M.I.A.

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

Welcome back M.I.A.! Another masterpiece from Romain Gavras, awesome!

JAI PAUL

Jai Paul is a young Londoner just starting out with a handful of demos on his myspace. His track,'BTSTU' swings back and fourth from a smooth to jagged lo-fi sound and slowly builds and builds, he's placed it on his myspace for you to download. Quite an eclectic young guy, loving the direction he's taking.

JAI PAUL - BTSTU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IGGY & HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. SMITH

Today two brilliant men celebrate their birthday, Iggy Pop, who turns 63 and Robert Smith, who turns 51.





Definitely gunna pump some Stooges and Cure tonight!
Happy Birthday you fucking Gods!

MYSTERY JETS

I had forgotten how much I loved the Mystery Jets, they transport me back to good times when I was living in London. Well it would seem they're releasing their third record sometime in the coming months and have released 'Flash A Hungry Smile', free for you to download from their website. . .or you could just grab it below.


MYSTERY JETS - FLASH A HUNGRY SMILE

NUMBERS GAME

Numbers Game - Love Dreams Love from Focus Media on Vimeo.

"DIY TIL YOU DIE!"

NUMBERS GAME - LOVE DREAMS LOVE

DEVIN THERRIAULT

Swingin' classic Rock & Roll! Devin Therriault and his little angels are Brooklyn based lads who are making waves all over New York City with their vintage rock sound. Have a taste of 'I Don't Think I', you might just like it.

DEVIN THERRIAULT - I DON'T THINK I

CRYSTAL CASTLES

Crystal Castles are back! They're releasing their second album 'Crystal Castles' (same name as their first album) in early June. 'Celestica' is the first single to be released off it and is very similar to their older stuff, unlike 'Doe Deer', a jungly mess to put you in a fit! I have an enormous crush on Alice, which isn't actually her name, someone told me her real name once but I forget what it is (I don't think anyone is supposed to know that). Anyway check out the cover art and tracklist below.


CRYSTAL CASTLES
01 Fainting Spells
02 Celestica <<< AMAZING
03 Doe Deer <<< Watch out Sleigh Bells
04 Baptism
05 Year of Silence
06 Empathy
07 Suffocation
08 Violent Dreams
09 Vietnam
10 Birds
11 Pap Smear
12 Not in Love
13 Intimate
14 I Am Made of Chalk

SPLENDOUR IN MY PANTS

The Splendour In The Grass lineup was revealed this morning and ever since I found out I've been walking around in a trance, I just can't get over how fucking amzing it is. Personally I think it could be the best lineup I've seen in Australia EVER, it's up there next to Glastonbury and Coachella as far as monster festival's go.

Here's the lineup again. (I keep scrolling down saying- wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow . . . . .)

The Strokes

Pixies (only Australian show)

Ben Harper & Relentless7 (also only Australian show)

The Temper Trap

Mumford & Sons

Florence and The Machine

Scissor Sisters

Empire of The Sun

The Ting Tings

Band of Horses

Goldfrapp

Wolfmother

Richard Ashcroft & The United Nations of Sound

Grizzly Bear

LCD Soundsystem

Angus & Julia Stone

Hot Chip

Passion Pit

Midnight Juggernauts

Jónsi

Paul Kelly

Kate Nash

Laura Marling

Fat Freddy’s Drop

Lisa Mitchell

Midlake

The Vines

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Broken Social Scene

Tame Impala

The Magic Numbers

K-OS

Operator Please

Bluejuice

Little Red

Ash

The Middle East

Whitley

Yeasayer

Miami Horror

Delphic

We Are Scientists

Foals

Alberta Cross

Surfer Blood

Space Invadas

British India

Miike Snow

Washington

Philadelphia Grand Jury

Clare Bowditch

Band of Skulls

Two Door Cinema Club

The Drums

The Mess Hall

Violent Soho

School of Seven Bells

Last Dinosaurs

John Steel Singers

Yacht Club DJs

Jonathan Boulet

Dan Sultan

Oh Mercy

Cloud Control

Fanfarlo

Boy & Bear

Ernest Ellis

Tijuana Cartel

Frightened Rabbit

The Joy Formidable

Skipping Girl Vinegar

Gypsy and The Cat

Horrorshow

Money For Rope

Tim & Jean

Zennith

JaC Stone

Bag Raiders

Van She Tech

DJ Anna Lunoe

Kid Kenobi

Yolanda Be Cool

The Only

Purple Sneakers DJs

Miami Horror DJs

Graz and Levins

JAW DROPPING

PSYCHEDELIC HYPNO-GROOVE MELODIC ROCK MUSIC

Perth lads, Tame Impala are all set to release their debut record 'Innerspeaker' next month on Modular. I personally think these guys are one of the best bands in Australia, I've seen them play a ridiculous amount of times and they've never failed to impress. Genuinely excited for the release.

'Innerspeaker' drops on May 21st in Australia and June 8th everywhere else.

TAME IMPALA - RUNWAY, HOUSES, CITY, CLOUDS

HEALTH

HEALTH "We are Water" from Eric Wareheim on Vimeo.

It's only tomatoe sauce. . .I think.

Director Eric Wareheim's really done a number on this one. I can't really imagine any other sort of film clip to go with this song. If you didn't buy Health's 'In Colour' LP, do it NOW. . or else you might have some big fat bald man in his stained undies and hobo shoes chasing you down wielding a giant machete!

THE NOTES

The Notes: "Hello. We are based around Southampton/London (UK) for the moment and there are 3 of us. And a drum machine."
'Dancing Shoes' - two minutes and twenty seconds, just enough time to understand what these kids are about.

THE NOTES - DANCING SHOES

5 MINUTES OF BANKSY'S 'EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP'

This has got me frothing and drooling all down my shirt.

GROUP

So here's an act to keep an eye on; Group are a four piece from L.A. who are about to drop their debut EP, 'Colours'. I'm really liking what I've heard so far, definitely keen to see what's next for this band. Check them out on their myspace and grab the title track below.

GROUP - COLOURS

THE DUST BROTHERS

For me The Chemical Brothers are the dog's bollocks, the cat's pyjamas, the duck's nuts, the bee's knees, the snake's hips, the sardine's whiskers, the kipper's fucking whiskers! They are the shit!
They stand on top of electronic mountain side by side with Daft Punk, the absolute mecca for electronic music, brilliant! They are one of very few artists who can claim that they have never had a dud album, all six have been outstanding.
So when I heard they were releasing their seventh album, you could say I got a little excited. 'Further' will be released in June with corresponding films made specifically to match each of the 8 audio tracks featured.

'Escape Velocity' is the first track taken from the record.

Long live The Dust Brothers!

JUGGERS

Vital Signs - Midnight Juggernauts from midnight juggernauts on Vimeo.

Melbourne's very own Midnight Juggernauts are gearing up to release their second LP, 'The Crystal Axis' on the 28th of May. Here's their new video for 'Vital Signs'. . .reminds me of some sort of acid trip.

OH MERCY Q&A

SKELETON JAMBOREE QUESTIONS OH MERCY LEADSINGER, ALEXANDER GOW


1- Ola! How are you? Where are you? Staying out of trouble?

Hello! Good thankyou. I'm in bed in my place in Brooklyn. I've been drinking cheap beer.


2- So you guys just played SXSW? How was that? / Make any new friends? / Who did you see and who was a highlight?

It was fantastic. We rented a house just outside of town and it was ace. Made friends with some squirrels. We saw snoop dogg, midlake and the veils. It was the best.


3- How's the U.S of A trip going as a whole? / Favourite venue/crowd/city? / Any interesting/funny stories you'd like to share?

I love it here. L.A was surreal, i look forward to going back there. Not many humerous stories. Well, a very famous old man actor was not impressed that i was talking to a beautiful young woman that i think he was fond of... but i shouldn't go into details.


4- How does the U.S scene compare to Australia's?

I dont know mate. I'm just having a great time writing & recording in my place in brooklyn. I don't get into the in's and out's of the scene.


5- You were recently nominated for the AMP award. How did that make you feel? Were you dissapointed not to win or just happy to be nominated in the first place?

We were extremely happy to get nominated. It's a great honour to be short listed amongst such great talent. We actually won the 'runners up' prize for the amp. It's called the 'red bull award for outstanding potential'.


6- I sense you're obviously big fans of The Thrills, how have they influenced you in the way you write and record your music? / Who else has influenced you, musically/non musically?

I love the Thrills. Their sounds and approach was very influential early on. Still is. I love 60's pop, like nancy sinatra, dusty springfield and lee hazlewood. I also love the classic songwriters like leonard cohen, bob dylan, lou reed and bruce springsteen. Outside of music my wonderful family inspires and supports me.


7- Who's your favourite artist at the moment? What song is on repeat on the ghettoblaster?

Canvas Kites - Wayside.


8- What were you before you were musicians? What would you be doing if you weren't musicians?

We have always made music. We are kind of a 'high school band'. We came straight out of highschool into our part time jobs with our mind on the band. I would like to be a gardener one day.


9- What's the best kind of 4am feed after a night out?

Vegimite and cheese saladas with chili sauce.

10- What's next for Oh Mercy?

We are about to make our second album. Very excited!

OH MERCY'S 'PRIVILIGED WOES' IS OUT NOW
www.myspace.com/ohmercyband

WAVE MACHINES

Wave Machines released 'Keep The Lights On' last year, but it's only now that it has an official film clip to accompany it. It was an amazing song last year, it's still an amazing song this year. If somehow it slipped past you last year then grab it below and embrace its amazingness!

WAVE MACHINES - KEEP THE LIGHTS ON

THE LIBERTINES REFORM

The Libertines recently did a press conference in a North London pub to announce that they will be reforming after 6 years to play in the upcoming Leeds & Reading Festivals in late August. The band hasn't played live together since 2004 after they split up. Check out part of the press conference here.

HAPPY EASTERS

French heavyweight Surkin and UK's Burns are in the country at the moment and they played Melbourne on Thursday night. Both monsters in the game, they had me jumping around like a bear on hot coals. Here's a few tracks to keep you dancing throughout the rest of the long weekend. HAPPY EASTER MONGS!

BURNS - KISS N' HOLD

SURKIN - SILVER ISLANDS

SURKIN - FAN OUT

THESE NEW PURITANS

Directed by Matthew Stone, These New Puritans have just released their new video for 'Attack Music'. Hervé has also done a re-dub of the track. . .CH-CH-CH-CHECK IT OUT