Katie Scott has an old soul; and every song from Howl At The Moon’s sophomore release Squalls carries that lovely weariness to it. Squalls was composed over many years, beginning in Scott’s hometown. Maori culture and all its spectres played a big role in her formative songwriting years. Track one ‘Caught By The Sun’; a moody, sexy tumble into Scott’s wonderful vocal work and the excellent gritty guitar of Matthew Storey, tells the legend of Mauao. A nameless hill fell in love with another. Her heart already belonged to a mountain. The nameless one, behest with sorrow, had his bulk thrown into the ocean where it gouged out the walls of a valley. And so Scott’s hometown was born, from the rubble of preternatural heartbreak.
PJ Harvey comparisons are bound to be rife here in lieu of the similarly wrought and wonderful vocal talent of Scott, but there are echoes of stronger influences throughout Squalls. Track three ‘The Hostage’ has a doo-wop feel carried in spangly guitars that gives way to a glorious crescendo of a chorus- sixties pop cavorting with late nineties, Radiohead-esque indie rock. ‘Black coffee’ is exactly what the day after the night before feels like: the sheets of someone else’s bed, the throb of a heavy head, and the animal that overcomes you when you’re the near the limbs of someone you’re besotted with. This song reminds of Cat Power’s unkempt sexiness circa Moon Pix. Blackhearted Charlie is could almost be a Grinderman song; it revels in the narrative and showcases Mark Renall’s bass talents- his riffs drive the guts of many songs here.
The crescendo of Squalls is the wonderful ‘Let The Mainsheets Down My Love’, where all HATM’s members create a cacaphonic, tempo-shifting anthem, giving way to the whole band proclaiming in sync- ‘We are done with it’. It’s row your boat into a dark ocean alone kind of stuff. My very favourite track, one that I’ve played on repeat, drenching myself in its beauty, is the closer ‘I Just Want To Hold Your Hand’. The melody of this track is just wonderful- it’s Yorke-ishly captivating and has all the gut-wrenching drive of the late great Elliot Smith. This song slays me- it is what lonely nights wanting after someone feels like.
Behind the music and with every measured drum beat there’s a twinge threatening to spill through; a latent pain haunting the background. There’s wonderful build and space to this album without taking from the excellent grit of Howl at the Moon- producer and engineer Myles Mumford has done an excellent job of creating balance and exposing the intricacies of Squalls.
Howl At The Moon are one of the most determined and talented bands around; and I hope Squalls throws them into the spotlight they deserve. Squalls will stay with you- it is a compelling, honest and often crushing compendium of Scott’s experiences- every wrought and lovely moment. We’ve been real lucky in Melbourne of late- strong, talented women are making rad music and carrying bands as well as the men are. Climb into the boat HATM have built for you and let this wind take you to a dark place, where lovelorn hills sacrifice themselves to the ocean to the wash of mesmeric, haunting melodies.
The Australian Chef Translates the Spirit of the Barrier’s Natural Beauty Onto the PlateMultimedia artists Natasha Subramaniam and Alisa Lapidus’s enchanting short captures chef Peter Gilmore explaining how his “Coral Garden” dish was inspired by the colorful splendor of the Australian reef. Known for the artful, natural cuisine he pioneers at his restaurant Quay overlooking Sydney Harbor, Gilmore has won a slew of accolades for the establishment since taking over in 2001, and last year won Best Restaurant in Australia in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards.
“I’m inspired by the natural world and diversity––and I seek a harmony and purity in my food through the use of texture, flavor and composition,” says the chef, who drew on memories of childhood explorations of rock pools and a recent snorkeling holiday to create the undulating layers of white fungi mushroom, tapioca and octopus coral in the dish. Working with the seasons, the chef sources around 90% of his produce from within Australia, making a feature of native fish varieties such as flathead, and utilizing ingredients from Aboriginal communities such as the lilly pilly fruit. “I think what we’re doing in Australia is very innovative,” says Gilmore. “We’re blessed with great produce, and we have an amazing multicultural society where all these traditions from around the world have given us a lot of freedom.”
Title: Somebody That I Used to KnowArtist: Gotye200 plays
Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know (feat Kimbra)
So he’s back with a new album, huh? Last time around, I was hooked for months on “Hearts A Mess”. This new song is proof enough that Gotye knows how to cook up an addictive track.
[spooky how that Kimbra chick sounds like Imogen Heap, right?]
One of the finest films 2010 had to offer. I have a soft spot for Australian organised crime on film. They have something grittier that feels more dangerous than their American and English counterparts.
On the subject of Australian film noirs, I read that The Square is even better.
27b/6: David Thorne is an Australian graphic designer and he’s very very funny.
Just as I was about to close the Internet after hours of idle surfing and make something out of my Saturday, I checked my emails and saw there was one from The Once And Future Blonde titled “If you have time for this”. Ouch. I knew what that meant; it’s code for “Warning: this is brilliant stuff so look away now for it will eat up the rest of your day”.
*** Film Comment Selects presents an advance screening of Animal Kingdom at the Walter Reade Theater on August 10. Tickets go on sale soon*** (…That’s me pretending I live in NYC)
One listen of “Blood” is all it took to get me highly excited about this Australian band (admittedly, I get excited easily).
The song is available as a free download on TheirSpace but I strongly recommend giving their entire 5-song EP a listen: if “Blood”, “The Darkest Side” and “Fool’s Gold” have a folky vibe, “Lonely” and “Beleriand” have more of a post-rock sound with the type of trippy instrumental build ups I particularly like. A truly wonderful selection of songs.
I’m browsing through my DVD collection in the hope I’ll find something there that I fancy watching, but no luck…My DVD library is so fucking boring…And why don’t I have Proof again? Zut alors, I really felt like watching that film tonight. Such a perfect little Australian indie flick.
