Illy - Swear Jar

1.   Who is he?

Illy is Australian rapper Alasdair Murray, who tells shit how it is from the mean streets of Melbourne since 2008. He has four long players in the vault and Swear Jar (Nov’15) is a stand alone single from an, as yet unannounced, fifth album. 

2. What kind of tune is Swear Jar?

A banger with a killer chorus, a big beat and smooth production that knows where the kitchen sink is. Lyrics you can hear and laugh to but with a serious message about idiots talking large online.

3. Who does Illy sound like?

Swear Jar reminds of the humour of Butterfingers' songs like Yo Mama or FIGJAM (Fuck I'm Good Just Ask Me). Swear Jar also has the same brand of honesty you find in Allday songs and the production quality of Hilltop Hoods tunes.

Artists Illy is generally similar to include Bliss N Eso, Thundamentals, 360, Pez and Seth Sentry.

4. What's the good word from the press?

Project U thought it is Illy's best song ever and has “a massive chorus and production from a pretty incredible source.” Triple J called Swear Jar a “filthy mouthed banger” and Rip It Up said, “It's a playfully pointed polemic.” There is mention elsewhere of “laid back soul grooves” and “gospel tones” while Speaker TV felt “his social commentary is on point.”

5.   Who are Illy's influences?

Illy’s influences in his young days were American gangster rap like Biggie, NAS and 2 Pac. Recently he has been listening to Kendrick Lamar and Hermitude. The man has some love for Aussie hip hop too, like Hilltop Hoods and Drapht.

6.   Why should I listen to Swear Jar?

The simple joy of telling someone "Fuck you" captured in a song that has a beat that bounces like a kid on a pogo stick and has a chorus as contagious as herpes. It's pretty funny while making a serious point about online abuse too. Some people just need called out.

7. What other good tunes does Illy have?

Tightrope is the next best, one of those tunes where they get a lass with a knock out voice to do the choruses. Where You Been is bombastic and features Pez while It Can Wait has able assistance from Owl Eyes and she is easy on the eye no mistake.

8. Anything else I should know?

Definitely. Swear Jar was produced by Rahki who produced Kendrick Lamar's knockout tune i.

Illy’s new album is being produced, in the main, by M-Phazes who has won a Grammy for his work with Eminem and put the hard yards in for Bliss N Eso, Kimbra and Eskimo Joe.

Illy has a law degree and speaks 3 second languages.

Illy is a man with a good heart, supporting charities against bullying, depression and suicide.

“All due respect here there's no respect due
So fuck you, fuck you man”

The double dip is courtesy of New Zealand’s greatest rock genius, the short lived rock wonder Darcy Clay. He recorded all the instruments himself on a four track in his bedroom and Jesus I Was Evil propelled him to instant fame including a support slot for Blur. Just months later he killed himself. Darcy was something special. Gone but never forgotten.

" I used to do things and I'd say things and Jesus I was evil,

Fake things and break things and Jesus I was evil, 
I never shook babies, I never beat no ladies"

The Dandy Warhols - You Are Killing Me

 

 

 

 

 

1.   Who are they?

The Dandy Warhols are from Portland, Oregon. Alot of good bands come from there.The Dandy's are an alternative rock band with a big Britpop lean, as Stereogum noted, “the best American Britpop band of all time”.

You Are Killing Me (Jan’16) is a stand-alone single from the men who have been ripping it up since 1994. A new album is in the works.

2.   What kind of tune is You Are Killing Me?

You Are Killing Me is an indie rock tune with a nasty big guitar groove reminiscent of Weezer or The Jesus and Mary Chain and able assistance from crunchy rhythm a la Carl Barat and the Jackals or The Clash. This is juxtaposed with smooth, soft vocals that create an intimate milieu.

3.   Who do The Dandy Warhols sound like?

You Are Killing Me sounds like a good Weezer song like Buddy Holly. The man at Stereogram was minded of The Cars.

During a career that has spanned more than two decades they have been compared often to The Brian Jonestown Massacre but also The Von Blondies, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Britpop greats like Suede, Pulp and Kula Shaker.

4.   What’s the good word from the press?

Louder Than War were succinct, "chugging and anthemic". Stereogram rehashed tired stereotypes of the band saying the new tune is “a hooky, efficient chugger that reminds me, weirdly enough, of the Cars, while it still has that old pretty sense of stoner drift to it.” Exclaim have the last word, You Are Killing Me is "palm-muted riffage, ethereal backing coos and retro-pop charm."

“So you're making news and changes
You should have made before you started killing me”

 

5. Who are The Dandy Warhol's influences?

The Dandy Warhols are broadly influenced by old school stuff like Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, Queen and The Rolling Stones.

More specifically though you can see they get their roll from some of the Britpop greats like The Verve, Pulp, Radiohead, Suede, Blur and The Charlatans.
 

 

6. Why should I listen to You Are Killing Me?

You Are Killing Me is about the death throes of a relationship with lyrics everyone can relate to. The juxtaposition of the vocals and guitars mirrors the love/hate dynamic in the end of a relationship. It is a bloody good song and a great return to form from some legendary old indie rockers.

7. What other good tunes do The Dandy Warhols have?

The big one that brought them fame and fortune was of course Bohemian Like You.  The next slice of greatness is Used To Be Friends and You Were The Last High is quite smooth.
 

8. Anything else I should know?

David Bowie was a big fan of the Dandy Warhols getting them concerts and they supported him on his 2003 A RealityTour as well as covering one of his tunes together, White Light/White Heat.

They re-arranged and performed the Mythbusters theme music which was used by the show until 2015.

The Dandy Warhol's have just signed to Dine Alone Records who are home to a variety of artists including The Cult, Alexisonfire, Fidlar and Heartless Bastards.

 

The long wait goes to David Bowie whose sad demise the world is lamenting and who obviously quite liked The Dandy Warhols. This is the disgracefully under-rated alternative rock band he formed with three other band members, the awesome Tin Machine. He made two albums with Tin Machine from 1988 to 1992 and sold over two million albums. Under The God (1989) was one of their finest, the only real ‘hit’ from a band who were grunge before grunge was a thing. The album producer Tim Palmer, after producing both Tin Machine albums, went on to produce Pearl Jam’s legendary 10 in 1991. These were the originals though. These were four good bastards who rocked hard.

 

“White trash picking up Nazi flags
While you was gone, there was war
This is the west, get used to it
They put a Swastika over the door”
 

 

The Thermals - Hey Now

 

 

 

1. Who are these legends?

The Thermals are a three piece indie rock band with a liberal injection of punk from Portland, Oregon. They have been putting calluses on their fingers since 2002. Hey Now (Jan’16) is the first single from their seventh album We Disappear (March’16).

 
2. What kind of tune is Hey Now?

Hey Now is a garage punk anthem. It rips shit up and ain't taking names nor prisoners. Hey Now is a bloody belter.

3.   Who do The Thermals sound like?

Hey You is song that wouldn't be embarrassed to be caught in bed with Titus Andronicus' Dimed Out, The Orwells' Let It Burn or GHOSTS Love/Hate. Old school is in the house, think The Ramones, Nirvana or, further leftfield, Sham 69.  More generally they roll something like Against Me!, The Dismemberment Plan at times, even Spoon or Sleater-Kinney.

4. Who are The Thermal's influences?

The lead singer/guitar player, Hutch Harris, has cited Green Day as a direct influence while saying they are big Metallica fans. Hutch also said recently if they were to cover an album in it's entirety he'd plump for Weezer's Pinkerton or The Strokes' Is This It? Honorable mentions were for Speedy Ortiz, The Breeders and Sleater-Kinney. Kathy Foster the bass player has big-upped The Wipers, The Ramones and Hot Snakes.

 

 



5. What’s the good word from the press about Hey Now?

“Short and punchy,” said Under The Radar doing their best to emulate the song. Consequence of Sound thought,“There’s a shamble to the track that leans playfully to pop, but The Thermals haven’t abandoned their thunderous indie styles by any means.” About the new album We Disappear Vulture Hound hoorayed that The Thermals have “delivered one of their most spirited, anthemic, and rousing releases to date.”

6. Why should I listen to Hey Now?

Hey Now is riotious rock'n'roll tune with searing guitar and lyrics that celebrates the fact that we must shuffle off this mortal coil! Fear nothing and rock on!

7.   What other good tunes do The Thermals have?

Well compadre Returning To The Fold slows things down a tad to groove and is top notch. Now We Can See has an indie slash Pixies feel and a so addictive it should come with a surgeon generals warning chorus. A Pillar Of Salt thrashes away and won't let you down.

 
8.   Anything else I should know?

Chris Walla the former guitarist for Death Cab For Cutie produced the album and he worked with them before on at least three of their long players. So continuity there aye?

Hutch Harris has said of the new album, “Technology, love and death are the three obsessions of the record. Our privacy used to be so important to us and now everything has changed.”

“The only sound I can hear

Is deep in the ground and calling me near”

 

 

Next up is Florida punk rock band Against Me! Don’t Lose Touch (2006) is their finest and dick or no dick one of the finest punk songs I have ever heard.

 

 

 

 

 

King Charles - Gamble For A Rose

1. Who is this deluded muppet?

King Charles is Charles Costa, an indie folk pop rocker from the big smoke, London, England. He’s been making sweet ear juice since 2007. Gamble For A Rose (Nov’15) is the second single from his second album Gamble For A Rose (Jan’16).

2. What kind of tune is Gamble For A Rose?

Gamble For A Rose is a gentle, thoughtful, passionate, swaying love ballad with acoustic guitar picking and soft piano accompaniment. It builds up the musical textures piece by piece; layered vocals, drums, guitar, bass and violins increase the intensity. Gamble For A Rose is as sweet as a sixteen year old wearing pink pyjamas and holding a cup of hot chocolate.

 
3. Who does King Charles sound like?

Imagine Guns'N'Roses November Rain played by an indie pop band. A slight sense of maudlin tempers the optimism. 

More generally King Charles is similar to Spector, Air Traffic Controller, Avalanche City, Stornoway, Edward Sharpe and the Magnificient Zeroes and Noah and the Whale.

4. Who are the barber dodgers influences?

Charles Costa was a big Bob Dylan fan as a school kid and still professes his love for the legend. King Charles has also confessed to idolizing Charlie Fink the singer/songwriter for Noah and the Whale. One assumes the man has some love, probably physical in nature, for Mumford and Sons.

5. What have the press got to say about King Charles?

Clash Music called King Charles first opus, Loveblood (2012) "swaggering, defiant and inspiring" and were enthusiastic about the new tune Gamble For A Rose saying it is a "soaring, passionate return."  Bitter Sweet Symphonies reckoned the new song "captures the wondrous, magical feeling of first loves" and that King Charles can "describe matters of the heart in such vivid colour and with such breadth of sentiment is what makes his music so powerful."
  

6. Why should I listen to Gamble For A Rose?

Gamble For A Rose encapsulates both the doubts, fears and loss of ego that falling in love with another brings and the joy of travelling on one of lifes biggest adventures. It's passionate, universal and layers musical textures to perfection. Hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck raising stuff.

7. What other good tunes does this chap have?

 Bam Bam bounces like a buggerer's bum and is a classic slice of snappy indie pop. Loose Change For The Boatman is the first single from Gamble For A Rose and is just as intense with a greater sense of urgency. Last but not least Mississippi Isabel pops like a nuns cherry.

8.  Anything else I should know?

The new album was produced by Marcus Mumford, yep that dude from Mumford and Sons. Mr Mumford sang and played drums on most the tunes. Charlie Fink from Noah and the Whale was also involved.

King Charles is mates with Spector and they did swappsies with their new tunes to get advice.

King Charles has been on fluffer duties for bands like Panic! At The Disco, Mumford and Sons and Noah And The Whale.

King Charles did a British cover version, with way better lyrics, of We Didn't Start The Fire.

King Charles plays the guitar, piano, and cello. He is also a classically trained singer and sang in the school choir.

“Oh did you see love in my eyes or were you gazing through this disguise

I guess you could call this my gamble for a rose”

Slippery seconds comes from King Charles’ idols, the English indie folk pop band Noah and the Whale and their brightest gem, L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N (2011).