Live Review: Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival Part 2

Whilst the three acts discussed in part one of my live review of the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival proved the blues was well and truly still alive amongst the youth, the legends on the line-up also showed the original blues and roots pioneers had not lost any of their talent. 

The Doobie Brothers commanded one of the largest crowds of the festival, with people pouring out of the Crossroads tent because it was so full, leading desperate Doobie fans to set up camp outside and watch the show on the giant outdoor television screens provided. As the crowd cheer for the Doobies, Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, John Mcfee and John Cowan march on stage together and line up at the front of the stage, each Doobie Brother with his own ethereal spotlight. There is no need to say or do anything except play some of those classic Doobie hits and so without a word the group commence ‘Jesus Is Just Alright’. The song may be fairly dated, but The Doobie Brothers’ vibrant delivery immediately negates any dubious outlooks. The Doobies then seamlessly transition into similarly upbeat classic ‘Rockin’ Down The Highway’, followed by a quick burst of hits including ‘Take Me In Your Arms’ and ‘Dependin’ On You’, which sets up a high precedent for the band to follow during the rest of their 90 minute show. Pat Simmons and John Cowan work together to provide vocals for songs led by former Doobie brother Michael McDonald and do a commendable job, given the difficulty in replicating McDonald’s unique voice.

The Doobies continue to enthral the audience with ‘Clear As The Driven Snow’, which Pat Simmons introduces as, “psychedelic rock n roll for everybody who took their medication.” The moment is grand as The Doobies’ sing the quiet opening intro together; eyes shining and full of vigour. The up-tempo chorus then sends waves of pulsating energy through the audience as The Doobies’ sing, ‘I keep rollin; I keep rollin’, followed by a killer guitar solo. After the sheer majesty of ‘Clear As the Driven Snow’ the band take a breather and play some songs from their 2010 album ‘World Gone Crazy’, which holds up well against the classics, but cannot quite match the dynamism of their incredible opening. The Doobie Brothers are lively, charismatic and full of energy for the entire show, despite their age, although there is the sense that some of The Doobies’ stage antics were a little over-choreographed, but at no moment does the group’s energy and joy feel inauthentic. The Doobie Brothers' finale is just vibrant as their show-stopping intro, with the brothers playing classics ‘Black Water’ and ‘Long Train Runnin’ back to back, followed by an encore that raises the bar even higher with ‘China Grove’, ‘Road Angel’ and finally, ending on a light-hearted note with ‘Listen To The Music’; rendering it impossible for the audience to leave feeling anything but immense joy.

In comparison to The Doobie Brothers’ heartfelt and full-bodied performance was the similarly lively and long-lasting KC and The Sunshine Band show, but unlike The Doobies, the over-produced and over-choreographed spectacle that was KC and The Sunshine Band did not have the same heart to ground it in the now. Whilst The Doobie Brothers’ classic folk rock style remains timeless, the aesthetics of disco have long been the subject of parody and caricature, which is exactly what the KC and the Sunshine Band show felt like. Between KC’s cheesy dance moves and the gaudy costumes adorned by his entourage of backup dancers, everything about the KC show feels as if it should remain in the 70s, except the actual KC songs, which are still catchy and fun. KC’s choreographed dance moves feel somewhat inappropriate, with the singer lacking much of the original charisma that would have made the show work, even though he does put in a commendable effort at leading the show. KC tirelessly interacts with the audience, demanding everybody ‘get funky’, but one can’t help but notice his struggle to keep up with his athletic female entourage. Even so, the audience go absolutely berserk as KC moves through his arsenal of hits at a lightning fast pace, which I guess proves that good cheesy fun still sells, even if disco is dead.

Elvis Costello is another aging artist known for his spectacular live shows, which involve similarly cheesy gimmicks such as his ‘Spectacular Spinning Songbook’, but thankfully no back up dancers wearing unfashionable spandex tights. For his bluesfest set, however, Costello ditches the gimmicks and simply allows his music to charm the audience. Forty years later, Costello’s eclectic new wave sound sounds fresh and invigorating, and Costello himself is still wonderfully charismatic, if not more charming with age and maturity, having long moved on from his ‘angry young man’ persona. Like The Doobies, as Costello takes the stage, it is immediately evident he is completely comfortable with performing and still loves what he’s doing.

He opens the show with his most well known track ‘Pump It Up’ and after the first chorus, the entire crowd of mostly middle-aged people are dancing. Without much of a pause, Costello follows with hit after hit from ‘Oliver’s Army’ to ‘Less Than Zero’ and finally his first hit single ‘Watching the Detectives’, all of which display the diversity of his sound from Abba-influenced pop, to post-punk and reggae. Costello also proves he has not lost any of his stamina as a top-notch performer, as he cheekily presents a megaphone out of nowhere, which he proceeds to play his guitar with, creating a strangely wonderful sound.  

Costello follows with some of his newer material, which has more of a blues-orientated sound and provides a nice contrast with his older songs. He also throws in some lovely surprises from his hefty back catalogue such as ‘Everyday I Write the Book’ from 1983’s ‘Punch the Clock’, the country-blues tune ‘Brilliant Mistake’ from 1986’s ‘King of America’ and upbeat new wave track ‘Clubland’ from 1981’s ‘Trust’. In-between, Costello plays some more notable hits, such as ‘Alison’ and ‘I Don’t Want to Go to Chelsea’. These songs induce an enthusiastic response from the audience, but he doesn’t quite manage to top his energetic start; perhaps it would have been better for Costello to space out his hits more evenly.  For his finale, ‘What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding’, Costello well and truly gives everything he’s got, dragging out the song lyric by lyric, and guitar stroke by guitar stroke for about 10 minutes: it truly feels as if he doesn’t want to leave the stage. When he finally does, the audience eagerly wait for an encore they do not get, an encore that is really quite unnecessary with such a full-bodied and vibrant show.

Whilst The Doobie Brothers and Elvis Costello live up to their status as living legends, The Magic Band surpass all expectations in a criminally underattended set. The band play late at night on Friday in the tiny Cavanbah tent, which I would have assumed would be far too small for a band as well-known and highly regarded as The Magic Band, but indeed, only a small group of people are privy to their electric set. In ways, this makes the set even more enjoyable, as nobody is forced to squeeze next to strangers to gain a glimpse of the group and the band can interact more casually with the audience.

In comparison to the more traditional blues and roots artists showcased at this year’s festival, The Magic Band provided a fantastic contrast with their eclectic fusion of country, blues, rock n roll and progressive rock. Original drummer Drumbo French assumes vocal duties in the absence of Captain Beefheart himself and does a stellar job at commanding that sleazy, zealous, near-manic energy of the icon.  He shares drumming parts with newcomer Craig Bunch, who helps out when French takes centre stage. Original guitarist Denny Walley and new addition Eric Klerk work together to create that classic cacophonous jazz rock n roll sound that defines the magic of The Magic Band, while Rockette Morton’s fuzzy bass sounds provides the necessary backbone that ties the whole raucous package together.

The band, including Klerk and Bunch, find a wonderful equilibrium on stage; the entire performance feels effortless, as if we are privy to an intimate jam. Unlike some of the over-produced performances at the bluesfest, The Magic Band’s set stands out because it feels spontaneous and relaxed, which makes it all the more exciting. After hearing guitar solo after guitar solo throughout the festival, the discordant, jarring guitar sound of The Magic Band sounds wonderfully fresh and is the perfect finale to Friday night’s colourful array of shenanigans. The concern with featuring legendary groups like The Magic Band, KC and the Sunshine Band and The Doobie Brothers as headliners is of course that they will not be able to evoke the original spirit, but such could not be said about The Magic Band. Like it or not, The Magic Band were violently and viciously alive and the music of Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band never sounded better.

Live Review: Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival 2014 Part 1

The Byron Bay Blues and Roots festival is renowned for its legendary headliners from B.B King to Bob Dylan to Iggy Pop, which has always formed a significant part of the festival’s brand and its appeal to its largely middle-aged audience. This year’s Blues and Roots Festival proved to be one of the most controversial yet, with the first artist announcement strangely absent of any of the usual headliners, instead featuring the likes of John Mayer, The Dave Matthews Band and The John Butler Trio. Further artist announcements added blues legends like Buddy Guy and Boz Scaggs, amongst other renowned acts such as The Doobie Brothers, Gregg Allman and The Magic Band, but there was still the sense that the Blues and Roots festival was aiming for a younger and less blues orientated audience with the likes of Jack Johnson and Joss Stone also added as headliners. But if this year’s festival marked the arrival of young talent on the blues and roots scene, it certainly was not any of the over-promoted headliners. After checking out a variety of acts during the festival, the most promising young artists proved to be quirky genre-crossing Cambodian group Cambodian Space Project, Jimi Hendrix incarnate Gary Clark Jr and 19-year-old indie folk rocker Jake Bugg. In an era where blues music has sadly disappeared from the mainstream, the incredible talent of these three acts was a welcomed surprise.

It’s just past six o’clock on Friday night and the Bluesfest is at its peak of activity as crowds ambush their way toward two tents: the Mojo tent and the Crossroads tent. At Crossroads Buddy Guy’s roadies are setting up his gear, whilst a few tents down Gary Clark Jr, who is 48 years Buddy Guy’s junior, prepares to take the Mojo stage. It isn’t an easy choice between an absolute Blues legend and an up and coming young gun drawing comparisons to Jimi Hendrix, but having seen Buddy Guy a few times, I bite the bullet and make my way to the Mojo tent. Although Buddy Guy’s performances during the festival were as stellar as ever, with reports of the guitar hero moving directly into the audience and allowing one lucky boy to play his guitar, Gary Clark Jr’s show was sublime enough to eradicate any doubts I had.

The second Clark kicks off his set with soul influenced album opener ‘Ain’t Messin’ Around’, singing the opening lines, “I don’t believe in competition, there ain’t nobody else like me around,” it instantly feels as if we are all in the presence of a true rock star who truly isn’t like anybody else around. Clark continues his set with a handful of more traditional blues orientated tracks that set the mood well, but it is Clark’s divergence into heavy rock n roll and trance-inducing psychedelia on the song ‘When My Train Pulls In’ that really confirms his original claim that there is nobody else like him around, particularly the explosive ending, featuring a gut-wrenching guitar solo.

Proving just how gloriously unpredictable he is, Clark follows his killer ambush of psychedelic hard rock with a stripped-back blues ballad that nicely showcases the range of his voice, as Clark sings in a falsetto style on ‘Please Come Home’. This moment of quiet intimacy is then followed by one of the highlights of the entire festival, a downbeat heavy psychedelic blues track called ‘Numb’, in which we are privy to another killer guitar solo.  It seems as if it would be impossible to top these three incredible songs, but Clark has one more trick up his sleeve – ‘Bright Lights’, an incredibly catchy song that has the kind of cross-commercial appeal that could easily convert the uninitiated to the blues, reminiscent of The Black Keys. No other song could have perfectly ended Clark’s set like ‘Bright Lights’, with Clark repeatedly singing the line, “You’re gonna know my name by the end of the night,” which by the end of ‘Bright Lights’ is undoubtedly true for most people in the audience.

Judging by the hoards of bright young things who turned up for his set on Monday evening, Jake Bugg and his quirky inflection of indie folk and blues rock n roll could also be seen as another potential saviour for the blues. As Bugg takes the stage and sets up in his gear, it is difficult to match his pasty British baby-face with his raw country folk sound, but the second he sings the first few lines of ‘Seen It All’ in his highly distinctive and beautifully pristine voice, it is impossible to doubt the talent of the 19-year-old youth. The first twenty odd minutes of Bugg’s set drag a little, as he plays the bulk of his more subdued acoustic tracks, whilst the rest absolutely blows me away once Bugg ditches the acoustic for his electric guitars. Such was one of the notable differences between Bugg’s first record ‘Jake Bugg’ and his sophomore album ‘Shangri La’, which demonstrated an impressive transition from catchy country folk tunes to a more nuanced variety of folk, blues and rock n roll. 

Songs like ‘Messed Up Kids’ and ‘Simple Pleasures’ really show just how much the young artist has grown, sounding even better live; they strike the perfect balance of laidback sentimental folk matched with Bugg’s frenetic energy and angsty lyrics. Another standout song is ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’, which even exhibits some punk rock influences and certainly inspires some good-natured rowdiness amongst the crowd. Bugg’s voice is completely faultless for the entire set and he delivers his songs with true vigour, with soulful ballads like ‘A Song About Love’ demonstrating Bugg’s incredible range. Yes, Bugg’s robust talent is undeniable, but his stage persona was somewhat bland and uninspiring, as Bugg did little to interact and connect with the audience or even really move around the stage. Nevertheless, Bugg is young and will undoubtedly find his stage persona with age and maturity.

Whilst Cambodian Space Project displayed just as much song-writing talent as Bugg and Clark, even though many of their songs were covers, a large part of their appeal was their incredible stage presence and effortless repertoire with their audience. Perhaps this was in part because they played the smaller Delta stage, but whatever it was, it was unforgettable. The band take the stage, but leave a slight delay for the group’s dynamic lead singer to take her place centre-stage. Dressed in a form-fitting black dress, white high-heels and a matching white flower, Srey Thy certainly looks the part of diva-lounge-goddess, and she sounds the part too as, with a delightfully unique voice marked by her Cambodian accent. The band’s mid-sixties pop sound, recalling the likes of western groups like The Shangria Las, combined with the Khmer language Thy sings in, creates an incredibly fresh sound. Thy does not have the same kind of deep throaty Janis-Joplin-like voice many other standout female performers had at the bluesfest, such as Beth Hart and Joanne Shaw-Taylor, but that does not mean her voice is any less powerful. The combination of Thy’s distinctive vocals and powerhouse stage presence truly forms the heart of Cambodian Space Project and without her they would really just be a very talented covers band.

The group follow their upbeat start with a more subdued psychedelic track ‘Baby Lady Boy’ perfectly complimented by Thy’s majestic voice. The song nicely demonstrates the wide range of influences the group incorporate into their sound from surf pop to gypsy folk to dirty blues and psychedelic rock n roll, which always keeps things interesting. What is so great about Cambodian Space Project is how seamlessly they transition between all these genres, declaring next, things are, ‘going to get funky’, which they certainly do as Thy dances on stage like a professional sixties go-go girl. Both Thy and the band possess an exuberant force of energy on stage, but always maintain their composure, even when Thy is dancing crazily. Thy also makes an effort to interact with the audience in-between most songs and sometimes during the song itself, but unfortunately much of the content of Thy’s dialogue is lost due to her heavy accent, but she still manages to charm the audience. The group’s guitarist, Julien Poulson, also commands a wonderful stage presence as a perfect foil to Thy’s cheeky stage persona. He also shines on stage during the group’s many guitar solos, especially when he shows off a descending chromatic guitar scale on the song ‘Cut Your Beard’ and during a wicked surf guitar riff on ‘Dance Twist’.

Toward the end of the set the group move on from their sixties pop covers to more layered and dynamic original material from their latest album. The highlight of the set proves to be ‘Whiskey Cambodia’, an incredible slow-burning psychedelic song that displays the vast range of Thy’s voice. The downbeat mood of the hypnotic tune also provides an interesting contrast to bubblegum sixties pop tunes like ‘Dance Twist’, which are delightful, but not nearly as beguiling as their original material.  Cambodian Space Project prove they’re no generic covers band with the haunting song ‘The Boat’, which Thy introduces to the audience as a song she herself wrote about the hardships of asylum seekers. Brimming with emotional depth, the song would have been an astonishing finish for the band, but instead they follow with the conversely light-hearted cover ‘I’m Sixteen’, described by Poulson as ‘the Cambodian national anthem’.  The sixties surf rock tune gives the audience a more upbeat send-off, but ending with ‘The Boat’ would remind the audience that Cambodian Space Project are much more than a sixties tribute group.

Coachella: The Youth Is Starting to Change

Coachella is renowned as one of the world’s greatest music festivals, serving as a reliable indicator as to where popular music is heading. The festival has earned its highly respected reputation from its diversity in genre, ranging from hip hop to rock music to indie and EDM. Whilst 2014 honoured this tradition with artists ranging from OutKast to The Pixies to Lorde on the line-up, the massive influx of candy-coloured ravers congregating at the various EDM stages over the three days certainly indicates an increased emphasis on electronic music.

Bands like Muse and Arcade Fire did fill the rock music quota, but the small crowd turnouts for these sets certainly suggests that both groups were filling a ‘quota’ as headlining rock bands, as opposed to truly earning their spot at the top of the bill. Muse were competing with EDM giant Skrillex during their set on Saturday and certainly lost the battle to EDM, with Skrillex commanding a beyond-capacity crowd of glow-stick weaving ravers at the Sahara tent. Also competing with Skrillex and Muse for the crowds was Nicholas Jarr’s side project Darkside with virtuoso Dave Harrington; a moody techno hybrid of classic guitar rock and Jarr’s ambient synth sounds. Whilst Darkside hardly commanded the boisterous crowds seeping out of the Sahara tent, The Los Angeles Times did note an enthusiastic response to the duo’s low-key set, another indication that at least for now, electronic music is what people are going to festivals for - whether it is the high energy house beats of Disclosure or the minimalist synth sounds of Lorde.

Although Arcade Fire’s set was more successful than Muse’s, frontman Win Butler himself noted the increased emphasis on EDM and gave a shoutout to, “all the bands still playing actual instruments at this festival.” The Queens of the Stone Age were another rock group expected to draw in the crowds and whilst The Sun did report an enthusiastic crowd response to hits like ‘No One Knows’, they also reported a large chunk of the audience leaving soon after. Classic glam rocker Bryan Ferry also suffered a “criminally underattended” set, according to The Times, amongst similarly scanty crowd sizes at Neko Case, Superchunk and AFI, all competing against EDM artists like Rudimental, Empire of the Sun and Bastille.

One factor to have in mind when considering how the success stories and flops of Coachella reflects developments in the music industry is the dominant age group attending the festival, which appears to be the 20 to 24 age group. A poll from 2010 on the most popular age group found 34.5 per cent of attendees were between the ages of 20 and 24, whilst 24.25 per cent were 25 to 29. The festival is all ages and likely drew in an even younger crowd this year, if the popularity of up-and-coming 17-year-old Lorde is anything to go by, and the brief appearance of pop idol Justin Bieber. Conversely, rock musicians like Queens of the Stone Age, Neutral Milk Hotel, Beck, Bryan Ferry and The Replacements are all well past their heyday of popularity and would have likely appealed to the older age groups attending the festival, who were certainly outnumbered by the young EDM buffs.

Many of these artists are also well beyond connecting with the young audience that dominates Coachella, with such a massive shift in pop culture dividing generations. The Replacements’ underattended set of mere few hundred was evidence of just this, with Paul Westerberg snidely declaring, “I just want a girl who’s never used the word awesome.” Like Win Butler’s bitter shoutout to “all the bands actually playing instruments”, Westerberg’s comment suggests not only a generational gap, but also the feeling that these groups haven’t quite caught up with the zeitgeist. Remarks like these two examples do little to amend that perception.

Coachella’s dominant age group has not always been young adults, however, with earlier festivals featuring headliners like Paul McCartney, Roger Waters and Prince, a spot Bryan Ferry may have commanded ten years ago. Instead, Coachella’s staple classic rockers have been demoted to low-billed slots and can barely fill out their tents. The change in headliner hierarchy could be attributed to a new marketing strategy from festival promoters, however, it seems more likely that over time Coachella promoters have gradually shifted the focus from classic rock n roll toward up-and-coming festival goldmine to coincide with decreased popularity with the former and increased interest in the latter category. Coachella 2014 will only further influence this process, with the meagre crowd turnouts for the rock n rollers cementing the validity of this perception.

And so the question of how this shift in demographics came to be must be addressed, which could be simply attributed to a change in ticket policy and an increased interest in the festival as its reputation has slowly built up over the past 15 years. With tickets selling out in twenty minutes, the kinds of people snapping up tickets are probably people attending the festival every year regardless of the line-up. Festivals like Coachella have now become more about the experience of the three days, as opposed to an opportunity to see your favourite band play live: a transition influenced by the festival incorporating more non-music centred activities into the program, as well as providing on-site camping. This idea of the ‘festival experience’ henceforth puts the emphasis on partying and creates an atmosphere that will inevitably appeal to a younger demographic.

In earlier years, tickets for Coachella did not sell out this fast, giving more people an opportunity to consider buying a ticket and thus, a more balanced range of age groups. Individual day passes also used to be available, whereas now the only option is a three-day pass. Younger age groups seeking the full festival experience are thus more likely to buy the three day pass, whilst older age groups only interested in a couple of bands will probably pass on the festival. It would also be difficult for full-time working adults to get the Friday off work, which would mean many people would be forced to purchase a three day pass for a two day experience. On the other-hand, younger age groups with part-time jobs attending university or high school would find it much easier to attend the full three days and be more likely to grab tickets the second they are on sale.

Whilst EDM’s takeover of Coachella this year was surprising, it was certainly not unjustified and no doubt reflects the future direction music festivals like Coachella will progressively emphasise in years to come. Acts like Muse and Arcade Fire will surely continue to reappear on the line-ups for these massive festivals, but will have to accept lower billing as the likes of Skrillex and Calvin Harris inspire an invasion of fluorescent EDM ravers. It seems as if it would make more sense for festival promoters to shift the festival’s original focus on diversity to a more EDM-centred event and to create a separate festival for rock fans. The reason this has not been achieved yet is that it would require a drastic shift in image for the festival that could see it lose its strong reputation. Coachella fans must instead be eased into this transition, a phenomenon we are seeing every year as news headlines describe the jaw-dropping performances of the EDM elite, and the conversely lacklustre turnouts for rock bands. It also begs the question as to how successful a pure rock n roll festival would be, a question Coachella festival organisers would likely prefer to not answer.

Glass Animals @ The HiFi, April 4

It’s approaching Britpop’s anniversary, but the British bands breaking into the mainstream are nowhere near the guitar led laddish rock of bands like Oasis and Blur, in fact, what’s popular now is probably closer to the sound on Blur’s unpopular albums. When Blur veered away from the catchy pop tunes that made them famous toward a more layered lo-fi electronic sound people were not to happy. But that was then and this is now, and the now is Glass Animals.

Glass Animals describe their music as ‘a weird, psychedelic cocktail of electronic and organic sound’. It would be difficult to top that description, but to give you some more perspective, file Glass Animals with the likes of Alt J, Animal Collective and Flying Lotus, if you must. The band popped out of seemingly nowhere earlier this year, grabbing the attention of fans and critics alike with their majestic slow-burning RnB track ‘Gooey’. Since then the band have only continued to gain more followers with a handful of single releases. In 2012 the band released their first EP with older songs such as ‘Cocoa Hooves’ and ‘Golden Antlers’, tunes that unfortunately have the feeling of a new band coming to grips with their sound. Although Glass Animals have really developed their sound since then, many of their tracks still feel a little underwhelming. It is Glass Animals' live show that really exhibits the strong potential the group have to become a really evocative and dynamic band.

Despite their meagre musical output, Glass Animals’ steady following certainly justified the room size of The Hi-Fi, which was fairly full on Friday, April 4 for their first Brisbane show. Nevertheless, the $45 ticket price did seem fairly unjustified for what must have amounted to a thirty-five minute show from the band, with only one supporting act. Despite these shortcomings, Glass Animals put on the best show they could have possibly done at The-HiFi, compensating for the short and sweet running time by turning the entire event into an immersive spectacle with smoke machines coming at you left, right and centre, timed perfectly with the band's moody introspective beats.

Glass Animals open with one of their most interesting tracks ‘Pyslla’, a tune that displays the diversity of their influences from psych to triphop to RnB. Whilst the result is an innovative sound, ‘Pyslla’ also demonstrates where the band's sound is lacking. Their eclectic range of influences may produce interesting results, but most of the time the songs come off feeling slightly awkward and disjointed. The group dabbles with different sounds all throughout the track, but they never really take these sounds as far as they go. The opening exotic drumbeats of ‘Pyslla’ hint at an interesting sound the band could explore, but instead the song kind of plods along without ever really going anywhere. About two minutes into ‘Pyslla’ the song builds to a rising climax, but as with most of their songs, the band do not follow through with the rising momentum and end the song on an anticlimax. Because Glass Animals focus too much on experimenting with different styles and sounds, ‘Pyslla’ and many of their other songs, lack the strong backbone needed to resonate on a deeper level.

Whilst these underwhelming aspects of Glass Animals’ sound are still evident when performed live, the songs feel much fuller and intoxicating in the live arena. The band transports every iota of their energetic beings into a solid performance that seriously elevates the power of their somewhat flat recordings. Although there is a still a little to be desired, there is lot to be gained from seeing Glass Animals live. The band prove just how immersive and dynamic electronic music can be when the people on stage truly make an effort to connect with their audience. If the band could incorporate this organic energy more fully into their recordings they would have a much stronger sound. As it stands, much of Glass Animals’ recordings feel a little too polished and with a name like that, the band really need to be bringing the raw dynamic aesthetic that defines their live show into the studio.

Glass Animals’ sound harks back to the triphop beats of other British groups like Massive Attack and Porthishead and whilst the band do share many positive aspects with these groups, such as their dark minimalist aesthetic, they fail to reach the intense emotional highs that defines triphop. Part of this is because the band’s lead singer Dave Brayley does not have a strong enough voice to carry the intended emotional impact. Songs like ‘Exxus’ really evoke that triphop mood with its dark dismal beats, but Brayley’s somewhat flat and emotionless delivery really brings down the energy. Fortunately, ‘Black Mambo’ picks up where ‘Exxus’ leaves a lot to be desired, incorporating a sensual groovy aesthetic into the dismal triphop backbone that projects a lot more colour and life into Glass Animals’ music.

By the time we reach the end of Glass Animals’ set and they perform their ‘Like A Version’ rendition of Kanye West’s ‘Love Lockdown’, it feels like a premature finale. By this point in the set the audience have really only just had the chance to relax into the show and there is a distinct feeling of 'is this it?' circulating throughout the room as the lights turn on and everybody leaves. Before the band does finish, however, they treat the audience with their most popular single to date ‘Gooey’. Although most of the audience squeal and yelp with delight as the band play the song, ‘Gooey’ really feels more like filler material, lacking the exotic ragbag of influences that define tracks like ‘Pyslla’ and ‘Black Mambo’. Whilst these songs did feel a little disjointed, ‘Gooey’ feels too simplified; a standard RnB track with your typical verse and chorus structure that does not really stray into any experimental territory. But I guess a band like Glass Animals need more accessible songs like ‘Gooey’ to inspire fans to listen to their more interesting experimental work. And judging by the audience’s enthusiastic response to ‘Gooey’ and the sheer size of the crowd, this approach has certainly worked for the group.

Published by 4zzz.

New Britannia

The origins of Britpop have been much debated; some say it was birthed into life around 1993 when Brett Anderson of Suede was featured on the cover of Select Magazine with a Union flag in the background, the same time as the release of Blur’s anglocentric British social treatise ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’.

Although these moments in time both signalled major developments in the Cool Britannia movement, nobody can doubt that it was the release of Blur’s ‘Parklife’ that truly catapulted the movement into the forefront of mass media. April 24, 2014, marks the twentieth anniversary of the album’s release and the Britpop circle’s triumphant recovery of their musical heritage. Just recently there was talk of a Britpop reunion episode on ITV2’s documentary series ‘The Big Reunion’ and indeed, the time is ripe for such a thing. Then again, we all saw how well Blur’s reunion at Big Day Out worked out…

Since the brief few years in which Britpop was king there has been a notable absence of simple guitar led British pop music in the music industry. There may have been bands such as Snow Patrol, Coldplay, Travis and Elbow who emerged after the dissolution of Britpop with certain British characteristics to their music, but there was also an overriding American indie influence to these bands that prevented them from truly symbolising British culture. In any case, these bands will likely be remembered as commercial pop drivel as opposed to their legendary predecessors from the Madchester movement and 90’s Britpop. The Arctic Monkeys now stand at the forefront of popular music as perhaps one of the only major acts representing whatever fragments are left of Britpop, but they too have betrayed much of their original British aesthetic. The popularity of acts like Alt J, London Grammar and Chvrches even more so signifies distance from the guitar-led 60s influenced sound of Britpop.

Although there are no major signs of this changing anytime soon, it is Australia’s DMA’s that are the first new kids on the block in a long time representing a true revival of Britpop. DMA’s popped out of seemingly nowhere earlier this year and were signed to DZ Deahtrays and Violent Soho’s label I OH YOU after only releasing one song: an emotional acoustic track called ‘Delete’. Although the song was simple in style, it has an undoubtable feeling of freshness to it, perhaps, because it is so simple. What truly made the song stand out was the Oasis-esque rising climax, the even more Manchester reminiscent video clip featuring the trio in track jackets, and the layers of shoegaze underpinning the whole package.

DMA’s were far from I OH YOU’s grungy party-dog image and it certainly got people’s attention. Their second track ‘Feels Like 37’ even more so recalls the sounds of mid nineties Britpop, with familiar Liam Gallagher-like drawling vocals. The band’s debut EP will be out March 28, followed by an East Coast tour that will see the guys hitting up Brisbane’s Black Bear Lodge on Friday, March 30. The band may hark from Australia’s Sydney as opposed to, well, Great Britain, but there is no doubt DMA’s are one of the first bands in recent times recalling the sounds of Britpop with style and flair, and people are certainly listening.

But perhaps instead of another British invasion of guitar-led pop rock anytime soon, there will be a new kind of ‘Britpop’ finding its place in the world.  The success of the electronic influenced British groups I mentioned cannot not be ignored and nor should it be, as these bands are fantastic contributions to the current music landscape. Even though their sound does not exactly recall the traditions of their British heritage, there is a distinct British branding present with heavily accented British vocals. This Friday will mark Australia’s first encounter with one of these experimental electronic British groups as Glass Animals play The Hi-Fi on Friday, April 4. Although the band do not really recall any Blur, Oasis or Pulp in their eclectic sound, there is certainly remnants of British triphop groups like Massive Attack and Portishead.

In May, London’s Temples will also visit Australia for the first time, a band who perhaps have more in common with their Britpop ancestors. There is little that is distinctly British about Temples, although their psychedelic sounds do recall Rubber Soul and Sgt Pepper’s era Beatles, The Byrds, and T-Rex. But maybe it is Temples’ label mates Toy or Charlie Boyer and The Voyeurs who more obviously embrace a British aesthetic. Toy may lean heavily toward Germany’s krautrock sounds, but they do share Temples’ British psychedelia influences, as well as incorporating the pre-Britpop 90s shoegaze styles into their sound, a movement that bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Lush embodied. Nevertheless, Toy’s sound, like many of their English neo-psychedelia contemporaries, derives from a far more nuanced worldwide collection of influences, and indeed, it is a movement that spans countries and continents. Charlie Boyer’s sound on the other-hand is unmistakably British, with distinct shades of Brian Eno and Bryan Ferry glam rock. On the other hand, the group also have strong strokes of American late 70s rock music like Television, The Modern Lovers and Suicide.

Maybe there is no longer a place for Britpop, with music becoming far more nuanced and layered as bands consume influences from all over the world much more easily with the Internet at their fingertips. Music scenes are now crossing continents as a result of easier access to music and because of more interaction between bands on different sides of the globe. And maybe this is a good thing for the music industry, as more interconnectivity and collaboration can only produce stronger and more dynamic results, as we have seen with the recent wave of electronic music. But with any strong musical movement there will always be an anti-movement, which is precisely how Britpop started in the first place, as the antithesis to America’s grunge scene. And indeed, it would be great to see another golden time when British bands like The Beatles, The Stone Roses and Oasis rule the world once again, even if it’s just for a little while.


Published by AAA Backstage.