The Waiting Room Never Saw It Coming From Iowa

Next week Brisbane is going to be invaded by Iowa. Not by the state of the USA; not by Mitt Romney; not by obscure Russian divas; not by fanatical Slipknot acolytes. No, Brisbane is going to be destroyed by the Melbourne trio whose debut LP Never Saw It Coming is a head mixture of all the best alternative/noise rock conventions of the 1990s, including adherence to hook and melody behind all the feedback. They are playing X&Y on the Friday August 17 (with able supports from Tape/Off and Sleepwalks), an afternoon sesh at Tyms Guitars on the Saturday, and then - drumroll - at The Waiting Room as headliners for this month's Sonic Masala Presents. They are bringing their new album in tow (including some on sexy yellow vinyl!) and a new single in the form of 'Love Song'. This is one not to be missed, including as it does support from the resurgent Seaplane, the destructive El Motel (who are promising something special for this show) and the debaucherous Crass Creatures. It's all for a tenner, with BYO, and I PROMISE YOU that this will be one of the strongest shows you will see this year. If not, Ill drink some beer - that'll teach me!

Here's the streamed Iowa album:


...and here is a little mixtape of tracks from the bands...

El Motel - Black RiderCrass Creatures - Cement
El Motel - Carnival Kid
Iowa - Panic Attack
Crass Creatures - Snake Hole
El Motel - Crazy Love
Iowa - Complete Control

...and because I don't have any Seaplane mp3's at work, here is a live version of 'Soiree'.



Get keen!

Sonic Masala Presents Godliness

So we have reached that holiest of numbers that the preacher Black Francis preached to us about - Sonic Masala Presents #7. There is a crispness in the air that means winter is on its way, so let's bow down to the altar of Sonic Masala and stave off the cold with booze and tunes, shall we? It's one of the best line-ups yet, with Seaplane playing one of their rare shows (with new material in the caboose for an impending album release!!), a new look Tape/Off featuring Cam Smith (Tiny Spiders/Ghost Notes/Mt Augustus) on bass duties, 8-bit video game soundtracks done for realsies by the excellent Boss Fight, and loud as all get out scuzzy blues from hellraisers El Motel.


Sonic Masala Presents... is on this Friday down at The Waiting Room. Once again its a tenner and BYO. Bring your buds, your flames, your mistresses, your grandmas (hell, maybe they're all one and the same, no prejudices here!) and have a blast. This monkey ain't going to heaven just yet.