Wave of cool

Astro Coast
Surfer Blood
Kanine (2010)
3 stars

It's funny what's cool these days. When I was starting high school, surfing was cool. This didn't exactly suit my pale, skinny thirteen-year-old self, so a few years down the track when skateboarding took off, I wasted no time convincing the old man to 'help me' build a ramp*. I was shithouse at that too. I tried for a few years, my mates and I doing these incredibly lame jumps off the ramp into the garden bed, for a soft landing, but eventually gave up, opting to master Tony Hawk on the PlayStation instead (which I did). Anyway, the point of me saying any of this is that, back then, a trend came in and it stuck around for a year or two -- long enough to give it a good crack before you decided whether or not it was for you. But these days, something is cool -- even if it is cool in a cute, ironic, self-depreciating way -- one week, and by the following week when everyone's caught on, it's uncool again. This is the modern cycle of cool. And it's fucking exhausting.

*'Help me', as in do everything while I stood and passed him nails.

Surfing music is in at the moment. Surfing, itself, is not (but really, if you're actually surfing on weekends, who gives a shit what those impressionable city kids think, huh?). But with the indie set, making out like you spend all day at the beach is definitely in. This band are from Florida, and seem to like surfing and surfing themes. And this is a good album. Their music is like a more glossy, radio-friendly incarnation of Japandroids. If you like guitars, big hooks, and enjoy driving with the windows down, slapping the steering wheel, you'll probably enjoy it.

Pig-Out

Field Music (Measure)
Field Music
Memphis Industries (2010)
3.5 stars (or 4 per disc)

After taking a two-year break to pursue various solo projects, the boys of Field Music seem to be sprinting to catch up. (Measure) is two discs and twenty tracks long. Yep. Those that are familiar with Field Music's sound (or indeed that of the Brewis brothers' solo outings as School of Language or The Week That Was) will know that just one Field Music track is likely to contain multiple time signatures, musical styles and vocal harmonies, so the thought of twenty of them is ... Well, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. In a way, devouring music of this quality on this scale is like buying a massive bag of lollies, planning on eating them over a week or two, and then scoffing the lot in a single sitting. It's glutenous. A single, precious jelly bean tastes so much better than a bagful. So, with that in mind, I propose the following: Approach the two discs of (Measure) as two separate albums -- two intelligent, intricate, impossible tight guitar pop albums -- and be happy in the thought that you just picked up one of the finest musical 2-for-1 deals in recent memory. They say the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. In this case, the whole and the sum of it's parts are nowhere as valuable as the parts themselves.

Artwork: B
More in line with the artwork of their debut. The tight, five-line musical staves (is that what they're called?) spattered with bright, fluid paint is actually a nice visual representation of the band's sound.

UPDATE: Movements

Admittedly, I've been a bit slack lately. I've recently switched shifts at work, going from early mornings with lots of spare time to late nights with very little. Because of this I haven't had much time to listen to music, let alone write about it.

So, from now on, I'm going pull the finger out and try and write at least one review every week. My new computer at work has no scanner attached to it, so if you start seeing barely distinguishable Paint drawings for album covers, you'll understand why.

Here goes.

Still Very Current

Rush To Relax
Eddy Current Suppression Ring
Aarght! Records (2010)
4 stars

"More of the same" isn't a bad thing when it comes to these guys. Three albums in and the Melbourne four-piece have well and truly locked in their blusterous garage rock sound. They're onto a winner, and they know it. Lead singer Brendan is in fine form on Rush To Relax, continually finding charming new ways of explaining everyday things, like 'tuning out' of conversations, being a 'gentleman' and not wanting to say sorry to your missus unless she does the same to you. The songs themselves are catchy as hell already, but it's the simple lyrical subject matter that takes them to another level - you sing along even louder because you know exactly what he's talking about. I Got A Feeling, Tuning Out, Gentleman and I Can Be A Jerk are as good as anything on their first two LPs, but the seven-minute kraut-inspired Second Guessing is a bit of a distraction, interrupting an otherwise excellent flow of tracks. Still, it's a damn impressive set of tracks, and to think that they recorded the lot in one spontaneous session is just ridiculous. ECSR sound good on CD, but at a pub or festival with a beer in your hand, they're something else entirely. The UK press has only recently caught onto these guys, and they're singing their praises - you'd be wise to get to a gig now, while you still can.

Artwork: A
Finally, an ECSR album with some proper cover artwork! And conceptual, too. photoshop or not, who knows. And who cares - it looks good.

Published in mX, Thursday February 18, 2010