New Track: The Strokes – Under Cover Of Darkness

Taken from their upcoming release Angles, new single Under Cover of Darkness is the first new track form The Strokes in five years.

So how does it compare? Well, it’s fucking brilliant!

But don’t take our word for it. Check it out here:

For the next 48 hrs, Get a free download of the track here!

2010 & Beyond: Art Vs. Science

So we’ve used our flippers to get down and we’ve established that no one we know speaks french, but Art Vs. Science‘s Dan Mac (aka McNamee) is still after more! Remember 2010 and step into 2011 with Australia’s favorite electro act!

Lost In Suburbia: Who has been the stand out local artist for you in 2010?

Dan Mac: Jinja Safari came on our Magic Fountain tour in August and for such a new band we thought they were really awesome. Had a very good, positive vibe about them too which I think audiences really appreciated.

LIS: Who has been the stand out International artist for you in 2010?

DM: Janelle Monae. Kicking it with the tightrope. I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard anything else by her but if she had anything to do with the writing or producing of that supremely bouncing funky jungle rhythm then she’s absolutely tops in my books.

LIS: What would you consider the highlight of the Australian musical calendar in 2010?

DM: Splendour in the grass! The Strokes blew my mind. I never knew how good they were because back in their heyday I was still going through my “if it’s popular then it must be crap” stage. But that Julian Casablancas character – he really means what he’s saying! I believe him when he sings about how he’s not happy about been a New York hedonist and really just wants to settle down and be happy. He’s perhaps going about it the wrong way by forming a rock band and touring the world singing about those things which aren’t making him happy.. but still, it was so good that Splendour got them out this year. Definite highlight.

LIS: What’s been the Highlight for Art Vs Science in 2010?

DM: Jamming on the Bacardi express train with Yves Klein Blue and the Miami Horror fellas (and everyone else who picked up an instrument and had a go). Once you’re in a band that starts getting busy you don’t really get to jam with other musos very often and it is simply so much fun. Ah jamming. Best part of music.

LIS: And the lowlight in 2010?

DM: Having Jim (keys) sleep in the bunk above me on the train. He made a terrible, terrible mess.

LIS:  Looking forward to 2011, who is your tip for local artist set to make a huge impact? Why?

DM: Well like I was saying before. Jinja Safari seem to have a really exciting vibe about them and the obvious ability to write good tunes. And Crave You by Flight Facilities is really great too. Just this really cool electric piano chilling things out and the bass is kind of tough but then the drums are really dirty and up front. Then this girl singing sweetly with what seems to be a French accent, about how much see wants some guy who doesn’t seem to notice her. I’m not sure who wrote the song but it’s very, very nice indeed.

LIS: And your tip for International act set to break in 2011? Why?

DM: Well I guess I’m repeating myself now but I hope Janelle Monae comes out with some more gold. I tend to get obsessed with one thing at a time!

LIS:  What do you hope 2011 will have in store for the Australian music scene? Do you see any large changes on the horizon?

DM: I really want someone to make a kickass 50s / 60s rock band which plays in little rooms with no extra amplification except for vocals. So just guitars, bass, drums vocals and maybe some really cool old organ. It probably won’t happen because it has no future except little gigs in little rooms but it’d be awesome to see a band like The Sonics kicking round today. Playing The Doors, The Kinks, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, the older Beatles ones.. Doing those old guitar solos where the guitarist is pretty much just trying to make as much noise as possible to get over the rest of the band. That’d be fun I think.

LIS: What’s your New Year’s resolution?

DM: To make the above band so that when I’m not touring I can keep playing music!

Review: Splendour In The Grass Wrap-Up

Bands, dust, injuries, bands, burritos, bands, margaritas, bands, traffic jams and bands; It’s Splendour In The Grass and for another year, it is sadly over.

In its tenth year on this planet, Splendour grew up, kicked out some unforgettable sets and blew our minds with consistently brilliant sound. This time around it was Splendour on pink elephants as 32,000 punters enjoyed three of the best days of Australian music festivities our fair country has ever seen.

While many campers got stuck in the ten km traffic jam leading into the Woodford site on Thursday, our trip in was smooth sailing. After being directed to a nice little patch of heaven on top of a secluded cliff, we set up camp and proceeded to get giddy on our imported ‘water’.

Friday morning dawned bright and sunny with no hint of the cool weather Splendour promoters convinced us would be nipping at our heels. Icy cold showers aside, life seemed good in Tent City.

Making out way into the festival Horrorshow broke our Splendour 2010 virginity. The two boys from Petersham kicked out a killer set in the Mix Up Tent and after the party (and bullshit, and party, and bullshit) we made our way over to Violent Soho.

Fresh from the US where their single Jesus Stole My Girlfriend has achieved Alternative radio success, Violent Soho introduced us to the beautiful Woodfordia natural Amphitheatre in spectacular fashion. Performing tracks from their newly (re) released album, the boys from Mansfield played to a small, but highly appreciative audience.

Friday flew by in a blur of Foals with an incredible math rock set, Little Red Rock(ing) It at the Amphitheatre and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club getting down, dirty and just a little bit sexy with the crowd.

And that’s when things got ugly. When making my way down from the Amphitheatre post BRMC, thinking I could get a quick phone charge in at the Virgin Mobile van and still make it to the end of Hot Chip, I fell down the hill. And, like the awkward human that I am, couldn’t get back up. Luckily two lovely strangers carried my down the bottom and on to the Medic Tent where I sat for the next four hours. Yes. Four hours.

While I’m not one to complain, I just don’t understand why there were no crutches available on site? I was the 14^th ankle of the day the lovely medical students told me, that means that 13 other, probably equally as intoxicated, fools were out there hobbling around and holding up eager festival goers. Anyway, moral of this tale is Amphitheatre Hill = 1, Keely = 0.

Through the walls of the Mixt Up Medical tent, I could hear LCD Soundsystem take the stage. They belted through Drunk Girls & I Can Change as well as classics like Daft Punk is Playing At My House and All My Friends before closing with Losing My Edge. One sweaty punter who had been hanging off the sound tent fence said they “blew [her] face off”. Parts of said face are currently still missing.

Saturday. The Sabbath. The day of rest. Well, not for 32,000 people in south-western QLD. A cheeky trip to Caboolcha and a pair of killer crutches later, day two’s sonic boom erupted.

Braving the slope of Amphitheatre hill on crutches, I settled myself down for a day of main stage frivolity. We didn’t want to party party, but we did ‘cause Philadelphia Grand Jury were fantastic, Operator Please threw down the gauntlet with tracks from their new album Gloves and Tame Impala hypnotised the crowd with their own brand of psychedelic rock.

But the real winner on the day? Three words: Guzman Y Gomez. Burritos Y Margaritas. Delicious Y Deliciouser. Yes, and while the Burritos and frozen cocktails of tasty doom had all run out by the Sunday, that moment on the Saturday, sitting in the Guzman tent with a mariachi band filling my ears while beans & chicken filled my stomach really could have been a perfect moment. It’s sad, but it’s true.

Still basking in the glory of the burrito no one was prepared for the almost-riot that was about to occur. Heading back to the main stage as Florence belted out her last, theatrical notes and as her legions of ‘oh-my-god-she-was-AMMAAZZINNGGGG’ fans spewed out of the two-gate entry/exit to the floor of the amphitheatre stage, we faced ourselves with a conundrum. How. The. Hell. Were we supposed to get through those tiny gates to see The Strokes?

People pleaded, people complained and I think a girl almost cried. These were The Strokes! It wasn’t like they came here every day! We had to get in there; we had to get into that amphitheatre. I saw people climb the walls. People were going bush just to get a glimpse of Julian Casablancas in his oh so attractive leathers. It was like a cattle crush. The bottleneck crowd crush from hell. One more wrong move and these promoters were facing a riot. Then, finally, twp minutes out from the opening act, the bars of life opened up. The red sea parted. Those bloody gates opened up, and in we rushed, as though our lives depended on it. Me, limping and with crutches, the others, pushing their way past me to chance a glimpse of the hero of our generation.

The Strokes, it has to be said, are a pretty good band. They aren’t my favourite, ill be honest with you, they aren’t. But they are pretty good. Their splendour set, however, was FANTASTIC. Capitals on purpose. For a hardcore lover or a weekend fan, The Strokes, on that winter night in July (or was it August) delivered. Playing all their hits, and a few of their lesser known, but still hip as a replacement tracks, the Strokes entertained one and all… what a ridiculously good end to a killer Saturday.

The third day, the frost, except this isn’t a John Marsden book, and this winter in Queensland seem determined never to get cold. So the third day, the third awesome summer-in-winters day in a row, I guess that title seems more appropriate, dawned in spectacular style. Leaving the knob jockey crutches at the campsite, I chucked on some gumboots and we moved with the crowds into the festival site, swigging the last of our illegal ‘water’.

The mix up tent produced Miike Snow; the quirky and fantastic Indie electro act out of Sweden, playing a flawless set which included rad new song The Rabbit and a guest appearance by a man in a gorilla mask climbing the tent poles during set closer Animal. Brilliant.

We Are Scientists played to a slightly empty amphitheatre, and while the set was good, nothing about them grabbed me, in fact, as a band, We Are Scientists have failed to grab me since their first album. Not their fault, just not my cup of tea. Still, people seemed to dig it. Nice for them.

And so began the last of our Amphitheatre marathons. Over the next four hours The Vines, Passion Pit, Mumford & Sons & Pixies graced us with their sonically awesome presence.

Other than having teenage flashbacks to Get Free, the best part of The Vines set was seeing Craig Nichols looking healthy on stage. He powered through the 7 or 8 songs, even engaging with the audience, seems like break from touring had a very positive effect. Lets hope it lasts.

Possibly the best set of the festival, definitely the best crowd of the festival was Passion Pit. The falsetto vocals engulfed the audience cracking a smile on even the harshest of faces and a bounce in the stiffest of legs. Punching out tracks from their debut album Manners and their EP Chunk Of Change, the lads rallied the audience into a bouncing, singing, sweating whole. While Passion Pit can seem a little distant and disconnected in a club show, they are a band that is perfectly suited to playing to hordes of slightly worn down, in need of a boost festivalgoers.

The mood was set for current musical darlings Mumford & Sons to take the stage and wow us with their nu-folk stylings. Joined at times by Julia Stone and Boy & Bear, the English four-piece went through their well-oiled motions, and they managed a fairly decent show. It was just a pity that their performance was overshadowed by the amazing set which had come before them. Unlike Passion Pit, Mumford & Sons are more suited to intimate, smaller venues where their music can really connect with its audience. In a setting like the Amphitheatre, it seemed as though the feeling behind their music was almost lost.

Bringing Splendour In The Grass 2010 home were godfathers of alternative music, Pixies. While it has been drummed into my brain for as long as I can remember that this band is awesome, I just didn’t feel it. Even signature tracks Galvanize and Where Is My Mind felt flat and, to be perfectly honest, boring. The hill was cold which distracted audience attention, and people just seemed to be staying more out of ‘Oh man, it’s the Pixies, you HAVE to see them’ than out of actual enjoyment. It could have been that the excitement hadn’t returned so soon after their last visit, but overall, it wasn’t a great end to what had been an outstanding festival. Shouldn’t have left it at Passion Pit and we all would have gone home happy.

Splendour In The Grass is the countries premiere festival. It is smartly set up with bands enough to cater for every punters music tastes, expertly run with no real hiccups and long enough to feel as though you have really embraced the festival experience without leaving you too drained and wishing it were over. The festival injected $18 million into the Woodford community, so it’s no wonder they are petitioning to have it stay in the area. Whether next year it moves to its new home in North Byron or sees another year at the well set out Woodfordia, Splendour In The Grass 2011 is sure to be one hell of a ride. Strap in kiddies.

 

 

 

 

Splendour In The Grass 2010 Lineup

In a technical error of doom, the Triple J website has revealed the official announcement for Splendour in the Grass 2010, hours before it was set to go on air.

Headlines by The Strokes, The Pixies & Empire Of The Sun, 2010’s Splendour seems almost like the ultimate combination of international and local bands.

Splendour 2010 Lineup:

Internationals:

The Strokes
Pixies
Frightened Rabbit
LCD Soundsystem
Broken Social Scene
The Drums
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Yeasayer
Mumford and Sons
Band Of Horses
Passion Pit
Florence and the Machine
Laura Marling
Grizzly Bear
Band Of Skulls
Surfer Blood
Alberta Cross
Two Door Cinema Club
Midlake
Foals
Goldfrapp
Jonsi
Ash
Scissor Sisters
The Ting Tings
Hot Chip
Ben Harper and the Relentless 7
We Are Scientists
Richard Ashcroft and the United Nations Of Sound
K-Os
Delphic
School Of Seven Bells
The Magic Numbers

Locals:

The Temper Trap
Angus and Julia Stone
Empire Of The Sun
Wolfmother
The Vines
Tame Impala
Paul Kelly
Operator Please
Lisa Mitchell
Midnight Juggernauts
Little Red
Space Invadas
British India
Oh Mercy
The Middle East
Bluejuice
Washington
Whitley
Dan Sultan
Cloud Control
Miami Horror
Clare Bowditch
Philadelphia Grand Jury
The John Steel Singers
Violent Soho
The Mess Hall
Jonathan Boulet
Boy and Bear
Gypsy and the Cat
Last Dinosaurs
Ernest Ellis
Tim and Jean
Yacht Club DJs
+ more to be announced

Tickets for this year’s event at Woodford go on sale 6^th May.

Oh man, Foals!

The Strokes confirm Australian shows

The Strokes are a-comin’ back!

The five piece – Nick Valensi on lead guitar, Julian Casablancas on vocals, Fabrizio Moretti on drums, Albert Hammond Jr. on rhythm guitar and Nikolai Fraiture on bass guitar – will make their way down under to play their first Australian shows since the release of their last album, 2006 First Impressions of Earth.

They’re set to bring their muzak to Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Thursday July 29^th and Melbourne’s Festival Hall on Friday July 30^th.

Well… the band have mentioned they might be playing Splendour, so I’m taking these dates as a Splendour headline confirmation.

The band is currently in New York City recording their 4^th album.

The Strokes

Thurs July 29^th – Hordern Pavilion – Sydney

Tickets from Ticketek, Ph 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Friday July 30^th – Festival Hall – Melbourne

Tickets from Ticketmaster, Ph 136 100 or www.ticketmaster.com.au or
Festival Hall Box Office, 288 Rosslyn St. Licensed & Unlicensed areas / All Ages

Tickets on sale from 9.00am Monday April 12^th

Julian Casablancas announces Australian solo shows

The Strokes front-man Julian Casablancas has announced he will make his first solo trip Down Under this May in support of his debut solo album.

With a world tour that has thus far taken him to England, Europe, North America and Japan to promote his debut solo album Phrazes for the Young, Julian has now confirmed that performances in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney will be added to the list.  After three acclaimed albums with The Strokes, his latest release has been hailed completely beguiling and showcases his trademark raw energy, effortless cool and tantalising guitar riffs melded with daring yet appropriate electronic flourishes.

He has become credited and known to both critics and fans as an innovative composer, mesmerizing performer and all-round genuine rock star.

Tickets to all shows on Julian Casablancas’ tour will be in very high demand, so book early to avoid disappointment. Frontier Members pre-sale begins Wednesday 17 March at 12 noon AEDT. General public on-sale available from Tuesday 23 March, 9am local time.

JULIAN CASABLANCAS TOUR DATES

Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney – May 2010

Pre-sale from Wednesday 17 March, 12 noon AEDT– Thursday 18 March, 12 noon AEDT

General public on-sale from Tuesday 23 March, 9am local time

Thursday 6 May         The Tivoli, Brisbane                                    18+
Ticketek                       132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Friday 7 May              Palace Theatre, Melbourne                        18+
Ticketek                       132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Sunday 9 May            Metro Theatre, Sydney                                18+
Ticketek                       132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au
Metro Theatre              02 9550 3666 or www.metrotheatre.com.au