I've done it. Sunday 6th February 2011, 1:18am - this moment, marks the occasion of my first ever blog post. I am finally joining the online crusade of my generation. I'm losing my blog v-plates, and boy does it feel good.
So to all you geezers who just love a bloody rippa tune for breakfast, lunch and tea- Under the Radar music blog is for you. From now on, I'll be dropping so many bombs, your ears won't even have time to thank me.
As a blog-warming gift, and to celebrate the Australian summer festival season, my first gems to share are some of my favourites by bands who have been playing live at Australian festivals recently including Big Day Out, Falls Festival, St. Jerome's Laneway Festival and more. I haven't been able to get the quicktime files up so that you can just right click and save the files, so instead for now you're going to have to bear with me and follow the link to Hotfile to download. Enjoy
Cloud Control are from Sydney, Australia and specialise in melodic indie rock/folk music. These guys have recently sprout into popularity, and rightly so. This track is my favourite, next to a track called Vintage books from their self-titled EP which I'd recommend giving a listen, and was voted in at #18 in this year's Triple J Hottest 100.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, USA, are another band who have boomed to success having only formed in 2009. There are 10 quirky musicians in the band, as well as additional guest musicians. They are amazing to watch live and are genuinely talented musicians. Lead vocalists Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos both have this warm, melting vintage feel to their voices which meshes so well. Their preferred dance moves are also sure to entertain a crowd.
And as for the name of the band, this is Ebert's explanation. FYI.
“I’d written this novel about this kid named Edward Sharpe who was sent down... well, it’s a long story, but he gets sent down from outer space to sort of help out humanity. And at the same time I’d been really into physics and into mathematics and I devised a system of mathematics called magnetic zeroes as a form of addition. It’s sort of a metaphorical mathematics, but zero’s magnetic. Anyway, so I combined the two, and there’s the name.”
Wet And Rusting- Menomena
Menomena is an indie rock band that doesn't get the recognition it deserves in Australia. I first heard this song, from their EP, a few years ago and it gave me chills. In my opinion, it is a perfectly crafted indie experimental rock song with numerous levels and layers to make love to your ears. Menomena came to Australia for the first time ever for the Laneway Festival this month.
Who Knows Who Cares- Local Natives
Local Natives (formerly Cavil at Rest) are an indie rock band from Los Angeles who have produced an epic debut album called Gorilla Manor. Their sound is described as "afropop-influenced guitars with hyperactive drumming and hooky three-part harmonies", but if you really want to understand what that sounds like, listen to this song. Local Natives played St. Jerome's Laneway festival this year and have an upcoming sideshow at the Corner Hotel in Richmond. I would love to upload all of their songs because I love them so much but I recommend just going and buying the album.
Blood- The Middle East
The Darkest Side- The Middle East
If I could marry and make babies with a song around about now, I would probably choose Blood by the Middle East. Aside from having an unappealing title (in a marriage-baby making kind of perspective) this song is so beautiful. So beautiful that it left my sobbing like a little girl after seeing it live at Falls festival this year. No joke. The band are from Townsville, QLD, and are hard to define in terms of genre, but whatever they are, they are good. (I would say folkie indie rock). It seems that all members of the band have an incredible ability to sing and they often utilise vocal harmonies. Basically having risen from Triple J Unearthed, this band is doing well for themselves.
Skeleton Tiger- Tame Impala
Runaway, Houses, City, Clouds- Tame Impala
Tame Impala have been one of my favourite new bands since I first had the pleasure of discovering their psychedelic rock explosion. They come from Perth, Australia. I first saw them supporting MGMT back in 2008 when they were beginning to make a name for themselves, and this year I saw them again having come a long way to grace a huge crowd on new years eve at Falls festival. Even Noel Fielding (aka Vince Noir)loves them, and you should too. Two awesome songs, just because I couldn't decide which one to post. Skeleton Tiger is from their EP Antares, Mira, Sun (2008) and Runaway, Houses, City, Clouds is from their debut album Innerspeaker (2010)
Ice Cream Cone- The Holidays
All The Girls- The Holidays
The Holidays are an indie-pop band from Sydney who are currently working their way up. They recently played their first big festival, Pyramid Rock, and have since played at St. Jerome's Laneway festival. Their debut album Post Paradise has received nothing but positive reviews, and seeing as it is so accessible, I decided to chuck up some rarer tunes from the band's two EPs. Ice Cream Cone is from their first Demo EP, and All the Girls is from When the Ship Goes Down EP. Both are catchy fast-paced boppy indie pop songs. For anyone who loves a bargain, The Holidays are playing a free show at Federation Square in Melbourne on April 7 at 7:00pm.
