Too Busy

This neighborhood's for the artists,
So how come I don't see any art?
This neighborhood's for the smartest,
They wouldn't pay so much if they were so smart.
I'm so BUSY,
I'm so BUSY man,
At Art Land.

- Art Land, Jeffrey Lewis

Western Front

Bobby and I were lucky enough to score tickets (look at me, I sound like a hardcore music user) to St. Jerome's Laneway Festival, a wonderful event that took place last Sunday at the beautiful Sydney College of the Arts (SCA). Amongst an amazing collection of talented acts, including Daniel Johnston, Florence and the Machine and The XX, local quintet Bridezilla dazzled the indie crowd and reminded me just how good their new record is. I reviewed it a couple of months ago - it was in fact my first ever album review - for This Way In. Bobby, I should also mention, reviewed the whole of St. Jerome's which you can find on his website.

Photo taken by the wonderfully talented Daniel Boud of award winning website www.boudist.com

If you're in Sydney, check out his exhibition at Mart Gallery in Surry Hills - the opening of which is tonight.

It takes some effort not to be jealous of Bridezilla. Not only are the quintet insanely talented, stylish, mature, musically educated, incredibly humble - even violinist Daisy Tulley, who’s notoriously crass - and more goddamn good looking than you or I will ever be, they’re all younger too. Whilst I’m getting pissed on other people’s booze, chain smoking and chatting up some guy (who I later realise is my boyfriend and not even worth my pick up lines), they’re likely to be found sitting in the darkest corner of the party having quiet, intelligent conversations. That is, if they’ve been coerced into going out at all. Their music is beguiling as they are, and the snowballing of their success comes as no surprise to anyone who’s seen them perform, which, let’s be frank, includes most of Sydney - even my Mother’s seen them - and, with the band having just returned home from playing the Flaming Lips-curated All Tomorrow Parties Festival, New York has now held witness to their explosive live show too.

Therefore, given this reputation, it comes as some surprise that, on first listen, Bridezilla’s aptly named debut long player, The First Dance, is almost unbearably restrained. It plays in dramatic contrast to their passionate live performances, which see regular outbreaks from Tulley and Millie Hall on saxophone. The album is an understated, tense and sombre affair. There’s a tautness that runs through the record, threatening to break out into an explosion of improvisation though, amazingly, it never does. This is perhaps most apparent in the almost entirely instrumental Soft Porn. It’s certainly a beautiful self-discipline, and the way Holiday Carmen-Sparks’ seductive croons complement the dizzyingly harmonious instrumentation is mesmerising. The most jarring sounds on the album – and they’re not really very jarring at all - come courtesy of Magnetic Arrest, with it’s pulsing beat, it was inspired by Carmen-Sparks’ trip to America. Queen of Hearts and Tailback meanwhile, are two examples that the band are more than able to write attractive pop numbers, without compromising their gothic sound.

It’s easy to dismiss Bridezilla as a band whose hype has come courtesy of the novelty of their youth, which is mentioned in almost every review and interview, but with The First Dance, they truly have created something far beyond their years. It’s an album that stands alone. Immerse yourself in The First Danceand any pre conceived notions you have become irrelevant. Released this month, their much anticipated debut long-player (they formed all the way back in 2005) is brooding and measured. Perhaps you won’t be dancing around the room to it, getting pissed and chatting up every person you fall upon, but it’s the perfect record to have a quiet conversation to in a dark corner of the room. In fact, who needs conversation? Whack it on your iPod and seclude yourself in Australia’s outback (somewhere like The Colo River, perhaps). It’s wonderful. Of course it is. What else would you expect from Sydney’s finest five piece?

Turn It Around

The wonderful, equally talented and beautiful, singer/songwriter Erin Marshall recently inquired as to whether I would be interested in bathing her in some vintage goodness and taking some press shots for her. My instinctive reaction was, admittedly, to simply stand dead still and gawk, rather like a bit of a buffoon. Style and photograph? There are very few things I'd rather do (the only one I can think of is writing with a purpose which, if you take all my blabbing into consideration, rarely happens.) Once my brain kicked back in however, I quickly and enthusiastically accepted. I invited Erin over to my space in Hibernian House (from which I also run my Vintage & Retro Sales on the second weekend of every month) and she jumped, played guitar and swung on swings with incredible enthusiasm whilst I followed her around adjusting bows and belts and shooting shots. As would be expected I suppose, she's similarly excitable on stage, dancing and grinning the whole way through her sets. Indeed, you won't find any shoe gazing at her shows. Keep an eye on her Myspace for info about upcoming gigs and such. Anyway, here's the finished product of the shoot. More photos can be seen on my flickr.

This was part of a very small series of shots taken downstairs in my dear friend Olly's space on Level 3. He was in the midst of a project himself, which involved a video camera (you can see the tripod in the background) and very limited time, so we had all of about one minute to hoist Erin onto the swing and take some photos.

These were taken on the Level 4 courtyard, getting onto which involves quite the struggle, particularly when one's wearing a dress/skirt. Luckily, there were no little rats with spray cans and/or junkies hanging around on this occasion (as there so often are).

The blue '50s suitcase on the very bottom of the pile played a significant part in ensuring no vintage pieces I had picked up got left behind in Europe on my return to the great land of Oz.

For these, we used my housemate Grace's mini piano and a vintage jacket my bestest friend Elle lent me. They were taken on the roof of Hibernian House, a roof which must be tip toed upon, lest one fall through.

The bow in Erin's hair is actually a bowtie I found in England. It required quite the significant amount of positioning just so, so as to prevent it from falling off. The belt belonged to my Mother when she was my age.

Erin's wearing her own dress here, a vintage number she picked up from the markets.




As the sun was setting, we had a play around with the light in our hallway, taking photos with no real expected outcome, the perfect conclusion to what was a lovely day.

Good Stuff

Check out the good stuff I've been doing when not doing things here (which is, let's be honest, most of the time). Yes, whilst this blog might feel a little abandoned at the moment, I've been typin' to the point of callouses on behalf of 2threads and This Way In.

I wrote my first (!) album review. And it was of none other than the lovely local quintet Bridezilla's long awaited debut. AND, the folk at Modular quoted me in Bridezilla's press release.

Want to give harnesses and corsets a go this Spring but don't want to end up looking like Jessica Simpson gone, well, *even* more wrong? The outerwear as underwear trend is one that's incredibly flexible (which you wouldn't think, given that they're made outta whale bone, wires and leather), just check out my guide on how to wear these adaptable accessories.

When you pour three trends into the one accessory what should result is a fashionable, on trend item that'll be as good as glued to your pretty thighs for the next three months. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Lady GaGa.

Oh, and I got interviewed by Jenna Black (from 2threads) about the merits of interning.

Also, check out my photos from last week's preview of the Britpop Photo Exhibition at the Abercrombie: An amazing collection of photos of British live acts from photographers Daniel Boud, Graham Denholm and Mark Metcalfe. Want a sample? Oh, okay:

Tell me something good

Apologies it has taken me a wee while to pop these links up, but for a spanking new blog it truly is absolutely (or lutes, as some might say) awesome to have the support of these brilliant bloggers / reviewers / musicians.

Painfully Hip
"If she got any hipper every dive bar in the US would name a drink after her."

No. 48
"Awesome."

The Philly Jays
"Super-cool"

Bobby Six
"Snazzy new offering, sure to grow into something even bigger and better.

The Philly Jays, as I hear, are even better than before. Check out their Myspace for new October gigs in Sydney. And if Bobby Six isn't the coolest reviewer out there so knock me senseless. He's a longstander, with his blog covering interviews and reviews with all the best bands you have (and haven't but should have) heard of. Recently, he reviewed Late Of The Pier, who, if you haven't heard as yet, are definitely worth a listen. In the words of Bobby Six, "Sounds like Klaxons having a fight with Muse on the Death Star". Lutes.

Dancing with tears in my eyes

You know you're in trouble when the only way you can hope for your fans to appreciate your music is by encouraging them to do drugs. So was the case with The E.L.F. And Darren Cross did it with such admirable subtlety too, "Take your drugs at 3.30 and then come see me at 4.30!" he shouted at Oxford Arts on Wednesday night, shortly after informing the crowd he was to play at Parklife. Amazingly, they (being the few kids front of stage) seemed to listen. I think I may have even heard a slight cheer. Who were these kids? Those that danced, danced front of stage, for all to see. They seeped an inexplicable air of self-satisfaction in 'Van She" t shirts and the only mildly worse slogan t shirt, "So, do you wanna...?". No, thank you, I'd really rather not. Evidently, Cross knows how to pull a crowd. His set ended in a carnage of "Hey Mickey" amongst a jumble of other tunes we never especially liked in the first place.

It seems my tolerance for old, flannel-wearing men behind a laptops making strange hand gestures is significantly lowered when I'm ill.

Local band Grafton Primary however, was none of the above. Joshua Garden (on vocals) robot slash Tai Chi danced onto stage. He was chanting, charming, androgynous, and brilliantly 80s electro-noir in a neck scarf and arm-flashing shirt bearing a print of a half naked woman. The trio, pictured below, had a pretty sweet stage presence.

And if (when you undoubtedly see them) they don't have you wide eyed by the end of the first song, just wait till Josh's brother Benjamin Garden (also on synths) pulls out the oh-so-fantastic keytar. Yum. Grinding, heavy, monotone, rhythmic, and intensely layered, their sounds are simply vibrant live.

By the time Does It Offend You, Yeah? (below) arrived on stage, the conjunctivitis was vying for attention (oh I had not forgotten about you conjuncty), alas, I found one eye wearily closing. A crowd-surfing Har Mar Superstar was even more confusing than it should have been.

And that was the note the night ended on, weary but well entertained. Check out Grafton Primary on their myspace while I cross my fingers that conjuncty forgets about me. Maybe if I cross them long enough, he'll leave me be and instead pay a visit to Cross.

I won't give you sympathy.

Given the 60s-inspired indie rock their old band, The Little Flames, oh-so-wonderfully created, one would expect similarly harmonious and catchy songs from The Rascals' debut album Rascalize. Unfortunately, they disappoint. Their Brit-rock sound is formulaic and unapologetically reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys and The Coral (who coincidentally have both toured with The Little Flames). Perhaps it is that they were the three youngest members of The Little Flames. Immature? The track How Do I End This? prompts one to ask that exact question of the album. Alas no, it's not terrible, and it is listenable. It's just a bit... boring.

With the addition of Eva Metersen on vocals and Mat Gregory on guitar, their former band is far more worth your ear. I don't believe their album was ever officially released as they split before it was due out (correct me if I'm wrong) but if you're sneaky you can certainly find it. Take the publicity of The Rascals as a chance to get into The Little Flames.

And so it begins.

It's a five-year-old institution. It's proudly independent, and it holds a wicked party. Indeed, if the music station were a person, it'd be in Kindergarten by now. Alas, it's much more than a person. Mature beyond it's years and mightily ahead of it's game, FBi held an excellent (and indeed tantrum-free) 5th birthday bash to rival any Sydney gig. While perhaps not the most popular kid in school, FBi is certainly the coolest, and pulled a crowd of band members, DJs and a good chunk of the Sydney scene last Friday night who were well worthy of the sounds on offer.

Performing that night was Sydney-based S.Y.L.K (pictured below) who played a highly entertaining set with tongues firmly planted in cheeks. Unmistakably very Salt 'n Pepa in dress, they were typically and fantastically wrapped in gold and all things 80's.


Spod is not-so-simply a whole lot of fun, his set (below) complete with dancing girls, cut-out faces of the leading man himself and a skilfully incorporated old-school Game Boy.


Yves Klein Blue, a promising band indeed, played a great set with strong Brit-rock influences while The Grates played enthusiastically to a packed floor.

The favourite band of the night for me however, unexpectedly came in the form of three-piece Philadelphia Grand Jury who performed wonderfully to a comfortably small crowd. They play again at Oxford Arts this Thursday, if you can catch them I recommend you do. (And they're sweet with being called The Philly Jays, so really its all yes's over here)


I won't review the entirety of the night (there are professionals for that sort of thing), I'll just end on the note that you should check out Philadelphia Grand Jury (pictured above) on their myspace. Listen to Wet Winter Holiday. Actually scrap that, all their songs are well worth a listen.