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- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 2226
Gold - Ashley Davies (Strange Loop Recordings)
Before we start ... it's always about the songs. And "Gold" is magnificent.
But wait, there's more...like the pattern of a walnut...
Every now and then something quite special arrives at my Internet cabin in the woods. As you may or may not know, I've edited a couple of Australian Bomber Command books - first-hand accounts by two then-young men who answered the call and flew the missions.
Those books have brought me into contact with other people, and some of their stories (such as the the wish-he'd-been-a LRP Ranger) ... and they also raised the eyebrows of a chap called Ashley Davies.
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- By The Barman
- Hits: 3382
Indie Sounds From The Harbour City (1983-87) – Various Artists (Vi-Nil Records)
The Vi-Nil label lurched into life in 1983 with The Klerks and spawned more notable offspring such as the Hard-Ons and the Psychotic Turnbuckles before winding down at the end of the decade. This collection marks the label’s re-birth, and features a representative selection of its first era stable.
There are 20 tracks and it’s a diverse output, ranging from power-pop to acid punk and back to new wave and garage rock. Vi-Nil’s release of “Sockman” by the Lipstick Killers was my introduction to the label and to these ears it still epitomises the frenzied attack of the first era line-up.
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- By By J.D. STAYFREE President of the USA! USA! Desert Southwest Godfathers Fan Club
- Hits: 2532
Alpha Beta Gamma Delta – The Godfathers (Cargo Records)
Whenever the one and only Peter Coyne switches up the roll call of the long loved Godfathers institution, the fans always fret momentarily and then the front doors get kicked in and here they come again, guns blazing, in full color and better than ever.
I did not know they could possibly be this good and do it again, but here they are still gigantic fucking towering monuments of Real Rock ‘n’ Roll, ya know ever since the Sid Presley days this lot has been as influenced by gorgeous, chiming, classic hit melodies from the golden age of pre-Pepper Beatles, as they have by the snarling rebel roar of the pissed-off Pistols, they still have all that in their sound, and they still write songs that are just unbelievably stick in your skull catchy, hand tailored for rock ‘n’ roll radios, if such a thing exists.
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- By The Barman
- Hits: 2862
A Fire of Life – The Stooges (Easy Action)
Pertinent Question: Who else but Easy Action would have issued this and shown such a high degree of care? The Stooges are no more. Every listenable recording of the band during any of its phases surely has been exhumed and put into the marketplace by now.
Incorrect.
“A Fire of Life” is the Pop-Asheton-Asheton-Watt-Mackay Stooges at the height of their reformation powers.
The first half combines broadcast quality sets from Sydney (2006) and New Orleans (2003) while the second act is audio of a pay-for-view, live-in-the-studio 2007 set, showcasing one song from “The Weirdness” with five re-recorded classics. It’s rounded off with an in-store appearance by Iggy, Rock and Ron at Newbury Comics in Minnesota in 2003.
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- By Ron Brown
- Hits: 2718
Love is Calling - Mick Medew and Ursula (I-94 Bar Records)
Two years of lockdown were not wasted by Mick Medew and Ursula Collie-Medew. Besides getting married, they also managed to entertain every second Sunday with their live lockdown streaming gigs.
The streaming shows were wonderfully received, with Mick playing some classic songs from his back catalogue with the Screaming Tribesmen and others, plus new tunes, and Ursula sitting in on keyboards on a few. When words reached The Farmhouse that Mick and Ursula were releasing a new CD of songs written over lockdown, I for one was excited to hear how these tunes would sound with full production.
And it’s pure gold, folks.
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- By The Barman
- Hits: 2633
Live at The Whisky A Go Go – Iggy and The Stooges (Easy Action Records)
It’s ridiculous to say, as many of you have, that the management at the I-94 Bar treats Stooges recordings with the reverence of ancient religious artefacts.
Let’s dispel that untruth right now: We hold them in much higher regard than that. If you want to know why, go no further than this Record Store Day vinyl release.
Record Store Day was a good marketing idea that devolved into a clusterfuck. Sure, it encourages otherwise disengaged to find a bricks and mortar shop and lay down their hard-earned, but it’s been taken over by greedy fucks who run major labels that issue/re-issue “product” that cost them sweet fuck-all, or recouped a million years ago.
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- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 2112
The Self - Jeremy Gluck (SWND Records)
On other occasions, when I've introduced Jeremy Gluck's new work, I've usually referred to his previous musical collaborations. Which might have been a mistake.
It's far too easy for an outsider to pigeonhole a creative person. I've been referred to as “the guy who wrote ...” and they name a particular work. Which, while at the time that thing consumed me, is no longer the case. In fact, I've been beavering away at other things, sometimes with other people, and I find the newer works to be far more satisfying and, dare I boast, far more interesting to the half-awake public.
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- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 2029
"Drone Warfare" (Iceage Productions)
Which is the band and which is the title? No idea. Doesn't matter, either.
Actually, the EP-thing is four tracks by four different Melbourne artists. The Bandcamp page says so, so it must be true. But none of the artists' names appear, which reminds me a little of the fake dance LP by the Silicon Teens (aka Daniel Miller of Mute Records fame). So, is this another bunch of guises behind which the head honcho of Iceage lurks?
I have no idea, and it simply doesn't matter.
Just quickly, you can't really dance to this, not unless you're out of it. You shouldn't try. Shove the volume up and lie on the floor and you'll be taken away to somewhere entirely different.
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- By The Barman
- Hits: 2094
A Chance To Relax…with The Smart Folk – The Smart Folk (self released)
With a changing of the political guard in Australia, we’ve been assailed with talk about a new, genteel and respectful way of doing business in the Federal Parliament - as if none of the fuckers are going to revert to type and we won’t end up with the same shit-fight on our hands. It’s just as well that 90 percent of the population doesn’t give a rat’s arse.
Rock and roll may be similarly set in its ways, but there are band chosing different pathways to tread. Sixties-derived pop with a jangling edge is where Sydney’s The Smart Folk chose to reside and they're making their mark in their own way.
“A Chance To Relax…with The Smart Folk” is the latest EP from this band of ex-mod scene regulars and if it doesn’t wrap you in a stranglehold and impress with its urgency and energy, that’s fine. It’s mid-paced, obviously freakbeat-influenced guitar pop that has a warm charm – maybe more so than the records that have come before.
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