Sunday 30 December 2012

She's On Heat: The Neo-Kalashnikovs (with extras)

Click on the cover for your free instant download


 

Hi Guys just wanted to tell you that I have re-organised the instant download of "She's On Heat" so its a far smaller download. It also now contains the official artwork of the album and I also named the songs. The band will be recording the new album "Selfish Love" very soon and having a massive release party for both albums.
Two of our music videos are also back from the lab and will be  sent to broadcasting in the new year.

The Neos

Thursday 20 December 2012

The Neo-Kalashnikovs: Recording they're next record "Selfish Love"


Hi guys sorry for the delay in an update from The Neo-Kalashnikovs, early in the week we were tracking some new songs from our back log of material on our portable studio. We were actually lucky enough to get our hands on Dicataphone Blues awesome Neve pre-amp courtesy of Stuart that really lifted our production value. I've been bumping down some rough mixes and playing them through my cd player and it's sounding really good in my opinion lol. We've even decided to do some covers of The Black Keys and Justin Townes Earles music for our upcoming release. 

We originally started off trying to complete 10 tracks in 2 days but got bogged down in fatigue  so instead managed to track all the drums for the songs and overdubbed bass and multiple guitar tones. 
Volita also tracked a lot of vocals that sound smooth as haha. I'm not sure if were gonna rip the latest material off and finish it in the studio or if I'll try to mix it all and just get it mastered, depends on how it sounds of course. Thanks to everyone for downloading "She's On Heat" getting over 600 downloads and giving away close to 150 is bloody brilliant.

The name of our upcoming album is "Selfish Love" and it will be indie rock and roll to the max with some electronic surprises. The Neos will also be dropping two final videos for "She's On Heat" and playing some shows around the country and generally mis-behaving.

Bring on 2013 The Neos!!


Sunday 16 December 2012

The Hobbit (Official Movie) : A Visual Spectacular

The Hobbit is easily the most anticipated film across the globe in 2012. Unlike the Twilight saga "The Hobbit" was a masterpiece of literature that was an instant classic from J.R.R Tolkien who inspired Led Zeppelin among many notable artists. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this movie and the problems with actors in NZ suffering over wage problems but I really like what has been achieved by Jackson even if Warner Brothers stopped him from speaking out, unless he wanted to risk losing arguably the biggest movie franchise in the world. If you liked the Lord of The Rings movies the latest release from Middle Earth doesn't disappoint.

To avoid ruining it for people who haven't been lucky enough to see it yet I will only offer some well placed critiques on my favorite components of. Firstly I adored the Dwarves as the central focus of the movie that functions as a pseudo fellowship accept everyone is below 5 feet as opposed to LOTR. My brother Charlie also really liked the inclusion of the wizard Radagast the Brown who looks after every woodland creature he comes into contact with. Saruman may say that Radagast has eaten to many magic mushrooms in the woods and suffers long term damage, but honestly I think Saruman is just a bit jealous of the free spirited wizard who is strong enough to fight Twilight Ringwraiths .

The special effects of "The Hobbit" are also second to none with the amazing world of Goblins brought to life to startling effect. The falling wooden bridges and fire spitting out goblins from every direction is stressful to watch even if the dwarves are an indestructible force of power lol. The individual actors of the dwarves also bring a new dimension to the movie as opposed to LOTR poor acting. The trolls and their comedic attire is truly thrilling and entertaining on the big screen. Martin Freeman who acts as Bilbo does a fantastic job even when battling Gollum in a high stakes game of riddles were there is much to be losted and gained. By far my favorite part of the film were the trolls whos cooking prowess will amaze as well as their stupidity.
The tone of "The Hobbit" is light hearted and down right funny making for a film that never lags and always entertains.

Rating 5/5      A Must See

Friday 14 December 2012

Spycc's "Self Progression" Mixtape: Holding Down Onehunga in WildStyle



Discovering the prodigious talent of Spycc was a real shock to my system. As an individual that went to Onehunga High I recognized his face and had no idea he was a much buzzed about rapper from that area. I have to admit that when I hear of rappers from NZ i've been somewhat blunted. Not withstanding the likes of Ddot Dallas the gangsta rap facade is something I have no time for. If a false reality is something your looking for smoke up tree because acting is sad if it's not at the very least on Shortland St.

To even contemplate being a gangsta rapper in Auckland, Nz is like a person trying to understand West coast gangsta rap without actually stepping foot in the U.S.A. One should really think about going to California or N.Y.C before rapping about all the hoopla that is associated with the gangsta genre that I do like, just not done badly. Inglewood and Brooklyn can really open ones eyes to where gangsta rap came from, and in all honest it came from desperation out of having nothing while being surrounded bt the wealth of Wall St or Hollywood. The streets are all the normal people have so why not song about and glorify them to the masses because thats where it's at.  In New York City even the smallest kid has a hunger that could eat most kiwi's alive it's one hell of a place to live thats for sure. 

Spycc in stark contrast to silly posers or NZ hardened criminals turned amateur rappers is a man that drops rhymes in every direction that resonate with the people, "the everyday New Zealander" as we like to say lol. I'd go so far as to say that he is 'the Proust' of Onehunga in direct parallel to Jay-z and his admiration of Brooklyn that offered the bulk of his inspiration for his raps. When I listen to Spycc zapping all the inspiration from the outskirts of the AK into his songs theres a genuine love for Onehunga that is hard not to like.

His free mixtape "Self Progression" offers amazing production value which I first heard on "The Young, Broke and Talented" underground physical mixtape made by Homebrew's associates. I've listened to the whole mixtape quite a few times blaring through my computer speakers and dig "Self Progressions" vibe. His raps don't stumble over themselves like most and his flow is immaculately complimented by his producer carving out some sick beats. If you want to cop something that is fire and the future of Nz rap check out his mixtape below and his awesome video that looks like it should have been sponsored by Woodstock if it wasn't.





Thursday 13 December 2012

The Grey Album Re-mastered and Banging

I recently downloaded the re-mastered version of Danger Mouse's break through debut "The Grey Album" were he mixed the Beatles' "White album" and Jay-Z's "Black Album" together into one mashed out grey masterpiece. The difference between this version and the first is the powerful sonic mastering that smacks with hard bass drums. Whereas the first official mastered "Grey Album" was arguably a bit thin and whimsical this is a solid re-issue. The low end is unforgettable and the top end of the audio has also had a serious shine. I will definitely be burning a cd to listen to this through some phat speakers because it bangs hard, and yes listening to it loud is a must.

I read somewhere that Danger Mouse was rumored to have spent 200 hours making "The Grey Album" and it shows in it's amazing creativity of looping samples with dispersed vintage drums buried in amongst classic rap flow. If your looking for a perfect match of acapella's to beats this album may be just a tad to raw for you but if you like the Gorillaz smashed with "Rock and Roll" and brought back to life by a heavy dosage of Jay-Z adrenaline I highly recommend downloading this album below.

I remember reading a quote from Danger Mouse saying that the hardest problem with making this record was cutting out Ringo's drums from the "White Album" I reckon Paul McCartney's bass playing must have been everywhere in the audio. Danger mouse has done himself proud in this ground breaking sample heavy record clearly referencing "Endtroducing" by Dj Shadow. The producers latest records being "Brothers" by The Black Keys as well as Norah Jones latest album are a testament to Dangers consistency.

 free to download here

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Making "Run My Way" with Ruth Bioletti






How did you come up with the concept of the music video? it seems very cinematic?

The Run My Way video is a crazy mix of my love of the films by the great Italian film director Michelangelo Antonioni and Hollywoods Roman Polanski.Its smothered with a big dollop of my romantic/realism imagery, mixed together with an alternative movie vibe...all propelled by the high octane lyrics of Ms Volita Neo Kalashnikov ...yeah thats it in a nutshell, I think.  
So how long did it take to create the video and who was involved and where was it shot?
Run My Way was filmed in Auckland, New Zealand a beautiful and exotic place in the South Pacific, beaches everywhere! Filming took five days and film editing four. The video is very intimate and sensitive and there was only myself, Volita and Nicolus Byron working on it. The first day on set I spent 3hrs filming Volita in the bath alone, just her and I. Its a pretty unusual thing for a director of a rock video to ask a musician to do but she was brilliant and brought a lot of attitude to those frames. On day two there was a cyclone in town but we had to film the beach scenes. Volita had to brave freezing water temperatures and gale force winds. We had to cut out all the frames of her shivering..but I must say the rough waves were dramatic and really added to the end product! The next day the weather was beautiful and sunny which is very Auckland at the moment!

How did you come up with the concept of the music video? it seems very cinematic ?

How did I come up with the concept for  Run My Way, I don't know ( laughs) um...my kids say that I've watched too many film festival movies! Seriously I think that there is some truth to that...I like more challenging theatre, more alternative than the mainstream type of movie. I just wanted to do a little film rather than the typical lip-sync affair that you usually get with music videos. I didn't know how it was going to look and we did film some lip sync footage but it didn't fit into the over all look and we decided not to use it. I love the work of Michelangelo Antonioni and Roman Polanski and this is probably why it looks cinematic, their work has filtered through my brain and left its mark on this video ( laughs).

Was there any important underlining message to the video in terms of imagery?

The underlining message of the video? Well...I thought that it was self explanatory until a male friend message me and said that he couldn't make any sense of it so I better say something for those people that need me to decode it! What can I say, I like the interplay between couples and in this case between a man and a woman. Volita of the Neo Kalashnikovs is the songwriter of Run My Way.I spent about four hours talking with her about the song and what she was intending to convey to the listener.It became apparent to me that this song was a love story and that there was a series of dichotomies throughout.

It amazes me how much depth there was in Run My Way, in fact many of her songs are stories, where characters are living out their lives, almost like a novel but compressed into a three or four minute song form. Maybe this why the mini movie video really suited Run My Way, I could represent her lyrics through the use of cinematic images and tell the story of two lovers who are passionate about each other but who inevitably come to that crossroads of, ' where to now ' point.

I split the scenes into opposites like man/woman, love/hate, together/alone, modernity/nature, fast/slow and so on and found the images that reflected these states. The smashing of the mirror is pivotable, I used that image like short hand, to quickly communicate the essence of the conflict that was brewing up for this couple and how serious that it was and that it was make or break time for them. The following scene of the male character Jeremiah where he shaves, is my way of conveying the internal dilemma inside him and his growth as a lover. He shaves off his beard and becomes more open to her and her desire to more the relationship to the next level. These are real life issues for people in relationships and I like to use symbolism to express this because you only have three or four minutes to do so when you are talking about a rock video. 

What music videos are in the pipeline with you and The Neos?

Anymore videos for The Neokalasnikovs? Ha...that depends if they want me back again! I don't know but I would love to do another one  for them sometime. I would really like to see Heartstrings come to life but that would be another complex video because there is a lot going on in that song too, another love story but a bit more tortured. I don't know if it will have the same happy ending ( laughs) as Run My Way!

Get "Run My Way" Here instantly for free:     http://www.mediafire.com/?o58i803sulne38t





Tuesday 27 November 2012

The Neo-Kalashnikovs - Run My Way (Music Video)



Hi everyone The Neo-Kalashnikovs latest video "Run My Way" directed by Ruth Bioletti is here. This video is more cinematic than our others  and didn't feature any singing along to the song.

If you like it you can download a free instant download of "She's on Heat" right here which contains "Run My Way":


Wednesday 21 November 2012

Oh Village: Say No to Wilco


What is the bands ethos and mantra ?

"Anything can happen"


Hey did it feel getting so far in the Youthink Magazine's Best Teen Band Competition sounds like there was some stiff competition taking out 2nd plae against 50 bands is one serious feat of endurance?

It was an awesome experience and we learned a lot. The best part was meeting other amazing young bands in our area.

Whats British Columbia like to play as a band and what is the kind of thing people do for fun there? hanging out at Sheetz lol ?

We don't have Sheetz here, but we looked them up and they look amazing. We would hang out at a Sheetz all day long!

Does Oh Village approach recording in a certain way? home studios or big studios? particular recording method for example completely live ?

We've done both home and studio recording, and we like both for different reasons. Our album was recorded at The Sound Suite in Abbotsford.

Which tracks are the band most proud off the album?

Restart and In This House because they exceeded our dreams.

Have you guys been playing your jams in neighboring states?

We have played a bit in some other Canadian provinces such as Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

How was it working with Steve Klassen on Headlights/Red lights E.p ? 

Headlights/Red Death was a great first step and a fun experience. It was like a first date between the band and Steve Klassen.

Where is the best place to get our hands on a copy of the awesome album Far Side of The Sea ?
At one of our shows or on Bandcamp. It's also available on iTunes!
  click here =   http://ohvillage.bandcamp.com/

 Would you guys like to be a band likened to Wilco  ?
In some ways, no.

Your guys music is really cinematic was that something you wanted to achieve?
I could see it easily scoring a great bit in a movie or climatic T.V event?
Thanks Moss. Though we've never made that a goal, we appreciate the comment.

Thursday 15 November 2012

What is it about Chuck Taylors ??






The weird thing about Chuck Taylor shoes are there success in my view. A little piece of canvas with a shoe sole and a great emblem has destroyed the choice for hipsters. The kids know that a pair of shoes which will always undeniably cool for anyone who isn't too old is the Converse All Star. It looks so unassuming but theres something deeply attached to it that has fostered it's success. I'm not stupid I know that they're branding budget for the shoe would be in the tens if not hundreds of millions but thats not the catalyst for it's success it only maintains it. 

In my opinion what makes the Converse so successful is it's the vibe. The shoe stands for a freedom that is an obvious big F you to all other shoes and fashion in general. While everyone has moon boots with their Nike Swooshs and amazing gadgets the converse has jack all. Essential the shoe is a metaphorical under dog that is supported by youngsters of every generation to show the established old farts they suck. 

Friday 9 November 2012

Paranoia - The Neo-Kalashnikovs (an exclusive music video debut)





The Neo-Kalashnikovs release their latest music video "Paranoia" directed by the talented Nick Tidmarsh (Graduate of Design Unitec). As one of The Neo-Kalashnikovs in house directors he has created what the band labels as ecstasy in motion underscored by hear hitting rock. Gabriel the frenetic bass player who has also studied classical piano for 4 years said;

 "This is just what the band wanted, something to get the people fired up like Fish Filet" 

Lead singer Volita Bioletti was also beaming from the bands latest video release for "Paranoia" she said to me that she is so proud of the Neos for creating the track under heavy time constraints in the studio. She told me the recording took place in Point Chev Auckland, NZ at Tonewheel studios. I talked to her over the phone after the release, she said;

"Recording Paranoia was done fast, like the band had learnt the track the night before we were slamming it out a little sleep deprived (laughs) the next day in the studio. By the way we used some un-conventional microphone techniques to get the vocal sound which was something we were aiming for as a nod to our rock influences like the nine inch nails. Also if it wasn't for producer Justin James who worked tirelessly to create our vision this song would have been destined to be a no show, stuck in the vault as a draft. 

But you know, everyone rose to the occasion and were so glad we can present it to all our loyal fans. Paranoia is off our album "She's on Heat" which is available as a instant download so everyone can share our art, but anyone who buy it from our bandcamp gets a credit on the next album coming soon"

They're you have it guys rock music for all 




Saturday 27 October 2012

The Rum Diaries- Starring Johnny Deep - Yeah he's still Rock



The Rum Diaries


This movie is hands down my favorite movie
off the year and one of my all time 
favorites. Starring the newly divorced 
Johnny Deep as a Hunter S. Thompson alias 
and Giovanni Rebisi "that guy" off friends 
who famously dumped singer "Cat Power" for 
a hot super-model. With such a high 
calibre of actors on board this film hauls 
serious crankability. Theres also a fat 
guy who's a follower reporter off the two 
mentioned who rounds out the posse all of 
which work at a falling newspaper in 
Puerto-Rico. With all the trashy columns 
that this trio writes it's worth noting 
that Giovanni doesn't write one article 
throughout the film. As the papers 
religious reporter he takes it upon 
himself to experiment in black magic 
subsequently becoming infatuated with Nazi 
extremism that seems him constantly scream 
his head off and never bath, ever.

The movies name sums up this film in it's 
entirety as there is almost no one who 
stays sober for any amount of time. But 
can you really blame there lack of 
sobriety because hard working reporters 
get seriously hot on a tropical island 
it's a well known phenomena that results 
in excessive rum drinking constantly. I 
know i'd personally prefer to die drunk as 
well because if I'm going to be killed by 
the poverty ridden inhabitants by their 
much loved machetes i'm gonna need a few 
drinks before hopping into the void. Most 
of the drama of this film unfolds in a 
"slum village" apartment in a horrendously 
poor area. The classic "cock fights" in 
their neighborhood also portray the simple 
things in life. For instance like making a 
slick grand or two off a stupid rooster 
that has been breed to be twice the size 
of any dog.  

To all the mainstream movie lovers this 
film isn't a trashy film so if your the 
person who doesn't know who Charles 
Bukowski is I'd insist that you avoid this 
film. It would just be wasted on you. 
Hell, It might even keep you up at night 
because you know what you might actually 
have to think for yourself after watching 
this film. Remember this isn't some 
sanitized Spiderman 8 3d epic that cost 
500 million dollars to make. Instead this 
is a real film shock horror and its about 
real life and how one man triumph over all 
the sober highly strung academics that 
infest journalism. It's important to 
remember Hunter S. Thompson is a man that 
aimed to destroy corruption with a pen. 
One mans fight against societies shadowy 
ideals was always doomed to drunken 
failure, nevertheless he did remarkable 
well. The subtext of this film could be 
summarized in Camus sense of the absurd. 

But for the more adventurous folk out 
there aka Auckland Uni -- Arts Students, 
this ones for you. Sorry, Engineering 
school you have about as much chance 
making sense of this film as describing 
the intricacies of Hydraulic dump truck 
levers in an interesting fashion. But then 
again you might rise to the occasion and 
comprehend the clearly insane nonsense 
that is this stunning film.


Moss Bioletti






















Tuesday 16 October 2012

Jack Black as Funny as Ever in Bernie: A seriously class act from the fatty




Bernie


Bernie is a tragic comedy about a likable push over. The undertaker of a small town  Bernie is known to almost all Catheridges inhabitants as the most popular man in anyones books. When it comes to helping people no problem is to small for Bernie that he wont help. Whether it's your overdue tax returns your dead husbands corpse or upgrading your coffin to the top of the line model he's your man.


The lead actor who plays Bernie is Jack Black so if you aren't a fan this is probably not a film for you .Having said this I would advise anyone that missing this movie is a terrible blunder as it is a moving, seriously funny and excitingly stressful. I would go so far as to urge even the most adamant Jack Black hater to dis-regard there contempt of him and give it a chance, even if its a slim one. I say this not to cause such person to have a terrible time but to try and open people to a person who is an extremely talented human being. I stress this as I have come across a lot of people who do not care for Jack Black in the extreme some insisting he is only good for eating mac donalds and being used as a speed bump. I strongly disagree with such a diagnosis of Jack Black because in my eyes he symbolizes a dead end loser making a go off what life has to offer him. After all he did have a huge house in the Beverly Hills in his early twenties and that success demands some respect. I believe the underground meets the mainstream dialectic is best summed up in someone like Black because in all honest how many people do you that can play the guitar gaining a number one hit in the U.S, act like he was born to do it and tell hilliarous jokes with eye catching facial gestures that would make Jack Nicholson weep. 


Furthermore if your a fan of Tenacious D this movie will rock your socks off  because Bernie is a man that likes to sing in the severe extremes. He's a person known to all the village as a man that will sing any song at a funeral no matter how obscure. From the chart topping Guns and Rose's "Sweet Child of Mine" to Leonard Cohen's sucky songs he has it on lock. In my view Bernie is man made of the rarest calibre as he's the sort of person that would learn the whole guitar solo from "Stairway to Heaven" just to play for your dead ass.


Finally the plot of this film is hard to scratch at without giving to much action away so i've purposefully avoided it. But I'll give you a brief guide of events . Bless Bernie's heart he gets in trouble with the law and everyone has to rally around him and fight for his freedom. But enough of that see this movie and have a fantastic time. 

Moss B





















Monday 15 October 2012

David Dallas' "Buffalo Man" Mixtape -- Is He Crazy



David "D-Dot" Dallas recently dropped his mixtape Buffalo Man. 
His latest release since "The Rose Tint" is inspired by the undisputed funky white brother from another mother Jamiroquai, and seriously to even mess with J's songs puts anyone on thin ice even Dallas. The reason being that Jamiroquai never really fell of the "bandwagon of quality" as hits have consistently been dropped by the English born native. From the earlier days off Jamiroquai's career to recent times seeing him pile up a healthy amount of tickets in his Lambo the mans a legend. Although the singer may also drive to fast in his Ferrari's for the long arm of the law one may also feel a little bit racy listening to the mixtape from NZ's leading hip-hop head. Undoubtedly David's snap back is well and truly off and motioned in the direction of Jamiroquai in a gesture of respect.


First of all i'm a fan of David Dallas. He's pretty cool as he represents Samoa with class. Just don't count on him tweeting you back lol. I tried many times to get a retweeted to no avail haha. The stand out tracks off the album are easily discernible being; "Put it on the line", "Trouble" and "Never Let you Down". If you consider for a second that the release only has six songs thats it's a really good average of quality dope tracks. Having said that its not all rosy I wouldn't go giving "Buffalo Man" an A+ just yet. Instead I'd give it a solid B+ the reason being he is sometimes off key, falls over his own rap flow and is generally full of too much bravado all we need is substance. 

I don't mean to be overly critical because I really like D-Dot to me he arrived on Something Awesome and laid his claim, forever in the NZ history books.
The reason being his open hearted in his lyrics to the ups and downs of life.
The Buffalo Man i "fuck you" laughs .But, with tracks like the lead single "Ever Get The Feeling" his raps also lack a strong groove as the beat either goes to slow or fast for his rapping. But I can forgive this because David is hyped and I can hear it in his voice, their is some serious cash to be made if he blows up over the Atlantic. Drake the Canadian raptor banked a slick   $14 milli of one smash album, so yeah, theres a reason he's gigging crazy over there with his crew. Lets face it Davids odds are far better than blowing up than a bum off the street hitting the Big Wednesday bankroll. 

I'm gonna stress if Dallas can get his flow under control, bolster up his lyrics with some honest lyrics and smash a hit production with P money he could end up with a platinum plaque stateside. All he has to do is really channel all his potential into his next record. David Dallas is a star definitely on the rise and I ain't surprised.

Moss Bioletti


Saturday 13 October 2012

The Neo-Kalashnikovs "She's on Heat" instant download


The Neo-Kalashnikovs "She's on Heat" Instant album download

After playing together as a band for 5 years the L.A rockers The Neo-Kalashnikovs release their debut album to all their fans as a free download. If you like Lana Del Ray and Paramore this albums for you and remember to listen to it loud !

(click on the album for an instant download of pop rock goodness)
The Neo-Kalashnikovs: She's on Heat Instant download Click on the album cover photo 1

Thursday 11 October 2012

An Album Review of The Buffalo Killers: Dig.Sow.Love.Grow






The Buffalo Killers album Dig.Sow.Love.Grow was released in the earlier part of 2012.The remarkably elegant album from the rockers from Cincinnati, Ohio is warm enough to melt the dust off any diamond record needle. You can easily hear the effort that has gone into making this album.The man behind the magic desk was Mike Montgomery clearly a mix master of an engineer.

The Buffalo Killers if you aren't familiar with them have recently finished up a tour with "The Sheep Dogs" who graced The Rolling Stone last year. The band has also toured with "The Black Keys" the biggest rock band in the world (move over U2). Dan Auberach lead guitarist/ vocalist of "the keys" also produced an earlier second album called 'Let it Ride" by the band .Interestingly enough both bands share the same legendary label Alive Records which is also home to Radio Moscow, T Model Ford, Left lane Cruiser, amongst other South U.S rock artists.   

The first track off Dig.Sow.Love.Grow "Get it" immediately draws me back to Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" arguably one of the greatest rock songs ever. The drumming and vocal delivery delivery on this track are immaculate. The understated but "knawerring rifff" also make this song a real hollering rock jam. The song also reminds of Lynrd Skynrd's music produced by the legendary Al Kooper. A person rumoured to have ripped the "Sweet Home Alabama" artists off for millions earlier in their career.

I can hear that Dig.Sow.Love.Grow has a somewhat melancholy feeling. It's as if someone has been left behind broken down lying on the floor then getting up with a vengeance to become a better man. A past lovers immature actions have obviously inspired a real rock album born out of fury. There are songs that counter such an overwhelming feeling for instance "Hey Girl" is more upbeat and could easily be a song off Jack White's latest album Blunderbuss. I can easily see the harmonised guitar licks getting the nod of approval from the music baron residing in Music City- aka Nashville City. Shout out to my friends on Music Row like Jim Zumwalt hope Cage the Elephant are behaving themselves.

However, in the majority songs like "Blood on your hands" ,"I am always here" and "Farewell" do lead one to the speedy suspicions of a painful heartbreak episode. Who said it was easy living in the South. My stand out favourite off the record is "Graffiti Eggplant" that clearly states sometimes a lovers "absence is not a surprise".What truly glistens for me on this album if I'm to be frank are the influences of Buffalo Killers .Acts ranging from Neil Young to Cream to Deep Purple are all screaming out of my speakers in a gumbo of southern rock soup. Even if rocks legacy has been completely lost upon the "Dubstep generation" it's only a matter of time. The screaming guitars off Fun's 1# smash "Some Nights" is clearly conveying a turn towards rock filtering back into the mainstream. A modern reinvigorating punch brings back rock in Dig.Sow.Love.Grow. to the musical frontier.

Moss Bioletti


Monday 17 September 2012

Lady Hawke's Anxiety :Recorded on The North shore and in England-- And Yes its giving me anxiety ...Not!!!








An album that delivers a groovy, upbeat, feel-good vibe in which the mix of instruments and modern sounds in the songs work well with Pip Brown’s smooth, strong voice.

Her songs tend to start off with a contagious beat and calming vocals, and then build up into catchy choruses you would sing along to when pottering round your house or cruising in the car. Though your body starts with a toe tap, before you know it you are giving a good old Kiwi head bang (though it's more of a side to side than the classic rock up down motion). That being said, Anxiety doesn't feel repetitive. The separate elements in each song make for a full and successful album, and the lyrics portray messages about life, relationships, questions asked, and stories told.

 In the album's titular song, Ladyhawke sings, 'Take me on a ride, show me how to hide the voice in my head', and is a personal favourite. 'Quick and the Dead' has a kind of army march beginning that is repeated in the second verse, and quickly gets stuck in your head. Songs like 'Blue Ryes' and 'We'll Find You' allow the listener to imagine how much of a good performer Ladyhawke would be live – and we'll get to see for ourselves when she comes to Perfect Storm in July. 

As a young singer/songwriter myself, I find Ladyhawke very inspiring – and I look forward to her developing and growing. Even the album cover is interesting, featuring a drawing of Ladyhawke with miniature Ladyhawkes entangled in her hair, alongside bugs, feathers and other bits. Perhaps it reflects ideas and symbolic pictures for the meanings she holds in her head, or entangled in her hair? I think it reflects her simplistic yet multi dimensional album, which I very much recommend is worth getting your hands on. Support New Zealand artists.

Written by Laura Hunter