CD REVIEWS
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday November 27, 2009
f--- buttons 4/5TAROT SPORT (ATP Recordings/Inertia) It€™s clear the English duo F--- Buttons have an affi nity for harsh noise.Fortunately, in their hands the style is more like a warm fuzz than abrasive jolt. For album number two the pair continue in a similar musical vein €” layers of distorted electronica, held together by a constant rhythm and layered on top of each other, resulting in a cacophony of sounds. The difference in Tarot Sport is these beastly creations appear to be coming from a more club dance-fl oor perspective. The dense, robotic soundscapes still rumble along but with a solid four-four beat carrying them.Tim Colman georgia fair3.5/5 GEORGIA FAIR (Sony) This is a very pretty record, an early sign that Jordan Wilson and Ben Riley have heart as well as some skill, whether it€™s the bright-eyed pop of Real Man Hiding, the country rock of Something Easy or the potential FM ballad of choice, Baby Blues. It occasionally teeters on the edge of wet surfer dudes but these northern beaches boys like real songwriting (they€™ve obviously heard a Dylan song or three among the €™70s pop-rock and Something For Kate they grew up with) and want to emulate that instead.It€™s not fully formed yet but there€™s talent. Let€™s hope they are allowed to grow and are not churned up and out by the Sony machine looking for quick results.Bernard Zuel Cocoon3/5 MY FRIENDS ALL DIED IN A PLANE CRASH (Sober&Gentle/Cartell) Like fellow French types Moriarty, with whom they play tonight at the Factory, Cocoon sing and seemingly think in English. Or American, actually. Mark Daumail and Morgane Imbeaud draw from a long line of downturned music that touches on folk but remains mellow, sometimes sombre pop. Its strongest recent infl uence is Sufjan Stevens€™s album Seven Swans (or songs like John Wayne Gacy, Jr from Illinois): a never fully explained sadness, a touchstone sweetness, a fl avouring rather than dominance and lyrics that sometimes playfully joust with childlike approaches. The male-female vocal interplay balances those same dichotomies. They are short an irresistible emotional play but there€™s more than just niceness here.Bernard Zuel angie hart 3.5/5EAT MY SHADOW (ABC) Produced by Shane Nicholson, Eat My Shadow is the sound of an artist at ease with their place in the world.The strength here comes not from cathartic admissions but clear, considered observations that dig deep into a persona that€™s been deconstructing since the Frente! era. €˜€˜I light your inner fi re and you burn/I get the story straight and then you turn,€™€™ she sings on the sparse, bass-driven Ask, exploring the constant theme of emotional emancipation that also takes in collaborations with Ben Lee and Mark Seymour.Craig Mathieson marcello maio3.5/5 SAMBA MUNDI (myspace.com/sambamundi) Musicians are easily typecast.Marcello Maio sounds just as convincing caressing his accordion and piano amid the Gypsy strains of Monsieur Camembert as he is concocting the svelte and funky Brazilian tang of his own band, Samba Mundi. Although this is the debut CD, the fi ve years of gigs show in both the easy precision and the strength of the pool of players Maio draws on. The three- or four-piece percussion section features such exceptional musicians as Rodrigo Galvao and Steve Marin, who are steeped in this music. Singers Toni Allayialis and Merenia Gillies ride the limber rhythms mellifl uously and the exciting horn arrangements include blasts from James Greening and Matt Ottignon.John Shand tegan and sara 3/5SAINTHOOD (Sire/Warner) Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin have made a living spinning tales of love and longing into cute, smart indie-pop. Their last album, The Con, was superb but on its follow-up they€™re in danger of getting too clever.Sainthood starts off well enough €” Hell and Don€™t Rush are two of the most contagious songs they€™ve ever penned €” but the rest, especially the second half, feels overwritten and underwhelming. Weighed down by overly complicated wordplay, cold imagery and uneven musical shifts (1980s pop-synth, college punk guitars, electronic stabs), it feels like the girls are writing with their heads rather than singing from their hearts.€˜€˜My misery€™s so addictive,€™€™ Sara sings on the squawky punk blast of Northshore. Not so much this time.Jason Treuen
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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