The Anyones
Posted: August 26, 2003 Filed under: BLOG | Tags: music, Sydney, sydney music scene, The Anyones Comments OffWritten for OzMusicProject
@ Manning Bar: University gigs probably aren’t the most ideal settings for bands. Especially when you’re playing at lunchtime. And it’s a Tuesday. The floor in front of the stage had tables and chairs, so if you wanted to be up close you had to fight the usual urge to be standing. And there was no supporting band or encore. But it’s a free gig, and my fellow UTS friend and I were fairly jealous of all these lucky SydneyU-sters who were getting these quality acts playing at their bar, the Manning.
Amongst the few trying to have lunch, the majority of the crowd had been drawn here to see Melbourne group, The Anyones. Currently on their ‘Trans-Highway One Tour’ to flog their new self-titled album, the boys have been working hard and winning hearts all over the country. They’ve been around for a good six years, but this, their second album marks their determination and reflects their ability to conquer the nation.
Opening with the sweetly nostalgic ‘Orange Bubblegum’, it’s a great benchmark for all the perfect pop rock we’re about to sample. Brothers Steve and Mal Pinkerton are the legs of the five-piece, managing to see to samplers, keyboards, guitars, tambourines, vocals and flute between them. The vocal harmonizing between them, as well as with bass player Nick Murphy is used to great effect, a throwback to the 60s sound of The Beach Boys and The Beatles.
In fact, The Anyones manage to delicately blend the best of the 60s, 70s and 80s into their sound, often into the one song, while maintaining a modern sensibility (as opposed to becoming yet another tribute to the past). Their strength comes from a solid base in melodies and catchy riffs. Nobody can deny that we have a band with musical ability on our hands.
But on top of this The Anyones add an interesting twist to their rock makeup, with samples of old film footage, quirky bitter synth-keys, whistling and put-on voices, as well as the use of classic instruments such as the flute. But none of it sounds like a gimmicky attachment. Instead it seamlessly blends into their sound, adding an extra layer of complexity to their likable pop sound. They move through their songs with a confidence that doesn’t see them try to be good – they simply are good.
BIFTEK
Posted: August 23, 2003 Filed under: BLOG | Tags: biftek, music, Sydney, sydney music scene Comments Off@ Mandarin Club: Saturday night and the Oriental room of the Mandarin Club had become the meeting place for electronic music loving nerds of all ages to feel cool, be cool and try so hard to look cool they were cool. DJ OB, Dsico and Sub Bass Snarl warmed the crowd up with a mix of wicked beats, breaks and electro. Around 12.30 the women of the hour finally stepped up dressed immaculately in black with silver ties. It was B(if)tek’s album launch and they certainly impressed their fans with some diverse explorations of chilled ambiance and electro dance tunes.
Full Fathom Five & Telemetry Orchestra
Posted: August 8, 2003 Filed under: BLOG | Tags: Full Fathom Five, music, Sydney, sydney music scene, Telemetry Orchestra Comments OffWritten for OzMusicProject
@ Hopetoun: Surely one of the busier acts on the live Sydney circuit is Telemetry Orchestra, support for Full Fathom Five at the Hopetoun on Friday. It’s easy to see why these guys are well liked. Their exquisite electronic concoction, derived from mainly keys, sythns and mixers is easy to digest. The beats and sampled sounds move from playful to funky to chilled. Some live elements are thrown in like a bass to add some darker shading and Charlotte’s softly pleasant voice weaved in as vocal snippets. Smooth, lilting rhythms entrance the audience as their seductive progressions trickle and wash over your ears like cool water.
Full Fathom Five offer something a little more challenging and a little darker. Hailing from Brisbane the six piece will quickly be compared to Sydney’s own Decoder Ring. Like the Ring, Full Fathom Five rely on live sounds – no less than three guitars, two keys and drums – to create their sonic world. And they’re quick to suck you in, encouraging you to explore dark, moody corners to soaring heights, triggered by some imaginative guitar solos, dance to some fun trip hop as well as immerse yourself in haunting ambient noise that seem to echo off walls of a large hall (despite the fact that the Hopetoun is probably the smallest venue in Sydney).
All in all, FFF is probably less musically intriguing than Decoder Ring, who’s emotional subtly is hard to top. This partly has to do with the use of Sam Kormans on vocals (as opposed to the voiceless Decoder Ring). While it distracts us from the power of the instrumentation, Korman also gives the band a livelier feel than Decoder, a quality that would be important for some. In fact, his singing has an emotional intensity of its own, with some dark and evocative lyrics being drawn out (‘it’s all a desert to me’). Their interest spans from rock, to electro, to dance, even ending the night on a country note, albeit washed over with their electronic sensibilities. In the end, FFF manages to get under your skin and fill you up with some musical goodness, leaving you to feel extremely satisfied.
ECTOMORPH
Posted: August 2, 2003 Filed under: BLOG | Tags: Ectomorph, Mad Racket, music, Sydney, sydney music scene Comments Off@ Mad Racket, Marrickville Bowling Club: Marrickville Bowling Club by day – Pulsating, thumping, nightclub by night. Pokie machines at the back, DJ at the front, Marrickville Bowling Club is home to Mad Racket, featuring Sydney’s leading DJs of all things electro: Simon Caldwell, Ken Cloud and Jimmi James. It’s a quality event put on every month or so with a devout legion of regulars.
Saturday night saw Detroit artist Brendan M. Gillen, or Ectromorph take to the stage. The unusual feature of Mr. Gillen is the fact that he works from a laptop for his set, doing live editing (although for all we know he could have whacked on a CD be checking his email.) Working off a laptop gives him a lot more control and creative freedom, usually working from no less than four sources at a time. It was a solid set of tech-electro goodness with some breaks, deep house and even rock thrown in for good measure.
