For all the great albums that grab the music media spotlight, there’s many more that slip by the warm glow of recognition. But it’s not always for lack of quality, give the rate we consume music these days – both online and off – it’s no wonder that many great releases slip through the cracks. So much music, so little time.
But as with our March 2014 edition, here’s the chance to take a little pause for breath and reflect at the month that’s been, picking over the best releases that may have missed the love they deserve when first landing. Maybe they were overshadowed by a major label blockbuster, unnecessarily overlooked or misunderstood, perhaps suffered a case of bad timing.
No matter the reason for them slipping under the radar, we’ve switched on our musical sonar to help you discover and explore a raft of releases you may well have missed the first time round.
Liam Finn – The Nihilist (Create/Control)
Being the son of a trans-continental songwriting legend has never done anything to dampen Finn’s spirits, even if it’s usually one of the first things mentioned about him (we’re just getting it out of the way). Really, it should be Finn Jnr’s own strong discography that should be prioritised.
Returning from the three year gap since 2011’s FOMO, and now the ripe age of 30, the New Zealander’s latest finds him once again testing his songwriting mettle with an 11-song set, crafted in a Brooklyn studio, that stretches into all manner of territory.
There’s brash beats (‘4 Track Stomper’), fiery rock outs (‘Burn Up The Road’), and more from his Champagne And Seashells co-conspirator, Eliza Jane Barnes (which is always welcome), especially on the chain gang chants of ‘Helena Bonham Carter’.
There’s a pervading sense of melancholy, but its offset by a diverse musical backing and an endearing lash of impish humour throughout – right down to the naming of his tracks (‘Snug As Fuck’ is a contender for song name of the year). Most tellingly, Finn’s third solo set ends with a track called ‘Wrestle With Dad’, a hammering number that’s less about escaping the shadow of his famous father than it is proving he’s casting some mightily impressive shade of his own these days. (Al Newstead)
The Birds Of Satan – The Birds Of Satan (Shannabelle Records)
On paper, this project reads like its doomed to failure. A heavy metal covers band gets serious and decides to become a ‘real’ band with a nine-track debut of prog-rock power trio histrionics; it sounds like a more dire punchline than The Darkness. Except The Birds of Satan have a handy ‘get out of ironic jail’ free card: it’s the new side-project of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. And yes, he brings Mr. Grohl along for the ride.
Never mind his day job as one of the world’s most recognisable arena rock bands, it seems that bashing out Sabbath riffs and Van Halen covers in his down time with Chevy Metal buddies (guitarist Mick Murphy and bassist Wiley Hodgden) has done wonders for Hawkins’ songcraft. For starters, The Birds Of Satan is a damn sight more exciting than the dull whiskey-soaked rock of his Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders project.
Charging out of the gate with the 9-minute riff-a-thon of screeching tempo shifts, noodling guitars, and rollicking drum lines that is opener ‘The Ballad Of The Birds Of Satan‘, the LP crackles with kinetic energy. No surprise, given the whole thing was pumped out in a garage in just under a week. That Grohl-featuring titular track was even done in a single take.
If you like your rock classic, with a splash of eccentric flair, or simply looking for a stop-gap to the new Foos record – then take the hair-down, horns-up flight with The Birds Of Satan. (AN)
Thee Oh Sees – Drop (Castle Face Records)
On their 13th (that’s right, 13th!) studio release Drop, San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees emphatically prove they are kings of garage fused dark psychedelica.
The 2013 release of Floating Coffin saw the band head toward a more straight-up rock n roll sound to which Drop witnesses them continue on this train of stylistic thought, gearing to a far more pop accessibility that entirely works.
‘Encrypted Bounce (A Queer Song)’ is an early highlight that features the long-haired and even longer-time San Fran buddy Mikal Cronin, who steps in to lend his instrumental prowess. ‘Savage Victory’ guest stars Greer McGettrick and Chris Woodhouse, who help create that oh-so adored bleak-psych aesthetic the band have come to claim as their own. The only flaw with this track is that it could spin for double, or even triple the time!
Closing track ‘The Lens’ is a standout, with the coming together of the aforementioned Cronin, Woodhouse and Casafis to create a melancholic ‘closing time’ track, laden in brass and entirely rockin’.
Despite some wishing there were more mind-bending freak outs that stretch the 10-minute mark (see ‘Warm Slime’), Drop – akin to the band – is a refined, maturing piece that stands proud amongst the ever-expanding arsenal that is Thee Oh Sees’ discography. (Joe Harris)
Teebs – E S T A R A (Brainfeeder)
Californian producer Mtendere Mandowa is already swimming in the right circles for his brand of electronica given that he’s on Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder label, and now his sophomore effort under his Teebs alias provides the record he needs to capitalise on his connections.
Like FlyLo, Teebs mines a brand of production spawned from instrumental hip hop and experimentally minded construction, but unlike his label founder, E S T A R A winds its tangents away from wired-up jazz and funk towards more relaxing soundscapes of calming textural layers and refined, relaxed instrumental samples.
Closer in tone to the downtempo likes of Four Tet or Bonobo, yet retaining the adventurous edge of the LA scene he was raised in, Teebs’ impressionistic music functions beautifully as both a detached background score as well as a sonic adventure in close headphone listening.
Take an ear-dip in the warm splashes of album highlight ‘Holiday’, starring Australia’s very own Sydney-via-South Africa beatmaker Jonti, and see if you don’t agree. Because if you do, there’s another 38-ish minutes of equally rich, immersive sounds to enjoy on E S T A R A. (AN)
NUN – NUN (Aarght!)
Melbourne’s post-punk, dark-synth innovators NUN threw something entirely different into the April mix this year – and man, are we better for it.
Their debut self-titled record received critical acclaim from Tone Deaf already as “an exhilarating rollercoaster of emotion and visceral intensity. There isn’t a single song on the LP that doesn’t grab you, crush you, lift you up, and dump you in the gutter.”
This description could not be more fitting. Leading track ‘Evoke The Sleep’ cuts right into your brain and almost draws your state of consciousness to a standstill, paralysed by the hypnotic synth repetition. ‘Uri Geller’ takes you deeper into the NUN-induced labyrinth as the track slowly but surely engulfs the listener into a blurry chaos of inescapable synth layers.
The incredibly wayward sound that this Melbourne group are producing is something of another world, and it works. As Aussies, we should be beaming with pride that we can call this band our own. (Joe Harris)
Kelis – Food (Wonderlick/Sony)
She’s bossy, you can trick her once, but she won’t let you trick her twice; she hates us so much right now and of course, her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. Alright, previous victories aside, Kelis dropped her sixth studio LP in April, entitled Food, and you know what? It’s pretty damned tasty!
It has been four years since this charismatic artist last served us up a sonic dish, in the form of the electronic Flesh Tone. Thankfully, Kelis has stepped away from such heavy productions to splash our palletes with her most organic and fresh release to date. Food gives a clear nods towards Memphis soul, afro-beat, and overall classic RnB influences – a much more natural area for the 34-year old (especially when partnered with TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek as producer).
Lead single ‘Jerk Ribs’ is heavily laden with triumphant brass and tribal percussions that are utterly uplifting, whilst latest release ‘Rumble’ showcases the songstress’ mature, soulful husk in its entirety.
Grab your knife and fork and tuck into Food – and don’t worry, if you’re not full – the neo-soul extraordinaire can give you an extra serving at Splendour In The Grass 2014, or at one of her east-coast sideshows. (JH)
Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks – Enter The Slasher House (Domino)
Don’t be mistaken, Slasher Flicks is as about as much an Animal Collective side-project or an indie supergroup as it is a metal band (re: it’s not).
Sure it draws from the experimental curiosities of its three members – David Portner (aka Avey Tare of Animal Collective), Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors), Jeremy Hyman (Ponytail) – but Enter The Slasher House carves its own strange alt-pop path than rely on its bretheren’s heritage like a crutch.
For one thing, they’ve got the whole aesthetic down pat, from the kitsch-horror website to their press shots and the dorky Saturday morning cartoon puppetry of their ‘Little Fang’ music video. All which matches the creepy carnival ambiance and hokey spookiness of the music, with enough strong melodies and inventive genre shifts to justify the kook.
Sometimes the affected novelty risks wearing a little too thin – like the aural equivalent of the moment in Scooby Doo where they reveal that it was ‘Old Man Crotchety, all along!’ – but the kids of Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks get away with it for the most part on this joyfully eccentric outing. (AN)
