Technical College

Sea From Shore
School of Language
Thrill Jockey, 2008
4 stars 3.5 stars

When news surfaced that Field Music were 'taking a break', I'm sure it wasn't just my shoulders that slumped a little. In just two albums (2005's self-titled debut and last year's Tones of Town) the Sunderland three-piece had written, published and catalogued the book on inteligent, summery hook-filled guitar pop, so the short note on the band's website gave about as much consolation as an "it's not you, it's me" on a high school break-up letter. Thankfully, Sea From Shore, the first album from Field Music's singing guitarist David Brewis' School of Language solo project, really picks up where Tones left off. Brewis recorded nearly every sound on this record himself, with members of the Futureheads, and other friends, filling in the gaps. The resulting songs are brilliant, unpredictable and catchy - this is a Field Music album, but with a loose bedroom aesthetic. It will be interesting to see where the other members go with their solo outings, but if this is any indication the signs are good - Field Music are not just dividing, but multiplying too.

Artwork: C+

Published in mX, Thursday April 24, 2008

Young Folk

Kes Band
Kes Band
Mistletone, 2008
4.5 stars

By adding the word 'Band' to his performing name, Melbourne's Karl E Scullin hasn't so much changed his focus as he has sharpened it - no longer leader of a loose collective, he's now the frontman of a solid band. Where last year's excellent The Grey Goose Wing was an experimental (and at times exhausting) trip in 16 parts, Kes Band tones down the wierd and cranks up the wonderful, with nine succinct tracks that just beg for repeat listens. Simply, it's the Kes album we'd all hoped for - a collection of cute pop gems (Gentle Elf), gorgeous instrumentals (Dm Instrumental) and '60s-inspired rockers (Owner Has Control), all pulled together by Scullin's kitsch, slightly off vocals and bush gypsy aesthetic. This talented band have really pulled it together here, producing what will surely be one of the year's most loved Australian records.

Artwork: B+

Published in mX, Thursday April 24, 2008

Clever Tactics

The Sound of the Sound Volume 2
Tactics
Memorandum, 2008
3.5 stars

For those that missed Tactics the first time around - and, if this paper's demographic is accurate (mX is aimed at 18 to 35-year-olds), that should be most of us - The Sound Of The Sound Vol.2 is a great introduction to this important Aussie band. Vol.2 shows off the late-eighties phase of Tactics, with a new line-up and a new sound to that heard on Vol.1, released in 2006. The entire 1986 album Blue and White Future Whale is remastered here, with extra tracks culled from those recorded before the band evaporated in 1990. Musically, they sounds like a cross between Joseph K and early Roxy Music; angular, gothic and extremely playful. Old recordings like this are great because there's none of that modern manuafactured 'roughness' to them - they sound rough and real because they are. With all things late-eighties and early-nineties in vogue at the moment, Fuse couldn't have picked a better time for a re-release.

Artwork: B

Published in mX, Thursday March 20, 2008

1 + 1

Antidotes
Foals
Sub Pop, 2008
3 stars 2.5 stars

Genre tags can be a pain in the ass. For me, the best 'math rock' dances around and hints at an unusual underlying beat without ever really sticking to it, or cleverly overlaps a number of mismatched time signatures to form one glorious, complex mesh, ala Battles. The subject of this review, Brittish new wavers Foals, are described as 'math rock' but, despite attempting to mimic Battles' guitar/percussion style (in particular about half-way through Heavy Water), their formula of danceable, angular Bloc Party-esque guitar music is far easier to access than the term implies - if this is math, it's basic arithmetic. 'Emo' is another term these guys have struggled to avoid, and rightly so - since when do emo kids allow themselves to be seen having this much fun? Antidotes won't blow you away, nor will it redefine music (though the British media will no doubt tell us it does), but its melding of rock, math, Franz Ferdinand new wave, post-punk and more than a hint of ska isn't at all bad. There are some truly nice moments on this album - opener The French Open is both a great introduction and the most math-oriented piece on the album, and the ambient Big Big Love is a welcome interlude - but overall it's a case of the UK delivering more of the same.

Artwork: B

Published in mX, Thursday April 3, 2008.

Mashing The Keypad

Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles
Last Gang, 2008
4 stars

Listening to this album evokes some strange mental pictures. As I write this I'm imagining a dank, sweaty underworld gymnasium, with Mario and Luigi bench-pressing Koopa Troopas in tandem, Sonic the Hedgehog pounding the treadmill and Donkey Kong studying himself in a mirror as he performs stomach crunches over a wooden barrel. The video games references here are endless - Crystal Castles (come on, Crystal Castles, anyone?) fashion menacing, low-res electro out of skewed vocals, old video game sound effects and bent casio beats. It's been done before, but rarely this well - think Hot Chip but with the dark, abraisive slant of The Knife's Silent Shout.

Artwork: A

Published in mX, Thursday April 3, 2008.