Lately I’ve been feeling a real lack in quality within the whole remix culture side of music. I just went on a rampage and sorted through 945 new blog posts in my much-neglected feed reader, so when I get through that hopefully I will have found some good stuff for you guys.
In the mean time, I’ve been getting into a few albums which are certainly worth a gander.
Wow. The Temper Trap’s debut album Conditions is one of the best albums I have heard in a long time. From the very first words out of singer Dougy’s mouth I just knew this was going to be a great album. Although I must admit, I had already fallen in love with Sweet Disposition a while ago, so I had high expectations. This is often a curse for me as it can lead me to unfounded disappointment with the end product – not this time. Everything about the album abounds with originality, from the use of orchestral instruments and variety of structure in the tracks to Dougy’s unique voice. It’s so unique that it’s embarrassing trying to match it when thrashing the album in the car.
The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition
If you’ve been reading my posts for a while you’d know I’m a sucker for progressive, building songs. Soldier On is a perfect example of how great they can be. The first few minutes consist solely of Dougy’s voice, acoustic guitar and some ambient strings, and just when you think the rest of the band are about to kick in at 2:35, they hold off and tease you by doing another verse. Once you being to wonder if the song will ever kick in, 3:50 comes along and brings with it an ominous guitar riff signalling 2 minutes full of crashing drums, bass and guitar solos to release the tension. Every other song on this album is great; you need to have it.
Red Riders are a Sydney band who’ve been milling around the music scene for a while threatening to make a big impact. I think they are close with their latest album Drown In Colour, just not quite there. The first half of the album is extremely good straight up-and-down indie rock, but the second half doesn’t follow through. Standout track Ordinary is far from ordinary for me – it would sit comfortably next to Jonathan Boulet’s A Community Service Announcement (which Triple J has been rightfully flogging as of late) and Two Door Cinema Club’s Something Good Can Work (which I posted a while ago). Its guitar hook is so undeniably catchy it will have you singing along to it before the lyrics will.
Jonathan Boulet – A Community Service Announcement
I first came across Jack Ladder through watching the video for his single The Barber’s Son. I was instantly hooked on this guy’s music and had to have more. In the video he oozes swagger and old-world cool; I highly recommend you watch it to understand what I’m talking about. It’s such a stomper of a song, which was no doubt an influence from Pivot drummer Laurenz Pike, who lends his talents on the whole album as well.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album isn’t as stomping as The Barber’s Son, but that isn’t to say it’s not good. Another song off his latest album Love Is Gone that I really like is Case Closed, which wouldn’t sound out of place in the Rolling Stones back catalogue. Speaking of The Rolling Stones, I randomly came across this really funky edit of Miss You recently. It’s the perfect kind of edit – it doesn’t change the original too much, yet it adds another dimension to the track, giving it a new lease on life.
Jack Ladder – The Barber’s Son
The Rolling Stones – Miss You (717 Boys Edit)
Have a good weekend,
Adso
