Yelle
Interviews aren't always as simple as picking up the phone, dialling Spain and talking with a beautiful - and evidently not single - French pop star just after she has woken up. After five minutes of technology making me perspire from every one of my very Australian pores, I finally had the chance to talk with Julie Budet, otherwise known as Yelle.
Monobasic
The main difference between Jess Cornelius and all your other favourite indie artists is that she CAN sing AND play her instrument. She actually has a degree in both. Hailing from Wellington, NZ, Jess Cornelius has been part of many groups but has just struck out on her own under the moniker Teeth & Tongue.
Mercy Arms
So Mercy Arms have always been OK - they've been around for a while and they've scored some nice supports slots like The Strokes. Then Capital Records screwed them or something - haven't really heard too much more until now. Until they stole my life and my right ear drum... if I play track 4, To Me Now one more time I'll be declared clinically insane.
Devotion, Beach House
Baltimore girlfriend/boyfriend duo Beach House have achieved an increasingly difficult feat; they've created a sound that is both instantly recognisable yet entirely new. Like a new buddy at a party you feellike you've known for years. Their second album, Devotion, combines the atmosphere of David Lynch's creepy small town Americana with the fifties girl groups on Quaaludes.
We Don't Belong Here
Listening to this album through earphones was a bad idea. Seriously, I almost blew my eardrum from the opening chord of Love Is A Heavy Word. But you know what - it was well worth the tinnitus I now experience. A powerful throwback to the heyday of grunge, Violent Soho wear their influences on their collective sleeve, yet they exude a certain fresh vibe which sets them apart from most alt-rock revivalists.
M83, Saturdays=Youth
M83's Anthony Gonzalez pulls back the blinds a little on his new album, Saturdays=Youth by lightening his characteristic, night-drenched synthesizer peals with a new summer-death-pop sensibility. Veering weirdly between Beverley Hills 90210 type bathos - complete with masochistic school-girl diary readings - and heavier, 12"-length instrumental moody bits.
Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention to Themselves EP
Brisbane modern rockabilly foursome Yves Klein Blue have achieved the kind of success that could turn any young band into a bunch of twats. Yet despite their newfound fame, YKB remain surprisingly grounded. After a number of interstate tours, support slots for some major acts and having recently returned from the UK and a US SXSW stint, this fresh-faced act is ready to win over local audiences all over again with a re-release of their Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves EP.
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