SINGLE OF THE WEEK

KIDS AT RISK – Kids At Risk EP

(MGM)

One of last year’s largely unheralded surprises was Sugar, the Pixies-like gritty/sweet single from Kids At Risk that burst forth into not enough headphones around the country, but charmed its way into the heads of those who did hear it. In fact, in the six months since Sugar was Rave’s Single Of The Week, it’s made its way onto my Most Played iTunes list, a stat that judging from the lonely turnout to my tickertape parade this weekend, y’all evidently don’t give a shit about. Now, where there was one song, there are four – an EP that includes the ridiculously addictive Sugar, and the nu-Brit stadium sounds of I Am A Fire. These four Sydney kids are so freaking now they make anyone with non-fake ID feel past it. They’re as 2010 as driving through the Clem7 while it’s still free. But unlike the hordes of mindless “So Now I Don’t Care What Came Before” pastel-enthusiasts that flood the Valley each Saturday night, Kids At Risk demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the influences they draw from – Structures On The Moon and Biggest Fan have pre-grunge American alternative blood flowing through their quiet/loud veins. Across the four songs there’s a feeling that‘s familiar but still exciting, and especially from a debut, you honestly can’t ask for more than that.

KID SAM – A Black Ant

(Remote Control)

NOM NOM NOM. GACK GACK, PTOOEY. SHAME. Hear that? That’s the sound of me biting off more than I can chew. Upon first listen to the new single from much-adored duo Kid Sam, I thought the slow, metaphorically deep single, lyrically about sitting on the steps of a church and squashing an ant with a shoe was not much more than that – a literal narrative about how evil he’d been for squishing little Princess Dot, and within this shallow mind the thought “Harden up, Sammy” started unfurling. That’s because I’m an idiot: (a) Neither of the duo are called Sammy; and (b) On further listens, it dawned on me – the everyday start of the song, and its titular reference, was just a way to ease us into the rather more refined notion that’s at the heart at the song – that animals work to eat and eat to work and can get squished at any time, but as humans we have a harder time of it all for the fact that we’re self-aware. We live our lives day to day, often in dreary, unfulfilling conditions, with the knowledge that our reward at the end of it all is inevitable death. This theme serves the scraping, mournful vibe of the tune well, like it’s a struggle to make it to each next line, weighed down as we are by this knowledge. Still, like all the most resonant glum pieces of art, there’s the option to find hope between the lines. Pop that makes you think – it’s everywhere this week...

YOUNG WERTHER – Around The World

(Popboomerang)

Looking forward to your next overseas holiday? WHY, jerkface? That’s the nature, though by no means the abrasive tone, of the question raised by Melbourne songwriter-extraordinaire-in-the-making Michael Young, also known as Young Werther, in this new single. The Jerkface was all me – it’s just fun to say. But as for the single – it’s more of an enquiring prod as to why, now that round-the-globe travel is a commodity available to most people in our country, do we feel compelled that it’s One Of Those Things We Have To Do? Is it futile to experience other cultures if we’re just travelling through, ticking them off? Is it still the ultimate adventure to experience the rest of the world, or is there a status involved, that if you have cash in the bank and a weekend to spare, you pop over to France to sit in a hotel and eat cheese? Again I’m paraphrasing with the cheese, but it’s an interesting question that provokes more thought than most singles have any ability or ambition to do. “I’ve been around the world / Just to come back here / And tell everybody that / I’ve been around the world...” Young Werther sings as his sentence circumnavigates itself.  It’s an observation that sits composed in a rather fluffy acoustic folk-guitar arrangement, similar to a latter-day Youth Group. Still, you get the feeling that behind the dreamy wistfulness, there’s a bit of caustic bite ready if it’s required, jerkface.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND – Giving Up The Gun

(XL / Remote Control)

This is inevitably going to be the song from this week’s column that the most of you get on board with. If you don’t already own the Contra album, you’ll probably burn it off a pal in the next few weeks, once Vampire Weekend fever hits its high coinciding with their Sold Out show at the Tivoli. That’s what happens when you’re the Hottest Band On Earth. If rock music ran a bowls club, the varnished wooden Championship Board up on the wall would list previous champions, such as (in reverse chronological order) Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, The White Stripes, The Strokes and Radiohead, all the way back to the ‘20s and ‘30s when Leadbelly and Gene Autry were sending kids politely mental. Of course, in the most recent update, Vampire Weekend’s name would be written in gold right next to fellow finalists MGMT, with the winner to be decided by their respective sophomore records. So, with the band’s popularity needlessly established, is Giving Up The Gun worth the inevitable attention that will be lavished upon it? Well for one, the bouncy quirk-pop song takes a bit of a departure from the Africa-via-Manhattan rhythm that made them the group about which hipsters would say to each other “Oh you simply must mimic Vampire Weekend.” It’s still got their gentle vocals and playful spring, but with a fast-throbbing beat (that may be guitar, but sounds more like synths/drum machine) there’s a slightly more electronic bent. I suppose on their second record, any change of sound is progress, but it doesn’t add anything to the appeal – instead Giving Up The Gun sounds more blasé than anything from their first album. It’s still catchy, but only adequately. Franz Ferdinand bounced back after an okay but lacklustre second record, whereas The Strokes have languished since their debut. Cross your fingers for the former.

BERTIE BLACKMAN – Peek-A-Boo

(Forum)

There’s something vaguely ridiculous about this vibrant re-imagining of the Siouxie & The Banshees song, in an admirable way. It’s held together by the barest frayed strings of melodies, carried mostly by Bertie’s vocals. But musically, it’s a crazy all-in mess, like she’s running around a mad wizard’s workshop, opening random colourful jars of captured noises. Honestly, it’s a hell of an oddball gamble she’s made here, with the song made up of such a smattering of sampled sounds that her band was potentially made up of a space-accordionist, a blindfolded keyboardist and the Little Rascals marching brass band. But like most of the unexpected tangents Blackman wanders off in when your back’s turned, it pays off simply because it’s like nothing else you could imagine hearing on the radio. Forget the notion of recording a cover as a shortcut to a hit – as if Siouxie wasn’t enough a turnoff to mainstream tastes, this is pop that’s too weird to be embraced by suburban Mums and Dads, and should be celebrated for it.

SIMON TOPPER

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*