Delphic Album Review: Acolyte (for The Music Network)

Manchester’s pipe dream Delphic have bottled that seedy feeling you get at 5am when you’re making your way home from a big night out; the end product is Acolyte.

The dance/pop trio don’t have you in their clutches until the second track in, but from the light, jovial beginning of Doubt you’re sailed down a turbulent track of intermittent synths and vocals that make you want to listen twice.

The track Red Light is repetitive in its lyrics but the intricate guitar and synths attract your attention, almost providing a newfound respect for all the geeks who spend all their time on computers. Delphic’s second single release Acolyte is a gluttonous nine minutes; this could be put down to its background music qualities. Vocalist James Cook takes a load off for this one with the reins handed to Matt Cocksedge and Rick Boardman. Tracks like Halcyon and Submission pump an up-beat freshness to the album, but that’s if you don’t pay attention to the vocals. Fun pop instrumentals are juxtaposed with lyrics like “I’ll fade to black and disappear” and “I don’t recognise myself.”

The only disappointment is the entirely musical track Ephemera, true to its name the song seems to just get going before its faded out and taken away leaving you with no desire to listen again. Delphic redeem themselves with the final track Remain, Cook’s vocal abilities are showcased here as the music takes on a more subtle position in the background. Delphic must be given credit for their consistency, each track has a similar formula, but it’s maverick in nature and that’s what counts most.

Mark Sholtez Feature Article (for The Music Network)

Australian jazz musician Mark Sholtez is not a jazzman after all, nor is he a folk-fanatic or even a blues singer. In fact, not even he can pigeonhole himself into a genre.

“I’ve never kind of thought of myself as a jazz musician,” Sholtez confesses. “First and foremost I’m a songwriter, I guess I’ll always see myself as a songwriter.”

Fans of Sholtez’s ‘songwriting’ will have their palates satiated as his second album The Distance Between Two Truths focuses on the poetry born from the road less travelled.

The follow-up to 2006’s Real Street was recorded in the U.S with producer Larry Klein; well known for his work with singer/songwriters Joni Mitchell and Tracey Chapman.

“I loved Larry’s arrangements and his attention to detail,” he says pensively. “Also he has this preservation of the imperfection in the records which makes them feel real and organic.”

Portals such as Twitter and Facebook are becoming a staple for many musicians to connect with fans. Sholtez goes one step further with a daily blog on MySpace that he wrote during his recording process to give fans what he wished for as a kid.

“I would have gone crazy for that kind of information so I like to put as much stuff up as possible to let people hear it.”

Sholtez’s collaborations in the past have been ‘happy accidents’ he says, one of his favourites is the track Won’t Let The Sun which he wrote with Troy Cassar-Daley who lived near him in Brisbane. The Distance Between Two Truths however, features co-writes spawned from a more purposeful nature.

“There’s a song I wrote with Iain Archer from Snow Patrol (We Could Get Lost), he’s an amazing songwriter. I called his publisher and said ‘can I write a song with him?’ and he said ‘yeah sure lets do that’.”

The collaboration with Alex Lloyd began with a chance meeting in London and a suggestion of “hey lets write a song together.” The result is the track A Thousand Lies, creating the voice for the whole album.

“For me I hear that song and it has the DNA of the entire record in it.”

The album is a collection of eclectic moods. Sholtez writes as though no one will ever hear his music; his songs are sweet snippets of his life that are musingly crafted. Far Enough Away is a song he wrote about the downfall that comes with city life while living in Brisbane.

“You know sometimes you just wake up and you feel sort of strange in your own skin and you just want to be somewhere else,” Sholtez says with nostalgia. “I probably wanted to be doing some recording in my own little home studio and I live quite close to the city and it’s noisy and the neighbors are having a party and I just thought, I wanna be somewhere else.”

When you hit up his live show expect an intimate gig full of anecdotes and witty banter. His aim is to create for fans what he expects from his favourite artists.

“I love to go home from a gig feeling like I saw a one-off show that’s not something that has been incredibly well scripted; something that’s really natural and conversational and unique.”

Spend just half an hour with Sholtez and you’ll discover he’s your average Aussie bloke with absolutely no fear of failure or success; as long he can write and perform he doesn’t give a shit whether he makes a living from it.

“I’m not a big fan of marketing campaigns for a new album that come and just sort of smack people on the head with the new single and all this kind of hype.

“I just wanted the opportunity to just initially put something out to the world that said ‘oh I’ve just got a new record and you know it’s over there in the corner check it out if you get a chance’…It’s kind of just a nice little whisper.”

Mark Sholtez forthcoming album The Difference Between Two Truths is out on Warner Music June 2^nd.

Children Collide: The importance of (not) being earnest (For The Music Network)

Two albums in, Children Collide have already broken the U.S market, played the South By South West Festival in 2007, and toured with some of Australia’s biggest names in rock like The Hoodoo Gurus,Grinspoon and The Living End. But for frontman and bassist, Johnny Mackay and Heath Crawley, that’s not the most entertaining part of their life so far.

Mackay met Crawley in 1999 while they were both at Lismore Uni. They’d known each other just one semester when they decided to hitchhike to Melbourne together. “It was pretty funny, we thought we were going to die a few times on that trip.” Mackay laughs as he recounts in detail the fuzz of a right-wing radio and the massive hands of a potential psychopath.

“He just gave off this vibe like he was going to kill us… Then there was this [other] guy on the way from Albury to Melbourne that just kept pulling into rest stops, for no reason. He wouldn’t stop, he’d pull in where you can drive off the road, that links back onto the highway. And there’d be someone there and he’d keep driving and get back onto the highway again…I dunno what was going on there,” laughs MacKay nonchalantly. “Little did he know that Heath and I are both extremely tough and we would have kicked his ass.”

As tough as they may be, they’re still relatively new to the industry. It’s easy to forget their debut album The Long Now was released just two years ago. And now the boys are on the brink of releasing their sophomore effort, Theory Of Everything, with producer Rob Schnapf (Elliot Smith, Beck, The Vines), so expectations must be high, right? Wrong.

“I don’t really have any expectations… some people will like it, some people will hate it and they’ll probably say things about it that I’ve never thought about.”

Despite the seemingly laid-back attitude, the band were decidedly hands on with the overall album concept and artwork. Interestingly, they’ve chosen tarot card artwork created by Sydney based artist Emily Hunt for Theory Of Everything, with each track featuring its own tarot card that correlates specifically to each song. This isn’t to say we can expect a track-list abounding with wind chimes and laborious Ohm harmonies - quite the opposite. However, Mackay has had his 'cards' read before.

“Years ago by a little hippie girl I used to hang out with [read my Tarot cards]…I don’t really want to answer either way whether I believe in [astrology] – I definitely don’t believe in the ones they put in newspapers.”

It’s obvious that Mackay doesn’t take himself too seriously - and he doesn’t expect us to either. Most of his lyrics are in-jokes that even the band aren't aware of, and Mackay revels in that fact. Children Collideare no self-referencing, uber-cool MGMT wannabes; but they aren't the false modesty type either. And that's what makes them such a promising young band.

“[The track My Eagle] is kind of a piss take. Then again a lot of our songs are… but you’ve got to entertain yourself. I think it’s boring being completely earnest all the time.”

Children Collide are on tour nationally, promoting the track Jellylegs from their album Theory Of Everything, out in August.

Xavier Rudd at The Enmore Theatre

The distinction of Xavier Rudd’s last album Darker Shades Of Blue could not have been clearer at The Enmore Theatre on Thursday night. With his new album Koonyum Sun and the addition of a new band, Izintaba; his fresh mellow sound was welcomed by every dreadlocked, incense lover this side of Sydney.

Opening with the organic track Love Comes And Goes, the bare-footed multi-instrumentalist shared the glory with South African band mates Tio Moloantoa and Andile Nqubezelo. The theatre filled with powerful thick rhythms and applause. It felt more like a celebration than a concert and in many respects it was; evidence of their past hardships, both political and personal were nowhere to be seen.

Xavier indulged in evocative long interludes with Koonyum Sun tracks Set Me Free, Fresh Green Freedom and Sky To The Ground. Izintaba left their posts to play their instruments on bended knee before Xavier. Their respect for one another was paramount and mutual. Family and audience members were invited onstage for his latest single Time To Smile. Xavier stepped out from behind his three didgeridoo’s to dance with his fans, letting them sing and chant with him.

The set predominantly focused on the new upbeat bohemian album with only a few select performances from Food In The Belly like The Mother and Messages. Not one track from Darker Shades Of Blue was played making the set a festive folk journey through roots and tribal adulations.

The jovial track Let Me Be saw crowd members sing every lyric verbatim and even whistle along to Xavier’s slide guitar and harmonica. Bassist Tio Moloantoa relished in his deep musical breakdown, his guitar almost eclipsing his small frame. Xavier laughed and said, “He’s a small guy with big balls!”

A group-hug was clinched before the three band-mates left the stage giving us the peace sign. Xavier Rudd and Izintaba bid farewell with three encore songs, the last track was the worldly Reasons We Were Blessed. They expressed their gratitude to both Indigenous Australians and South Africans for sharing their land and culture and being the inspiration for Koonyum Sun.

We Love Sounds Festival Review (for The Music Network)

The Sydney winter We Love Sounds festival escaped a rumoured gatecrashing from ticket-buyers on Saturday. Security and police closed off the Hordern Pavillion in the afternoon professing it was at full capacity. This meant many punters missed Italian electro duo Crookers and electro/house DJ Steve Aoki as the gates weren’t opened again until 8pm. A statement was released from We Love Sounds advocating police to be at fault.

“We Love Sounds sincerely apologise to all attendees who were unable to see Crookers or Steve Aoki… As the promoter of the event, We Love Sounds believe that NSW Police, albeit with best intention, misjudged the situation, to the direct detriment of our paying customers. Rest assured we will be liasing with NSW Police to ensure this will not occur in the future.”

Those lucky enough to see Californian DJ and Dim Mak Records founder, Steve Aoki saw the unanimous highlight of the festival. Aoki opened with Pendulum’s famous ABC news theme remix. “Yeww I love the news!” shouted a sweaty shirtless raver sporting an oversized Southern Cross tattoo.

Heavy metal guitar riffs and Aoki’s fervid screams annihilated our faces. He took punk classics like Refused’s New Noise and overlapped them with electro/house beats. During his latest track I’m In The House Aoki backed up to the rear of the stage before running off the edge and into the crowd. He returned, short of his shirt and conducted the rest of his explosive set without it.

According to Crookers fans, if you missed their set you only missed the letdown performance of the day. DJ’s and producers Bot and Phra are known for putting progressive house windup’s over top of windup’s and this set was no different; mixing genres with songs like Kelis’ Milkshake, La Roux’s Going In For The Kill, AC/DC’s Thunderstruck, Raven by Proxy and even the Lion King movie track Circle Of Life.  The tracks were intricately mixed but the crowd just didn’t seem to have the same energy they had for Aoki’s set. Although a three tiered shoulder ride of the male gender said otherwise.

The most acclaimed acts took the inthemix stage with Frenchman Joachim Garraud owning the decks for his first show on a worldwide tour. Garraud played original tracks The Rock and Wrecking Ball but electrified the crowd with a remix of Coldplay’s Clocks and The Chemical Brothers Hey Boy, Hey Girl.

Holland’s Laidback Luke returned for his fourth year to We Love Sounds, delivering layered, complex house mashups. He played everything from Winter Gordon’s Dirty Talk to Christina Aguilera’s Not Myself Tonight.

Due to the drama following Hordern Pavillion’s closed doors, British trance icons Underworld commenced their performance 45 minutes later than scheduled. This was to ensure everyone had the opportunity to witness the kaleidoscope of graphics, fit-inducing lasers and flamboyant dancing from front man Karl Hyde. Underworld played all original tracks with Downpipe, Scribble, the renowned Two Months Off, Strumpet and dance anthem Born Slippy reverberating through the half empty arena. Hyde is a performance poet; a huge strobe-lit screen was brought onstage so that his pelvic gyrations and twisted hand gestures were made the cynosure as he sang and swivelled behind it. For the track Cowgirl Hyde sang from the back of the stage atop an amp as side screens flashed with images of eyes behind video of the live set.

Underworld (Hyde and Rick Smith) took a bow and thanked the audience. Festivalgoer’s soon made their way out through the gates only to be met by winters’ chill and their sweat drying cold.

            

Thirsty Merc Album Review: Mousetrap Heart (for The Music Network)

It’s been a good six years since Australian pop/rock band Thirsty Merc have released anything. Their album Mousetrap Heart was made available June 10 and with a new guitarist (Matt Smith from The Strides) and a tweaked sound, devout fans can be satisfied with this sophomore effort.

On most tracks, Thirsty Merc’s original lyricism from their debut self titled album is evident. Sadly, this means Rai Thistlethwayte is still having his heart broken left right and center; tracks like DNA, Kiss Me Away and All My Life touch on unrequited relationships and the woes of waiting for that all encompassing feeling of love.

The track Tommy And Krista takes you by surprise, it’s a sweet fable with a simple 70’s hook that could be likened to, and I dare say this, The Beach Boys.

The track Damn This Love has strains of past single Hope through it, giving off the similar bitter sweet vibe with that insinuation of melancholy. The same can be said of Life Is Life, although Thistlethwayte has a gracious, organic voice this track is the lull of the album - an indulgent six and half minutes of simple piano and soft percussion.

The new Thirty Merc are a tighter more syncopated bunch, the sound from their debut album is still evident in most tracks like Mozambique and Mousetrap Heart but tracks like Betty Page show an attempt at contemporary mo-town, and not a completely unsuccessful one.

Bridezilla, Domeyko/Gonzalez and Step-Panther at the OAF - Written for FasterLouder

It was a polarising Wednesday evening at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory as three different bands took the stage to evoke three different experiences.

First on the bill were surfer rock trio Step-Panther. It wasn’t the best of starts as drummer Julio needed to change microphones and lead guitarist/vocalist Steviesie forgot the words to their opening track Superpowerz. It was irrelevant though; the enthusiastic crowd espoused them, much like an older brother would his weaker less handsome sibling. Tracks like D Minus, Fight Like A Knight and Jimmy were all played out of time and out of tune, but we loved it. The songs weren’t about anything in particular and their performance was questionable at best, but the passion and potential Step-Panther hold could power a small village in Africa.

The second act, five-piece sci-fi band Domeyko/ Gonzalez were a different beast altogether. Their 30-minute set was an instrumental messianic zeal. Not one word was sung; the keyboard, glockenspiel, violin, saxophone, drums and guitars belted out psychedelic musings under the spasmodic strobe lights. Front man James Domeyko played his electric guitar with a violin bow, bending and buckling in time with his strokes. It was loud and it was raw and just when you thought maybe someone would start to sing, the curtains closed to make way for headlining act Bridezilla.

The red velvet curtains opened unveiling a romantic stage set complete with flowers, candles and low lights that saturated the stage in a yellow smoky haze. Bridezilla are Holiday Sidewinder vocals/rhythm guitar, Daisy Tulley – violin, Millie Hall – saxophone/keyboard, Pia May – guitar and the lone male Josh Bush on drums.

The Australian quintet began with the indulgent indie/folk instrumentals they are renowned for both here and overseas. What they lacked in a bass player they made up for with Bush’s organic backing beats.

Not long into the set, Sidewinder ditched her guitar for the tambourine to sear into track Forth and Fine. As ripe as Bridezilla are in their musical talents and lyrical capabilities it has to be said that Sidewinder’s constant nose wiping was quite distracting. The audience may have picked up on this, talking amongst themselves the whole way through their set.

Sidewinder spoke softly and little between tracks Luna, Queen Of Hearts and Western Front. She played the drum kits top-hats for the climax of Soft Porn giving space for guitarist, May to interact with Tulley. Each song spilled into the other like a bleeding nuanced orchestral that hit highs and lows with the most subtle of vocal moans. A highlight was definitely Tulley’s violin performance, she swayed and swiveled, lunging into choreographed jerked movements before carrying out her signature move where she contorted herself backward until her short hair almost reached the stage floor.

The haunting last song came without any warning as Sidewinder took to the floor with her tambourine and sang of dejected love. Although I could see the beauty in their organised disaster, for most part it was lacking in vigor with Tulley picking up most of the slack.