Features
New Noise: NO ZU, Brando’s Island, Planète, Sweet Jean
By Mess+Noise
This week’s roundup includes ambient dance, synth-punk, glossy country and Hellenic culture made party-friendly.
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– It’s been three years since NO ZU’s last “proper” album, but the Melbourne ensemble have been all too visible, between mixtapes, tours, collaborations, festival slots and other releases. Add to that stack Medusa Music, their new 12” EP for Michael Ozone’s Home Loan Records. As heard on the Soundcloud preview below, the tracks range from rubbery bass and squishy synths to snake-charming melodies and the usual unabashed party-starting. Inspired by Hellenic culture after leader Nicolaas Oogjes married into a Greek family, the EP promises an “even weirder, sparser and more synth-driven sound” thanks in part to Ozone’s influence. Vinyl copies should be hitting Australian stores any day now.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.][Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Brando’s Island are instantly exciting, and not just because they include members of such well-liked weirdos as Chrome Dome, Castings, Velvet Whip, The Zingers and Pathetic Human. Their single ‘Auto Warfare’ is rambling synth-punk spiked with both vibraphone and talky vocals. It’s like something out of The Pop Group’s back catalogue: brash and chaotic yet defiantly catchy. The relatively new Melbourne band are releasing a self-titled 7” (featuring that song plus the A-side ‘Autism Vision’) on their own Million Dollar Records imprint and launching it with two gigs in Melbourne next week. More info below and here.
Thurs, March 5 – Bar Open, Melbourne, VIC [9pm, $5, w/Italianz, The Shifters + Fruit & Nut]
Sat, March 7 – The Tote, Melbourne, VIC [9pm, $10, w/ZOND, Freejack, Tommy T & The Classical Mishaps + Dry Mouth DJs]
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– We swooned over Planète’s two-track EP last year, praising Melbourne producer Dion Tartaglione for “turn[ing] a pair of low-key vision quests into a feast for the ears.” He’s back with another two-track gift in the free-download ‘Helix’/‘Två Fontäner’, just out via the reliable Silo Arts imprint. The tracks total 17 minutes and have the same floaty, wintry, ghostly appeal as his previous work – perfectly complemented by the cover art from Evan Cooper and Jack Khenkitisak. It’s ambient-shaded dance music that’s not afraid to court the cheap seats in the middle of ‘Helix’ or let in a flood of brightening textures as the otherwise sparse ‘Två Fontäner’ hits its stride.
[Historical embedded media is withheld pending rights review.][Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]
– Following up their breakthrough 2013 album Dear Departure, Melbourne duo Sweet Jean re-team with regular producer John Castle (The Bamboos, Vance Joy) for their new two-song 7” I See Stars. The collaboration casts a glossy sheen over Sime Nugent and Alice Keath’s dual-vocal country/folk musings (picture a spacier version of the Wilco/Billy Bragg records), but it works on both tracks. If it can sound too poised and pretty for some tastes, there are darker currents at play: “One day I’ll meet someone who’s nothing like you,” Keath sings on ‘Still Here’. The 7” comes out this Sunday (Feb 22) through DD Records, coinciding with a pair of gigs before month’s end.
Sun, Feb 22 – Collingwood Open @ Gasometer, Melbourne, VIC [w/Al Parkinson, Jess Ribeiro + DJ Cash Savage]
Sat, Feb 28 – Between the Bays Festival, Mornington Peninsula, VIC
+