Alive 2007
Daft Punk
Electronic music is an art form best experienced in the live medium or so I’ve been told.  However a night filled with computer generated burps and beeps sounds like anything but fun-filled, yet when Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, collectively known as Daft Punk turn their talent to the live arena, the results are surprisingly varied and appealing.

If any house act could be considered superstars, this French duo easily fits the bill. Even a non-fan will recognize most of the tracks on display here as if by osmosis. And far from just pushing a button, standing back and letting the machines do all the works, they playfully reinvent almost their entire back catalogue, so that even a song as well known as Around The World is transformed into something new and shiny.

Through their manipulations of sound (this includes computer enhanced vocals and instrumental sounds) and insistent beats, their sound becomes so universal and catchy, that you find yourself tapping your foot along to this collection of tunes weather you want to or not.

If you have even a passing interest in electronic or house music, this is a great place to start. Viva la frog stomp!
Rob Hudson
www.daftpunk.com



Dallas Crane
Dallas Crane's self-titled debut is a display of raw talent and diverse rock and roll attitude. The lead track and first single, Dirty Hearts has a great sing-along feel. Its raspy vocals delivered over a tight display of rock talent, while the third track Can't Work You Out is a throwback to something once feared lost, classic Aussie rock. The band has not only resurrected it but also managed to mould it to their own design.

Listening to the album, one can't help but relate to where they’ve been and what they’re trying to say, weather it be song titles, lyrics or even the band’s delivery of both. Open To Close, a favorite of mine is where the album’s diversity takes over with its subdued and relaxed approach; this track is a perfect companion for a quiet drink. By track seven, the band decides to put it all on the table with Come Clean, this showcases not only their combined talents but also individual skills with this 7:30 song.

The second half of the album just gets better and better with up-beat and catchy songs like Numb All Over and Out in Space and traditional rock numbers like Wannabe, Ladybird and Come & Go. Also of note is Under The Moon, a track with a free love and earthy feel that screams out, open field festival with its quiet controlled vocals.

Dallas Crane is a surprising and refreshing display on what can be achieved in the Australian rock scene and presents a hopeful glimpse of the future.
Sam Austin
official site



Machine Gun Etiquette (25th Anniversary Edition)
The Damned
In 1979, one of the first of a wave of British punk bands released their third album to rapturous reviews and then went on to conquer the world. That was The Clash and this is not their story. The Damned also burst out of London in seventies, released a record and toured the USA before any other British punk band and then exploded after their second album. They reformed and in 1979, released Machine Gun Etiquette and sounded better than ever.

The Damned were and remain, the epitome of the punk FTW attitude and make your own rules ethic. With the departure of original guitarist Brian James, the psychedelic influenced Captain Sensible moved from bass to guitar and brought a harder edge to the music. While The Clash mellowed the sound on their third album, London’s Calling, The Damned intensified theirs.

1979 was an important year in British punk. The first wave of punk was fading but was replaced by a myriad of new genres - goth, anarchopunk, hardcore, ska, new wave, electronica, new romantic, industrial, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, etc. Machine Gun Etiquette reflected this broadening musicscape with tinges of goth and metal added to the classic frenetic energy of The Damned’s earlier records. From the opening of Love Song, to the closing of Smash It Up, the original Machine Gun Etiquette is nothing but gems.

The original album is extended here with alternate versions, b-sides, and the video for Plan 9 Channel 7. The completist in me wishes they included all the singles and b-sides from the Chiswick era or more video clips, or at least some live footage rather than this incomplete assortment. Machine Gun Etiquette is one of those albums, in its original form or this new version, that anyone interested in punk or heavy rock should have in their collection.
fabulous sebastian
official site



Scorpio Rising
Death in Vegas
Forget the sinister artwork and Kenneth Anger inspired album title, Scorpio Rising is no goth pierced-navel gazing exercise, but rather a fascinating collage of different musical soundscapes, with a surprisingly uplifting final track.

The first track Leather sets the tone admirably: a very catchy synth & guitar new wave pop knees-up, it makes it clear that Death in Vegas have travelled far from dub land to produce something that evokes the experimentation and ambition of music from the early 1980’s. Not, I might add, the crap eighties music regurgitated on commercial radio, but that vital time where bands like Siouxie and the Banshees, the Cocteaus and The Cure were stepping out of the rigid boundaries of early punk to create something with a richer aesthetic. Much of the album evokes the shimmer and complex soundscapes associated with record label 4AD in its prime, with a special nod to Colourbox, who were true pioneers of this style of music nearly 20 years ago now.

There is of course the hint of the sinister that Death in Vegas are famed for: Hands Around My Throat is a genuinely disturbing description of a crime in progress. But there is a greater emotional variety in this album than you might expect. My favourite track so far, 23 Lies, has a gentle wistfulness about it that presages the stunning ten minutes of the final track Help Yourself, featuring the beautiful violin of Indian Guru Dr Subramaniam. Subramaniams’ contribution is significant: he is responsible for the orchestral sections on three of the album’s tracks.

While much has been made of the admittedly brilliant guest vocals by Liam Gallagher and Paul Weller, it is the contribution of the female singers Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) Susan Dillane and Dot Allison that make this an original and involving album. Clearly Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes are committed to reinventing themselves each time they make a new album. May they make many many more.
Stas’ Wiatrowski
www.continorooms.com



Dirty Words
The Departure
Living in Australia and being a music fan has its good and bad points. One good point is the press here doesn’t hype musical acts with the ferocity and ultimate disposability that happens elsewhere. The UK is the strongest proponent on this never-ending search for the next big thing.

British band, The Departure have had a dizzyingly quick rise to prominence at home but remain relatively unknown here. This is a good thing because the approach to their music can be on merit only and not just a consequence of fashion.

First, it must be stated that they sound British, very British. No quasi-American accents on display here. They sound like the sum total of a lot of time spent spinning vinyl on rainy days and learning that level of detachment that the poms do so well. Second, this is studio gloss polished to its highest sheen. No note is out of place and the sonic spectrum has no gaps.

The music here is instantly accessible but in a strange way distant at the same time. It sounds different after each listen so if this review were written in a few months time it would read different. For now Dirty Words is on regular rotation.

After all is said and done, good music resides in a place that is not just cerebral or emotional, it becomes something more. Time will tell if The Departure will accomplish that.
Rob Hudson
www.thedeparture.com



Sing Sing Death House
The Distillers

Who said punk is dead? In the 21st century, despite the chart punk of Avril Lavigne, Sum 41 and other pretenders, punk is alive and doing well.

The Distillers second album is a pleasing improvement on their first. After some line up changes, the sound has progressed from crude American eighties hardcore, where there was too much emphasis on playing fast and being incoherent, to a polished American eighties hardcore, with more variety in the tunes and tempo, but still full of anger and motivation.

Why is their revivalist sound so good? Most eighties hardcore lacked flattering production (although the primitiveness of the sound was part of its appeal), and a lot of the music didn't come from the heart, it was people playing at being punk because it was the thing to do. And, despite talk of equality, there was little female involvement, and the female perspective is always good to hear. The Distillers caustic vocals and personal lyrics come from Brody Armstrong, straight out of Melbourne to America, where she no doubt capitalised on the connections of her husband, Tim Armstrong of Rancid. Her voice is so rough it will upset parents, and backed by music that is equally tough, it makes for fun listening.

I imagine seeing this band live is an absolute pleasure, but living in isolation from such treats we have to make do with the CD, and local bands that also have the same spirit.
fabulous sebastian
www.thedistillers.net



Some Cities
Doves
For those of you that think you have the Doves figured out, the new album, Some Cities will open your ears to a much deeper assessment of the Manchester lads. Few stops along the way from Sub Sub through the first couple of albums would have prepared you for some of the sonic delights here. From the big boss stadium slice title-track to the celestial syncopation of One Of These Days to the dreamy sound scape of Ambition, this seems a band chomping at the bit to say so much more than they have said in the past.

The brothers Williams have really developed their skills at synthesizing disparate influences, how else can you explain a song like Black And White Town, that seamlessly fuses a Lovin’ Spoonful melody line with a reference to those prog-rock legends King Crimson without missing a beat.

Experimentation hasn’t run completely rampant and the exercises here are always tasteful and rest assure there are still those mouth-watering melodies, it’s just this time out the band is unafraid to let influences shine and new ideas flow.

Many revolutions after the first spin and things are still catching my attention and that is never a bad thing.
Rob Hudson
official site

Don’t Look Back
Bob Dylan
This newly released box set of the 1967 D.A. Pennebaker film about Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour of England is a must see for Bob fans and non-fans alike. Pennebaker was given almost unlimited access and the story that emerges is a fly on the wall account of Dylan at that point of his career and how tightly controlled and manipulated the press is in its present day coverage of musical artists and celebrities in general.

In 1965, Dylan was on the cusp of turning from an acoustic troubadour to the electric anarchist, one that burned all the bridges between himself and all those beret wearing “peace man” coffee shop hippies. It was a fascinating time for an artist that has made an indelible impact on modern day music. In the film he is in turns playful and an absolute prick and it is fun to watch the others squirm around him. One unfortunate journo in particular spars with Bob and goes down in flames.

Remastering the original film for this new two-disc set is a godsend as most people’s only viewing of the film was a scratchy version that made the rounds during film festivals and late night music film marathons. The details in the shadows are finally visible and Bob’s mumble is almost entirely legible.

As an historical document, Don’t Look Back was always important but as a piece of entertainment, I’d forgotten just how much fun the film is. Also props to the crew behind the packaging, it’s very well done and the flipbook of the video of Subterranean Homesick Blues is very clever. How many bands have ripped that video off?
Rob Hudson
www.bobdylan.com