So this is the fourth time I’ve written this review and it’s been what some would call a learning experience. I’m finally returning to it now, a month later to finally put it to bed. And now, well… I have to decide whether or not I like it. This is what I was stalling on – aaaaaaaaaah. Here’s my dilemma: I’m a huge Whitley fan. I first received Whitley after seeing him solo at a Sydey Uni O week deal in ’08. I went straight to JB HiFi (back when that was a thing) and asked for “Whitman, or Whitey or something”. i got pointed to “either the Whitlams or Billy Idol’s White Wedding“. Being a red blooded hipster I ignored Megadeth’s suggestions and perused ‘alternative’ until I found The Submarine. I loved that record. It really brought something to my nineteen year old self, like a sweet melancholic cocoon that I need never leave. The sort of record that constantly reminds you that every silver lining has a cloud. MY SORT OF RECORD.

When I heard ‘My Heart Is Not a Machine’ I went straight back into that place. Tommy sent me the record and I was pumped – ready to go. But it just didn’t grab me; and I got sad. That space is still Whitley’s territory. He’s still just trying to figure it out and I really like that. But for me? The pieces aren’t there on this record. It hasn’t stuck with me- and I haven’t listened to it more than I’ve had to for this so called review.

Whitley is a great musician, his songs are actually songs (a rare thing at the moment) and his heart is honest – but this record didn’t hit the mark the way I was expecting it to but that may say more about my own state affairs than the emotion compass of this record. Listen to it. See if it aligns with you – then flood Tommy’s blog with comments telling him why it’s awesome or hatemail for my misdirected opinions because honestly, I’d love you to prove me wrong.

Hi friends, how are we doing? Great, that’s great. Really glad to hear it. Wait, what? That sounds awful. I’m sorry. I have something for you though. It’s the perfect thing. It’ll be like the two of you never dated at all! It’s not as as heavy on the surf end of things as their first EP but Sydney’s Sures kind of hinted towards a dwindling surf-pop asthetic on ‘Stars’ and here we are. It’s not altogether absent but we’re probably seeing its back as it wanders slowly out the door, pawing a few of your choice possessions, leaving dirty fingerprints and generally being a pest. See ya surf-pop aesthetic, catch ya later buddy. There’s still reverb in droves but since when did surf-pop have the monopoly on that? Never, that’s when.

I have a whole bunch of mixed reference coming at me when I hear this track. Is this the disenfranchised pop-punk of 2013? Is it the anthem of the lovelorn young adult? It’s got some nice guitar tones but it’s not guitar driven and the way the bassline syncs with drums to to keep things moving forward? We’re not talking about groundbreaking technical ability here but it’s simple and effectively allows the vocal melody to be everything. If you never made the purchase then you should certainly get a-hold of their first EP prior to the release of the second. It’s due on August 23rd, reportedly, and if this first song speaks true then there’ll be no downside to owning the both of them. It’s what we in the business of victory refer to as a ‘win-win’.

Oscar Key Sung back on another collab proving that he’s the Allday of the beats scene. Here aligned with future classic Brisbanite Charles Murdoch, he floats above the clicks, snaps and eventual synth blow outs that make for a refined three minutes. I’mma just sit back here with my san pellegrino in hand and get involved with this track for a little bit this morning. I can’t think of anything more palette cleansing for a Thursday morning than Oscar’s vocals, drained a little of their usual colour, and then filtered over Murdoch’s watery take on garage. The accompanying video is sweetly shot too, science in reverse and so on, and adds to the experience. You’re welcome, thursday friends.

Why didn’t any of you tell me about this? You’re not even worth keeping around if you’re not going to keep me up to speed, especially on the projects of former Middle East members. Having heard tunes from Rohin, Bree, Mark and co, it’s now Jordan’s opportunity to put forward his solo fare. It’s wobbly and distorted and says to me that maybe, just maybe, the lot of them shouldn’t have split since stylistically it’s not that different from where Rohin’s R.L Jones project was at, the last time we heard from it, anyway. Spunk have a vinyl pre-order available now that will supposedly allow you access to a digital download of a single? the record? I don’t even know, it was kind of vague. All I know is I’ve put my dollars down and I’m still hanging out for all those digital bits I was promised. He’s adopted the moniker ‘Stolen Violin’ which has a rather nice ring to it but doesn’t make for difficult googling and he has a record due out… soon. I need to hear more.

*UPDATE* It’s a full album download with the record pre-order. Get on that. Or you can purchase it on iTunes presently.

I don’t know if it’s too early in the morning for a track like this but I’m defying convention and throwing traditional bloghaviour to the wind, let’s do this folks. Due warning though, you’re about to spend the next four minutes and forty four seconds tripping balls. The other day I was asked to add some tracks into a play list titled ‘Best Stoner Tracks’ and if I’d had the forethought to nominate this one right here I might have received some celebratory hi-fives for a bang on suggestion. Visually, it’s pretty Boosh-esque and headlines a series of foetal images and Captain Alfoil which in itself is reasonably interesting in tandem with the filters and overlays but it’s the tune atop it all that has been doing it for me. If you’re at all familiar with 70s glam-folk then you might recognise that this is a highly convoluted cover of T. Rex’s Cosmic Dancer which for me is a bloody good choice of songs to cover indeed. Ya boy Kirkis does it admirably too. Best choice for him, I think, because both his completely whacked out version and T. Rex’s original are sleeping on a glorious bassline though despite a new title, Kirkis’ version sounds slightly more Cosmic. Also, if I’m not mistaken those are the vocals of Lorelei who featured on his banger ‘The Soft Machine’ which I liked a whole bunch a few months back (and still like but that was when I, you know, started liking it). She’s no stranger to the BVs performing similar duties for Hiatus Kaiyote who just today announced that they’ve signed with Flying Buddah + and are hopping a jet to Europe so that’s a pretty good twofor. Anyway, ingest this at your leisure. It’s from his forthcoming LP Liverbleach.

OUT THE WOMB – KIRKIS from kirkis on Vimeo.