Ever heard an album from a band you’d thought had all but put the cue in the rack only to be knocked out of your seat? The Holy Soul has been slogging away around Sydney for a decade or more as one of those acts playing the all-too-familiar Game of Diminishing Returns.
You know that one. It’s where, through a combination of fickle fandom, demographic-driven media, venue turnover and diverging member interests, a band fades from view like the white dot on an analogue TV screen.
Appearances are deceptive. There’s been a bit happening in the background. In terms of getting onto the mainstream radar, however, The Holy Soul have been perpetual victims of their own nature. People like to grasp the familiar and The Holy Soul has traded in a strange mix of blues-rock that’s impossible to pigeonhole. So let’s all resist trying.
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- By The Barman
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Tags are annoying to most musicians but even James McCann must acknowledge he gets to wear the ‘veteran’ badge when he arrives at the company Xmas party by now. There at the earliest days of The Drones and Nunchukka Superfly, he’s been one of those “best kept secret” solo artists Australia seems to bury for more than a decade, making a name for himself in his adopted home of Melbourne (and in France) but deserving much wider attention.
“James McCann and The New Vindictives” was a couple of years in gestation with French label Beast Records taking its time to squeeze it into their schedule. Contrastingly, the band and the recording came together with spontaneity very much the name of the game.
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- By The Barman
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What do you reckon we’re gonna say about it? One of the greatest releases of the 1990s – a downright patchy time for Real Rock and Roll – that’s been given a re-mastering spruce-up and coupled with a stack of bonus cuts? Damn right that it rocks - far more than any grunge or shoegazer crap of its time.
Originally entitled “Parts Unknown” and issued on the White Jazz label in 1999, this album has been impossible to find for years now and it’s more than stood the test of time. The Hydromatics were a “supergroup” led by Michigan rocker Scott Morgan joined by Nick Royale (Hellacopters) on drums, Tony Slug (Nitwitz, BKG) on guitar and Theo Brouwer on bass (both hailing from Europe’s own Murder City, Amsterdam), they kept the light burning for the music of Sonic’s Rendezvous Band.
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- By The Barman
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Miss out on the Radio Birdman box set? After unveiling vinyl versions of the re-issues, Citadel has now announced individual double-CD packs, including one for the killer and highly sought-after “Live at Paddington Town Hall” album.
Each package is loaded with the extras that came in the box set. Go to Citadel Mail Order and get clicking in time for Xmas.
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- By The Barman
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Mr Junior has a hell of a quirky appetite, ranging from dirty ultra-hawkwindish rawk to a dirtier electro punch in the head (‘Jetzt’ is killer) some sort of hip-hoppy thing. He’s a former boyband member (!) from Switzerland who plays everything himself.
This is a man who covers a lot of ground in a very short space of time, forcing your feet onto the floor at the same time. If you bought “Max Q”, get “Dr S and Mr P” right the hell now. If you like Ollie Oleson, Culturcide, SPK, Iggy and the Stooges, nasty soundtracks…
(ED: Urban Junior has shared stages with John Spencer Blues Explosion, Bob Log III, John Schooley, Jack Oblivian, Iggy Pop, G. Love & sSpecialSauce, Thee Oh Sees, King Khan, the Pussywarmers and Reverend Beat-Man. That might give you some more clues.)
This is dead dirty rock’n’roll and it’s like being seduced by an oil-stained camel in Doc Martin’s boots (not the star of the TV show Doc Martin, tho, …)
Three-and-a-half bottles. Oh, fuck it, four bottles.
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- By Robert Brokenmouth
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Recently I saw Lilith Lane perform as part of the Murder Ballads evening in Melbourne; there were many performers, but Lane was one of a handful who impressed. She’s sharp, smart and has a terrific voice.
"Pilgrim" was Recorded live at Sónica, Madrid, Spain, in October 2012 and released in 2013, It is a rather wonderful live recording, and shows off the great control and power of Lillith's voice; what I like about her is that she’s so natural and approachable with her gift.
The guitarist, (one "Pedro") is damn groovy. It’s a kind of oddly Spanish-flavoured blues '50s rock thing, but you don’t really pay that much attention once Lilith starts singing. You’ll be dancing in a graceful, bopping way.
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- By Robert Brokenmouth
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