Archive for the ‘New Bands That Sound Like Old Bands’ Category

Violent Soho

Brisbane four piece Violent Soho are making a big splash internationally being signed to the label run by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. Their self titled album is out on Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label in the US and they have been touring there strongly since the release. The band line-up is  Luke Boerdam on guitar/vocals, James Tidswell on guitar/vocals, Luke Henery on bass and Michael Richards on... Read the full story

Mark Moldre

Mark Moldre is based on the Central Coast of NSW having grown up in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. He apparently was in a band called Hitchcock’s Regret which managed to escape my attention. He just released an album called The Waiting Room which is worthy of some attention. It’s a songwriter album – meaning that its as much about substance as style and he manages to craft some really interesting... Read the full story

Shelley Harland

The first Australian album from transient singer-songwriter and producer Shelley Harland is intriguing to say the least.   Red Leaf is unashamedly a ‘pop” album but in an era where “pop” has become even more of a dirty word this album is a statement that “pop music” need not mean Idol contestants warbling sickly imitations of disposable genres.   For those needing an easy entry point... Read the full story

Quiet Company

Austin, Texas band Quiet Company is largely the musical vehicle of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Taylor Muse and they/he have/has just released their/his second full length outing, the quaintly titled Everyone You Love Will Be Happy Soon. Judging by what is on offer here it would seem that a prodigious adult pop talent has been unearthed. For those trying to find a point of entry into this music... Read the full story

Brett Goldsmith

Every now and then a new artist comes along who causes you to wonder where he has been all your life. The songs talk you in a language you understand and the voice singing them seems immediately familiar. There’s something fully formed about the whole package that makes you sense that the artist is comfortable in his own skin and not the product of an urgent need to follow the latest trend or a desperate... Read the full story

The Gaslight Anthem

All the early signs were there to suggest that I was going to like this band. Their album The 59 Sound starts with the sound of a needle catching on a vinyl album before launching into Great Expectations, a frantic little rock n’ roll song laden with jangling guitars and lyrics about a girl named Mary, listening to the radio and cars as a metaphor for escape. Only calling the song Thunder Road would... Read the full story

The Hold Steady

It’s been almost a decade since I found a new band that I like as much as The Hold Steady. And the reason I like them so much is that they sound like they could have existed about a decade ago – back in a time when bands still thought in terms of albums not simply single song downloads. Hailing from Minneapolis the members of The Hold Steady did time in any number of bands both in Minn. and in... Read the full story

Black Diamond Heavies

Although they hail from Nashville it is abundantly clear that Black Diamond Heavies come from a very different part of town than that which the country music establishment calls home. Consisting of only two members -  James Leg (aka John Wesley Myers) on vocals and keys and Van Campbell on drums – Black Diamond Heavies recently toured Australia and played at the Meredith Music Festival but I suspect... Read the full story

The Galvatrons

The Galvatrons are almost too likely to succeed. They have certainly been the hype band of 2008 and perhaps that has already led to a premature backlash. Harsh. The fact remains that they appear to be the band most likely for a reason. They look like rock stars, they have big anthemic hooky songs and they have the right team behind them including Australian A&R guru Michael Parisi. And yes, it... Read the full story