Webcuts Music

Caribou (aka Dan Snaith) is not an artist prone to repeating himself. His second album, 2007′s Andorra took ’60s psychedelic pop and merged it with complex rhythm patterns, while his LP from last year Swim saw Snaith heading into a denser electronic direction while still retaining a fair amount of pop smarts. Caribou with long time friend Kieran Hebden better known as Four Tet will soon be the Antipodes for a series of shows but late last year Chris Berkley caught up with Snaith whilst on the seemingly never ending tour for Swim where Dan took time out to talk about the art of Caribou live versus recording, his electric friends, how some people perceive Swim to be his dark album and how to win over the doom metal crowd.

New Years Eve’s are traditionally unplanned, last minute events, involving clubs or house parties especially in laissez-faire Brisbane. This year was different. An independent music festival at the Powerhouse, brazenly named No Years! offered a tempting program. 21 bands in total: 14 local, 5 interstate and 2 international acts, over eleven hours at lovely New Farm location. We cast our NYE net on Australia’s Bleeding Knees Club, Parades, Love Connection, Jonathan Boulet, The John Steel Singers and Oh Ye Denver Birds. And see who ranks best out of America Neon Indian and Sweden Shout Out Louds.

Originally they were The Muslims but now they have a less volatile name, The Soft Pack, and a more polished repertoire as heard on their self titled debut. Presently in Australia for the Sunset Sounds festival when they were last here Dave and Brian had some quality time with Static’s Chris Berkley who got to the beginnings of how the band formed, that name change, the San Diego and LA rock scenes, surfing, the prestigious honour of being covered by Nada Surf and the possibility of covering some Australian indie classics.

So that was 2010. What does Webcuts remember most about it? It’s hard to say, really. The landscapes shift, the memories flickr and 365 days blur into one long unending soundtrack. One thing our favourite tracks of 2010 all had in common was that they appeared like one night stands that lingered a little longer than usual, almost all of them attached to a singular memory of the song being performed, either from a distance or elbows resting on the stage in mute admiration, or maybe just there emanating from a speaker aimed direct into our inner consciousness, refusing to budge.

So that was 2010. What does Webcuts remember most about it? It’s hard to say, really. The landscapes shift, the memories flickr and 365 days blur into one long unending soundtrack. One thing our favourite tracks of 2010 all had in common was that they appeared like one night stands that lingered a little longer than usual, almost all of them attached to a singular memory of the song being performed, either from a distance or elbows resting on the stage in mute admiration, or maybe just there emanating from a speaker aimed direct into our inner consciousness, refusing to budge.

Webcuts rarely needs an excuse to post a picture of PJ Harvey, in fact we’d happily do it as often as possible, though it makes more sense to do so when the lady herself has something to promote. Fans should be well aware that Miss Harvey has a new album (her 8th) in the wings, daringly titled Let England Shake due for release in the UK on February 14. That date sounds familiar to me… not sure why. Going for a rustic, English feel, the album was recorded in a 19th Century church in Dorset with long time collaborator Flood, with assistance from John Parish and Mick Harvey.

Lion Island were first encounted playing a free show in Brisbane’s King George Square. Their ability to fill a large stage with eight members and the cavernous square full of wondrous music bolstered my mood and had casual passerby’s on their way to the train, stop and listen. When seen again three months later at The Hi-Fi Bar a liking for the band was affirmed and proved that Lion Island are one of the city’s most ambitious and talented acts. Here are a band able to switch from solo singer-songwriter folk, then become a Brisbane Beirut by adding brass and violin to the acoustic guitar and drums to full out orchestral rock, as if Finn Andrews was fronting The National.

Astute music fans have probably heard of the genre chillwave – a blend of 80s synths, psychedelic pop and liberal amounts of distortion – put upon acts like Memory Tapes, Toro Y Moi and Nite Jewel. The band most closely associated with that word is Neon Indian whose main man Alan Palomo, who also has a solo project VEGA, had a chat to Chris Berkley recently in London about the c-word, the beginnings of Psychic Chasms, the Yacht remix, his collaborations with Australian dance merchants Miami Horror, how he loves to make music that messes with people’s heads and the forthcoming Australian tour for the Texan group.

It would be very un-Christmas-like of Webcuts to not get in the spirit (something we’ve been on occasion accused of…) and post something acknowledging the fact that Christmas is almost here, and we have much to be thankful for. So, without further ado, we give you this Christmas classic from The Ramones, and while we’re at it, we’d like to thank all the bands we’ve spoken to and been entertained by this year, all the record companies who’ve given us much to listen to and write about, the distant friends and family who’ve lent us their couches, patience and time in our endless pursuit of good music and good times, and all the people who’ve supported the website by regularly tuning in and offering kind (and not so kind, but we love it all the same) words. Webcuts will be back in 2011, have no fear. Happy Holidays!

That’s it, kids. 2010 is almost over. Was it a great one? Was it an ok one? Was it pretty average? At Webcuts it was a mix of all three with a healthy dose of ‘don’t look back’. But what is worth looking back on are the songs that made 2010. Rest assured this list [...]