If Plaid, Joy Division and Bright Eyes had a happy child that played the trombone--no, no that's not it.
If Blondie concieved with Depeche Mode and Air was the kid's nanny throughout adolescence... well, no. Not really.
Spiritualized, Pink Floyd, and, ummmm... oh fuck it.
This band is really hard to peg as anything but "Indie", yet the fit is still a bit off. Frankly, these people make music that makes me happy to be alive. They're that one artsy girl you knew in highschool that seemed to be above; always cheery, quirky and ready to go to the beach in February. Except there are eight of them in the band and some are boys. Every person plays multiple instruments and the collaboration is spectacular in the cosmic sense.
Most tracks on their first LP, "Fingers Crossed", have literally dozens of elements; "Like a Call" boasts electric bass, acoustic guitar, xylaphones, bells, drum machines, a synth, electric guitar and three vocalists. It's impressive but completely natural, wholeheartedly airy, even. Nothing is intrusive and everything belongs. I've yet to meet a person that can think of a way to improve this music in any way other than making more of it. For an upstart band with little more than local notoriety in Melbourne, the quality of this record is absolutely astonishing. All of the instruments are clear, clean, crisp but still warm and organic.
There is precious little information about them on the internet, but I was lucky enough to google an old interview with the band. When asked how they got started, the answer, was, invariably,
"It was like a train scooting throught the mountains with people getting on and off when they pleased. Now we have the finest selection of passengers and we're on our way to the beach."
That just warms my cold black heart. Do yourself a favor and listen to their music. The LP, again, is "Fingers Crossed" (released March '03) and the EP is "Like A Call" (December '02). Both are available from Trifekta Records (http://www.trifekta.com.au/). It also looks like there is a new EP ("Kindling"), but I've not yet been able to get my grubby little fingers on it.
You can even find all the elements of one of their songs, ripe for the remixing, at http://www.abc.net.au/noise/remix/architecture.htm. |
