Consistency Theory
1200 Techniques
Not considering lyrical content, Hip-Hop can generally be split into two camps. Camp one use mostly samples to make the grooves to lay the words on top off, while camp two uses live instrumentation to build up a back drop. Mixing rap with live sounds gives most new listeners an easier handle on the music. Australian act, 1200 Techniques use all manner of instruments and approach and produce music that is as accessible as almost anything on the radio at present.

Consistency Theory lives up to its name and the combination of funky bass lines, chicken scratching guitar and turntables and lots of real and canned percussion give the songs a lot of depth. Boys in the hood concerns colour most of the lyrics but don't dominate the proceedings here and you can still find enjoyment regardless of your acceptance of that neighbourhood attitude.

Funky and underlined with a pop senseability and more melody that the norm, these sonic juggernauts can lay down a groove that could power your next house party to booty shaking splendour.
Rob Hudson
www.1200techniques.net


Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory
The Aampirellas
For the last few years, record companies have been hyping new rock and shoving the latest 'hot' band down our throats. Every year there is a new band that is supposedly saving rock. Most of the time they aren't worth the hype, and most of the time they are offensively mediocre, except for their designer wardrobe. There are some good bands amongst the overflow of effluent but, even then, I never think they are as good as the Aampirellas.

Every year I hope the Aampirellas will release something commercially available, so the world can see how good they are. Every year I hope they will be discovered and glorified by the media while rock is 'in thing'. I want the Aamps to wallow in the fame and fortune they deserve. They were rock before it was cool and they will be rock when it's not cool any more, and it would be nice to see them rewarded for their passion.

The Aampirellas could be the secret love children of the Stooges and the Runaways, who have taken their parents wanton energy and kicked it into the new millennium. If rock and roll is the devil's music, then the Aampirellas weren't just born in hell, they have taken hell over. Trixie (vocals and bass) seems like an angel but has the soul of a demon, Evil Dick (guitar) has the dirtiest riffs on the planet, while Otto (guitar) and Roma (drums) create rhythmic chaos of the grandest order.

Old rock? New rock? Stagger rock? Don't like the Aampirellas because it's fashionable to like rock. Like them because they are the best at what they do.
fabulous sebatian
www.trash.candysweet.com



Various CDs covering 1984 to 2004
Act/Alien Virus/Acid World/Escape From Toytown
I first saw Act in 1985 and while watching them, thought, "This is the best band I have ever seen". In the mid-eighties, while most punk bands were caught in the hardcore/thrash craze (mine included), Act owed more (musically) to the older bands like The Stranglers, Adverts, and Alternative TV, than the current bands like Discharge, Crass, or the Dead Kennedys. Act had the energy and anger of a punk band but they also had tunes, melodies, variety in tempo and style, and a sociopolitical conscious and they had Cal Crilly. Cal, the impetus behind Act and the later bands, is an exceptionally talented singer/songwriter who is destined to exist in obscurity. His distinctive voice, chugga chugga guitar playing, and persistent gigging have made him an institution in Brisbane.

These CDs are a combination of demo tapes, live recordings, and studio recordings. If you have ever wondered what punk is about, then this is it. There is no fashion sense, no image, no record contract or world tours, just fervour and an abundance of musical and lyrical ideas. This is the true sound of the underground, bands that have no interest in being popstars or idols. The CDs are packed with anecdotes, information and graphics about the bands, the world, social injustice, conspiracies, and whatever else is on the band members' minds.

When I think about my favourite songs, I realise they are not all 'classics', or even the product of 'name' bands, most of the songs are from obscure bands, like these . Road Religion, Napalm (Sticks to Kids), Welcome to the Church and One Sunday Afternoon are songs worthy of a greater audience than they will ever receive, they are songs you should hear, and now you can.
fabulous sebastian




Pocket Symphony
AIR
Having never found a place in my musical palette for the French duo AIR, I approached their new album, Pocket Symphony with little fanfare or truth be told, interest, my mistake.

Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel have succeeded in producing an album that easily transcends the electronica tag and excels at filling your head with a symphonic splendor. This isn’t a work that screams at you but more one that finesses its way into your heart.

Pocket Symphony is the kind of album that seeps into your subconscious and you don’t really realize how firmly until you notice that you have just played it for the tenth time in as many days.

Featuring guest vocals by Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon and production by Nigel Godrich, this is the duo’s best effort in years to reach a larger audience. Who would have thought that something so understated would turn out so sublime?
Rob Hudson
www.pocket-symphony.com



Death Before Musick
Amen
Casey Chaos is back with Amen's third commercially available album. Their second album, We Have Come For Your Parents, made a noticeable impression around the world. Amen even came to Australia for the Big Day Out festivals, and then they imploded, losing band members and their recording contract. This album is a collection of recordings made over the last few years and sees Amen staying firmly implanted in the realms of incensed, socially aware, metal tinged, punk at its vehement best.

Like Amen's previous albums, this disc starts with a bang, and just keeps going. So many 'heavy' bands dilute their music with quiet parts. Those annoying, delicate moments where bands attempt to prove they are talented and sensitive. Bands like System Of A Down spend as much time crooning and being operatic than they do playing hard and fast. If I wanted music like that, I would buy Burt Baccarach, because he does it well. It's ironic I criticise SOAD, since this album is released on their guitarist's label. Amen have no time for those sanctimonious indulgences. They have a message, and they want to share it. There is no slowing down. There is no decrease in intensity. There are no ballads. Amen only have one setting on their equipment, LOUD. Casey only has one approach to vocals, Pissed Off. Forget has-beens like Henry Rollins, Casey is the poster child for 'angry, young men'.

The album artwork sees them moving in to territory reminiscent of Crass, one of the most influential, yet unacknowledged punk bands of the eighties. The music has the franticness and harshness of Crass, but with a more straightforward, rock thrashness. More like the Dead Kennedys and Iggy Pop on amphetamines. Sometimes the tunes are too fast and unrelenting for my tastes, but when they hit a big rock riff, which is often, Amen are fantastic.
fabulous sebastian
www.comaamerica.com



Audio/Out
Amiel
Audio/Out is the long awaited debut album for the voice of 1998's Addicted to Bass. Having since dropped her last name, Amiel has spent the last few years working on her songwriting skills and developing an individual sound. With this album, she teams up again with producer Josh Abrahams for a radio friendly.     The result is a folksier sounding long player. It is less dance driven, teaming an acoustic edge to the majesty of Amiel's sweet voice, which may disappoint fans expecting a more dance-oriented release.

The listening is quite a journey, commencing with first single Lovesong; it spirals through acoustic slower tracks, flirting with a few dance numbers. Highlights along the way include the heavier guitar track Clair De Lune, a faster, more electronic Games We Play. But the standout for me is the funky Theme for a One Night Stand.

Yes Audio/Out is pop, but there is a darker edge to Amiel's lyrics. They are at times, schmaltzy, but Amiel's dulcet tones make them sound honest and inoffensive. You'll have them stuck in your head in no time.
Lisa Domrow
www.amiel.com.au



The Discovery Of A World Inside The Moone
Apples In Stereo

Some people get lost in the past deliberately and then there are those that like to return to see why those people got lost in the first place. The Apples In Stereo are some of those folk that have returned. Blasting out from 1969 with their new album, The Discovery Of A World Inside The Moone, Apples In Stereo have served up a slice of sweet apple pie, a slice that you could even share with your parents.

Combining influences as far flung as The Beatles, Cream, Beach Boys and Dexy’s Midnight Runners, the songs on this CD are laden with many moments of pure pop bliss. It’s a bliss that is far from out of place in these naughty noughtys.

Close your eyes, fill your lungs with pleasure and let the Apples take you and those you care about on a well worn journey to the moon of past and present discoveries.
Soul Simon
www.applesinstereo.com


Velocity Of Sound
Apples In Stereo

I was on the couch with pencil in hand, taking the AIS test. Under ten words for each song on the new Apples' album Velocity of Sound. Better write quick too because the album, even with a bonus track is under 29 minutes long. Here's what I scribbled.

Please: Backseat thrill ride rumble.
Rainfall: LA smooth surf apple pie cheese pleasure.
That's Something I Do: Slippery sun cream brat sizzle.
Do You Understand?: Back row nerd brainiac bi-carb of soda popping grooveosity.
Where We Meet: Back yard billy goat troglodyte.
Yore Days: Eddie Munster boots slash service ending.
Better Days: Pokadot dress hoedown crunch.
I Want: Marching powder pretty Annette poodle dress.
Mystery: Slur springs Slurpee.
Baroque: Mamas & the papas cool with way more grunt.
She's Telling Lies: In character first take El Camino rumbling sun.

Is it like Moone? Not much and thank goodness for that. It's more raucous this time but still provides a good reason to stay on the couch and enjoy another round.
RK
www.applesinstereo.com



Memory Man
Aqualung
Take away all the posturing and rock star clichés and the reality of being in a band and trying to rise above the rest is very simple. Write songs that connect with an audience and you are on your way. Matt Hales A.K.A. Aqualung has had a few moments on this road to recognition that others would kill for; his track, Strange and Beautiful was picked up for use in a popular auto ad and movie and this helped to push it into the top-ten in the UK charts. An additional song of his was inserted into the appropriate part of another motion picture and his career was seemingly on the up and up.

While this momentum helped with future profit and loss projections, the reality was that the next few releases had to delver the goods. After a semi-successful self-titled debut and the slight misstep (commercial wise) of its follow-up, Still Life, the pressure was on for the third album.

Far from wilting under this pressure, Matt has produced an album that shows his strengths both as writer and performer. His style is one that carries comparisons to bands like Coldplay and maybe even Radiohead but he lacks the pretension of the former and the excess experimentation of the latter. These are commercial songs, but ones with heart and soul.

Memory Man is eleven tracks of proper British pop and as such fill that niche of sophisticated song writing and a suitable performing and production style. Saying something is commercial isn’t always an insult when it sounds this good.
Rob Hudson
www.aqualung.net



Neon Bible
The Arcade Fire
The Neon Bible tells you that you don’t have to wait for the Apocalypse; it’s already here. The dark mirror, the place where no cars go, the city where planes keep on crashing into buildings, a life where even our bodies are cages that prevent us from being truly close to each other, here are the places where families starve under the yoke of religion and fear, and where fire and flood are only a window-sill away. If this all sounds a little hard to contemplate, the music that gives these images life and resonance is at once charming and driven, accessible and melodic, with uplifting harmonies and arrangements.

The Arcade Fire’s second album, named after John Kennedy Toole’s novel, is an ambitious work, with surrealist poetry that holds a dark but truthful mirror up to our chaotic and desperate times. While not a departure from the style of their previous work, this is a maturing of their unique sound and artistic vision. This time the band has produced the album themselves and the result is a richer fuller sound, the trademark violins and pianos still evident, but buttressed now with more horns and percussion and even a church pipe organ.

Lauded by the two great Davids (Bowie and Byrne), opening up for U2, splashed on the cover of Canadian Time magazine, The Arcade Fire is one of those rare bands that deserve all the attention that they’re getting.  Maybe I’m making too much of their origins in Montreal, but there is a compelling infusion of the French tradition of romantic and melancholy artists like Brel and Piaf that gives a gravitas to the piano pounding rock and roll that is let loose throughout the album. The Neon Bible reminds you that the word ‘original’ actually meant something once, before the world devolved into this mediocre post-modern neon-lit hell.
Stas’ Wiatrowski
www.arcadefire.com

Arials
Bent
Like many bands in the Electronica/Dance meta-genre these days, Bent is actually two British guys named Niall Tolliday and Simon Mills. Their new album, Arials has been pigeonholed by the publicists and critics as ‘chill out’. For many of us this suggests the musical equivalent of valium, a little something for the dance party troops coming down from too much amphetamines and ecstasy to really care what they are listening to.

Arials is definitely not in this category. Bent have produced an album that demands attention; not because it seeks to aggressively seize the listener by the ears but because it contains rich emotion and polyphony too often absent from other music residing in the same space in the CD racks.

Eschewing the usual samples of old and obscure records, the duo have chosen this time to go with real instruments and have gone mainly with female vocalists. The album begins with the engaging pop of the opening track Comin' Back and leads the listener through a variety of styles to the electronic wonder of The Waters Deep.

In spite of its eclectic sounds, Arials is the kind of CD that works very well as a whole unit. It is hard to pick favorite tracks when there is so much quality to choose from. One final comment; this is the first piece of music from the 21st Century that I have heard which has mirrored the ethereal soundscape of the Cocteau Twins while at the same time sounding strikingly original.
Stas’ Wiatrowski
official site



Redemptions Son
Joseph Arthur
In today's marketplace for a singer/songwriter to enjoy any real commercial success, they have to have the complete package, a strong voice, lots of charisma (real or manufactured) and strong song writing chops. There are a lot of real talents that will never reach those heights of super stardom and in a lot of ways this is a good thing.

An artist like Joseph Arthur occupies a niche in the market place that will probably ensure he never enjoys huge commercial success but will have a career that will satisfy true fans of music and their requirements.

Arthur's fragile whisper of a voice is a real acquired taste and his eclectic choice of song structure and style is much too challenging for the average listener. But for those with a taste for the unique, there is much to enjoy here.

Arthur has an outstanding way with words and his lyrics are both clever and thoughtful. The themes in most of his songs delve deep in the heart of lost love, disappointment and redemption. While the spirituality of a lot of his work makes you think that his effort to reach up and touch the face of God is to enable him to give the big guy a slap in the face.

Throughout Redemption's Son, Arthur's consummate studio craft never overwhelms the song (even on the tracks where he plays every instrument). He anchors most tracks with fat body acoustic tones and this gives even the most divergent song the right amount of accessibility. It's an intoxicating blend of light and shade. This desire to communicate shows that even the lonely have no desire to be alone.
Rob Hudson
www.JosephArthur.com



Enemy Of The Enemy
Asian Dub Foundation
The clash of cultures now on parade on the world's stage is a depressing show of intolerance and ignorance. We live in a world that should thrive on its diversity but sadly it's really only artistic endeavours that take much advantage of this rich wealth of subject matter. Good things are coming out of this current state of affairs though. The world is witnessing protests against America and its puppy dog followers' stance on war with a fervour not seen since the height of the protests against the Vietnam War. There are a lot of enlightened people out there who care enough to create.

Now music, especially popular styles have always had a large impact on society but using this art form as a way of protest has always resulted in mixed results. Many so-called 'protest bands' have often chosen easy targets and the impact they have is almost always compromised by commerce. Step forward Asian Dub Foundation. This band has long been bubbling under the surface of mainstream popularity and if a band has ever been needed by the masses, that time is now. It's not just the band's message either; it's also the example they set by being truly multicultural in band members and musical styles. Ethnic, electric, acoustic and tribal. They use anything and everything to get their message across. A message that is delivered with a purity and intensity that is matched only by the unbridled joy that music this good can release. Maybe there is hope for our global village after all.
Rob Hudson
www.asiandubfoundation.com



Keep Bangin' on The Walls
Asian Dub Foundation
All-points gathering of militant crush pound grooves. Cultural coexistence kitchen with all the spices on the boil. Tabla twist conga crash skank plank jump amid enraptured ears. Embrace diversity with your brain and body.
RK
www.asiandubfoundation.com



Tourist
Athlete
It’s a rare treat spinning a new album from a band you know nothing about. There are no preconceived notions, only sounds and maybe an influence or two. While the album Tourist by the Brit-band Athlete does bring to mind a little Hg rotation here and a little burning maw there, it’s a mostly original insight into the minds of the songwriters and from what’s on offer here, their lives are full of trials and tribulations.

This mix of serious lyrical message and a sound littered with touches of psychodelia, kooky flourishes and intriguing studio trickery make for a work both interesting and arresting. Throw away pop this is not.

From the stately strings on the opening track Chances to the fine mix of saccharine and strychnine in the title track to the tongue in cheek sentiments of the album closer I Love, this is a band that can mix pathos and precision and somehow give even the darkest moments a glimmer of hope.

Dark but redemptive, Tourist reveals a destination one would visit and not soon forget.
Rob Hudson
official site



Beyond The Neighbourhood
Athlete
With a name like Athlete, one would think the band’s output would be big and burly, not so. In this, their third album, the overstatement becomes even more understated. It’s still shimmering guitars and layered vocals but assertive doesn’t really spring to mind very often here.

The screaming guitars and anthem shout outs are nowhere to be found and in their place are considerable more thoughtful musings. It gives less of an initial blast but more longevity. And while there are few tracks that approach the instant accessibility of some of the tracks from their last album, Tourist (like the sublime title track) it’s a work that holds up well to repeat usage. 

British bands often fall in one of two camps, flavour of the month media darlings who soon wear out their welcome or craftsmen whose output slowly works its way into your subconscious, where it tends to stay for a long visit. Can you guess which camp Athlete plays for?
Rob Hudson
www.athlete.mu




Audioslave
Is the raging beast back? Well, sort of. Things start off well with the track Cochise, which has more glass gargling gusto than Cornell's entire weak as American beer solo record. Show Me How To Live continues the high-energy assault as does Gasoline but then it's on to the departure of What Are You and what's up with that tempo? The rest of the album follows this roller coaster ride of highs and lows. Now with a singer that can actually sing this time the band was always going to have a better hand but why did they bet the house on this safe mix of arena rockers, power ballads and what can only be called Garden of The Rage ravers?

Thankfully iconoclast guitarist Tom Morello continues to irritate with his approach to noise and rhythm men Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk still hold down the fat end with gusto but the lyrical approach is so conservative. The political content is almost entirely gone and things are so much more touchy-feely this time and who needs that? Anger is still an energy and one that is sadly lacking here.

I know that I shouldn't compare the new with the old so much and I still annoy the shit out of passers by with the few Soundgarden discs left in my collection, but it's a diss that the sum of the parts don't add up to more. With a gruelling schedule of gigs, groupies and gratuitous mayhem on the road maybe their next album will kick, punch and scream its way into the psyche with more force.
Lapdance Larry
www.audioslavemusic.com



Moo, You Bloody Choir
Augie March
Whimsical album title aside, Glenn Richards takes his work very serious. As the songwriter for his band Augie March, his wordy and poetic take on the world has always given the band’s tunes an aura of something more that just pop music. The band has always steered well clear of disposability.

Disdaining the usual conventions of pop music and its throwaway accessibility does have its drawbacks though. The music takes its time getting under your skin and sometimes asks more than a lot of modern day listeners are willing to give but this can also be a virtue. It draws a parallel to that album by your favorite band that you were somewhat indifferent to at first listen and then grew to cherish over all others.

The fourteen tracks here make for an exigent listening experience but starting with the first single, One Crowded Hour or the relatively raucous Just Passing Through will ease one into the work. Neither indulgent nor indecipherable, this is a work that rewards a closer examination.

Only releasing an album every few years, no one can accuse the band of overexposure, this is fine as long as the work we do get is as rich and lyrical as Moo, You Bloody Choir. Oh and by the way, the album title is apparently a reference to a noisy abattoir that was located close to one of their recording studios.
Rob Hudson
www.augie-march.com



Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe
Albert Ayler
It's amazing how contemporary free jazz from the late sixties/early seventies sounds today. It's still more challenging than 98 % of popular music today. Testing your audience was a standard operational procedure back then and that definitely differentiates the music of then with the safe stuff of today.

One of free jazz's cornerstones is an album by saxophonist Albert Ayler called Spiritual Unity recorded in 1964. This was and is a work ahead of its time and proved that Ayler had the musical force to make a serious statement. Sadly he died young under mysterious circumstances in 1970. His body was found floating in the East River in New York City twenty days after he was reported missing.

Ayler's back catalogue of official releases in the last decade has been a bit slim, so the re-release of his Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe album (originally recorded in August of 1969) is very welcome. This album is a good representation of Ayler's late career choices and the work here veers heavily from the free jazz hardline. The inclusion of a distinct R&B element, female vocalist, electric guitar, even at times, a rock beat had the critics of the day saying sell-out. Heard out of the context of that era, this work is a well meaning and meandering mess of good intentions and occasional brilliance. Even at its least focused, it's never less than interesting.

Albert Ayler's musical career was one of transcendent music, an ongoing search for change and a rejection of the status quo that forms the basis of much great art and this work is as confrontational now as it was when it was first released over thirty years ago.
Rob Hudson
www.ayler.supanet.com