New Music - July 2009

Here is what I have been listening to over the past month and some new releases.

Splendour in the Grass 2009 - Lineup - (Updated 16.6.09)

The 2nd Announcement for Splendour in the Grass 09 has just been announced and here it is.
The complete second line-up is:
Happy Mondays (in their only Australian show)
Doves
You Am I
The Beautiful Girls
Downsyde & Drapht
Architecture In Helsinki
Kisschasy
Little Red
Bluejuice
Children Collide
Miami Horror Live
Art vs Science
Paul Dempsey
Dappled Cities
Dananananaykroyd
Holly Throsby
Bridezilla
Deya Dova

The highly anticipated Splendour in the Grass festival is returning to Belongil Fields in Byron Bay once again and have delivered another stellar lineup, especially on the local front. On the international front we have Janes Addiction reforming with their original lineup after disbanding for the second time in 2003 after their great Big Day Out shows which I witnessed on the Gold Coast. Last years hype band MGMT are coming back after visiting Australia in December last year which will get the kids dancing. Splendour whores Bloc Party return for their 3rd time adding their new album Intimacy to their already impressive swag of hits. The Flaming Lips will bring their quirky sounds to the festival for the first time.
The local talent on the bill is just as impressive with something for everyone. Kram will be playing without his Spiderbait bandmates who played some great sets at the festival in 2002 and 2004 and his debut album has plenty of festival friendly tunes. Bob Evans, Sarah Blasko, Augie March and Josh Pyke will bring some cruisy sounds to Byron Bay and Midnight Juggernauts, Hilltop Hoods and Grinspoon will pump up the festival crowd. Leader Cheetah have just released their excellent debut The Sunspot Letters and have recently played some well received support shows with Elbow, Dan Auerbach and The Temper Trap. All tickets will sold online at http://www.qjump.com.au/ and go on sale on Thursday 14th May at 9am. Here is the full line-up so far.

Bloc Party (only Oz show) / The Flaming Lips / Jane’s Addiction / MGMT (only Oz show) / Hilltop Hoods / Grinspoon / Midnight Juggernauts / The Specials / Sarah Blasko / Augie March / Josh Pyke / Friendly Fires / Little Birdy / Birds Of Tokyo / The Gutter Twins / Manchester Orchestra / Yuksek / Bob Evans / White Lies / Kram / Yves Klein Blue / Decoder Ring / Lost Valentinos / Leader Cheetah / Jack Ladder / The Middle East / Polaroid Fame / Glass Towers.

Saturday July 25th and Sunday July 26th 2009
Belongil Fields

Kram - Mix Tape - Album Review

****1/2
1. Good Love
2. Ridin High
3. She's My Girl
4. Turn A Light On
5. Burnin Sands
6. Silk Suits
7. Live A Long Time
8. Won't Be Home Tonight
9. Harmonies
10. Satellite
11. The Best Thing
12. Thankyou Mr Ludwig
13. Get To It
14. Long Cold Night
15. Down The Line

The debut album from Spiderbait singer/drummer Kram lives up to it's title Mix Tape as it changes gears seamlessly across the 15 tracks as all good mix tapes should. What makes it even more impressive is that with the exception of a few cameos from Tumbleweed's Ritchie Lewis and Jet's Nic Cester, Kram has played all the instruments himself.
First track "Good Love" could appear easily on any of Spiderbait's albums and starts the album in high gear. The following track "Ridin' High" heads in the opposite direction with a wah-driven guitar riff, smooth bass and funky beat which was briefly visited on Spiderbait's previous album Tonight Alright's highlight "Picky". Kram channels Beck for another cruisy foot tapper "She's My Girl" and as "Turn a Light On" starts with an acoustic guitar strum and piano it is clear this album intends to take the listener on a musical journey. "Burnin' Sands" is another excellent track showing off Kram's vocal range with some great falsetto vocals. First single "Silk Suits" sounds like the Kram we have known and loved for all these years and is accompanied by a great clip featuring Kram and Alicia Molik head to head on the tennis court filmed at Rod Laver Arena.
The album continues to bring the hits in the second half and plays more like a best of than a debut album. Other highlights include "Satellite", "Long Cold Night", "Get To It" and the percussion instrumental "Thankyou Mr Ludwig". It is the perfect album for road trips, parties or just listening by yourself with headphones. It is my favourite album of the year and as there were 50 songs recorded for the album, another album could be on the cards in the future.

Debut Album by Kram from Spiderbait

Lead singer and drummer from Spiderbait, Kram, is about to release his debut album Mixtape and from the tracks I've heard on his My Space it should be a ripper. You can preview 4 of the tracks from the aptly titled Mixtape which according to a quote from Kram will sound "like a radio station where all the songs sound like different bands even though it's all played by one person.... The premise of the whole album was to be constantly changing your approach musically". Sounds like my kind of album. You can also get a free download of "Outer Space" from My Space (click here http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=393564850)

The film clip for first single "Silk Suits" is an instant classic. The action takes place at Rod Laver Arena as Kram (sporting jeans, Motorhead T-Shirt and matching yellow head and wrist bands) and Alicia Molik battle it out with Nic Cester from Jet as umpire. The song is already been played heavily on Triple J, featuring Kram's trademark thumping drums and killer vocals. The new album is released in Australia on March 14th. Check out the excellent clip for "Silk Suits" below as well as a great live track from the Meredith Music Festival and a snippet of album track "Soccer".