Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Australia's New Budget Bites Back



Australia’s budget was released today to a chorus of discontent amongst the many people hit hard by the countless cutbacks that struck those who could afford it the least; namely, artists. 
The country’s core arts council and mediator for grant payments – The Australian Council – will have 28.2 million taken from its budget over four years, amounting to about 9 million a year. Although it has not been decided where this 9 million will be trimmed, the country’s leading arts companies will remain safe from any budget cuts, as most of them are already locked into three year contracts. This protects organisations such as Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet, but it also means smaller institutions and individuals seeking grants will be the people losing this 28.2 million: the people who require these grants the most. Henceforth, these cutbacks will seriously limit Australia’s capacity to foster new talent, which will only further diminish the viability of the arts sector in Australia for the long run. Australia’s music industry will likely suffer the most because it largely relies on smaller businesses and the hard work of individuals, as opposed to being guarded by a larger network of people such as a theatre company or an orchestra. 
Many Australians involved in the arts have weighed in on the debate, such as Virginia Lovett, executive director of The Melbourne Theatre Company. Whilst her company will secure its regular $2.1 million grant, it will be unable to fund smaller projects such as ‘Neon’ and ‘In the Mix’, which both help emerging artists develop their craft and require separate grants. Lovett describes the impact of these budget cutbacks as a knock-on effect to the larger organisations, “who will have to do some more heavy lifting in terms of artist development.” David Berthold, The artistic director of La Boite theatre Company in Brisbane and the artistic director of Brisbane Festival, echoes Lovett’s misgivings and believes, “It’s the individual artists and new projects that will bear the brunt – all those applying for funds coming up.” Likewise, in the music industry, opera companies and major orchestras may continue with little interference from the government, but small bands or solo artists will receive less exposure and less opportunities to develop their skills. Lovett thus believes that in ten years time, “the artists who should have been busily developing their craft won’t have had as much of an opportunity to,” which will leave a major gap in the arts sector.
These budget cuts have already begun, with The Asia-Pacific Centre for Arts and Cultural Leadership scheduled in for the guillotine. Additionally, Screen Australia, the country’s leading film company, responsible for internationally successful and critically acclaimed films such as ‘Animal Kingdom’ and ‘Samson and Delilah’, will suffer one of the largest losses of all, with 25.1 million deducted over four years. In an industry that is already lean on funding, this will no doubt have a detrimental impact on the film industry. The only new means of funding the Australian Government have offered is $1 million to build a new boarding hall for the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne, which will hardly supplement the dire impact all these cutbacks will have on institutions, individuals and Australian arts culture.
The major impact the new budget will have on musicians has largely gone unnoticed by the media, because the way it will effect the average musician’s lifestyle is related to far more issues than arts funding. Most musicians do not receive any funding from the government to develop their music and have to organize their lives as best as they can so that they can independently support their craft. This is already an extremely difficult lifestyle to live as a constant balancing act of procuring basic needs, maintaining a career and trying to fit in time to work on music. The new budget will make this process even harder, especially for musicians and artists trying to find jobs in Australia’s meager creative industries sector, which will undoubtedly become even smaller once these budget cutbacks are set into motion.
What will really make it difficult for artists to maintain a functional lifestyle, whilst working on their craft, are the modifications to unemployment and youth benefit schemes. People under the age of 25 will no longer be eligible for the dole at all and will instead have to apply for youth allowance, which is worth about $100 less a fortnight, whilst people eligible for either Newstart or Youth Allowance must be under the age of 30.  Anybody seeking financial support from the government will now have to wait a preliminary 6 months before payments commence, a completely pointless intermediary process that will achieve nothing except snatch a few bucks from an already impoverished individual. Once a person is eligible for either of these schemes, they will then have to engage in the compulsory ‘Work For the Dole’ program 25 hours a week. And if the individual refuses to work any of the suggested jobs? Income payments will be withdrawn for eight weeks and the only way it can be regained is by doing additional activities or demonstrating financial hardship.
To put even more pressure on the youth of Australia, these payments will only be available for a maximum of 6 months a year, after which, all financial support will be terminated. Nevertheless, if you can’t afford to juggle your basic needs and find yourself cut off cold turkey from your Newstart or Youth Allowance payments, the paid parental scheme might be a good option, especially since it now amounts to $50, 000 for 6 months. If you can’t find a way to impregnate yourself into financial stability, there’s always the Australian Defense Force, which had zero budget cutbacks and instead received $191.8 million to finance it’s ADF Gap Year program. However, those expecting a little bit of action and a little bit of an adventure in an exotic foreign land should probably reconsider signing up and instead backpack to Europe to avoid this entire mess.
It makes little sense to provide less unemployment support for the youth of Australia, who face more challenges when it comes to securing stable employment, with less experience than people over the age of 30. As a result of these convoluted modifications, many Australian youths will not receive any financial support and will have to juggle the workload of a university degree with full-time work to support themselves; factor in any music commitments and you have an impossible situation. This means something would have to be sacrificed to make this lifestyle manageable, which will more often than not be an economically unfeasible university degree. Music careers are typically best fostered during one’s youth and so, for any musician serious about honing their craft and building up a reputation, other aspects of their lifestyle will have to be sacrificed in order to maintain the momentum of this process. All work and no play is not a reasonable mantra to drill into the youth of Australia; forcing a musician to give up their craft for a degree they don’t like or a job they hate is simply not practical and will not yield productive members of society.
The Australian Government have thus effectively set up a situation where creative artists will be poorer and less educated; not only will the hypothetical artist in question have access to fewer facilities to develop their artistic skills by cutting back grants, it will also be economically impracticable for the artist to refine their talents within a university setting, or even build a degree-based career at all and work on their music as a hobby at the same. The future for the youth of Australia is looking bleak with these budget cutbacks, which only demonstrates the government’s lack of consideration for the cultural and sociological development of our country in the long run. Whilst these cutbacks might aid the government’s endeavor to return Australia to surplus, the development of Australia’s youth will be seriously compromised, which will have its own set of consequences in the future.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Live Review: Temples @ The Zoo, May 8

It’s 2014 and psychedelic music is everywhere. Anywhere where music is discussed, be it on an internet forum, on the radio or simply at your local pub, hang around long enough and you will eventually hear the word psychedelic. Many bands latching onto this title unfortunately do not really meet many of the requirements that would justify the label, apart from adorning a paisley shirt and a trendy sixties haircut, and maybe the occasional use of the fuzz pedal on a tune. Luckily for all the Brisbaners who went down to The Zoo on Thursday, May 9, English four-piece Temples are not this sort of band at all. They may be referred to as a neo-psychedelic group in every piece of press that mentions them, and yes, they may indulge in some flamboyant 1967 fashion styles, but this is one of the few bands claiming the label of psychedelic who musically fit the bill.

Temples make sweeping, full-bodied music that incorporates an impressive range of influences from The Byrds to Nazz to T-Rex. The band is a music-lovers goldmine, with their songs containing a plethora of nods to retro classics. The result is not a clumsily composed Frankenstein tune, but a fresh, young and vibrant reimagining of the sounds of the sixties. Merely labelling Temples a psychedelic group would be wrong as what really makes their music pop is the wide variety of eclectic sounds they incorporate into all of their songs. Their music is also a lot more accessible than the kind of experimental groups that come to mind when one thinks of the word psychedelic; nearly every Temples song has an irresistible pop hook and that is why they are at the forefront of this alleged comeback of psychedelia.

One of the most important factors that determines how a band is processed by media is of course the way they dress. As Temples take the stage, their fashion style instantly evokes images of the great psychedelic icons of the sixties and undoubtedly, this is one of the main reasons they continue to be thrown onto the psychedelic bandwagon, despite being more of a sixties-pop group. They plunge straight into ‘Colours To Life’, their most psychedelic song of all and a fitting accompaniment to their bold image.  ‘Colours To Life’ is also probably Temples’ most interesting song – layered, poignant and surprising – and it is this balance of pop hooks with emotional depth that the band should seek to emulate in the future. Temples follow with their first single’s b-side, ‘Prisms’, which is probably the catchier tune, but it lacks ‘Colours To Life’s’ melancholic yet groovy beat that makes you feel a range of confusing, but divine emotions. Songs like ‘Prisms’ are undeniably listenable; full of colour and vibrancy, with a notable flute accompaniment that gives the song a distinct mystical flavour. However, like much of the band’s catalogue, ‘Prisms’ fails to strike the deeper emotional resonance ‘Colours To Life’ absolutely nails.



Temples next move on to a few new tracks from their album: ‘Sun Structures’ and ‘A Question Isn’t Answered’. ‘Sun Structures’ slows down the pace considerably after their electric opening, feeling a lot more like a b-side than the wonderfully catchy ‘Prisms’. The song doesn’t really have any noteworthy moments apart from the ending instrumental section that really shows off the band’s talents. ‘A Question Isn’t Answered’ picks up the pace with a hypnotic bass-line and colourful key intro that slowly leads you into the song’s chorus, defined by a fuzzy guitar riff and some convoluted lyrics about questions and answers. The song gets a lot more interesting towards the end when it delves into a spaced-out instrumental that lures you into a euphoric reverie. Unfortunately, the instrumental ends way too early and needed to be carried a little longer for its full impact to be realised. Temples seem to use this same structure in every song, which can make their music feel a little stale after a few listens – catchy guitar riff matched with trippy lyrics and a sixties pop hook, which then delves into a drawn-out instrumental towards the end that marks the song with the ‘psychedelic’ stamp. These moments are some of the best bits of Temples’ music and it would have been great to see the instrumental sections taken further and further, particularly in the live scenario.

Temples move back in time and play an earlier b-side from the ‘Colours To Life’ single, ‘Anhk’, which holds up well, with a soaring keys chorus that carries the feeling of a majestic journey. The band then take the mood down a few notches with ‘Move With The Season’, in which we are finally given the chance to indulge in an extended, long-winded instrumental section. Like ‘Colours To Life’, ‘Move With The Season’ matches catchy pop rhythm with a deeper layer of emotional resonance. The band then play another early b-side, ‘Keep In The Dark’, demonstrating one of main strengths of Temples, which is their capacity to slide in and out of different genres of pop music on the same song, a talent which is not limited to emulating the psychedelic sixties. ‘Keep In The Dark’ is much more T-Rex and mid-seventies glam rock than Pink Floyd and as such, it stands out a lot more. The more simplistic rock n roll style of the song ironically feels much more vibrant and fresh than some of the band’s more psychedelic tunes and it is a sound I would love to hear more of from Temples.

‘Sand Dance’, the band’s next song, feels a little flat in comparison to the vibrancy of ‘Keep In The Dark’. In fact, many of the band’s newer songs do not hold up as strongly as their first singles and b-sides, which could be attributed to the pressure on the band to replicate the success of their first few singles with a stellar album release. The songs are undeniably catchy and fun, but they don’t have the same magic formula of earlier tunes like ‘Colours To Life’, ‘Keep In The Dark’ and the band’s last two tunes ‘Mesmerise’ and ‘Shelter Song’, which are played for the encore. ‘Mesmerise’ features the band’s best drawn-out psychedelic jamming, whilst ‘Shelter Song’ is the band’s secret weapon; a song that is simply to dislike, no matter how many times you hear it.

Temples are a band that sound fantastic live, practically faultless; this is band who have obviously been doing the tour rounds non-stop and have absolutely perfected their set. This sense of professionalism of course does not guarantee a memorable show, but for their Brisbane show, the energy on stage was just right and the use of heavier arrangements elevated the songs significantly. The band seemed upbeat and keen, however, it would have been great for the group’s front-man to take a few more breaks in-between songs and reach out to the audience. As it stands, Temples’ set was tight and fast-paced, but by the end it did feel like the ride ended too soon. Maybe this is just a testament to the band’s infectious good vibes and delightful pop tunes; whatever it is that makes Temples so much fun, I wanted more of it by the end of Thursday night.

























Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Live Review: Cults @ The Zoo, May 6









When New York duo Cults ended their romantic relationship after their surprise success and the whirlwind schedule of touring that followed, many presumed this also meant the band would break up.
It’s now 2014 and Cults are well and truly together with a fresh new sound that feels like a natural progression from the deliciously sweet sixties girl-group aesthetic of their debut album ‘Cults’. 2014’s ‘Static’ was positioned to be a dismal breakup album, which it certainly is not and nor do Cults sound like a bitter break up band. Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion of Cults have never sounded better nor looked happier to be on stage; it seems after their miraculous rise to fame and then their subsequent break from the chaos, the two have emerged with wisdom and poise.
Supporting Cults at The Zoo on Tuesday, May 6, was Brisbane’s own dynamic duo, The Furrs. The group stepped into the spotlight a few months ago, catching the attention of Brisbane’s music scene with their raw sixties blues rock n roll jams that sounded like anything but a covers band. The Furrs’ backing band has since shifted around, but the two singers remain the leaders of the group and the source of its heart. Like Cults, much of the appeal of The Furrs stems from the effortless repertoire on stage between the leads. Whilst the group’s lead singer, Gabriella J, anchors The Furrs with her confidence and wonderfully unique voice, her collaborator, Jimmy G, is laidback and collected; a perfect foil to Gabriella.
It’s been a few months since I’ve seen the band and since then The Furrs have grown exponentially. The initial appeal of The Furrs was their visceral, jangly guitar sound and spontaneity on stage, but now the group appear like true professionals. Luckily, this has not required the group to sacrifice any of their original charisma; The Furrs retain their boisterous spirit, only with newfound confidence. Songs like ‘Money’ and their debut single ‘Get On Your Horse’ practically burst at the seams with unbridled energy, but it is the languid duet ballad ‘Flower’ that stands out the most.
The lights dim and majestic spaghetti western music plays. Everything goes black and then Cults take the stage, plunging straight into ‘High Road’ from their latest album ‘Static’. As a somewhat subdued track, ‘High Road’ is hardly a great opener, but the duo’s vibrant energy makes up for anything the song may lack. Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion are as dynamic as ever, with no love lost at all from their break-up. They move straight into ‘Abducted’, which should have been their actual opener as one of their catchiest songs.
Whilst Cults sound polished and professional on their recordings, their live performance elevates their music significantly with a stronger guitar presence. Follin’s vocals also sound much more powerful; instead of demurely crooning, Follin belts and roars with no inhibitions. Sometimes her sweet voice is somewhat overwhelmed by the band’s thrashing guitars sounds, which could have been subdued a little more in favour of Follin.  Her singing sounds best on some of the slower songs where you can really hear both her voice and the lyrics of the songs with clarity, such as epic love song ‘Always Forever’ and ‘Never Heal Myself’, both of which are played back to back.
Cults amp up the energy again with ‘We’ve Got It’, and then the lights dim for a “slow one” – ‘You Know What I Mean’. The mood is positively majestic as Follin serenades us with the fifties dream pop throwback tune. Follin holds nothing back and her vulnerability pays back big time for the exuberant audience. Oblivion is next given a chance to lead a duet with Follin on ‘Were Before’, which demonstrates the more stripped back style of their second album, providing a nice contrast to their earlier stuff, however, some of the magic is lost by upping the lo-fi vibes and diminishing that bebop vibrancy that made them famous. Cults may have sacrificed some of their fifties nostalgia nods to keep things fresh, but ironically, it is their old material that sounds more modern.
The duo follow with ‘So Far’, another austere mellow track from their new album, which holds up much better. The song feels like more a natural and mature progression for the band with its haunting aesthetic and epic spaghetti western guitar riffs that retain that vintage patina that first made them intriguing. The song slowly builds up the kind momentum missing from some of their other new songs, culminating in a powerful finale as Follin repeatedly belts, “I wonder how you sleep at night.”
In contrast to the beguiling force of ‘So Far’ is ‘Bumper’, a delightfully clever duet between the two leads that tells the story of a breakup and reunion of a frazzled couple. Follin abandons the coy ‘la-la-la-la’ that defines the recorded version and unfortunately, it does feel a bit like the song is missing something. Whilst Cults may have shed some of the endearing qualities of the tune, they have also injected the tune with more venom and harsher guitar riffs, which takes it to a new level. The duo follow with ‘I Can Hardly Make You Mine’, which nicely shows the garage side to Cults, as well as a cover of The Motels’ moody ballad ‘Total Control’.
Cults finish their set with ballroom swing number ‘Rave On’, but we all know this can be hardly be the end of their show, with their debut hit ‘Go Outside’ obviously absent from the set. The duo hardly wait a minute before returning to the stage to play ‘Go Outside’ and dreamy neo-psychedelic tune ‘Keep Your Head Up’, which provides a satisfying conclusion to a dynamic set. For a Tuesday night in little Brisbane town, this was a lot more than I bargained for.

Upcoming Gigs You Might Not Know About


It’s a busy month for Brisbane as international artists from all over the world visit our city, but if you don’t buy into the hype of music giants like The Arctic Monkeys or you're simply just broke and don't want to pay a hefty entry fee, here are some alternative gigs you might like to check out in May.
 The Bacchanales Debut EP Launch @ Black Bear Lodge, Thursday, May 9
It’s usually a good idea to catch a band during their EP launch; the band is fresh, new and excited about what they’re doing, and they’ve got a lot to prove, which hopefully means they will do their best to put on a good show. You can listen to the EP in advance to get a taste of The Bacchanales’ sunkissed indie pop style that interweaves just enough garage edge to keep things interesting.
Gang of Youths @ Alhambra Lounge, Thursday, May 15
If you’re fan of sweeping emotional indie rock then Gang of Youths will probably tick all the boxes. The group have supported various indie royalty from Vampire Weekend to The Jezebels and Frightened Rabbit, which is a good reference point for their sound. Equally evocative, but far more mellow cinematic rock n roll group MT Warning will join the Sydney band on May 15 at Alhambra Lounge.
Karl Stefanovic’s Dog, Statler and Waldorf @ The Southside Tea Room, Saturday, May 16
These two bands are back to basics at its best, with songs running at under a minute and songs that boast explicit, but genius lyrics such as Statler and Waldorf’s hit song ‘I Hate You and I Want to Die’. Statler and Waldorf features three parts of local garage group Horris, whilst Karl Stefanovic’s Dog is one part Ethan Kernaghan from The Kramers and one part Alex Cambolvitch of Gunk. If you’ve listened to any of these bands before then you know exactly what to expect: angry, angsty rock n roll with heart. If you haven’t heard of any of these bands, well, that gives you two good reasons to check them out at The Southside Tea Room.
East of Ely, Morning Harvey, The Jensens @ The Brightside, Friday, May 23
The Brightside is Brisbane’s latest music venue and to insure that it doesn’t suffer the unfortunate fate of many an optimistic live house pitted against Fortitude Valley’s tyrannic club culture, we should all give the place a warm welcome. Morning Harvey have been creating some buzz lately with the release of their single ‘Girl Euphoria (Come Back to Me)’ that nicely showcases the group’s catchy indie pop style with an interesting psych-rock influence. The Jensens have also recently arrived on the Brisbane music scene with a fresh take on indie rock, abandoning the more popular sounds of minimalist electronica and mellow folk for classic guitar rock that recalls the sounds of The Beatles more than any of the indie darlings in the spotlight at the moment claiming the title of true blue rock n rollers. Sydney’s East of Ely provide a more subdued take on the indie rock genre, as well as incorporating some mellow dancey beats.
Naked Maja, Keep On Dancin’s, No Sister, Ultra Material @ The Underdog, Thursday, May 22
With Naked Maja, Keep On Dancin’s and Ultra Material featured on the lineup, this is a gig that will no doubt require a high tolerance for reverb-soaked dreampop with just the right bite of garage. No Sister, on the other-hand, will provide some more upbeat garage-pop jams to balance out the night’s intensity. Naked Maja have just released a new video featuring some killer interpretive dancing, whilst Keep On Dancin's have released their second album 'Hunter': meaning this show will be a great chance to catch some new Keep On Dancin's tunes and practise your own interpretive dancing to Naked Maja's tunes if you feel inspired by the video.
Gazar Strips @ The Hideaway, Friday, May 23
Gazar Strips’ latest EP marks a notable shift for the group as they veer more toward a dark post punk aesthetic as opposed to their prior psych rock sound. They’ll be showing off their EP Friday, May 23, following a tour across the country. The intimate atmosphere of The Hideaway, with all its vintage décor and cosy armchairs, seems like the perfect fit for Gazar Strip’s music: an experience that veers between mellow and subdued, and harrowing and howling, without a moment’s notice.
Salvadarlings @ Black Bear Lodge, Saturday, May 24
The word ‘psychedelic’ is getting tossed around a lot these days as a catch-all-phrase to describe any band using fuzz guitar and reverb (I just used it myself to describe Gazar Strips and Morning Harvey). Salvadarlings are one such band who defy the traditional definition of psychedelia, with a much wider range of influences from dreampop, indie rock, blues and even the sounds of circus theme music. The band embark on their ‘Primary Feels’ EP tour this May, with support from similarly tagged psychedelic rock n roll blues outfit ‘The Furrs’ and jangly garage group ‘Cassette Cathedral’.
DMAs @ Black Bear Lodge, Friday, May 30
If you’ve been keeping an eye on the Australian music scene, this is one gig you may have heard of. If you have managed to miss the buzz surrounding Britpop throwback band DMAs take note of what you read next. DMA’s are one of those bands that seemingly came out of nowhere; within a matter of weeks of uploading a video to Youtube the band were signed to I OH YOU, planning an EP release and an accompanying tour. Remarkably, both Sydney and Melbourne shows sold out, so if any of this interests you in the slightest, you better act fast to secure your door spot. The tour hits Brisbane’s Black Bear Lodge on May 30.