Reviewed by Andrae Muys and Rachel Cobcroft

 

Fifty fingers, one keyboard.  So commences Topology’s collaboration ‘Ten Hands,’ an hour-long ever-so-alive yet evocative adventure into the ensemble’s workings over the past year.  With an almost seamless sweep, multiple musical layers and traditions unfold and reveal themselves apace but with poignancy and pathos.  An evolving narrative delights and holds you in its thrall in possibly the quintet’s most dynamic piece in 2010.

Fresh, inspired and invigorating, Healthy evokes the crispness of the firm, flavoursome green apple featured on its cover art. The debut studio album from renowned Brisbane avant-garde ensembles Topology and Misinterprotato, Healthy marks a collaboration full of vitality, vibrancy and the desire for new beginnings. Chronicling significant life stages, it is at times introspective, encompassing complex interludes and the bittersweet, culminating in a celebration that captures the chiaroscuro of change.

Reviewed by Michael Dalton

Madonna, that most idolised of impresarios, blazed a path in the music industry that insisted re-invention is the best way to stay on top and keep your fans guessing. If I Feel Cream, Peaches’ fourth and most mature-sounding release, is anything to go by, this aggressive electro-clash rapper took that tip to heart. This is a great record, full of catchy hooks and breathy bass-lines. This is a far cry from the more minimalist canvases that have embodied her previous output. She’s still using profanity (plenty actually) to drive her mood-pieces home, but the production feels more accomplished, richer even, and if she’s playing a role here it’s as mistress of the dancefloor.

 Reviewed by Leisa Howlett

Dark was the Night is a spiritual musical offering for all indie and independent release fans. The latest compilation for AIDS charity Red Hot, the two disk album was produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National. The songs here were collected by the brothers over three years; as a sort of testament to the bounty of independent, indie music that is exploding out of the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Featured artists include Jose Gonzalez, Feist, Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and Cat Power - just to name a few.

 Reviewed by Samantha Hagaman

Titus Andronicus hand us their angst at the world in a small package of indie rock sounds, aptly titled The Airing of Grievances. Cashing in on the ‘what’s old is new, and what’s Shakespearean is cooler’ trend, the band garners their name from Shakespeare’s The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedy of Titus Andronicus, a bloody and brutal play more reminiscent of slasher films like Psycho than, say, the complex genius of Hamlet. A tinny rendition of a monologue in Shakespeare’s Andronicus even graces the end of the first track, ‘Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ.’

Reviewed by Leisa Howlett

Little Joy is Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes drummer), Rodrigo Amarante (Devendra Bandhart's band) and Binki Shapiro. The three multi-instrumentalists broke from their usual bands and projects to record this self-titled record in Los Angeles. With the help of Noah Georgeson-producer of both Devendra Bandhart and Joanna Newsom's records-the trio has created a self-titled record, reminiscent of American crooner pop/rock. Amarante and Shapiro dominate the lead vocals; with definitive crooning voices you don't expect to hear from contemporary indie musicians.

Reviewed by John Willsteed

Behold the new Tim Finn album. It's a comfortable clutch of songs, simply recorded and mixed. Not a lot of instruments (no drummer, but tambourines and beautifully thunderous bass drum every now and then) but a lot of mood and integrity. In this, Mr. Finn has been joined by two of his old Split Enz chums: Eddie Rayner on keyboards and Miles Golding on violin and his constant guitarist Brett Adams.

Reviewed by Leisa Howlett

Aaron Thomas is a worldly musician. The Tasmanian born singer songwriter moved to the Ukraine after finishing school, has lived in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, and calls Madrid home - for now. His debut album, Follow the Elephants was released in many European countries before making it to Australia. His popularity is spilling over into Spain and Portugal, and he won the European Villa de Bilbao music award. After being overwhelmed by these credentials, giving the album a spin translated into understated songwriter pop songs, with varied musical influences of his residences.

Reviewed by Leisa Howlett

Microcaste is the second album from Atlanta’s Deerhunter. The full-length album with a bonus disk is an ambient smorgasbord of garage-born indie punk. Many of the tracks were self-recorded, with lead-singer Bradford Cox (aka solo outfit Atlas Sound) leading the way. His vocals are murmured and layered, teamed with metronomic drums, acoustic riffs and wails of electric distortion. The overall feel is a soundtrack for coming-of-age; a mystified adolescence. It’s psychedelic in places, but founded in broody punk; along the same vein as Silversun Pickups. The scenery I envisioned for listening is a long drive in a 70s wood-panelled station wagon, on a run-down American highway. Pine tree plantations line the narrow road, the night’s frost is melting at dawn, as an orange sun glints through the uniform forest.

Reviewed by Michael Dalton

The title is incorporated from a line in a Barrington Levy song but make no mistake: Belles will Ring aren't about reggae. Coming on like a soundtrack for summer, they couldn't have chosen a better time to release their sophomore effort, the mini-album Broader Than Broadway. Their guitars glisten and the production is sharper than sharp while Liam Judson's vocals, aided by sweet choruses, fly over the top in exultation. There's a retro feel to this release - their previous full-length effort Mood Patterns spread wide with a panoramic feel and felt like a wall of sound. In some instances Broader Than Broadway recalls the uplifting anthems of The Beatles; while there's a prettiness to their harmonies that does indeed recall a time long past, their expert production grounds it all in a contemporary setting.