I’ve never written about Lanks (real name Will Cuming) for a variety of reasons. He’s only one EP deep so far so we’re not referring to a lifetime of omission, but nonetheless he’s been heavily present on quite a few Australian music blogs and websites these past few years. Present enough so as that he was unmissable in the world of the aus music blog, which at some subconscious level must have contributed to my failure to pen. The truth of it is that I was never so struck by his music that I couldn’t not write. His singles have been solid since ‘Rises And Falls’ dropped a year ago and even Beach Houses from a few months ago challenge my static hand. This newest single Hold Me Closer though, that’s the one that demanded attention. It’s Will’s best vocal performance and some of the most assured songwriting + structure he’s put on show so far. Here’s the thing though. It actually doesn’t matter a lick that Lanks never features on Sound Doctrine because the guy’s work ethic has driven him to the top regardless of the thirty six extra plays I could have offered him. Now for the song.
Reminds me of some sort of Oscar Key Sung and FKA Twigs hybrid whilst those those rolling toms drive some energy into the track when its pulse starts to slow. She’s got the voice, the production is great, the songs are strangely alluring and everything feels good to go for 2015, here’s hoping the rest of 2015 is as on board with this project as I am. For the uninitiated, Moon Holiday is Sydney’s Alex Ward – she’s dropped just the one EP way back in 2010 but she also featured on the deluxe edition of Flume’s record and if she has the Streten tick of approval then who are we mere mortals to ask questions? Absolutely nobody, that’s who. This is the second single from her next EP which is already two from two and looking likely to fulfil some rather high hopes.
A new jam from Tim Shiel and Ben Abraham‘s Telling, that’s what we were treated to on Wednesday this week. It was posted with neither fanfare nor press release, injected into the internet’s netherveins through the musical fluidbag that is soundcloud. Sometimes that fluidbag feels more like a colostomy bag but not this day friends, we have a real gem from this pair, a track called New Love that highlights Ben’s vocal chops and Tim’s sharp capacity to process vocals. The beat is lovely in itself, peppered with choral synths, harp progressions and a guitar line that serves rythm around the thumping bass which actually strikes quite hard during that middle eight(*ish) section. A very clever song from a very clever duo.
This song loses me immediately when it opens with some fairly vanilla coffee discussion but hold your judgement, we move forward from there. Copeland tried that song about cofee schtick and it didn’t work all too well. I think they got too caught up in the coffee dialogue which is, funnily enough, the same mistake that my friend Jared makes which is why he’s entirely intolerable to be around. Not Brisbane’s Greg Chiapello though, coffee is just a launchpad for Greg, as it should be for all of us. The song doesn’t full take flight until the piano line arrives with the chorus and the result is sickly sweet but unimaginably catchy. It’s something like Tobias Jesso Jr crossed with Roy Orbison. I’m into it.
So Dom spun this one on his show tonight and even though I have about a hundred and seven songs backed up, all in dire need of corresponding words, I was smitten enough to open wordpress and put these ones down. First things first I’m the realest, Sia is a preposterous vocalist. The element that makes both Sia and Rihanna stand so tall (among many other components) is the ability to sing a way so as to tonally convey feeling. I’m in two minds about whether or not she actually sings from experience since hearing her explain that she knocks over some of her songs in less that five minutes but it might be that such efficiency could only be the product of honesty. Or vice versa. Weirdly I thought this track was from 2007 thanks to the dated production and my own failing sense of temporal placement.
I’ve not included a picture of Sia in this post because I think that’s what she would have wanted and also it seemed like a bit more work to do so.
