So, after being blown away by them on multiple occasions, i decided i owed Australian duo Big Scary a full album listen. And it was possibly one of the best decisions i have ever made.
Big Scary's 2011 release Vacation is an intriguing album. The musical landscape is filled with possibilities, and to their credit, Big Scary explore much ground in little time. Unfortunately, the need to be obscure and unique sometimes makes Vacation seem slightly repetative. Luckily, the album has a knack for picking itself up regulary, and any boredom fades away quickly.
At times, Tom Lansek's vocals come across as raw and untamed, whilst at other times Tom's haunting melodies hit a nerve so tender that you'll forget everything about who or where you are, and just melt into the music. Drummer Jo Syme is solid throughout the album, and seems to be the structure throughout the album, a role that she pulls off seemlessly.
Perhaps the iconic feature of Vacation is the guitar work of Tom Lansek's. His ability to move from frightening, powerful, smooth and hauntingly beautiful guitar licks, whilst also slipping into a full explosion of powerful rock, is what sets Big Scary apart from other Aussie Indie groups. Whilst he is a little reserved on the album, Tom's guitar work is explosive live. A true treat for any lover of indie rock.
Big Scary have proven that they are going on to bigger and better things. Expect big things from this Victorian duo.
Oh crap. I'm in the car, driving along the Bellarine highway, when the clouds suddenly part. I nearly forget that I'm driving a hundred FREAKING kilometres an hour and make a nice little swerve. This has left the poor fella driving behind me no doubt questioning why those crazy P Platers are even allowed on the roads. At this point though, i don't care, because the realisation that the Soundwave music festival is one week away has finally hit me.
As some one with a massive range of music taste (Bon Iver sits awkwardly yet politely between Blink-182 and Breaking Benjamin on my IPOD), Soundwave is a clear opportunity to satisfy the harder rock cravings my ears have developed. As someone who doesn't have thousands of dollars to go to every music festival, I generally make myself choose between the big three: BDO, FUTURE and SOUNDWAVE. Big Day Out is generally the no-brainer, but the impressive diversity of the Soundwave timetable has this particular festival marked as unmissable in my calendar (OK. This "Calendar" is theoretical. I don't actually have a calendar, unless... does my iPhone calendar count?)
So yeah, i'm getting excited. Not only for Soundwave, but for the fact that another monster music festival, GROOVIN' THE MOO, is sneaking up in a couple of months. Now this festival caters to my more 'INDIE' needs. I'm nearly peeing my pants at the excitement of seeing some of these dudes playing. And it will be the third time i would have seen Australian group BIG SCARY play. For anyone who hasn't seen this dude/dudette duo play, they are insane. Seriously, insane. And now i've got Gladiatior stuck in my head... ("But you know what's IN MY HEART!")
Now for all you creeps out there, here is an indication of where i will likely be all day...
Now i have to say, the one thing that always blows about music fests are CLASHES! No matter who you are, there is always one clash that has you pulling your hair out and crying like a little girl. For me, there is one main clash. My desire to see System Of A Down, Angels And Airwaves, and VersaEmerge is frustrating me to no end. All i can say is that you had better impress me, Tom "that dude from blink 182" Delonge.
WHY A COUPLE OF OLD-SCHOOL ROCK STARS AND A BUNCH OF INDIE KIDS ARE ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN DANCE/POP/CRAP MUSIC AND WORLD DOMINATION----------
The strength of the indie music scene is a hard kick-in-the-balls for the commercial music industry. Bands like Stonefield, Big Scary, Loon Lake, Children Collide, and Calling All Cars are proving just how much depth and range the Australian music industry has to offer. Sick Puppies,a Sydney bred trio and graduates of the Triple J UNEARTHED competition, have gone on to achieve international success with their hit alt-rock singles "All The Same" and "Maybe". All-sister rock outfit Stonefield were chased after to play at Glastonbury last year after their EP 'Through The Clover' struck a chord with fans. This proves that you don't have to show off Christina Aguilera's boobs whilst ripping off Jagger's moves to make smart, relevant music that people will give a crap about. And indie rock is becoming more important every day in the screwed up music scene.
STONEFIELD - THROUGH THE CLOVER
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last ten years, you must be aware that the age of guitar-based music is slowly ending. Rock'n'roll, once the only type of music that anybody gave a shit about, has now been reduced to the obscurity of the underground scene. Meanwhile, the plague that is modern pop music (working in conjunction with Nickelback), has been allowed to spread throughout the world, slowly sucking the life out of what once was the core of our society.
The reason why the indie music is gathering momentum in society is because people aren't stupid. They identify with powerful, creative music and honest, playful lyrics. If you listen to 90% of mainstream dance music, you can tell the lyrics and music were essentially ripped off a hundred similar tracks, and were pretty much all written by some dude called "Dr. Luke."
Let's get something clear: the issue isn't necessarily dance music. It's that commercial dance music has no talent, skill, variation or creativity. The one thing about music's rock age was that there was originality in the market. Rock bands who became household names (See Rolling Stones, RHCP, Silverchair) were defined by their electric guitars, glorified frontmen and catchy songwriting. But now, the lack of variety and mainstream representation in the rock genre is startling.
Through the decades, every rock sub-genre that rose to prominence had an impressive variety of artists. Rock'n'roll. Underground punk. Grunge Nirvana. The pop-punk resurgence. Pop-rock. The many bands that rose through these genres have come and gone. Though some of these outdated bands are still together, they have all either turned their back on mainstream music (see Blink 182, Radiohead) or are just passed their prime (RHCP, Green Day).
NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS
- THE DEATH OF YOU AND ME
Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and Noel Gallagher (Oasis, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds) are perhaps the only two men left who are both real rockstars, currently relevant, and mainstream successes. Because of their mainstream successes, both will always cop shit from critics. It's called Tall Poppy Syndrome. The perfect example of this is Noel's whiny brother Liam (the voice of Oasis, but not the talent) was critical of his older brother's work.
"One Word. Dido." - Liam Gallagher, Twitter.
Though some may fault artists like Noel Gallagher, he is one of the only things keeping guitar-led music in the public eye. For without the likes of Dave Grohl and Noel Gallagher, the closest thing we have to a modern rockstar is...
Katy Perry. Because let's face it. She rocks better, harder, and with more dignity than the dude from Nickelback.
JA.
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