Bearhug

The boys have stepped right off their back foot and into some much more up tempo beats. The laid back/slow burning essence still remains but it seems Bearhug's signing to Spunk has not only upped their recording quality but also sparked a more enthusiastic sound.

Grapefruit starts out heaps indie with that cute tinny 'lil riff...before reallllly breaking down to some melchonic guitar that matches Ryan's vocals kinda perfectly. Then. It crashes to life like Bearhug have never done before.

Bring on June 25 and the release of the bands debut EP To Anything.

Bearhug-Grapefruit (mp3)

Danimals

On first listen I was like: "yeah its ok". Then it popped up randomly in my itunes ten minutes later and I thought: "woah, what is this? It's amaaaazing". And now after 37 or so listens I am totally hooked on the Danimals sound, after not giving them much thought for the past year or so. Danimals was once the side project of Sherlocks Daughter member Jonti Danielwitz and is now a quartet and probably the next big thing to come out of Sydney.

In keeping with their heavily music based marketing (think UncharTED and 6 beers of separation), Tooheys Extra Dry picked one Australian band to fly to New York and work with John Taylor (Duran Duran), Nick Hodgson (Kaiser Chiefs), Sean Lennon (son of John) and Santigold. Oh yeah, and the track was to be produced by this dude called Mark Ronson, who was responsible for selecting Danimals because he reckons they are "one of the most interesting things" he's heard in a while with awesome beats and "harmonies like the Beach Boys". He's not wrong. It's dreamy. It's complex. It's poppy. It's happy. It's brilliant.

Danimals-Fox (mp3)

Album: The Black Ryder

It was my favourite time of the day. It was probably yours too: that period in the late afternoon when the sun just hangs in the sky and the air has lost its bite and only a cool breeze remains. How poetic. Anyway, I somehow got my hands on the Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride which is the debut release from Sydney kids The Black Ryder and so as I sat in my car killing some time I decided to give it a listen. Knowing they had already supported Brian Jonestown Massacre and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, I knew before hearing the first guitar reverb that this should be good. And by the third track, Sweet Come Down I was totally convinced that this psychedelic throw back to 70's intensity are gonna make waves in the international scene soon. Big waves. Real soon.

The Black Ryder-Sweet Come Down (mp3)

Philadelphia Grand Jury

I'm a covert. I'm now officially in love with Sydney duo Philadelphia Grand Jury. I know, I know, I'm sorta slow on the uptake cos the rest of the country has been frothing over these guys at least since their 7" Going To The Casino was released in June. But I dunno, the throaty over excited squealing didn't really do it for me. But nowwwwww, The Philly Jays can do no wrong. Their debut full length Hope is for Hopers is really just epic. To prove this fact, check out their film clip for the first single off the album The Good News which is so simple but so good. I may be bias as it is filmed predominantly in my child hood stomping ground. East side 4 life.


Philidelphia Grand Jury-The Good News (mp3)

Sound Casino

Sound Casino are four blokes from Sydney who skipped school to make music and haven't stopped since. They've just put out a debut release The Show, but bizzarley this particularly awesome track Seven Seas doesn't make an apearance. If you like your rock served up with a catchy melody and a 90s guitar solo, then take a bite of this one.

Sound Casino-Seven Seas (mp3)

Teenagers In Tokyo

Teenagers in Tokyo were quite the musically promiscuous members of the Sydney scene before they fled to London town. And yet I never once saw them, just one of those things...meant to and wish I did. Anyway, the girls (and boy) have dropped a double A side single on 7" that you can pick up through Rough Trade. The first track Isabella has the rolling drums and punk rock sound that comes straight off the bands first EP, but its the more chilled out, down tempo and overall fresher sounding Long Walk Home that really stands out for me. More pop and less grunge, complete with a nicely melodic synth and sprinling of "oohs" and "ahhs".

Teenagers in Tokyo- Long Walk Home (mp3)

Convaire

Convaire are John, Jane, Liz and Dan. Right now these kids are gigging around Sydney with their mega cute pop tunes that really do just make you wanna dance, and dance....and dance. They recently made it to the semi finals of the Sydney Uni Band Comp but they lost. Sucks, ey? No, not really. Past losers include Dappled Cities, Frenzal Rhomb, Youth Group and The Jezabels. I think its like Australian Idol, your only good if you don't win.

If you're in Sydney, check out Convaire yourself this Thursday at Thai Fisherman's Pants at Hotel Hollywood, Surry Hills kicking off at 8.

Convaire-Gate Track (zshare)

"Liz and Jane love it when you bob your heads and get into the groove. John and Dan love it too but they're boys so they don't say it as often"
-Convaire, 2009

Fergus Brown

"We're nerds in love, we're one plus one. Playing magic cards from dusk til noon."

Not a recent track, but a pretty one. Can't stop listening to the debut album from Sydney's Fergus Brown rather humorously titled Burgers Frown. It was released earlier this year and I'm going to put it out there: its gotta be one of the best Australian albums of 2009. Each of the ten tracks are almost painfully heartbreaking, but with lyrics such as these you just have to smile while you listen.

Fergus Brown-Nerds In Love (zshare)

Sherlock's Daughter

Absloutly loving Sherlock's Daughter right now. I saw them on Friday at one of the many Save FBI gigs that have been pumping through Sydney the past month. They played in the sweaty, crowded backroom of World Bar and they totally made my night. There was one point towards the end of the set where my feet got sore...and I thought to myself, I can either retreat back to the comfy seats surrounding the bar and miss the rest of the set or I can keep just plonk myself down in front of the stage and keep watching this killer show. Let's just say I chose to embarrass myself. And it was worth it.

The single that's doing the rounds right now is Kids, which you can listen to on their myspace. And whilst this is a beautiful track, its definitely Songs For Old People that does it for me big time when they do it live. The group vocals. The tambourine. The minimal breakdown. The buildup. The lyrics. All super beautiful.

Sherlock's Daughter-Song For Old People (zshare)

Sarakula

"You told me all the pills were gone, but I saw you drop another one! Why you're always holding out on me??"

Joel Sarakula sometimes likes to think of himself as The Piano man...both because he reckons seeing Billy Joel as a kid was a big musical moment and because he has been known to travel around from London bar to London bar performing...on...the piano! His tunes, incidentally, are heavily anchored with piano melodies. But this is not all Sarakula's got going for him. With a strong masculine voice and pretty sweet lyrics...this dude is seriously quite the complete indie pop package. I say that a lot...I'm sorry, but I think it's true.


Sarakula- Caught in the Middle (REMOVED)

Introducing Jonathan Boulet...

Introducing Jonathan Boulet who hails from Castle Hill in Sydney. I don't know much else, except that this track off his self titled debut is absolutely killer. It easily stands up to any indie pop coming out of any studio, let alone bedroom, in the world. Mixture of a great uplifting beat and strong happy vocals makes this a MUST LISTEN to track...I promise.

I have been under quite an attack lately, like half my posts are getting removed. Why not just disable the download link (or better yet ask me to), rather than just mysteriously destroying whole posts without warning? Oh well...without spending too much time on the tiresome music piracy debate...it seems pretty clear that within a few years the world of music will be separated into those who have gone with the flow of technology and those who have not. And Ill bet its the record companies and artists who have floated along that will do best.

Jonathon Boulet-A Community Service Announcement (zshare)

Seekae + Teenagers in Tokyo = Sydney Delight!

You could look at bands as being products, each competing against one another to get you to see them, buy them and like them. If this is the case then I would suggest that Seekae has done a very good job at branding their product with a sound that is so clearly their own. Here we have these emerging Gods of electronica remixing fellow Sydney siders Teenagers In Tokyo. Whilst I think the track works, I also think it sounds a little bit like an awkward mash-up. Maybe if I wasn't so in love with these acts individually, I wouldn't be so fond of this remix. Make sense?

Anyway Teenagers in Tokyo have ventured of to the UK to finally lay down a debut, which I am sure will be awesome. Hype, hype, hype.

Teenagers In Tokyo-End It Tonight (Seekae Remix)

One Glove

One Glove are two boys currently working the Sydney club scene pretty hard and very well. With Richmo on the drums and synths and Mooky slamming out crisp and powerful vocals, this band is a great live experience. Like other male duo's that came before such as The Presets and The Chemical Brothers, One Glove seem to effortlessly fuse the different worlds of indie-rock and electro-dance into one very listenable sound.

I had never heard of these guys before I accidently found myself at one of their live shows. The energy of the band is awesome, and even those freaks amongst us who don't care much for live music were off their asses before the end of the first track. Tell Me Something I Don't Know was definetlty a standout with its very catchy lyrics and dramatic build towards the end. A week later I found the words "Everytime I walk outside, the clouds roll in" were firmly stuck in my head, even though I'd only ever heard the song once. And that has got to be a good thing.

One Glove-Tell Me Something I Don't Know

One Glove Myspace