Little while back I had feelings for a song by Yujen. It was called Heirloom. It was a staggered little number with chimes, an attractive round bass sound that was graceful in its simplicity and on the back of that good’n they’ve offered up another. I’ll just come out and say it: the part that’s going to be the headline for Yujen over the next few weeks is the guest Chetvox. The beardy-boy wonder Chet Faker is on this and feel for Yujen in that their (they’re a three-piece) reasonably long awaited resurgence is going to be veiled by bigboys vocals. Sadly, the beat end won’t even be the byline. Story two is that Chet just started his own label (interesting move on the back his own FC signing) with Jack Vanzet (aka Thrupence) under the name Detail Co. This new Yujen jam will spearhead things. I know I’m perpetuating the media misdirection by talking about the wrong aspects of this release but I’M GETTING TO IT, give me a sec.
As for the actual song itself (See? It was literally one sentence away), it’s strong. I made much of Chets vocals but the guy has a way about him that’s crazy charming. Sophisticated in delivery and though we’ve never really seen his range challenged, his tone is nothing if not saccharine smoothe. The beat is swollen with bass and not the kind that kicks in and out but one that remains a constant, padding the whale sounds and snare snaps. It’s warm and it’s easy but it doesn’t smack me with an irrefutable hook or particularly modern beat end so while the listening is sweet that’s as far as I’ll go. Really promising, but then so was the last. Let’s see what’s next.
Any opportunity to middle man your relationship with D.D. Dumbo is one I’ll readily take so it’s with no small pleasure that I share at you the new video for Tropical Oceans. Crash course for the uninitiated, old man Dumbo carried the win in my Best Australian Releases of 2012 list (a middling honour). Dude must have been so stoked with that result that he’s actually releasing the damn thing all over again, this time on vinyl. I would have loved to see a bonus track thrown on the release to spritz things up but who am I to argue with the Don Juan of twelve strings? You can order from the 250 vinyls that have been pressed (first batch have just shipped) or you can bide your time, watch the Tropical Oceans video THEN order. Just the two options friends, make your beds. Bonus points to Dumbo for spelling out what I’ve known for years, that dogs are better than humans but I won’t ruin the super massive twist. Where them humans at!?
Stop what you’re doing, you’ll need to hear this one because it’s unbearably attractive to the ears. Four songs in and for my money, Spirit Faces are there. On last single ‘Jupiter’ we heard massive Neil Young vibes and a honey voice, but this new one, this is the one that points at a release that’ll throw some unexpected hairpins turns when you were ready to drive straight through to Middle Dural. You guessed it, this is the Galston Gorge of songs. Tempo changes, guitars that make way for saxes that make way for guitars and a vocal that’s only half there when it’s there. That’s the rough makeup of what you’ll hear and all this with a raw edge that screams ‘one take recording’. Like everything they’ve released prior ‘Momentum’ is a free download and like everything prior it’s exceptional.
Hey buds. How are we? Got a new song from Paul Conrad to share with y’all. Called Heresy Baby and it was a strange case of “do I hate this or do I really like it a whole lot?”… Weird vibes. The track carries the mantle of southern baptist subversions that work in tandem with the Americanized vocal. It’s throwback but it ain’t that far back, maybe a decade or so. In the end I gave it the benefit of the doubt on the strength of old man Conrad’s first single ‘Thanks For Nothing’ which is a diamond and I’m glad I did because now knee deep in it and unrepentant. A little lyricism can really go a long way in this world of mixed down vocals & hyper chop’n'screwery. Who’d have thought you could string words together into sentences to create meaning with some sort of consistency across a song. Certainly not me.
This week was spent careening through bizness lyfe trying to get that Oscar Key Sung that digital traction it deserves and it’s been largely at the expense of any further musical exploration. I haven’t had the chance to lend my ears to anything new and my feedly has backed up to the point where I may just ‘mark all as read’. Dangerous territory. The Silver lining though, is that I did hear this number from Silver Hills which provided the woozy soundscape to some quiet alone time. ‘Just a dream’ is the phrase that comes back again and again across this jam and it’s that floating, problem free attitude that’s served me so well. The guitar sharper guitar of the verses is lowered as the chorus hits and group BVs cushion you into the opened armed peace of it all. Make sure you follow that hyperlink though, it’s important.
