Well, you were all hanging out for it weren’t you? Desperate to know who’s going to be that band that you can brag to your mates you saw in a little pub before they were famous? It’s testament to the health of the music scene in Australia that we struggled to narrow our list of hot bands down to a mere 10 – there were dozens we could have included. We had to make some hard decisions and we’ve narrowed our tips for 2010 down to 20 bands…..here are the first 10 – stay posted for next weeks final 10
THE BRUTALS
The Brutals have been kicking around stages in Melbourne for a few years with many people wondering when they’d actually do something. Well, they’ve put down their bongs long enough to finally record an LP and it’s a corker. Blissful jangling guitars, amazing harmonies and winsome catchy pop recall Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Buffalo Springfield, Love and The Beach Boys. Judging by the hordes of young girls we’ve seen at recent shows of theirs lately, expect them to blow up big time this year with the imminent release of their Honeymoon Period album.
The Demon Parade
A blur of jangling space rock and psychedelia, The Demon Parade are warranting a lot of industry attention at the moment. Recalling The Stone Roses, The Church and Ride, this gaggle of pipe cleaner jeans and paisley shirts have got the morphine drones and incandescent jangle rock down pat. Not quite 18 months old, the band put out a limited edition seven inch late last year and are about to tour Australia with The Brian Jonestown Massacre this February. With an EP coming out in March and increasing radio play these brats are about to break on through.
Violent Soho
Straight outta Mansfield in South Brisbane, Violent Soho look and play like it’s 1992. Self described stoner pop, they clearly spend a lot of time on the bongs listening to Mudhoney, Nirvana and Dinosaur Junior. It’s also paid off in spades, with the band being signed to Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth’s Ecstatic Peace Label and Speak n’ Spell management. Releasing self funded LP We Don’t Belong Here in 2008, they have since re-recorded parts of it for an imminent US release and are currently hauling their arses around the US on a club tour. They also recently did a run of US shows supporting Built to Spill and Dinosaur Junior and their epic live set which often includes a cover of God’s My Pal is one to restore your faith in the powers of live rock n’ roll.
[Me]
A name that seems somewhat mundane or self reflexive could hardly prepare you less for the grand, theatrical histrionics of [Me]. Truly different to anything in the music scene in Australia right now, they manage to combine the bombast of Queen, the galactic ambition of Muse and the harmonies of The Carpenters or Fleetwood Mac. Shtick like this would have gotten you bottled off stage barely ten years ago, but in a music scene that is evolving so rapidly and recycling influences before they even fall out of favour to be able to stand out like this and generate such a buzz is admirable.
Danimals
Initially beginning as a side project for Sydney artist Jonti Danilewitz of Sydney buzz band Sherlock’s Daughter, the project is now a quintet. Splicing up samples and laying breathy vocals over arrangements that sometimes plod a little, Danimals recall the bleepy schizophrenic sounds of The Avalanches and Stereolab. Recent winners of a competition put on by a shit beer company to show how they’re down with the kids, Danimals were recently flown by said beer company to New York to work with Mark Ronson. Whether the band have come back to Sydders as crackwhores like his other producing credit Amy Winehouse remains uncertain.
Dick Diver
Naming themselves after a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is The Night doesn’t necessarily ameliorate a name that is well, just silly. Luckily they make concise pop which owes a debt to the taut songcraft of the Go-Betweens circa Before Hollywood and Spring Hill Fair. However, just when you think you can pigeonhole them, guitar solos wail in reminiscent of the desert feedback of the Gun Club. An odd, schizophrenic, yet curiously appealing mix.
Rat Vs Possum
Coming out of Melbourne’s warehouse party scene, Rat Vs Possum found themselves receiving attention when they started attracting warehouse sized crowds to mid-week gigs and selling out the likes of The Tote on a Wednesday night. A blend of atmospheric guitars and electronica, they clearly have similarities to – dare we say it – Animal Collective, with lush layers of blissful pop and even the softer moments of Ride or Slowdive. They also get the Tone Deaf award for best lyric of the year so far: ‘I think I love you but it might just be the pills’ off Jungle Pills. With a release slated for April on label Sensory Projects, these 21 year old kids ‘living on acid and baked beans’ – according to Dan Kelly – will no longer be merely live favourites.
Jimmy Hawk
Several years in the making, Jimmy Hawk, AKA Jay Hawk, AKA James Rumour has been plying his trade as a wistful troubadour playing melodies for the broken hearted. His laid back, winsome pop vignettes of unrequited love and doomed romances are all coloured by a yearning West Coast vibe that channels Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. Listening to his Born on A Mountain EP from 2009, you can almost feel the breeze coming off the Pacific over Malibu and the palm trees gently swaying on La Cienega. With a debut album slated for release this year and plenty of Triple J attention Jimmy Hawk might yet meet that perfect girl.
UV Race
Bringing their three chord vignettes of life in Warragul in Victoria’s Gippsland region to the big city, UV Race play gloriously shambolic garage punk that brings to mind The Saints, The Replacements and yes, we’ll say it, Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Unsurprising then that Mikey of Eddy Current produced their debut album released late last year. Truly best appreciated live, their front man Marcus is one hell of a showman, whether performing in his underpants or challenging audience members to a fight. They don’t gig as regularly as fans would like, making gigs events not to be missed.
Royal Headache
With a ¼ inch home recorded tape of a song entitled Eloise as their only release to date, Royal Headache sure have a lot of buzz around them at the moment. When you have Pitchfork contacting you wanting to obtain an mp3 of your only fuzzy recording to stream on the site people are going to pay attention. In other parts of the world this would seem like a carefully orchestrated marketing plan designed to attract music biz attention but when the band is from Sydney and is the real deal, people are going to get a little hot and heavy. Guitar heavy power pop that instantly reminds you of that other legendary Sydney powerpop band Ratcat, it’s a refreshing change from the hipster artifice of so much music coming out of Sydney. With a heart on sleeve approach to lyrics they are also reminiscent of the glorious garage pop of The Stems.
