Two sides of the same coin – twin perspectives of Death and the Cure’s live show at the Prince of Wales on 5th May.

Not every post-hardcore member has an acoustic side, but Ben Blondel of Death and a Cure certainly has.

Death and a Cure basically consists of Ben Blondel and his guitar. Despite his constant activity and touring with Australian post-hardcore band In League as main vocalist, Ben has stayed true to his acoustic music over the last three years, composing tunes of introspection and heartache in his free time. “It has always been acoustic for me,” he confesses.

Last night, he was spotted at Prince of Wales, an Aussie bar located at Boat Quay, and performed two sets mostly from his debut album Oceans, Lovers & Empires set to be released on 7 May 2012. He dedicated songs such as Hello Morning, Give Up Your Ghost and The Endless Escape, to an intimate crowd of no more than twenty.

It was easy to liken his style and influences to Damien Rice and Bon Iver, but upon closer inspection, his real talent lay in his vocals. He has a natural ability to express aching tender emotions the way he intended, with the use of accidental vocal variations, producing a raw voice that paints imagery.

To the ghost of love, the ghost of love again
Have we chased it home
We chased it to the grave
(Song: Give Up Your Ghost)

Surprisingly, music has never really been his main career. Ben shares that he fulfills his duties as designer to earn money and will later take a break to pursue music for a few months. Like any other struggling musician, he faced similar problems in funding but nothing has stopped him from doing what he loves and in his own terms, what makes him “feel alive”.

Oceans, Lovers & Empires may not be an album that sounds completely exciting or instantly impressionable, but is definitely worth a listen, especially in cold and lonely nights.

(Cheryl Chew)

Cheryl, CJ and Ben

A backpacker’s hostel, tucked in the midst of Singapore’s nightlife bars, and dishonest seafood restaurants awaiting for their foreign prey, I found myself at Prince Of Wales in Boat Quay, the venue for a Saturday (5th May 2012) night gig. Blink and you may miss it, unless the recognisable sign of a dogface against an orange background catches your eye.

Ben Blondel is Death And A Cure, an acoustic / folk singer-songwriter from Perth, Australia. With a musical history that involves providing vocals and playing keys for post-hardcore band In League, Death And A Cure is a side project for Ben, venturing into other different music genres.

He was in town for a tour to celebrate the release of his latest single, The Spin You’ve Got Me In, as well as his new studio album offering of Oceans, Lovers & Empires, which was released on May 7th. Cheryl (our newest Power Of Pop contributing writer, and her first review) and I were informed that responses so far have been positive, from gigs held from various venues such as The Pigeonhole and Home Club, even so that the stash of records he had brought along on this trip were all but snapped up (but fret not, copies are still available for purchase online, and he is in talks to arrange for more copies to be shipped over).

Despite the low turnout (but generally satisfactory for a fine and dandy, small bar that Prince Of Wales offer), Ben managed to pull through and not let it affect him much. Moreover, he was in a foreign land, and doing the things he loved, at least it was what kept him going, he later explained in an interview we arranged with him.

From the audience’s perspective, it felt more like an intimate set, with his focus clearly and carefully shifting amongst us, from one member of the audience to the next, be it near or far. It was a manner of connectivity and engaging with his audience, which he succeeded in doing so well.

Portraying fragments of influences from the likes of Damien Rice, John Mayer and James Morrison, Ben performed songs of his own material, as well as covers of Bon Iver and Death Cab For Cutie. In the process of doing so, he captivated us with his vocals and acoustic guitar playing, and gathered to himself a group of faithful supporters upfront, close to his set near the entrance to the bar. Humbly flattered when we brought up the artistes that came into our minds with his tunes, he gushed about singers with influences in his music and his life – Sufjan Stevens, Dallas Green, John Mayer and Damien Rice (we were quite spot on!). On his songwriting process, he talked about his personal life, journey and the matters close to his heart that aid in his creative composition process. Being away from home and loved ones, especially his girl, also sparked the fireworks in his mind and nerves leading to his hands and fingers to pen down the thoughts, and magically transformed them into songs and melodies of his own.

It was a pity though that we were seated on the first table after the walkway, with its traffic of night patronisers strolling by. It felt slightly strange and after a while, mostly an annoyance, like flies to your eyes and bees to your ears.

He remained optimistic about the music scene in general, from his side of the world to the Asian perspective, citing the opening of opportunities, varieties and more listening ears extended and – literally speaking – thrown in the right direction. A humble and promising musician, I could see the glint in his eyes and feel the thumping heartbeat of a musically passionate lad when we sat down to interview him, and we all knew that we were in the right place, at the right time, with the right amount of hearts shared.

Find out more about Death And A Cure from his official website, http://www.deathandacure.com/. If you sign up to his mailing list, you will get a free mp3 download of the catchy single The Spin You’ve Got Me In. Do note there are only limited downloads available, so hurry!

[CJ]

The Specials by Jonathan Wong

Timbre Rock & Roots 2012 – Day 1: Bleu Rascals, Keb’ Mo’, Buddy Guy and The Specials

Let me start off this year’s review of Timbre Rock & Roots festival with an honest note – artiste line-up wise, it may appear not as spectacular as compared with the previous two years’ running.

Sure, there were the heavyweight classics, like first night’s round-up The Specials, and possibly the band on the tips of everyone’s tongues – Earth, Wind & Fire; not forgetting the revisit of Buddy Guy (he came to perform during the first show in 2010), amongst a showcase of others. But riding on the mindset of mainstream commercial appeal, it may not arouse the same enthusiasm like previous years’ star performers, like Bob Dylan, Imogen Heap, John Legend, Jools Holland, The Fray and the like.

Regardless, while promenading to the festival venue, (coincidentally) Marina Promenade, I couldn’t help but notice as my legs moved along to the beating of my heart (exaggerated) – how this part of Singapore felt so familiar and altogether foreign at the same time. It is still Singapore alright, but I have not been to this part of town before, and it just doesn’t feel like what I have known Singapore to be. Or, maybe it is just me – just a personal thought, FYI.

Situated on a section of the Formula 1 racecourse, and surrounded by and overlooking some of today’s skyscrapers, like the Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay, the location couldn’t be more perfect for a large scale event like this, with scenic cityscape and the open night skyline. It was just that the turnout didn’t fill up half as aplenty, even as the night skies fell.

The first night opened up with Philippine act Bleu Rascals, consisting of mostly teenagers and cover songs. Yet, impressively, they managed to choke up enough maturity in their sounds to deliver the swingin’ blues of the roots genre, while laying emotion after emotion with their tuning. Non-originals heard include a song by John Mayer and Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine”.

Keb’ Mo’ appeared next to stir some sh*t amongst the audience, treating our eardrums with jams of groove-infused blues. Backed by a strong cast of musicians playing different instruments as support, his music smoothened up the city’s night noises, and provided a genuine punch of sincerity into our surroundings.

Too much roots? How about some intensive, classic, rocked-out blues then? Buddy Guy is your guy, literally. By this time, far into the night, he appeared to be the most energetic, not missing a single chance to move about on the raised stage (with his ever-ready guitar swung by his side) when he got to be away from the microphone. He even took to the grounds, allowing fans to have an almost up close and personal chance encounter with him (if not for the obligatory attention of the security and body-guards).

The Specials rounded up the first of two nights of Rock & Roots with a musical high, to the crowd of swaying rhythm and beats. Performing all-time favourites like “Monkey Man”, “Ghost Town” and “Too Much Too Young”, they made themselves, a 1970s/80s 11-members strong band proud and still as captivating as ever, without missing a beat. It was clear the crowd enjoyed the performance of the band as much as the band enjoyed themselves back.

In summary, I won’t say the roots genre has a very heavy influence in the hustle and bustle of a typical Singaporean’s life, and it is no wonder that most of the crowd attracted that night were mostly foreigners, away from home and bound here with a day job that pays (and just possibly, reminiscing of home in any and every way). Sadly, as much as everyone seemed to claim to be there for the music, their body languages might have betrayed the fact that it was more down to the drinking and the socializing – getting to a point where some drunkards were dancing their heads off, and I would like to end off this piece by naively thinking that they were merely just losing themselves in the music…

[CJ]

Thanks to Timbre Music for making this review possible.

Nothing Is Pure (Better Days Records)

Think of a heavier Good Charlotte, a no-rap/Mike Shinoda’s Linkin Park, or even a younger Metallica.

Nothing Is Pure is Placeholder’s debut LP offering, after their Demonstration EP under the moniker of Coastal. Both were released within the year span of 2011, earning them my recognition of a focused and hardworking rock band.

Described as playing “emotionally intense post-hardcore” in their press release, one will not feel short-changed at such a descriptive, and it perfectly describes the musical direction of the album and the first sounds of Placeholder.

Scream-core, angst and an unsettled sea – those are the emotions and scenarios felt consistently throughout the record. It’s not a bad thing with consistency, but rather hard to find a standout track to significantly recommend.

Maybe it is right what their album title suggests – nothing is, indeed, pure.

[CJ]

What You See Is What You Get EP Launch

As what their EP title suggests, what you see is what you get – and what you get from the EP launch performance from Natalie’s Plight is a set of visionaries and dreams come true for the homegrown band.

Formed in 2007 by four Republic Polytechnic students, the band is now made up of Ashlee Tan on vocals (from picture – second from left), Chris Cheah (right most) on drums, guitarist Mark Spencer (third from left) and newly included bassist member Sharime (left most). Youthful looking bunch, I must say, but with big dreams to fill.

Performing hits both old and new, as well as doing two song covers, the band appeared more than confident in their approach for live delivery, with clever management from the lighting crew (lights off, everyone, so that all’s welcome to wave their light sticks provided at the entrance’s ticketing counter).

Contrary to the opening band serenading with covers, Natalie’s Plight shines more on their original material than their live cover renditions. They were more able to connect and associate with their lyrics, melodies and anthems than those of their agreed favourite tunes, which I reckon they pretty much enjoyed singing them live as well. However, Use Somebody (by Kings Of Leon) deprived of the desperation needed to complete the tune basically, and The Only Exception (by Paramore) lacked the emotional element of love entanglement. Next time, my advice would be to pick songs to cover that are just plain fun seeking, catchy and silly.

That said, the foursome’s expressions on their faces were more than pleased to be jamming together and in front of a small and intimate set – of audience filled mostly of close friends and family members. Afterall, this is their own EP launch, something they should be proud and accomplished for.

There was even a midpoint acoustic set made up of Ashlee and Mark, as she sang through a couple of songs seemingly with torn emotions left on the sleeves of her shoulders (one of which is called San Francisco). Even Mark had a special dedication to a member of the audience, his girlfriend in the crowd of spectators. The night rounded up with an encore of Hello Buttercup, one of three songs featured on their new EP.

In a good way, some of Natalie’s Plight tunes felt like they could have easily come from the soundtracks of Twilight. Before the hippies pass this off as a negative comment (because the movie series is… too bloodsucking), some artistes that had been featured previously include Metric, Beck and Bat For Lashes, Florence + The Machine, to name a few.

Find out more about Natalie’s Plight on their Facebook page. Their EP, What You See Is What You Get, is out now.

[cj]

Living Your Dream

There’s certainly no denial that Danika Holmes has got her own distinctive voice and her own set of power vocal chords; but what would have been better is if she has a more defined style and direction with this album.

The album opens up with shimmering positivity, with tracks like Dreams Held Hostage and How To Be Beautiful – the latter with the Sarah McLachlan’s style of hush-hush. By the third track Bluebird, the positivity embracing may wear off to be too overwhelming, like indulging on a slice of cake with too much sugar and cream on it. The track also suffers and tracks down the familiar country-rock path that listeners by now know too well.

In a twist, Someone New To Forget and Kiss And Make Up show the jazz side of Danika, and the diversity she takes on the album.

Title track Living Your Dream, though thought to be a positive number about covering endless boundaries, shifting landscapes and climbing mountains like Miley Cyrus can (not), turns out otherwise – to be a song on someone living in the shadows of someone else’s dreams (I am living your dreams, it’s not mine; I only have one life to give).

There’re generally no major showstoppers on this album, and could lead to the general confusion and puzzlement as to which is the real sound of Danika Holmes.

[CJ]

Technology is as advanced as it already is, but if there’s one thing that Sony could do on one eventful night on Saturday, 3^rd December 2011, it would be to somehow make the rain go away.

But that didn’t stop the party from happening down at *Scape, as fans of international superstars Mike Posner and Train made their joyous way to watch an evening of performances. Already in the day-long event, regional superstars like Hao Ren from Malaysia, Julia Abueva from the Philippines and Slot Machine from Thailand, had graced the stage and showcased their homegrown singing talents.

With anticipation, the fairly packed crowd (however, much lesser than I myself had anticipated) were mainly youngsters, and gathered themselves before a relatively compact stage. Newcomer Mike Posner would be to appear first, as he only has an album under his belt (31 Minutes To Takeoff) so far. Fans need not wait any further, as second offering Sky High will be released sometime early 2012, with first single off it ironically titled Looks Like Sex. You read it right – and um, how much more intelligence can you expect from that, really?

Dressed in a bright and dashing red jacket, with a back embroidery titled Brain Trust, a plain black tee inside, black three quarter pants and loud sneakers, Mike looked refreshed and alive, as he looked ahead to his own debut Singapore performance and interaction with the fans alike. But alas, has he not been told or informed of the basic Singapore crowd behaviour – conscious, cautious and careful?

He performed songs from his debut, kicking start with Please Don’t Go, Do U Wanna, Bow Chicka Wow Wow (less Lil’ Wayne), a new song from the upcoming record (which I think he lied in saying that it was the first time he was performing it live, as an artiste’s marketing and hype technique to get more cheers and screams), covered Adele’s Rolling In The Deep (with an interesting drummed-up version) and a surprise slowdown to Oasis’s Wonderwall, away from all the current mainstream dance-pop that he is well associated with.

He had the look and eyes of confidence, arrogance and stride as a musician may have, and maybe that of an American. His energy was contagious, as he bounced and jumped up, down and across the stage, standing atop the sound speakers and various attempts to get close and intimate with the front of the audience. However, as much as he worked the crowd, it was quite concrete evidence (through his expression) that he was disappointed with the whole response – it wasn’t like an O2 Arena, U2 concert type. Nonetheless, both sides of the spectrum (Mike as performer and the audience at large) did their best, especially much so the ladies when Mike joined the crowd and lost his tee in the process. You can just imagine and visualize the girls go weak in the knees as a buffed Posner stood onstage to conclude his set and greet a goodbye.

*

With the success of Hey Soul Sister, Train reconnected with the mainstream this year, and the young ones talk about Train as though they know every single thing about them (when they don’t). And in a way, I pity Train for that, as they are more of an adult contemporary act than pop.

And how about did the fellows do to connect with a younger crowd, you may ask?
(a) got a handful of ladies from the audience onstage to just sing the line “hey soul sister”, in as many soulful attempts and versions as possible?
(b) got Mike Posner back onstage and covered Journey’s (or Glee’s, for that matter) Don’t Stop Believing?
(c) gave away an autographed acoustic guitar to someone in the audience?
(d) added random oh-oh’s during the musical bridges of songs?
(e) all of the above?

And the answer is (e). Patrick Monahan appeared onstage with messy hair, as though he had done up his nicely in the hotel room but had to rush to sing at the concert in the pouring rain. But he was entertaining, in an actor kind of way, as he cracked some very straightforward jokes. I suspected that there may be a bottle of liquor somewhere backstage, as sometimes it does help, when dealing with an audience who spent half the time with their hands up in the air, and a camera or a camera phone on it, taking non-stop snapshots. Jimmy Stafford looked the most sincerely merriest, like a person embracing this part of the world and the culture for the very first time.

If you have to ask, yes, despite not being a particularly big fan of their smash hit for the year, I couldn’t resist but to sing along to the lyrics out aloud (maybe I’m a closeted Train fan?). The Journey cover went down pretty bad, in my books, and I thought Patrick had the regretted look almost immediately as he started performing it together with Mike, as though he was trying to figure out what he was doing and what was going on here (the sobering stage, post-liquor, I reckon).

Other familiar songs performed in the quite short timeframe were their 1998 smash Meet Virginia, Calling All Angels (from the 2003 album My Private Nation), the title track from latest offering Save Me, San Francisco, and others like If It’s Love and the very close, intimate (he went around and took pictures with fans throughout the entire song, how much sweeter could he get, really) and some-may-consider romantic number Marry Me. He even joked just before singing the last round of chorus, saying, “now you really have to marry me”, in a slightly impatient manner, and in a very warm way, poking fun of their own selves and own hit song.

But the definite song of the night has got to be their biggest smash still, Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me), which they performed as a one-song encore before closing the night. Yes, the same one local singer/songwriter Tanya Chua covered. I remembered myself belting out along, with emotions switched on full gear mode, and felt this small part of the world well connected together for that one particular moment. And then I took the train home.

Thank you to Sony for inviting Power Of Pop (and three pairs of our lucky readers) to this event.

[cj]

On December 2 the Sony Group of Companies held the UPHORIA Party with Sony press conference, with guests Grammy-nominated international hit band Train, and recent break-out star Mike Posner. The artists were in town for the UPHORIA Party with Sony, where their performances would be the highlight of the event.

First widely known as the ones behind massive hit Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me), in the last two years Train has returned with a bang from their three-year hiatus. Especially with multi-platinum hit single Hey Soul Sister, which certainly took the airwaves by storm. As for Posner, his following has grown enormously from the time he was releasing mixtapes from his dorm room at Duke University to his 2010 debut album 31 Minutes to Takeoff featuring Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 single Cooler Than Me.

—————————————

This “press conference” with Train and Posner was more of a media promotional event, with contest winners, regional press, bloggers, the local reporters etc. all present, making the headcount about two hundred in total. It felt rather like Sony were trying to squeeze everything into one event and milk the most out of it, which was a pity as we didn’t get to spend much time (or any at all) actually interacting with the artists.

The session opened with a question for Posner: Will we be hearing any new material from the upcoming album at the UPHORIA party? “I’m planning on doing one or two new songs,” the singer/songwriter/producer replied.

Posner later talked about how he never expected to be performing on such a platform, sharing the stage with established international stars like Train. It’s certainly heartening to consider how far he’s come since he recorded his first mixtape in his dorm room. And he was evidently thankful for his label, family and fan support, and for friends who apparently treat him worse now to keep him grounded.

Throughout the hour the level of enthusiasm from the media was lukewarm at best. Disappointing, but then again, as the main interviewer helplessly acknowledged, welcome to Singapore. Fortunately the artists tried their best to liven things up, especially Train lead singer Pat Monahan, who had no problem throwing out jibes at the main interviewer and the other artists  present like Thailand’s Slot Machine, or bantering with Posner.

On the topic of a special collaboration between Train and Posner being planned, Monahan teased the gathered crowd with suggestions of a Pussycat Dolls cover performed with hot pants and tank tops. And when there was the customary awkward pause waiting for the first question, Monahan came to the rescue with: “I have one! Mike, is it true that I’m cooler than you?”

When asked what advice they would give to aspiring young artists, Monahan emphasised the importance of staying true to oneself: “The only advice I have for anybody is, be yourself, because if you’re successful, then you get to be yourself for a little longer, but if you try to be something you’re not and you’re successful, then you gotta try to figure out how to be that other thing for a really long time to keep it together. So if you’re not successful but you’re being yourself, then the reward is still cool because you get to make the work that you want. I mean you know money ain’t everything, so being yourself can be pretty awesome, and then you just get better at it.” And then in characteristic cheekiness he added, “Money isn’t everything, but it’s about nine-tenths of it.”

Somehow the topic of stars being discovered on the internet came up. “I’m one of those people,” Posner grinned, “so I think very highly of social networking and things of that nature.”

Monahan weighed in with his view that things like giving away music for free, which is what Posner did and continues to do, is a very smart move because it gets people to see his shows when they like his work. “If you come into this business to be a business then you’re not gonna probably be here long,” Monahan mused, “but if you come here to make great work then, you know how like Mike proving… You could be here for a long long time.”

What’s next for all of them?  Posner has just done another free mixtape, and his second album is scheduled to come out next year, “March-ish”. As for Train, according to Monahan their new single Drive By is lined up for a January release, with an as-yet untitled new album in April: “We don’t have a title for it, we’re thinking maybe, something along the lines of ‘Singapore kicks ass’.”

(Desiree Boey)

Your latest album is titled This Is Chris Botti. Do you mean it wasn’t Chris Botti with the previous album offerings of yours?

The album is a sort of “Greatest Hits” collection.  It’s a title that my record company came up with.  I rely heavily on my record label, and they have done a fantastic job of making me a worldwide star.

Now with 13 albums under your belt, would you say that you have accomplished your musical dreams, the aspirations and goals that you may have set for yourself when you first begun on this magical, mystical, musical journey?

Yes, there is nothing more rewarding than having the opportunity to get up onstage in front of a live audience of enthusiastic fans each night and play with my outstanding band.  I have been very fortunate being able to perform on a regular basis and this is what energizes me each time we go out onstage. I’m so appreciative that they’re there.  It’s not lost on me at all that we have fans that buy tickets, take a night off and come to the show.  It means so much. Now, my only concerns are “Do I have a growing audience?” and “Are my fans at my concerts enjoying themselves?” and as long as these two things are taking place, I am more than happy.

What is the message you would like to send across to your fans and the listeners, when they are listening to any Chris Botti song? How about when they are in the audience, watching you perform and serenade live?

I strive to create a specific atmosphere with my music, a romantic, moody atmosphere that can be enjoyed best late at night in a penthouse with a great bottle of wine.

You seem like quite an ambitious kid since young. How did that help shape you as a musician and an artiste?

Yeah, I just basically forgot about everything else or did away with it. At a certain point, you’re committed to something to an extent that you would do anything, and I’ve always been that way since I was a kid. I was really committed to practicing music, very, very ambitious and dedicated as a young person to my trumpet, and so it was many hours a day, many, many hours a day that I practiced. There’s a great quote from Joni Mitchell that said “Being a musician is 1 percent God-given talent and the other 99 percent insanity.” It’s really sort of a joke, I suppose, but it’s really true in a lot of ways. You have to be blinded by your own dedication, and that’s a real important part of it.

What was the toughest part in learning how to play a trumpet?

The trumpet is an instrument that requires daily attention to keep up your chops. Every day I practice.  My practice regiment is the same as it has been for the past 25 years.  I do the same routine that I learned from my trumpet teacher, William Adam, who I studied with in college.  It’s very disciplined with long tones, arpeggios, chromatic scales, classical exercises, etc… to make sure that I’m flexible and that the apparatus is working on the trumpet.  Then the jazz aspects take over in more of a fluid and elusive way, but the core of the trumpet technicalities need to be tended to daily.

How much would you charge me – someone obviously fascinated with everything music, yet not knowing how to play a single instrument – for a session of trumpet learning lesson? What’s the best advice you can give for people taking up learning to play one?

I don’t generally give trumpet lessons unless it’s part of an auction that raises money for a charity.

If I can give a tip to anyone, it is don’t be afraid to do one thing great. A lot of young kids these days want to do many different things, and they have many different distractions. Playing an instrument will give you some grounding point to do one thing great.  It takes a lot to play the cello or classical piano or the trumpet, and I think to focus on one thing and be proud of doing one thing is the number one tip that I would give to someone.

Share with us the music playlist that you are listening to, and how it relates to the current stage in your life right now.

I’m always listening to:

Miles Davis – My Funny Valentine

Keith Jarrett – The Melody At Night, With You

Frank Sinatra – Only the Lonely

With 2011 closing itself as a chapter, what would you like to see 2012 shape up for you?

2012 is going to be great year.  I’ll be releasing a new album.  I’ll continue to tour worldwide and I look forward to coming back to Singapore and the rest of Asia!

In the history book of music, where do you want to see yourself sit in those pages?

See question 2. As long as my fans are enjoying themselves, I’m happy!

Chris Botti performs at the Esplanade Concert Hall on 8th December. This interview was made possible by Universal Singapore.

[cj]

Lepa(r)k!: A Gig At Tiong Bahru Park

Tired of not being able to attend frequent music festivals in the outdoors, like how they seem to happen everywhere else except here in Singapore?

Now there, Lepa(r)k was the answer for you on 19^th November 2011, where six local bands shared the stage in celebrating a night of local music delights, right in the comforts of a very neighbourhood park. You can’t get any more heartland than that, seriously. The six bands, in order of schedule, are: In Each Hand A Cutlass, Obedient Wives Club, Ingride, Run Neon Tiger, Cheating Sons and Plainsunset.

If you were present there for the night, you would have been served with a vast variety of music and genres; and for the very Singaporean in you (indirectly meaning kiasu), free popcorn and candyfloss – I saw a line queuing there.

The gig unveiled itself with In Each Hand A Cutlass (http://www.ineachhandacutlass.com/), an instrumental, ambient and progressive rock band, whose music sits and paints itself well against the landscapes of familiarity behind – of concrete rising buildings and surrounding greeneries. And what better way to welcome the night than the band with the man responsible for pulling together a gig like this, Daniel Sassoon.

Next on the bill was the summer-y, 50’s-60’s infused indie pop-rock Obedient Wives Club (http://www.facebook.com/obedientwivesclub). I think their music was the most suitable, most appropriate fit with the overall feel and theme of having the gig in the park. Ignoring the evening hour ambitious runners, it was the comfortable feeling of being able to lepak (Malay for chill) on the grass without worrying about wet marks and patches on the butt of your favourite jeans and skirts, while elsewhere on the island it poured cats and dogs. They brought a dash of Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls (considered influences) into the fix, much thanks to lead singer YinQi Lee’s quirkiness; and covered Shimmering Stars, Raveonettes and Lesley Gore before wrapping up with their popular smash and well-known number, That Boy.

Ingride (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ingride/128732987245), an ambitious post-hardcore, rock outfit demonstrated and showcased the alternate darker side, in heavy contrast with the previous OWC’s set. Lead singer Mahathir, if he ever explores, has the troubled, ballad-y vocals of a blues rocker-lover, before he let his better alter ego took control and let loose an inner, burning man with passion.

Ladies’ favourite Run Neon Tiger (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Run-Neon-Tiger/245915307468) was next, and it was good to watch the lads again almost a year after their Baybeats performance. Not quite sure if it was due to lead singer, Paddy, being a little tad under the weather, but it felt to me that the lads had become a little washed out, maybe with the letdown of living and struggling with the music dream in Singapore. Not that they could be blamed or are generally at fault for it. Still, their friendly indie pop were met with spontaneous cheers, let alone their covers of indie favourites like The Killers and Two Doors Cinema Club.

Cheating Sons (http://www.cheatingsons.com/), one with the promising future in Singapore music, was definitely the highlight of the night for some in the crowd. You got the unanimous feel of unity in a band – the togetherness in spiritual and musical entanglements, and the poetic lyrics and vocals of lead singer Renyi. There was even a song performed dedicated to Redhill, creeping around the corner from Tiong Bahru, of its old histories, senior residents sitting by the wayside and of stories long forgotten and untold of. They ended their set with a rockin’ high, letting their fiery fingers on their musical weapons do all the walking and the talking.

Plainsunset (http://www.facebook.com/plainsunset) Now vets in the indie scene, Plainsunset thrilled the crowd with their user-friendly pop-punk filled with infectious hooks that left smiles on many. Frontman Jon Chan was in his usual jovial mood, humorous stage banter abounded and the tightness of the performance reflected how comfortable the band members were with each other. A new song was debuted which provided the icing on the cake for a milestone night for S-ROCK.

Lepa(r)k! was presented by Snakeweed Studios and Incursive Productions and organised by Tanglin Cairnhill Citizens’ Consultative Committee. Also present for the night was Member of Parliament (MP) Indranee Rajah, who gave the green light for this gig to happen and to become a reality; in a way, a Singapore dream come true.

Hopefully, the first of many such events.

[cj]

Zee Avi could be, and just may very well be, the biggest export to the international music platform from this corner of the world – Asia.

Discovered on YouTube by Patrick Keeler, the drummer of The Raconteurs, who passed along the video link to then-The White Stripes manager Ian Montone, the whole story ends up with Emmett Malloy (one-half of the directing talent duo The Malloys) signing her up to Brushfire Records, partly owned by Jack Johnson.

This Malaysian talent has definitely come a long way, and is in no way slowing herself down. And if you think her musical journey just ends right there, she already has two full-length albums under her belt, with her latest offering Ghostbird charting at #129 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart.

Interviewing – or rather chatting – with Zee Avi is an all new experience for me. For one, she is really humane, in her mannerism and her responses, and it feels like she doesn’t have to put on a front to gather more attention or buzz around her; she isn’t trying too hard, simply put. Her answers were direct, and her voice is thickened with her deep Malay roots across the border and even at a point, she may have accidentally used Singlish!

The only downside to the interview was that the venue, TAB, was blasting relatively loud music throughout the interview. Not a fault of anybody’s, of course, but it doesn’t really helped that Zee is a relatively soft-spoken person, in her petite kind of way.

Below is the interview, and thank you to Universal Music Records for arranging this. Do check out Zee Avi’s latest album, Ghostbird, which is already out in music stores.

Roundtable interview with Zee Avi

*Transcript from recording of roundtable interview held on Monday, 21^st November 2011. The actual words used may vary from the text below, but the meaning and the most and best appropriate words had been used for those that were unclear of.
Q: You’ve got lots of fans in SP [Singapore Polytechnic], and they’ve been coming up to us with questions. We’ve actually sort of got rid of those that have asked for your number.

Z: 323… (obviously, teasingly giving out a fake number)

*laughter all around

Q: One of your fans asked how old were you when you actually decided that you’d do music?

Z: The day I got the e-mail from the record label. That is a serious answer.

Q: How did you decide on which musical genre you’d go into?

Z: I didn’t, and I still don’t. I actually don’t have a genre. People asked me what my style is, and I tell them I don’t know. My style is I don’t have a style. I think it allows more freedom, as an artiste and a songwriter to… “let’s see if you’re okay to it”. You don’t want to restrict yourself…

*

Q: We actually heard that you write a lot of love songs. What kind of guys do you like, material wise?

Z: (lets out a girly, flirtatious outburst) Ooooh! Haha. You know, when I was younger, your criteria and your preference is like, I want someone who is big, who is mysterious… After a while, when you get older, you realize that, you just want someone with a good heart, warm, a good conscience and a good smile.

CJ’s intervention: I heard you said older, but you’re not that old now.

Z: That’s what you think. Good surgeon.

Q: Everyone has a shower song. What about yours? Do you listen to your own song and go, ooh nice song?

Z: (begins singing live) Torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool. Mary MacGregor’s Torn Between Two Lovers.

Q: What inspired you to write Kantoi? Was it based on a breakup and a true story?

Z: It’s based on my friend’s story. I was just talking about that just now. It’s been a while since I revisited that writing process, which was one of the most incredibly fun writing process I’ve ever had. She was hanging out over at my house, and she was like (exclamation in Malay), and I had a ukulele in my hand, (Semalam I call you, you tak answer). It was a fun kind of jokey song.

Q: You are very sure that it’s not yours?

Z: I’m very sure.

Q: Why the name Zee Avi?

Z: My name is Izyan, and it gradually turned into Zee. It’s just 5 letters, people, and now it’s 3. And Avi is an abbreviation of my last name (Alirahman), because anything more than 3 syllabus is a mouthful, apparently, in some countries. And I actually just found out recently that Zee means sea in Dutch. So if you put an E at the back of Avi (Avie) means sea of life.

*
Q: Are there any craze for K-pop bands that you are crazy with? Any closet love for K-pop bands?

Z: I used to listen, back in ’98, there’s a girl band named S.E.S. I know that they are a Korean girl band (begins singing). But K-pop, no. But recently I went to Korea, and they were telling me about this band called 2PM? It’s like 12 of them or something?

Q: No, 6.

Z: Oh, really ah?

Q: That’s a really small size for them.

Z: Yeah, cannot make football team.

*

Q: Your concert here in Singapore, what would you like your fans to take away or understand from it, cause obviously your fans had heard your album quite a few times,  so the actual performance – what would be the difference?

Z: For me, I find that the real creativity lies in live performances. Luckily for me, my band – it’s nice to work with actual artistes and not just actual musicians. And we work together, we collaborated together, putting together this kind of force, putting more life to the songs, live performance wise. What I want my fans to take away from that is whatever they choose to take away with them, I hope that they take it away with a smile.

Q: Your album is written over in the US. How will fans in Asia and Singapore relate to songs with inspirations from over there (US side of matters)?

Z: Yeah, but it’s universal! I mean, how do you relate to I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor? How do you relate to Never Say Never by Justin Bieber? Or Spice World by Spice Girls? As long as it has a universal message that people can take away and people can relate with, I think the key ingredient to that is to still have sincerity of some sort in your music and in your words. And people watch movies from other countries, people read stories from other countries, and it’s a matter of transporting as a storyteller. It’s a matter of transporting someone through your words, to where you were and what you were feeling at that time.

Q: Obviously the album is pretty fresh in Asia. So how far after this tour will you be thinking of getting intergradation for new songs for another album?

Z: Cause I already have it in me. It comes in spirits, it’s sporadic. The intention of writing new material is there, although I feel that Ghostbird is still taking its nice little slow pace to show itself to the world, and I am still dawning them in the best light I can, and sort of enhancing it and sharing it with the world still. New material definitely comes about and pushing.

Q: Could you give us some specific examples as to what they are?

Z: It’s quite premature to talk about. Two years ago, I was like, my second album is going to be bleak, and then this comes up. I always say a lot can happen in an hour, let alone a year. So you never know.

Q: So nothing is concrete yet?

Z: No.

Q: A different tone from the second album?

Z: Well, probably. You know, it all comes with experience, it all comes with lessons, it all comes with obstacles that I’ve really been through and learnt, so the growth in that may be different. If I were to tell you something really concrete, then it may be something really different… then. I don’t know, techno.

Q: How do you differentiate yourself with artistes that you have been compared with? How will you see yourself different from these other artistes?

Z: The difference is we all experience things differently, and  we all choose to feel certain emotions differently, we choose to embrace different situations differently, we are all very different. Being compared to any other artiste is inevitable, because people always want a sort of comfort, to know that they can relate with this person. But, as an artiste, we are all out there to create, to have a sense of authenticity and originality within itself, and I find that everything has been done, just it matters how differently you do it, and being compared is flattering, very, very flattering, to be in the same cycle as those artistes, I would never in a million years dream this night would be… and now my name is here (right beside all these other artistes), written down. I just feel that we all have our own voices.

*

Q: How much does your native culture influence your music making, besides the obvious songs in Malay?

Z: People always ask me that, what is it being Malaysian, or being Asian, mean to you? And I am like, everything! I was born and raised here, therefore my upbringing  had a lot to do with it, therefore my mentality had a lot to do with it, as well as being abroad, and travelling around and meeting different people from other cultures kind of chizzles that down a little bit, and sort of altered and is custom for me. That has a lot to do with… just because I sing in English, that’s it; but the way that I think and the way that I feel is definitely from the lands which I came.

Q: If your time as a musician has come to an end  (touchwood, literally, Zee touching the wooden table) which would be your proudest moment?

Z: My proudest moment  – well, I hope by the time I have a long list of it, but for now, I think, just sort of seeing my parents in the crowd and seeing how proud they are of my achievements, because all of this – like my family and I have been waiting for a while to figure out what am I supposed to do, but when the whole thing came together, they’re like okay, now they know why I’ve got my eccentricity and it all makes sense now, and my proudest moment would be to see the pleased faces of my parents.

Q: How was the process of making Ghostbird like? Did you already have the sound in mind or was it very go-with-the-flow?

Z: It was go-with-the-flow, much like everything I do. Half of the songs were written in Brooklyn, and then the rest of it was written in Florida, Everglades, in the Sampath. It’s a very contrast feel, so you have the hustle and the bustle of the city, and then you have the stillness and the calmness of being in an open environment in the water, so I was left alone with my thoughts for a while, and that made everything very smooth, and flow really nice.

*

Kevin: You are actually living the dream of many Asian artistes, having a US label and so forth. Do you have any advice for people in the same position with that kind of aspirations?

Z: My advice would just be keep doing what you do, and again I can’t stress this enough, I think the 3 main ingredients that I find worked for me as an artiste are honesty, simplicity and sincerity, for sure, and do not have any expectations. I mean, I am aware that people try very hard to just sort of be out there and to be noticed, but a part of the manifestation of it is to just to do it because you love doing it, and not because it is something that you strive for. And if you work hard enough, someone, somewhere out there will hear your call, and it will definitely be your destiny. So I think a part of that is definitely to just keep doing what you’re doing, because of passion and reason.

CJ: We are writing for Power Of Pop. So you are part of the Asian music scene as well…

Z: Am I?

CJ: Sort of.

Z: Yes!

CJ: In an international kind of way. So what’re your views of the Asian music scene in the big picture (international music scene), and how do you fit in?

Z: Well, how do I fit in? I never fit in before, anywhere, haha. I think the Asian music scene is so vast, and there’s just so many different, you know… it’s definitely quite advanced, if you ask me. Like with the K-pop, and then you have the traditional singers. And you have girls like Joanna Wang from Taiwan, who’s like doing her own thing now, and you have Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down from the States as well. And you have Dengue Fever, who’s this Cambodian group and amazing, amazing. You know, it’s very tasteful at the same time, and I think how I fit in there is just to bring the way that I was brought up, which is to be courteous and considerate, and aware of my surroundings; and at the same time, being warm and welcoming to whoever is around me. Through artistry, it allows me as an Asian woman to have more freedom in expressing myself.

CJ: Share with us something that you face while you’re pursuing this musical journey , like something difficult or an obstacle or something.

Z: Yeah, it’s a huge industry, and everybody knows everyone, and it’s a small world in this industry, but the challenge is just knowing how to feel another person to see if the vibe is well. For me, I embrace everybody just the same. Secondly, when you’re on the road and everything’s amplified, what would take much slower in real time, so you have to grow up really fast. For me as well, I have never been in this industry before, and you have to learn really fast, mental strength. And third is being away from home. Like sometimes it’s hard, because when you’re on the road, you don’t want to eat at Denny’s all the time, you don’t want to go to Waffle House all the time. I want my belacan and my nasi lemak!

CJ: What’s your outlook of life in general and what’s your next goal?

Z: My outlook of life is that life is a grand reception of oneself. Life is your own party, and it’s how you make it.

CJ: So what’s your next goal perhaps, after this album Ghostbird?

Z: After this album, I hope that I would be blessed enough to still be doing this. And hopefully, I will have a third album under my belt, in my belt, or under.

CJ: It’s highly likely that you would have a third album.

Z: Ah, I hope so, haha.

CJ: Any covers that you would like to do next, because you have been doing covers for a while – You had covered Interpol, and you had covered Morrissey. Who would you like to cover next?

Z: There’re so many covers that I would like to do, but I respect the artistes so much that I don’t want to touch them anymore.

CJ: Just one that you would like to touch?

Z: Um, probably a Malay song, like it’s been done already, but I would like to have my take on it, and it’s Getaran Jiwa by P Ramlee. You know Getaran Jiwa? P Ramlee? Okay, check it. (Proceeded to spell it out for the courtesy and stupidity in me) It means fluctuating of the soul; it’s about deep passion for music and melodies.

*

(while an interviewer prepares himself and his mobile phone for recording, Zee teased him on how he has got some tweets and someone BBM-ed him)

Q: This is the third time you are in Singapore, I understand, first time was a concert in Timbre in 2009, and in 2010 it was a showcase in Stereolounge. So how do you feel about coming back to Singapore again, for your very third time?

Z: It’s great. I have been waiting to play Singapore for a while now, cause everytime I come back, the audience are so… you know, like the exchanges of energy that we have when I’m on stage, and they’re just sort of projecting, so it’s like a mutual love, and that’s one thing that I love about performing in Singapore. And you know, Singapore is like up there with Tokyo, a lot of great artistes come by here, that doesn’t come by Malaysia. Being here, to play here is like an honour. Our neighbouring countries.

Q: So how would you compare Singapore’s music scene and the music scene in Malaysia? Are they like parallel?

Z: I think they’re sort of parallel. I have a lot of friends who are in bands, and they roll around the same circuit like the Singapore bands as well, when they come over there, they are all buddies, and when they come over here, they are all buddies. But I think Singapore has an advantage in a way in terms of music, because there are more opportunities here, I find, in terms of venues, events – you guys had, like Laneway, and so many different types of festivals. I think, when was the last time I followed my friend, One Buck Short, to this festival at Esplanade, a couple of years ago. Was it Beats (corrected to Baybeats by the rest of us)? You guys had that, and you invite Malaysian bands as well, like all good in the hood man.

Q: You were discovered on YouTube by the drummer of The Raconteurs, Patrick Keeler. For artistes, if there wasn’t YouTube and this technology, do you think you would have made a name for yourself without technology?

Z: Well, one thing is going to be my conclusion, is that you can’t fight progress. It’s just inevitable that we will eventually evolve into, like an evolution that will have technology as a necessity. For me, technology, especially the Internet. The cool thing about 2011 – I can’t stress this enough – is the fact that we do have all these outlets on the Internet, like Soundcloud, Bandcamp and YouTube, the power is given back to the artiste, and they are allowed to display their music, their gifts without third parties. So you can still do that, with the help of the Internet, which is basically how I did it. I mean, I did it without any intention of it being a marketing or a promotional tool, but I know of a lot of other people who had gotten discovered through MySpace, because it is there. The Internet is like this huge treasury chest, so many jams, and now people know where to look. And you just look for the jam that speaks to you, and you pick that up. Now record labels are looking for artistes through the Internet, or not even record labels at all! Sometimes you gain followers just by being there, and they are following you – and everybody’s on Facebook now, and Twitter. At the same time it is cool, because there are no filters, no walls in terms of you and your appreciators.

Q: How do you find the food in Singapore?

Z: Gooooood. I haven’t had ayam penyet yet, so I’m gonna get my fix tonight! But I’ve had nasi lemak from Forum (The Shopping Centre).

CJ: Is it up to standard, to Malaysia’s standards?

Z: (silence, dodgy eyes)

(laughter all around)

CJ: I see.

Z: Well, we all stem from the same seed anyway, we all use the same spices, so it was pretty delicious.

Q: Any other food you are looking forward to try in Singapore?

Z: Chilli crab.

Q: They don’t have chilli crab in Malaysia?

Z: Got, but not the same lah!

*

Q: What’s the best time you are inspired to write music – is it when you are having your breakfast, or on your bed, or?

Z: It usually happens at night, at around 3am, or in the morning when I have my coffee, if I have my instruments. But sometimes it also happens at the most random of times, like when I’m on the plane, and I have the melody in my head, and I just write down the words that come with it. It’s sporadic. But before I used to do it in a routine when at night, and in the morning when I wake up, it’s something that I look forward to.

[cj]

Thanks to Universal Singapore for setting up the interview.

Black EP

Explosions of colours invade the night sky.

Apollo 18 is a post-hardcore band formed in the suburbs of Seoul, South Korea, in the summer of 2008 (having the words suburbs and summer closely connected in a sentence always sounds appropriately cool). Made up of Hyunseok Choi (guitars/vocals), Daeinn Kim (bass/vocals) and Sangyun Lee (drums), they have performed in numerous music festivals around the world, inclusive of the renowned SXSW festival in the US.

Clear as the colour it represents, the Black EP glides along in its respective shades of grey and darkness. Their previous EPs are coincidentally and conveniently titled Red, The Blue Album and Violet EP. Colourblind, anyone?

Mur opens up the EP to an intimate start, with early and naive traces of Stereophonics, Coldplay and even Elbow lingering in its aftertaste. But just when the listeners think that the sea at large is at its peaceful calm, the band decides to showcase its dynamic and differentiating sounds, and starts its own soundwaves. True post-hardcore is continued in its prideful stride till the 4-track EP’s end, presenting Apollo 18 with crossroads and the definite choice of many music journeys to come.

[cj]

Check out the teaser below

Official Site

Archive + Spiral

Thomas Comerford is 50% my type of artiste/music.

To explain, I don’t visualize watching him perform live to be a very entertaining affair [note: presumption only], like Sara Bareilles’s intriguing conversational engagement, or Peaches’s crazy on-stage persona (walking on the raised hands of the audience, anyone?), cause I like the money I fork out for live shows to be well rewarded. On a positive note, he will fit perfectly into my bedroom playlist, preferably listened to on an indoor rainy afternoon or on a night, with a book and a mug of beer (which I don’t drink much of, I honestly swear!).

Comerford firstly comes across to me as someone knowledgeable. This is totally based on judging the book by its cover, with his album’s tracklisting. Opener titled Robert Bresson, followed by Dear Stephen Hauser and Joseph Cornell had me Wiki-ing on who exactly these folks are that he had penned the songs in relations to. This also loosely shows my significant lack of knowledge in the world at large (shame on me!).

The second reaction while listening to his music brings about is a quick glance through my iTunes library to find an artiste who can be easily associated with him, as his music strangely recommends me to do so. Frustratingly, I gave up quite easily not even midway through, but a more matured version of Sondre Lerche did sink in and dance around in my head for quite a while (even now).

There is something about Comerford – it’s in the music. His voice is as contemporary as it sounds, with fragments of wisdom and experience, and tells one story; the lyrics of the songs most probably telling another story altogether, but this does not result in a conflicting war of thoughts, but rather complimenting each other in a soothing combination.

To give Thomas the cover recognition and swag (so many artistes doing so many covers and renditions of their favourite music or the easiest way to release something without penning in their own thoughts!), the third track of the album is Sunday Morning, a cover of the famous classic by Velvet Underground, done his own acoustic style.

Archive + Spiral is out in CD and digital format.

[CJ]

Dreamer’s Manifesto EP

Ever wonder what rocking in space sounds like?

Little Space Donkey answers this question (indirectly) with their latest 4-track EP release, second only to their debut offering quirkily titled “Collection Of Songs That We Will Never Play Live, Ever”. You know that can’t be true.

A band from Jakarta, LSD is made up of Dhendy Mawardi and Amy Amanda on guitars, Made Indar on bass (and one of the contributing artists for this EP’s artwork), Dave Leonard on drums, and Anthono Oktoriandi on synthesizer and sampler. Young as they may look in pictures and in age, but don’t let that fool you. Their music and sound offerings as tight, united and focused  as can be.

The space sounding ambience is attributed to the inclusion of the synthesizer, which provides the musical journey into the other dimension. Not quite certain of the underlying story concept about a leader who united the world in his grasp, though. A glance through their listed influences (like Sigur Ros, M83, Explosions In The Sky, Daft Punk, The Flaming Lips and The Radio Dept. to name a handful) clearly ascertains their musical direction and genre, and then there is a surprise in mention of one of everyone’s classic favourite bands of all-time, The Carpenters (much celebrated!).

Two questions raised:
1) Are LSD really as young as appear to be?
2) Are you in space yet with LSD’s music?

Dreamer’s Manifesto is distributed as a free download at littlespacedonkey.bandcamp.com (FREE!), and you can find out more about Little Space Donkey on MySpace and on Tumblr.

Support Asian and local music too! Do your part!

(CJ)

Tributaries (Black Numbers)

Opening summary: The Reveling’s sounds are as polished as any credible punk rock bands out there enjoying commercial success.

The Reveling are made up of Sean Morris (vocals, guitar), Dave Kramer (guitar, vocals), Dennis Murphy (bass, vocals) and Brendan McGroggan (drums). Tributaries is their third release, following their first two self-released albums (truly independent), 3D Radio EP in 2009 and the self-titled debut in 2008.

The ten tracks whiz through your listening and engaging ears. An easy explanation will be that exactly half of that number of tracks is under the duration of 3” minutes each, but even those that are not also delivered the same fast-paced feel. Not that it is a bad thing here. The songs are like short punk rock anthems, meant to please within a certain timeframe before the riot is silenced.

Lead singer Sean Morris has the dry and crispy voice that is oddly clear as well, as though he is trying to make some sense while punk-rocking it out with his fellow bandmates. Each member and the sounds of each musical instrument complement one another in certainty – whether it is the rolling of the drumbeats of the snare drums, or the occasionally coordinating/collaborative, occasionally conflicting relationship between every guitar and bass note strung. My first listen wasn’t originally ideal for the band or this review, but the album slowly gets to and grows on you, like a slow invasion of your heart, mind, body and soul.

The press release says much truth about the band and the album: “… manages to capture the spirit and fire that made that ’90s sound so vital – while simultaneously infusing its songs with the immediacy and melodic muscle that makes modern punk rock a powerful force in its own right.”

So, are you ready to punk rock? Well, are ya?

[CJ]

Official Site

A Roundtable Interview with The Wanted

Whoever came up with the band name of The Wanted should be heavily rewarded.

Indeed, The Wanted is clearly wanted, more so specifically, by the female breed. I arrived at this conclusion the moment this roundtable interview setting was in place, and the interviewers were seated altogether – that was when I realized I was the only male out at sea. I had almost instantly thought that Melissa (a fellow Power Of Pop contributing writer) would have been more appropriate to have reviewed this.

That said, it is easily understandable why The Wanted is so hotly demanded. Most obviously, they are young, tanned, charismatic, witty and in a boyband – probably ideal candidates in a girl’s wet dream (Do girls have wet dreams? – Kev). The lads had officially released 5 singles to date, with their debut All Time Low and the recent summer pop anthem Glad You Came reaching the coveted #1 spot on the UK Singles Chart. Their next single will be Lightning, and their second studio release will be due out on the 7^th of November. Surely, they will be looking forward and hoping that the success of their previous single will repeat itself in history. Only time will tell.

Admittedly, their songs do catch on in a personal level, for instance when I’m feeling down, hitting rock bottom and asking myself for a pick-me-up (All Time Low); or the abandonment of contagious pop fun (in the video for Gold Forever), and the recent dirty pun-related song, which can easily have a double meaning (Glad You Came).

On being called a boyband

They feel okay at being called a boyband, and explained: “It feels more boyband here actually. People always say, “do you mind being called a boyband”, which is a weird question, because the genre of music we’re in, which I think in the UK, people think (of it) as more pop than boyband. But here, it feels like we’re getting mania.” They further elaborated: “It’s better than being called a girlband (laughter all around). I guess, it’s part of history, we’re part of something that started with The Beatles and… I mean, now we’re in a boyband, and when I die, I would have been in a boyband, and I’m kinda proud of it.” It’s no wonder their official website’s definition alternates to “ladband” instead.

On possible future collaborations
“I would really like to work with Nicki Minaj. We know about K-Pop recently, and we can’t dance to save our lives, so I would love to do one, maybe with a girl band (Super Junior was funnily brought up here, but The Wanted seemed to have no freaking clue that they are an all-male band, and the ladies interviewers didn’t correct them and were just laughing along), where they are like all perfect, and we’re just sorta stumbling around after them, terribly. We can sing, and they can just dance and do harmonies. Unfortunately, we are the opposite of K-Pop, we’re not polished, and we are terrible at synchronized things, cause, c’mon, look at us.”

On the long-term, far future
One of the best answers in the interview has to be this: “in time, you’ll realize, and that we’ve already realized, that this won’t last forever. So we’ve accepted it that way, that it won’t last forever.” They had made reference to Take That, which recently reunited and have a very successful comeback, and had expressed hopeful outlook in the future; but it was nice to see and know that the lads knew about this [the short term careers of pop groups] and accepted reality.

The Wanted – Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuiness and Tom Parker – were very nice, humble and with no air throughout the interview. The band had demanded that we move ourselves closer to the band for a more intimate session (as they had felt the intimidating vibe of the atmosphere in the room and the gaping distance between us and the band). The interview felt like home – yes, they may already be pop world’s next big thing, but most importantly, they are humane too. Siva even negotiated and fought for more questions to be answered and extended interview time with their management, even though it was clear that they were running short on schedule time for the day before their home trip. It was a pity that most of the questions raised weren’t really directed at music, but merely just girl, Singapore, food and fan talks.

As this post wears itself out, I will bob out with some of their music ringing in my head (before it’s all forgotten and faded away). Until then, I wish The Wanted all the best, in a big big (pop) world, like Emilia once sang.

[CJ]

TW: Hi everyone! Brilliant, free phones, thank you. Are these presents? They are not, are they?

(referring to the mobile devices we were using as recording devices for this interview)

Q: What’s the weirdest / oddball thing that you had ever received from a fan?

TW: We had voodoo dolls made of us, in a good way, I think, not death ones. [Good voodoo dolls] Yeah. Little dolls of us, that they kinda put lipstick kisses on everyone. Instead of pins, it was kisses, which was better than pins, I think.

Q: They handmade the whole thing?

TW: Yeah, yeah. What’s it called – Playdoh or clay? It was peculiar. I had like wool hair. Kinda creepy as well.

Q: Does it really look like all of you?

TW: You can tell who they were meant to be, but they looked like us after, I don’t know, a massive fight? Just done 10 rounds with Tyson or something.

Q: So this is not the first time you are in Singapore, right.

TW: No, it’s the third time.

Q: How do you feel about the visit and the fans’ response?

TW: It’s getting bigger and better, every time we come by. The numbers are growing, and they’re sorta multiplying every time. And the screaming seems to get louder and louder, which is really cool, and to come over and find that our album is #1 and our singles #1, it’s a massive achievement for us. It’s mad to think that we released the album a year ago as well, it’s just suddenly, out of nowhere, gone to #1, and it’s great that the singles are there as well. And because we’ve started travelling a lot more now, from the UK, so I think our resources are better now. To come back to Singapore, it’s nice, because we don’t revisit a lot of places, and it’s nice to see our team [Universal Records] again. It’s nice that you are coming back to something instead of walking out on your own and just playing it by ear, I guess.

Q: So what is one thing about Singapore that you remembered?

TW: I like to see the big bulb sky at Marina Bay (Sands). I just love the whole architecture of Singapore. It always take about 5 minutes to get used to the air, the humidity. It’s like when you first walk out of the airport, I always seem to do this [choking, coughing, gasping for air], but then I started appreciating the heat a little bit more, because at England, terrible – that’s the word [the weather].

(more weather and sweating talk here)

I remembered every time you take a photo here, people count you in, which doesn’t happen in the UK, they go 1,2. It’s just a culture of things that we don’t do, we just go (click sound) and urgh (exclamation)! Friendly people here, they are so nice, where in the UK, no one cares. The fans – here you get a 7 year-old girl, rather than like trying to scratch a piece of your skin to take home with them, you have 7-year-old girls going, “nice to meet you” and shake your hands. Girls in England don’t know what a handshake is.

Q: Are they more aggressive, like bras being thrown onstage?

TW: Exactly. We get a bra thrown at me yesterday.

(talk of Nathan and man boobs strayed; clearly conversation’s heading nowhere in particular)

Q: What could be the most funniest moment that you had with a fan?

TW: In Singapore or globally?

Q: In Singapore.

TW: There was one crazy one yesterday. I didn’t know whether she was happy or just upset. She was crying like a whale. I don’t mean it in a big way; she was like really crying, wailing. There was (also) a girl here that needs to enter the Olympics, because the bus kept going, and everyone was like, that’s too far now, and she just (sound a fast runner would make, like a turbo), and then she just naturally strolled slowly to catch up and looked like she walked past. The bus drove off, and she’s like (gives a waving look). I think she was like looking over and winking at us, while she was running and properly sweating. I was glad there was glass between us, cause she was quite intimidating.

Q: How old was she?

TW: Maybe 15, 16. 10?

Q: Is it when you came in this time?

TW: Yeah, this time round.

Q: How does it feel like having so many younger fans?

TW: It makes you a little bit more careful about what you say, especially here, because in the UK, we started with a younger fanbase, because we haven’t released anything and never went off image. And then we released All Time Low, and we’ve got a bit of a mix, and we released Glad You Came, and we did V Festival, which was like 60% boys and 40% girls, which is crazy; but here, you definitely hold back, because, I won’t say we’re role models, but you’ve definitely got to watch your tongue because the parents are gonna make sure that their kids aren’t listening to stuff they don’t wanna hear, so I think that’s one of the main things. We are not perfect, it feels different from the UK as well, it’s a completely different fanbase, I think we’ve got quite a young fanbase out here. It feels more boyband here actually. People always said, “do you mind being called a boyband”, which is a weird question, because the genre of music we’re in, which I think in the UK, people think (of it) as more pop than boyband. But here, it feels like we’re getting mania, kinda like people just like us, if you know what I mean.

Q: How do you feel being called a boyband? Do you have anything against it?

TW: It’s better than being called a girlband (laughter all around). I guess, it’s part of history, we’re part of something that started with The Beatles and since then it’s been… I mean, now we’re in a boyband, and when I die, I would have been in a boyband, and I’m kinda proud of it.

Q: So what kind of legacy do The Wanted want to leave in the music world?

TW: I don’t know. I think here, it will be a case of – I like to think – “I grew up listening to that”. So you know how some people would listen to Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Westlife, and go… (Whereas) in the UK, it would be more like “I spent my summer listening to Glad You Came”. I think for us, it’s more like when you hear a song, and when it comes on, everyone goes “wow” and loves this song. I think it’s more important than… I mean, I don’t expect anyone to have a picture of me on their wall when I’m 85, Cliff Richard style. I don’t know how Cliff Richard does it, but he’s got eternal youth, so maybe he’s sold the soul to the devil or the fountain of youth or something.

(Talks about Glad You Came and the inappropriate jokes and puns relating to the song title. Local food talks continue, with durians brought up, and the lads comparing them to “human faeces” and “poop with cheese in snort form”. Yes, you probably can guess I am bored (and rather fed up) with the questions, as well as my inability and failure to butt in with better musical questions, rather than conversational ones.)

(mother talk, um, yes)

Q: Who do you like to collaborate with in the future?

TW: I would really like to work with Nicki Minaj. We know about K-Pop recently, and we can’t dance to save our lives, so I would love to do one, maybe with a girl band (Super Junior was brought up here, but they are obviously males), where they are like all perfect, and we’re just sorta stumbling around after them, terribly. We can sing, and they can just dance and do harmonies. Unfortunately, we are the opposite of K-Pop, we’re not polished, and we are terrible at synchronized things, cause, c’mon, look at us.

(Aging boyband question next. Really? But one of the good answers in response was “in time, you’ll realize, and that we’ve already realized, that this won’t last forever. So we’ve accepted it that way, that it won’t last forever. The fact that Take That have come back, and they are still young, they are in their 30s and 40s and they are looking sharp!”)

Thanks to Sarah Ismail/Universal Music Singapore for setting up this roundtable interview.

BLUE OCTOBER Any Man In America (Megaforce)

Been through a divorce and/or a child custody lawsuit lately?

Though it’s a growing trend  in our modern times, the expectation of ‘no’ as an answer would be the generalization. Not so for Justin Furstenfeld, the lead singer of Blue October. Any Man In America is the sixth studio release from the group, and the music on the album is mostly in the genres of blues, alternative and rock, with several indications of indie and electronic rock (think a lighter version of Nine Inch Nails, at times). Some unique musical instruments used in the melodies, not commonly associated with alternative rock music, are: trumpet, violin, mandolin and percussion instruments.

Three words: partial definite experimental.

Justin’s recent troubles in life are the centre of attention in this record, that even a fool could have easily recognized, with lyrics like “when the house you built just falls apart… say your last goodbye, I don’t give a f**k” (Drama Everything); “I tried everything, I work so hard for you, to constantly hear how I fail and abandon you” (For The Love); “so I kept my business quiet, just like my lawyer said, and I tried to focus all my anger in my work instead” (title track Any Man In America), so on and forth.

The entire album is pretty much full-frontal confessional, as though he has converted a personal diary into a lyrics book, and simply added the backing music by his bandmates. It’s really a win or lose situation here. Either the listener has been through similar experiences, or suffered from recent heartaches, and can fully relate, as well in some ways, find the comfort in these tones of anger. Or it can go the complete opposite direction, unfavourably that the listeners may find this too personal to listen to Justin’s domestic issues fully on display.

For himself, Justin either sounds like he comes out stronger post-divorce, or simply can’t get over the dramatic turn of events in his life. Though it’s leaning more towards the former, you can practically hear him crossing over to the vulnerable side occasionally time and time again. Earwax-worthy jams on the record include The Feel Again (Stay) (sounding sweetly fragile with compromising doubts at every corner), The Chills and The Worry List.And possibly indicating that Blue October is at their peak (if chart position is any way to go by in validating a band’s success), Any Man In America debuted on the Billboard 200 at #8 on its first week of release. However, one thing is for certain though: one person that won’t be buying the record is his ex-wife, and my best advice for Justin Furstenfeld is to standby a lawyer contact soon, if not now.

[CJ]

Official Site | Buy Any Man in America from Amazon

ELBA Elba

It can be said that little is known about the band, Elba.

A quick surf around the Seattle band’s official website, reveals that some of the information pertaining to the band and its releases are either outdated or missing. The videos and tour dates, though, are kept relevant and up-to-date.

Elba got its name from the Italian island that became Napoleon’s home during exile. Through the war imagery and heartbreak lyrical themes, Elba manages to capture a maritime feel to their alternative/indie, crisp instrumentation sounds and melodies. It feels as though they are taking us back to an era of 1955-1975.

A smooth blend of guitar awashed in reverb and lo-fi elements bring together a sense of romance and poignancy with the album. Suitable for the road trip in solitude, there are just minor variations between songs, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing here either.

Opening track Off Season marks a good impression, with hints of Explosions In The Sky shimmering in glitter. Another earwax: Lock Your Doors, with the influential flavour of Arctic Monkeys taking control.

Elba’s third, self-titled studio release will be available on the 22^nd September, 2011.

Exclusive: For a free download and preview to the sounds of Elba, you can go to RCRD LBL’s website for an mp3 of From A Sinking Ship.

[CJ / Alvin Tham]

LOLA DUTRONIC New York Stories EP (Red Star)

With this Lola Dutronic review, it would be marked down in history – at least for me, as they will be the first artiste that I have ever reviewed for a second time; and maybe with that, more would come in the near future. So let me pen my thoughts diligently as this review progresses…

New York Stories EP is the follow-up to Musique EP, and contains five (only five!?) covers of originals by Blondie (In The Sun), Suicide (Cheree), Johnny Thunders (You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory), Alan Vega and Martin Rev (Keep Your Dreams) and The Fast (Kids Just Wanna Dance), the latter written by the late Miki Zone.

With the first two songs on the tracklist (Kids Just Wanna Dance and Cheree), I had initially thought that Lola Dutronic had ditched and progressed from their previous “lounge-y” sounds and ventured back into the basics of electronica. However, leaning towards my favour, they swing back in style with the remaining tracklist of the EP. I guess it has got a lot to do with the original songs and their lyrical contents, as well as finding the best and most suitable arrangement to improvise the Lola Dutronic sound elements into the tracks, without screwing up the classics.

Pizzicato Five floats into my mind, and even though one is clearly targeted with French pop and the other disbanded with Japanese, one can easily feel the connectivity between both artistes, despite the time lapse and the distance of miles separating them apart. Of course though, nothing really beats P5.

The usual naggy commentary about the number of tracks in an EP and to have more creative writing inputs (instead of just covers) is applicable here to this EP review as well, but don’t let that stop your outreach to this release, unless you are generally put off by artistes doing covers and releasing albums filled with nothing but.

The end result is procrastinatively chilled, and it seems like we’re still stuck in the same hotel room as we were at the start of the Musique EP review, if not, several floors higher and slightly more complexed (with a beautiful room view). Let’s not ever check out.

[CJ]

Buy New York Stories at Amazon

Warpaint, St. James Power Station, 2nd August 2011

I must not let this fall into habit, but it’s another of my confessions to kickstart this gig review with (and some of you may mouth words of disgust at me for the following revelation): I missed out on the Laneway Festival that took place earlier on at the start of the year.

For Warpaint, the band in review, this would be the second time in a year (not yet finished) that they have been here, and I concluded with my assumption that, (a) they must have been really good with their debut Singapore performance for Laneway, so much so that they left an impression with the event organizers; (b) they really enjoyed being here back in January and the warmth the fans were showering them with, that they had to make it back for a return performance so soon.

If (b) is the answer, it did not quite feel so this time around, as the band’s interaction with the crowd seemed somehow a little humdrum, though brownie points for their efforts. The obligatory “how are you doing, Singapore”, “we love you, Singapore” and “we always love to come back to Singapore” didn’t create too much of a buzz with the largely young, indie-loving and hipster crowd. According to sources, the band had appeared tired during the afternoon’s meet-and-greet session with the media after travelling from Tokyo to Singapore. Really, who can blame them after the many tours that they have had, eh?

Also, I have conflicting views about the venue. Firstly, I didn’t think that the music of Warpaint is applicable to a club environment; Fort Canning Park – as per Laneway, would have been a better spot to hold the gig. The disco ball shimmered above the usual dancefloor uncomfortably, out of place and as though it may fall upon its underlying, unsuspecting victims. Yet, I pondered about other possible locations that it could have been held at.

Maybe it was to do with the spot I was standing at, but I had issues with the bass broadcasting on the loudspeakers as well. Possibly slightly spoiled from blasting endless club anthems on several weeknights and all weekends long, there seemed to be some hearing discomfort (with the music pouring out of the speakers); or possibly, the tuning down of the bass guitar could have resolved the problem.

As for Warpaint’s performance, it was both nice and comforting to see how the band members compliment one another – Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman, both on guitars and vocals, gave haunting renditions of songs with their enticing voices, that crept and lingered about in the cold night air above us; Jennt Lee Lindberg (bass/vocals), possibly the most charismatic player in the band, stood at the centre of attraction – unlike most bands which usually places the most important lead singer in the middle – and made some random hip-swaying movements to the rhythm of the melody and beats, entangling herself in the web of good vibes and music; and lastly, Stella Mozgawa, drummer, well hidden and possibly forgotten, but playing an equally important key element to the band. Personally, I had thought that she was the most kick-ass and energetic member of Warpaint that night, as she had a role to play in delivering the energy of their live music.

Warpaint’s music reminds me of a dreamy state of mind, as though one is running uphill along a grassy trail to nowhere, with nothing surrounding on the horizon. It also feels like one’s in an unconscious state of daze – in a good kind of way, of course.

The crowd was otherwise predictable – folk one would expect raving about a current hot and favourite indie act. Their response was reserved, typically louder for hit singles than the other non-single album tracks – Warpaint, Shadows, Beetles and the undeniable Undertow, though I managed to spot a girl in the crowd dancing and mouthing lyrics of lesser popular tracks, like a true blue fan.

The ladies of Warpaint (except the drummer, bounded by her surrounding drum set) enjoyed a little jiggle and dance once in a while when performing. More interactions would have better engaged their fans, even though, ultimately, it is the music that matters most.

With that note, it was to close a chapter for a night of celebrating and appreciating good music. And it was believed that Brett Anderson from Suede was amongst us, too. However, Warpaint was all over us, and we were, too.

[CJ]

Picture courtesy of Aloysius Lim/Chugg Entertainment

The Von Ehrics – Two Foot Stomp

Having not heard of The Von Ehrics before, I presumed – purely with initial judgemental views – that they could be an electronic pop duo with a supersonic, outer space inspired sound; and that this album release would probably set the dancefloor on fire, leading to the conveniently titled Two Foot Stomp; as a result, making listeners catch on with the infectious dance melodies, which they couldn’t help but to find themselves swaying to. You know, kind of like how today’s mainstream music is sounding. How much more wrong could I be, I realized, after I listened.

The dance part could still be considerably right, but on the contrary, their genre would be largely classified as country rock, with some parts of adult contemporary punk punched into the fix. They described their music genre best on their official website, http://www.vonehrics.com/, as “Texas-styled country punk rock and roll”. Listeners can visualize oneself in a lazy town, with beer mugs being clanged together in bars buzzing with noise and music (as such, the album in review), hostesses entertaining the patronizers, and a possible shootout occurring outside in the hot sun and sands between two cowboys – wild, wild west style.

The four piece members making up The Von Ehrics are very focused in their specific sound and direction, which is always a plus factor on the professional ground. However, with a genre pretty much specified to a particular location within a continent, it is hard for people outside of that lifestyle, and of that location, to be appreciative of the music coming out from there.

Also, with a sound and direction thus comfortable with the band, it began sounding similar throughout the album tracklist, and it was hard to identify standouts for individual songs.

Still, for people who like their music with a bit of adventure and fun twisted into their eardrums, The Von Ehrics can be a good spin, and indeed, if you manage to find your own groove with that of the band, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if you find yourself doing the two foot stomp – as the album title suggested. You have been warned otherwise, right at the start.

On a final note for this review, another judgemental impression that I had was that the band members sounded like they would be in their late 20s or early 30s; however, after glancing at a picture of the band uploaded on their official website, I will have to say otherwise. Guess it’s never too old to rock ‘n’ roll. And another important lesson learnt: never judge any book by its cover.

[CJ]

POINT JUNCTURE, WA Handsome Orders (Mt. Fuji)

“Quiet, then real loud, then quiet again.”

This was the description put up on the band’s Facebook page, though I would protest slightly about the loud part, as probably the only songs on the record considerably close enough to creating a riot have got to be New Drags and Boston Gold – in other words, a handful from the tracklisting of ten.

Point Juncture, WA – made up of four songwriters, instrumentalists, recording engineers and friends, namely Amanda Spring (vocals, drums), Victor Nash (keyboards, vocals), Skyler Norwood (guitar, vibraphone) and Wilson Vediner (guitar), has been in the Portland music scene for five years and counting. Their resume presents itself prettily, consisting of touring experiences with The Thermals, Britt Daniel of Spoon, Mates Of State, Stereolab, just to name a handful; and members of the band had also recorded/collaborated with The Decemberists, Laura Viers, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down and others.

Capturing the sounds of Portland, of which the city is witnessing a growth in its underground music scene, as well serving as a base of support for the band throughout the years they were (and weren’t) making music, seems to be the essentials of the band and on this record. The band succeeds in its output, managing to capture the sounds of the uprising (the music scene in Portland). At times when listening to the album, elements of the group’s influences surface, together with fragments of the popular sounds of indie and alternative these days. Unfortunately at such, it becomes a little unclear of the band’s own music style and approach, which is just as important, as proven by some of today’s biggest bands and artistes – they managed to establish a sound of their own which their listeners get accustomed to.

Regardless, it is positive to see another band in the scene willing to adapt to experimentation, in playing progressively in the hopes of finding a sound of their own, something which they can finally call their very own. Do give the album a chance with more spins, and it actually gets wholesomely better and more listenable. It’s like catching on fire – slow, but steady, with the ever-burning flame.

[CJ]

Official Site

ABOUT GROUP Start And Complete (Domino)

It’s about time for the About Group album review, and also about time since my last review/entry here on Power Of Pop.

For artistes or musicians who are ambitious and often engage themselves in numerous side projects – which, in today’s music world is oh-so-common, there is always the possible issue with sounding somewhat similar across. Alexis Taylor, lead singer of both About Group and Hot Chip, is a good example. With him fronting and providing the vocals to the group, it easily comes off as an acoustic, stripped down approach to his antics displayed in Hot Chip. And yes, that also does mean taking away the fun (beats) which is much required to accompany Taylor’s geeky voice.

Still, it is the music (hasn’t it always been?) that shines through on this album, and it is no wonder – the instruments used are a rotating line-up of drums, organ, piano, electric guitar, Wurlitzer and electronic textures, creating a vast catalogue of sounds explored and almost combusting together. On hit single You’re No Good, the group’s cover of Harvey Averne/Terry Riley’s tune, they stretched on past the 10 minute mark, letting their creativity and inspiration show, shine and grow on the spur of the moment.

Also what is otherwise special – or emphasized or repeated too many times (you decide) – about this album is that it was recorded within one day at Abbey Road, Studio 2, the same recording studio made famous by The Beatles. Just a few days before the studio recording date, Taylor would only give out a CD in piano or vocal demo form to the other members of the group. The idea was not to let any one member of the band know the songs well enough to have specific parts, and to prevent them from playing something other than the first ideas that came into each of their heads and minds. In other words, improvisation – a term commonly associated with the group.

All in all, the second album offering from About Group is not an album I will rave about, or head out to the records store in anticipation to grab a copy of; still, it’s an album I would recommend for music exploration, and possibly one that you may fall in love with over time.

[CJ]

Official Site

There is no escaping Joe Bonamassa.

Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist and singer, who pretty much knew very early in his life – as young as age four – that he had wanted to be a musician. Perhaps part of this determination and ambition in music could have been rubbed off from his parents, both then owners of a guitar shop; and not forgetting the music talents of the males in the Bonamassa family line (a father who plays guitar, and a grandfather and a great-grandfather who both played the trumpet).

Yet, to the most lot of us not in the know in Singapore, it won’t come as a surprise that we may not have even heard of any of Joe’s music, or himself in person.

Thus, it was a relative shocker for myself, when I turned up at the Esplanade Concert Hall on a Sunday night, 15^th May 2011, to an almost sold-out gig. Throughout, the response from the crowd was anything but lacklustre, even leading to a closing  standing ovation with heartfelt warm applause.

I’m impressed, Singapore; I’m impressed, Singaporeans, by some of your display of musical knowledge, and the fact that there is just so much to learn and love about music out there, that some of you guys are willing to take on and embrace. Even though, coming to think of it, about half of the audience filled up in the hall were actually foreign expats.

Another interesting fact about Joe Bonamassa is of his cited influences, that leaning more towards the British and Irish blues acts, rather than that of the American acts, where he is from. Fine examples listed are The Jeff Beck Group, Eric Clapton and Rory Gallagher to name a few.

However, the general perception from his performances that night is leaning more to that of the latter’s sounds. Perhaps this is linked with his New York roots, and the saying of “you can take a boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of a boy”floats into mind.

Still, Joe Bonamassa manages to masterfully wow the crowd, playing the guitar like a  player to his women. He swooned and cried, hitting each note with tenderness, mixed with a bit of love and some twist of jealousy. His guitar riffs were intense, as though they were complimenting one another, and at the same time, ripping each other apart, in a good way, of course. The Gibson gave Bonamassa a dusting of Jimi Hendrix. Opening up the set with the entire band at hand, followed with a bit of solo work, and finishing to a standing ovation encore, Joe cried out to the blues.  Tal Bergman, his touring drummer, excuted fiercefully with driving passion, hitting each drum note with a new high.

On the other hand, those that did not know much about Bonamassa were left a bit puzzled. Joe is far from mainstream rock and his music makes me think of carnival rides, cotton candy and a good ole state fair. I do not deny that Joe’s work is as full of grace and soul as those of his predecessors, but unfortunately for me, he could have given his audience something fresh.

Also, on the down side, there could have been more audience interaction and participation earlier into the show to engage the crowd, which he did much later into the gig, with his self-praising jokes and ways about The Ballad Of John Henry, a track of his that made its way into one of the Top 50 Riffs Of The Decade (correction for him: his position is at #12, and not the previously mentioned #10).

Still, the show was overall complete, with finger pickings reminiscent of classical masters. Bonamassa definitely gave his fans what they wanted and seeked for. And much thanks for a good ole slice of Americana in Singapore.

(A special shoutout to the dancing old couple behind where we sat, in the stall, who grooved as though there was not going to be a tomorrow. Young, passionate hearts never die.)

[CJ / Robert Cervantes]

Picture ‘nicked’ from Marcus Wong’s Facebook Page.

THE KILLS Blood Pressures (Domino)

The future does start slow, or so it seems, in view of the fact that it has been 3 years since The Kills’ last studio release, Midnight Boom, in 2008. Alison Mosshart had kept herself busy with her other side project with Jack White, Jack Lawrence and Dean Fertita, otherwise known as The Dead Weather; while Jamie Hince formed a new five-piece sidekick band, featuring his fiancée-slash-superstar supermodel, Kate Moss, and um, been feeding the tabloids with all kinds of news.

Well, it’s been a relative long wait, one may say, but is their new record Blood Pressures worth the wait?

Fans of The Kills and their previous albums will, in no time, find themselves connecting with the band all over again, as though the time lapse of 3 years has not occurred and is merely a blink of an eye in the interim.

Mosshart’s style and attitude continue to shine through and almost to die for, singing through each song with her own brand and blend of uniqueness and rock ‘n’ roll “I don’t care” attitude. She is one of the more outstanding female vocalists out there in the rock ‘n’ roll field, and one that is not afraid to show and be who she is. Jamie’s guitar skills and ways also have not declined against the test of time. Together, each member and their contributions benefit the band as a whole, complimenting one another in more ways than one.

Blood Pressures draws on a captivating and strong start, before cruising to a slow and steady alternative route near the end of the record. It is in no way ground-breaking music, but is, in some ways, the now typical sounds of The Kills. It is feel good music; good music done right, with the same winning formula repeated. I don’t think The Kills are out to change the music world, they may not even want to; they just want to be content and play the music that they like and enjoy playing together as a band.

However, one noted disappointment will have to be Jamie’s only solo lead vocal involvement on the track Wild Charms. It ends a little too soon, the song being a little too short, and not sustainable enough for Jamie to shine.

Lead single Satellite swings and rocks vulnerably with worrying blues and the signs and vocals of a presumed troubled soul, with accompanying Alison’s vocals filled with equal depth and danger.

Other recommended spins include album opener Future Starts Slow, kick-in-your-ass Nail In My Coffin, DNA, and the almost tearjerker The Last Goodbye.

(CJ)

Official Site

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FAKE FURS -1

It’s like a familiar stranger one happens to chance upon on an occasional basis, whose face stays in your memory each time you see him (or her). That’s the same effect Fake Furs has on me: I may have heard of the group before (on one or several of the music blogs I happened to stumble upon online and bookmark thereafter), but I am not sure about it. It may even be another group altogether, as there is one with the name Fake Blood. And that was the personal struggle I had prior and while listening to the album -1.

Fake Furs is a duo with Laszlo Bolender on vocals and Sonny Wong on drums. Laszlo is from France, while Sonny is from America, and together both parties are currently residing in Los Angeles. -1 is the debut release for the band, and they have described their music style as “dirty velvet rock”.

-1 opens up with lots of drums, a large proportion of rock mixed with electro beats, making the sound produced a raw form of garage electro trash. Everybody Singing and I Died But I Revived serve as the record’s opening tracks, and can be appropriately applicable for your next housewarming party. They sort of remind me of an earlier, yet-to-be-recognized and lighter version of Death From Above 1979 (which recently reunited, much to the delight of all their fans and great music appreciators alike and worldwide).

It is a little confusing with Sick Childs, as the lads slow down their melodies and drumbeats for an alternative ballad. And then, as though on cue, they pick themselves up once again with the tongue-in-cheeks and dirty sounding track titled I Came Without Her – playing with a little bit of wordplay, lots of twisted minds and many tastes for mischievious behaviour.

Overall, it’s a fun album, and it definitely sets the stage and bar high for the band as a newcomer in the music scene. Personally, I would love to hear more new stuff and material from the band in their future endeavors.

As a closing note for this review, I thought it would be nice and appropriate to quote of what Fake Furs put up as their first introductory entry on their website/blog:

“We adore music, among other forms of art such as film and photography. We don’t know if we can bring anything to society, and to be honest we don’t f**king care. We just want to do what makes us feel somewhat whole, or at least that we are heading towards that purpose. We’ll never be perfect, although we’ll never be dishonest either. We both think that art is just another way to see the truth that lies beneath the different shades of life. Finally, we think we should keep this paragraph short so that you can focus on the music and identify yourself to it in an unbiased fashion.

So, enjoy the noise.”

Rock on, fellows, rock on.

(CJ)

ROBOTANISTS Plans In Progress (Overhead Records)

Is Robotanists a side project as a collective for KT Tunstall – popular for her hits like Black Horse And The Cherry Tree, Suddenly I See, (Still A) Weirdo, just to name a few – I asked myself, as I took a first listening venture dive into Robotanists’ tracks for Plans In Progress.

Apparently not, after a little bit of research into the biography of the band, but it sure sounds similar for me to draw a comparison with Tunstall for lead vocalist Sarah Ellquist DeBlanke, though the comparisons to the likes of Florence + The Machine, Metric, The National, The xx, Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine, brought up in the band’s biography are somewhat questionable for most.

Together with Sarah, the band’s guitarist Daniel DeBlanke also co-writes the songs, and with bassist Keith Boyarsky and drummer Preston Scott Phillips, the Los Angeles quartet named Robotanists was born and formed.

Sarah’s vocals are ghostly and haunting, though somewhat not haunting enough to scare you (pun totally intended) till the goosebumps on your skins appear. Her voice sounds as though she has plenty of inner hidden frustrations about to let loose. The later half of the album seems more diversified, and naturally, more interesting and better than the beginning, starting from the fifth title track to the closing number of The Ghost You’re Haunting.

However, it seems that the band attracts more attention and publicity with their cover versions of other artistes’ songs. Case in point, they had covered songs from Lykke Li, The Black Keys, Bryan Adams, and even Jay-Z’s Empire State Of Mind (cover titled Exiled State Of Mind). Recently, they covered Radiohead’s latest album offering, The King Of Limbs, three days after its official release.

Hopefully, with this and future releases, Robotanists will soon be able to garner more attention for their own original work than their cover versions.

(CJ)

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