I’d Much Rather Be With The Noise - Rattanson (Open Mind)

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By The Barman

The Barman

05 October 2019

Hits: 3941

The DIY ethos is less a gimmick and more a way of life these days for the 99 percent of musicians not enslaved by a major label. It's either practical, necessary or all too easy to hole up in your bedroom and let those ideas pour out onto a hard drive without someone else calling the shots and charging your own money for it.

There's a defiite upside and also a downside.  Rattanson is a case in point.

Rattanson is a one-man garage pop multi-instrumentalist from Sweden and "I'd Much Rather Be With The Noise" is his second album under that name. A former member of powerpo act Fanscene and garage rockers The Rawhides, he's gone solo to focus on his own songs.

Rattanson played all the instruments on his first record, 2017's "Full Scale Shakeability", and also on this one except for drums, for which he recruited Anders Björnlund from the Turpentines and the HiJackers. He'll have a bass player in tow to play the songs live.

• garage
• powerpop
• sweden
• rattanson
• guitar pop
• open mind

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Mystery Train – Chickenstones (Crankinhaus Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

04 October 2019

Hits: 6443

This is one angry sounding record. Its 11 songs seethe and burn with fuzzed-up, roaring guitars and are propelled by an engine room whose controls are set for the carpark just outside the Gates of Hell.  

That’s a place with which Chickenstones main man Andy “Doc” Temple Ellard has become familiar over the last 18 months. In early 2018, he and the band were riding high on the back of a new album, “Johnny Streetlight”, and preparing for a tour of Europe when Doc got a tap on the shoulder from some fucker called Cancer.

Now, that prick comes in many guises and the kind that came cold-calling was especially nasty and persistent. Doc is a Registered Nurse so he had an understanding of what would be involved, but all the forewarning in the world doesn’t make the fight physically easier. Many rounds of treatment later, Doc’s emerged at the other end - with shorter hair and a deeper suntan - and he’s still looking over his shoulder.

• chicken snake
• sydney
• blues rock
• andy doc temple ellard
• crankinhaus records
• mystery train
• johnny streetlight

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Marrickville to go into Meltdown when this lot touch down

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By The Barman

The Barman

30 September 2019

Hits: 3552

Hey Sydney! All roads lead to Marrickville's Factory Floor on Friday, December 6 if you're a fan of garage rock when Outtaspace present their first "Outtaspace Garage Meltdown" mini-festival.

Heading the night are Sore Points from Canada, making their first Australian tour. Said to be the outcome of "Buzzcocks rolling a spliff with The Damned, passing it on to Cock Sparrer, Blitz and then Lemmy", they'll be promoting their EP "Not Alright".

They';re being joined by girl-boy garage duo Thee Cha Chas (Melbourne) via a Japan and Oz East Coast tour, hosts The Dunhill Blues (touring their new album "Second Prize in a Beauty Contest"), Wollongong's Fangin’ Felines (ex Nitrocris, Booby Traps) and the raw 'n' powerful Thee Evil Twin. Grazza from Stamp Out Disco will man the DJ decks. 

The extravaganza is backed by I-94 Bar and Young Henrys Brewery with tickets available here.

• marrickville
• factory floor
• thee evil twin
• sore points
• thee cha chas
• outtaspace garage meltdown

Shake Yer Popboomerang Vol 3 - Various Artists (Popboomerang)

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By The Barman

The Barman

29 September 2019

Hits: 6711

Great pop music is timeless. The proof is right here in the 37 rare or previously unreleased tracks on this compilation of Australian bands from Melbourne label Popboomerang.

Ask yourself this question: When did Pop - as the ‘60s defined it - become uncool with the masses? Who forced it to go sit in the naughty corner with its rowdy sibling Rock and Roll and its odd cousin Free Jazz? Best guess is when the corporatised music industry ate itself in the 1980s and all the people with emotional intelligence were replaced by spreadsheets. 

Melbourne pop fan Scott Thurling and his prolific label just deals with it. With more than 100 releases in the back catalogue, for almost 20 years it’s been the go-to place in Australia for “real” pop - not the soulless pap that passes for the same for most people. As you might work out from the title, “Shake” is the third volume in a series and the label’s fourth compilation. A handful of these tracks date back 20 years but you'd never know.

• dm3
• powerpop
• loose pills
• little murders
• p76
• shake your popboomerang
• volume3
• scott thurling
• popboomerang
• nic dalton
• charles jenkins
• ups & downs

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Somebody naturalise these people, please

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By The Barman

The Barman

25 September 2019

Hits: 3423

If they were here any more often, they'd claim residency. The Stranglers have announced their February 2020 return to Australia. Even they will have lost count how many times this makes...

Hailed for their highly original sound, brilliant melodic touch, dark aggression and effortless cool, The Stranglers are now recognised as one of the most credible and influential bands to have emerged from the punk era. Now comprising Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Baz Warne and Jim Macaulay, The Stranglers remain strong drawcards after 45 years with 24 top 40 singles and 18 top 40 albums under their belts.

• english
• australian tour
• the stranglers
• 2020

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C'mon, feel these Lemonheads

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By The Barman

The Barman

25 September 2019

Hits: 4025

_{Evan is in the backseat of his Cadillac.} 

Beloved alt-rockers The Lemonheads are returning to Australia this December.

Since they were formed by Evan Dando in Boston, Mass, in 1986, the family tree of The Lemonheads has many twisted tentacles and tangential branches, and a host of one-liners etched into its bark. Anyone could be a Lemonhead but for how long who knows? Leastways they’ll be shoulder-to-shoulder with Evan throwing discordant chords against alt-country-tinged melodies, playing that light and dark card. Through their ranks have passed Descendents, Blokes Babies, Dinosaur Jr - and even a member of Australia's The Eastern Dark.

• australian tour
• 2019
• evan dando
• lemonheads

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New Masuak film clip hits the target

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By The Barman

The Barman

19 September 2019

Hits: 3440

Here’s the official film clip for "Gun Song", the politically-charged track from the Chris Masuak & the Viveiro Wave Riders album "Address to the Nation" on our own I-94 Bar Records. Find it for sale here. The clip was produced by Jonathan Sequeira of Living Eyes Productions/Cheap Music Videos who is also the man behind the Radio Birdman documentary, “Descent into the Maelstrom”.

• klondike
• chris masuak
• address to the nation
• viveiro wave riders
• gun song

The Breadcrumbs EP – Alice Cooper (EarMUSIC)

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By Bob Short

Bob Short

18 September 2019

Hits: 4071

Some of us have had a lot of problems forgiving Alice Cooper the man for ditching Alice Cooper the band.  The first two Alice Cooper band albums, “Pretties For You” and “Easy Action” were fairly decent if you go in for a bit of whacky hippy burlesque.  They have their fans but, truth be told, they needed a firmer hand than Frank Zappa if they were going to amount to anything more than a sideshow.

Next came five albums of perfection.  Even the much maligned “Muscle of Love” shits over anything that tried to pass itself off as competition.  I know we're all Stooges and Dolls fans here but the Coop actually owned the mainstream throughout the early ‘70s. 

Well, they were a shit hot band with great song-writing, a genius producer and a grand guignol stage show.  How could they miss? 

Well, the thing is... 

• alice
• wayne kramer
• alice cooper
• breadcrumbs
• muscle of love
• pretties for you

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"Open Season" hits the online screen

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By The Barman

The Barman

16 September 2019

Hits: 2249

The official film clip for the title track from the Mick Medew and The Mesmerisers album "Open Season" on I-94 Bar Records is out. It was produced by young Queensland filmmaker Kieran Griffiths and we kinda love it! Get your copy of the CD here.