PVT review – Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 12/08/2010
Tags: australia, church with no magic, melbourne, pivot, PVT, review
A typically cold Melbourne night tried its best, but couldn’t keep PVT fans away from the Corner Hotel. Seven Four missed the first band but managed to catch the cruisy, soothing instrumental trio Seekae, who dished out some pleasant enough sounds, with a bit of groove.
It wasn’t long until the more established trio took to the stage with minimal fuss, and launched into the lead single from the new album, Timeless, followed by the title track, Church With No Magic. Richard Pike’s vocals rang out clear and true over the sometimes sparse instrumentation, almost hypnotic in their delivery (yet still sounding slightly Bowie-esque). Having not witnessed Pivot deliver vocals live before, they certainly were not out of place, and worked seamlessly with the brooding percussion to build to the title track’s eventual “blink and you’ll miss it” climax.
Whilst “Church With No Magic” may seem like more of a “sit-at-home-and-listen-to-in-order” album compared to previous releases, “Light Up Bright Fires” helped to shake things up with its thunderous bass reverberating through every bone in the audience, and inspiring many an awkward dance. However, PVT aren’t exactly the band that most people would go nuts to on a dancefloor, and the audience in attendance seemed to concur, rather preferring to soak up the ambience and mood which new tracks like “Crimson Swan” and “Circle of Friends” fostered.
Throughout the set, Dave Miller might have only (and we say “only” very loosely) had to press a few buttons but he certainly accomplished his task with energy and vigour. Behind the drums, Laurence Pike helped establish the “human” side of PVT’s sound by throwing in a few derivative beats and in providing some generally solid stick work.
Whilst the set was geared towards the new album, PVT didn’t neglect their back catalogue, with “Didn’t I Furious” receiving hearty approval, especially amidst a set of strobe lights that had all of a sudden decided to engage and wreak havoc on many pairs of eyes that had already adjusted to the dark. Later, a prolonged jam gave way into crowd favourite “Sweet Memory”, sounding every bit as energetic and punchy as the album version, the post-rock goodness of the outro really shining through in the intimate, live setting.
After a short break, PVT came back for an encore which consisted of “Community” melting its way into “O Soundtrack My Heart”, the band really crashing its way through the menacing build up, finished off with Richard’s soaring-to-whispered vocals on “Only the Wind Can Hear You”.
A solid set from the Sydney trio, and whilst not inspiring the crowd into an energetic frenzy, created the right mood to showcase the tracks from the new album.
Pics (from Mess+Noise)
Sampler CD
Tags: Corner Hotel, PVT, Sampler CD, Seven Four Records
For anyone that may have grabbed a Seven Four sampler CD from us at the PVT show last Thursday night here is the tracklist. For some reason it isn’t showing up when people load it in to their computers (this is probably due to my ineptness, for which I apologise!).
| Track | Song | Artist | Album |
| 1 | Crisis (Club Version) | Aucan | Dna EP |
| 2 | Tesla | Aucan | Aucan |
| 3 | Image Game | LITE | Illuminate |
| 4 | Ghost Dance | LITE | Phantasia |
| 5 | The Sun Sank | LITE | Turns Red – EP |
| 6 | I Miss Seeing All | LITE | LITE EP |
| 7 | Re | LITE | Filmlets |
| 8 | Uppum | Hey!Tonal | Hey!Tonal |
| 9 | Radhus | Imperial China | Methods |
| 10 | Invincible | Imperial China | Phosphenes |
| 11 | Cut & Shut By You Slut! | You Slut! | Critical Meat |
| 12 | 98% Cuir 2% Sky | Passe Montagne | Oh My Satan |
Thanks to everyone that took a CD and gave it a listen!
Latitude Festival 2010 – Lake Stage highlights
Latitude Festival 2010 took place once again at Henham Park in Suffolk, England, and brought plenty of joy (and sun!) to tens of thousands of revellers. Definitely one of the best festival experiences, catering for everything from cabaret to poetry, film to comedy, fashion shows… you name it, Latitude had it!
Musically, there were also a multitude of different sounds on show, and whilst the headline acts Vampire Weekend, Belle and Sebastian and Florence and the Machine aren’t bands we’d generally write up about here, Seven Four managed to catch some very talented bands on the smaller stages.
Zun Zun Egui
With members hailing from Mauritius, Reunion, and Japan, the UK four piece were an unstoppable burst of fun from start to finish. A psychedelic fusion of prog, funk, and jazz, frontman Kushal’s vocals soared captivatingly higher and higher with each verse, working the crowd up into a dance storm.
Islet
Formerly known as that Welsh DIY band who shunned conventional forms of band promotion (read: they didn’t have, and still don’t have have a Myspace account – but have recently established a website, after only existing on the web through a fansite and interviews), Islet performed easily the most memorable set of the whole festival.
Their style? Powerful, abrasive, unconventional rock. All members swapping around multiple times on multiple instruments and sometimes stopping to pierce the air with nothing but just their impassioned screams. Shame on the guys behind stage who cut the set short to yield to some generic DJ, but that didn’t stop Islet from continuing on, one member even commandeering a beer bottle and drumstick to provide percussion whilst running around the crowd.
Islet tore up the stage in a way reminiscent of some of At The Drive In’s performances – full of fury and and energy, but even more unpredictable, and more exciting. The video above only does the band a half justice.
Nedry
It wouldn’t be a festival in the UK without some dubstep flavoured tunes, and whilst Nedry aren’t a 100% dubstep outfit, they pulled off their edgy, electronic sound with a finesse that most live electronic music lacks today.
Whilst some bands just hit “go” on their Macbooks and laze from verse to verse, you could see Nedry furiously working away, delivering their brooding percussion manually, strumming some guitar into the mix, all whilst the lead singer’s haunting vocals pierced the audience’s collective consciousness, her tone falling somewhere in between that of Bjork and Natasha Khan (Bat for Lashes).
In what was a varied set, ranging from ambient, spacy grooves, to some noisier, almost dnb style sounds, Nedry managed to capture the intrigue of the audience, their unique delivery of electronic music being far different from anything else seen at Latitude. They delivered again with an intimate midnight set a small tent made from Persian rugs – a dance-off for the ages!
LITE – pre-order Illuminate EP out 16/08/2010!
Tags: Cargo Records, Illuminate, Image Game, japan, LITE, math, Transduction Records
Just in case you weren’t already aware. LITE’s new EP is out on 16/08/2010 – you can grab your pre-order through Cargo Records.
Here’s the press release and very cool video for lead single “Image Game”. If you’re in Japan, don’t miss them at Fuji Rock this weekend!
Japanese instrumental quartet LITE return with their third full-length release “Illuminate” on August 15th.
The album was recorded during two sessions – five tracks recorded and mixed by John McEntire of Tortoise at Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago and a further three tracks done with J Robbins (Jawbox) at Magpie Cage in Baltimore.
“Illuminate” signals a change in direction for the band with the addition of synths and myriad percussion instruments placing an emphasis on texture and rhythm while remaining faithful to the pillars of LITE’s trademark dual-guitar sound: precision, power and unforgettable hooks.
Nowhere is this more exemplified than on the futuristic rock of “Image Game” or the stop-start swirling soundscapes heard on “100 Million Rainbows”. Cited as an influence by a new wave of young instrumental bands around the world, LITE’s extensive touring since their formation in 2003 has won them fans in Europe, the US and beyond thanks to their intense, incendiary live performances. The band have most recently toured the US twice with Mike Watt & The Missingmen and will appear at Fuji Rock Festival in Japan for the second time following their first Asian tour and will soon return to European shores.
In the meantime, “Illuminate” captures LITE at the top of their game – confident, captivating and constantly moving forward.
Track Listing
1. Drops
2. Image Game
3. On The Mountain Path
4. Andromeda
5. 100 Million Rainbows
6. The Sun Sank
7. Tomato
8. Vermillion
Foals @ Hi-Fi Bar (Melbourne, 27/07/2010)
Tags: foals, hi fi bar, indie, live, math, melbourne, pop, review
Given the lads had just completed a blistering show the night before, plus a Myspace secret show only minutes earlier, the sold-out crowd at the Hi-Fi Bar could have forgiven Foals for feeling a little worn out. However, they didn’t need to, as the attendees were treated to a fine set of indie/math/pop from the ever improving English quintet.
Foals played a even mix of old and new songs, launching into new album’s namesake “Total Life Forever”, before following up with two huge numbers from their debut record Antidotes – the ever boppy “Cassius” and the anthemic “Olympic Airways”, sending the crowd into a veritable dance storm.
Front man Yannis and guitarist Jimmy took centre stage on the night, effortlessly duelling each other with their delay-laden guitar riffs and creating that playful sound Foals does best. The rest of the band members seemed happy to sit behind their instruments a bit further behind the front two on stage, but still solidly contributing to the overall sound.
One might think that record production values would play a big part in creating their sound, but on the night, Foals showed that they could deliver live just as well as within an intimate recording space. Individually, melodies and rhythms were not too overly technical or complex, but they combined together beautifully to create a burgeoning, layered sound, full of intrigue and energy.
Yannis might not be the world’s best vocalist, but with spot-on delivery and catchy lines, the lads didn’t have to to much else to get the crowd involved where possible, making the likes of “Red Sock Pugie”, “Balloons” and “Spanish Sahara” both stand-outs as sing-alongs and dance-offs (props to the faux-MJ-impersonator in the crowd who was busting funky dance moves all night long).
After a gigantic stage leap (from frontman Yannis – think long jump at the Olympic Games), and mini stage trashing (Yannis, again, hurling his otherwise well-utilised floor tom into the air and dragging his bandmates around by the straps of their instruments), the band returned for the encore, a rousing rendition of “The French Open” (only slightly less rousing due to a guitar malfunction), followed up by the first song Foals ever wrote together, “Two Steps, Twice”.
The crowd kept up their vocal trumpet impersonations throughout as the increasingly hyperactive Yannis took his queue to leave the stage, guitar in hand, storming through the crowd, two security members in close check all the way (a frantic torchlight providing much visual mirth amongst the darkness) to the upper level of the venue and back down again before bringing the song, and the night, to a frenzied conclusion.
Thanks to YouTube user mysticblu3, there’s some footage of the night below. A great showing by the Oxford boys and if you’re heading to Splendour this weekend, don’t miss out!
Auto!Automatic!! live set for download
Tags: auto!automatic!!, math, news
Hey guys, you might remember our feature on Auto!Automatic!!’s great release of a few years back (Another Round Won’t Get Us Down)
Thankfully, they’re well and truly back on the scene again, armed with a new bass player (the below pic is from the old days), and have just released a nice, warm live set recorded in March at Crowbar (Tampa, FL). So far it’s a bit more ambient and moody than their previous work, but still with that distinctive A!A!! sound.
You can download the 5-track live set here, for free. Tell all your friends! ->http://www.mediafire.com/?lynyyj5jvne
New Tera Melos!
Tags: math rock, Patagonian Rats, Teaser, tera melos
Californian math rockers Tera Melos have uploaded a teaser video of their upcoming album, along with a lengthy all caps post on their tumblr page.
“As previously mentioned, our new record is finished. Artwork just got completed the other day. It sounds and looks awesome. No band will ever tell you that their favorite record was their first, or anything that came before their present body of work, hence, our new album is our favorite/the best piece of art Tera Melos has produced. [...] In any case, this is the first fully realized, focused record we have made. Everything sounds intentional and the way we wanted it to sound. There are no cringe moments for us. In a lot of ways we look at it like it’s our first album. It is 100% honest and not catered towards anyone. It’s tricky making a record that way, it’s even trickier structuring a band that way.”
The highly anticipated new album, Patagonian Rats, is due out in September and by the sound of the 52 second trailer, we’re all in for something special. Check the video out here, and head to their tumblr to read the entire post.
Mouse On The Keys
Tags: denovali, japan, japanese, jazz, lounge, macchupicchu industrias, math, mouse on the keys, piano, smooth
Mouse On The Keys are an intriguing Japanese trio, combining bass grooves, expressive piano and solid drumming to produce what we here at Seven Four have coined as “math-lounge”. Belonging to the Macchupicchu Industrias stable (home to the mighty Toe) the three-piece certainly have the pedigree that makes them one of the more intriguing listens in today’s vast musical landscape.
Their first full-length, “An Anxious Object“, has been out for a while now through Machupicchu Industrias and Denovali, but it’s never too late to discover the all encompassing sounds of the LP – the technical, the playful, the atmospheric.
“Unflexible Grids” sounds like something Tyondai Braxton would easily jam to up on stage, rifs layering on top of each other but never obscuring the catchy leitmotif. “Spectres de Mouse” gallops away at a frantic pace, a manic rhythm section matched by (fittingly) anxious keys and a steady bassline, barely stopping to catch a breath.
There’s even time for a storming sax solo on “Soil” – it’s not as if they needed to highlight their jazz influence, but it’s worthwhile nonetheless. Whilst the lack of vocals, and the freeform structure might leave you wondering if you’ve just stumbled into one massive jam session, rather than being lost in the music, you’ll more likely be caught up in the creativity and inspired to start working away yourself at whatever task is at hand (cleaning, as this writer may or may not have experienced himself).
The trio recently completed a tour of Europe, and we hope that new material and more touring is to come from this talented bunch, who, given their musical style, also have one of the more fitting band names in recent memory.
Quick notes
Tags: Free music, my disco, Revert Entertainment, sleepmakeswaves, tangled thoughts of leaving
Apologies for the lack of updates recently folks, we are flat out with far too much on our plates. Nevertheless we shall endeavour to post some new reviews very soon, as even in these busy times we are always discovering amazing new tunes to share with everyone.
As some may have seen on a comment of an earlier post, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving’s newest internet only single ‘Contextually Inept’ is now available for free, along with their split release with Sleepmakeswaves and their 2008 debut E.P. ‘Tiny Fragments’ over at Revert Entertainment, so get downloading!
Speaking of Australian talent, Melbourne’s own My Disco will be playing a hometown show before heading off to Europe in May. They play the Grace Darling on Friday 30th April.
Finally, keep your eyes peeled on the website for an exciting new addition to the catalogue!
Aucan DNA EP now available!
Tags: african tape, aucan, dna
Hey beautiful people. We’ve now got copies of the mesmerising “DNA” EP by Aucan. Only $16AUD (plus shipping) if you’re in Australia.
Head over here to check out the catalogue (I know its in dire need of some formatting changes – I will get around to it, I promise)
See you at Soundwave Melbourne tomorrow folks! (listening to Rolo Tomassi now and quite excited)
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