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!

Tiny Spiders Deliver Killer Bite

Brisbane's very own grunge pop duo Tiny Spiders are the little band that could, and with their debut record on the cusp of breaching, they are ready to shove it down your throats. With love and smiles, of course. We've already heard 'Shadows' and 'Shoot The Rainbow Rays Out.' They are two great indicators of what Tiny Spiders offers. But there is so much that Cam and Innez want to give. Only three tracks breach the three minute mark, yet with they slink ('Midnight Movie') or roar ('Blurst') it's all done with verve and bluster, and more than a whiff of genius. As Cam once stated, "the shorter the better, that way people can't get bored." No chance of that, you modest arachnid!


It all goes digital this Saturday, (go bookmark this page and head back in a few days!) when the duo will blast a hole through Tym's Guitars' wall with a in-store that kicks off at 3pm. You can get your physical vinyl copies then - otherwise it's waiting idly til July. So you have been warned.

UPDATE - you can now buy the album digitally - click on the Bandcamp guff below. You can try before you buy, but you know that ain't necessary, sucka! Plus, you can now pre-order the vinyl along with a T-shirt for an extra fiver - what could go wrong? Nothing, that's what.

Dressed In Wild Colonial Gold & Red

Brisbane's Nikko have been busy with supports for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and Boris, plus having made a brief sojourn to Melbourne. And although one member still lies ensconced in that chilly city, and other projects have occupied some (Ryan Potter's The Scrapes and The Maryettas getting shows around Brisbane), they are about to drag you further down into their darkly eloquent Gothic Outback Western apocrypha as they prepare to drop new LP Gold & Red through the stellar tenzenmen Records (alongside Music Fix).

Opening with the brooding, ominous 'The Child', Nikko envelop you with their atmospheric wall of sound, here perfectly captured by Cam Smith (of Tiny Spiders/Ghost Notes/St Augustus fame, and whose recording efforts include Velociraptor and the mighty No Anchor) in the cavernous orchestral hall of Brisbane's historic Old Museum. In fact, such an environment is perfectly suited to the band's melodic post-rock steeped aesthetic, with that lost country twang in the saddle also (the drawl of 'About The Spirit' perfectly exemplifies this). Aaron Cupples (The Drones, Snowman) and Nao Anzai (Laura, Because of Ghosts) mixed and mastered respectively, and their presence is immediate. Anzai in particular is well versed in these instrumental-based multi-layered sounds. Ryan Potter's voice is beautifully captured here, which isn't an easy task (his deep baritone can lose its rich timbre if not mixed properly). In fact Gold & Red is epic in every sense, the noisy moments are incredibly emotive, the quiet moments offered enough space to dance to its own tune without feeling perfunctory. 'Never Danced' is one of the most beautiful songs they have ever created, whilst the chugging rush of 'Dark Eyes' is a locomotive of smouldering tension. The title track is the most likely to evoke Western epics like Deadwood or The Proposition in its plaintive plinks, the itch before the storm, and it is the perfect example of how clever and evocative these guys' compositions are.


Nikko continue to carve a unique path across the Australian musical landscape, and Gold & Red is further proof that such rustic post-rock mysticism is warranted - nay, vital - to our Australian musical landscape.

The album is out on CD soon, and later on gold & red vinyl - I'm gettin' me some o that! They are also launching the album at The Waiting Room on Saturday June 23, as well as having an in store at Tyms in July before embarking on a national tour.

Deafened By Undead Apes

Its still two months until the Mere Noise Meltdown comes to our shores, but I thought Id spend each week looking at a band that will be playing it, giving them the individual work over that they deserve.

Brisbane has been a veritable hotbed for diseased, rabid punk in all its guises, and one of the greatest exponents of this in past few years has been Undead Apes. Their take on balls to the wall punk follows in the vein of NY idols The Ramones, and their debut album of last year Grave Consequences was pretty stellar, yet they have gone and pissed all over it with their newie, Killed By Deaf. It was recorded in the back rooms of Tym Guitars and mixed by Eddy Current Suppression Ring's Mikey Young. AS stated by the PR, "If Grave Consequences was a long black then Killed By Deaf is a double shot espresso and a kick in the nuts - 14 songs, 19 minutes you do the math." The coffee references aside - the band really do step up to the plate for some real genital roughhousing - expect many lineages to be abruptly ended when the needle drops.

People of earth can pre-order the vinyl version of this great new record in a limited edition pack right now from here, where you can get a range of awesome presents like an exclusive T-shirt, a hand screened and numbered "glow in the dark" poster and exclusive bonus tracks! PLUS you get an immediate download of the record!! That IS goddamn tasty! So have at it plebs!

Undead Apes - Brain Drain