Micah P. Hinson - And The Red Empire Orchestra

MICAH P. HINSON
Micah P. Hinson And The Red Empire Orchestra

American troubadour Micah P. Hinson has had his share of problems in the past. The Texan was a teenage drug addict who found himself penniless and homeless after a stint in jail for forging prescriptions. However, in spite of these troubles, or perhaps because of them, Hinson, now 27, crafted two albums of earthy and heart-felt American folk and now returns with a third outing.

Pleasingly, the album takes a similar tone to his previous offerings. His are sombre songs of yearning and solitude which offer the faintest cracks of light in them, giving them an unlikely yet beguiling sense of romance. Scratchy opening track Come Home Quickly, Darlin’ sums up his sound perfectly, with simple lyrics delivered over piano and guitar, while a slightly more ambitious side to him can be heard in I Keep Havin’ These Dreams, which is drenched in orchestral magnificence. All the while his vocal is gravelly yet warm, turning each of his compositions into tender lullabies. Sunrise Over The Olympic Mons is a good example of this, with Hinson gently humming: “Oh love of my life” over and over.

Plenty has been made of Micah P. Hinson’s tumultuous past, but this man’s unquestionable talent is such that it can stand alone without the need for an eye-catching back story and, excitingly, And The Red Empire Orchestra represents his best work to date. Considering the quality of his previous two recordings, that in itself is quite an achievement.

Ratatat - LP3

RATATAT
LP3
As album titles go, the explanatory LP3 seems to lack inspiration, especially after the Brooklyn duo rather cheekily titled their previous album Classics. However, it seems that Mike Stroud and Evan Mast were far from uninspired when penning their third offering of instrumental electronica, as its 13 tracks are eclectic in their sounds and influences. Opener Shiller eases you in with delicate keys, Shempi has pop heavy hooks and Mirando offers guitar riffage, Latino beats and computer game bleeps.

There is a lot going on here but despite every track being crammed full of ideas, the album also has a laid-back feel to it. Perhaps this more chilled vibe is because the duo’s melodic yet distorted and strangely beautiful sound has moved slightly away from the synthy-guitar of their last two records and veered even further towards the electronic side of things.

However, although LP3 is clearly impressive and has certainly been painstakingly and lovingly constructed, there is also something that seems to be missing. Quite simply, their sound sometimes absolutely aches for a vocal to sit atop it. Indeed, it is no coincidence that the strongest track on the album is the Daft Punk-esque Falcon Jab, which offers the closest thing to a vocal you’ll find here. Elsewhere though, pretty though it is, there isn’t really anything attention-grabbing enough to make you want to regularly revisit what is initially a pleasing and interesting listen. Therefore this long-player amounts to little more than background music. Very good background music, but background music nonetheless.

These New Puritans at Oxford Art Factory

These New Puritans played in Sydney for the first time last week:
THESE NEW PURITANS
LOST VALENTINOS
TRAPS
Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
12/08/08

Four-piece Traps opened the evening with a sound that, as has been the general trend with guitar bands for a while now, gave a nod to the eighties. Their songs were certainly well-crafted, but it’s hard to see them standing out from the plethora of bands already doing this kind of thing.

It feels like Lost Valentinos have been around forever. A couple of years ago there was a massive buzz about them, yet they have still to live up to their potential, and tonight’s display did little to suggest that they are finally going to set the world alight. Theirs was a decent enough set, but their apparent coolness - the Michael Stipe face-paint and head-to-toe black clothes, the way singer Nik Yiannikas only made his entrance well after the rest of the band were already playing - felt a little contrived. While their new material was quite interesting and sonic and showed a level of musical maturity, it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to give Lost Valentinos their second wind.
There was an inordinate amount of local band members and industry people in the crowd by the time These New Puritans made their entrance. While this meant that the atmosphere in the room was fairly subdued (the glitterati of the Sydney scene is way too cool to dance and have fun), the English quartet’s output was certainly given the attention and appreciation it deserved. With awesome drummer George Barnett carrying the beat, twin brother Jack (above) delivered lyrics with venom while looking resplendent in a shirt that looked like some kind of body armour from Arthurian times.

The band’s eclectic sound was equally dancey, punky and psychedelic and, with guitar, bass, synths and samplers, was as stirring as it was fascinating. However, while three of the band performed tracks like Elvis and Swords Of Truth with gusto, female member Sophie Sleigh-Johnson looked so bored behind the laptop that one wonders whether she was actually taking part in the gig at all or simply spending the duration checking her Facebook.

She was the only uninterested person in the room though, and with the new songs sounding wonderfully diverse, These New Puritans are clearly keen to continue pushing the boundaries of their sound, which suggests that this still fledgling band has exciting times ahead of them.

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis - Kitty, Daisy and Lewis

KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

The music reviewer tends to be a cynical creature. However, every now and again an album comes along that makes them giddy with joy. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis is one such record. A mix of rock ‘n’ roll, blues, country and hillbilly swing, it was recorded completely in analogue in a home-studio and sounds like it belongs in 1950’s America, which is all the more remarkable considering it’s a brand new offering from a brother and two sisters from London aged between 15 and 18.

You’re thinking that it really shouldn’t work, aren’t you? Well, somehow it absolutely does. The trio of multi-instrumentalists switch between guitar, harmonica, piano, double-bass, ukulele, trombone and accordion through the ten tracks, which are all over in less than half-an-hour. So what that the music is completely anachronistic, that eight of the songs are cover versions or that the sound levels are a disaster zone (instruments are often super loud or way too quiet)? Kitty, Daisy & Lewis has a heart so massive that these issues are rendered completely redundant.

In a time largely defined by auto-tuned, soulless pap, this nostalgic homage to an era none of us remember is wonderful in its unabated youthful exuberance and joie de vivre. What’s more, the two original tracks here easily match the cover versions. Regardless of whether you are a fan of sounds from yesteryear, if this record fails to excite you then it’s really time you gave up listening to music altogether.

New Young Pony Club at Oxford Art Factory

I saw New Young Pony Club in Sydney last week. Here's the scoop:
NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB
YOUNG LOVERS
HOOPS
Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
06/08/08

After supercool all-girl DJ team HOOPS had done a good job in warming up the crowd, Young Lovers took over with their pleasant enough brand of indie-pop-rock. While at times the Melbourne five-piece’s songs felt a little derivative - from the occasional Arctic Monkeys bassline to an unashamed rip-off of U2’s With Or Without You - their set was generally enjoyable and showed plenty of potential. Although there was perhaps a bit too much rock posturing going on, not least from the female bassist, their tunes were big, bold and brimming with energy, even if they did feel slightly familiar at times.

After a lengthy wait, during which time HOOPS once again got the crowd moving, England’s new-wave/electro collective New Young Pony Club finally bowled onto stage with keyboardist Lou Hayter looking typically elegant all in black and guitarist Andy Spence having a sartorial nightmare in a yellow/grey T-shirt and red jeans. It was vocalist Tahita Bulmer (above) that all eyes rested upon though. Proving herself to be one of the best frontwomen around at the moment, and boasting a new, bleached blonde haircut, the singer exploded around the stage like a firebomb, spitting lyrics and oozing charisma with her between-song banter.
Getting things going with Get Lucky and Grey, the quintet was confident enough to throw away disco-funk track Ice Cream very early on in the set. Sure, we’ve all heard it a million times before, yet live it still sounds as sexy and exciting as it ever did and, of course, sent the crowd absolutely nuts. More bands should consider discarding their signature tune in such a way rather than leaving it for the encore, as, once it was out of the way, the set seemed free to go in any direction.

After rattling through more tracks from their debut and a few newies, Bulmer threatened: “This might be our last song,” and stated they would only encore if she saw the audience sweat during a rousing rendition of The Bomb. Cue enough enthusiasm from a full room to warrant a couple more tunes, including an interesting version of Squeeze’s Take Me I’m Yours. The night ended with The Get Go, but not before Bulmer had received a few marriage proposals from the crowd, along with one slightly less romantic shout of: “I would straight up nail you.”

Mystery Jets - Twenty One

MYSTERY JETS
Twenty One

Mystery Jets are clearly trying to shift their oddball image. Lead singer Blaine Harrison’s Dad is no longer a full-time member of the band and their second long-player sees them step away from obscure lyrics and prog influences to create an album of fairly straightforward indie-pop.

After the fuzzy synths of opener Hideaway have clearly indicated producer Erol Alkan’s distinctive stamp on this sophomore record, the newfound pop sensibilities of the English band shine through with Young Love. With its sweet, naïve optimism, it is a delicious love song which highlights all that is good about Mystery Jets, and it could not have a better guest vocalist than the delightful Laura Marling. Continuing with the breeziness of this standout track, Half In Love With Elizabeth is a similarly catchy tune with a rousing chorus and the perky MJ gives a massive nod to The Police’s Don’t Stand So Close To Me.

Sometimes things aren’t so well judged though. Two Doors Down is cute, but its production is so ridiculously glimmering with 80s gloss that it borders on parody. Elsewhere, the plinky-plonky Umbrellahead is a bit too ramshackle compared to the shiny pop which precedes it and Veiled In Grey’s lyrics about pink elephants edge towards vague incomprehensibility. While these moments show signs of a band that has still to completely shake off the overtly eclectic nature of its debut, such eccentricities also serve to define what Mystery Jets are all about, and this sweet, sanguine record sees them easing towards the mainstream while still retaining their personality and kookiness.

The Felice Brothers - The Felice Brothers

THE FELICE BROTHERS
The Felice Brothers

The Felice Brothers are three American siblings [and one mate] that live the hobo lifestyle in a beaten up old van, slugging whisky and singing old-fashioned yarns of jailhouses, alcohol, drugs, woozy romance and family ties. Their UK debut album, 2007’s Tonight At The Arizona, snuck onto the shelves almost unnoticed, yet those who chanced upon it couldn’t have failed to be bowled over by its cracked beauty. Now, with their follow-up, they have crafted an even more incredible record.

The most immediately striking aspect of The Felice Brothers’ gritty Americana is vocalist Ian Felice, who sounds unerringly reminiscent of Bob Dylan. However, his delivery during gentle folk opener Little Anne proves that this is no cheap imitation; his voice is genuine, real and breathtaking.

Following this, the tempo is raised with the ivory-tinkling, horn-blowing The Greatest Show On Earth and the barnstorming, accordion-led Frankie’s Gun. Later, St Stephen’s End offers understated guitar before Ian Felice opens the barroom romp, Love Me Tenderly, with endearing, Tom Waits-style rambling.

With 15 tracks taking over an hour to play out, The Felice Brothers feels like a good, old fashioned album which you would be well advised to hurry out and buy right now and, while you’re at it, hunt down a copy of their previous record too. When it comes to honest, raw American folk, The Felice Brothers are the best band around right now. Trust me, while that may seem like high praise, there is jawdropping beauty here that is all too rare nowadays.

These New Puritans interview

My These New Puritans interview recently ran in Syndey's Drum Media:
THESE NEW PURITANS VOCALIST JACK BARNETT TELLS ROB TOWNSEND THAT THERE IS MUCH MORE TO HIS BAND THAN IMAGE

The British press love a bit of hype. No sooner had These New Puritans turned heads with their hectic combination of beats, guitars, samples and synths which vocalist/guitarist Jack Barnett describes as: “Dancehall meets Steve Reich,” than they were being showered with praise by those in the know at the NME.

Of course, the line between praise and over-hype is a fine one, so you won’t find the band getting too carried away with the media attention. “It’s probably not a terrible thing for the press to like you,” Barnett admits. “But I wouldn’t want us to be ridiculously hyped because I don’t think we could ever really fulfil it in terms of making a pop song that sweeps the world. I’m quite happy with just a bit of praise.”

Just like former tour-buddies Klaxons before them, These New Puritans have perhaps unfairly been tagged as something of a fashion band, with Barnett appearing in GQ’s best dressed list and his twin brother [and drummer] George finding himself in the NME Cool List. However, while the band has worked with French fashion designer Hedi Slimane and produced music for the Dior Homme show, Barnett says that aesthetics aren’t a big deal. “People always think we are one of those image bands, you know, where it’s all about image and the music doesn’t matter. We don’t actually think about it much,” he shrugs.
Indeed, if proof were needed that the quartet are not the scenesters that the uninitiated might imagine them to be, it is that they hail from Southend-on-Sea, a distinctly unfashionable tourist trap in the south of England. With the town’s only other notable export being cartoon goths The Horrors, Southend is certainly not the buzzing centre of indie cool. Therefore, it was simply through their music, rather than because they hung around with the right people in super-trendy parts of London, that These New Puritans got noticed. “I think if you are in London you are in a sea of bloodthirsty people in bands, desperate for success, whereas in Southend there is very little happening so it is easier to get noticed. And it’s right next door to London anyway.”

The group – which is completed by Thomas Hein [bass, sampler, backing vocals, percussion] and Sophie Sleigh-Johnson [synthesizers, sequencer] – offers a sound which is unique because of how incredibly eclectic it is, with Wu Tang Clan, The Fall and Aphex Twin being just three of a host of far-reaching influences. “I don’t have to like music to listen to it. At the moment I am listening to a lot of dancehall, and a lot of it is awful but there are aspects of it that I really like that will come into our next album.”

At the forefront of a thrilling sound, Barnett’s vocal is akin to Mark E. Smith’s, as he spits lyrics which are cryptic in the extreme. “I can’t help that,” Barnett says of his wordplay. “I’ve always been very secretive. When I was little I used to make up my own languages… well, codes, and I’d write in all these codes, so I think it is just a natural thing for me.”
These New Puritans arrive in Australia for the first time on the back of a lengthy stint of touring around America, Europe and Japan, and have supported the likes of Crystal Castles and The Kills. “We were going to be one of the first new bands to do a proper tour of China as well but it turned out to be too expensive. We were also going to do a tour of the Middle East. That was my idea, but security costs became too much. That would have been amazing.”

With their debut album, Beats Pyramid having been out for a few months now, Barnett is now keen to get off the road and concentrate on a new record. “We’ve got a few new songs that will be on the next album,” he says of the writing he has managed to do over the past few months on tour. “We’re not going to play them [live] because none of us can play the instruments that they are written for yet. They are all just theoretical at the moment.”

Contrary to his band’s high-energy shows and chaotic sound, Jack Barnett comes across as a shy, modest character and, typical of the way his band are sidestepping the hype that surrounds them, he seems to be approaching his debut visit to this country with the minimum of fuss. “Yeah, it’ll be interesting,” he says nonchalantly. “Apparently our album has been well-received over there, so it’ll be quite an interesting experience.”