I know, I know, the title of this post reads as if I’ve made a pop sampler but there’s no Ne-Yo nor Beyonce in sight, just a recently renamed Morning Benders. That’s right, the band former known as The Morning Benders are now called POP ETC because they’ve only now, seven years in, discovered that Bender is derogatory cockney slang for a homosexual. Hard to believe since it was the first thing I thought of when I first saw their name on paper, but there it is. They immediately christened the new name with a new release, a mixtape on the house. It’s a little more synth-centric, the indie rock might be slightly closer to an indie pop, but these days the two are virtually indisitinguishable anyway so we cool. I actually think there’re comparisons to be made between this and the most recent record from NYC band Fun. (who are a massive guilty pleasure of mine), in that both of them push the autotune envelope, have a frontman who can wail, and have underplayed moments of lounge as well as hip-hopesque beats. Below is my choice cut ‘Everything Is Gone’, which would fit perfectly on the next Blackroc record if the vocals were traded for an MC’s verse. Download the whole thing here and make your own assessments.

Pop Etc – ‘Everything Is Gone’

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While I’m here, I’m going to come out and say that I’m completely ok with autotune. It’s only the enemy of the Idol/X-Factor singer. I want to hear creative composition and interesting aesthetics, I don’t need an artist to prove they have the best set of pipes on them. It’s become just another tool in the same way reverb is. Obviously, it’s not always the case, but seriously, Sufjan could pee in a cup and I’d still call it Champagne.

Behold the anthemic first track from Jonathan Boulet’s incoming We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart. The jungle drums that were present on his well-received, self-titled debut are still there. If anything they’re even closer to fore. Some folks have declared his output to be in line with the jungle drummed, harmony obsessed chant bands of Unearthed, but it’s important to remember that he dropped that record before that sound was polluted by an absence of song-writing and an over indulgence in novelty instruments. One would have to think that this would be the record opener and if so, I sure as hell can’t wait to hear what track two sounds like. Those crunchy guitars hint at something a touch heavier than the first record, potentially influenced by his time in Snakeface.This is just enough of a teaser to get me thoroughly interested, without wasting a big single early in the piece. Really, really excited to see what comes next. Self-mixed, self-produced, self-recorded, self-played and self-sung (it’s not heaps making sense anymore), the forthcoming album follows the same process of the first. The last thing he put his hand to was a new track from Sleepyhands which was pretty top dollar, and worth a listen if you haven’t already. Long live the garage champ.

“I don’t even know what I said, I’m a meathead born and bred”

Jonathan Boulet – ‘Trounce’

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You can cop a download of the newie at the cost of a week’s subscription to his mailing list, because let’s be real here, you’re going to unsubscribe (though you shouldn’t) at the first chance you get.

Oliver Tank is basically a household name these days, at least in Sydney, in my house. I often make the mistake of assuming that just because I’ve been exposed, over and over, to an artist, that means that everyone has. Sometimes it’s the case, but othertimes an artist is known amongst the company I keep, but not necessarily to those who read this here webblog. So here are the facts about Oliver Tank. He has one really good song and an EP of decent tracks, but they’re all free so you don’t even care, you’ll just download the whole thing anyway. He’s got cascading torrents of raven locks, but any goodwill garnered because of this is immediately negated by the fact that he tweets like a private school boy who just discovered Dre for the first time. But all this aside, he’s actually doing really well right now. It was unsteady footing during the early days as a good few folk thought he may have been cutting a little too close to James Blake stylistically but he seems to have found his feet as a legitimate artist unto himself. The first time I saw him live it was almost without merit but his support slot at the Youth Lagoon was much, much more captivating. Just quietly as well, Youth Lagoon were the best thing I’ve seen this year to date.

In the second half of 2011 FBi held a competition wherein two winners were deported to Iceland, forced to play shows with local artists and contractually bound to produce an EP for FBi Radio. Our boy Oliver was one of those two winners. Oliver and fellow competition winner Rainbow Chan were shipped over in a 6x6x6 foot crate and began their forced labour immediately upon arrival at Reykjavik. They produced a pair of tracks with the aid of local acts Pétur Ben and Just Another Snake Cult. Below you can listen to the fruits of the Scandinavian exploits and you can also download them (gratis) packaged with 6 remixes and a bonus track from Oliver Tank (also streaming below).

Oliver Tank & Rainbow Chan – Golden

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Oliver Tank & Rainbow Chan – To Love Again

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Oliver Tank – Help You Breathe

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The name’s not much I know – a combination of obscure male name and my sixth favourite animal (after fox lion owl bear and giraffe) – but this is easily better than the sixth best Austrayan band I’ve heard this week. It’s probably the first best. In fact I’m enjoying the select few tracks Wilfred Jackal are currently offering, and I’m willing to forgive them for saying ‘hook-laden’ twice in their info section. To my mind, their tinny guitars and all-round gentleness (to the point of jazz) is vaguely reminiscent of Cloud Control, but minus the obvious hooks – go figure. They’re vocally bold, borderline unintelligible on the lyrics front, and they know when to bring in some brass.

The band’s publicist and I may disagree on several points, like “big guitars and pulsating keys”, but they’re doing good things and it all bodes well for the not-too-distant future, when we’ll hopefully see a more extended release. Don’t mistake my disagreement for disapproval however, I genuinely think Cayle Stephens’ powerful voice will be something you’ll be hearing more and more of from here on out. Their first single ‘Dead Eye’ is likely the stronger of the two that you’ll stream below but ‘Rooms’ isn’t without merit and makes me think they’ve listened to more that a little Radiohead in their time. Both tracks are freely available courtesy of Unearthed.

Wilfred Jackal – ‘Dead Eye’

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[DOWNLOAD]

Wilfred Jackal – ‘Rooms’

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[DOWNLOAD]

It’s been a pretty dischordant run these past few weeks with some soul, folk, 80s electro and surf rock in there but there’s been nothing that spoke to those who want to hear catchy, easy pop. He’s not someone I’d normally think palatable for the SD readership but the combination of groove, superb self-production, pretty (though, warning, EXTREMELY poppy) vocals and free downloads was enough to think this worth sharing with you. He is Jhameel.

The same guy that has a degree in Arabic and a history with the US Army is now making Princesque pop (not to be confused with princess pop) and turning heads with his Hype Machine topping, toe tapping, head nodding, radio friendly, adjective inspiring tunes. And before you say it, I know those weren’t adjectives, but it sounded good right? Of course it did.

Without further introduction, here are a few of tracks from Jhameel, all available as free downloads. There’s plenty more to be had (also uncharged) from his Soundcloud.
Get on it. Seriously though, he’s a weird looking dude. Watch as this polarises my limited audience.

Jhameel – ‘Waves’ [FREE MP3]

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Jhameel – ‘Collision’ [FREE MP3]

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Jhameel – ‘Wicked’ [FREE MP3]

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