The Strokes – Juicebox – RCA/SonyBMG
With a rumbling bass throughout, “Juicebox” immediately sets itself
apart from the Strokes of Is This It or Room on Fire by
sounding utterly crisp and clear – gone are the layers of distortion piled
on top of everything, giving “Juicebox” the sort of clean and crisp
sound that might – shock! horror! – actually deliver the Strokes
the hit single they so richly deserve. Clearly one of the most exciting released
of 2006, First Impressions of Earth cannot come soon enough.
Wolfmother – Mind’s Eye/Woman – Modular
Recordings
Single of the year? It’s gonna go close. As the first taster from the
band’s deadset thrilling debut set, “Mind’s Eye” unfurls
slowly, with Andrew Stockdale’s voice sounding nothing short of amazing,
like a cross between Robert Plant and Jack White. The song itself is pure Led
Zep, while the thrilling keyboard break that comes in some three-quarters of
the way through is pure Deep Purple. The newly re-recorded “Woman” is
a monster of a song, with the dynamics of Queens of the Stone Age pegged to
a fabbo pop song.
Bloc Party – Two More
Years – Wichita
The first new taster from the band – coming in the same year as their
debut, no less – “Two More Years” is perhaps a touch less
edgy than the material on Silent Alarm, with Kele Okereke
singing clearly. There’s none of the disjointed jauntiness found on their
debut, in favour of a sensible song structure. That style is found on b-side “Hero”,
but it’s “Two More Years”, with its linearity, that really
sets Bloc Party up for 2006.
Jane vs. World – B-Grade
Lisa Loeb – Popboomerang
Records/Shiny
Bouncy, happy pop music that’s somewhere between a commercial pop record
with killer hooks and an alternative one laced with irony and knowing winks, “B-Grade
Lisa Loeb” is most certainly one of the catchier tunes to ape the trend
for cheesy `80s keyboards, and at under two-and-a-half minutes is sincerely
simple and deliciously devious with its mega-pop nature.
Ben Lee – Into the Dark – Ten
Fingers/Inertia
With a clutch of ARIAs in his keeping, Ben Lee is
the new singer-songwriting star of the Australian
landscape…it’s only taken him a decade to
get there. Along the way there’s been pitfalls (getting dropped by Grand
Royal being one of them) and pratfalls (dubbing third album Breathing
Tornados, referenced in the lyrics here, the best Australian album
of all time being a good example). Now, though, as songs like “Into the
Dark” show, Ben is writing charmingly handsome pop songs that give away
none of the quirkiness of before, but instead come across as simple, and direct,
and effortlessly appealing.
The Fuzz – Take the Money – Fuzz
Music/Reverberation
Bursting with energy, Perth kids the Fuzz absolutely
go for the storming run-and-gun approach on “Take the Money”.
A bristling first taster of their impending debut
100 Demons, its all about the energy with “Take
the Money” – it moves in a similar manner to something like the
Distillers, but with far more aggression and a distinct edge to it. It points
to good signs for the band.
Sugababes – Push the Button – Island
Sugababes have always been the souped-up girl group from the UK it’s
okay to like – songs like “Overload” and “Freak Like
Me” (not-so-coincidentally, like “Push the Button”, the first
singles taken from their first two albums) were absolutely knock-out tunes. “Push
the Button” isn’t quite as good as either of those numbers, but
the added sex subtext to “Push the Button” offers something new.
Plus the build-up to the chorus is fantastic (totally Ronettes!), and the pay-off
is strong, if not mind-blowing.
Faker – Hurricane – Capitol
Once it’s in your head, “Hurricane” simply doesn’t
let go – that “Ooh la la” chorus repeated ad nausea is utterly
addictive. It’s made deliberately so, and in doing so Faker have relied
once more upon the rhythmic drumming of Paul Berryman, formerly of the Superjesus,
who has given this Sydney five-piece a solid backbone upon which they can rely.
The cover of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” is not a good
choice, however; if you can’t match (or beat) the original, why bother?
Coheed and Cambria – Welcome
Home – Equal
Vision/Columbia
A six minute long single that builds from acoustic
openings to a massive metal payoff? What is this,
the mid-1980s? With Wolfmother and Airbourne doing
it
for the `70s by sounding like the new incarnations of Led Zeppelin and AC/DC
respectively, Coheed and Cambria are doing it for Rush, or perhaps Queensryche.
It’s all bombastic string build-ups, squealing guitars, and the distinct
voice of frontman Claudio Sanchez. It’s all decidedly over-the-top, and
all the more enjoyable for it – this is crazily manic metal, but with
tunes and expressive dynamics.
Bernard Fanning – Wish
You Well – Dew
Process/UMA
It’s not too far removed from Powderfinger at their most open and acoustic,
but Bernard Fanning’s first solo single is certainly a slice of something.
He sings out clean and clearly, and the production is crisp and clear throughout.
It’s all a bit Pete Murray – the song is a mature singer-songwriter
effort, and it’s all perfectly charming. It’s also got a great
chorus, and a scant two-and-half minutes is ready made for radio. All in all,
it’s a fine beginning to an interesting side project.
Kisschasy – Face Without
a Name – Below
Par Records/Eleven: A Music Company
Not as instantly addictive as “Do-Do’s and Woah-oh’s”,
the first cut from the band’s solid debut United Paper People,
Melbourne four-piece Kisschasy have nevertheless come up with another solid
offering with “Face Without a Name”. They’re not quite emo,
they’re not quite a pure pop-rock act, and in Darren Cordeux they’ve
got one of the most talented young frontmen roaming the country, armed with
a guitar and three mates. The live b-sides show that they’re still not
quite together yet in that area, but their recordings are tight, punchy, and
catchy.
Shannon Noll – Shine – SonyBMG
‘The Australian Bryan Adams’ (only, y’know, without any of
the hard graft he went through to get to where he is) returns with another up-beat
pop-rocker. He’s sounding more and more like a ProTooled Robbie Williams,
and like Robbie he shares a writing credit not on the single, but on b-side “What
Love Is”. Lyrically it’s more than a touch naff, but it’s a
solid driving rock song that’s extremely commercial.
Elemeno P – Verona – UMA
The latest New Zealand act to start making waves in Australia, Elemeno P play
fuzzed up power pop in a perfectly radio-friendly way. Is it anything really
new, exciting, or viscerally thrilling? Hardly. It’s merely solid,
and standard.
Black Eyed Peas – My Humps – A&M
Records/UMA
One of the more horrid records you’re likely to hear this year, “My
Humps” finds Fergie from Black Eyed Peas singing about her boobs and
her bling over a beat that’s more than just a touch reminiscent of the
far more risqué and interesting “My Neck, My Back” from
a few years back.
Simply Red – Perfect Love – UMA
Simply Red still exist? Huh, who’da thunk it? When the pasty white Irish
lads got all soulful on previous singles, they pulled it off. On “Perfect
Love” they come over totally Santana/Rob Thomas Cuban-like, and it really,
really, REALLY does not work.