Album Review: The Antlers - Burst Apart

This follows the Brooklyn band's much lauded effort in 2009's Hospice.

Peter Silberman still employs his heady beguiling falsetto croon, which works to great effect with the album's mainly lilting melodies.  The album is punctuated by punchy upbeat number French Exit, moody atmospheric synths on Parentheses and the poppy Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out.

Which leads us to the oddly disturbing theme running throughout the lyrics:- Pull my teeth right out; tear my limbs right off; ...wings won't break; which strangely comes off more as an intriguing signature concern rather than a mere morbid gimmick.  It's as though the band are trying to convey inner emotional turmoils by drawing physical parallels.

Altogether, a bold move forwards.  7.6/10

Live Review: Spiritualized @ The Sydney Opera House (27/5/2011)

When Spiritualized last rolled into town in 2008, I wrote into Drum Media expressing how disappointed I was when the punters were noisily talking over some of the quieter and personal passages and suggested the band next played our Sydney Opera House.

Little did I realise someone was listening.

As part of the Sydney Vivid Festival, Spiritualized played their 1997 magnum opus "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" in all its glory on the 27th and 28th of May at the Sydney Opera House.

Eagerly anticipating the concert, I hopped online to read up on what's in store for us on the night.

Billed as an Australian Exclusive with 30 on stage including strings, brass and a gospel choir, I knew this was no ordinary night.

Seated upstairs, there may have been a technical glitch in that the sound seemed distant and wasn't fixed till track three "I Think I'm in Love".

The beefed-up renditions gave the tracks new life and would hopefully show up as a "live" DVD in the near future.  Frontman Jason Pierce did little to engage the crowd, letting the music speak for itself.  Full swells of strings, brass stabs, rousing choir and guitar feedback into impenetrable walls of sound were countered by singular voice / acoustic strum.  The barrage that was "Electricity" was brought into another realm as hundreds (surely!) of strobe lights pulsed to great effect - I felt almost transported into another dimension or was that an epileptic seizure??

Kidding aside, I counted three bouts of goose-bumps and moments of pure space-floating. No easy feat!

Singular non-album encore "Out of Sight" brought the night to a close as we drifted into the beautiful harbour surrounds lit up by various colouful Vivid installations.  Magical.

... and still reeling.  9.3/10

Live Review: John Grant @ The Vanguard (20/5/2011)

With only about 2 days' notice, I scurried to get my grubby paws on tickets to John Grant's concert at The Vanguard on 20/05/2011.

Not having been to the venue before, I opted for the cheaper "Concert Only" option, which turned out to be a "Standing Only" option too.  Still, at $30, I should not complain.  Except for the fact that meal-carrying waitresses required us to part each time they had to pass through and the concert was almost an hour late starting.

Support Act Bridezilla's Daisy M Tully was charming and an apt opener for Grant, with her multi-looped-violin musing on love & loss ala Owen Pallett.  Especially so when she repeatedly forgot the words to a song and excused herself with candid humour.

I was looking around the crowd wondering how many of the audience were prepared for John's songs on manlove and how many would actually walk out.  Thankfully, the crowd is more open-minded than I'd initially thought.  After first 2 songs, jitters were gone and he was totally in his element and won the audience over. Dressed in a suit and towering over six foot, John cuts a looming figure.  This is in sharp contrast with the songs which were nakedly heartfelt.  Between songs, he also regaled us with stories behind them.  I was hoping to hear "That's the Good News" from the limited edition bonus disc; but it was left off the setlist in preference of "Fireflies" and the album's main tracks.

John was the frontman of disbanded group, The Czars, who garnished critical praise but escaped commercial success.  He was about to retire from the music scene but the band Midlake convinced him to have another go and also performed as backing band for the album.  His 2010 album Queen of Denmark was Mojo's prestigious surprise #1 album of the year.

I'm looking forward to his next album which hopefully, showcases John's "freakier" experimental side.

All in all, a terrific night I'm glad I did not miss.  4.6/5

2011 Jan-May

Welcome to my Music blog and my very first post!!!
This is where I'll place my music ramblings, point you to music that's floating my boat and links and reviews of concerts, albums, etc etc.  You get my drift...

It's almost half the year gone and 2011 has been, if nothing, unspectacular.  So far I can only think of about 6 albums that would make my "Best of 2011" list:
1.  Destroyer - Kaputt
2.  Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
3.  Radiohead - King of Limbs
4.  Iron and Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
5.  I'm from Barcelona - Forever Today
6.  Bright Eyes - The People's Key