Come and walk around and through the graveyard

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Chad VanGaalen, mp3, Music

A graveyard somewhere in Edinburgh

Graveyard – Chad VanGaalen

Institut Polaire steal the show

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Dead Letter Chorus, gigs, Institut Polaire, mp3, Music, Two Hours Traffic

Dead Letter Chorus and Two Hours Traffic sharing the stage

A couple of weeks ago we had a long weekend down here in Oz, to help the Queen celebrate her birthday. Of course dear Lizzie’s birthday is not actually in June – that would make too much sense.

Though I was tempted to break out the streamers and take a whack at a Camilla-shaped piñata (who said that?) I decided to celebrate at the good ol’ Northcote Social Club instead. Headlining were Dead Letter Chorus, who’d just returned from a triumphant tour of Canada. Supporting them were Canadian tour mates Two Hours Traffic, along with opening Melbourne-based act, Institut Polaire. I’m going to talk about them in reverse order though – try to keep up, won’t you?

Dead Letter Chorus – who I’d seen perform at this venue before, and loved them – were actually quite disappointing. I think that lead singer Cameron Potts had a bad cold as his voice had packed it in completely by the second song, and as a result they spent less than half an hour on stage and played no more than half a dozen songs. I know that it wasn’t their fault, but it was still pretty disappointing. They did play a couple of new songs that sounded good, but they didn’t play any of what I would consider their best tunes and as they made their hasty exit off stage with a mumbled ‘thanks for putting up with us’ I remember feeling quite pleased that my ticket only cost me $12.*

Michael Faber & Danielle Huber take over vocals to give Cameron Potts a rest

I quite enjoyed Two Hours Traffic though, who were a little chatty in between songs and looked very snappy in their suits. And so young! They play fairly standard four-piece indie rock, catchy and enjoyable, doing a few songs I knew and a couple of new tracks as well.

Two Hours Traffic

However, the best act of the night turned out to be Institut Polaire. I don’t always drag myself to a venue in time to catch the opening act (I’ve been burned by that before), but I’d done a quick five minute myspace reconnaissance before catching the train to Melbourne and had a sneaking suspicion that they’d be worth the early rock up time. I was not mistaken.

Institut Polaire are a seven piece outfit (most of the time) and I fell for them as soon as I saw they had a trumpet player. I love it when a standard indie lineup expands to include trumpets or violins or, in the case of Institut Polaire, vintage Wurlitzer pianos. That’s me, sold.

Institut Polaire

They were packed onto the tiny stage with barely room to move, and yet they still managed to create so much energy in their own small spaces, tapping and bopping their heads and shuffling about, dodging cords and mikes and each other. Since I’d never heard of them before I was not at all familiar with their stuff, but that was totally ok – I know good music when I hear it.

As I left the venue I made sure to pick up a copy of their 2007 EP The Fauna and the Flora, a collection of songs that have been getting some significant play around the It All Started headquarters (my lounge room). The first three tracks in particular are stellar, all slow starts and gorgeous melodies, punctuated by the odd violin flourish or trumpet solo. It’s wonderful stuff.

Institut Polaire

Institut Polaire have already won a swag of awards here in Oz, and have shared the stage with the likes of Camera Obscura, The Clientele, Architecture in Helsinki, Jens Lekman, New Buffalo, The Panics and The Lucksmiths. I’ve also read that they’ve completed their debut LP titled Make Your Own Mayflower, but there doesn’t appear to be a release date yet. It’s certainly one that I’ll be looking out for.

Now, because the only Institut Polaire release available is their debut five track EP, I’ve made the first two tracks available for streaming only. You can however download bonus track ‘City Walls & Empires’ here as it’s also available on their Triple J Unearthed page.

Kentucky Society Drought – Institut Poliare

The Fauna and the Flora Are Too Closely Allied – Institut Polaire

City Walls & Empires – Institut Polaire

*Just before I hit publish, a link to this interview with Cameron Potts popped up in my twitter feed – he did indeed lose his voice, poor guy!

(All these dodgy, slightly grainy images are mine – my camera and I were fighting that night. I don’t think I won)

Random find: Aidan Knight

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Aidan Knight, Dan Mangan, folk, mp3, Music, video

Bandcamp has certainly become a bloody good place to find music. I mean, like myspace, it’s bound to be full of dross as well, but if you’re willing to do some digging it can yield some excellent results. It led me to Vadoinmessico for instance, who I’ve written about previously, as well as a few other gems I’m currently checking out and will be sure to share with you soon.

I came across Canadian artist Aidan Knight some weeks ago now during one of my bandcamp trawls, and I’ve become quite captivated by ‘Jasper’, a track that immediately won me over with its liberal use of what I think is a dobro. It also boasts a seriously infectious chorus that builds as the song progresses, turning into something of a singalong by the end. I love it.

Jasper – Aidan Knight

Aidan Knight’s March 2010 release Versicolour is available for digital download in one of those pay-what-you-like deals on bandcamp. You can also check out the ‘Jasper’ video at his website – a pretty neat piece of stop motion animation. I wanted to embed it here but WordPress doesn’t seem to like vimeo, and it doesn’t appear to have made it over to youtube yet.

I will leave you with this seriously gorgeous substitute though – Aidan Knight teaming up with fellow Canadian Dan Mangan to perform ‘Jasper’ atop a mountain somewhere in the snowcaps of British Columbia. Love the beanies, fellas.

Aidan Knight also has several live shows booked in his homeland throughout the next month – visit his myspace for details.

(image credit: Peter Gardner, via myspace)

Coverage and a bend in the road

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Ben Marwood, Coverage, mp3, Music, Ray LaMontagne, Snow & Voices, Something For Kate, Sufjan Stevens, Tallest Man On Earth, Ted Leo, The Botticellis, The Postal Service

I saw a gorgeous sight this morning, driving along a twisty-turny country road. I’d just crossed a rickety old bridge and after coasting around the bend I came across a grey kangaroo sitting in the middle of the road. Green grass on either side, shrouded in fog, it stared at me calmly before casually bounding away through the bush. It was a fantastic start to the day.

Here’s to unexpected views around the bend.

And here’s to the great pile of coverage I have languishing on my hard drive. Enjoy.

Here I Go Again (Whitesnake Cover) – The Botticellis

Graceland (Paul Simon Cover) – Tallest Man On Earth

Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac Cover) – Snow & Voices

Genie In A Bottle (Christina Aguilera Cover) – Something For Kate

Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover (Sophie B Hawkins Cover) – Ben Marwood

Crazy (Gnarls Barkley Cover) – Ray LaMontagne

Against All Odds (Phil Collins Cover) – The Postal Service

Brass In Pocket (The Pretenders Cover) – Ted Leo

Amazing Grace (Traditional) – Sufjan Stevens

Jackie Wilson Said I’m In Heaven When You Smile (Van Morrison Cover) – Dexy’s Midnight Runners

(Image: this isn’t the road I was driving on this morning, but it’s a pretty close approximation, taken around the same area)

You’ll never know dear, how much I love you

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Bon Iver, mp3, Music, Sarah Siskind

I have a coverage post in the works, but while I was scrounging for tracks to flesh it out, I rediscovered ‘Lovin’s For Fools’ by Sarah Siskind. There was a time when I was listening to this song frequently, but I’d totally forgotten about it until I stumbled across it unexpectedly tonight and fell for it all over again. I love it when that happens.

Lovin’s For Fools – Sarah Siskind

You can also check out Bon Iver’s version, who covered it frequently during 2008, even performing it in collaboration with Sarah herself in Nashville. It’s a little quiet, but still jolly nice.

Lovin’s For Fools (Live in Nashville) – Bon Iver with Sarah Siskind

(image via myspace)

Torn: the silent version

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mp3, Music, Natalie Imbruglia

I know you wouldn’t usually expect a Natalie Imbruglia tune to make an appearance here at It All Started – but check out comedian Johann Lippowitz’s mime interpretation of ‘Torn’, with assistance from Natalie herself. It’s hilarious.

Torn – Natalie Imbruglia

New from Second Dan

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mp3, Music, Second Dan

Second Dan play indie rock that’s right up my alley – slightly retro sounding with catchy hooks and playful backup vocals. Based in New York, but with an Aussie frontman in Dan Rosen, Second Dan have a new album out called Angeline.

The dreamy title track is my favourite but the more uptempo ‘Let It Go’ reminds me of what drew me to these guys in the first place – plenty of ‘ooooohs’ and a good sense of fun.

Angeline – Second Dan

Let it Go – Second Dan

You can also check out the seriously infectious ‘The Elephant Fell To Earth’ from their debut release Bringing Down Goliath below.

The Elephant Fell To Earth – Second Dan

(image via myspace)

Struck brightly by the winter

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Australia, Matt Pond PA, mp3, Music

In my little corner of Victoria, our winters are usually quite mild. Cold in the morning, but generally sunny throughout the day. Today though, was different, and although it didn’t snow here, you could certainly feel it in the air. We don’t get a lot of the white stuff here in Oz, as you’re probably aware – our snow fields (and I use that term loosely) are quite often totally bereft of real snow, and machines are usually called upon to manufacture it.

So, a snow day? Totally foreign concept. I coulda used one today though. Brr!

Snow Day – Matt Pond PA

(image by Lorissa Shepstone, via apparentlynothing)

Back again, for now

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David Tattersall, mp3, Music, The Wave Pictures

Just stopping by briefly to let you know I’m still here. The break is (probably) over I think – I feel like posting again, but I’m certainly not planning to maintain the frantic, breakneck pace that I was before.

Tonight I popped my ipod on briefly and was treated to ‘Giraffe’ by David Tattersall, lead singer of  England’s The Wave Pictures. Tattersall released his solo album Happy For A While earlier on this year.

I’ve not listened to the record nearly as much as I’d like to yet, but the first run through left me with the feeling that it’s the type of album that requires repeated listens to let it really sink in. And by that I don’t mean that I don’t like it – far from it – but that it doesn’t announce itself to you straight away. I think it will definitely prove to be a slow burner, and will further reward with repeated listens.

Having said that, I can already tell that what I love about The Wave Pictures – the melancholy, the self-deprecation and lyrics that marry the romantic and the absurd – is still present in Tattersall’s solo work, and ‘Giraffe’ also showcases the sheer restraint that is present in so much of his music. I keep waiting for that guitar to take off, and just when I think it’s about to rip off a riff or two, the moment passes. I guess the tension that creates is kind of perfect though, given the sense of romantic doom and defeat that’s a fairly frequent theme in the music he makes, both alone and with The Wave Pictures.

Giraffe – David Tattersall

I know I said this was only going to be a short post, but I also paid a visit to youtube in this ongoing hunt I’m on to find a decent video of my favourite WP song ‘Now You Are Pregnant’. I have seen the video below around before, but tonight I watched it all the way through for the first time and it’s actually kinda fantastic. I’d written it off previously because it’s a live performance and the vocal delivery is a little rough around the edges at times BUT I really love it because Jonny Helm – who steps out from behind the drums to sing it – forgets the words at what is a fairly pivotal moment in the song. What I love about this is his consternation and his beautifully sincere apology as he prepares himself to restart the verse for a very generous and appreciative crowd. I just wish the strings that are present on the recorded version could’ve made an appearance on stage. Ah well.

(I haven’t posted an mp3 of ‘Now You Are Pregnant’ here for the simple reason that I think I’ve already posted it here two or three times. I’m obsessed by it, it’s ridiculous. If you really want it and can’t find it anywhere else though, let me know in the comments and I’ll pop it up again)

(Image via indietracks, where you can also check out an interview with David Tattersall)