Über-mysterious Swedish metal outfit Ghost (pictured, looking über-mysterious) have announced that they are already working on the follow-up to 2010’s truly amazing Opus Eponymous record. Blistering.com recently conducted an interview with one of the band’s ‘Nameless Ghouls’ (the identities of all six members of the band remain secret) who said that, “Most of the material has been written already. Throughout the production and writing, we’ve been using the word ‘divine’ a lot. Whereas with the first album, the sound was slightly ‘wooden,’ we want the new album to be stone and golden in terms of being lavished and divine.” If you’re yet to listen to Opus Eponymous, check it out before album number two surfaces.

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The Southern Gold Coast’s inaugural surf culture festival, Bleach* Surfing The Fringe, has announced local underground trio PIRATES ALIVE as the first act to grace its TRAVELLING MUSIC TRUCK concert series on Sunday Feb 12. The GC Big Day Out local stage graduates combine surf music and punkish pop into what they call “garagey, sandy goodness”, providing the perfect sun-bleached tunes for summer days.

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Guy Sebastian hits out on this Armageddon tour this year. Probably not related to Michael Bay’s 1998 disaster flick, though perhaps taking root in the Bible story, the tour heads to QPAC’s Concert Hall on Friday Jun 29, Jupiters Hotel & Casino on Saturday Jun 30 and Nambour Civic Centre on Sunday Jul 1. Look for tickets from the venues.

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Brisbane’s delightfully quirky, folk-pop collective Pear & The Awkward Orchestra (pictured) launch their new clip and single – Castle – at Dowse Bar, Paddington, on Wednesday Feb 8, Upfront Club, Maleny, on Saturday Feb 11, before playing It’s Vintage Darling, Annerley, on Sunday Feb 12 (alongside Matt Witney and Captain Dreamboat; 2pm).

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Photo: Rick Clifford

If there’s a record label that still has a loyal following in this, an age where the record label is dying, it’s California’s alt-funk-punk-hop haven Suburban Noize Records. Tonight the label loyalists have turned up, their shirts emblazoned with Noize’s logo, in support of label newcomers Nothing and stalwarts, (Hed) P.E. Adelaide horrorcore emcee KidCrusher is first up to plate tonight. You either like horrorcore or you don’t. I don’t.

Next, New South Wales metal outfit Recoil V.O.R. play their set. As quick and thrashy as their tunes are, and they have quite a few quick, thrashy tunes in their set, Recoil’s aggressive attack and hook-laden riffs speak to the audience’s punk and alt-rock fans, as well as the metalheads.

Then Mushroomhead vocalist Jeffrey Nothing’s eponymous band Nothing come onstage and play a set that sounds as though those last two Matrix movies never existed. It’s over-driven spooky nu metal that veers towards alterna-metal, especially when Nothing’s bark transforms into his Layne Staley-styled whine. The vocalist also wears pantyhose over his face and a bulletproof vest. No one in the crowd seems the least bit shocked by such ‘fucked up’ garb.

When the (Hed) P.E. crew come on the stage, the crowd rushes to the front. By the time frontman Jared Gomes is busting over the chill reggae beats of Sophia the pit is mobile. Drinks are spilt as dreadlocks fly and dudes run into other dudes. Gomes is the perfect ringleader for this spectacle; he leads his people through the punk/metal/rap jams and his efforts are rewarded with unanimous cheers. (Hed) P.E. are a band that has survived through almost 20 years of line-up changes, negative critical reactions and getting dropped from labels, seeing them interact with their core fan base tonight, one comes to understand what has kept them going.

TOM HERSEY

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(Sub Pop/Inertia)

Oh Sub Pop, there was just no need

Electronic music walks a fine line of currency, dependant on trends that can see sounds become obviously dated in no time at all. Our ears are evolving all the time and it doesn’t take too long for something to sound as archaic as the Super Mario Bros theme. In fact, this datedness permeates every facet of popular culture these days (I only need to watch an episode of Seinfeld to feel old) and therefore a reissue of an album such as this is a big risk. 10 years ago, Life Is Full Of Possibilities was touted as being fresh, heartfelt and damn catchy – but the jury is out as to whether I feel it holds up as well today. Providing four separate remixes of (This Is) The Dream Of Evan & Chan (the collab with Ben Gibbard that lead to the successful Postal Service album), DNTEL’s JimmyTamborello skilfully demonstrates how diverse one song can be in many different hands, but that choice is, in itself, a bit of a risk. Like many remix albums and reissues, fans of Dntel will love the nostalgia of it all and enjoy their favourite tunes from bygone times dusted with a new flavour, but essentially the entire release may be an unnecessary exercise.

**½

KRISSI WEISS

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