Features
New Noise: Dro Carey, Ali E, The Mean Times, Reverend Jemima
By Mess+Noise
This week’s new offerings range from a rising producer and band-juggling solo artist to Weezer-esque power-poppers and a very strange side project.
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– A year and a half on from his last EP, Sydney producer Eugene Ward (a.k.a. Dro Carey) drops the excellently titled new four-tracker Club Injury Handbook next Monday (Dec 1) through Berlin/London label Greco-Roman. Streaming below, the title track is squelchy and hiccupping, like a rap-damaged Mouse on Mars, while the not-yet-shared ‘Mammal Tank’ is even better. The 19-minute release is rounded out by two versions of ‘Monomiles’: one instrumental and one featuring guest turns from Sydney-via-Sierra Leone rappers Chocolate & Kid Kairo. You can pre-order it now via iTunes. As the presser boasts, Carey is “prepared to transition from outsider darling to wider club circles” – something confirmed by his recent inclusion on Napolian’s brilliant free-download mix for Daniel Lopatin’s (Oneohtrix Point Never, Ford & Lopatin) Brooklyn label Software.
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– Last we heard from Ali E, the band-juggling Melburnian was premiering the June single ‘We Are Strangers’. Now, as if playing in Damn Terran, Heavy Beach and Little Athletics wasn’t keeping her busy enough, she’s back with the free-download ‘Seagull’. Reportedly inspired by the likes of Mikal Conin and No Joy, Ali E decided to write a song about personal difficulties, with the end results spanning “love, relationships, friends, drinking, writing and of course … dogs.” More dirge-y than the previous single, ‘Seagull’ draws in backing harmonies from Rich Davies (Rich Davies & The Devils Union) and Howl at the Moon’s Katie Scott and Matt Storey as well as employing her usual backing band: drummer Leigh Ewbank (ex-Damn Terran), bassist Anto Skene and violinist Lucy Rash (Tantrums). The single launches next Wednesday (Dec 3) at The Old Bar with Loobs and Loose Tooth; more info here.
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– The Mean Times first came our way earlier this month, with the memorable yoga-themed video for ‘Crossing the Line’. That’s the calling card for the Melbourne quartet’s five-song mini-album You’ve Got the Wrong Guys, which ranges from the itchy hi-hat of quirky opener ‘Coming Up Below’ to the jangled guitar of ‘OK Diner’ and the pronounced drollness of ‘Business Casual Guy’ and closer ‘Hey Kids’. It’s synth-laced power-pop falling on the early-Weezer side of that spectrum. The record launches this Saturday (Nov 29) at Whole Lotta Love in East Brunswick, with support from Long Holiday and The Night Party. It’s $10 at the door from 8pm, with more info here. There will be a limited number of hand-cut 7”s of ‘Crossing the Line’ for sale at the gig, backed with a “sheer crud remix.”
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– Reverend Jemima is the solo outlet for The Holy Soul frontman Trent Marden, backed by a supergroup-ish lineup of Luke O’Farrell (The Laurels), Ryan Adamson (Regular John) and Rusty Hopkinson (You Am I). The debut album Council of Trent came out back in August on CD, digital and vinyl through Sydney label China Pig but is only now being launched, this Saturday (Nov 29) at The Union in Newtown with Machine Machine, Wild Cat Falling and the Marden/Machine Machine hybrid Tres Hombres. It’s free, with more info here. The album itself, meanwhile, is playfully weird, comprising 18 mostly short songs that range from the lo-fi bedroom pop of ‘And Now I Know Her Name’ to the noisier ‘Citizen Vain’ and the Beck-ish junkyard folk of lead single ‘Cyborg Girl’. The presser also mentions Ween, R. Stevie Moore and Jandek, which gives you a rough outline of what’s to be expected.
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