BENJAMIN GOLBY

New Rules

While he’s best known for his work with local indie pop outfits New Rules For Boats and Split Seconds, harmonica-wielding, synth-exploring folk musician Benjamin Golby is stepping out on his own with his recently released sophomore solo record A Progress.
“I don’t think that I can claim to be particularly productive,” begins Benjamin Golby, a statement local music fans might find hard to believe. Both as a core member of two of the state’s most loved indie pop outfits – the sadly disbanded New Rules For Boats and promising new(ish) act Split Seconds – and through his work as a sound engineer, Golby has become one of the WA scene’s most recognisable faces.

SAN CISCO

Awkward
Island City Records/MGM

Call-and-response vocals, ecstatic, shiny dance-floor sensibilities and enough hooks to reel in an entire sea of hipster teenagers buoy the sophomore release from local indie pop four-piece San Cisco.
San Cisco offer their most immediate bid for pop dominance with the triple j endorsed single and title track from the EP, Awkward. Here, Josh Biondillo’s reverb-doused guitar and bright keyboards spar with Nick Gardner’s declarative bass, while lead vocalist Jordi Davieson’s sweet vocals bounce off drummer Scarlett Stevens’ deadpan delivery to great success.
There are moments when Davieson’s vocals become too affected for their own good, but his ear for a tight, catchy pop song and ascending chorus hardly ever lets him down.
From the pounding tribal rhythms of Rocket Ship of to the crazily catchy doo-doo-wah-doo vocals of Lover, all five tracks sound like hits waiting to happen, and more than prove that the talented local outfit have strong enough songwriting skills to be heard above the hype.
Bound to be one of 2012’s most popular local releases, the tunes on Awkward are memorable enough to make the idea that San Cisco will be forgotten by next summer seem a highly unlikely suggestion. San Cisco will have you humming their tunes under your breath. That is, if you’re not wailing them in your car, volume cranked, inhibition long gone.

FOR WEIRDNESS SAKE

INJURED NINJA / French Rockets / smRts /
Apricot Rail / Drop Macumba

The Bakery
Friday, December 23, 2011

A lot of the sounds heard over the weekend at the Bakery, came with the force of an assault. There were whipsaw screeches, scorching blasts and solar-plexus-socking rumbles. It was all part of A Very Heartless Xmas Party, an end-of-year extravaganza organised by experimental record label Heartless Robot Productions. While the evening courted a hyper-specific subculture, the crowd of several hundred strong reflected an impact beyond the realm of the cloistered connoisseur.

FAST TIMES IN FREO

NORFOLK LANES YOUTH FESTIVAL

Norfolk Lane & X-Wray Café

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Summer had well and truly arrived over the weekend, and Freo was teaming with beach-goers, tourists, and punters for the Norfolk Lanes Youth Festival. The festival itself was set up nicely: the Norfolk stage was set up in the usually abandoned Norfolk Lane, with just enough space for a low-key festival. The second stage was an acoustic area at X-Wray, a cafe so very ‘Fremantle’ that you are more than likely to exit with dreadlocks and a fixie. The heat saw many punters heading to the X-Wray stage for some cold drinks (lemonade, it was a youth festival) and air-con for the first half of the day.

SLEEPING GIANT

Wake Up Call

Comprised of some industry survivalists, heavy rock super group Sleeping Giant launch an epic DVD at Rocket Room this Friday, November 25, with support from Brutus, Nevsky Prospekt and The Lethals. PATRICK MARLBOROUGH chats to lead guitarist Jimmy Thompson about the past and future of this leviathan of a band.

NOVOCAINES FOR THE SOUL

THE NOVOCAINES / Ruby Boots / Sonpsilo Circus / The Tumblers
Amplifier Bar
Friday, November 4, 2011

Some bands start out doing pretty well around the local scene, get surrounded by folks saying how great they are, then think that it’ll all get thrown their way. Not The Novocaines, they work hard, work the industry, and have finally released an album. We’re in the city Friday night to hear what it sounds like and support some local lads done good.
Opening the evening of roll’n’rock, The Tumblers ham it up in aid of their howlin’ buddies. Their Unearthed bio says they sound like Custard, but this reviewer reckons more like Relationship Of Command-era At The Drive-In fused with some kind of blues-pop. Following that were the three-piece Sonpsilo Circus - their fuzzed out but energetic and very cool ‘60s psych sound killed it in a good way. The Circus takes the award for tightest jeans of the night (well done lads!) and, like their strides, fit just right into the rocking’ line-up.
Ruby Boots were a change of pace and genre shift too with cowboy shirts and shock… girls! Look at all them ‘geetars’ of different shapes and sizes; a banjo, an eight stringed lute type thing, guitars and a violin. Ruby Boots provided a country sound and offer a well worked break from the rock bands preparing the growing crowd for the main event, but while they’re a lovely band, they aren’t that interesting.
In celebration of the The Novocaines debut full-length Idle Time, the now full Amplifier room welcomed the band as they burst on stage in their typically brash manner. Rock’n’roll all the way and opening with new tracks off the album, the rollicking tune Summer Waiting recommends some ‘black label love’, hitting it hard before In Treason slowed things down and the frontman Corey Marriott announced, “We’ve been a WA band for near on five years, sorry it’s taken this long to release and album”.
It really was nice to see Perth’s original ‘small bar’ Amplifier full of genuine fans of a local band, just like it should be. The Novocaines have worked hard to build up a fan base and deserve a decent following. As usual they were ludicrously energetic and as tight as you’d expect from band that takes their work seriously.
The popular and caffeine fueled Cup Of Coffee is the kind of energy blast to make a service station impulse buy look dangerously tiresome, and a seriously short song like a punchy punk heart-starter. New one Trampled Hearts caught some attention as a power-pop tune in true Perth style, complete with catchy (and typically heartfelt) lyrics, “you are my everything, everything”.
So, one last song before no encore but an epic smashed out finale. There was Marriott hair flying everywhere and stoked fans soaking up quality tunes and proper rock’n’roll style. These lads The Novocaines deserve to get the recognition they’ve worked for and make something of it, and if it all sends them mad then who’ll be able to tell the difference anyway?

_DANIEL PARKINSON

CLIMBING THE LADDER

RACHEL & HENRY CLIMB A HILL / Simone & Girfunkle / Polly Medlan

Fremantle Arts Centre
Saturday, November 5, 2011

Early November sees the growth of some pretty ordinary caterpillars on chaps upper lips and the odd CD launch or two. Some ordinary facial hair for a good cause only added to the Carnivale feel as Rachel & Henry Climb A Hill launched their second album. Free popcorn and fairly floss was handed around liberally, as records and vintage clothes were for sale alongside the usual beverages.
WAM song competition nominee and country girl Polly Medlen has been going from strength to strength since making her way to the little big smoke. Now with a band behind her the strong voiced Medlen is looking to make serious inroads on the local scene. There is a slight alt bent to Medlen’s brand of Australian country with uber-drummer Nigel Bird being responsible for much of the band’s light, shade and character. There is no doubt that some of the tunes would benefit from a lead guitar, but the trio deliver tunes that for the moment stand up favourably.
Choosing the right support acts for your CD launch is a difficult task. It would never be the intention of the splendidly charming Simone & Girlfunkle to steal anyone’s thunder, but they can’t help but set the bar pretty high whenever they grace the stage. Having fleshed themselves out into a full band and having put their humble beginnings as a duo behind them (apart from the set’s brief opening salvo), they are a whirlwind of harmonies, choreographed dance moves and giddy melodies. Heart Goes Pitter Patter is chock full of Brill Building goodness with Simone & Girlfunkle being equally adept at haunting folk or girl group pizzazz.
In spite of the previous acts stellar sets Rachel & Henry Climb A Hill could have had Elvis supporting them and the crowd still would have been there with the main intent of seeing the quirky Fremantle folksters celebrate their album launch. Vim Leaf was surrounded by smoke as he drummed the intro to Jungle Book before the rest of the band make their way through an applauding crowd. It was a big stadium opening to an intimate night amongst the stars.
Guest musicians were invited up on stage as Rachel Gorman gave sincere thanks to family and friends who had come from far and wide it appeared. For a band whose brightest ingredient is their quirk, it was a fairly earnest opening to the evening. Things were righted with the somewhat twee Sleep Like Clockwork and the melancholy The Silver Yacht as they continued to work through songs from The Little Things.
With a healthy and actively responsive crowd in attendance, Rachel & Henry Climb A Hill would have to count the night as a success, but for the casual punter it was hard to leave without wondering if you had just attended a private party instead of a bone fide rock show.

_CHRIS HAVERCROFT

SUNSHINE OF THEIR LOVE

THE SUNSHINE BROTHERS
Fremantle Arts Centre
Sunday, November 6, 2011

Fremantle Arts Centre turned into a little slice of Kingston Town as The Sunshine Brothers launched their third album, Red Alert. Lovers of dub and reggae brought themselves, their families and their dreadlocks down to the Port Town to dance transiently in the orange lantern light of the courtyard.
As the band began to take their place on stage, the previously calm atmosphere transformed into unashamed excitement. Following an obligatory welcome the band moved into Air Fire Water. The horns eased effortlessly through the song, the Pacific beat mixing well with the vocals and the band’s hypnotic seduction of the crowd was set in motion. Songs like Mean Ocean and Deep Breeze seemed as though they were written specifically for the easy-going Fremantle night.
The Sunshine Brothers’ ability to avoid the generic pitfalls of reggae/dub/ska is commendable. Their songs are an interesting mix of ‘core’ reggae as well as late 20th century pop variants of the genre. New songs such as Hideaway prove the band is more than an adept at songwriting. The shift of purpose between the songs was noticeable and rewarding. Importantly, the band seems to understand this, the enjoyment of the crowd reflected in their performances.
The surf rock licks and reggae horns ploughed steadily through the set – there was a persistent groove nudging punters. Songs such as Hideaway and Moricone come at you like a laid-back avalanche. You are simultaneously relaxed by the music but encompassed by the sound.
What made the Red Alert album launch awesome was the crowd and the fun – it was palpable. Jumping, jiving and hippie slow-motion twisting – the best of which was done by a little kid – upped my enjoyment factor of The Sunshine Brothers. It was the perfect show for Fremantle in the summertime.

_PATRICK MALBOROUGH

RUBY BOOTS

Bootsy Call

WAMi Award winners Ruby Boots launch their second EP At Last this Saturday, October 8, at Amplifier, with help from The Panda Band, The Seals and Hugh Jennings, but first Bex Chilcott tells MATTHEW HOGAN about the massive first year in the band’s history.

RUSSIAN WINTERS

The Battle Begins

A staple of the local indie rock scene, Russian Winters have just released their long-awaited debut album Last Battles, and they launch it this Saturday, October 8, at the Rosemount Hotel with Emperors, Sugarpuss and Mezzanine. Frontman Kris Dimitroff chats to MATTHEW HOGAN.