Exhaustion : Bikers

Melbourne’s Exhaustion has come screeching and howling their way back with a wild follow up to their debut album last year.  Bassist Jensen Tjhung (Deaf Wish, Lower Plenty), vocalist/guitarist Duncan Blachford and drummer Per Byström (Ooga Boogas, Leather Towel) have written 7 new arresting songs at the band’s studio.  ‘Biker’ (Aarght!) is the result playing out deranged invocations of frayed rock touched by the experimentalism of No Wave and Industrial sounds.  The LP is built on meditative paranoia; minimal, repetitive lyrics distorted into mesmeric moans, calls and intonations.  The songs culminate in a general sense of ennui sounded out by discordant instrumentals and scrambled ruminations.  ‘Hard Left’ is a stand out track for me with its haunting piano, prowling beats and whirring, jagged guitar work.  ‘Lonely Cars’ is a percussion heavy number involving a tribal mood to the album accompanied by wiry, spiralling out strings.  ‘Silver Fog’ features ricocheted cave dweller vocals anchored by a repetitive melody focused bass and whipped beats revealing a song whereby Exhaustion incorporates structure with the improvisational approach they’re already known so well for.  To my ears at least this is the leap ‘Bikers’ makes from ‘Future Eaters’; it plays with form just as much as formlessness.   Exhaustion are back firing on all cylinders and you can get ‘Bikers’ at all good retailers now! 

Check out opening track 'Blunt Eyes' right HERE

Ooga Boogas : Ooga Boogas

Ooga Boogas follow up their fantastic debut 'Romance and Adventure' with a self titled album that came out at the beginning of summer or there-abouts.   The Melbourne four piece are: Mikey Young, Per Bystrom (whose Aunt also did the stunning artwork), Leon Stackpole and Richard Stanley  - who has released the album on his own Aarght! Records label.  'Romance and Adventure' saw Ooga Boogas put their own stamp on garage rock in 2008, and these ten new songs take a look at rock through different lenses utilizing electronics, so don't be surprised to hear a few changes in their approach.  Opener "Circle of  Trust" features strutting bass & beats alongside guitars building and releasing tension with choppy sections intermittently smoothed over with fuzzed out riffage.  My personal highlights: straight up chugging rock 'n' roll song "Ooga Boogas II", the incredible guitar solo at the end of "Mind Reader" AND "It's a Sign".  "It's a sign that we're making it baby, it's sign that we're doing things right, when I'm looking at you and you're looking at me, when I'm smiling at you and you're laughing at me...", Stackpole sings in a heartfelt holler apace with saccharine guitars, low gulping bass and palpitating beats - he continues "Well it seems we've got something going on, when you take your panties off and don't put 'em back on,".  'Ooga Boogas' has been one of my records of the summer and I'm sure if you get a chance to pick up a copy it'll be yours too!   

Best press release for an album ever:

Super Wild Horses 'Fifteen'

Super Wild Horses is the latest band budding from the garages, basements and bedrooms of Australia's humming music scene. Their debut full length 'Fifteen' is out on 'Aarght!' in Australia, and HoZac for everywhere else. Amy Franz and Hayley Mckee make up the girl duo both playing keyboards, guitar and drums. The girls have already toured with the likes of Jon Spencer, The Drones and Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Mikey Young of ECSR also recorded their first (sold out) EP and went on to work on 'Fifteen' as well. 'Fifteen' is full of playful two part harmonies, minimalistic post punk wrapped up with 90s a pop feel to it. The Breeders, Black Tambourine both come to mind, but some of their songs wouldn't sound out of place on a Wetdog record either. These 12 new killer songs show just what these girls are capable of while being fun and unassuming at the same time, which makes the record that much more endearing.


Read full review of Fifteen - Super Wild Horses on Boomkat.com ©