No, this has not transformed into a food blog. Pepper Rabbit are a super quaint (I’m too manly to write cute, especially in reference to other men) duo from the states that make excellent music. Avant-garde folk is how one critic describes it, but I prefer to call it folk music with balls and substance. Forget your tame Mumford & Sons and the over-rated and underwhelming Angus & Julia Stone for their piss poor tunes (the latter duo being just a whiny gypsy wannabe and Australia’s national Piss Guy champion).

Pepper Rabbit are the goods. Two lads that are talented multi-instrumentalists, their sound has strong tones of Grizzly Bear in there and hints of Radiohead’s more subdued tunes. A fine combo. They impressed at SXSW earlier this year so maybe you should see what the hype is about below.

Pepper Rabbit – “Harvest Moon” Video from stereogum on Vimeo.

You can pick up their album Beauregard from Kanine Records here for only $10!

Older Brother – Pepper Rabbit

Red Wine – Pepper Rabbit

Lanie Lane is a spunky little songstress from Sydney. She has a unique voice with sultry tones and an alluring huskiness which is a refreshing contrast to some of the more generic vocalists getting plugged on the airwaves. The track compliments her voice and enhances the nostalgic theme of the lyrics ( love the broken glass/metal chain sound combined with the snare). She played at good god a few weeks back with Tin Sparrow supporting but I missed it like a disorganised fool. Some might think it sounds derivitive but I like it a lot.

It might also help that she sure is one sassy babe.

Her debut album comes out mid-year. In the meantime…

What Do I Do – Lanie Lane

What Do I Do (Lanie Lane) from Lanie Lane on Vimeo.

Mitzi might sound like the name of your next-door neighbour’s cat or your first born daughter if your were Scandinavian, but that’s wrong. Mitzi actually sound like groovy, upbeat disco-pop of an impressive standard for a young band from Brisbane. Their sound comprises dreamy synths and twangy guitars over melodic basslines coupled with some tight drumming. The occasional faux horn is thrown in for good measure too.

I caught them on Thursday supporting Strangetalk at Good God. To my surprise they had quite a good crowd for the start of their set and quickly had the dancefloor moving (including myself and my severely inebriated friend). I mean genuinely dancing up a storm, their potent grooves even afflicted the cynical hipsters and piss-guys in the place. Really impressive to see, especially for a “smaller” support band. Strangetalk unfortunately were quite disappointing. Just too keen it seemed, they played climbing walls twice which I think is just a tad self-indulgent. Mitzi definitely outshone them.

Here are some good tracks for your consumption including a top remix from Cassian and another good Strangetalk track.

India – Mitzi

Morning Light – Mitzi

All I Heard – Mitzi

All I Heard (Cassian remix) – Mitzi

Eskimo Boy- Strangetalk

I think they’re fantastic. A precise combination of Morrissey’s remarkably articulate lyrics of feelings of melancholy and mediocrity coupled with brilliantly understated guitar work, which is really exceptional. I know it sounds cliche and like something your guitar teacher might say (and indeed mine did) but it is often about what Johnny Marr doesn’t play that makes his compositions so impressive and moving.

Two great examples below.

Back To The Old House – The Smiths

This Night Has Opened My Eyes – The Smiths

Seekae are an excellent Sydney Band signed to the Rice is Nice record label, alongside Seja, another excellent Australian artist. They produce ambient non-linear shoe-gaze electro made in the bedroom (well that’s what I’m calling it) of an enviable pedigree. They played Manning Bar over the weekend, which was an excellent gig expect for the smoke machine setting off the fire alarm and telling everyone to “evacuate in an orderly fashion, whoop whoop”. Mild OH&S threat aside, it was an industrious performance from the trio.

Their second album +Dome has just dropped and is receiving much deserved acclaim. It is an accomplished equal to its predecessor The Sound Of Trees Falling On People. Both are available for purchase HERE, and are wise investments.

Void – Seekae. Off “TSOTFOP”

Bloodbank – Seekae. Off “+Dome”

Contact High from Architecture in Helsinki on Vimeo.

This was easily the best Australian song of the last month.

Moment Bends is out now.

Contact High – Architecture In Helsinki

He is French, he is hairy, and now he is back (much like this blog*). Breakbot makes some of the funkiest dance music going around channeling some serious 70′s funk and soul. Heavy on synth strings and groovy bass, I think it’s music that both you and your mum can dance to (at the same time too).

He has recently dropped two tracks as part of separate Ed Banger compilations, firstly “Shades Of Black” on the Let The Children Techno featuring other dance masters like SebastiAn and Cassius. “Fantasy” features on the compilation The Bee Sides, somewhat unsurprisingly featuring B-sides from a few EB artists.

Both are as funky as Bootsy Collins’ underpants, so enjoy.

Shades of Black – Breakbot

Fantasy – Breakbot feat Ruckazoid

Interestingly and somewhat remarkably my last post on Breakbot was exactly a year ago. Interesting huh? Not really…

*blog is not necessarily back, just I will try a bit more.

Tin Sparrow are a quaint four-piece folk-pop outfit from Sydney’s northern beaches. Not to be confused with Tim Sparrow, or indeed Jack Sparrow, Tin Sparrow make music that exceeds their youth and relative inexperience.

I hear shades of Crowded House, Neil Young, and The Beatles, what do you think? Strong melodies and effective, intelligent lyrics create simple sounding yet genuinely sophisticated little pop gems. Throw in the odd guitar solo and it makes a pretty neat package. I quite like it.

They recently played the Peats Ridge music festival over New Year’s in front of several hundred people, not bad for such a fledgling group. They even handed out free demos, which I have sampled for you below. They play The Roxbury Hotel in Glebe this Friday the 21st as part of a charity fundraising night, how generous.

Fool’s Gold – Tin Sparrow

The Boat – Tin Sparrow

A tad late on this one, seeing as the festive season is over already, but good music is always a gift worth giving and it’s always a good time to receive. Summer Camp popped out a little cover of The Waitresses cynical Xmas pop tune late last year.

I like this song very much, mainly due to the smart lyrics and the original description of the joys of the festive season. Summer Camp’s typical subdued electro pop style suits the track very well, although I have trouble deciding which one I like best.

You can have both for your enjoyment.

Christmas Wrapping – Summer Camp

Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses

How exciting! TyM has just dropped his new track. It is typically fantastic with great beats and groove. I love this man. “Still Sound” is the first sample of the upcoming Underneath The Pine record to be released on 22nd Feb on Carpark Records.

He is playing an upcoming gig at Good God Small Club in the city on the 23rd of February. Unfortunately I’ll be in Japan so I am deeply upset on missing out.

Still Sound – Toro y Moi