Interviews and ReviewsTime Off Singles Review Effigy 's Peter Hardman, Annie Beckerling and Jason Stacy popped into Time Off last week for a bit of a chat with Ged Langley and to assess the latest offerings in the world of stupendous singles and enchanting EPs. Gogh Van Go - Call It Romance (Roadshow) Gogh Van Go hail from Canada and could be best described as that country's answers to Everything But The Girl, circa 1987. Pete: It was kind of folky, sort of Simon and Garfunkel-esque, but generally unappealing. Jason: It was all right in bits. Ged: It didn't really offer much did it? I agree with Pete regarding the Simon and Garfunkel influence, but it sort of failed to go anywhere, didn't it? Annie: It was beige. (At this point, Annie started to feel quite ill, possibly because of the single, and had to retum to the hotel). Jason and Pete soldiered on. Zhane - Request Line (Polydor) Zhane deliver the kind of soulful, sweet R&B sounds that T4deo Hits pump out of a Saturday mom', which does nothing for a bad hangover when you're doing some serious channel surfing. Jason: It's commercial crap. Boring...they try hard. Pete: It's just shit. I'd have to say that it's an area of music that I'm unfamiliar with, that R&B, souly sort of stuff. Ged: Do you think that these songs have a tough time translating to Australian audiences in the main? Pete: Definitely. it's very parochial. It's exclusively to fill tracks in Whitney Houston movies, I'd imagine. Webster - Walk It Like You Talk It (Tanc) Webster are one of Brisbane's finest live acts, and their recorded material captures some of their fine songwriting talents. Chirpy guitar rock/pop, for some reasons it reminds me of Teenage Fanclub covering songs by The Cars... 'J55' is a 80s style radio classic, while 'Magic 2 Minutes' is a choppy, punchy little number. The rest is more of the same, delivered in a effervescent manner. Reminiscent of Custard at times, they have an undeniably Brisbane edge, which others might not get. I love it, actually. Jason: It's not bad. Pete:1Fs certainly not good. Repetitive. They need to bring the mix down a bit. Jason: Yeah, the songs sound a little bit the same. The harmonies tend to blend into each other a bit. It's good for summertime fun. (There was a general lack of consensus here, Pete didn't like it, Jason didn't mind it, and well, I think it's just ace. Forget what Pete says, this certainly has a lot to offer.) The Dead Salesmen - Beer (Way Over There) Hailing from Ballarat, The Dead Salesmen have recently relocated to Melbourne where they've just recorded their second album with Tony Cohen. This single, 'Beer', is the first to be lifted from the forthcoming (and as they put it)'long-awaited' long player. Pete: I didn't really here any reference to beer in it at all. Unless they were really drunk when they did it. Jason: They were trying hard to be interesting, but I wasn't really that interested. It didn't really go anywhere that fast. The drummer didn't really know what he was doing. Ged: Do you think they were trying to do something different with the arrangement? Jason: Yeah, in the feel, it's sort softer softer. It dve them time and they'll be more interesting get a new drummer and a bit more time. The Paradise Motel - Please Keep Me Safe (Mushroom) A very sombre, maudlin affair, with lush production and plenty of strings - what you've come to expect from TPM. Jason: I thought the arrangements were very nice. Their songs were very different, the only comment I'd make is that the girl's voice 3 (Merida) is very uninteresting. | Pete: Obviously protagonists of the dark, film noir style. They do it very well, but I can't say being good at one style makes a good band. Space - Female Of The Species (Gut, through Festival) Pete: I know I like this already. Ged: Yeah It's a great album, have you heard the rest? Pete: No, I've just heard the other single, 'Neighbourhood'. It's just too good. It's got a certain novelty aspect, but they pull it off. Ged: Yeah, but you won't get sick of it. Jason: It has a 50s feel to it, but they pull it off. It's a good song. It's fabulously well produced. Pete: It's a fabulous deconstruction of almost two decades of music. Apart from that, I just dig it. Soul Coughing - Super Bon Bon (London) A spoken word, hip hop, rap crossover act of sorts, Soul Coughing continue to explore the genre here, with a bassy number, infused with some interesting flute-esque sounds and small samples. Propellerheads offer some remixes. Jason: The Propellerheads remixes were good, mainly for the beats. I didn't like the bassline. Pete: I listened to their first album. This is fine; it's just that smug attitude in the vocals. Jason: The lyrics aren't good enough to be spoken. If what he was saying had more impact... What the hell is a super bon bon? -
Ged Langley |