II, the impressive second E

P from Kiwi rockers Cairo Knife Fight, is a blend of all that’s good about rock ‘n roll. Nick Gaffaney and Aaron Takona, the band’s sole members, are clearly influenced by the progressive rock movement of the 60s and 70s, namely artists like Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin, who experimented with hazy acoustics and pioneered psychedelic rock. Cairo Knife Fight produces a similarly rambunctious, in-your-face and unhinged sound that is so reminiscent of the yesteryears of progressive rock and that breathes life into the classic rock and metal genre.

The EP is a lot of fun and should be listened to at full volume. As loud as possible. Gaffeney’s vocals are powerful, while Takona’s guitar-punching riffs scream down the microphone and captivate. The four songs work as an ensemble. The clamorous guitar work on “The Violence Of Action”, the EP’s first track, is a standout and sets the tone for the remainder of the EP. “The Opiate Of Living”, the EP’s stripped back third track, gives the EP its soul, just to remind us that Cairo Knife Fight can wind down, too, as well as rock out. There is a confidence about this EP that resonates through each song.

Cairo Knife Fight already boasts an imposing resume, having been the support act to live shows from Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age. Gaffaney and Takona exude a raw energy during their atmospheric live performances (as far as I can tell from reading critic reviews and watching them on YouTube), with Gaffaney on lead vocals and drums and Takona on guitar. The clarity of sound they generate, given there is simply two of them, is startling. The EP is startling too. Imagine a live show featuring the songs from II? These guys may just be ready to kick some arse in the rock metal scene.

Luke Creely

Anyone who recently saw Androo Crothers play at The Lighthouse knew one thing… you were witnessing the rise of a new talent… one of Melbourne’s hidden gems when it comes to musicians. Now comes Androo’s debut EP titled Ironstone Track. On it you’ll find three brilliant tracks.

Alone And Forgotten has a unique Australian feel that is normally reserved for artists like Jame Reyne while Get It Right is a catchy track that finds itself sitting somewhere country and rock, but would lapped up by fans of either genre.

But then comes Ironstone Track’s best track… an instant classic titled Scars. This is written from the heart and you could tell. Some interesting production makes this stand out from the other acoustic tracks on the EP and the sound heads into that ‘Under The Milky Way’ territory… this is seriously a track you could lose yourself in forever.

This stunning little three-tracker is a great way to introduce yourself to the genius that is Androo Crothers.

Dave Griffiths

You may have heard of a young Aussie sing/songwriter called Luke Robinson that has been getting a fair bit of radio play just recently. Truth is us Aussies are a little bit late on the Luke Robinson scene as last year saw him complete his first sold-out U.S…. and if you haven’t given him a listen yet, then it is highly time that you do.

Robinson’s new release, the Here & Now EP is actually his second release, on the back of last years brilliant Seasons EP… and Here & Now is certainly well worth a listen.

Opening track ‘All I Ever Ask For’ are some of the best indie pop rock going around at the moment and it is a song that is simply crying out for radio play while ‘Never Let You Down’ is a sweet love song that is sure to impress should you choose to include it on a mixed tape for your loved one. ‘Never Let You Down’ also showcases Robinson’s song-writing abilities because it should be criminal to be able to create a song this sweet.

‘New Year, New Place’ is most likely the track that you would recognize from Here & Now. This terrific single has been all over radio during the last few weeks, and it is so powerful that no matter how many times you listen to it you will still stop and think about the message at hand.

‘Make You Mine’ is another love song that is firmly in the same vein as artists such as Jason Mraz or Eric Hutchinson… oh and if you a producer of ‘Packed To The Rafters’ than this is a track that is screaming out for you to use in the show. Here & Now then rounds out with the softer, heartfelt ‘See You Again’, another track you are sure to remember for a long time after you’ve heard it.

If you haven’t already heard Luke Robinson than Here & Now is a sensational place to start… this is one of the indie rock releases of the year.

Dave Griffiths

The chants of “FU, FU, FU,” started as a distant rumble but quickly built with each repetition til their echo filled the strict confines of AC/DC lane. The Melbourne side street is packed with excited punters for its yearly Cherry Rock Festival on this warm, autumn evening as headliners Fu Manchu nervously get ready to perform. It’s been eleven years since the band has graced these shores and their cult-like legion of fans are not about to let them forget it. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that” singer/guitarist Scott Hill half-jokingly replies to one over exuberant heckler as the band finishes the last of it’s pre-gig preparation and the combined scents of green herbal incense mixed with stale beer fills the air.
Literally, straight off the plane from New Zealand, the southern Californian fuzz rockers hope not to replay their disastrous gig in this city eleven years earlier. In Australia at the time to promote “California Crossing ” their Melbourne show was marred by a shortened set with no encores due to band sickness described by drummer Scott Reeder as “projectile vomiting” by guitarist Brad Balch on the side of the stage mid-show. Already pumped-up from a great day of music from support acts like Matt Sonic and Black Cobra, the crowd’s take-no-prisoners vibe quickly turns friendly as Fu Manchu launches into what is to be a blistering performance.
Performing a set-list made up predominantly from their back catalogue (giving fans of their classic albums “In Search Of”, “The Action is Go” and “King of the Road” much to smile about) the crowd soaked up the party atmosphere singing along with choruses and swaying to the music. Their multi-song encore included “Squash That Fly”, “Godzilla” and “Weird Beard” and one crowd surfer on a boogie board to which Hill asks “Isn’t boogie boarding pussy shit in Australia….well isn’t it pussy shit everywhere”. Well said Scott just don’t take another eleven years to get back here.

Jeff Lease

Born to a working class family in Birmingham,Tony Iommi learned to talk with his hands. First on the streets fighting with local gangs, later as a musician playing in local bands, his hands brought him security in an uncertain world. Young Tony’s hands gave him protection from bullies and respect in his neighbourhood, earned him money as a factory worker and adoration from his peers as an up and coming guitar player. They also brought him to the deepest depths of sorrow when while working in a sheet metal factory he severed the tips of two of his fingers. Without being able to play the guitar, he no longer had an escape from his bleak existence in an industrial town. Luckily, Tony Iommi is a fighter and his subsequent resurrection defined the guitar sound of heavy metal music.
Iron Man is the autobiography of heavy metal legend Tony Iommi. From his early days as a musician, the unfortunate accident that gave him his trademarked guitar sound to the soaring heights of rock stardom in Black Sabbath it’s all here. While not the most eloquent book ever written, Iommi tells it like it is, giving Iron Man a spoken word/street quality not found in many books. So if you want the low down on Ozzy’s departure from Black Sabbath, the invention of the prosthetic fingers that saved his music career and work with Ronnie James Dio check out Iron Man. It’s a must for fans of hard rock and heavy metal music.- JEFF LEASE

Jeff Lease

If you’re looking for slick production, atmospheric soundscapes or catchy pop hooks, you best look elsewhere. If you dig fat, bawdy grooves, lots of exuberant hollering and music that’s generally free of spit and polish, then Sherriff are your bag.

This is the Melbourne three piece’s debut EP, and it’s a raw and beer soaked as it is fun. This band’s music sounds like it’s the product of many, extremely boozy late nights spent in a filthy garage or rehearsal room, jamming the fuck out of 70s influenced, psychedelia tinged rock and roll riffs and grooves. It’s a raw and rockin’ power three piece in the true sense of the word, and the recording itself sounds as if it was recorded in the most old school manner possible these days. That is, set up the band in a recording studio, wack some mics on the amps and drums, and press record. And go straight to tape, none of this pro-tools digital rubbish!

Whether or not they actually did it like that I’m not sure, but if not, they’ve certainly made an excellent fist of making this sound like it was recorded in 1973.

The tunes are ultra basic, but delivered with spirit and swashbuckling charm. They’re about four decades off re-inventing any kind of wheel, but that’s hardly the point. In this case, it’s all about the raunch, the groove and the beers.

These guys are kinda the authentic version of what Wolfmother are trying to be. But just a little more original.

Rod Whitfield

A cruel critic/fan might say that The Used and My Chemical Romance are almost interchangeable. There are certainly strong similarities in sound and style between the two bands. Bert McCracken and Gerard Way employ very similar, higher-end vocal stylings. Both bands play that very theatrical, alternative pop/punky style of rock. Both appeal to a very similar fanbase. Check out Moving Out for proof.

Personally I give MCR the edge in the (possibly unfair) comparison. Their music is darker, more dramatic and quite simply rocks harder. The Used sound a little MCR-lite to these ears.

That’s not to say The Used don’t have merit. Vulnerable is their fifth full length album since their inception in 2001, and the experience is starting to show. Their sound and direction are fully developed, and now they begin to show the odd experimental touch here and there, whilst remaining catchy and not alienating of their long term fans. And it’s all delivered with an exuberance that is kinda infectious.

This album displays a band that are confident in their abilities and in where they are headed. If you’d never heard My Chemical Romance in your life, you could listen to this album completely unencumbered by that comparison/similarity, and really enjoy it.

Rod Whitfield

I have listened to this album a number of times, and the term ‘mixed feelings’ has never seemed so apt as it does right now.

I put this album into my CD player without knowing anything about this band whatsoever, and the first thing that struck me was how much the vocalist sounded like the singer from the Aussie band The Church. Sure enough, upon further investigation I discovered that this band was indeed a project from the main man of that long running and prolific act, Steve Kilbey.

Anyway, enough of blowing my own trumpet and back to those ‘mixed feelings’. It seems that this album alternatively gives me reasonable enjoyment and sends me to sleep, depending on my state of mind at the time. The similarity to The Church pretty much starts and finishes at the vocals. Instead of the melancholy indie rock of that band, Isidore bring much more cinematic, ambient and even folky tones to the table. It opens in very haunting, celtic style, with The Privateer, and the energy levels barely rise above first gear from there on in. That’s hardly the point however, this is very much ‘mood’ music.

With the mournful, hipster/indie sound very much in vogue at the moment, this album could find quite a strong footing. If it gets played that is, no doubt most conservative radio stations would prefer to just keep playing Under the Milky Way and this won’t get a look in.

Rod Whitfield

It was all very strange.  In the foyer, and even the arena itself, I was surrounded by banners and advertising.  As well as brand-name snacks and fast food, illuminated signs and animated video screens also promoted the jeans and designers shoes for sale at the shops underneath.  I wondered who decided in the midst of a rock concert that they needed new pants.  The ads continued as I took my seat, having to give way frequently to the popcorn and binoculars vendors and Pizza Hut and McDonald’s delivery boys patrolling the arena.  With all of these items not only for sale, but conveniently delivered to my seat, no where for sale in the whole venue was the one item I like to enjoy before a concert: a cool, alcoholic beverage.

The Cranberries,
Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines, April 10, 2012

There was no support band.  Maybe that explains the excited roar that passed through the crowd at the faintest murmur of a sweaty Irish roady performing soundcheck, or at the briefest flicker of the light test.

Eventually the Cranberries appeared on stage, looking much the same as they had fifteen years ago.  Dolores O’Riordan still looks like somebody’s quirky art teacher, entering the stage to enormous applause wearing what looked like a black lacy jumpsuit with a super-wide boxing title belt.  Over this she wore a light, white coat which caught dramatically in the breeze from on-stage fans.  Her jewel-encrusted Converse Chucks reflected the spotlights, and she completed the ensemble with a black trilby.

Although not putting on a particularly vibrant arena show, the band’s enthusiasm for performance was evident, and helped carry their concert, particularly for a band remembered for ‘that one song, and that other one too.’  The Greatest Hits set served as a reminder that the group did actually have several songs that performed well on radio, and some of the new songs also showed promise, mixing drum machines with the quiet-loud sound that made the group a hit in the 1990s.  They closed powerfully with the highlight of the entire set, Salvation.

Though I’ve never been too big of a Cranberries fan, it was an impressive performance which must have left me feeling good, because I was surprised to discover myself browsing the racks of baggy jeans in the doorway of a store called Anti-Fit on the way out of the Coliseum.

Daniel Gardner

I am not usually a fan of many heavy rock or heavy metal artists. With my inherent indie-rock/pop sensibilities, and as a devoted follower of artists such as Death Cab For Cutie, The Shins and Fleet Foxes, listening to heavier music is almost a cardinal sin. With the exception of Dead Letter Circus and Birds of Tokyo, I generally stick to the slower stuff. The Marsh Chapel Experiment, however, made an impression on me, and I found myself listening to the EP on repeat for hours. The EP is a bold statement from Arkayan, the five-piece rockers from Western Australia, and they have garnered my attention due to obvious musical prowess and a range of multifaceted songs.

The Marsh Chapel Experiment is the band’s follow up EP to Away from the world, their 2010 debut album. The EP works for me, I think, because Arkayan appear to understand the importance of inserting quieter layers amongst their heavier noise and powerful rock licks. With an impressive junction of guitar rock and soft metal, as well as the inclusion of poignant lyrics accompanied by a focus on complex melody, Arkayan have a rounded sound that place them well within the indie metal scene. So often, heavy metal albums sound like one, big plethora of noise with little regard to subtle changes in style or composition. Arkayan, like Dead Letter Circus and Birds Of Tokyo, instead take sounds and ideas from various genres to create an intricate, intelligent metal sound.

My favourite track was probably “Cincinnati Time Waste”, mainly because of the way it blended soft rock guitar picking and powerful rock chords. Throughout the entire six-track EP, the guitar work was a beautiful feature. From the stripped back rock on “Scarecrow” to the distorted guitar sound on “Chundle!”, it is apparent that guitarists Jon Mazzardis and Niall Ridgeway know their way around a guitar, and they created many memorable riffs and sounds. It may be a cardinal sin for someone of my tastes, but I for one am eagerly anticipating the next instalment from Arkayan.

Rating:

Luke Creely