TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB
HOW TAKING A BREAK CAN< PLUS: BEPULL-A BLESSING OUT POSTER INSIDE > WHY MUSIC FESTIVALS NEED TO GET SMARTER ABOUT DRUGS NEW FOUND GLORY RETURN TO AUSTRALIA TO MAKE US SICK ALSO INSIDE: CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, MONTAIGNE, THE ROVER, GAME ON AND MORE!
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB
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in this issue
free stuff
what you’ll find inside…
head to: thebrag.com/freeshit
6
The Frontline
7
How many musical legends can you identify from these animal clues?
8
Back To Business
10-11
Two Door Cinema Club are bringing a new attitude to Splendour In The Grass 2017
12-13 New Found Glory talk punk and parenting, plus five songs you may not know
20-23
(12-13)
20-23 Don’t Quit Your Day Job: How Australian Musicians Pay Their Bills In A Difficult Industry The Rover
25
Arts reviews
26
Food & Drink: Sydney’s most expensive brunch Game On visits E3
Mookhi
15
Montaigne
27
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Catfish And The Bottlemen
17
Broken Social Scene
28-31 Why Music Festivals Need To Get Smarter About Drugs
18
Oh Wonder
32
Album reviews, First Drafts
33
Off The Record, Out & About
34-36 Live reviews 38
Gig guide
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB
They burst onto the scene in 2010 with their ultra-bright debut Tourist History, and now Irish indie-pop trio Two Door Cinema Club are back with their first album in four years – the new and improved Gameshow. The lads are headlining at the Hordern Pavilion before making the roadtrip to Byron Bay and joining the spectacular lineup at this year’s Splendour In The Grass. To celebrate TDCC’s return to our shores, we’re giving away a double-pass to the Hordern gig on Friday July 21. Enter the draw at thebrag.com/freeshit.
the frontline with Nathan Jolly, Brandon John, Chris Martin, Tyler Jenke and David Molloy ISSUE 720: Wednesday July 12, 2017 PRINT EDITOR: David Molloy david.molloy@seventhstreet.media NEWS DIRECTOR: Nathan Jolly STAFF WRITER: Joseph Earp NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Tyler Jenke, Brandon John ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHER: Ashley Mar COVER PHOTO: David Gray ADVERTISING: Josh Burrows - 0411 025 674 josh.burrows@seventhstreet.media PUBLISHER: Seventh Street Media CEO, SEVENTH STREET MEDIA: Luke Girgis - luke.girgis@seventhstreet.media MANAGING EDITOR: Poppy Reid poppy.reid@seventhstreet.media THE GODFATHER: BnJ GIG GUIDE COORDINATOR: Anna Wilson gigguide@seventhstreet.media REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Arca Bayburt, Lars Brandle, Tanja Brinks Toubro, Chelsea Deeley, Matthew Galea, Emily Gibb, Jennifer Hoddinett, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Anna Rose, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Jade Smith, Aaron Streatfeild, Augustus Welby, Jessica Westcott, Zanda Wilson, Stephanie Yip, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Carrie Huang - accounts@seventhstreet.vc (02) 9713 9269 Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046 DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Seventh Street Media Pty Ltd All content copyrighted to Seventh Street Media 2017 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get the BRAG? Email george@seventhstreet.vc PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204
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BRAG Editor Chris Martin (not pictured)
CHRIS MARTIN MOVES ON Sad news at BRAG HQ as four-yearstrong editor Chris Martin takes his cue to exit in pursuit of new career opportunities. The magazine has gone from strength to strength under his tenure, and his dedication to Sydney’s music scene will no doubt continue in one form or another. Managing editor Poppy Reid, news director Nathan Jolly and print editor David Molloy assume his responsibilities.
SOUNDS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT Seattle Repertory Theatre has commissioned a grunge musical set in the city during the early 1990s which will feature “an original, fictional story told with preexisting songs of the era.” The music will be plucked from BMG’s catalogue, which features heavy-hitters of the time, such as Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Hole and Alice in Chains. Nirvana and Hole’s ex-manager Janet Billig Rich will oversee the licensing of these songs. Interestingly, Variety notes that the composers of these works will be included as authors of the theatrical piece, given the lyrics will play an integral part in the story-telling. No further information regarding casting, or the musical’s title, has been made available. Until then, let’s be sensible and just refer to it as I Hate Myself And Want To Die: The Theatrical Spectacular.
AN OZ SHAPED TOUR Radiohead have been busy of late, knocking over a long run of dates for their A Moon Shaped Pool tour and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the seminal OK Computer, but Australia has so far been left out of the equation. While the band haven’t toured Australia since 2012, a recent interview Ed O’Brien had with BBC Two gives us a final shred of hope for a tour before the band
disappear back into the ether to focus on solo work once again. As CoS report, the guitarist revealed to the BBC that they have a “little tour” in the works before some “down time”, and we can only hope it’s meant to clean up the loose ends that weren’t covered on their recent shows – including Australia. “We will hang up our Radioheads…” he continued. “It’s time for everyone to go off and do their own thing for a bit.”
APPEAL TO (UN)REASON Rise Against are heading back to Australia for their biggest tour yet, although you’ll have to wait until next year for the US outfit to bring their eighth LP Wolves to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Supported by Cali punk outfit SWMRS, Rise Against have a pretty specific goal in mind for the record and ensuing shows, walking a line between safety and danger. “In many ways, a Rise Against show is a safe space for our fans,” says frontman Tim McIlrath. “But I realised… I want to create dangerous spaces where misogyny can’t exist, where xenophobia can’t exist. I want to create spaces where those sentiments don’t have any air, and they suffocate: where those ideas die,” he adds. “Wolves isn’t about creating a safe space, it’s about creating a space that’s dangerous for injustice.” Fans can immerse themselves in the album right now, which will tide them over until Rise Against hit the Hordern Pavilion on Tuesday February 13.
Ages Access grant program, which funds all-ages events in inner Sydney. The All Ages Access Grants will provide funding of up to $15,000 per application to cover artist fees, production and promotion costs for events in inner Sydney between October 23, 2017 and March 2, 2018. Applications close at 5pm on Friday September 29. Successful applicants will be announced on October 9.
A WAKE UP CALL FOR SYDNEY LIVE MUSIC The Red Bull Music Academy’s flagship event, the Red Bull Music Academy Weekender, is happening again in Sydney next month. 2016 was the debut year for the festival in Sydney, with 11 electronic music gigs taking over venues as diverse as Carriageworks, Cake Wines Cellar Door and Palace Verona, alongside The Domain, which hosted a massive show from Flight Facilities with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. This year’s Sydney program will run from Thursday August 31 – Sunday September 3, with both the lineup and tickets available online.
Meg Mac
FESTIVAL FUNDS Create NSW, in collaboration with the Live Music Office, is inviting expressions of interest from councils in regional New South Wales and Western Sydney for funding to stage free ‘Live and Local’ mini-festivals in 2017 and 2018. The grants will support six local government areas, and range from $5,000 up to $20,000, earmarked to cover musicians’ booking fees and organisational costs. Musicians and music lovers from around the state are invited to encourage their local politicians to get involved. The NSW State Government has been under scrutiny for its cultural policies ever since the introduction of the lockout laws in the Sydney CBD, but any assistance it provides for live music in regional areas can only be a good thing. For more information about the Live and Local funding, including how you can get involved on an individual level, email lucy@livemusicoffice.com.au. MusicNSW and the City of Sydney have also opened the second round of their All
HITTING HIGH Meg Mac’s first (and highlyanticipated) LP Low Blows drops this Friday, but you’ll be able to hear it a bit sooner than that if you tune into triple j, as she’s taken out this week’s Feature Album honours. Its title track and follow-up singles ‘Maybe It’s My First Time’ and ‘Don’t Need Permission’ already have us hugely excited for the first full release since she burst onto the scene with her 2014 EP MegMac, followed by a national album tour in September. She’s managed to fend off Jay-Z’s 4:44 to take the top spot, although you’ll still be hearing plenty of the Tidal-exclusive record throughout the week as well.
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Two Door Cinema Club photo by David Gray
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“That’s the key to being in a band: a bit of blind faith. I mean, God, you’re playing in a fucking band!”(17)
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“If the crowd’s boring, we’re gonna put on a boring show.”
name the artists
How many musical legends can you identify from these animal clues?
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Back To Business Music Industry News powered by The Industry Observer
Ed Kuepper
Prince
BRISBANE PARK A GO BETWEEN In 2010, the Hale Street Link in Brisbane was renamed Go Between Bridge, in honour of the great Brisbane band. Now, Ed Kuepper, founding member of The Saints, is set to be immortalised (kinda) with a park near his childhood home in Oxley to be renamed after him. Ed Kuepper Park was approved by the council after a petition gathered more than 800 signatures. Kuepper himself is pleased by the honour, but feels it should extend further than the two bands. “When I was a kid, I liked being pointed towards where certain things happened,” he told The Guardian. “That kind of thing really impressed me. So yes, I do think it’s nice having little plaques around to point out that such and such a person did this at a certain place, or this incident happened here or there. Be it arts or history, I like it.”
STREAM-RIPPING SICKNESS CD-Rs are old hat, MP3s are so last decade. The fastest-rising piracy plague in the UK is stream-ripping, a blight “overwhelmingly overshadowing all other illegal music services,” according to a new report. Stream-ripping grew by more than 140% in the years from 2014 to 2016, when nearly 500,000 occurrences were recorded. And it’s by far the most prevalent form of music piracy in the world’s number five-ranked recorded music market, accounting for almost 70% of all music-specific infringements. If you’re not familiar with stream-ripped files, they can be built with apps, websites, plug-ins and specially-developed software and, once saved, can be played offline on any digital device. YouTube was identified as the popular source for illegal streamripping, according to the publication – entitled, ‘Stream-ripping: How it works and its role in the UK music piracy landscape’ – while SoundCloud, Spotify and Deezer were the big targets among the licensed
platforms. Search engines such as YouTube owner Google were found to direct a “significant proportion” of traffic to the stream-ripping services.
SPOTIFAKE Fake it ’til you make it. It’s a catchphrase eternally associated with showbiz, and it’s now being pinned to the tech world. Specifically, the market-leading streaming service Spotify, which has been accused of paying producers to create songs under dodgy pseudonyms. According to a feature published by Vulture, Spotify has been filling its playlists with fake artists – or “coverbots and ripoff artists” – which saves the subscription platform cash that would otherwise be funneled to genuine music makers. It’s a claim which opens up a whole new skirmish in the creative industry’s battle to close the “value gap”. The article delves into how Spotify’s platform is gamed by others for a buck, and how Spotify is playing its own tricky game. By placing these fake tracks in popular playlists, the streamer “tricks
Kanye West
PURPLE STREAM
If you’ve ever tried to show your mates just how good Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ music video is, chances are that you’ve managed upon a stumbling block of sorts: namely that the video was pulled from YouTube by none other than Prince himself. But the good news is that, thanks to Prince’s estate, some of the music legend’s music videos are finally being allowed on the video sharing site. Prince’s attitude toward sites like YouTube was rather well known – he actually went so far as to ban his music from the site he once famously threatened to sue. In fact, back in March of last year, Prince responded to fans asking about the removal of his videos by stating, “Since YouTube doesn’t pay equitable licensing fees, isn’t that a nonsensical question?” You may also recall that earlier this year, Prince’s music finally came to streaming services, after being exclusively available on Tidal previously. Maybe this means that Prince’s estate is a lot more open towards the idea of streaming and the future of the music industry. listeners into thinking the artists actually exist and limits the opportunities for real music-makers to make money.” The real loser in all this is the listener, the writer notes. The Swedish-originated business, which boasts more than 100 million active daily users and is enthusiastically
Jay-Z
supported by the industry, has yet to comment.
SOUNDCLOUD’S SILVER LINING CUTS DEEP SoundCloud have made drastic costcutting measures, cutting 173 staff members and closing their offices in London and San Francisco, with plans to operate between NYC and Berlin (like Lou Reed did in the ’70s). SoundCloud CEO and co-founder Alexander Ljung warned shareholders in January the company could very well “run out of cash” by the end of the year without a financial injection. Ljung posted a note about the cutbacks, writing, “by reducing our costs and continuing our revenue growth, we’re on our path to profitability.”
STILL VICTORIOUS
THE TIDAL DROPOUT
Reports have since emerged that this amount wasn’t a gift, as the verses infer, but actually an advance on earnings from the Saint Pablo tour. Whatever the case, it would appear that part of being a successful “business, man” is making decisions that fracture friendships. For the sake of Blue Ivy and North West’s future girl group (keep Matt Knowles out of it, please), let’s hope they reconcile.
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Prince photo courtesy of Warner Music
Kanye West’s The Life Of Pablo was the first album to go platinum purely based on streaming; while a significant chart milestone, it resulted in Ye leaving millions of dollars on the table in lost sales. Money remains an issue in Kanye’s Tidal saga, and it has resulted in him leaving the streaming service – with his lawyers claiming he is owed $3 million for marketing and video production costs for The Life Of Pablo, as well as subscriber bonuses from the 1.5 million users who signed up to trial the service based solely on TLOP being an exclusive. Jay-Z references giving Kanye $20 million on his new record 4:44 – on the song ‘Kill Jay-Z’, he raps, “But you got hurt because you did cool by Ye / You gave him 20 million without blinkin’ / He gave you 20 minutes onstage, fuck was he thinkin’?”
Forget the threat of terrorist attacks: British concertgoers are going to keep calm and carry on as usual. That’s the gist of a new UK report into the wants of festival fans. In wake of alarming – and fatal – incidents in London and Manchester, ticketing agency Skiddle conducted a poll of nearly 1,000 people and found that 93% of those who purchased a ticket to a festival this year will go as planned, and more than three quarters of respondents won’t be scared off from attending shows. Over half (55%) said they are unwilling to give up live music. The study gives an insight into Britons’ stiff upper lip, and it’s a prescient one, given Ariana Grande’s concert at Manchester Arena on May 22 was targeted by a suicide bomber, a tragedy which took the lives of 22 and injured many more. Few, it would seem, are ignorant to these troubled times we live in. Slightly more than a third of those interviewed said they believe concerts and music festivals were safe to attend. The agency’s research was conducted between June 27-29 with 958 people from its database.
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COVER STORY
Two Door Cinem A Young Man’s Game By David James Young Photo by David Gray
H
ere’s a question: is it too soon for 2010s nostalgia? It may seem a ridiculous idea, but as we edge closer to the end of the decade, it’s interesting to see how things have changed – what’s come and gone, and who’s still around to tell the tale.
A band like Two Door Cinema Club, who rose to prominence in their early 20s as the indie-pop pride of Northern Ireland, know this all too well. “We did a tour through England recently, and we were meeting some fans by the stage door after this gig,” begins Sam Halliday, the lead guitarist of the band. “There was a kid there that was probably around 20 years old – I assumed he probably only got into us recently. When we get around to him, though, he’s holding a copy of [debut album, 2010’s] Tourist History for us to sign. He says to us that he got that album when he was 13, and it was one of the first albums he ever bought with his own money! We were blown away. This album that doesn’t feel like it came out all that long ago was a part of this kid’s life through his entire teenage years. It made us feel so old!” As someone who got into music heavily during his own teens, Halliday is acutely aware of the role it can play in one’s life at such a pertinent time. “You change so much when you’re at that age. It’s so cool to see that our music was there for kids like that – and the fact that a lot of teenagers still come to see our shows now means a lot, as well.”
It was while Halliday – along with vocalist/guitarist Alex Trimble and bassist Kevin Baird – was still in high school that Two Door Cinema Club first came into existence. Originally taking the name Life Without Rory, the band eventually morphed its current sound and formation around 2007, as the members moved on from their school days and into university – or, at least, that was the plan. By the time their debut EP Four Words To Stand On was released in 2008, it was abundantly clear that none of the band would be making time for higher education, for the time being.
“Previously, we would have thought so the-top; too silly. We allowed for things
“We’ve been playing together since we were maybe 14 years old,” says Halliday. “By the time Two Door was a thing, we only had one year of school left. At that point, we knew that this was something that we wanted to pursue – it’s all we ever chatted about. We made the call to put off uni for a year and release an EP. We only wanted to sell copies of that EP so we could buy a van and tour in the UK – that was as lofty as our ambitions were.” The rest, as they say, is history – Tourist History, even – and although many bands have come and gone, Two Door have shown the skill it takes to adapt and evolve. It’s worth mentioning that Halliday, Trimble and Baird have seen each other through almost 15 years’ worth of music, across practically half their lifetime. When queried on what has kept their bond so strong as they’ve grown up and changed as people, Halliday thinks out loud on the matter. “We still love doing it. We’ve definitely all changed – musically, we can all be on very different pages from time to time. I
“We only wanted to sell copies of that [first] EP so we could buy – that was as lofty as our ambitions were.” 10 :: BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17
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“It’s a bit like a marriage at this point, really. Sometimes, it’s really lovely and fun. Other times, it’s shit.”
a Club
guess it’s the fact that we’ve seen each other through so much. We know each other so well. I don’t know... it’s a bit like a marriage at this point, really. Sometimes, it’s really lovely and fun. Other times, it’s shit. Throughout all of it, though, is our commitment. I guess we’re kind of old-school in that sense. We have a real mutual respect for one another and for the band. There’s no one thing specifically. We just trust each other.” That trust was crucial in the lead-up to the band releasing album number three, entitled Gameshow, this past October. A further exploration of their glam, disco and pop influences, Gameshow was concocted through experimentation, trial and error and – perhaps most importantly – a degree of patience and understanding. “When we got back into the studio to make this album, the first week was really difficult,” Halliday admits. “As fun as making music is for us, we were still really nervous about what we were doing. We were also working with Jacknife Lee, who’s a really big producer and someone that we had never worked with before. I think a lot of the pressure was internal – I’d just be standing there in the booth, clutching my guitar, telling myself over and over again not to fuck up the part. ‘This guy has worked with everyone,’ I was thinking. ‘Do you want to be the worst guitar player he’s recorded?’ I think it also took us a little while to be comfortable with sharing ideas with one another again – especially considering it had been so long since we’d done it.” As the creative process for Gameshow went on, Halliday and co. were in a constant state of questioning – who was this music for, what was it, and what did it say about them? They’ve come out the other end of it all the more confident in the band as a collective unit, as well as a band that’s prepared to properly test their mettle when needed.
mething like a guitar solo was too overlike that to happen.”
“When you’ve been around for a while, there’s always that underlying fear that you’ve been forgotten,” says Halliday. “There’s such a massive turnover these days – bands replace other bands so fast, and there’s a sense that if you take any sort of break you’ll be left behind. It’s not something we ever talked about, but it was something that was always in the back of our minds. I think taking that break from the band ended up being a blessing – by the time we came back and made this album, we’d kind of forgotten what we were supposed to do. When you’re in that cycle, you’re so set in a mindset of what your band is and what it sounds like. You’re so aware – I mean, you do it every night.” Two Door Cinema Club is still Sam, Alex and Kevin. It probably always will be. The music of Two Door Cinema Club, however? It’s never going to stop changing. “Our goal with this record was to make something that was fun – something that we enjoyed,” says Halliday. “With this album, we were able to do things that we never would have done before. This album’s a little more tongue-in-cheek. It indulges more. “Previously, we would have thought something like a guitar solo was too over-the-top; too silly. We allowed for things like that to happen – it was just like, ‘Let’s go for it.’ The other option was that we would just go in and make a bad version of our first record – and I can guarantee that no one would have cared about that at all.” What: Gameshow out now through Parlophone/Warner With: Last Dinosaurs + The Creases Where: Hordern Pavilion When: Friday July 21 And: Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands with The xx, LCD Soundsystem, Queens Of The Stone Age and many more from Friday July 21 – Sunday July 23
a van and tour in the UK
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“I’d just be standing there in the booth, clutching my guitar, telling myself over and over again not to fuck up the part.” BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17 :: 11
New Found Glory Hashtag Dad Life By Joseph Earp
“If the crowd’s boring, we’re gonna put on
J
ordan Pundik, lead singer of poppunk mainstays New Found Glory, is exhausted. But it’s not the nine-week international tour he has just wrapped up that has so worn him out – he got through that globetrotting set of shows just fine. No, Pundik is scraping the bottom of his emotional barrel thanks to his other job as the father of two young boys – which, as far as he is concerned, is a far more draining occupation. “I’m just sweeping up my fucking house because my kids leave a trail of fucking death everywhere,” Pundik laughs, with the slight grimace of a very tired man twisting around his words. “Or a trail of tears, I don’t know.” As is to be expected, becoming a father has changed Pundik’s life. Suddenly he’s found that he can’t just skip out on tour whenever he feels like it, or whenever his dedicated, committed fans start to miss him. He is constantly spinning plates, making sure the call of the road never overwhelms the call of two young kids – and, come to mention it, the call of his wife.
“It’s definitely a challenge balancing the music and home. My two little kids are six years old and three years old, and they’re just, you know, insane. My wife is kinda just figuring it out on her own a lot of the time. And then I just come home and I fuck up the whole process. All the rules she put in place, all that stuff… I just fuck it up. And she’s like, ‘God, please just leave, just go on tour.’” He laughs. “Although it is a little like, ‘Please go on tour, but also please don’t go on tour.’ So it’s all about fi nding that balance of being able to all see each other when we can. Luckily we have Skype and Facebook, so that kind of helps too.” That balance has been a little upset recently, thanks to the demands of both New Found Glory’s 20th anniversary celebrations and the release of their thrumming, jubilant new record Makes Me Sick. 2016 was one of the band’s busiest years in decades, and 2017 is already shaping up to be even busier, meaning Pundik’s on-tour homesickness has transformed from a low hum to a deafening wail.
“I’m just sweeping up my fucking my kids leave a trail of fucking de “Lately I get so homesick,” he says, a little ruefully. “Just cause I know what it’s like for my wife being at home, her technically being a single parent just because I’m gone so often. My last tour that I just finished, the 20-year tour, that was nine weeks long. It’s a long time to be away.” And the touring commitments aren’t over, either: Pundik and his band have another long string of dates ahead of them. “We’re coming to Australia soon, and then we’re going right from Australia to Japan, then we have a couple of weeks off and then it’s straight to the UK. So nothing is coming up that’s as long as the tour I just finished, but it does just mean that I’ll be coming in and out constantly.” Luckily, Pundik has two decades of touring experience under his belt. New Found Glory are practically a polished machine at this stage – they have their blend of anthemic choruses and self-deprecating,
“I like seeing the kids that are up against the barrier and then just the sea of black.” 12 :: BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17
tongue-in-cheek lyrics down pat, and know how to best weather the strains of hitting the road. “I’ve gotten used to touring,” Pundik agrees. “I’ve gotten to know what I have to do to get over it. Like, if I’m leaving California it will usually be at night and I’ll get to Australia in the daytime, which means I’ll just sleep as long as I can. Then, when we get there, I’ll just try and stay up till the night-time. The shows are hard though. We play 27 songs a night. It’s definitely physically draining.” Of course, Pundik and his band don’t have to go it alone: they have their fan base to support them. And what a fan base. New Found Glory have evolved from a scrappy young band of outsiders, to mainstream titans, to living legends, and their dedicated admirers treat them thusly. To meet a New Found Glory fan is to meet one of contemporary music’s most loyal listeners – and Pundik is appreciative of every ounce of goodwill that gets thrown his way, particularly when he’s performing. “The energy of the crowd has always been awesome, so that helps us perform too … If the lights are on brighter than normal, then thebrag.com
FEATURE
N a boring show.”
ew Found Glory are nine albums deep, and have also amassed a scattered collection of outtakes, B-sides, quirky covers, songs recorded for compilations and soundtracks, and even Christmas tunes. To celebrate the fact the guys are heading to Australia soon for their 20 Years Of Pop Punk tour, we decided to dig through their back catalogue and highlight the weird and wonderful NFG tunes that even hardcore fans might not be aware of.
‘Scraped Knees’ (1997) Of all the songs from the band’s debut release, the It’s All About The Girls EP, ‘Scraped Knees’ is the most freewheeling, and the one that’s subsequently held up the best. The band’s first EP is noticeably more lo-fi than the rest of their records, with the same cardboard-thwacking drum sound that was a feature on early Blink albums. It’s a helium-infused, punk pop blast – exciting, energetic and a clear sign that, melodically, the band were already ahead of the pack. It’s clear why they switched drummers though…
‘Jóga’ (2008) Tip Of The Iceberg was NFG’s second EP, released independently a mere month after their greatest hits collection marked the end of their relationship with Geffen. As they have a habit of doing, the guys recorded a handful of covers which featured on the EP. The Japanese bonus track was the most unlikely of these covers – perhaps why it failed to make the US release of the EP – an upbeat and driving cover of Björk’s haunting ‘Jóga’. The band play it straight, thankfully, and eschew the icy electronica of the original for a more crunching version.
‘ISHC Theme Song’ (2006)
house because ath everywhere.” I don’t like it. I like seeing the kids that are up against the barrier and then just the sea of black. Just everybody’s heads. That’s what fuels me, the people up at the barrier. “Because if the crowd’s boring, we’re gonna put on a boring show. I mean, we try to put on the best show that we can, but we’re definitely not going to be on our A-game without the help of the crowd.” But what about Pundik’s most dedicated admirers – his two young boys? Surely they give him all the support and attention that he needs as a touring musician? Perhaps not. “They listen to the music sometimes … but they get a little bored. They’d rather listen to The Aquabats. They’ve been to some shows and some festivals and they just get bored really fast.” Pundik laughs. “They just wanna play on the iPad or something.” What: Makes Me Sick out now through Hopeless/Unified Where: Metro Theatre When: Thursday August 10 and Friday August 11
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The International Superheroes Of Hardcore were a muck-around side project featuring all five members of NFG, who broke up the tedium and serious nature of their day job demoing tracks for Coming Home with a rush of comedically-leaning hardcore songs. As Jordan Pundik explained at the time, they went stir crazy in an isolated house in the hills of Malibu. “We would start freaking out. We’d, like, get in our underwear and get crazy, and play stupid hardcore songs. I would pick up the guitar and play fun riffs, and then Chad would grab the mic and start screaming stuff, and then we thought, ‘Man, we should actually really write some hardcore songs and just record the songs on our equipment that we have here.’ So that’s what we did, and we ended up recording, like, 16 songs just for fun.” Most of the songs go for under 90 seconds, and the ‘ISHC Theme Song’ does what every good theme should, setting the mission statement perfectly, and hilariously. “We’re taking over,” they yell, on an album that also features songs about Harry Potter. The best thing is, this is actually a great hardcore song.
‘Constant Static’ (2004) Tucked away at the end of the band’s contractual Hits collection, ‘Constant Static’ previously appeared as a bonus track on particular versions of the Catalyst record, and could have easily slipped past the ears of fans with all the albums who didn’t bother with expensive reissues or redundant collections. It’s a punchy punk gem, and another of those shoulda-been-on-the-record type singles.
‘Ex-Miss’ (2003) A cleverly punny title, a blasting Christmas tale of broken hearts and broken holiday spirits. One of a number of seasonal songs from the band – despite grumbling through this one like punk rock Scrooges, this is the least known, tucked away on a compilation called A Santa Cause: It’s A Punk Rock Christmas. The first four notes of the main riff are a dead ringer for ‘Just Ace’ by Grinspoon, and the ‘Jingle Bells’ interpolation in the guitar solo is a nice touch, too. BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17 :: 13
Mookhi No Harm, No Foul By Zanda Wilson
“I’m not really chasing what’s on the radio.”
“I knew that I could go down the more commercial route but I want to show that I can be experimental as well.”
FEATURE
areas, different moments of my learning – different emotional states as well, so I had to choose which ones are the best collection that represent how diverse I want to be at this time. So I knew that I could go down the more commercial route but I want to show that I can be experimental as well.” There’s undoubtedly an unspoken pressure on young Aussie musicians to create material that is radiofriendly and fi ts in with the triple j sound, and while Mookhi admits to taking inspiration from other successful artists, she also believes her willingness to push those boundaries has served her well so far. “I don’t like to chase a sound,” she says. “I like to be inspired by what I’m listening to on the radio but I honestly don’t like to chase a sound. I feel like to get played on radio you’ve got to be able to push boundaries and to show that this is your style, so I don’t think my intentions when I write a song are ever around thinking whether people will listen to this song. It’s more that I hope once I put it out there that the music will really resonate with the right people, and they will follow it. “So it really just comes down to what I’m inspired by at the time. I’m not really chasing what’s on the radio.” Cracking the music scene as a producer has never been harder, such is the sheer quantity of music being created today, and Mookhi’s rise can be put down – at least in part – to her use of uncommon and unexpected samples. “The whole sampling process is pretty creative,” she says. “It could be that I’m walking down the street and hear construction, so I get out my phone and record the sound and maybe use it later.” For Mookhi, it’s about putting together elements that trigger certain responses in her listeners. “I like to combine musical elements with tactile sounds so you get this quite unusual layering where you get something that you’ve heard on the street, and pairing it with something that is quite melodic. “It triggers quite an unusual experience for the audience and so it’s more just experimenting with different sounds, not so much immediately deciding that this bird sample would work well with a specifi c chord. It’s about thinking, ‘How I can make this more unusual than it is now?’”
R
ising Sydney producer Mookhi is on the cusp of further fulfi lling her amazing potential. Following the release of her debut single ‘Foul Play’ in January this year, she delivered an EP of the same name that utilised innovative sampling and less conventional song structures. It was largely a process of elimination and
selection for Mookhi, and it was far from an easy task putting together a concise four-track delivery. “I think initially I produced a new track nearly every single day,” Mookhi explains of her creative process. “So I had this huge collection of tracks and I was thinking that they represent different
Given the nature of her music, it wasn’t altogether surprising that Mookhi recently released a bizarre new music video for her track ‘Lacunae’. “I delved deep into the dark web one really early morning, or really late night depending on how you look at it,” she laughs. “I discovered all these incredible archives of 35mm footage that was
taken decades ago. I was just so enthralled by it and thought that it just worked so well with the song.” And while her music itself is making waves due to the nature of its creation, Mookhi is also representative of a growing population of women in the electronic music industry. Being invited to participate in the Women In Electronic Music Showcase alongside the likes of Ku ka, Linda Marigliano, Alta, FlexMami and more was validating and reassuring for the young Sydney artist. “I got asked to be a part of it and I was so thrilled because I’m all about women working in the electronic music industry, especially female producers,” she says. “It was honestly such a reassuring and inspirational experience because the production world, when it comes to music, is defi nitely a bit of a boys’ club. You feel quite isolated when you notice that there isn’t a particularly large number of females out there. So that night, to me, was such a great reassurance to see such talent dominating the stage. It was a beautiful experience.” There will be no resting on past successes for Mookhi, though, as she now turns her eye to a maiden performance at Splendour In The Grass. Putting together a live show comes with its own pressures, especially with the increased expectation on producers to add on-the-spot live elements to their sets. When it comes to a live set, Mookhi’s philosophy is simple. “I stick by the idea that the audience listens with their eyes, so when you’ve got this whole wall of gear in front of you, you want to be able to tell a story with it. You want to use those electronic MIDI controllers, for instance, as if they were acoustic instruments, so that’s how I create my live sound. When I press a button or when I twist a knob you can actually see the effect happening in front of you and see the narrative happening in front of you with those electronic instruments.” As for the excitement of performing at one of Australia’s biggest music festivals? “I don’t think it will ever kick in until I’m actually onstage,” Mookhi says. “I got a call from my manager to tell me about it and I don’t think I screamed, I think I just lost my breath because it was just such a crazy moment. I don’t think it’s actually going to hit me until I’m up onstage in front of everyone being like, ‘Alright, Splendour’s actually happening right now!’” What: Splendour In The Grass 2017 With: The xx, LCD Soundystem, Two Door Cinema Club, Peking Duk and many more Where: North Byron Parklands When: Friday July 21 – Sunday July 23 And: Foul Play out now independently
“The production world, when it comes to music, is definitely a bit of a boys’ club.” xxx
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FEATURE
Montaigne Wuthering Heights by David James Young
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t’s almost showtime for Jess Cerro – better known under the mononym of Montaigne – who is hours away from a public performance when she takes our call. This, however, is not a singing engagement: Cerro is set to read a piece of comedy writing that she has concocted specifically for Nailed It!, a satirical night of essay readings that takes place at Sydney’s Giant Dwarf to lampoon the op-ed “hot takes” that frequent both digital and print media. While having an indie-pop singer in the realm of comedy and satire may seem an ill fit, Cerro clarifies that it’s another of her key passions outside of music. “I guess it might have been seen as an odd choice for anyone that doesn’t know me,” she admits. “Those that do, though, know that I’m in these sorts of circles a lot. A lot of my friends are comedians, I go to a lot of comedy shows and people are aware that...” At this point, Cerro playfully adapts a grandiose, theatrical voice to complete her sentence: “...I HAVE THINGS TO SAY!” The crossover between music and comedy goes back a long way – even here in Australia, comics like Arj Barker and Aunty Donna have teamed up with DZ Deathrays and Horrorshow,
respectively, to make memorable and funny music videos. As for who she’d wish to collaborate with, Cerro earmarks famed improviser and sketch comedian Steen Raskopoulous: “He just kills it. He sells out every single show he puts on – he’s like this local cult legend. I have an idea for a video that I feel he would do an amazing job on – it’s kind of video gamerelated, a bit like Assassin’s Creed.” Away from nailing it at Nailed It!, Cerro has been enjoying a successful touring run in support of her debut album, Glorious Heights, which came out in 2016’s second half. Most recently, Cerro was seen taking to stages both nationally and regionally as a part of the 2017 Groovin The Moo lineup. Paired up with unlikely stagemates like punk bands Against Me! and The Smith Street Band, Cerro felt incredibly welcomed and drawn to the camaraderie of the festival. “I made a lot of friends on that tour,” she says. “They were all just beautiful and brilliant. What you find out from playing these festivals is that you might all seemingly be different – creatively, personally – but you’re all there to perform and to put on a show. It’s no one’s crowd exclusively – there’s always room to make new fans and win people over. All the
bands watch each other, and it’s really touching to see.” Cerro also mentions that it’s not the first time that she’s had a dalliance with folk who like their music a little harder than hers: “I played a show in Brisbane last year, and I was at the merch desk afterwards saying hi to everyone. These two dudes were there – covered in tattoos, messy hair, a big torn vest. They came up to me and told me they only cared about loud, heavy music and didn’t care about anything else... except my music! I don’t know what it is about my music. Maybe it’s relatable on a lyrical level? Or the persona that I put out there, being a little outlandish?” She laughs. “I honestly don’t know!” Whatever it may be, the love and devotion that Montaigne fans have is undeniable – and, in some cases, permanent. Months ago, Cerro mentioned on her social media that a fan had given birth and named their child Montaigne – which is amazing unto itself, but becomes doubly so when Cerro mentions that it’s the second time this has happened. “I don’t even know if they realise it’s not my real name,” she says. “I prefer it, really – my name is Jess, and that’s fucking boring. The only thing I’m worried about is the expectations that are going to be on
“These two dudes were there – covered in tattoos, messy hair, a big torn vest. They came up to me and told me they only cared about loud, heavy music and didn’t care about anything else... except my music!” thebrag.com
those babies – if you’re literally naming someone Montaigne, you’re really setting them up for greatness. Still, I guess Monty is a good nickname, isn’t it?” From babies to ‘Because I Love You’, her key single from Glorious Heights that cracked the top quarter of the triple j Hottest 100 back in January, Cerro’s blaze of glory goes down with her upcoming August headlining tour. The final shows before the completion of the album cycle and the beginning of the next, Cerro looks ahead with a mix of uncertainty and optimism. “For me, it’s always about forward motion,” she says. “I’m closing a chapter of my life, in a way. The thing is, before that chapter closes, another one is already beginning. I guess people on the outside looking in would see it as the closing of a certain period – they’ve lived with that album as a very definite thing. For me, though, it’s an album I moved on from a year ago, when I finished it. I just always knew there was more to come. Of course, I want to make this tour huge – if people want a grand finale, that’s what they’re going to get. At those shows, though, I’m going to play some new songs. They might not even make the next album – I just want to give some insight into where I’m at in my life right now.” What: Yours And Owls Festival 2017 With: At The Drive In, The Preatures, The Presets, Holy Holy and many more Where: Stuart Park, Wollongong When: Saturday September 30 – Sunday October 1 And: Metro Theatre, Saturday August 12
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Catfish And The Bottlemen Hungry As Ever (And Just Getting Started) By Tanja Brinks Toubro
H
FEATURE
e’s only 24 years old but Ryan Evan “Van” McCann can already celebrate ten years with his band Catfish And The Bottlemen. They’ve released two albums, toured most of the world, and last year received a Brit Award for ‘British Breakthrough Act’. And the young indie rockers are not planning on slowing down anytime soon. “We feel as hungry now as we did when we started,” says McCann. “It’s growing so fast, the word has spread, but we’re still warming up – we still feel like there’s only one way to go.” When asked what has happened with the band in those ten years, he hesitates a bit. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how these four lads and their music have developed since they first got together in their early teens. “It’s quite difficult because we never stop. I guess when we first started it was a bit more ‘off the wall’. We played in pubs, carparks, wherever we could really. But as the venues grew and the crowds got bigger, we started playing some real big music. You can’t really tell exactly what it is ’cause we don’t go and sit down and plot it. We don’t go like, ‘We should sound like this next time’. We write songs on
the way they feel, not the way they sound.” They must have found a feeling that resonates with the crowds, seeing as they are selling out venues all over the world. The band has been pretty much constantly on the road since they released their debut album The Balcony in 2014, but that hasn’t stopped them from writing new music. In fact, it has taught them a lot about their tunes. “The further those hotdog buns keep getting pushed back and the bigger the crowds get, I don’t know what it is – this feeling inside me onstage when we’re playing those old songs. It’s good but I know I can take the sound further, make it bigger, get people to take those arms further up and make them jump a bit higher,” McCann explains. “People go wild at our shows. It’s absolutely nuts. There’s no stand-out song – from the first album, the first song we open up with, right through to the next album, they go massive for every single one. Some of the album tracks go off bigger than some of the singles. It feels really good and we feel really fortunate to be in this position.”
“We write songs on the way they feel, not the way they sound.”
“People go wild at our shows. It’s absolutely nuts... Some of the album tracks go off bigger than some of the singles.” In May last year, they unveiled their sophomore The Ride and immediately hit the road again. And according to McCann, that’s the way for them to go: tour and release, tour and release. There’s no slowing down, overthinking things or going into hiding somewhere to create. It’s just full speed ahead. “We don’t try tricks. We grew up on the bands that our dads got us into, like The Beatles, Stones, Kinks; and we like that old Doors way of doing it, where they’d just tour and tour and put out an album every six months. We’re ready to do that. We don’t have to go away and fi nd ourselves, we write just whenever feels good. I think we’re always going to be two guitars, bass and drums; we’re a rock’n’roll band and we’ve always wanted to be. We just do what we love.” Yes, that does mean that there is another album full of melodic rock and catchy choruses coming in the not too distant future. It’s pretty much just a matter of logistics. “We’ve got it written, we just haven’t had any chance to put microphones on it yet and record it. We’re doing UK arenas now, then coming to you lot in Australia, then we’re doing a
“It’s growing so fast, the word has spread, but we’re still warming up – we still feel like there’s only one way to go.”
big staging run with Green Day in the US. But as soon as that ends, no doubt about it, we’re going straight in to the studio to record for a couple of weeks and then we’ll be touring again. And then we’ll do it all again with the fourth. Just keep going, baby.” Catfi sh And The Bottlemen will be playing Splendour and a few sideshows, and there’s no mistaking that Australia holds a special place in McCann’s heart. His parents got married here; he has a lot of family here and he grew up loving the NRL. Even the band name has a connection to Australia: it derives from McCann’s first real memory of music, which is seeing Sydney busker ‘Catfi sh The Bottleman’ playing beer bottles strung to a wire. “I’ve got a big affiliation with it really. I used to say to my parents, ‘Trust me, we’ll play Australia, we’ll sell out big there.’ So, coming there to play, it’s like a full 360 for me,” McCann says. “We started the year down there with Falls Festival, then we’re coming back soon for Splendour and then I wanna come back in the end of the year to welcome the new year again.” What: Splendour In The Grass 2017 With: The xx, LCD Soundsystem, Queens Of The Stone Age and many more Where: North Byron Parklands When: Friday July 21 – Sunday July 23 And: Hordern Pavilion, Sunday July 23
xxx
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Broken Social Scene Like Continuous Thunder By David James Young
FEATURE
“We kind of put together a bit of a dream team of people to work on this record.”
“Y
ou’ll have to excuse me!” Brendan Canning, the co-founder and co-leader of the expansive Canadian indierock collective known as Broken Social Scene, has a little trouble on his hands while trying to do a series of phone interviews. “I’m sitting here on the front stoop of my house with my dog,” Canning explains. “He keeps insisting on crossing the street! He’s an old, retired chihuahua guard dog who’s prone to wandering.” Once he’s settled – the dog, that is – Canning is able to get back to the task at hand: speaking about Broken Social Scene in the present tense again.
After seven years, the band are set to release their fifth studio album, entitled Hug Of Thunder. With so many years separating it from its predecessor (2010’s acclaimed Forgiveness Rock Record), one would assume that the writing process has been a gradual, incremental process over that period of time. Not so, says Canning: what you’re hearing is recent, vital and – importantly – new.
xxx
“It was important for us to be able to make something that was fresh,” he says. “To try and dredge up some idea from years ago... that’s just not really how our band operates. The songs that we write all reach a maturation point – if it doesn’t make it through to the album to be recorded, it just slips through the cracks. We have a lot of songs like that. Making this album, we knew it had to be brandnew material. We wanted this to be a reignition of the band.” Hug Of Thunder is a set of 12 new songs, a couple of which fans will thebrag.com
have already heard in the lead-up to its release. In addition to wanting the songs to be fresh, the band also wanted the process to be treated the same way; enlisting people who they had never previously worked with on Broken Social Scene music to get the job done. “We kind of put together a bit of a dream team of people to work on this record,” says Canning. “We worked with a guy named Joe Chiccarelli, and then we recorded in a village town called Bath in Ontario with an engineer named Niles Spencer. Sean Everett mixed the record, and he’d just come off a bit of success with that last Alabama Shakes record [2015’s Sound & Color]. He’s now working with John Legend, The War On Drugs and Grizzly Bear – he’s a very soughtafter guy. Working with this band is a very different experience to working with other bands. You’re not just in for a day – it’s probably not until about week three that it starts to settle in.” If you head over to Broken Social Scene’s Wikipedia page, you’ll probably notice that the list of people considered official members of the collective runs almost as long as the page itself. Having toured with as little as three members and as many as a dozen, the fluidity of the band has always led to a revolving-door of collaborations and contributions. When it came to Hug Of Thunder, however, it was time to get the band back together – yep, every single original member of the
“Working with this band is a very different experience to working with other bands. You’re not just in for a day – it’s probably not until about week three that it starts to settle in.” band features at least once within the track listing. “We’d taken a significant time away from releasing anything, and it felt important to get those contributions on there,” Canning says. “Kevin [Drew, co-founder/leader] really felt the need to get every single person back on board. I was for it, but we were getting towards the end and we were still missing a few of those people. I was fine to call it there – ‘We’ve done pretty well,’ I said – but Kevin insisted on getting everyone. When all was said and done, it was really great. It really served as a reminder of what each member of this group brings to the party. If you haven’t worked with someone for a while, it tends to go away until it’s right back in your face – and then you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah!’” Hug Of Thunder arrives almost exactly 15 years after the release of You Forgot It In People, the second Broken Social Scene album, which would go on to be acclaimed and regarded as one of the best albums of the 2000s by giants such as
Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. Not that Canning or anyone involved in the group would have ever predicted that when they were making it, of course: “I don’t think anyone has that degree of clairvoyancy,” Canning quips. “When we were starting out, I liked to repeat a certain mantra: ‘We’ll all be travelling the world soon, doing our own thing.’ I don’t know whether I believed it or not, but I said it like I believed in it. “I think that’s the key to being in a band: a bit of blind faith. I mean, God, you’re playing in a fucking band!” Canning laughs to himself, thinking aloud. “It’s anyone’s guess how it’s gonna go half the time. I’ve been part of a lot of different bands. With every other band that I’ve been in, I always ended up with this feeling where we’d get to a certain point and I couldn’t see how we were going to get past it. You just don’t think you have the talent. This band is the only band I’ve ever been in where I haven’t had that feeling.” What: Hug Of Thunder out Friday July 7 through Spunk
“That’s the key to being in a band: a bit of blind faith. I mean, God, you’re playing in a fucking band!” BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17 :: 17
Oh Wonder Speaking Through Song By Tanja Brinks Toubro
FEATURE
“A lot of this album is recorded in a studio, compared to the first album which was done on a laptop in a shed.”
“We’ve met amazing people and done things that we have never done before. And probably done things that we’ll only ever do once.”
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hey were never supposed to be a band. Now they’ve toured most of the world and are about to release their second album. “It’s like Oh Wonder is a beast that we’re constantly trying to jump on the back of. It’s doing its own thing and we’re just trying to keep on top of it,” says Anthony West, one half of the successful London duo. “I’m still in a happy blur or lack of understanding of what’s going on,” adds Josephine Vander Gucht. “It’s so bizarre because it feels like we’re so out of control – and yet so in control.” The two met through mutual friends a few years back and shared an immediate musical connection. Vander Gucht, who is a classically trained pianist and vocalist, was about to launch a solo career, and West offered to produce some of her songs. But they soon undertook another project: to write and release a song every month for a year. They were going to pitch the songs to other artists but when they started putting them up on SoundCloud, they immediately gained a following that only grew with each release.
“We took some of the pressure off ourselves by thinking about this as our first album,” West explains. “With the first one, it never really felt like we were writing an album, so this feels more like a proper debut. It’s been a lot of fun. We had three months at home where we would just get up every morning and head to the studio and make music, which, having been on tour for two years, was such a relief.” “It’s the first time I’ve made an entire body of work like this. It’s been really nice to have perspective and time to figure out what songs align sonically and lyrically and work next to each other,” Vander Gucht continues. “And also having an opportunity to make a different album and push ourselves on the terms of production and the sound. A lot of this album is recorded in a studio, compared to the first album which was done on a laptop in a shed. So yeah, it’s been amazing,” she laughs. Ultralife is “a lot more colourful, a lot more diverse and a little more upbeat” than the debut – and it’s also a much more personal record.
“We’ve gone through such a new dynamic lifestyle these past two years touring, we’ve met amazing people and done things that we have never done before. And probably done things that we’ll only ever do once,” West says. “So a lot of these songs are reflections on going all of those places, the highs and the lows, and all of those crazy experiences that we’ve been having.” Since the debut, Oh Wonder have signed with Island Records (Dew Process in Australia), but signing to a Universal Music sublabel doesn’t mean handing over the creative reins. “One of the reasons we chose Island specifically was because they have artists on their books that we really admire,” says Vander Gucht, “and we got the sense that they were creatively very independent and allowed to flourish and be in control of their music, which is the most important thing for us. We’re not a band that necessarily wants to do a lot of co-writing or co-production or anything like that. “But we’re also very lucky that we have a very clear direction – we know what we want to do. Some labels excel on being able to help mold an artist and work out what they want to say or do, but for us it wasn’t about that. It was more like, ‘This is what we want to do and you can help us.’ And it’s been really great.”
“We want to feed people music as much as we can. And then just let the songs do the talking.” 18 :: BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17
It has also been paramount for the duo to share new music as soon as they can, and they have currently released fi ve songs from the forthcoming album – which holds 13 tunes in all. “We want to feed people music as much as we can. And then just let the songs do the talking,” says West. “We don’t really do loads of massive marketing things and crazy music videos, it’s about the songs and for us to release as much as we can.” Oh Wonder will be playing Splendour In The Grass this year, along with a few sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. And they’re quite excited to be coming back Down Under. “One of our favourite ever shows was in Melbourne last time we were down there,” West recalls. “It was the first time we’d played in Oz and it was crazy. There are some shows where you can’t really fi gure out why they have so much energy. But it was a really good crowd. It’s still mind-blowing for us to imagine that people that far away wake up and listen to our music.” What: Ultralife available Friday July 14 through Dew Process/Universal Where: Splendour In The Grass 2017 With: The xx, LCD Soundsystem, Queens Of The Stone Age and many more When: Friday July 21 – Sunday July 23 And: Metro Theatre, Monday July 24 / Factory Theatre, Tuesday July 25
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Oh Wonder photo by Josh Shiner
A few months in, the pair decided to self-release all the songs as an album at the end of the ‘song-a-month’ project. They did so, along with a couple of unreleased tunes, in November 2015 and they’ve been on the road with the record pretty much ever since.
Now the time has come for their follow-up album, Ultralife, which is set to release this week. And even though it can be a hard task to follow a successful debut, it isn’t something they’ve struggled with during the process.
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FEATURE
Don’t Quit Your Day Job: How Australian Musicians Pay Their Bills In A Difficult Industry By Joseph Earp
The Musician’s Dream? “I worked at Starbuck[s] and FedEx and oh my God. Horrible. FedEx was so depressing. There were just older dudes, like, just pushing boxes but OK with it and it scared the living hell out of me. So I quit after a week and four days.” – TYLER, THE CREATOR
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t’s the classic turning point in any music biopic: the rising star, having just triumphantly signed their first recording contract, storms into their place of work and hands in their resignation. Maybe they have a stinging one-liner to go with it – something along the lines of, “Put that in your pipe and smoke it,” – or maybe they simply smile, the twinkle in their eye just about catching their pupil aflame.
O
f course, the question remains: what happens to you after you get your happy ending? And sadly, for some musicians, the answer is that you start to decline. Losing the drive to stand out and impress the world means losing the vicious edge to one’s work – losing the sense of competition; the part of you that never shuts up; always wants more. “Maybe it’s not for everyone, but I use my dayto-day working experiences to write my lyrics,” explains Morgan Anthony, lead singer of the Sydney-based band Zeahorse. “It’s when I’m working that I am most absorbent of the world.” It is certainly true that success and fame has its own insulating effect. You can become horribly disconnected from your audience – from the real world – if all you do is sit in a studio getting pissed and tinkering around on a guitar. Before you know it, you’re not writing about struggling to pay bills, or fi nding a steady pay cheque – all of a sudden your work is about wealth, about privilege. And even if your fans pretend to love what you’re doing, they’ll still call out for your early work at your shows; still want the version of you that had it hard, that found no success. That’s why critics so love to get their knives out when they see any signs of the dreaded sophomore slump. It’s a story they know well, one they have seen so many times before: good band works hard to make a great first album, rests on its laurels, at first loves but then grows bored of its fans, then fi nally, years too late, delivers a stunningly dismal follow-up. In that way, the sag between American Football’s debut self-titled record and 2016’s self-titled followup isn’t the exception to the rule as much as it is the rule itself. The Rolling Stones evolving from a rag-tag band of genre punks singing about being unsatisfied into a pack of pop princes crooning that you can’t always get what you want is in itself the story of mainstream rock. Bands go soft too easy,
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Reaching a place of such significant financial security that one is able to give up their day job is often regarded as the end of the creative road. What could be better than having all day, every day to shape one’s work? To be able to tour when you want to tour? To be free of irritating bosses and demanding schedules? But despite the allure of giving it all up and embracing life on the road, it’s not entirely clear whether the majority of musicians actually want to dedicate their whole lives to their craft – or if it would bring them happiness if they did. And more than ever it seems as though we are melting down this complex, multi-part issue into one easily digestible series of happy endings, desperate to transform a rich story into a cartoon. Not that it’s difficult to see why we love the simpler version of the story. There is
and the best way to kill your favourite act is to give them the money they need to give up their day job. It’s not necessarily true that all bands suffer in this way, or that an excess of free time should be fl at-out treated by creatives like the plague. Albums don’t write themselves, tours are timeconsuming, and rehearsals are even more so, so juggling some unrewarding job and the thing you actually want to be doing – the thing that consumes your every waking thought – is at best a losing proposition and at worst a fucking nightmare. When you’re trying to make ends meet with a gig as a hospital porter, à la Mick Jagger, or as a cinema attendant, à la Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, your art is only ever going to suffer. Music won’t pay your bills, but the thing that does fulfi l that purpose takes up so much of your time and energy that you end up stuck, trapped between the rock of your awful job and the hard place of your demanding creative urges. “Sometimes it’s pretty exhausting trying to balance making enough money each week and having time for rehearsals, gigs and all that,” says Ainsley Farrell, a local singer-songwriter. “I’m finding it pretty hard to save any money at the moment. It’s all being poured into music. I’m not the best juggler.”
something almost fairytale-esque about the lives of those musicians who have managed to trade in their crummy nine-to-fives for a life of sex and excess. We adore the transformation of folks like Kurt Cobain, a one-time janitor who became one of the most popular musicians on the planet, or David ‘Bowie’ Jones, a creative chameleon who once earned his cash working as a butcher’s assistant. We see these stories as being uplifting in the most primal, satisfying sense of the word: they are tales of human beings conquering the shitty odds they have been served; vanquishing opposition and realising their perfect self. They’re taking destiny into their own hands. They are awakening, as from a dream, like some Disney princess, and living the life they have always wanted to live.
So what, to put it bluntly, are you meant to fucking do? As with so much else when it comes to making music, there is no one simple answer. Working sucks, not working sucks, and a combination of the two is often even worse. To that end, rather than trying to trace some overhead, topographical outline that might not even exist, we’ve instead reached out to four of our favourite local musicians in the hope of understanding how they manage to keep the lights on and keep the music pouring out – how they stay true to the demands of both their art and their wallet.
“There is something almost fairytale-esque about the lives of those musicians who have managed to trade in their crummy nine-tofives for a life of sex and excess.” thebrag.com
FEATURE
“A lot of people write songs about hating their job or whatever, but that’s not really my experience.” THE MUSIC WRITER: David James Young
I
f David James Young’s name sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because you’ve encountered it in print, maybe even in the pages of this magazine: he is one of the Australian music scene’s most accomplished critics, an unstoppable creative force who has seen more gigs than you have had hot dinners. But, in his typically humble way, he doesn’t even necessarily think that his work writing for a bevy of local publications counts as a day job. Perhaps that’s because he’s been doing it for a long, long time. Young has honed his skills as a writer over almost a decade of work, and yet has somehow also managed to fit in a career as a musician as well. He’s the man behind the Nothing Rhymes With David moniker, a performer whose work memorably combines a whole bevy of disparate genres and tones – his latest record, Things Work Out For People Like You, touches on everything from country to folk rock, and he is a master at making impossible emotional mash-ups work. Yet once again he has a distinctly matter-offact approach to his work as a musician, and slightly undersells his range of creative skills. “I’m not really successful or popular enough to go on tour, if I’m being completely honest,” he says when asked if the pressures of his day job ever keep him from playing as many shows as he can. “It’s definitely stressful trying to book shows and keep on some sort of deadline, though. Definitely.” But no matter what he might tell you, Young has managed to find success on both sides of the stage – as both a dedicated reviewer oft seen pressed up against the barrier at just about any Sydney gig you can name, and as the man behind the mic. It hasn’t been easy. There is a common stereotype floating about that freelancers have nothing but spare time; that they are free to pick up whatever opportunity takes their fancy, and to spend their days following whims. But the truth is almost the opposite. Freelancers might be able to do whatever they want to do, whenever they want to do it, but that only leaves them with unstructured, challenging schedules. Their life is constantly in flux: they can’t rely on anything, and they rarely know which direction the next bill is going to come flying in from. Perhaps then it’s unsurprising that Young describes juggling passions and paycheques as an “absolute” challenge. “My schedule barely allows for me to work on both – it’s always an imbalance.” For him, finding the time for both jobs is a case of diminishing returns – he has to put in a whole lot of effort only to receive the most ephemeral of rewards in return. He doesn’t care, though. He loves what he does – both the writing and the music-making. They might both wrestle for his attention, but they’re not two passions at war with one another. They do not compete. “A lot of people write songs about hating their job or whatever, but that’s not really my experience,” Young says. “I want to do everything that I’m interested in, really. I want to make music. I want to make podcasts. I want to go to shows. I want to write. I just fill my days doing all of that.”
thebrag.com
David James Young
THE MUSIC TEACHER: Mark Spence
“W
e’re going places,” smirks Mark Spence across the chorus of ‘Dick Move’, the 2015 song he released with his band Royal Chant. “We’re motivated. We’re making big plans.” It certainly sounds like he’s joking, firmly taking the piss out of both himself and the arrogant wankers living their life as though it is one big pep talk. And that sense of self-deprecation is only enhanced when one pairs the song with its music video, a deliciously lo-fi clip that sees his band superimposed onto shuffling cans of Tsingtao beer. The three-piece might be moving forward, but they’re doing so while trapped in cheap beer; moving like the hallucinations dancing in front of a wino desperately trying to go sober. Yet whether the lines are designed as barbs or not, there is, in fact, some truth to them. Royal Chant are going places; they have been slowly solidifying their reputation as one of the local scene’s best acts over the last few years, winning awards and admirers by the armful. Back in 2009, their song ‘Somedays’ picked up the top gong in the triple j Unearthed music video competition, and their latest single, ‘Sight For Sore Eyes’, has all the bristling, blissed-out alt pop style fans have come to expect. Not that it’s been easy. Royal Chant have not yet cracked the kind of market that allow bands to retire from their day jobs and spend the rest of their lives tinkering around in a studio, so Spence has long had to juggle the pressures of music-making with the pressures of, well, music-making. “I teach drums and percussion five days a week,” Spence says, “spread out between three private schools in Port Macquarie. “They pay me a salary to run the drum line and various percussion ensembles, plus I teach privately on campus. I also teach private lessons at my own drum studio three days a week after school. I started teaching in Port Mac very part-time about nine years ago, and then it’s just grown from there. I’ve sort of created my own job over the years.” On paper, it certainly sounds like Spence has got it made – the job that pays his bills is just another version of the ‘job’ that allows him to stand up and belt out his frenetic, fuzzed-out songs every night. But those too quick to envy Spence’s nine-to-five might do well to remember what a roomful of young, undisciplined musicians sounds like.
“Because I’m surrounded by one type and one aspect of music for hours every day, that means I’m not free to daydream, ruminate, and create the music I want to make. After hearing drums from 7:30am until 6:30pm, all I want to hear is silence. Hell, I can barely be bothered to talk, to say nothing of being coherent.” One wonders how Spence finds the time to record his band’s prolific output, let alone tour it. Royal Chant are an accomplished, experienced live act, and they have spent the better part of a decade polishing and improving their performative skills. So how does Spence do it? How does he spend five days a week banging out drum lines with kids, and then spend the weekends on the road? The answer is: by fucking up and then learning from those fuck-ups; by tearing everything all down only to start again afresh. (Emphasis on the fucking up, though.) “I’ve laid out my schedule to accommodate touring. The only slightly bad thing is when you do consecutive weekends and you get pretty burned out from the non-stop grind of travel, shows, and work without taking a breather. But that doesn’t happen as much, mostly because we figured out that it’s not that hard to take weekends off in between weekends away. It only took me 15 years to learn that lesson.” Ultimately, Spence knows he is pretty lucky. He could be working in a factory, or in an office, either of which seem to be the absolute antithesis of his dreams. He might sometimes get burnt out from the stress of all his juggling, but it never breaks him, and for the most part he loves what he does. “I have it better than most,” he admits. “I maintain a lot of freedom. Absolutely. Also, it hopefully keeps me humble and grateful, and reminds me that teaching music is all part of the same big musical food chain. Applying a blue-collar work ethic to being in an indie band is not the worst thing in the world.” Not that he’s hoping his work situation will stay as it is forever. Spence might not be holding on to the deus ex machina that so many musicians starting out in the business obsess over – “Maybe I’ll score the support slot for an international band!” / “Maybe some ultra-rich, ultra-passionate music exec will turn up to one of our gigs!” / “Maybe my song will get sampled by a major hip hop artist!” – but he has his hopes, and his wants. “I’m pretty content with the situation, but wouldn’t mind if I had the playing/teaching ratio flipped,” he says. “Or if I didn’t have to teach, but only did so at my leisure.” He laughs. “But that’s bloody dreaming, isn’t it? I guess that’s a roundabout way of saying I don’t have any idea at all what I’m working towards. I’m just working.”
“The question remains: what happens to you after you get your happy ending?” BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17 :: 21
FEATURE
“Making music is easily something that can take up the time of a fulltime job – and then some.”
Spencer Scott
“I would say that I am working towards a full-time music career, but with a crippling awareness that it might not happen.” THE ALL-ROUNDER: Spencer Scott
I
t is almost no exaggeration to suggest that Spencer Scott is to Newcastle as Andy Warhol was to New York in the ’60s and ’70s – though Scott certainly trumps Warhol in the WWE and punk knowledge department. Scott has spent the last few years working tirelessly to share the hidden gems of Newcastle’s local musical community, and he has an exhaustive knowledge of his scene’s ins and outs. If you want to know something about a band that lives and plays in Newcastle, ask Spencer – he will tell you what you need to know and more. He also so happens to be in a band himself. Though he cemented his reputation as a singer-songwriter, performing acoustic, cathartic numbers about life and loss, he is now the lead singer of punk act Paper Thin. And although only newly formed, they have been relentlessly prolific since their conception, releasing singles and supporting acts as diverse as American legends Revivr and garage punkers Japandroids. Indeed, Paper Thin are the very epitome of a do-it-yourself band. They have tirelessly fought to carve their own space in the industry, releasing homemade music videos, whip-smart singles, and playing shows that combine equal parts raucous, unbridled energy and controlled musicianship. Nothing has been handed to them, and everything they have achieved has come as a result of hard work. It might be a cliché that any band can get where it is thanks to nothing but a combination of skill, luck and perspiration, but it’s hard to explain the Paper Thin phenomenon otherwise. Given all that, it would be amazing if Scott managed to juggle music-making with just a single job, perhaps a nine-to-five at a local record store. But Scott doesn’t limit himself to one occupation: he works a whole host of them, cramming his week with a variety of tasks he has picked up over the years. “I work a few different day jobs,” he says. “My main one is working at a local music venue in Newcastle as the
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entertainment coordinator – which pretty much covers everything from bookings bands, to making posters and running an open mic night. When I am not doing that, I am a freelance writer, primarily writing for a local music website. One day a week I also work at an independent record store.” The common thread, of course, is music. But luckily for Scott, his jobs also all offer him a kind of occupational fl exibility; a freedom to tour when he wants; record when he wants. Even though he might not be as unfettered as he likes, he knows that he has it easier than some, and he relishes the liberty his myriad of odd jobs affords him. “Making music is easily something that can take up the time of a full-time job – and then some – but I’m fortunate that the majority of my work isn’t in set nine-to-fi ve hours, which lets me have a bit of freedom to work on music when the creativity strikes.” That’s a double-edged sword, though. Having no fi xed hours leaves Scott in the same place as Young, and both only ever have themselves to rely on for motivation and for guidance. For Scott, that means that he can’t always leave work at the door when he heads off on tour. There is always work to be done, particularly considering the varied, demanding nature of what he does. “I’m still in contact with the venue when I am away, so there have been a few nights spent on tour spent sitting out the back, talking to people at the venue trying to organize things,” he explains. “Other members of my band have a more rigid nineto-fi ve job, which means touring for weeks at a time isn’t an option, but we always work around that.” Like Spence, Scott isn’t necessarily happy staying where he is forever. He needs growth – wants things to change in the way we all do; in the way we all follow some kind of dream, desperately snapping at the carrot dangled ahead of us. He’s just not deluding himself about it. “I would say that I am working towards a full-time music career, but with a crippling awareness that it might not happen,” he laughs. “I think I have a pretty fulfi lling work/music balance at the moment. So I’m more than happy to keep doing what I am doing.”
thebrag.com
FEATURE
Rachel Maria Cox
THE (OTHER) MUSIC TEACHER: Rachel Maria Cox
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hen I reach out to Rachel Maria Cox, the Newcastle-based singersongwriter behind 2016’s excellent four-track EP I Just Have A Lot Of Feelings, and ask if they’d be interested in conducting an interview about the work/life balance, it takes a while for them to reply. Finally, after a few hours, they make contact – “Aptly I didn’t get back to this sooner because I was at work,” Cox says. So it goes for Cox. The Novocastrian might have spent the last two solid years cultivating admirers and supporters, both for their anthemic, pop-punk singles – songs about sadness, isolation and the strange, messy kind of love that attracts and repels us in equal measure – but they still have a day job to keep them occupied. “I work full-time for the National Music Academy,” Cox explains. “We’re a private music tuition provider based in the Newcastle/Hunter region. I work in the admin and management team as well as working as a vocal teacher, keys teacher, songwriting teacher and artist mentor, so between all those roles I am kept employed fi ve days a week. “I’ve been working for NMA for just over three years now and have been full-time for the entirety of this year. I was also teaching full-time for a while back in 2015 but had to cut back hours due to mental health/physical health complications.” It’s been a busy few months for Cox. A little while ago, they launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the money to record a new album, a blistering collection of raw secrets and even more raw riffs. As a result, Cox’s life has suddenly become busier than ever before – the demands of the fi ve-day-a-
week slog have been matched by the demands of a nascent record beginning to take shape – and thanks to the crowdfunding process, for the first time in their career Cox has had a deadline to work against. Given all that, one wouldn’t necessarily begrudge Cox for having nothing but bad words to say about their job; if they just wanted to let loose about the drudgery keeping them from dedicating all the time that their emerging album so desperately needs. But Cox is not as bitter as one might think, and sees the work they do reaching out to young musicians as an integral part of their own process. “My day job defi nitely brings me a heap of joy the same way making music does, plus it’s also helped me improve at making music and really supported my career in a lot of ways,” Cox says. “Time is always an issue though. It does make it hard to book shows because of the hours I work and it’s hard fi nancially sometimes, but I think overall my day job has made my music better.” In fact, as far as Cox is concerned, the hours they have spent slaving at work have directly bolstered their career. This isn’t a case of juggling two separate plates – for Cox, the work they do at NMA and the work they do onstage is ultimately one and the same. “I’m a better musician and a better manager thanks to my job. Plus I have way more connections and experience than I would otherwise have. There’s defi nitely perks of having a day job in the music industry. I get fi nancial security, and my regular hours makes it easier to plan.”
“It’s hard financially sometimes, but I think overall my day job has made my music better.” “It really does restrict the amount I can tour and the days I can play shows. But I much prefer having the stability that my job brings in the long term. Because I book our tours it means I can work around my own schedule, too, which is a plus.”
There is, of course, touring to complicate things. Unlike Scott, for example, it isn’t necessarily easy for Cox to take time off and hit the road whenever they want to.
Certainly, Cox has done a better job than many when it comes to fi tting in as many shows per year as they can. The singer has a packed schedule, one that is set to only become more harried when the new album comes out. Perhaps that explains why they are so happy with their lot; so content to sit back and enjoy the next few months.
“It’s hard because I know I have to be at work set hours every week, and so I can’t just take a few days off like you can with a casual job,” Cox says.
“I’d love to be able to make music full-time and work in management full-time with my current business – but I’ll just see where it all takes me.” ■
“There’s definitely perks of having a day job in the music industry. I get financial security, and my regular hours makes it easier to plan.” thebrag.com
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arts in focus FEATURE
“It’s really nice to see this classic work being played with and being kept alive.”
The Rover [THEATRE] What An Impertinent Thing By David James Young
W
ith two Helpmann Awards to his name and standing at the helm of respected theatre company Belvoir, Eamon Flack knows a great talent when he sees one. When it came to meeting Australian-born and London-based actor and dancer Kiruna Stamell, Flack didn’t need a second thought about getting her involved in his next project. “He saw me while I was performing at the National Theatre in London,” says Stamell, who has relocated back to Sydney on a temporary basis to complete her Belvoir commitments. “He didn’t even know I was Australian until I opened my mouth and he heard the accent! We met for coffee the next time in town, and then he was in touch with my agent back in Australia – and that was that.”
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“I met Toby [Schmitz] and Leon [Ford] before I originally left Australia about ten years ago,” she says. “It’s funny – I met them at the start of their careers, when they were still in that early stage. I’ve been overseas, but I’ve had connections and friends still back here that have been keeping an eye on things. They’ve gotten to see how far people like them have come – and now, in this weird reunion of sorts, I get to see it for myself.” While based in the UK, Stamell has found work on shows like Warwick Davis’ Life’s Too Short, as well as a role in a touring production of an original revue, For All The Wrong Reasons. It’s work Stamell is incredibly proud of, given the frequent sidelining and adversity that people with disabilities – and, by extension,
little people – face when pursuing a career in the arts. Having said that, she is excited to be onstage in her island home once again. “I’m stoked to be back working for a bit,” she says. “There are a lot of things I love about this country – I just wish there was more work for me here.” As Stamell takes our call, she is taking a quick break from rehearsals for The Rover. With the curtain set to part in just over two weeks from the time of the interview, intensity levels are rising. Stamell is constantly fascinated by the process of character development – thinking out loud on the subject, she pauses momentarily before setting up an analogy for her understanding of what it will be like taking to the stage as Callis. “You know the way how you and I are having a conversation right now?” she begins. “I don’t necessarily know what I’m going to say to you next. “You kind of learn to forget the text. You think of the words as if it’s a conversation for the first time – and you don’t know which way it’s going to go, because you’re on the journey to the audience. You rehearse to forget, in a way. You have to know something well enough to not know it.
“I know it seems like a bizarre thing to say, but it’s the same in the world of dance. If you’ve ever learned a couple of dance steps, you get to a point where you’re not reciting them – you’re living them. It’s kind of like that. Every time you look at it or explore it, you learn something different. It’s always new – you’re always throwing a ball back and forth between one another, and it’s never exactly the same.” Originally performed in 1677, The Rover has had countless reinterpretations and adaptations from major theatre companies and small troupes across the world. As far as Stamell is concerned, there is concrete evidence as to why this play has survived for centuries after it was first written. “There is so much room for interpretation,” she says. “It’s really nice to see this classic work being played with and being kept alive, rather than doing something that’s cut-andpaste or by the book. I feel like, back in the ’80s, there were a lot more rules with older works like Shakespeare – it was like, ‘This is how it’s done.’ It had to be technically and academically correct. I feel like I could do a completely different production
“You kind of learn to forget the text.” of The Rover – even though the text is the same, it would be a totally different experience.” Stamell has also made the most of her time in Australia with a much-debated appearance on ABC panel show Q&A, in which she openly discussed the struggles faced by Australians with disabilities. Since it aired, Stamell’s inbox has overfl owed and her phone has more or less rung off the hook. “The conversations I’ve had after doing that was some of the best correspondence I’ve ever received,” she says. “The response has been so eloquent and thoughtful. It’s a very gratifying thing to come off the back of the issues I was discussing. It was incredibly touching.”
What: The Rover Where: Belvoir St Theatre When: Until Sunday August 6
thebrag.com
The Rover photo by Daniel Boud
“There are a lot of things I love about this country – I just wish there was more work for me here.”
Stamell is now part of the cast for Flack’s production of The Rover, a play from the 1600s by the enigmatic Aphra Behn. She plays the role of Callis, a governess to two sisters – Florinda and Hellena – and is joined in the cast by Taylor Ferguson, Gareth Davies and Elizabeth Nabben. For Stamell, it’s a mix of actors she knows well and first encounters – all of whom are gelling quite nicely together.
arts reviews ■ Film
Casey Affleck stars as a ghost wearing a white bed sheet in A Ghost Story By Joseph Earp Ghost Story begins with an ending. A loving partner and musician named C (Casey Affleck) is brutally killed in a car accident, leaving his grieving widow M (Rooney Mara) behind. But he is not gone. Spurning the chance to move onto the next world, C instead haunts his old house, watching M mourn, then recover, then (tragically) move on. Oh, and throughout, C is dressed in nothing but a morgue sheet, his face hidden, gliding around the place like a reveler clad in the world’s least intimidating Halloween costume.
A
But such flashes of creativity are few and far between, and the film’s latter half is a bone-dry endurance test. A long, static scene in which Mara stress-eats an entire pie was heaped with praise when the film premiered at Sundance, but it is sheer indulgence on Lowery’s part. And that’s not to mention an on-the-nose speech drunkenly delivered by a partygoer (singer-songwriter Will Oldham) that so gratuitously selfanalyses the movie it might as well have been delivered down the barrel of the camera.
Yet to say anything else about A Ghost Story’s plot would be a disservice, mainly because A) there’s not very much of it, and B) the film’s second half is defined by a series of pleasant, if occasionally undercooked, surprises. Director David Lowery takes time to develop his world, and this gentle, rather slow film lives and dies by its own unique cinematic rules.
Worst of all, however, is when Lowery begins mucking about with the rules of A Ghost Story’s world. There is a limit to how much an audience can take, and by the time the screenplay mutates into a bizarre, half-baked riff on Groundhog Day (no, seriously), even open-minded viewers might find it hard to resist an eye roll.
The good stuff first: the morgue sheet gamut is genuinely effective. Affleck is deeply compelling, and even initially distrustful audiences will learn just how easy it is to sympathise with an actor you largely can’t see. Later encounters with another ghost drive this pleasure home even further: the film’s best scene features two sheet-clad figures staring longingly at one another, communicating through subtitles.
■ Theatre
Art Heist morphs you and your friends into Ocean’s Eleven By David Molloy
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Which is a genuine shame. Ultimately, at its best A Ghost Story is an aching portrait of grief. And at worst, it’s a curio – the kind of film a couple of philosophy first-years might have cobbled together on the weekend, armed with nothing but a camera, a bed sheet, and a beginner’s guide to existentialism.
enerally, after the lights have descended on a theatrical performance, it’s considered a faux pas to sneak to the bathroom and back – but in Jetpack Theatre Collective’s Art Heist, it’s just the first of many faux pas you are both expected and encouraged to commit in this escape-room-modelled experience.
A Ghost Story opens in cinemas on Thursday July 13.
The Fat Dragon, a painting of enormous value, has just been put up at the Wade Gallery – and Adrian Bailey wants it bad enough that he’s hired you, the city’s greatest thieves, to bamboozle the bouncers, outsmart the gallery’s security systems and snatch the painting back!
“Flashes of creativity are few and far between, and the film’s latter half is a bone-dry endurance test.”
Jetpack Theatre Collective director Jim Fishwick has teamed up with SeeThrough Studios game designer Paul Sztajer to craft a complex escape room experience, and it’s one of the more pulse-pounding you’re likely to encounter. The setup is simple enough, with a safe room established in the gallery’s bathroom for you to retreat to and read up on the mission before crawling into the near pitch-black space ‘after hours’. What this work has over your traditional escape room is engagement with performers – the security at the Wade Gallery are a constant threat, even if getting caught won’t end your game prematurely. They are the ultimate variable – while there
are numerous paths to your prize and an established pattern for the guards to tread, your personal interactions with the guards have infinite possibility. The genius of the game design is in its varying angles of approach, and the pressures of time. Our last grab at the painting was incredibly tense, and the sense of glory at our success palpable. And yet, there were questions unanswered in our run – other options that may have eased our efforts. The tech on hand is genuinely impressive, elevating the experience to endorphin-inducing heights. It’s all beautifully designed by Aleisa Jelbart and provides a grand opportunity to showcase artworks by Sztajer and his peers, which adorn the walls of the gallery (and, in some cases, play a part in the heist). Bryce Halliday’s soundtrack makes you feel like you’re in Ocean’s Eleven, and it’s thrilling. The crime of the century is yours to commit. All it takes is a few friends, a spare hour, and nerves of steel. It’s the most fun you can have without spending a night in jail. Art Heist runs until Sunday August 27 at 404 New Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill. More details available at jetpacktheatre. com
“It’s the most fun you can have without spending a night in jail.” ■ Film
Baby Driver is the best mixtape on screen this year By David Molloy
R
ight when zombies became naff, Edgar Wright was there to put meat on their bones with Shaun Of The Dead. When the buddy cop craze resurfaced, he was there again, reinventing with Hot Fuzz. And as alien invasion films reigned at the box office, The World’s End loudly shifted their focus to the human.
drowns out his tinnitus. Baby has just one job left for criminal entrepreneur Doc (Kevin Spacey) before their debt is repaid, but then he meets Debora (Lily James), the woman of his dreams, and his final heist threatens to destroy everything he holds dear.
Now, as DC and Marvel’s respective production partners attempt to exhaust their nearlimitless music licences, Wright is back to redefine the “soundtrack as mixtape” trope in what may well be this year’s most thrilling action feature.
Picture Drive as directed by the antithesis of Nicolas Winding Refn, and you’ll get something close to Baby Driver. Much like Ryan Gosling’s character before him, Baby is a man of few words with mysterious motives – but this time, we’re allowed into the character’s world and what he’s willing to do to protect what he loves.
Baby (Ansel Elgort) is the best getaway driver there is, and is never seen without his headphones in – the music
More importantly, Wright is first and foremost an entertainer, and can take even the most rote sequence and load it with comic ingenuity.
Take the opening scene of the film, with its utterly perfect employment of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (the director’s favourite band); or the scene following, a long shot of Baby walking down the street which proves that Wright is the Easter egg king. He’s landed a fantastic cast – The Fault In Our Stars heartthrob Elgort employs every inch of charm he has, and proves frighteningly proficient when the shit hits the fan. His co-crims include Jamie Foxx’s legitimately insane thug, Jon Hamm’s two-faced terror Buddy, and Eiza González’s genreperfect Darling. While Debora is undoubtedly a damsel, James is as believable as she is dazzling. Plus, there are musical cameos galore (this film could not be more BRAG-friendly).
Then there’s Spacey, cashing in on his entire career’s worth of credentials to sell crime boss Doc as the film’s comic ace-inthe-hole. Every second of his screen time is magic. And the action sequences! Baby’s absurd driving skills and the malevolence of his foes make these scenes more gripping than any of Baby Driver’s contemporaries – Fast & Furious included.
It would not be overstatement to declare Edgar Wright one of the most important popular fi lmmakers of his era. If it takes jacking a car to get to this movie before its cinematic run ends, just make sure you have the right playlist for the joyride. Baby Driver hits Aussie screens on Thursday July 13.
“Picture Drive as directed by the antithesis of Nicolas Winding Refn, and you’ll get something close to Baby Driver.” thebrag.com
BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17 :: 25
FOOD + DRINK
REVIEW
Mrs Sippy DOUBLE BAY
BY BRII JAMIESON
I
f you’re searching for what is ostensibly the best and most expensive brunch in Sydney, look no further than Double Bay’s Mrs Sippy. This place is the real deal. I’m talking six courses, bottomless champagne, and a $154 per person price tag.
This is not the place you go for a casual brunch with the girls – this is the kind of place you take someone who you really need to impress (I’m thinking in-laws, but it’s also not a bad ‘desperate to make a great impression’ first date spot, or a ‘please forgive me, I’ll do anything’ spot, too). There are a few things that need to be noted about this exceptional brunch, so that you go in eyes wide open: there is bottomless Veuve Clicquot, and very obliging waitstaff to keep you thoroughly hydrated with it. Upon arrival you are given what looks like a menu,
but is instead a list of all of the dishes you will be presented with over the course of your three-hour brunch experience. If you’re vegetarian, the menu isn’t super vege-friendly and you need to make the staff aware of your dietary preferences as soon as possible (which we had to learn firsthand). And lastly, food will just keep coming out. It just keeps coming.
5.
Super salad: Salad for brunch is another concept easily dismissed and laughed at (especially by me – if it doesn’t involve bacon, stop wasting my time), but this salad is pretty spectacular. The salad greens come topped with avocado, grilled eggplant and house-spiced nuts – it all sounds entirely forgettable but I have been trying to recreate it at home ever since. Something about this brunch experience has absolutely changed me as a person, because now I’m praising salads and chia pots.
6.
Brioche French toast: OK, so you’re five courses deep into brunch, and the waiter asks if you want the optional dessert course of French toast. You’ll consider declining. You’ll think it’s unnecessary. It is not. We almost said no, and would have missed out on the best French toast this side of Paris. The toast comes topped with rhubarb and strawberry compote and vanilla ice cream. After five fullsized courses, it’s hard to understand why Mrs Sippy pulls back right at the end when it comes to dessert. It’s a shame, because I imagine a lot of people don’t do the dessert course. But trust me: you can and will make room, because the French toast is an experience not to be missed.
What follows is a course-by-course breakdown, because skimming over any of the six (COUNT THEM, SIX) courses would be a travesty.
1.
Seasonal fruit: I’ve never been a fruit-for-brunch person. But it’s a nice way to start off. There’s honestly not much to be said about this – it’s literally sliced fruit on a plate.
2.
Golden chia pot: Look, this is one of those brunch dishes that I would immediately glance over on my way towards the words ‘eggs benedict’ on any other menu. However, this one is pretty inspired, and has convinced me that fruit and yoghurt are acceptable brunch options (and to possibly become one of those people who is ‘super into’ wellness and fitness). By the end of this course you’ll begin to wonder how exactly you’re going to eat an additional four courses, because both the fruit and the chia pot are the size of any standard brunch dish.
3.
Smoked trout blini stack: These are served with a horseradish cream, pickled cucumbers and caviar. If you like to play with your food, this is the course for you. The blinis arrive deconstructed, so require a creative flair to assemble and consume. My vegetarian dining partner had her caviar and smoked trout swapped out for avocado. We were both in agreement that this was the best dish on the lineup.
4.
26 :: BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17
“
Brunch pizza: Pizza for brunch is way more my speed than a chia pot. The pizza is crispy and well seasoned, and the prosciutto is easily omitted for vegetarians, replaced with kale.
This place is the real deal. I’m talking six courses, bottomless champagne, and a $154 per person price tag.”
Mrs Sippy’s $154 brunch is the brunch to end all brunches. The bottomless champagne doesn’t even contribute to the overall review, because the food is just that good (but the champagne is a very nice touch). The only criticism is the amount of food you’re served: any one of the dishes would suffice for brunch, so six feels excessive. But, also, so very necessary. Where: 37 Bay St, Double Bay When: Noon til late, Tuesday – Saturday. Brunch on Saturday only from 11am – 4pm. thebrag.com
game on Gaming news and reviews with Adam Guetti
2017
E3’S TOP 3
E3 might have you looking longingly at the blockbusters waiting in the wings of 2018, but rest assured July still has plenty to offer you.
The One For You
Looking back to Thursday July 6, the Nintendo Switch catalogue gained a new member in the form of The Binding Of Isaac: Afterbirth+. The port adds new game modes as well as a slew of bonus content to keep you chugging along. After its release on Tuesday July 11, PS4 owners can relive the controversial Final Fantasy XII through The Zodiac Age. Prettier visuals are a given, but a new trial mode and fresh background music should help convince any fence-sitting JRPG fans. Meanwhile, Friday July 21 will serve up two family-friendly offerings. The first is Splatoon 2: a bigger and brighter sequel featuring new weapons and local multiplayer that splashes its way onto the Nintendo Switch. The second, also for the Switch, is Minecraft: Story Mode, which packs all eight previously released episodes onto a single cartridge.
Microsoft has been yammering on about Project Scorpio for a while now, but its 2017 conference finally unveiled the final vision – the Xbox One X. Touted as the world’s most powerful console, the One X offers up a six teraflop GPU and true 4K gaming to help make it 40 per cent beefier than any other console on the market. You’ll be able to find it on our shores
from Tuesday November 7 this year, with a retail tag of $649.
Nintendo Goes Big If you’re a Switch owner growing tired of the constant drought comments, Nintendo has sought to alleviate your pain. In one of the company’s more eventful E3s in recent memory, a slew of fan favourites were announced. That means in addition to Super Mario Odyssey in October, a new Kirby title and Yoshi title are both inbound for
Finally, the 3DS scores a double dose of love on Saturday July 29. Brain Training: Can You Stay Focused? may have a painfully long title, but the gameplay should remain as addictive as when it first won over the masses. Hey! Pikmin, on the other hand, switches up the series’ classic formula by turning it into a 2D platformer after resident klutz Captain Olimar finds himself crashing on a foreign planet… again.
the portable/home console hybrid. That’s ignoring the surprise announcements of Metroid Prime 4 and a mainline Pokémon entry.
NEWS
JULY
New Releases
Tingling Our Spidey Senses How Sony performed during its annual press conference is debatable depending on who you ask, but one thing that cannot be denied is how truly exceptional SpiderMan is shaping up. Closing out the conference with a fairly extensive gameplay demo, Insomniac’s take on the web-slinger definitely seems to be hitting all the right notes. Combat looks fast yet fluid, soaring through the city appears easy and responsive, and those set pieces… positively jawdropping. 2018 can’t come soon enough.
reviewroundup By Adam Guetti
Review: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch)
W
hen Mario Kart 8 first released for the Wii U back in 2014, it was a truly exceptional racer that marked a high point for the fan favourite series. It’s a true credit to this Nintendo Switch upgrade (or Deluxe) that it is able to refine and improve on those impressive foundations. It helps that Deluxe comes packing all the previously released DLC, along with some fun new additions, so you’ll have access to 42 wonderfully diverse characters over 48 well-designed courses. The big-ticket item, however, is the completely revamped Battle mode. A major sticking point in the original release, the mode has been beefed up with reimagined options that bring smart and competitive angles. Owners of the Wii U version might not want to double-up on their purchase, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still has a worthy place on any shelf.
4.5
Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix (PS4)
Review: Dirt 4 (PS4, XBO, PC)
W
ust in case you’ve been (understandably) bamboozled by the barrage of collections Square Enix has offered on PS3 over the last few years, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix combines all of these collections into one of the most incredibly robust packages ever, filled to the brim with hundreds of hours of gameplay.
J
hile Dirt Rally was celebrated by racing fans as a polished representation of the sport, it also packed more than its fair share of challenge. Unsurprisingly, then, with its follow-up, Codemasters has tried to offer up something a little more accessible without diluting the core soul of the series. The good news is that it has succeeded.
If you’ve played through the beloved series already, your gripes are likely to remain unchanged. Combat is still a little clunky and the camera can irk. Still, the games have aged fairly well, so if you’re looking to catch up on the series, this is the best-looking iteration you’re going to be able to get your hands on and the best way to get reacquainted with Sora and friends before the 4 saga’s next big entry.
A friendlier handling system eases up the challenge by presenting a more arcade-like feel that should help out interested newcomers, while the series’ more authentic handling remains, allowing each class and car to have a uniquely distinct feel that is a blast to drive.
thebrag.com
A few graphical hiccups aside, this is still one of the most competent racers on the market.
4
BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17 :: 27
FEATURE
BY JOSEPH EARP
WHY MUSIC FESTIVALS NEED
TO GET SMARTER
ABOUT DRUGS For many music festivalgoers, drugs are a significant part of the experience. But we all have a responsibility to make that experience safer.
But he didn’t seem to have any ethical qualms about providing drugs to others. Nor did he seem to feel the need to be particularly subtle about his transactions. He’d walk up to a throng of people, nod, maybe flirt a little if there was a good-looking guy in the group, and then ask if anyone wanted some E. It was an electronic festival, so the answer was invariably yes. Once or twice, people assumed that Pete was offering freebies. “The fuck, man?” he’d say, when the punters stared at Pete’s open palm in confusion. “Money? You got money? You think I’m some kind of fucking charity?”
But breakdowns in communication aside, the reception Pete received was rapturous. For the most part, he was like some conquering hero; a saviour, come to free everyone from their sobriety. He’d pocket the punter’s cash, his body pressed up close to theirs, and then palm them one of the pills he’d already transferred from his rectum to the right pocket of his khaki shorts. The look on their faces. You’d think they’d won the lottery or something. t was summer 2011 and I was at a sold-out English music festival with a drug dealer. He was a little older than me, somewhere in his mid-20s, and spoke in a thick South London accent. His mum was from Haiti, his dad from Coventry, and he had spent the last few years slowly working his way around the country, making his living selling pills and playing pool for money. “It’s whatever, you know. Like as an actual job,” he explained. “It’s good in its own way. It means a lot of parties, yeah? And meeting a lot of new people.” Let’s call him Pete, although that wasn’t his name. We’d met online, a few days before the festival. I was looking for a ticket and he was selling one; he and his long-term boyfriend had split up a few weeks earlier.
And as the day wore on, Pete only became more important to “Money? people. Keen to avoid the attention of the festival’s limited police presence, a lot of punters had popped their pills before leaving and now they were sobering up, snapping cruelly back You got money? home, into sobriety in the middle of a sun-blasted, overcrowded field. For these poor sods, Pete was a miracle. You think I’m “I can’t believe it,” one guy said, holding a pill in the palm of his some kind hand, staring at the thing with eyes as big as saucers. “Christ,” said Pete, bouncing into the punter and closing his hand of fucking around the pill for him. “Put it away.” The display had been a little too unsubtle, even for Pete. charity?”
Chatting online, we’d decided we would meet in front of the festival entrance. I’d grab the ticket off him, give him the cash, and then we’d part ways. I was happy to walk around the festival by myself; I liked going to shows alone, and certainly wasn’t interested in spending a day in a hot English field with a total stranger. I had difficulty enough talking to friends, let alone a 20-something in a fluoro orange bucket cap who wouldn’t stop calling me Jose. But Pete wasn’t having any of it. “What the fuck, man?” he kept saying, loudly. “You’re gonna do this by yourself? Like fuck, man. You’re gonna come with me. We’re gonna hang.” When I didn’t immediately respond, too slow to think of a good enough excuse, Pete just shouted louder. “We’re gonna hang,” he bellowed. There was a little headphone popped into Pete’s left ear, and there it stayed the whole day. I guess he was listening to music – that might explain the shouting, and the occasional little twists and pirouettes he’d do, his body seizing up in dance, apropos of nothing – but before long I realised it was ridiculous to assume anything about Pete. For a start, even though he was at the festival ostensibly to get rid of the packed condom full of pills currently jiggling against his colon, he swore he didn’t actually do drugs himself. “Fuck no,” he said. “Especially not pills. Shit’ll kill you. Shit’s garbage.” 28 :: BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17
I learnt a lot that day – things that I guess should have been selfevident. But I wasn’t really a festivalgoer, and definitely not someone who had ever been interested in pills. They looked a little grotty to me, and the people on them looked a bit that way, too: their mouths twisting into little tensed up spirals of flesh, their eyes impossibly wide. Why would anyone want to be that fucked up, I’d always wondered. Why would anyone want to be that out of it? Of course, I was happily drinking – and drinking too much – while denigrating all those pill-poppers. I didn’t even bat an eyelid when walking past a shirtless man lying spreadeagled on the ground, a delicate trail of spew arcing out of his mouth and onto the grass beside him, his whisky-addled body still twitching a little. But Pete did. “Y’know how much he paid to do that to himself?” It was a gripe shared by many. The festival organisers seemed happy for punters to get fucked up in ways that they could profit from. After all, the drink prices were toecurlingly steep, and pop-up bars dotted the grounds like pockmarks. None of the bartenders seemed to be telling people when they’d had too much either, and soon it was the drunkards causing trouble, not the pill-poppers. It was the broadshouldered, alcohol-sodden guys that were starting fights, circling predatorily around the women in the front row, and passing out on the grass like pigeons swollen with rice. Those high on pills didn’t exactly keep to themselves, but they weren’t looking for fights, either. They were happy bopping about the front row, climbing onto their friends’ thebrag.com
FEATURE
shoulders, hooting words of encouragement at the musicians. It wasn’t an idyllic scene, of course, and particularly towards the end of the day, when the sun started to set and the E comedown kicked in, a lot of punters faded both fast and messily. The piles of puke began to accumulate. Gurners, their high fading and desperate for water, began sculling litres of the stuff at a time. But even still, it wasn’t an apocalyptic scene. The festival didn’t transform into some fallen garden of Babylon, a den of drug abuse and disarray and despair. It was just a field somewhere in the middle of England, lit by dwindling light, in which a bunch of young people slowly came fluttering down. Pete looked rather pleased with himself. He’d sold all the pills, and netted himself a tidy little profit. But more than that, he’d helped people have a good time. He wandered the grounds and I followed him, stumbling a little, full of too much expensive beer. “A good day,” he said, wiping his hand across his hot brow. “A good day.” On the way out, we passed a small throng of security guards, their backs stiff, eyeing the retreating crowd. “Thanks lads!” Pete bellowed at them, a smile of coy satisfaction spreading across his face. The security guards just glared.
Indeed, a lot of those who pop pills at festivals do so in that setting and that setting alone – they are not the opportunistic drug delinquents that some politicians and puritanical crusaders paint them to be. They’re just young people looking for a dance; looking to have a good time with their mates in a relatively safe, relatively well-staffed environment. “You just want to dance and feel the music and you feel really good for a little while and it’s a different feeling completely to being drunk,” a woman identified only as Sarah said to The Vocal. That’s not to be coy and pretend that Australians don’t have issues with drugs, and especially pills. “In 2015, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s National Drug Strategy Household Survey reported 27 percent of Australians aged 20-29 had used illicit drugs in the preceding 12 months, with eight percent having used ecstasy in that period,” read a Huffington Post story. “The 2014 United Nations World Drug Report found Australians had the highest rate of ecstasy consumption on Earth.”
“The reality is, five years ago it didn’t cost $12 for one drink.”
But festivals and drugs – pills, in particular – are still synonymous with one another. And for the same reasons, too. The price of alcohol at events has only gone up as of the last few years, and even those who have no intention of taking illegal drugs have to be covert about their use of the legal ones. You might not want to pop a few eccies, but unless you’re looking to stand in a patience-testing queue only to shell over a small fortune to get a few flat beers, you’ll be compelled to bend the rules too, smuggling in bottles of vodka decanted into water bottles. “You really get left with no options,” one young anonymous festivalgoer explained to the BRAG. “If you want to stay totally sober, you’re fine, but if you want to take anything – even legal stuff like ciggies and booze – then you’re fucked. They really leave you with no choice. It’s like you have to get fucked up in dangerous ways, otherwise you’ll get in trouble. And that’s where the bad shit happens.” Hence why punters pre-drink, sometimes downing half to a whole bottle of spirits before they even leave home. Hence why punters do the same with drugs. Hence why punters go to extreme lengths – excessive lengths, dangerous lengths – just to have a good time. “I think a lot of the reason why drugs have become so much more popular over the last five years is to do with the price of alcohol,” explains Trent to the BRAG. And Trent would know: he works for one of Australia’s most successful pill-testing kit companies, EZ Test. “The reality is, five years ago it didn’t cost $12 for one drink. And for kids of 22 years of thebrag.com
And that, almost without exception, is what punters do end up doing: they enjoy themselves. That is their aim. Most people don’t want to get fucked up, or to drink so much they black out, or to load up on so many drugs that they can’t process the music that they’re there to see; can’t feel safe. “What nobody seems to get though is that people don’t go to a music festival intending to die,” explained a young person named Julie to the Sydney Morning Herald. “They go to get high, to have a good time in the sun with their friends.”
▲
I
t’s been six years since that festival. Some things have changed, but a lot of things haven’t. There are more cops, of course, particularly here in Australia, where police presence at festivals is strident. Pete wouldn’t have gotten away with wandering through Laneway or Splendour as conspicuously as he did that day in the UK – the sniffer dogs would have got him, or the small army of security guards that clog up festival gates. And he certainly wouldn’t have been able to conduct drug deals out in the open, exchanging pills for cash left and right.
age, they just don’t have the funds like people might have had once upon a time. They’re just looking for something – just looking to enjoy themselves.”
“Where there could have been a reasonable, respectful discussion about the ways to halt the tide of drug-related fatalities, there was instead a screaming match.” BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17 :: 29
▲
FEATURE So it would be wrong to pretend that pills are something we only pop at music festivals – clearly, Australia’s issues with drugs go deeper than that. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we should start conflating the casual use of drugs that goes on at festivals with deeper, more systemic drug abuse problems and crime. Drugs, no matter what the trumped-up boomers who have the public discourse in a stranglehold might suggest, are not to be simplified, or demonised, or reduced to worrying statistics. When we talk about drugs, we are talking about a complex, diverse product that has come to mean many things to many people. And to break down that narrative into a vague, sensationalised series of anecdotes that can then be used to neglect the voices of those that actually use drugs isn’t just foolhardy; it’s actively dangerous.
THE RISING TOLL “Five people died after consuming illegal narcotics at a music festival in Argentina last year. In 2015, two people died from drug overdose at Live Nation’s Hard Summer. That same year, one died at Beyond Overland, another at Electric Daisy Carnival, and another at TomorrowWorld.” – DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS
G
eorgina Bartter was only 19 years old when she collapsed onto the floor at Sydney’s Harbourlife festival in 2014. Friends told the police officers who arrived at the scene soon after that Bartter had taken no more than a single pill – maybe, at a stretch, a pill and a half. A little later it was discovered that another 19-year-old had sold the ecstasy to a third-party agent who had in turn passed it on to Bartter. When Bartter, suffering from massive organ failure, later died in hospital, the dealer was charged.
“You cannot stop the drug problem by waging war on it.”
The pill Bartter had taken was called a “purple speaker”. The media, seizing on the story, began to interrogate other teenagers who had taken the drug. “Way too good, the best I’ve had in years,” was how one young user explained the pill’s high in a blog post later picked up by the Daily Mail Australia. The Mail used the quote for a headline, filling the story with alarming descriptions of Bartter’s collapse and the grief of her parents and the punters who tried to help her. It was a horror story, but a horror story very much of the time; almost every other paper was running a shocking tale of its own.
“The media has been right on this,” Trent says of the drug-related hysteria that has gripped the media over the last few years. “I think it’s the 24-hour news cycle; I think that’s a big part of it. People have been writing about it because there’s not a lot else to write about. That element has come into play. When something does go wrong, it is quite a hot topic – and not just in the online press, but in radio talkback and the rest of it. “I think the older generation is the issue. They don’t really understand why people take [drugs] I guess. But because drugs have become so much more popular over the last five years, they now realise that something has to be done to stop the deaths.” These days, pills are described like secret weapons to be sold on the black market; like cocked guns, waiting to go off. Sites like the Mail traced the lineage of the “purple speaker”, suggesting the potent pill might have originated somewhere in Sweden. And their articles were filled with grainy, grim pictures of the pills, photographed against grungey walls, or the cupped hand of a user.
“Even though he was at the festival ostensibly to get rid of the packed condom full of pills currently jiggling against his colon, he swore he didn’t actually do drugs himself. ‘Fuck no,’ he said. ‘Especially not pills. Shit’ll kill you. Shit’s garbage.’” 30 :: BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17
Main image: Stereosonic Music Festival; and inset Sylvia Choi
The same year that Bartter passed away, a young pharmacist named Sylvia Choi died after taking ecstasy and MDMA while attending the Stereosonic music festival. “I’m not feeling my high,” she told her boyfriend, according to a story published by the SMH. “Five hours later, the 26-year-old from Oyster Bay in Sydney’s south was dead,” read the story. If the hysterical, frenzied tone of the media was extreme before Choi’s passing, it only got more so afterwards. Soon, a witch hunt was under way – before too long, the festivals themselves were being blamed, and numerous allegations began to whip through the media like wildfire. “One Stereosonic security guard allegedly took the drug GHB while on duty and needed to be taken to hospital,” ran a story posted to The Daily Telegraph. Eager to shake the blame, festival organisers began to shift the onus of responsibility onto crowds themselves. “According to the Stereosonic founder [Richie McNeill], one of the biggest problems is that festival staff neither have the physical nor legal power to thoroughly search and arrest punters; something which is exacerbated by Australia’s ‘steroid issue and gym hulk mentality’,” read a line in an article posted to Music Feeds. The same old voices began clogging up the airwaves, too. Police commissioners condemned the “depraved” dealers, while politicians like New South Wales’ own Mike Baird rushed to tell the public that “enough is enough”. Baird’s answer to Bartter’s death, and indeed to the spate of other drug-related fatalities around the country, was to suggest mass arrests, an increase in the prevalence of sniffer dogs, and, perhaps most stridently, to threaten the ability of festivals to host gatherings on public land. “Individuals need to take responsibility for their actions, but so do the organisers of these festivals,” he said. “In the light of [these] distressing and avoidable incident[s], I will be asking the relevant ministers to review the current system of regulating events held on public land, including the system for granting permits for public events such as music festivals.” It was pandemonium. And in that pandemonium, the quietest, most sensible voices got lost. No matter that many of the politicians who called for sweeping arrests and an increase in police presence were being actively refuted by experts, and those who had dedicated their lives to saving the lives of drug takers. No matter that the media turned to those in power for advice, rather than those with hands-on experience of festival culture and drug use. As a result, where there could have been a reasonable, respectful discussion about the ways to halt the tide of drug-related fatalities, there was instead a screaming match. And where there could have been debate, there was demonisation. thebrag.com
FEATURE
he hardline approach does not work. That has been proven by now. You cannot stop the drug problem by waging war on it, just as you cannot stop something as ephemeral as “terror” by pledging to fight it with guns, and with arrests, and with the restrictions of civil liberties. Turning drug users and drug dealers into the enemy is like cutting off your toe to avoid the worst of tinea; like murdering your children to make sure someone else doesn’t first.
By contrast, the argument against pill-testing is mostly based on moralising and on fear. The NSW Government, and particularly the NSW Government when it was led by religious extremist Baird, was stridently against the possibility of letting punters know exactly what was in their pills. “A spokesperson for NSW Police Minister Troy Grant [said] no test could guarantee the safety of an illegal drug or its effect on an individual,” reported the ABC. “‘The NSW Government will not facilitate or sanction the testing of illegal drugs, creating the dangerous fiction that they are then safe to consume,’ the spokesperson said.”
“It’s like Yet such an argument is ignorant at best and willfully, deliberately obtuse at worst. Pill-testing kits do not aim to normalise drugs, you have to or convince those who take pills that their drug experiences “It simply doesn’t work,” says Trent. “The more you tell someone they ably safe. Rather, they are about stopping deaths. can’t have something, the more they want something. And that’s get fucked up in willTheybearecertifiabout education. They are about making sure not just true of drugs, that’s true with a lot of things. That’s true with Australia’s young people are not forced to trust their dealers relationships, with anything. That’s just a human reaction in itself.” dangerous ways, rather than scientists; about giving them the most information possible. “It is good practice to suggest that we never tell Trent is just one of many voices involved with the production and them that the drug is good or safe, merely tell them what’s in otherwise popularisation of pill-testing kits. For the kits’ defenders, their widespread their drug and contextualise it for their consumption,” Dr. David distribution would provide a practical, concrete way to avoid the dangers Caldicot, a prominent supporter of pill-testing, told the ABC. associated with drug-taking at festivals. After all, the majority of drugyou’ll get in related deaths occur when users are in the dark about what they’re actually then, that those working at the ground level to halt taking; when they pop Ritalin instead of E, or find their drugs are purer than trouble.” theIt flisowpromising, of drug-related deaths feel as though change is coming. they are used to. As a result, for Trent and those who support his cause, pill-testing kits would not be a way of legitimising drugs; they would just be a way of ensuring that those who take them can do so with a minimal risk of harm. “Using drugs is never without risk,” Will Tregonning of the pill-testing advocacy group Unharm told Huffington Post. “Using unknown drugs is much riskier. If this continues, more young people will die. It’s as simple as that. People are going to use drugs anyway, not knowing what they’re taking. We want to provide that at-risk group of people, already about to use drugs, info about the drugs they’re intending to consume, and give them info around the risks of consuming that substance.”
And a lot of that, Trent explains, comes down to the developments in the test kits themselves.
“There’s a lot more range with the kits these days,” he explains. “We have cocaine testers that just didn’t exist back in the early 2000s. The names of the kits have changed, too: they used to be named after the reactants that they used in the test, whereas now they’ve streamlined and they have named them after the drug they’re testing for. That’s been done for a lot of brand awareness; to streamline the product. Obviously before when you had products called stuff like Mandalin … it wasn’t very self-explanatory as [to] what they were. So it has evolved quite a bit.”
Perhaps most persuasively of all, the success of such an approach has already been at least in part proven. Several festivals in Europe and the UK have already adopted the use of pilltesting kits like the ones EZ Test sells, and the results are speaking for themselves.
A few decades ago, Trent says pill-testing kits were “almost in the same category as the drugs themselves. Back then, anything to do with drug testing was considered not a good thing. Whereas these days, it’s clear people would rather do this than nothing. Now tobacconists are selling them. A lot of people are selling them that would never have sold them prior. That’s a fairly obvious sign that the stigma is going.”
“There is clear evidence from research conducted across Europe that [pill-testing] has the benefits of sharply reducing risk, changing negative behaviours and ultimately saving young peoples’ lives,” a young man only identified as Jake told the SMH. “I find it appallingly hypocritical that in a country such as Australia, where we spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on an inhumane border policy to supposedly ‘save lives at sea’, we aren’t prepared to take even the most elementary of steps in trying to save the lives our own youth.”
Clearly, we need to shift our thinking. We cannot merely sit back and cling to our staunchly anti-drug policies while young people are dying. We need to compel our politicians to think and act in a way that supports the needs of millennials, rather than just the rabid, hysterical shrieks of media-addled boomers. And we need to do it soon. ■
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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK THIS IS THE KIT
bolstered by Aaron Dessner on horns and synths, hedging bets between changing too much and not at all. ‘Hotter Colder’ hits upon a sense of wakeful sleep, Stables’ whispers balanced by a pounding beat playing call-and-response.
Moonshine Freeze Rough Trade Every time I hear This Is The Kit, I feel like they are striving towards the most beautiful nursery rhyme ever sung to a restless child. Gently addictive melodies flow from Kate Stables’ gorgeously cooing vocals, like Sister Maria harmonising those charming Von Trapp brats into a beautiful sound. Moonshine Freeze opens with ‘Bullet Proof’, Stables’ Bristol accent somehow adding to the maternal sound. The entire album carries that warm and comforting simplicity of folk, tinged
with a sinisterly sweet edge of melancholy – it’s a sound few do better. However, if you’re acquainted with This Is The Kit, this is familiar fare. The title track bears the band’s staples of dreamy lyrics and almost ambient guitar melodies
Moonshine Freeze offers little in perceptible changes in the band’s music, but any such change will be sure to disturb whatever peaceful slumber it has been lulling us into over the years. This Is The Kit offer yet another musical hug for your ears. And goddamn, isn’t that all that we’re really wanting? Daniel Prior
“The entire album carries that warm and comforting simplicity of folk, tinged with a sinisterly sweet edge of melancholy.”
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK LAPALUX Ruinism Brainfeeder/Inertia Lapalux is one of a rare breed whose sound is unmistakable. The Essex producer Stuart Howard’s lopsided beats and deep atmospheric textures lift him firmly above the horizon of R&B
housesters. Two albums in, and with his singular vision – which has seen him reinterpret classic swing, soul and hip hop tropes – he now takes aim at an altogether bigger animal. Ruinism – a term Howard coined to describe how blended sound palettes and inspirations interact on the album – refers to the re-sampling and re-pitching of synths and drum hits, twisting and blending them until they are ‘ruined’. It feels like a radicalisation of his previous album, Lustmore, which partially dealt with hypnagogia, the suspension of consciousness between awake and sleep states. Now, he’s focusing on the limbo between life and death. The album’s sense of narrative is the first thing that strikes you. Tracks one, two and three –
‘Reverence’, ‘Data Demon’ and ‘Petty Passion’ – all feel of the same ominous world, and when lead single ‘Rotted Arp’ brings the early phase to a head, he is at his most abstractly fluid. ‘Phase Violet’ – which could easily have come from the nihilistic studios of Boards Of Canada – and ‘Tessellate’, a beautiful Actress-like soundscape of icy techno, shine through. It’s just a pity these moments aren’t more recurrent. Lee Coleman
“The album’s sense of narrative is the first thing that strikes you.”
FIRST DRAFTS Unearthed demos and unfinished hits, as heard by Nathan Jolly The Smashing Pumpkins – ‘1979’
B
illy Corgan isn’t the easiest fellow to work with. The Smashing Pumpkins had all but split up during the recording of their second album, Siamese Dream, due to Corgan’s domineering approach and his insistence on recording all the bass and guitar parts himself. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin would disappear for days on heroin benders, bassist D’arcy Wretzky spent much of the time
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Flood made the band record live demos in a recording space before hitting the studio, and urged them to practise together as a band. This was in stark contrast to the previous album, which once saw Vig and Corgan tinker with a 45-second section for 32 hours. No wonder being locked in a bathroom began to appeal. The band arranged and tightened songs in that rehearsal space, recording what would end up being used as the bulk of the album’s rhythm tracks. “The big change is that Billy is not being
the big ‘I do this, I do that.’ It’s much better,” guitarist James Iha noted at the time. Despite the live way in which the songs found their form, the album’s most successful track was built by Corgan on a drum machine near the death of the recording sessions, added at the 11th hour. Flood wasn’t impressed by the song, which was at the time still just a melody snippet, a repeating chord pattern and a drum machine, and urged Corgan not to bother finishing it. This pissed him off, and he returned the following day with this demo – an aching coming of age tale written about the year Corgan turned 12. It was the final song written for the album. This demo is a cruisier version of how the song would end up. A slightly slowed tempo removes the youth and urgency from the final version, but the drum machine must have appealed to Corgan and Flood, who built upon it using loops, drum machines and
samples for the first time on a Pumpkins recording. The song’s ubiquity makes it hard to hear just how weird a single this really is, but despite the lack of driving guitars, and Corgan’s most measured vocals, the song
became an unlikely hit, and is now roundly considered one of the best songs from the ‘90s. Plus, the video clip looks like a trailer for the greatest Gen X film never made. Listen to the original ‘1979’ demo at thebrag.com
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Lapalux photo by Marielle Tipper
“Flood wasn’t impressed by the song, which was at the time still just a melody snippet, a repeating chord pattern and a drum machine, and urged Corgan not to bother finishing it.”
locked in the bathroom, and Corgan was actively planning his suicide during the drawn-out sessions. Something had to give for album number three, and it was producer Butch Vig. Corgan instead brought on Alan Moulder, the main engineer behind My Bloody Valentine’s unassailable Loveless, and U2 producer Flood, and the personnel shift immediately changed the vibe – despite poor Butch not actually being the problem at all.
out & about
brag beats
Off The Record
Queer(ish) matters with Arca Bayburt
Dance and Electronica with Alex Chetverikov
Five Of This Week’s Most Exciting Electronic Music Gigs
T
he Sydney music scene is alive and well, everyone. As the Cajmere house classic foretold, OOH ERR AHH EEE (oh, and that ‘Brighter Days’ are always on the horizon). Meanwhile, here are some things to look forward to:
Flight Facilities, the perennial Aussie musical mainstays that they are, are 1. finally laying down their first hometown Boiler Room DJ set on Sunday July 16 as part of Samsung’s Infinity Sounds event, with support from NY’s Jacques
Mark Latham Fails Again And Again And Again
I
don’t know how and I don’t know why, but every so often I hear a moaning beneath the earth and watch, horrified, as a bloated Mark Latham crawls out of the dirt to say something fucking useless. Latham’s latest take on gay people is that there simply aren’t enough of us to warrant marriage equality. The same way that, if there are only two slaves instead of two million, slavery is dandy and of no moral consequence. I fail to see why this person keeps getting airtime. He’s illogical and an alarmist, going so far as to declare Safe Schools a “Marxist gender theory program” in between calling a schoolboy “gay” on television and also insisting that there are such a small number of gender diverse people it shouldn’t even be an issue.
“These numbers don’t lie,” Latham said, ‘The truth is, in Australia we’ve got just 47,000 same-sex couples, so why the big national debate? The big national obsession in the political system with same-sex marriage?” This shortcut to actual thinking is interesting to me, in that no journalist speaking to the man has bothered to call it out. I mean you could say, well buddy,
this week…
Detroit legend Aaron ‘FIT’ Siegel is touching down at Slyfox on Friday July 3. 21. He first featured on Omar S’s FXHE imprint before going on to produce a series of incredible EPs and found his own FIT Sound label. Where his earlier work
Or perhaps we could delve further into this phantasmagorical logic – Mr. Latham, perhaps since disabled people are the minority, we shouldn’t bother with parking provisions or specially equipped public bathrooms or ramps. I mean it’d be silly to waste resources on such a tiny sliver of society, right?
demonstrated an approach more sonically resembling Detroit house, Carmine found him exploring more ethereal territory to great effect.
Latham’s obnoxiousness is difficult to stomach. I’d be all ears if someone conservative or otherwise against gay marriage tried to articulate an argument that was reasonable, but this dim-witted argument is just too much. I initially thought it was satire.
The next instalment of the brilliant Classic Album Sundays listening sessions 4. hones on Kraftwerk’s ethereal and trance-like Trans-Europe Express release. This immersive and cathartic journey through sound will get the proper treatment through the exquisite CAS audio setup, and an opportunity to truly lose yourself in The Bordello Room of The World Bar on Sunday July 23. Bonobo brings his vaunted electronic-cum-full-band live experience to 5. Hordern Pavilion on Saturday July 22. Promoting his latest album Migration, which features the artist formerly known as Chet Faker, Bonobo’s live band set-up has attracted some very positive press. Few others do it as well – Four Tet, Floating Points and Trentemøller among them.
The Australian media should hold public figures accountable for the diarrhoea gushing from their mouths on every sad morning show appearance. Somebody needs to stop that shit, seriously. We’re foolish for entertaining such irrational viewpoints with the same respect we accord people who make actual sense when they speak. Give Mark Latham and his feebleminded arguments a good rinse. He surely needs it. If this is all too depressing, remember that a week ago, Vatican police went to a priest’s house after a neighbour’s noise complaint, only to find the most debauched, drug-fuelled gay orgy of all time in full swing. It’s always funny when the homophobes get caught with their pants down.
Heaps Gay
On Saturday July 15, HEAPS GAY is hosting a super secret basement party somewhere in Marrickville. The venue will be revealed on the day of the event, so you can find out by keeping tabs on the event page via Facebook. This party features Brisbane qween Sezzo Snot, gender-bending duo Tribade Marinade, drag king god Jayvante Swing, pop prince Nic Kelly, boylesque magic by Joshwaa James, Show Us Your Teeth Queen, Amy Claire Mills going solo and more surprises. No door sales, tickets online only. On Saturday July 22, head over to the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville for GiRLTHING’s final Imperial party, The Last Dance! It’ll be a big send off and can’t be missed. Featuring the always amazing GiRLTHING DJs, Canberra’s Gay Cliché, SnaggleTooth, Amie Hess, Cherry Buttonz and Bettie Bandit with more to be announced. Tickets are available now.
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Local lads from Sydney crew Post Pluto will showcase their talents down 2. at Darlinghurst’s The Bunk3r on Friday July 14, with house producers Adam Stromstedt and Subaske receiving worldwide support for their recent productions.
since it’s such a tiny issue then why not just legalise gay marriage and move on with our lives? That’d be nice.
“THE AUSTRALIAN MEDIA SHOULD HOLD PUBLIC FIGURES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE DIARRHOEA GUSHING FROM THEIR MOUTHS ON EVERY SAD MORNING SHOW APPEARANCE.”
Why does the Australian media keep eagerly stuffing the microphone down this guy’s throat? His opinions aren’t based on any evidence at all. It’s like he just glanced at the census and it was all he needed to make the judgment that such a small segment of the population doesn’t matter enough to have rights.
Renault, a live set from Melbourne’s Kllo, and Adi Toohey. It’ll also feature visual installations from acclaimed artists Nic Hamilton and Dave Mackenzie, and you can lock in your place at the secret location event over at the Boiler Room website.
Bonobo
THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST The sample-heavy funky house goodness of Munich duo COEO, who go from strength to strength with recent releases on the super Toy Tonics label. Baltimore house maestro Karizma has teamed up with Marcel Vogel to deliver three gospel stompers on The Deadpool EP, really putting that Hail Mary in house. Fresh off last year’s stellar debut EP, Interstate channels wistful jazzy grooves and skippy percussion on Seconds Of Your Love, holding the tempo on a sway and reminding us that yes, lower BPM in house music is just as sensual and sexy. The everconsistent Waxtefacts label has done it again with newcomer Real J.’s Stuck In The Realness EP an absolute thumper – those with irritable eyes best avoid, for these are some of the dustiest grooves you ever did hear.
RECOMMENDED SATURDAY JULY 15
Rimbombo 3rd Birthday feat. Ben Fester TBA Incub8 x Control Pres. Hybrid Red Rattler Theatre
FRIDAY JULY 21 FIT Siegel Sly Fox
Classic Album Sundays – Trans-Europe Express The World Bar
SUNDAY JULY 23
FRIDAY JULY 28
Tornado Wallace: Music For Brunch Cake Wines
Mince 4 Freedom Fundraiser for Checnya LGBT The Bunk3r
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live reviews & snaps What we’ve been out to see...
By David James Young You know you’re in for an interesting evening when one of the first things you see is a woman getting her head shaved while singing onstage. That’s Bec Callander of Rackett, whose band is always an entertaining prospect; a surefire warm-up for tonight’s proceedings. Body Type follow, who have more or less become the support band’s support band in 2017. It’s a role they slip into comfortably – their dark, jangly and hypnotic indie-rock is a welcome and ever-intriguing contrast to the brighter musical styles and approaches scattered across the rest of the lineup. 18-year-old Gretta Ray – yes, you read correctly – confidently showcases her heart-on-sleeve folk-pop like a veteran, with a voice that is well on its way to being unmistakably hers. The truth is, ‘Drive’, ‘Unwind’ and ‘Towers’ are all songs that people twice her age would kill to have written. Jack River, too, is an emerging name with lots of promise – and its central focus, Holly Rankin, is one of the brains behind this entire operation. With a glitter-and-rhinestone aesthetic, Jack River execute multifaceted pop that emphasises Rankin’s vocals – all bubble and sass, not unlike a young Gwen Stefani. In a flourish of jitters, Bec Sandridge is the type to get lost in a moment when performing. It’s almost to a fault – snapping a string halfway through – but it’s done with such theatricality and conviction she easily gets away with it. By the time Alex Lahey arrives, the energy in the room is ready to ascend. Lahey and her trusty backing
“It’s a step in the right direction to creating something positive and prosperous, with potential to develop into something bigger and better.” band dutifully take things up a notch with a last hurrah for 2016’s B-Grade University. One year on, there’s still nothing quite like raising your voice in solidarity with ‘...People Like Me’ and ‘Let’s Go Out’. Ali Barter may seem in a curious position, headlining over Lahey’s crowd-pleasers, but underestimate an artist of her calibre at your own peril. Still riding high on her top-tier debut, A Suitable Girl, Barter and co. have locked into the album’s glistening hooks as well as its razor-sharp guitar edge. This results in a live show that is equal parts pop pleasantry and manethrashing rock stomp – Barter truly has the best of both worlds right now. Ending with an anthem for dismantling misogyny (‘Girlie Bits’) is perhaps the perfect way to end the inaugural Electric Lady. Yes, there are teething problems. A lineup of this size is better suited to allday festivities, rather than attempting to cram it all into a single night. There’s also the issue of the lineup featuring entirely cis women, and only one person of colour – Rackett guitarist Kat Ayala – making their presence felt. Even so, it’s a step in the right direction to creating something positive and prosperous, with potential to develop into something bigger and better. One has full faith it will. Electric Lady’s premiere event unfolded on Friday June 30 at the Metro Theatre.
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Electric Lady Felt Like The Start Of Something Truly Great
09:07:17 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666
Luca Brasi Fuckin’ Made It And That’s Fuckin Sick By David Molloy “If you told us three months ago we’d be headlining the fuckin’ Metro, we’da told ya to get fucked mate, this is fuckin’ stupid.” The eloquent words of Luca Brasi bassist and frontman Tyler Richardson, on the closing night of their momentous headlining tour. Who could blame him for still feeling shocked? After their Hottest 100 success, it’s a well-earned step forward for the band, and testament to how beloved they have become. Before they took to the stage, their Tassie mates in Speech Patterns held the floor with short, sharp missives of high energy punk. They struggled through some sound issues, sure, but their drummer was a stand out of the night, and the community backing them may soon see them follow Luca Brasi’s trajectory. After she’d already fronted for Kingswood, Tash Sultana and Polish Club, it was no surprise to see youngster Maddy Jane rippin’ it up here. Jane’s pipes are a knockout – from a rocked-up cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ to her own punchy tracks, she oozed charisma.
“When the lads walked out adorned in their support acts’ merch, you couldn’t help but love them.”
PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR
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The only shame is that she was the only woman onstage tonight. Expectations were high for the imported Pianos Become The Teeth, and the post-hardcore quintet didn’t disappoint. Like a mirror to the darker energy of this band, the crowd shifted into seriousness, in thrall to the emotional pull of vocalist Kyle Durfey. His screaming days are behind him, but he still has that same intensity in every fibre of his being, and the otherwise rowdy crowd lapped it up. To their enormous credit, part of Luca Brasi’s appeal is their wholehearted connection to their community. When the lads walked out adorned in their support acts’ merch, you couldn’t help but love them. That gesture alone was enough to sell the band on their merits as people. Maybe they couldn’t believe where they were standing, but they sure as hell meant business when they played. Should Richardson have faltered for a second, the crowd would have carried him anyway as they leapt about the building. In the absence of Georgia Maq, Maddy Jane filled in guest vox on ‘Count Me Out’, a highlight of thePHO set.TOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR The exact energy of the band defies belief – they’re the blokiest blokes that ever bloked, but inclusive and kind at the same time. It’s little wonder their fans (or The Smith Street Band and Violent Soho, for that matter) are so attached to them, and to see them headline the Metro isn’t surprising – it’s heartening. Death to the lads? Nah, these lads are alright, ay. Luca Brasi were reviewed at the Metro Theatre on Saturday July 1.
PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR
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28:06:17 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666
Xiu Xiu Insulted Twin Peaks And Their Audience At Carriageworks Last Week By Joseph Earp There’s a clip going around at the moment in which lauded composer Angelo Badalamenti talks through how he and his longtime collaborator David Lynch dreamt up one of the themes that plays in Twin Peaks, the arthouse soap opera oddity that might well be TV’s finest hour. Seated at a keyboard, Badalamenti explains the creative process to the camera, his eyes occasionally
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clamping shut as he tenses into what looks like absolute ecstasy. The key to the unbearably wholesome clip is the joy of it all – the kind of unfettered joy that was distinctly lacking from American indie band Xiu Xiu’s attempt to cover Badalamenti’s score in full at Carriageworks. In fact, their show was such a colossal, unbearable trainwreck that it wasn’t simply cringeworthily overwrought; it was actively insulting, both to the audience and the source material it intended to honour. Things started bad and got worse. Xiu Xiu, a collection of indie electro wailers led by the insufferable Jamie Stewart, are the kind of band that
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28:06:17 :: Big Top Sydney Luna Park :: 1 Olympic Dr Milsons Point 9033 7600
smirk over Twitter about their refusal to greet or thank their audience; a band that have courted controversy for their objectification of black bodies, and their smug refusal to engage with critics. So it’s entirely in character that they opened the show with five uninterrupted minutes of a drum loop playing the same ten-second-long sequence, and entirely in character that they ended it with what could be best described as a primary school production of Twin Peaks, as Stewart barked the novelty song ‘Mairzy Doats’ while extracts from Laura Palmer’s diary were read in a halting American accent.
And in between those two bookends was a solid hour of unbearable, unlistenable garbage, as the band layered Badalamenti’s score with reverb, screeching and insipid, lifeless gimmicks. It was like watching someone methodically cake the Mona Lisa in human shit; like gazing on, unable to intervene, as the Bayeux tapestry was unpicked, thread by thread. ‘Cause here’s the thing: David Lynch isn’t weird for the sake of being weird, and he doesn’t make art that actively seeks to repel audience attention. His work – Twin Peaks included – is driven by an all-encompassing respect for its viewers; by the desire to include. That Stewart and his gang of art school snobs
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“It was like watching someone methodically cake the Mona Lisa in human shit.” didn’t realise that – that they arrogantly assumed good art should take effort, that it should be indistinguishable from work – speaks volumes about both their unbearable shortcomings, and the grace of Badalamenti’s still unbowed and unbroken score. Xiu Xiu’s performance of The Music Of Twin Peaks went down at Carriageworks on Thursday June 29.
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live reviews & snaps
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What we’ve been out to see...
Grinspoon Study The Guide And Power Through The Hits By David James Young Bundaberg natives Good Boy are a delightfully curious prospect, insofar as their versatility and genre-defiant abnormalities means they fare far better than your average guitar-twanging slackers. They may tack on knowingly dumb song titles like ‘Ya Mum’s Ya Dad’ or ‘Braap’, but contained within are sharply written and versatile exercises in power-trio prosperity. Augmented, jazzy chord shapes spread out over
picked out basslines on ‘Millie’, while the energy hits new levels on the intense, ricocheting ‘Poverty Line’ – also known as the best song Eddy Current Suppression Ring never wrote. Ever on the up-and-up, Good Boy are a must-see before their inevitable explosion. Hockey Dad arrived on the scene some four years and change ago, fresh out of high school. To see them confidently take on a stage as grand as the Enmore’s, then, is quite something. The rag-tag energy that made them a draw to begin with is still a large factor in their live performance – Billy Fleming walloping away on his drums, Zach Stephenson chopping away at his brightly-toned guitar.
At the same time, they’ve made a clear progression as both songwriters and musicians – to which a handful of new songs from their forthcoming second album happily attest. Anyone who happens to follow Grinspoon’s Phil Jamieson on Instagram is probably across the fact he was blessed before this tour began with just about the best gift you can give a singer: bronchitis. A lesser vocalist would have either postponed or called things off entirely. Not our Jamo, though – not ever. Truthfully, if one didn’t have this context you may have honestly had no idea – watching Jamieson in the flesh is witnessing someone with a new lease on life, tearing into
“Watching Jamieson in the flesh is witnessing someone with a new lease on life, tearing into the band’s beloved debut LP … like a man possessed.”
all promptly sink their teeth into each track, from the carefree kickflips of ‘Just Ace’ to the belligerent snarl of ‘Sickfest’. The crowd heaves, surfs and loudly sings along, just like old times, while making new memories along the way.
the band’s beloved debut LP, Guide To Better Living, like a man possessed.
A bonus-round encore sees New Detention get some love (itself celebrating a 15-year anniversary), as well as ‘Ready 1’ and perennial angst-anthem ‘More Than You Are’ to wrap up. We’re showered in red confetti, and it truly feels like we’ve never lived better than in this very moment.
His companions – bassist Joe Hansen, guitarist Pat Davern and drummer Kristian Hopes –
Grinspoon were reviewed at the Enmore Theatre on Thursday July 6.
PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR
Shogun Still PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR Carries Royal Headache To Painful, Powerful Heights By David Molloy When a band sells itself on an image of sneering intensity – even one that speaks to a community as powerfully and truthfully as Royal Headache does – it can be hard to find support acts that aren’t merely imitating their swagger. Fortunately, openers Gallucci had no such illusions, even
admitting, “This is our first time playing onstage”. They broke into rock jams accented by sweet saxophone breaks from “our own Tim Wall”, and were exactly the burst of fun rock energy needed to kick off the night. The No couldn’t muster the same humble charm, instead choosing to stay silent behind mops of hair and waves of late-Cure inspired seriousness. While they didn’t exactly hold the crowd, their closing song was easily their best – more aggressive, assertive and inventive than they’d proved across the rest of their set. It was Low Life that struck as the imitators, constantly griping about the exact balance in the foldback.
First, the bassist demanded they restart a song after flubbing the timing, then walked off during the third song, pissed about some cabling error. That was the last this critic could be bothered to watch. Some frontmen can carry off feigned disdain for their audience – others just come across as pricks.
song, and flanked by a band of young, seemingly intimidated musicians, he stood out like a madly sermonising prophet in the garb of the everyman. When he tells you he’s “just been so low”, you believe it, and that malaise was accentuated by the “fucking zombie cold” he was fighting through on the night.
Shogun doesn’t hate his audience – he’s saved all that rage up and directed it inward. It was easy on Friday night to see why he’s garnered the acclaim he and Royal Headache have in the past few years: you’re unlikely to see a more committed performance from an Aussie frontman. Every ounce of his blood and sweat were poured into every
One opportunistic stage-diver attempted to recapture the energy of Royal Headache’s notorious Opera House set, but he need not have made the effort. The boiling dance floor of the Factory paid Shogun’s irrepressible energy back in full, even held back as they were by the venue’s metal barrier.
“Flanked by a band of young, seemingly intimidated musicians, [Shogun] stood out like a madly sermonising prophet in the garb of the everyman.”
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“You thought that was weird – check this out,” said Shogun, as the band launched into one of their groovier new tracks. But there was nothing weird about it; the new tracks are less rabidly punkish, but still consistent with the vibe of their classics. The raw power the band exudes makes one think of what it must have been like to witness those first few punk gigs decades ago, when no one knew how to quantify this new form. Had the Ramones been motivated by the shame of confession, the need for self-exorcism, they may have sounded like this. Royal Headache are the kind of generational act that we’ll undoubtedly cite back in years to come – to say we were there when Shogun preached in the flesh. Royal Headache were reviewed at the Factory Theatre on Friday June 30.
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pick of the week
LCD Soundsystem
Queens Of The Stone Age
LCD Soundsystem Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. Monday July 24. 8pm. $110.85 Come and dance yourself clean with everyone’s favourite North American scum, fresh off the back of their six-year-long hiatus.
WEDNESDAY JULY 19 Hordern Pavilion
Queens Of The Stone Age + Ecca Vandal
Dope Lemon + WAAX + Jack Beats Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. FREE In The Round w/ James Morrison Leadbelly, Newtown. 6pm. $5 Jodi Martin Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $15 Sydney Women’s Jazz Collective Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $21.50
THURSDAY JULY 13 Adaptors + Amritha + Aurora Motel The Record Crate, Glebe. 7pm. $8
Chris Abrahams Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $22.90 Didirri Golden Age Cinema, Surry Hills. 7pm. FREE 38 :: BRAG :: 720 :: 12:07:17
The Safety Of Life At Sea + Crazy Old Maurice + The April Family Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15 Songwriting Society Of Australia Showcase Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo. 7:30pm. FREE
FRIDAY JULY 14 A Breach Of Silence The Bald Faced Stag, Leichardt. 8pm. $16.67 Bag Raiders + Polographia Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $39.90 C.O.F.F.I.N. + Ebolagoldfish + Flight To Dubai + The Culture Industry + The Darrens + White Dog Valve Bar, Ultimo. 7:30pm. $15 Donnarumma + Just Breathe + The Deep Blue The Townie, Newtown. 10pm. FREE
Hello Tut Tut + Baltic Bar Mitzvah Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm. $17.90 Japandroids + Body Type Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $44 Jessica Says + GUSSY + Sunscreen 107 Projects, Redfern. 7:30pm. $12 Just A Gent + MOZA Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15 Mirella’s Inferno + The Grouches + Vinny Lunar + Yannick Koffi Trio Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $20 Pirra + Dr Goddard + Mvrks Waywards, Newtown. 10pm. FREE Remember The Time – A Live Tribute To Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $40 Slow Dancer + Ainsley Farrell + Poppongene Oxford Art Factory,
In Hearts Wake + Crossfaith + While She Sleeps + Polaris Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Friday July 14. 7pm. $55
Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.60 WAAX Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.50 West Thebarton + Food Court + Pist Idiots Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 8pm. $14.30
SATURDAY JULY 15 I Oh You + Green Buzzard + Jack River + Mossy Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. FREE Dark Horse + Bog + Law Of The Tongue + Offensive Behemoth + WRØNG Bald Faced Stag, Leichardt. 7pm. $10 Drown This City + Save The Clock Tower + Our Anchored Hearts + We May Fall Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $12 Gold Class Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 8pm. $21.45 Jess Locke + Ainsley Farrell +
CKDJ The Bearded Tit, Redfern. 4pm. FREE Renata Arrivolo Trio Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $19.50 Traces + Dimensions + Drowning Atlantis + more Valve Bar, Ultimo. 2pm. $15
SUNDAY JULY 16 Generic Pop Punk w/ Banter + Oaks + Sixteen Days + Holding + Skank Daddy Valve Bar, Ultimo. 5pm. $10 Greg Poppleton Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $19.90 Munro Band Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm. $15 Non DJ Electronic Showcase w/ Extramentalist + Zen Robotic + Galraedia + Klaus Bass + Swansea Hit And Run Red Rattler, Marrickville. 7pm. $10 Soul Messengers Wayward Brewing
Company, Annandale. 4pm. FREE Toxicon + Darker Half + War Rages Within Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 7pm. FREE
MONDAY JULY 17 The Monday Jam The Basement, Circular Quay. 8:30pm. $6
TUESDAY JULY 18 Acoustique Lounge L1 Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $15
THURSDAY JULY 20
HAIM + Cameron Avery Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Thursday July 20. 7:30pm. $79.90 Before they make the trek to North Byron Parklands, they’re set to get feet moving at whatever’s left of the Enmore in… In Hearts Wake’s… wake.
Royal Blood + Concrete Surfers Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $74.90
FRIDAY JULY 21 Ásgeir + Gordi Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7pm. $73 Rag’n’Bone Man Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $58 Timberwolf Leadbelly, Newtown. 6pm. $17.85 Two Door Cinema Club + Last Dinosaurs + The Creases Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7pm. $79.90 X + Leadfinger + Golden Fang + Kill Dirty Youth Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $35
Bishop Briggs + Mookhi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $45
SATURDAY JULY 22
Lil Yachty Big Top Luna Park, Sydney. 7:30pm. $69.90
Bonobo Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 8pm. $81.50
LANY + Ric Rufio Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $50
SUNDAY JULY 23 Banks Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7pm. $81.50 Catfish And The Bottlemen Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7:30pm. $67.90 Father John Misty Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $79.90
MONDAY JULY 24 Stormzy Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $68.45
TUESDAY JULY 25 Sigur Rós Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 8pm. $99.90 Maggie Rogers Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $55
For our full gig and club listings, head to thebrag.com/gig-guide. thebrag.com
In Hearts Wake photo by Ellie Mitchell
Ainslie Wills + Merpire Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 7pm. $20
James Mustafa Jazz Orchestra Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $26.50
HAIM
Angry about the state of the world? So are our Byron boys, so brace for the impact as they set a collision course for the Enmore.
7:30pm. $110. WEDNESDAY JULY 12
In Hearts Wake
Gameshow out now through Parlophone. Two Door Cinema Club play Splendour In The Grass 2017 from Friday July 21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sunday July 23, and the Hordern Pavilion on Friday July 21.