to the jumpy jazz ballad of ‘French Song’. If you get the chance, have a listen.
This was the second time that I’ve seen the Hilltop Hoods live, and I’m glad to say that this time, I didn’t leave with a head wound! Promoting their new album, ‘State of the Art’, the Hoods perfectly balanced showing off tracks from this new album, with perennial audience favourites. All of these were then further enhanced by the large-screen cartoon slideshow, matching the songs. The sound at the venue was great, with all lyrics coming through loud and clear. Canadian support act, ‘Classified’ was a great surprise. Hadn’t heard his stuff before, but will be on the look out.
Aside from feeling like I was about the oldest person in the place, this concert was lots of fun. It was geared as a promo for their latest album ‘Flying Colours’ and as a result, most of the songs came from this release – not a problem, as I thought that album was one of the best of 2008. They were also using this performance to film footage for an upcoming DVD which meant that all the theatrics (including light shows and pyrotechnics) were in place. The sound was great and even DJ Izm’s freestyle scratching sessions had the crowd jumping.
While this album isn’t going to change the face of Australian hip-hop in the same way ‘The Calling’ did in 2003; that’s because, for the Hilltop Hoods, changing the face of Australian hip-hop is a case of ‘been there, done that’. Now it’s evident they’ve had more time to refine their sound, and the freedom to work on what they want. And you can see, with ‘State of the Art’ that this works for them. DJ Debris has tightened his technique, and Pressure and Suffa still have the pure flows that have defined the Hilltop Hoods for the past decade.
Recently, artists like Girl Talk have attempted to convince people that the goal of a mash-up is to fit as many songs into the timeframe as possible. Ultra396, on the other hand, follows the more original definition. We Used to Be Intergalactic is an effort to seamlessly combine two distinct pieces of music to create a separate third work. And he’s done it better than just about all the mash-ups around now. There’s some fantastic alternating between having Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s lyrics smoothly covering the Beastie Boys heavy beats, and the Boys rapping fitted perfectly over Holmström’s guitar and McCabe’s keyboard.
I’m a big fan of up-and-coming Perth band, Tame Impala. I think there’s an incredible amount of potential right there. On their debut, self-titled EP, “Half Full Glass of Wine” particularly stands out. Kevin Parker and Dominic Simper’s guitar solos are reminiscent of George Harrison and Paul McCartney in ‘Golden Slumbers’, and Jay Watson’s 30-second long drum solo to end the track is something that you don’t hear enough of these days. Also make sure you listen to Canyons’ Drunken Rage Mix of the song for threatening and sepulchral take on the tune. I expect big things from these guys.
