NOTE, BOBBYSIX HAS MOVED. PLEASE VISIT OUR NEW SITE INSTEAD, WHERE YOU WILL FIND SO MUCH AWESOME CONTENT THAT YOUR EYES WON'T KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FIRST: SOMETHINGYOUSAID.COM
Founding member of The Gin Club, Giants of Science and The Wilson Pickers, Brisbane-based singer/songwriter Ben Salter, is set to release his debut solo album in mid-2011. Recorded and produced with Gareth Liddiard (The Drones) and Robert F. Cranny (Sarah Blasko) at Liddiard’s studio in Victoria, the album - tentatively entitled The Cat - will see a departure from Salter's earlier work with its blend of avant-garde pop, wonky folk and rock.
Just as BobbySix favourites Giant Drag have been doing, Salter is turning to his fans to help him release this record. Simply, he is asking for people to pledge money through fundraising website, IndieGoGo. He explains: “This is not a charity. The way it works is, if you pay the price of an album ($25) now then, when it's finished, you'll get the signed album on CD, a link to download it, a badge and sticker, a shout out in the credits, plus a bonus, limited edition EP of stuff that I'm going to record specially for this campaign. If you donate more, you'll get a variety of different 'perks', as listed on the site. You just pay in advance, instead of once it's out, and as a result I don't need to borrow money, you get a warm inner glow and everyone's happy.”
Still need convincing? Okay, how's this? Each pledge of over $50 or more will see a donation go to the World Wildlife Fund and RSPCA, helping protects cats, large and small, all over the world.
Here are BobbySix.com, we're massive fans of Giant Drag. Indeed, when, nearly three years back, frontwoman Annie Hardy was trying to scrape enough money together to fund the recording of a new album without the clout of a label behind her, we put our hands in our pockets while also helping to spread the word. The album is on its way, but, in the interim, Hardy and her trusty drummer Micah Calabrese brought out the fan-funded Swan Song EP.
Considering Giant Drag's debut album - which hit shelves almost half-a-decade ago - contained perky post-grunge songs with titles such as Kevin Is Gay and You Fuck Like My Dad, the EP's title track is surprisingly ruminative and slow-paced, only bursting into life in its final third. That's not to say it isn't a strong start, as heavenly aahs soar over Hardy's distinctive guitar sound.
Next, Stuff To Live For is outstanding. Again, it starts slowly yet this time builds to the point where Hardy is belting out a throaty, visceral howl. As well as stretching her vocal in new directions, the song is epic, rousing, powerful and the perfect example of why Giant Drag have been so sorely missed during their absence.
Perhaps the track that lands most closely to their brilliant debut, Hearts and Unicorns, is White Baby, as fuzzy grunge guitars combine with chunky riffs, sweet harmonies and a pop melody as Hardy tells us "I wanna have all your babies/White babies with you," with a sugar sweet vocal. It sounds like 1984 Madonna fronting Nirvana with The Ronettes as backing vocalists. Or something.
The four-track EP ends with a swerve ball in the form of a stripped-back love song featuring just Hardy's voice and an acoustic guitar. It's as tender, heartfelt a moment as we have ever heard from the usually flippant Annie Hardy and crowns a triumphant return that shows extra dimensions to the Giant Drag sound as well as further depth and maturity to their tone and lyrics. Swan Song EP is the perfect appetiser for the new album due for release later this year.
Review by Rob Townsend. Check out the live performance of Swan Song below:
Giant Drag, who, back in 2005 released one of the best debut albums so far this millennium, have been away for a while. Amid financial turmoil within the music industry and with band members leaving and then returning, genius front-woman Annie Hardy has been busy raising funds for the follow-up. With a fan-funded EP in the bag and an album not far away, Hardy and Micah Calabrese, her drummer/keyboardist (he plays them both at the same time), are playing a couple of gigs.
The bad news is that, unless you are in California, you won't get to see the duo in action just yet. Hardy explains, "For all the other cities and countries that our lovely fans keep asking, 'When are you coming to ___?' The answer is, when a label or private investor gives us money or someone donates a veggie oil powered van to us. Or a regular van. A mini van and limousine would work too. Trust us, we want to come play for you but times are tough. I had popcorn for dinner last night."
So, the rest of us will have to wait but, those of you who in the neighbourhood. Here are the details of the couple of dates on the horizon.
Wednesday, Dec 29th
The Satellite
Los Angeles,
California.
Monday, Jan 24th
The Troubadour (with White Lies)
Hollywood,
California.
It's that time of year again where I revisit everything musical from 2009 and point my thumbs up or down. Here is my judgement on what was hot and what was not:
TOP TEN ALBUMS
1. Lungs - FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE You might think this is a surprising choice, but I was really impressed by the ambition and energy of Lungs with its piano, strings, harps, handclaps and massive drums, and the way Welch’s voice jumps seamlessly from a sultry whisper to an awesome, lung-busting chorus and back again. Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), is the best example of her stunning vocal. Her delivery at the crescendo of this unapologetically grand pop anthem doesn’t so much ask for your attention as pick you up and fling you across the room. This album’s inventive juxtaposition of dark, gothic lyrics and rousing tunes blows away any burden of expectation with a flourish.
2. Em Are - I JEFFREY LEWIS It doesn't lose anything from being more polished than his ramshackle early efforts, and his storytelling is still up there with the best.
3. Conditions - THE TEMPER TRAP Considering how hard it was going to be to match their mesmeric live show, this debut is great, and filled with anthemic tunes.
4. The First Dance - BRIDEZILLA The First Dance is an album of intelligence, depth and genuine beauty, and Bridezilla’s ability to create intriguing and unique music to this high standard at such a tender age suggests that they have the wherewithal to go on to be one of Australia’s most cherished musical exports.
5. Dark Days/Light Years - SUPER FURRY ANIMALS Bouncing between beautiful, melodic pop and delightful insanity, Dark Days/Light Years is SFA’s best record since 2001’s Rings Around The World and is perfectly representative of a prolific body of work that makes them one of the most inventive and intriguing bands that Britain has ever produced.
6. It Walks Like Love - LOENE CARMEN A truly outstanding record, and Loene Carmen's finest piece of work to date.
7. Waxing Gibbous - MALCOLM MIDDLETON Paradoxically sad and uplifting, this is an intelligent, fragile and really lovely record that finds beauty in the bleakest places.
8. Dance Mother - TELEPATHE Because of the avant-garde approach to song structures and sound, initially it all seems a little disorientating but everything soon starts to make sense. Equally atmospheric, serious, intelligent, confusing and challenging, Dance Mother is a visionary and intriguing album, and how often can you say that nowadays?
9. Far - REGINA SPEKTOR Regina Spektor remains a wonderfully weird treasure, even if her edges seem to be getting smoother.
10. Kings & Queens - JAMIE T All the fun, madness and Englishness of a night’s binge-drinking. Only with Kings & Queens you don’t suffer a hangover and you want to do the whole thing all over again as soon as you’re finished.
TOP TEN SONGS
1. Sweet Disposition - THE TEMPER TRAP
2. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE
3. Broken Broken Broken Heart - JEFFREY LEWIS
4. Daniel - BAT FOR LASHES
5. The Fear - LILY ALLEN
6. Emily's Heart - JAMIE T
7. And The Boys - ANGUS & JULIA STONE
8. Lying Around - CASSETTE KIDS
9. Ballad Of Fuck All - MALCOLM MIDDLETON
10. Inaugural Trams - SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
TOP TEN ARTISTS OF THE YEAR
1. The Temper Trap 2. Friendly Fires 3. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis 4. Florence and the Machine 5. Jeffrey Lewis 6. Bridezilla 7. The Cribs 8. Kirin J. Callinan 9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs 10. Sarah Blasko
TOP TEN GIGS
1. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Manning Bar, Sydney
It’s not an exaggeration to say it was one of the most amazing gigs I've ever seen and to attempt to sum it up with mere words seems strangely futile. Superlatives have yet to be invented for how great this was, but the guy in front of me said it succinctly enough in a text message that he sent mid-gig. It simply read: “This is the coolest thing I have ever seen.”
1. (Joint first place because I couldn't decide between the two), Camille, Sydney Recital Hall The crowd, who started the night reserved and reluctant to embrace the singalongs, demanded three encores, which included Ta Douleur and a cover of Yes We Can Can. I'd be happy if Camille was still encoring now, as the experimental 90-minute show was moving, funny, intriguing, mesmerising and a triumph for innovation and vivid imagination. Absolutely mind-blowing.
3. Jeffrey Lewis, La Maronquinerie, Paris Not only can he pen evocative lines, but he knows exactly how to put on a live show. The gig had pensive moments, laugh-out-loud humour and sweat-drenched punk magnificence.
4. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Latitude Festival It's safe to say he blew every other performance at Latitude 2009 out of the water. The sound that emanated from the stage from the first moment to the last was an absolute aural attack
5. Kimya Dawson, Komedia, Brighton Typical of Kimya, she played until the venue basically kicked her off stage long after the curfew had passed. 6. The Streets, The Forum, Entertainment Quarter, Sydney Regardless of the general lack of diversity or of how relevant The Streets remain in 2009, the night was really all about Skinner’s interaction with the crowd. He made the gig fun. Proper fun.
7. Jamie T, The Metro, Sydney If You Got The Money almost ripped the roof off and every word of Sheila was roared back at the stage. By the evening’s finale, Sticks ‘n’ Stones, the crowd was going absolutely mental.
8. Bridezilla, The Hopetoun, Sydney It seemed obvious to everyone in attendance that Bridezilla's time is almost here.
9. The Temper Trap, Magnet, Berlin A typically tighter-than-a-duck's-bumhole performance.
10. The Pretenders, Latitude Festival Chrissie Hynde owned the entire field. I'll Stand By You and Bob Dylan's Forever Young were particularly memorable.
TOP FIVE PODCASTS 1. The Ricky Gervais Audiobooks 2. The Adam and Joe Podcast 3. Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Review Podcast 4. The Guardian Football Weekly 5. The Jon Richardson Podcast
TOP TEN FILMS
1. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
As well as being laugh-out-loud funny, this film made me cry more than once and was as touching a love story (obviously in a slightly unconventional sense) as I've ever seen.
2. Let The Right One In A beautiful and fragile story that raised the bar for vampire movies.
3. Moon It drew an extraordinary performance from Sam Rockwell and dealt with its themes of mortality and false reality really intelligently and subtly.
4. District 9 For a political (its message is incredibly thinly-veiled) sci-fi thriller with a brain in its head, then District 9 takes some beating. Funny, thought-provoking and with audience loyalties constantly shifting, this film had me gawping at the screen in wonder.
5. Paranormal Activity Unbearably tense throughout and clever in its use of normality to produce well-contextualised fear.
6. Where The Wild Things Are I don't think it could have evoked children's excitement, imagination, confusion and fear any better.
7. Zombieland In the vein of Shaun of The Dead, Zombieland is a genuinely funny movie, made with a love for the genre that ensures it never becomes a pastiche. Real fun stuff and one of the surprise hits of the year.
8. Gran Torino Clint Eastwood's film-making continues to be intelligent and methodical.
9. Star Trek Cracking sci-fi action which won me over even though I grew up very much on the Star Wars side of the fence.
10. Of Time And The City Marvellous documentary about growing up in Liverpool.
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES AWARD (MOST OVER-HYPED) Lady GaGa. Not fit to lace Madonna's corset.
QUOTE OF THE YEAR “To those who did not believe in us - and ladies forgive me - they can suck it and keep on sucking it.” Diego Maradona isn’t especially magnanimous towards his critics after Argentina eventually scraped through to the world cup finals.
PREDICTION FOR 2010 Angus & Julia Stone's new album to be universally adored.
HIGHLIGHT(S) OF THE YEAR I thought that singing an acoustic version of Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise onstage at The Latitude Festival with The Late Greats was pretty much the highlight of my entire life until, just ten days from the end of the year, I got to hang out with Superhans from Peep Show at a friend's birthday party. Best night ever.
You may remember that, last year, I wrote about how Giant Drag's Annie Hardy - having parted company with both her record company and the other half of her band, drummer/keyboardist Micah Calabrese - was trying to scrape together enough dosh to release a new record. How was she planning to do this? Basically, by calling on donations from her loyal fanbase in exchange for a shout-out on the liner notes and by rummaging around under her bed and finding cool Giant Drag memorabilia to sell on ebay.
Without the clout of a label to support her, the eighteen-months or so since she had this idea have been hard work for Hardy, but things are finally starting to come together. Having unsuccessfully trialled different band members to replace Micah, the two are now back together. It is unclear whether or not this is a long-term reunion, but the insanely-talented pair are set to take the stage for some September shows in LA with The Charlatans. In terms of new material, enough money was raised to record an EP, which should see the light of day soon. Excitingly (considering how their debut long-player, Heart and Unicorns, was one of the albums of the Millennium so far), work is set to begin on a new album later in the year.
Recently, the duo played a four song session for groupee.com. Showing a natural progression from their first record, Giant Drag's post-grunge sound is as edgy, fresh and exciting as ever, and it's great to have a naturally charismatic, captivating front-woman like Hardy back on the scene. Amongst the songs they showcased was a brand new track, Mess If My Face: Also performed was the title track of the highly anticipated EP, Swan Song:
The band also played YFLMD from the first record, and another newie, Stuff To Live For. Check these songs out over at Groupee.
UPDATE: The Charlatans shows have been cancelled, so I hear.
It’s undeniable that the vast majority of record companies are neck-deep in shit at the moment, largely because of their failure to embrace (or at least find a workable way of coping with) the download explosion until it was far too late. Nowadays no fucker wants to pay for anything. So, in an age when you can just download a record for free, going to the store to buy a CD seems to have become a thing of the past.
While there have been attempts to combat the mp3 generation’s devil-may-care approach to downloading illegally (such as Laura Marling giving away free gig tickets with her recent CD), the sad truth is that a whole host of musicians are being dropped from their labels like hot potatoes. Record companies don’t take risks anymore. If you can’t guarantee shifting a truckload of units and getting plenty of radio play, then your ass is out the door faster than you can say: “Rick Rubin’s having a clearout at Columbia.”
For instance, over at Interscope, one of the most exciting independent artists to come out of America since forever was recently dropped. Annie Hardy, aka Giant Drag, made one of the most outstanding albums so far this Millennium with her debut, Hearts and Unicorns. The record was greeted with critical acclaim pretty much universally (indeed, it was my number 1 album in that particular year’s Drum Media poll – not bad considering there were also releases from Regina Spektor, Kimya Dawson…. and even my own vocal, ahem, talents on David Ford’s debut) and it still sounds as fresh, exhilarating and relevant now as it did upon release.
Yet in 2008, like so many other independent bands and musicians, Hardy finds herself without the financial clout of a label to support her as she prepares to record her follow-up with a brand new band (after multi-tasking drummer/keyboardist Micah quit last year – yep, these have been tough times for Giant Drag). With labels growing increasingly wary of inviting new acts onto their sinking ships, Hardy is proposing a novel way of funding the recording/release of her sophomore long-player. She is going to do it with the help of her loyal fan-base.“Many people have suggested I take donations to wrangle up enough money to get this new album recorded and release it on my very own record label,” Hardy (pictured above) states on her website. “Finally today this dream has become a reality. Well, not the dream of the money to pay for the album, the dream of putting up a Paypal donation button. With your help my broke ass can get things a-movin’ and give you some new music.”
On top of this, fans will be able to get their hands on some Giant Drag rarities that Hardy is selling to raise funds. “I will also be putting up an Ebay store where you can buy my stuff. Like all of my stuff that won’t fit in my car - which is where I might be living if I don’t make this dang record soon. It's been sitting stagnant inside me like a constipated BM and if I don’t push this record out soon I’m afraid of breaking my toilet brain with the immense volume of my musical turd. Not that the album is going to be crappy… you know what I mean.”
Hardy suggests that there may be rewards for those who choose to donate extra generously; from a mention in the “thank you” section of the album’s liner notes to some, as yet unspecified, extra special treats for anyone who is particularly philanthropic. “It’s been brought to my attention that Jill Sobule did this but I’d like to believe it was my idea first and I just needed help to do the dang thing. I’m told she has prizes like: ‘For X amount you get to have your name in a song and maybe even have it rhyme with something.’ Sorry, I’m not going to do that, unless someone donates 75 grand in which case I will name the whole album after you. But hopefully my rewards will be just as fulfilling without being so…uh… not my style.”
Giant Drag fans have greeted this fund-raising scheme very positively, and Hardy is clearly grateful to them. “I thank you all very much for your support. Donations or not, with your kind words of encouragement, you have kept me from turning in applications at Cheetah’s and other fine exotic dancing facilities.”
I’m sure Annie Hardy will be overjoyed when she can finally stop fielding the interminable question: “When is your new album coming out?” So, if you are one of those cheeky kids who downloads music without paying a penny for it or, if you simply want to support great art, or show some solidarity for someone trying to make the best of shitty times in the music world, then why not throw Giant Drag a few bucks? It’ll make you feel good and it’ll aid the creation of an album that I am positively shitting myself with excitement about.
Wanna donate a few quid? Well, you can dip into your pockets via the link on Giant Drag's myspace page
This year, I was asked to do an end of year poll for Drum Media. Ridiculous as it sounds, it was a lifelong dream of mine. I am forever making such liss in my head. Here is a potted version of what I came up with:
TOP 10 ALBUMS 1. Giant Drag - Hearts and Unicorns 2. Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope 3. David Ford - I Sincerely Apologise For the Trouble I’ve Caused 4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones 5. Goyte - Like Drawing Blood 6. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not 7. Micah P Hinson – Micah P Hinson and The Opera Circuit 8. Tom Waits – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards 9. Kimya Dawson – Remember That I Love You 10. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Album of the year. So says Bobby Six
ARTIST OF THE YEAR 1. Regina Spektor 2. Goyte 3. David Ford
BEST LOCAL ARTIST GIG 1. Bridezilla/The Ghosts/Mercy Arms, Candy’s Apartment 2. The Vines (who’d have thought?), Homebake 3. Sarah Blasko, @Newtown
BEST TV SHOW 1. Extras 2. Family Guy 3. Australian Idol(oh the shame)
BEST FILM 1. Little Miss Sunshine 2. Borat
BEST WEBSITE 1. Myspace 2. Youtube 3. Shesaidhesaid.org
HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR Not The Ashes. Anything but The Ashes.
PREDICTION FOR 2007 Bridezilla to become massive. If you don’t fall in love with their music, then I’ll eat my laptop.
QUOTE OF THE YEAR “Lachlan Marks, Rob Townsend and Andrew Street are a bit smug about getting in (to gigs) for free,” according to a disgruntled reader in the Drum letters page.
2006 IN REVIEW My 2006 started in August, when I moved to Sydney from grey old England. While my knowledge of English and American alternative music is pretty comprehensive, my awareness of the Australian scene didn’t really stretch far beyond Wolfmother and Men at Work. I was therefore happy to discover a vibrant Sydney scene with a real sense of community that made London seem even more up its own arse than I already knew it was. With fantastic young bands and no end of kids willing to go to their gigs, this place holds its own against other cities. Take it from a foreigner. While the NME has spent this year meticulously constructing its own scenes (New Rave anyone?), over here people just allow great bands like Mercy Arms to grow organically, without feeling the need to pigeonhole or label them. Oh, and the weather is better over here too.
