The Great Australian Music Search

Circle

I got a random email from a friend the other day, saying that she wanted me to listen to this band since I was into “good music”. Flattering as it is (and true, all true), I always feel trepidation when people try to introduce me to their friends’ bands. Luckily for all of us, Sydney band Circle are actually pretty damn good. Their music is best described as warm, engaging indie pop, often in the same vein as Belle and Sebastian or Teenage Fanclub. These guys seem relatively new, but check out their webpage - you can listen to some of their songs. I recommend their cover of Big Star’s September Gurls, and their song Into the Sun.

Parades

In my neverending search for a band who are genuinely original, I am very pleased to find a band like Parades. Their music has this wonderfully mellow, rich feeling and I actually went back for a second, nay third, listen to Marigold when perusing the tunes in their MySpace player - which is pretty rare occurrence.

There’s an added bonus to their tunes - guy/girl harmonies, which are always a winner with me.

I can’t say I know much about these guys, though I think I will be checking them out at Oxford Art Factory this month.

Gypsy & the Cat

I rarely listen to radio, but in the few occassions that I have in the past couple of weeks I have heard their very catchy song Time to Wander. I am thinking that these guys are going to get pretty big pretty fast. There’s a jangly, retro vibe about them. I caught the end of their set at Foals the other week at Manning Bar, where they played a song of their’s called Jona Vark. Its very 80s and all that, but just try and get it out of your head.

Check these guys out now. Before they get hella famous http://www.myspace.com/gypsyandthecat

The Sirens of Venice - Self titled

Finally picked up this album (yes, I bought a physical CD for the first time in months!), some weeks after I reviewed it for The AU Review.

Steering By Stars - Cables

The new album by Steering By Stars is apparently out, or about to come out. It’s superb - check out what I thought about it at The AU Review.

The Holidays

I kind of wish I’d discovered these guys in summer, because their music has this really cruisy, mellow holiday vibe. As it was, it is their song Golden Sky that is currently doing the rounds, and what caught my attention. Unfortunately their MySpace offers little more than what is available on their latest Golden Sky EP, but if the rest of it is as lovely as these songs then I am keen to hear more. Think groovy tunes with tropical inflections.

Cloud Control - Bliss Release

Cloud Control are one of those musical discoveries that have made this blog worthwhile. Since posting about them late last year, a lot has happened in their sphere, including a tour with Yves Klein Blue, a current tour with Vampire Weekend and the pending release of their debut album, Bliss Release.

I had the pleasure of reviewing the (bliss) release for the website The AU Review. If you are too lazy to read my glowing review, I can basically sum it up in four words: I LOVE CLOUD CONTROL.

Bliss Release comes out this Friday. Buy it, then go see them live on their national tour. Or see them live then buy it. Either/or.

The Sirens of Venice

I write reviews for a website called The AU Review and it is thanks to these guys that I discovered, well, these guys. There was mention of this particular album being quite beautiful. I am quite partial to ‘beautiful’ music and had never heard of them, so out of curiosity I had a looksee.

The Sirens of Venice is a project of Gersey’s Craig Jackson, and Gersey fans will love this. It’s as gorgeously fluid as Gersey’s music, only with a more fantastical nuance and more shoegazish elements. Its very elegant and sweet, moody and pretty, and also features one thing that constantly makes me weak at the knees - guy/girl harmonies.

And yes, it is quite beautiful. Now, where can I get my hands on this album?

http://www.myspace.com/thesirensofvenice

Steering By Stars

Oh Steering By Stars, where have you been all my life? This Adelaidean four-piece make the kind of music I love - dense, atmospheric, melodic dark pop/rock. Lovely ambience offset by driving rhythms and such.

Their influences are a curious mix of Doves, Deerhunter, Sigur Ros and Vangelis - the latter can definitely be heard in their song ‘Blush Response’, which is a surprisingly beautiful post-rock tune. Its kind of offset by their other work, notably their song ‘Closer’ which has this wonderful shoegazy element.

This is definitely a band to look out for. Apparently they have an album out, which I have been trying to hunt down with no success so far. A little help?

Seriously, check out a few tracks of their’s. They have a MySpace AND a profile page on Triple J Unearthed.

The Vignettes

I saw this band a couple of years ago supporting a band I was reviewing and have seen their name floating around the place so I thought I’d give them a proper listen.

The Vignettes are a great two-piece from Sydney. This music is pretty raw, loud and rhythm/riff-heavy. Its all very lo-fi, yet for a duo they make a lot of noise that reminds me a little bit of older Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and kinda harks back to music from the late 90s/early 00s when I was a lot more active in seeing live local music. In a good way.

These guys are really fun live - I highly recommend checking them out.

MySpace highlights include: Hey Little Girl and the tres cool Could’ve Been