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Since first gaining notoriety with 2007’s mega-hit Slide, Bundaberg-born TOMMY TRASH has become one of Australia’s most in-demand DJs, attaining his own Ministry Of Sound CD and joining the rolling electro/house juggernaut that is Onelove’s Mobile Disco. DENIS SEMCHENKO is on the line with the Gold Coast-based producer/musician.
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Lockdown’s first bash for ’09 takes place at the Jubilee Hotel on Saturday Jan 24 (Australia Day Weekend), with The Casino Rumblers, Secondhand Smoke (Sublime tribute act), The Pretty Boys, Starsludge, Legions Of Mary, Perhaps Maybe?!?, Dementia 13 and The Flangipanis thus far announced. It’ll be a super-cheap $5 on the door.
Mistletone expands its seasonal love-in with the Summer Tones party heading to The Zoo Friday Mar 6, 2009. Featuring internationals Dan Deacon, High Places, Ruby Suns, Lawrence Arabia and Melbourne types Beaches, grab tickets through OzTix now for $35.50+bf.
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Pre-sales for the Coconet Classic happening on Boyne Island Sunday Apr 12, 2009, have sold out. Head to www.coconetclassic.net.au for the second release priced at $75+bf if you want to catch The Living End, The Butterfly Effect (pictured), Spiderbait and a slew of others.
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Claiming to have concocted Brisbane’s largest experimental dance music event, Monster Mash throws it’s Smash party at The Step Inn Saturday Jan 10, 2009. Three rooms, three sound systems and guests including Berliner Drumcorps, a DJ set from The Berzerker, Belgium’s Sickboy and Mr Orange, Austria’s Eiterherd, as well as a slew of locals including Black Lung, Monster Zoku Onsomb! (pictured), The Nam Shub Of Enki andexpats Team Plastique to name but a few. It’s $20+bf through OzTix. Hit www.myspace.com/monstermashupfor more info.
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Armed with an eclectic sound palate, Brisbane midi-maestro Hunz plies his post-rock meanderings with a bass and drum ensemble to an audience who prefer to populate corners and couches rather than the gaping space near the front of the stage.
Buoyed by winning the coveted Unearthed slot on the upcoming Big Day Out, local indie rockers Hungry Kids Of Hungary demonstrate the songwriting maturity of a band twice their age, with the musicianship to boot. Their three part harmonies contrast nicely with Kane Mazlin’s staccato keyboard rhythms to achieve a sound somewhere between the ‘70s pop-rock icons Chicago and today’s hippest indie producer Ben Folds.
It’s tough to see past the disappointed faces of Sydney’s kick-ass funk/soul-cum-indie rock act Kid Confucius, here to promote their latest release The Let Go, although the powerhouse octet deliver an amazing set despite the poor turnout. After an opening passage of super-charged rockier newbies including Play A Part, Morning J and Good Luck, singer Rob Hezkial defiantly jumps down from the stage to pull chairs, couches and bodies closer to the stage to instant effect. With the vibe in check, they return to the funk with Stripes’ cruising tune Better Be On Soon and their self-titled debut’s Mister, before peaking with the festival blockbuster Moment.
JAMES STAFFORD
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New album from half of Sunderland math-pop geniuses Field Music
When brothers David and Peter Brewis disbanded Field Music after 2007’s excellent Tones Of Town, it wasn’t because they were finished with music. David released School Of Language’s low-key Sea From Shore earlier this year, and Peter has now put out The Week That Was – a conceptually and temporally (barely 33 minutes!) tighter effort. Produced by David and retaining the distinctive Field Music drum sound, TWTW is eight rhythmic slices of intelligent pop music, crafted with near-immaculate care. Lyrically it purports to tell a dark crime story from fragmented perspectives, giving each track a compelling yet opaque feel. Musically it’s layered so well that repeated listens inevitably turn up more surprises, with vibraphone, piano, flute, string and vocal harmonies strategically deployed throughout. Opener Learn To Learn provides an ominous urgency to what follows, but there are moments of wistfulness as well. The cinematic It’s All Gone Quiet drifts on sparse piano notes, while the lovely The Airport Line contains the best use of chamber pop strings this year. With its deftly inserted guitars, closer Scratch The Surface revives the early walloping rhythms; it’s menacing lyrics (“Don’t be so wet lad, it’s only a scratch / You’re crying like a girl…”) given an incongruous sheen by Brewis’s north-eastern English choirboy vocals. It’s all defiantly arty, and therefore probably won’t appeal to Fratellis fans; but if a less hyperactive Foals or a more Beatles-influenced Battles sounds like a good thing, then investigate this little gem immediately.
****½
TOPHER HEALY
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Bassist RUST of ORACLE OF THE VOID says to ASH JONES, “I can safely say that everyone feels the current line-up reflects a certain maturity and focus in comparison to the original.”
It’s no wonder that Oracle Of The Void tend not to reflect on the history of the band via the net, or in writing in general. Their story is one of constant upheaval and an enduring will to continue. Since their origins in 1994 as a band formed by members of Blackorcism and Iconoclast in Brisbane, they released the demo In Darkness Is Found The Greater Enlightenment. The band was abandoned after the death of bassist Balaam in 1998 and reformed in April of 2005. The current line-up includes Gamaliel, Murmur, Nechustan, Razakel, and Rust, who are on the brink of releasing their new album Further Steps To A Perfect World. Rust attributes the advantages of being in an older line-up as resulting in greater compositional output, saying, “I’ve noticed over the last 10 years that the songwriting has not only matured, but now the songs, and consecutively the atmosphere they evoke, accurately reflect the lyrical content. Not surprising though, considering our current ages and that the ages of the original line-up varied between 15-20 years of age.”
The quintet have been able to attain a certain level of anonymity by basing themselves in Coffs Harbour, which has also allowed their work to grow without outside judgment. Rust tells me, “Our location allows us to stay independent from any social influence. We are socially isolated as fundamentally no one else listens to, or is involved with, the black metal scene here. We are therefore not bound by any social norms, hierarchy or expectations of the scene and do not get caught up in politics that can come from living within one.” White Claudia is an example of how Oracle Of The Void can be categorised as black metal, but not without being considered as a far more fluid and uncontrived contemporary example in the field.
In fact, Rust is influenced by many genres of music outside of metal, hinting at liking everything except country. When Rust says, “I’m not strictly a metal fan,” I’m still able to ascertain what elements of black metal most appeal to her. The bassist says, “For black metal, it’s the atmosphere. I’m a big fan of melody and I do tend to be drawn towards the ‘fluffier’ side of black metal as a result. I also like unpolished/raw black metal for the darker atmosphere.” She reflects on her own instrumental work on Further Steps To A Perfect World, saying, “I like very clear bass, more treble and clangy, whereas Gamaliel prefers bass to be, well, bassy! So there were many arguments during the recording process – all of which I lost!”
Brisbane metal fans will have the pleasure of hearing the outcome achieved by Further Steps To A Perfect World this Friday at Rosie’s. Judging by the progress Oracle Of The Void have made over the years, we will long be enjoying their mournful succession of distilled thrash and death as they indulge us with more live shows.
The dual album launch of ORACLE OF THE VOID’s FURTHER STEPS TO A PERFECT WORLD (Obsidian Records) and ‘neath’s The Small Untruths is supported by Chaotic Impurity and Taken By The Silence on Friday Nov 28 at Rosie’s. www.myspace.com/oracleofthevoid
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Since first gaining notoriety with 2007’s mega-hit Slide, Bundaberg-born TOMMY TRASH has become one of Australia’s most in-demand DJs, attaining his own Ministry Of Sound CD and joining the rolling electro/house juggernaut that is Onelove’s Mobile Disco. DENIS SEMCHENKO is on the line with the Gold Coast-based producer/musician.
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Pre-sales for the Coconet Classic happening on Boyne Island Sunday Apr 12, 2009, have sold out. Head to 
Claiming to have concocted Brisbane’s largest experimental dance music event, Monster Mash throws it’s Smash party at The Step Inn Saturday Jan 10, 2009. Three rooms, three sound systems and guests including Berliner Drumcorps, a DJ set from The Berzerker, Belgium’s Sickboy and Mr Orange, Austria’s Eiterherd, as well as a slew of locals including Black Lung, Monster Zoku Onsomb! (pictured), The Nam Shub Of Enki and expats Team Plastique to name but a few. It’s $20+bf through OzTix. Hit 
(Spunk/EMI)
Bassist RUST of ORACLE OF THE VOID says to ASH JONES, “I can safely say that everyone feels the current line-up reflects a certain maturity and focus in comparison to the original.”
