These are exciting times in the Australian music industry.
All at once it seems we're being spoilt rotten by a glut of 'must see'/
'must hear' bands making music that's no longer derivative of a sad
and dreary Seattle scene. Instead, perhaps inspired by leaders of the
charge like Powderfinger, we now have a long list of great bands
from all over the country making an impact with definable images and
most importantly, with brilliant songs to rival anything from overseas.
Among many others, WA strongholds Perth and Fremantle
have notably delivered Eskimo Joe, The Panics and End of Fashion…
from Bendigo in Victoria comes Epicure. From Melbourne (via Adelaide)
comes The Gear while Sydney provides the likes of 78 Saab,
The Devoted Few and Youth Group. Following in the footsteps
of Powderfinger, Brisbane remains a mecca for great new bands, two of
which are The Slides and Love Lies Bleeding.
It seems it's almost heresy to utter the words, but does
anybody else think Coldplay's latest greatest selling album is
"just okay"? Fans will clamour to cut me down (and fair enough),
but in my opinion last year's 'A House On a Street in a Town I'm From'
by The Panics leaves 'X & Y' for dead! And their new album, 'Sleeps
Like A Curse', though it takes a little longer to get into, is still
full of pop gems, guitar lines that throw back to sixties grandeur and
song structures that are thoughtful, thought provoking and wash over
you with warmth and wonder. The only mild criticism is that lead singer
Jae Laffer's distinctively low range voice can get a little 'samey'
after a while and more use should be made of Julian Douglas as support
vocalist… but the songs… (like the Guiness ad. says)…
brilliant!
Epicure's 2004 offering 'The Goodbye Girl' is more
musical magic with stand out tracks like 'Armies Against Me' and 'Firing
Squad'. 78 Saab's 'C'Mon' from last year's 'Crossed Lines' LP is more
a tribute to Brian Wilson than Lleyton Hewitt, while another classic,
'No Illusions' was selected as a soundtrack song for the hugely successful
US TV show, 'Grey's Anatomy'.
Youth Group's 'Someone Else's Dream' and the new single
'Shadowland' confirm their status as one of Australia's 'next big things'
as does their upcoming return tour of the UK where they'll be playing
both the Reading and Leeds Festivals before heading on to the U.S. From
all reports, the Group's recent gig at The Annandale was superb, with
former Vines' bass player, Patrick Matthews adding to the lustre of
the performance… and as a mate in the audience reported: "the
quality of the band's songs and musicianship was simply inspiring."
Frontman Toby Martin has a strong stage presence and drummer Danny Allen
drives the music to a place long forgotten by a generation of head-bangers.
This is a band quickly developing a big and fashionable following and
there's a palpable sense of event when they play a gig.
Meanwhile End of Fashion have finally released their long
awaited self-titled debut album. The former Sleepy Jackson duo
of Justin Burford and Rodney Aravena should be justifiably proud of
their achievement as their band continues to produce hook-laden hits
likely to be lapped up by radio. And finally, The Devoted Few is a band
I want to hear and see more of. They just launched their new EP 'Schematic
Tracks' at Spectrum in Darlinghurst and are another line-up producing
simply beautiful music.
Bands like these with tunes that are both direct and warm,
have been hard to find for far too long. Join the growing fan base of
these makers of swirling melodies and luxuriate in the fact that such
spectacular music and energetic pop songs are being written and played
right here in Oz.
David Keogh
