“Rosebud” (off Prisoner album)

Australian anthemic rock quartet The Jezabels deliver their latest video for “Rosebud,” directed by Ben Reed. You can watch the dark, VHS-reminiscent clip over at VEVO. “Rosebud” is the latest single from the band’s debut full-length Prisoner, which will be available physically in the US via Mom + Pop Records on April 3.

Official Site

Still fresh in the memory of Singapore fans is the magnificent performance of The Jezabels at the recent The People’s Party. Well, the Sydney quartet’s new album – The Prisoner – is due for release soon and you can now listen to Try Colour, a powerful teaser for the delights to come…

The Jezabels – Prisoner (Sampler) by Mom + Pop

TRYCOLOUR (Music Video)

Something’s definitely going on here with this track from Aussie band The Jezabels’ debut album The Prisoner. The band were recently in Singapore for Music Matters and will be back in 2012 for The People’s Party on 14th January. I’m game if you are…

Confirmed dates and venues

BRISBANE – SATURDAY 28th JANUARY 2012
Alexandria Street, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006

AUCKLAND – MONDAY 30th JANUARY 2012
Silo Park, Beaumont Street. Auckland

MELBOURNE – SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY 2012
Footscray Community Arts Centre – 45 Moreland Street, Footscray VIC 3011

SYDNEY – SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY 2012
Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) – Balmain Road, Rozelle NSW 2039

ADELAIDE – FRIDAY 10th FEBRUARY 2012
Fowler’s Live – 68-70 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000

PERTH – SATURDAY 11th FEBRUARY 2012
Perth Cultural Centre – Beaufort Street, Perth WA 6000

SINGAPORE – SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY 2012
Fort Canning, Canning Rise, Singapore

More information to come. Stay tuned.

They came, they saw and they conquered. The Jezabels impressed throughout their three performances at Music Matters Live 2011. They got the crowds to dance, shout and jump. And on their last night, earned a standing ovation from a Grammy Award winning record producer. Not too shabby for their first time in Singapore.

I must confess. I’ve been a big fan of The Jezabels for a year now. ‘Objectivity’ will be forsaken. But then again, objectivity in journalism is a myth no?

So there I was at Music Matters Live 2011 on a Friday night; admiring my media pass and the roaming powers it granted me. For three days (26^th-28^th), Clarke Quay played host to 40 bands from 18 countries.

We were spoiled for choice really. Evaline, The Fairchilds, Kreva, Little Red, Altan Urag, Pitchtuner and of course, The Jezabels. Singapore was represented by some of its finest and most capable in the form of Cheating Sons, Sixx and Typewriter.

Such an event should and could have been better publicised. The small crowds didn’t do the event and bands justice. It was a Friday night! Isn’t everybody looking forward to the weekend?

Up went The Jezabels to the main stage (Clarke Quay’s Central Fountain Square) at 10:15pm. The sight of two tall good-looking women got the crowds curious. Maybe the goofy  guitarist and badass-looking drummer helped too.

Hayley Mary (vocals) tests her microphone with some ‘oooh-aaahs’ while Heather Shannon (piano, keyboard) fiddled with the keyboard. Sam Lockwood (guitar) tunes his guitar and Nick Kaloper (drums) seem all ready to go.

The Guardian calls them “powerful, if plodding and predictable” while Sputnikmusic calls them “intoxicating and omnipresent”. The Jezabels’s musical style, according to KillYourStereo.com “will no doubt be heard plenty of when it comes time for a debut album”.

“Hello, we’re The Jezabels. We’re from Sydney, Australia,” Hayley introduces softly.

She’s almost shy about it.

And so, we are acquainted with their brand of grandiose and feministic music. Fit for cathedrals, dance floors and menacing city alleys. The quartet roared out their hits including, ‘Easy To Love’, ‘Disco Biscuit Love’, ‘Violent Dream’ ‘Mace Spray’ and ‘Hurt Me’ from their critically acclaimed trilogy of EPs. They didn’t play ‘Dark Storm’ or ‘She’s So Hard’ though. A pity.

The Jezabels sound like an orgy between U2, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Blondie and Kate Bush. Throw in The National too. It’s inaccurate but that’s what I hear.

I see converts. They’d already made a fan out of that girl, that photographer, that office worker, that wife, that tourist, that waitress and that well-endowed escort.

Oh! the chills you’d get when Hayley sings. The woman has a voice that automatically demands iconic recognition. She slithers and jerks around the stage in artsy seizures; gyrating, grooving and gesticulating to the sky and crowd.

I screamed out when they started playing the first notes of ‘Hurt Me’, a spitfire of a crowd pleaser. It’s a winding and theatrical track from their She’s So Hard EP. A track with an introduction that’d rival U2’s Where The Streets Have No Name.

The lights and drums move rapidly. Finally! The crowd, after a few hours of some mediocre and okay performances, gets groovy. The set ends to a rapturous applause.

I look at the band and think, “It’s not supposed to work”.

Their music gets annoying at times.

In Nik Kaloper, they have one of the most exciting drummers I’ve listen to. Sam moves like Robocop on stage; strumming up shimmering swells of echo and reverb. Heather (the most ‘indie-looking’ in the band) fits the stereotypical image of a keyboardist: unassuming and quiet. Her chord progression range from terribly simplistic to lush and profound.

The instrumental forces of The Jezabels seem to compete for airtime but yet attain formidable harmonization and timing. Most of the time.

And for a band whose music contains lines like “Come on, Abel, are you going to skin me?” or “How you rip me off my feet, rape me of my time to sleep, shallow”, they smile a lot on stage. Fun is infectious.

We find The Jezabels performing at the Se7en1nch the next day, also their last day. It’s a smaller crowd now. Around 20 to 30 people. Jissy Chrissy! Couldn’t the band at least mention that they are playing in Singapore on their Twitter or Facebook account.

They sound as explosive and dynamic as before. The subtle ‘Violent Dream’ is played. Momentum is gained. Heads move back and forth in unison.

“Don’t fear the reaper. Don’t fear the mistress.”

Again, they earn a rapturous applause. It’s disappointing Harold Camping. Raptures aren’t supposed to be happy.

After Se7evn 1nch, they moved to a packed Beer Market. It’s the Champions League final night (condolences to Manchester United fans). And a certain Steve Lillywhite was in the crowd too; chilling with his middle-aged posse.

So suddenly, there’s a independent band primed for world domination and a legendary record producer who’s worked with the likes of U2, Phish and Morrissey.

The band plays ‘Easy To Love’ first. Smart move. The drums begin to rumble; hinting at the voracious sound the band is capable of but stops to have Hayley sing with only the piano in the background. It’s always good to quickly establish the fact that your vocalist can sing.

“She sounds nice,” the man wearing a Manchester United jersey behind me quipped.

‘Mace Spray’ is played. A sweeping epic racing under archways and starlight.

“But she loves me / More than anyone who wouldn’t lay a hand. / She keeps mace spray, for you can’t rely on the common man”

The crowd loves it. A few start to take out their phones and record the performance. Hayley is moving as much as she can, despite the cramped stage. The fatality was delivered when the band performed ‘Hurt Me’. This is a song that gets better live. If not the vocals, the drums will engulf your eardrums. Nik’s hands shuffle furiously; going from one drum to the other. He probably plays the Hawaii 5.0 theme song for practice.

“Hurt me, hurt me, hurt me / Cut Me, cut Me, serve me!”

The band brings the house down when Hayley belts that line, earning a standing ovation from Steve Lillywhite and a number of people.

After the performance, I told Sam that Steve Lillywhite is here. He seem surprised. As expected, Hayley had a chat with the producer who was in town for the Music Matters talks. A possible collaboration? Your guess is as good as mine although it never hurts to have Steve Lillywhite’s contact in your phonebook.

It’s a good sign when you can get a Singaporean crowd to groove and move to your tunes. We are a docile crowd of folded arms and cynical glares. Absolutely ruthless (sometimes unfairly) in expressing disapproval at a performing band particularly the ones from our own shores. But hey, that’s music. A primal form of democracy. As far I could tell, there wasn’t any of that for The Jezabels. Just ask the crowds. Well you can’t actually. It’s rhetorical.

Anyways, The Jezabels are something special. Have a listen. It wouldn’t hurt. Keep an eye on them. Two eyes.

(Hydar Saharudin)

All photos by Serena Neo. She’s a visual communications student who doesn’t want to be a wedding photographer. Check her out at http://www.serenaneo.com.

Poor them, barely four years old and The Jezabels are already burdened with three critically acclaimed EPs (The Man is Dead (2009), She’s So Hard (2009) Dark Storm (2010)), sold out shows, award nominations and seeing their songs hit the top music charts in Australia and abroad. Their first LP is on the way too.

The quartet from Sydney, Australia is made up of Hayley (vocals), Heather (piano), Sam (guitars) and Nik (drums). It’s their first time in the island of Temasek and they are one of the 40 bands from 18 countries who performed at Music Matters Live 2011 on the 26th to 28th of May.

We sat down together with Sam and Nik (friendly chaps they are) on the 27th to find out what they had to say about their namesake from the Bible, touring with women and whether file sharing is a good thing (to Mediafire or not? that is the question).

You’re named after Jezebel from the bible. Evil heretic or an independent woman? What do you think?

Sam: (Laughs) Well it’s not about that. It’s more about re-evaluating what made her betray. Historically, it’s really hard to say whether a person [Jezebel] was bad or not. It’s just to make people think about certain conceptions.

Nik: Kind of re-opening the debate. Jezebel in the modern sense means a harlot or a prostitute. I think its modern use is a bad use.

Isaac Asimov wrote about her being a strong and independent woman.

Sam: Yeah! hopefully, it’s an association we’d like to strengthen.

There’s reviews saying The Jezabels could be the next big thing? Do you agree with that?

Sam: Yeah totally! (Laughs aloud).

I can picture the band playing in stadiums.

Nik: Oh wow, well thank you but we never expected this [success] so it makes us say we don’t know what to expect.

Sam: We are very surprised to be here, that’s all we think about and what to do for the next thing.

You guys started out in 2007. I’ve read interviews saying that you weren’t serious at the beginning. When was the moment you realized that ‘Hey! we can make it”?

Sam: That’s a good question. I think it’s a curve. You sort of have to start taking it seriously because you have to go away, tour and record.

Nik: You know when things change so slowly? You don’t notice they change? Like if you get fat? Its happens so slowly. You don’t remember when it was you got fat. You just sort of think….wait a second…

Sam: (Quickly finishes Nik’s sentence) I’m fat.

Nik: (Laughs) It might be a bad analogy.

You tour a lot. What’s it like touring with female bandmates (Hayley and Heather)?

Sam: I think its intense but it’s just from the fact of four people living together all the time. I don’t think its gender-related.

Nik: For us, at least. It’s not gender-related.

Sam: I think it’s fun. We have a consciously egalitarian environment in the band. But if it was four guys, it’d be a different band. It’d be dirty and smelly. And lots of McDonalds (laughs).

Each of your EPs seems to get more epic than the previous one. What direction are you taking the next album (LP) into?

Sam: Its bigger but it’s also more subtle.

Nik: Yeah I think we didn’t want to…because we noticed that, what you’re saying. If we went to the next stage; it’d might be ridiculous to try and be so grandiose and big. With an album (LP), there’s room to write songs that aren’t epic because you have 11 or 12 tracks to play with. You can expect more variation…maybe a combination of the three EPs. Some epic, some not.

Lyrically, most of your songs deal with personal issues. Any chance we’ll see the band go political?

Sam: I’d like that. Hayley does a lot of the lyric writing and I guess the only way we can make that happen is to argue for that. Hayley expresses her sentiments more personally anyway.

Nik: We have some more ideas about gender and politics.

It’s been said that democracy can’t exist in bands.

Sam: It’s a struggle sometimes.

Nik: Sometimes, it might be easier to have a leader but we’ll always enter into a discourse because there’s no leader.

Sam: I think it works fine. It’s just harder. It’s just the same with all sorts of democracies. If you want to develop something collectively, it takes a lot of time but it makes it better.

Out of the three EPs, which was the hardest to produce?

Nik: Dark Storm. Because for the first one (The Man Is Dead EP), we didn’t get much radio. People said they liked it but no one said, “Wow, this is amazing”. After the second one (She’s So Hard EP), we got a lot of positive feedback. For the third one (Dark Strom EP), we thought we needed to follow up with the positive feedback. It was between She’s So Hard and Dark Strom where we felt the most pressure.

In your second EP (She’s So Hard), there’s a track called The Man Is Dead which is the title of your first EP. And in your third EP (Dark Storm), there’s a track called She’s So Hard which is the title of your second EP. What’s that? Some kind of secret code?

Sam: It’s a way to link the three releases together. Because we’re independent and for other reasons, we wanted to make three EPs. It’s cheaper and more accessible for everyone. So if you link the ideas [in the EPs], it’s like a concept album. The artwork’s all the same.

From your music, I was expecting you guys to be a little bit glum.

Nik: Glum?? (Laughs)

Sam: Yeah, it’s weird.

Do you get that question a lot?

Sam: Sort of. I think it’s an approach to life, if you are serious with what you do, you don’t have to be a serious person.

Nik: We compartmentalize (grins).

What do you think of the “file-sharing versus CD sales” issue? We often hear from the management and labels but hardly from the musicians themselves.

Nik: (Pause) You go first (points to Sam).

Sam: I think it’s amazing. It’s bad for making money off music as a commodity. That’s bad for artistes as well. I actually think it hurts the labels the most. Artistes still can get by without CD sales. More people can hear music around the world which is why we can come to Singapore and for reasons like that, it’s amazing.

One of my friends lent me your CDs last year. I’ve yet to return them.

Sam: I’ll call the police if you don’t buy them (laughs).

Nik: I don’t know why the record labels…all they do is cry about it but they need to think more creatively and think about the music industry in a new way and they refuse to do that because that means they don’t make billions of dollars. I think they need to lighten up a little bit.

What’s playing on your iPods now?

Sam: I don’t have an iPod (laughs).

Nik: I’ve been listening to Why, Cursive and David Bazan…I’ll always have metal playing all the time.

Nik, drumming-wise, who influences you?

Nik: I’ll speak to other drummers and they go, “This guy, this guy and this guy, they’re so amazing”. I can’t really name any drummers. I don’t know why. One drummer that has influenced me is Gabe Serbian from The Locust. He makes me want to play drums.

Speaking of influences, when I listen to The Jezabels, it sounds like an orgy between U2, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Kate Bush and Blondie for some reason. So what are the band’s influences?

Sam: We come together and just wrote music randomly. The Arcade Fire came out and they became popular and I think they influenced us a lot with what’s possible – If you want to do music that’s edgy but still very melodic and intense. And The National came out and they did the same thing. I think we derived a lot of stylistic influences from them subconsciously. Other than that, it’s [Jezabel’s music] basically random. It’s our own influences that inform the band [Jezabels]. If a band comes out and becomes popular and you listen to them, it actually opens up possibilities to what you can do when you write [music].

Describe your song-writing process.

Sam: It’s a result of working together. A collaboration.

Nik: It starts with one small thing. So Sam will just have this riff or Heather will have a chord progression or I’ll have a beat or Hayley will have a melodic line and then we just start chucking things on top of it and carving out the sides and smashing something into the sides.

It’s a messy process.

Nik: It is! (laughs)

Sam: Our music is basically a collaboration between four people.

Any realistic advice for budding bands/musicians?

Sam: The advice I would give to any band is to just be aware of where you sit in the world and the music scene. Just constantly be self-aware of what you’re doing, keep working and be critical of yourself.

(Hydar Saharudin)

Much thanks to Ming Lim of Fulford Public Relations for graciously setting up the interview a day earlier than proposed.

GEORGI KAY – LIONHEART

18 year old Perth singer-songwriter possesses a sweet, fragile larynx, with music to match. Lionheart is ethereal and baroque, resonating warmly as one takes it all in. The song is taken from Kay’s debut EP.

The lass has already won a 2010 Western Australia Music Award (WAM), and been nominated for a 2011 Independent Music Award for best Indie/Alternative/Hard Rock Song. All this without a record label or even a full length album under her belt!

Listen to/watch Lionheart and find out why this is so…

Official Site

CHARLES J TAN The Pelham Sessions EP (Self-released)

The first thing you’d notice on this record is Tan’s vocals – you can’t miss them. Husky, deep, well-rounded and full, it makes you sit up and pay attention. His enunciation is clear and brings out each word carefully, which is a very positive thing… But unfortunately this is also what brings out the bone I have to pick with this EP: the less-than-satisfactory lyrics.

For me, the lyrics distracted from the enjoyable tunes, which is very unfortunate. I suppose the issue of quality of lyrics is highly subjective and debatable; for those who prefer conversational down-to-earth stuff over the poetic type, this would be the thing for you. But in my case it just irks me that some of it doesn’t remotely rhyme or flow together seamlessly.

As for instrumentation, the acoustic guitars and keyboards/synthesizers sound excellent, whereas the electric guitar tones are thin and generic. One real complaint is that Free sounds like an imitation of Casting Crowns or other stereotypical CCM bands of that breed, with straining vocals (rare for Tan!) and weak guitars.

Still, there are certainly redeeming qualities.

Almost Sunday is my favourite among the tracks: Laid back, reflective, nostalgic, with the guitar gently picking out its lines and forming the backdrop to fit the lyrics perfectly (“I wanna go home”). I prefer the original to the holiday version, simply because it sounds more organic without the additional instrumentation that might just seem to clutter it up a bit.

Tan puts his stellar vocals to best use on the track Anything, where the longing literally comes out in the little barely noticeable breaks his voice makes throughout the song, especially when the music drops at the start of the last chorus and he pleads, “Is there anything that you want from me?/‘Cause I’m down on my knees at the end of my street”. Perfect emoting on this one.

Feels Better Now disguises some angst in a happy-clappy tune, always a refreshing combination. And the honesty in the words is commendable.

In all, an earnest, satisfactory effort, but still lacking that spark that would take it, in Tan’s own words, “from good to great”.

(Desiree Boey)

Official Site

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Charles J Tan is a folk-pop singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. Tan is Australian with roots from Singapore and has just released his album, The Pelham Sessions and is currently on tour to support the release in Singapore and Asia. His next show is on 31st Jan 2011 at The Esplanade, with a two month long residency at TAB Singapore to follow in February and March. Admission is free.

Review of The Pelham Sessions to come.

Official Site

Sanny Veloo is a S-ROCK legend! As the singer-guitarist of Boredphucks and Melbourne-based The Suns, Sanny has been on the vanguard of Singaporean melodic rock ‘n’ roll for over a decade now. Well, EMPRA is Sanny’s latest project and based on its debut single Like A Runaway/I Won’t Give Up, it is clear that the years have not blunted Sanny’s rock edge or way with a melody. Highly recommended! Listen/download from Bandcamp.

Friday nights at *SCAPE of late have become one of the best places to discover new, upcoming bands within the local music community. The night, however, was different, with 2 bands from Perth, Australia playing, and a stellar lineup of hardcore bands.

The night started on an unusual note, with Ben Blondel from In League playing his solo acoustic material, Death & A Cure. His songs were sung like stories from experiences around him, which were quite different from when he sings with In League.

I loved how a night of hardcore started out with an acoustic set, which made it distinctive what a seasoned musician he was. He played “Dear Eliza”, a brand new song, “The Endless Escape”, Summer and a few more originals.

There in that room were all the elements of a memorable performance‚ a singer singing self-penned thoughts woven with his melodies, guitar in hand, setting the stage for an emotion-fuelled wild night.

Ruins & Remains started with an epic drum solo, which peaked after a few minutes and got everyone present pumped up. From there, there were many emotional highs, as Melvin growled lyrics over the crowd of zealous people moshing.

And from there, everything went uphill. Between sets, the audience took a breather, going outside to interact with each other and take a break before rushing in when the bands started for more moshing.

There was a sense of camaraderie in the air as the bands and the audience thrived off each other’s energy. From the two types of vocals In League had, which was pure brilliance, to the way both vocalists interacted with the audience.

Mouthful of Air awed the audience with their elaborate musical layering, which garnered an uproar of cheers from the audience. With each song they played, different ones stepped forward to mosh, which led to more cheers of support.

The end of their set led to an explosively start from Miles Away, an audio spectacle who manage to blow everyone away with their musical prowess and amazing live set. One would think that energy levels would dip after having so much fun but the audience proved otherwise, through expressive gestures and roars of approval.

It was no wonder that the audience reacted in such a positive manner with the lineup, who themselves gave it their all and managed to connect with the audience who turned up.

A big thank you to *SCAPE, Dex, Marcus, Shaun, In League, Miles Away, Mouthful of Air, Ruins and Remains and everyone who was present. I can’t wait for the next event!

(Rebecca Lincoln)

In League’s Myspace
Ruins and Remain’s Myspace
Mouthful of Air Remain’s Myspace
Miles Away’s Myspace

*SCAPE is calling out for musicians and bands, and wants to give you a chance to show the world your talent. Give them a shout out at enquiries@scape.com.sg with the subject header “*SCAPE Confessions, The Series” now! Good luck!

For more information on *SCAPE and *SCAPE’s Confession ‘The Series’:
*SCAPE’s Confession ‘The Series’
*SCAPE’s Facebook Page

*SCAPE’s Website

BIRDS OF TOKYO Self-titled (EMI)

Ostensibly a side-project of singer Ian Kenny (of Karnivool), this Perth-based band has exceeded expectations to emerge as one of the hottest bands in Australia. In fact, this eponymous third album debuted at #2 on the Aussie album charts a month ago.

And no wonder… if its epic anthems laced with soaring melodies you want then look no further. Like Muse, BoT employ the sweep of progressive rock and the immediacy of indie pop to produce an irresistible commodity.

Together with Adam Spark (guitar), Adam Weston (drums) and Anthony Jackson (bass), Kenny gives indie rock fans the best of both worlds – singalong pop songs underpinned by a serious bent. Certainly fans of U2, Audioslave, Coldplay and Muse will thrill to this exciting new album as well as to its predecessor – the breakthrough album Universes from 2008.

Already racking up gold releases in their homeland, it should not take too longer before songs like The Saddest Thing I Know, Murmurs, Wild At Heart, Circles, In The Veins Of Death Valley and Wayside make an impact in the major music markets like USA and UK. Certainly, Singapore promoters would do well to consider Birds of Tokyo for performances here, especially when they’re not more than 5 hours away.

Official Site | Myspace

Buy Birds of Tokyo

Universes

AUSTRALIA

Australian bands have been making waves worldwide for a long time now and each rock decade has its own memorable Oz band. Off the top of my head – AC/DC (above), Men At Work, INXS, Midnight Oil, Icehouse, You and I and many many more. I’d wager that none of that rich musical history would have been possible without the support of both the Federal and State Governments in Australia.

Check out this video from the Australian Music Office website, which summarizes what funding is available for Oz bands/artists.

The mind boggles…

Back in Black Business As Usual The Best of Inxs

The Futurists represents the musical meanderings and lyrical musings of Paul Housden who is also the singer and guitarist in Foxx on Fire. A debut album will be released soon, featuring the Adrian Whitehead on keyboards, the Terepai Richmond on drums and the Jak Housden on guitar and production. There will be an album launch with hot dogs, balloons… the whole schmear!

Listen: The Futurists – She’s The One