Features
New Noise: Roland Tings, ScotDrakula, Sweet Teens, Faux Pas
By Doug Wallen
Anthems and electronics collide in an all-Melbourne edition of our Soundcloud roundup of the latest new music.
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– The guise of Melbourne producer Rohan Newman, Roland Tings has debuted in a big way with the Milky Way EP on U.S. label 100% Silk, an offshoot of Not Not Fun. Described by the label as “melodic acid trips doused with swish-ticky-booms,” the four-song 12” includes the elegantly opaque title track plus ‘Loose Jaw’, ‘Polo Sport’ and ‘Rolands Beat’ [sic]. Roland Tings is playing Oct. 12 at Melbourne’s Gasometer, supporting Canadian artist d’Eon.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Roland Tings: "Milky Way" by adhocfm
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Last heard on 2011’s seven-song EP Crackstrength, Melbourne garage trio ScotDrakula are previewing their new album Burner with its smeary, sneering title track. Led by Dove Bailey’s unflappable bass and featuring drummer Evianne Camille's backing vocals against guitarist Matthew Neumann’s cracked lead vocals, ‘Burner’ ramps up its frazzled catchiness with a singalong ending. The hideously charismatic band have played with such kindred spirits as Drunk Mums and The Murlocs recently. Like the EP, ‘Burner’ is available as a name-your-price download.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] ScotDrakula - Burner by Mess+Noise
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Though busy touring the world in Gotye’s band, Tim Shiel has found time to release the self-explanatory set Remixes on Aug. 20 as Faux Pas. Included are his takes on Super Melody, Rat Vs. Possum, Hammocks and Honey, Pikelet and others. Oh, and some Gotye song nobody’s ever heard of. The first taste – and a free download at that – is a pulsing, streamlined rendering of Caitlin Park’s ‘Baby Teeth’, the original of which Park says “was the song I had the most trouble with” on last year’s Milk Annual. Shiel, meanwhile, says: “I'm a huge fan of Caitlin Park. She is what I like to call a ‘ring-a-ding broad’. We had a great time together recently hanging out in a church in Sydney, working on some songs together.” Photographic proof above.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] Caitlin Park - Baby Teeth (Faux Pas remix) by Tim Shiel
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– On their free-download debut album “This Ain’t England” & The Ominous Horror, Melbourne’s deceptively titled upstarts Sweet Teens are able to channel The Libertines (‘This Ain’t England’) as easily as The Hold Steady (‘Victoria Park’) while maintaining their own personal roughness. They’re in the midst of a Wednesday residency at the Tote, which sounds like it’s name-checked in the below track, ‘Virgins & Volcanoes’.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.] SWEET TEENS - VIRGINS & VOLCANOES by Mess+Noise
+