BLACK RAINBOW - ALBUM.

‘Black Rainbow’ is the debut solo album of ex-Noiseworks bassist Steve Balbi, and is a reflection of the many influences and experiences of the mature musician, showcasing tunes in the style of old-school Bowie, and well as a throwback to early 90s grunge.

Is it Frank Zappa? Is it Johnny Depp? No, its Steve Balbi.

Balbi is an important figure in Australian music, appearing in the 80s as bassist for the band Noiseworks, whose hit song ‘Touch’ is covered on his album. After the band’s split in 1992, he paired up with fellow Noiseworks member Justin Stanley to form psychedelic pop group Electric Hippies, where Steve was lead vocalist, his distinctive style still evident in his tunes.

He has since worked with high-profile artists such as Michael Hutchence, Tom Jones and David Bowie, whose influences are evident on this album, which Balbi produced via Social Family Records. He has notably been involved with several others artists in ‘Ziggy, The Songs of David Bowie’, a live performance which showcases Bowie's repertoire played by a series of Australian musicians.

Balbi (far right) in Noiseworks

In ‘Black Rainbow’, we see Balbi’s own style emerging, especially after his inclusion in a wide variety of acts and groups. The album has a dark, slightly melancholy feel, as probably suggested by the cover - a black-and-white portrait of a contemplative Balbi, his face framed by long, Zappa-esque locks. His sound is showing some roots of classic 90s grunge, but its reflective, mature lyrics showcases his song writing ability – and its influences, especially David Bowie. Bowie's style is reflected in Balbi’s use of dreamy layering and spacey effects, and in ‘Sweet Sabotage’, we hear a storytelling introduction, reminiscent of early Bowie:

There’s a lonely man lost/caught in the fog/he can’t find his face. Steve Balbi, ‘Sweet Sabotage’, 2013.

I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back home/I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed. David Bowie, ‘The Man Who Sold The World’, 1970.

While the album exudes a certain darkness, a standout track, ‘What Do You Do’, uses a ukulele, paired with an electric guitar and light-hearted vocals. A highlight of the album is Balbi’s reworking of the Noiseworks classic ‘Touch’. This sensitive piece is re-done well, using a few select instruments and highlighting Balbi’s strong vocals, as well as the poetic lyrics.

Another day is going out/A sea of faces crying out/With all we have today/You think we'd stop and take a look now/And all I want to say/Is maybe that we should reach out, everybody.

As well as providing a satisfying throwback to Balbi’s earlier years, ‘Black Rainbow’ has given the veteran musician a chance to develop his unique style, incorporating mature, toned-down grunge and showcasing reflective, poetic tunes.

SHANGRI-LA - ALBUM.

UK-singer/songwriter Jake Bugg is back, and at only 19, the quick release of his new album 'Shangri-La' is an ideal indication that the youngster is bursting with new ideas and is quickly settling in to stardom and fame. 




Recorded with the infamous producer Rick Rubin at Shangri-La studio in Malibu – hence the album title – 'Shangri-La' portrays an artist who is clearly expanding exponentially but is still able to keep his trademark sound. By 'trademark sound' I'm referring to, of course, his nasal vocals which have continued to link comparisons to the immortal, Bob Dylan.

It's obvious that Jake Bugg is making strides to widen his repertoire, and working with Rick Rubin is undoubtedly the beginning of something tremendous waiting just around the corner. Although not everyone has a taste for Rubin's  fondness for excessive compression and loudness, this style is certainly perfect for Bugg. The 'nakedness' of tracks that he applied with artists such as Johnny Cash and The Red Hot Chili Peppers works beautifully on the garage rock revival tracks like "There's a Beast and We All Feed It" and "Slumville Sunrise." The album is a constant mixture of folk and rock, like "Messed Up Kids", which introduces us to a new side of Bugg, providing us with a much more poetic viewpoint ("It's a washed-out Saturday, a sky of pastel shades, under breeze-block palisades").


We see Jake exploring more of that rough, tough, 'working-class' feel with developments on his bad boy image created in older material (like previously featured 'Two Fingers', which was pretty badass) - such as in the song 'Kingpin' with the lyrics "Pay off the police to stay out of my way / I got it all sewn up and I'm kingpin for a day" - and with the more gritty, low-fi dirty sound this album produces. Other examples of this more jagged, unpolished atmosphere is seen especially in songs such as 'What Doesn't Kill You' with its ferocious guitar distortion and Jake's flinging delivery, paired with uninhibited vocal projection.


There is no doubt Jake Bugg will live up to his potential within his next few releases. However, on 'Shangri La', Bugg is still searching within himself for that special something and - providing he manages to discover anything breathtaking by the time he begins working on album number three, he could very well establish himself as a serious performer for years to come. But for now, Jake Bugg is a 'Mercury Award Nominated' performer and I'm sure there will be plenty more nominations in the near future.

Jake will be touring Australia as part of Bluesfest 2014, and will be holding a few sideshows in the major cities. Tour dates are below:

Thursday 17 April
Melbourne, Palace Theatre


Sunday 20 April
Sydney, Enmore Theatre


Wednesday 23 April
The HiFi, Brisbane

Check out some of the optional e's favourites: "What Doesn't Kill You" and "Slumville Sunrise"

YOUR BODY IS A WEAPON.

Falls Festival this year is set to amaze with a brilliant lineup. We thought we'd review some of the artists that are performing, so after the jump, here is THE WOMBATS.

CLOUD CONTROL - DREAM CAVE.

Cloud Control's highly anticipated sophomore release Dream Cave is a boundary-pushing album that seeks to shake up the band's poppy sound.

We had quite high expectations for this album, considering the critical success of their debut album Bliss Release. The lead single, 'Dojo Rising', while not as initially as catchy as 2010's 'There's Nothing In The Water We Can't Fight', is a more experimental and floaty track. In fact, the entire album is a bit of a musical trip, filled with weird vocal wobbles and swirling backing tracks.

The whole trippy feel of the album is great. It definitely pushes the boundaries of the band's easy-going dream pop sound, dipping into dark percussion on 'Island Living' and reverting to further exploration of an iconic sound on 'Ice Age Heatwave'. There are beautiful sections within songs where the lyrics and musical craftmanship mould together with delicacy or anthemic vigour or sheer energy, and there is the continual sculpting of the eponymous 'dream cave', with the addition of (sometimes rather odd) drips of water and arching vocals.

Overall, the entire album does a very sensory justice to the cave, and adventures to very exciting places with the sweeping vocals, sweet harmonies, dreamy backing and eclectic percussion. At times, however, it just feels a bit disconnected and wandering into too many different dimensions - in their pursuit of a new sound they seem to have been a bit confused as to which sound that is. However, it is still a very solid release that I can say I did indeed enjoy.

NEW RELEASES.

It came to my attention that quite a lot of bands and artists are releasing new albums.

Whether that is a result of many years of careful songwriting or a mad scramble for cash after going bankrupt, I don't know.

Actually bands release albums all the time but I just never pay attention. Haha.

But let's go.

The Weight of Your Love - Editors

So the new release that kind of kickstarted this post is 'The Weight of Your Love' by Editors.

Aside from the really cheesy band name, it's a dark, intricate album with soundscapes that just submerge the listener. I really enjoyed the track 'A Ton of Love' (ew spelling though) with it's soaring, belting vocals. The jumpy bass really adds to it, like it does in the easy-to-listen 'Formaldehyde', which has a really catchy chorus ('formaldehyyyyyyyde').

It was only released three days ago (on the 5th) but I don't think people will pounce on it immediately - it'll sound so much better in retrospect. It's a cracker album, don't get me wrong, but I can't see it catching like wildfire just yet. Think I'd give it three and a half stars - the songs sort of meld a bit too closely.

Even the Stars Are a Mess - Whitley

After the beauty of 'Go Forth' and 'The Submarine', Lawrence Greenwood has returned with a smokey, intimate album. This exquisite work has such delicate songs, from the poignant, lyrical 'TV' to the pleading 'I Am Not A Rock'.

Whitley's voice has just matured and is now so truthful and intoxicating. This is definitely a good album.

This was released on the same day as the Editors album but I think it will settle into Triple J airplay pretty well - it's timeless music. Relaxing yet heartfelt. Probably a four stars.

The Beginning and the End of Everything - Josh Pyke

Josh Pyke has a lovely voice and all but I've never been much of a fan of his mainly because his songs don't stick in my head that well. Even his voice isn't exactly distinctive (say, like Florence Welch) so even though I enjoy his songs when I listen I can't pick them out too well. However, this album has really highlighted his diversity and I think it could definitely pick things up.

The short, sweet 'Bug Eyed Beauty' is channels a bit of bluegrass and folk, which only continues in the song 'Leeward Side' with its harmonica. This album definitely has a very folky, country-ish feel (which I normally don't listen to - I hate country) but at least Josh's voice alleviates the pain.

This new direction made me listen to his older stuff in more depth and I can say I prefer his older, indie rock music more than this brand new shift.

The more folky Josh Pyke is still palatable but I can't help but feel his older material is easier to identify with and really appreciate - it sticks more easily and brings out Josh's lovely voice more.

Sex Games - Diviney

Ah, the solo project of Shaun Diviney. You may remember him from that punk band Short Stack, but this is totally different.

I honestly couldn't find anything on this album that really stood out for me as brilliant - there were snippets here are there in some songs that I enjoyed but that didn't really last for long.

Some songs start out quite promising but then descend into a bit of a repetitive, uninspired mess. 'Skeleton' is alright I guess, and 'Sex Games' pulls itself through although I really think this album is a pristine specimen that sex sells. The songs become so repetitive they sound like they were written by a bunch of Year 7s in their pop music topic.

I guess this could be palmed off as one of those generic albums you get when a pop artist tries to crossover into rock and be all hardcore and indie and whatever but when you fronted a fresh, exciting punk band then tried to cross into pop it just becomes a hot mess.

I really can't give this album more than a three so I think I'll settle for a two and a half stars. Sorry, mate. It's so predictable.

Just saying the above is not from his new album, it's an old Short Stack song. I just thought that would be much better than his new stuff.



Melody Pool released her album Xavier this week, and of course we had the Arctic Monkeys song here.
We also got a great, quirky new song from Architecture in Helsinki called 'In The Future' - I really hope their new album is as good as they say it will be. Their previous record 'Moment Bends' was fantastic but seeing the new song with a string section, I am very excited.
Boy & Bear released that new track but honestly all their songs are starting to sound like that formulaic twangy folk (take the hint Josh Pyke).
The new Glass Towers album is also pretty good - 'Halcyon Days' is exactly what you'd expect it to be. Warm, nostalgic, optimistic pop, I really quite enjoyed it.

So there's the new releases! Look at me now; I am keeping up with the hip young people! :D

SONG OF THE WEEK #15.

I know, I know - this song was released on the 19 June (which is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages ago) but I am just so excited for AM's release. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

WE WE SO EXCITED EXCITED

And the song is amazing.


Hehe.

The song sounds a lot like R U Mine but just slower - it could've come off Suck It And See. I'm really happy that it's such a great song but I was kind of hoping for them to take off in a new dimension, maybe explore some new styles. Maybe not djent (EW DJENT) but it could be a bit experimental. We'll just have to see.

ALEX TURNER AH.


Not as dreamy as Tom Odell but I don't care. Oh my foodness.

The song is driving and strong with the vox just getting in there and giving the whole song a good wiggle and punch. I'm going to be quiet now and leave you with this.

LONG WAY DOWN.

It is with great excitement that I tell you all that TOMODELL'SHIGHLYANTICIPATEDNEWALBUMISOUTAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Tom Odell's new album is out. celebrate.

Oh my goodness dat blink :)

AHH BOWIE AND ODELL MY LIFE IS COMPLETE.


I'll hold you anytime, Mr Odell. Any time.

LOOK HOW HE WALKS IT'S AMAZING asdfhq09374r1c2r!fhiehgi#iudhof@ejfioevnqrupo


I have a slight obsession with him. HE'S SO DREAMY. I do not care that he's probably dating Miss Swift - laugh out loud jokes I'm completely ballistic. I can only imagine the carnage if they broke up - both of them have conjured careers out of painful, destroyed relationships. Tom's songs will be better than Taylor's by far.

Long Way Down is Tom's debut album after the public snapped up his Songs From Another Love EP. Another Love is his most well known song, although I love Can't Pretend more than anything else. Hold Me was an iTunes Single of the Week and Tom won a Brit Award for being so amazingly brilliant and awesome and for being spectacular.

Tom's style is bringing back raw ballads - think Elton John piano with really raw, Jeff Buckley-esque vocals and wrap it up with the most beautiful blonde hair. Tom plays piano. I play piano. We were meant to be.

I don't know how I am going to be able to marry Tom and Jake Bugg and Asa Butterfield, but then again I'm not known for being completely legal or sane.

So the album has the big songs (Hold Me, Another Love) which become so familiar so quickly. The opening track, Grow Old With Me, is so heartfelt and delicate, which really sets the mood of the album - having gone through heartbreak (or maybe having gone without food for an hour - that's heartbreaking), Tom wistfully reminisces on his failed romances.

Now this sounds lovely and all but for goodness' sakes - he's twenty something and can already write a whole album on failed loves? Actually I can imagine he's had heaps and heaps of girlfriends with that fortunate face of his. Sigh.

This album is amazing - there's exciting, rousing pop and there's softer, crumbling songs on troubled love. Basically the album is brilliant.

Here's a bit from the album - it's Another Love, which happens to be 'explicit' on iTunes although he only swears once? It's pathetic, seeing as Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons swears in the chorus which pops up every freaking thirty seconds and isn't labelled with a big ugly red E. Do not be put off parents (and prospective parents. Teens these days.)

So there we have Tom Odell's 'Long Way Down'. It is most definitely winding up on my best albums of 2013.

ilovetomodell

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK #2.

So as you know I'm back and I realised that there's only one Bubble and Squeak that I've done and it looks kind of odd if I have a #1 but no #2.

Here are some random things that will give you a glimpse into the strangely wired inner workings of this mind of mine. Careful, it's hot.

1. Papillionaire bikes.

LOOK AT THAT BEAUTY

This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the most beautiful contraptions known to man.
If you saw my Maui post you would've realised that I took a random photo of a random bike because it looked randomly pretty. Serendipitous, I know.
These guys at Papillionaire make the most beautiful vintage bikes and I want one. I need about $500 though, so if any of you readers are charitable billionaires - actually, pa-billionaires (you laugh here) - please contact me as soon as possible. I do accept messages by homing pigeons and underpaid social networking interns.

2. Kaisercraft bookends.

ADORABUBBLE I KNOW

As an avid bookreader (not bookworm. I am not long and thin), I encountered a frustrating hiccup today when my wonderful books toppled over and wouldn't stand back up. It was so horrible. I was being rejected by my own children.



Anyway I found these adorable bookends from Kaisercraft and they make me so happy.
I'm annoyed because although they cost $18 at the least, the shipping is about twice that and the ones with free shipping are $40 anyway. My dad is whipping up some crazy concoction in the garage as we speak I type. Alone.
The bicycle ones are my favourite and because they're MDF you can paint them or wallpaper them or staple mini bunting on or leave them plain.
If you haven't worked it out yet I love vintage bikes.

3. Maple Bacon Sundae.

Yes, folks, these things do exist. (They're endemic to America).

Heart attack right there, folks.

I had it at a Denny's diner on my holiday and I will admit that it wasn't that bad. The bacon bits were really crispy and all but the maple syrup and ice cream tasted pretty good. Try it.

4. The Lord of the Rings.

I found that my uncle had this lovely old copy of all the Lord of the Rings books in one massive volume compilation thingy.

 

It's massive and heavy because it's hardcover and the font is ridiculously small but I love it so much.
And Gollum is freaking HILARIOUS. "Nice sensible hobbits." I want to name any child I ever have Gollum or Meriadoc or Legolas. Or maybe Batman. That sounds nice.

5. The Great Gatsby film.

Well this film is probably going to be my life.

Not only does it have amazing actors, it was filmed in Sydney (straya pride?) and the soundtrack is spectacular. Andre 3000 and Beyoncé covering Amy Winehouse. Jack White covering U2. Florence + the Machine. Gotye, The xx (OH MY GOLLY GOSH I LOVE THEM). Sia. (No Lana del Rey. I'm not a fan.)
The cast is amazing although I would think that Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton) would look a bit younger and less mafia. I can't really complain though. This film will be phenomenal (I hope.) It will be a bit odd seeing the Roaring Twenties in 3D but I think I'm here for the set and the costumes. Yay.

6. Tom Odell.

This man is now my new music crush. Seriously. His voice is so emotional, his songs and performances have such truthfulness about them and he has a nice face. Or at least cool hair.

His music is ridiculously good. Take a listen.

And here below is his cover of Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble".

Brilliance at its brilliant best. And the way he says 'love' is just...ah.

6. Two Door Cinema Club - "Handshake" video.

This video is crazy and surreal but it is so intriguing and there's lovely close ups of all the band members' faces and seeing Alex Trimble poke out his tongue to help a scruffy looking man win the game of his dreams makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside like hugging an unshaven man that's just been popped on the barbecue. In a good way.

7. Sleeping With Sirens new album.

ANYONE ELSE PUMPED FOR THIS NEW RELEASE?! actually after hearing the lead single "Low" I'm still quite excited but I have to say that it isn't as good as some of their other releases. It's still spectacular but I was expecting a much more different sound to their last work. I guess the dramatic change with Bring Me The Horizon kinda swayed my expectations for the new Sleeping With Sirens album. Even so the song is still pretty awesome.

And that's the Bubble and Squeak for this time! Maybe I should do one at the beginning and/or end of each month, when I decide to change my desktop wallpaper. Although I set it to this lovely scheme that changes every half hour to accommodate my short attention span.

SONG OF THE WEEK #3

Being the idiot that I am, I forgot to do this post.
It seems that every time I do a song of the week, I struggle to wait a week to do the next song. And during that wait time, I completely forget to do a new post.
Although I have been overseas without a laptop. So I can't link songs until I go home and add YouTube vids to my posts.

So this week's song is going to be Funeral For A Trend by British India.

This is a rocking song. The vocalist's (I forget his name) singing has a nice tone in that half the time he's just speaking the rather awesome lyrics.
The guitars waft around with their understated heaviness. These guys are like lazy rockers.

I also picked this song because they have just released another album - Controller. It has a pretty wicked album cover. I'm really excited to listen through it - Funeral For A Trend is from Thieves (2008). The lead single from the album, I Can Make You Love Me, has a pretty cool video involving minotaurs. Epic.

They are from Sydney (woo!) and I was really excited because we know someone who is pretty cool with their manager. He goes to quite a few of their gigs and everything. I think that's pretty cool, but you guys in the back are probably rolling you eyes and muttering 'good for you'. Yes, good for me.

So there's the song. I wouldn't say it's punk, although the vocals aren't always sung. It's a sort of mature-cathartic-uplifting-nonchalant-discombobulated garage rock. Oh, and they're Australian.

Update: The vocalist's name is Declan Malia and he plays guitar.

FOLLY AND THE HUNTER.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Folly and The Hunter have a new album! It's called Tragic Care but it is anything but tragic. Hehe. That was horrible.

Anyway I have fallen in love with these guys and finally overcome my dislike of Canadian music. Justin Bieber and Alanis Morrisette kind of spoiled it for me.

They're this fresh indie folk band but it all works so perfectly and their new album is as great as their debut although the cover art of the debut is spectacular.

Haven't bought the album as it's not on iTunes yet because of some ungodly glitch. Also because I don't have utorrent with me ;)

Standout is Moth In The Porch Light. It sounds so Dorian. It reminds me of Teardrop by José González. I love it.

Buy the album on iTunes when the glitch is resolved or listen on YouTube or Spotify or whatever you listen to music on. Yay.

And their band name is pretty awesome. Anything that has Folly in it is awesome.

Folly and The Hunter: Moth In The Porchlight. Thank me later.


Extra: Thankyou to the three people who have left comments on my posts so far! First person ran a blog that sold, uh, 'manly enhancements.' Ugh.
Second and third, however, claimed to know me in real life and to be an occasional stalker reporting for duty.
Thanks so much guys for commenting. It makes me happy.
But PLEASEEEE subscribe or follow or just read all my posts. I love my blog and hope you guys can share the love. Ugh love is overrated.