touch so soft, I never take them off

Vancouver duo Cosmetics (not to be confused with the not so great Brooklyn/Sao Paulo duo also called Cosmetics) sounds like something you've already heard on Italians Do It Better- their sensual and glistening minimalist productions shout to the slippery disco pop Johnny Jewel has become famous for. Sweet dreams and light touches, hushed stories on beat making delicate haze for dancing nights.

Fan Death, Nite Jewel, Desire, now Cosmetics; their synthetic recordings set to take place alongside those glamorous darlings of the scene.

All their tracks are self-produced in their home studio. There are three jams on their myspace now but more is due out early 2010 through Captured Tracks, initially as a 7" vinyl and then as a full length vinyl/CD album. For now, no mp3, just the myspace page. Good things come to those who wait.

rosanne barrr

I am not sure how I feel about this. Those that know me well know my feelings about Mariah.

Rosanne Barrr 'No Means No Mariah'

I am really into Rosanne Barrr and their screaming low fi London garage (how good is their song Akira! - listen on myspace), so if we could call 'No Means No Mariah' a homage to the talents of our number one American pop goddess then I would feel much better about the whole thing.

RBarrr Dumb Broad album is out now on Hex Out Tapes but on the band's myspace their label is listed as Geffen so they might have something out on Interscope in the not too distant future. Interscope (Universal) intially feels like a weird fit... but it if means they can hook up with label-mate Mariah for a collab at some point then that would be aaaaaaaamazing.

no art cock safari

Vivian (pic: far right) and Trish (pic: centre) used to be in a band called One, Two, Three, Amazing. They had a great name obvs, but not a load of recorded material or scheduled shows and so folded after not too long. I really liked their song Tender Is. I just listened to it again, and it's still really lovely, with hushed vocals over a melodic 90s guitars.

Vivian and Trish now have less angular haircuts and a new band called No Art, and with their boy friend Chris on drums are making expansive moody post rock.

Outside my office someone is playing that Shaggy song that has the lyric "honey came in and she caught me red handed, freakin' (is that the lyric?) with the girl next door".

Feel free to disagree, but I do think No Art's Fight In The Nocturnal House, while certainly not as instantly catchy, is much better than the Shaggy song.

No Art 'Fight In The Nocturnal House'

Also, while talking good aussie music (no art) and cool band names (1, 2, 3 amazing)... cock safari, anyone?! These dudes are killing it.

Cock Safari '8MH'

(via New Weird Australia)

thursday week

Lets go surfin



and run along the beach



This will probably be the best $20 you ever spend

Also FYI before you see ECSR do their thing, The UV Race are launching their own frenetic lovable clanging punk debut at Good God this Friday for the third and last of Mountain Fold Journal's music nights. It'll be a pretty sweet party

Signed, sealed and delivered (I'm yours)

'I love Every Little Thing About You' Syreeta

For some reason tonight I grabbed a record I've not listened to in forever - Syreeta Wright's debut self-titled record. They don't write about love like they used to. Now, Destiny's Child sing about 'catering' for their men and Lady Gaga poisons hers in a video clip and throws him off a balcony. I am as guilty as the next woman for disregarding simple declarations of adoration as naff and old fashioned, but then simultaneously lamenting the death of chivalry and romance.

Listening to Syreeta tonight, I've decided to make more time for unabashed, uncomplicated and unrehearsed love in my life. Hey you, I love every little thing about you. Deal with it.

There's nothing cheesy about that if it's honest.

When I'm with you, I have fun

I was just raving about Summer coming and how excited I am at the idea of going to the beach this weekend when my friend told me it is going to be super hot but raining all day Saturday and Sunday. Bummer.

Don't get wet, do this stuff instead.

When you wake up, listen to When I'm With You by Best Coast over and over and over.

During the day, the Art Gallery of NSW is currently showing a wonderfully in depth and engaging retrospective of John Kaldor's public projects, covering everything from Christo's wrapping of Little Bay, to Gilbert and George's 'singing sculpture' in the gallery foyer in 1973, to Tatzu Nishi's current sculptures engulfing the gallery's outer walls.

In the evening, go see Beautiful Losers. After all my whining Aaron Rose's doco finally makes it's Sydney premier at Paddington Town Hall for the Anode festival launch. Tickets are still available but probably not for much longer.

Later that night, Vampire Weekend play at Oxford Art Factory. I met with Rostam and Chris B today to talk about their new album. Super nice dudes.

The video for Cousins was just released a few hours ago and it displays the VW aesthetic perfectly - simple in idea but elaborate in execution.

creepy kids: golden filter, martin de thurah

My Melbourne (soon to be New York, sob) friends Moopjaw have finally released their video for The Golden Filter's latest single Thunderbird (which reminds me so much of The Presets' This Boy's In Love - why is that?)

The Golden Filter 'Thunderbird'

The Golden Filter - "Thunderbird" from The Golden Filter on Vimeo.

I was sent a few stills of this clip while they were editing which immediately made me think of Martin de Thurah and his work with Karen Dreijer on her Fever Ray project - particularly their video for When I Grow Up from the self-titled Fever Ray debut.

His work is really stunning but insanely creepy. I've not seen his latest feature films because if I did I would never sleep again.

WE WHO STAYED BEHIND trailer from martin de thurah on Vimeo.

free choice duo

Free Choice is the new project of Jarod Ziadic from Fabulous Diamonds, and Free Choice Duo is the stage show.

They performed at Gold Shoulder last night (a four week residency of Mountain Fold Journal at Good God) and their live show was unencumbered, uncluttered Cluster style atmospherics, droning synth sounds filling the room but without being too heavy or obtrusive. Their name suggests each performance is unplanned and unrehearsed, but I think they must've had some sort of discussion before the performance - it just seemed too easy for them.

You know, it was interesting seeing an audience watching the two of them on stage, because they don't say anything or move while they're playing. There's not much to watch. But the sounds they were making were intoxicating. I just vibed out for their entire set, which was two movements of visceral free-form on synth and organ.

Free Choice have a split 7" with Mental Powers out now through Fifth Column which you can buy at shows.

mgmt australia

My friend Sam came to Australia almost a year ago (aside: where has this year gone?!) with MGMT and filmed a heap of footage of them on his super 8. He just sent it to me, probably because he thought i'd get kicks from the footage of Koalas and Kangaroos. If that's the case, then he was right.



A few years back Sam's friend Ben won tickets in a raffle for a Jamaican river cruise and the two of them decided to use the vacation as an opportunity to shoot a feature film starring Sean Bones and Norah Jones. The film, titled Wah Do Dem, is finished and has been making its way around the festival circut, premiering at the LA Film Festival in June and winning the award for 'Best Narrative Feature'. Talented boys.

Wah Do Dem from sam fleischner on Vimeo.

I'm not your fantasty girl

"Been away so long you love me only in your dreams..."



I've been a fan of this lady for a while. Here, I love how she loops her vocals back and over the top of each other to create her own 'man-made' backing track. It's not easy to create something so engaging with vocals, bass guitar and a drum. 4AD described her as blending "coarse folk ingenuity with the bold pop sensibility of an R&B siren" which is wonderfully appropriate (and super surprising as it's unusual for a label to accurately describe something on their own roster without sounding all smoke and mirrors.)

This performance is the first of 4AD records new live sessions where they are taking their artists into a studio and recording the results for an exclusive vodcast series. The first was with Deerhunter last year, but it now looks like the videos will become more regular with 4AD making a more official thing of it. Watch the video of Real Live Flesh above for a taste, and check out the full session (all 30 mins) here.

les sins for summer

'Lina' Les Sins

Some coconut flakes and something French house inspired by Toro y Moi's other project Les Sins to take us back to the days of Cassius and Starsailor on such a brilliantly shiny Sydney Spring (Summer) day.

If you've not tried shaved coconut before do yourself a favour and get some asap. This combination is really making my day today.

Together in summer coconut dreams

where'd you go?

I've been absent the past few weeks. Stating the obvious! I've been binging on work and wasn't remembering to come up for air. "Remember to breathe", I told myself this morning. It's working so far!

I interviewed David Jacob Kramer from Family Bookstore last week for Issue 3 of The Blackmail which is online now. David is a wonderful guy, and the story has some great fly-on-the-wall photography by Thomas Jeppe. Sometimes his photos may appear disposable, but if you make time to look again, you see how insightful they actually are. Quick yes, but always well considered. Check it out at the link above, and make sure you read the others too. The issue includes an interview with awesome Melbourne label Arnsdorf, Blackmail editor Gabe talking to ace band Royal Headache, and some lovely photographs by Ben Sullivan documenting his time traveling through the American desert.

The Middle East 'blood'

Despite my adoration of Greedy Hen works and The Middle East's beautifully somber recordings, I really underestimated how spectacular a combination of the two would be when I commissioned this clip two months ago.

It is true that Katherine from Greedy Hen is my flatmate, and The Middle East are signed to Spunk, but bias aside I think this is such a remarkably beautiful and accomplished film clip. I am also overjoyed to finally be able to share it with the world after the organised premiere on Myspace last Thursday (if you've not yet seen it on the thousand other blogs that have already posted it, of course!)

'Blood' The Middle East


The Middle East are on tour through October and are playing Homebake and Meredith Music festival in December. Their Myspace has the details.

wild fashions

Matt Wolf is responsible for the the heart-wrenching portrait of Arthur Russell Wild Combination. The movie was scheduled in the 2008 Sydney film festival program and I was so moved when I watched it then, at Sydney's beer-soaked iconic live music venue the Metro, that I have bought it for most of my favourite people's birthdays since.

Wolf has now teamed up with Jason Schwartzman to make an charming advertisement for Japan's almost-opened Opening Ceremony store.

Watching Schwartzman try and lift the kite doesn't make me want to buy clothes, shoes and accessories, but I like it's loftiness and (essentially) it's pointlessness. Why If this makes you want to buy stuff , the Japan store opens on Saturday.



Opening Ceremony had three directors create films to celebrate the Japan store's opening.

The first promo'ed Chloe Sevigny's 2009 debut men's range, second came Wolf's esoteric cutie, and third was M Blash's movie staring Gus Van Sant and Jena Malone (who I love!)

ryan mcginley

Nick (Orange, Eyes) 2009, Moonmilk, Ryan McGinley


Moonmilk by Ryan McGinley is online and the images are breathtaking. I can only imagine how impressive they are in person - check them out if you're in London at Alison Jacques Gallery from September 11

Ryan McGinley website

On an entirely unrelated note, all of a sudden all my old babysitters want to befriend me on Facebook! Why?!

Jeans Wilder + Albert's Basement

"You're such a mother fucking tough guy" sings Jean Wilder. Over and over.

In the 'sounds like' section of his Myspace profile he (Andrew Caddick) describes Jean Wilder as "he really needs a hug". So spot on. This is gentle fuzz surfpop for the downtrodden deadbeat in all of us - lazy and troubled but still looking ahead to a brighter day.

'Tough Guys' Jeans Wilder

Back in March Fader's Freak Scene mentioned his cassette and I looked him at the time and was into it, but then he slipped through the cracks. No Pain In Pop are big fans though and reminded me of him recently.

I downloaded 'Tough Guys' via a NPIP post and have been listening to it a lot. I had a shitty morning today and when this song started playing on a mix CD I made for myself a while ago, it really chilled me out. Vibing, I just cruised.

Make sure you check Freak Scene and No Pain In Pop via those links above. Bookmark and love like I do.

Also keep your eyes peeled for a track of his on a new compilation by awesome Melbourne collective Albert's Basement

One of their upcoming releases 'Colourful Mountains' will have a Jeans Wilder track as well as stuff by Barrage, Nite Jewel, Pink Priest and others.

New Bon Iver Single

Oh... wait... he's kinda young... is this Justin Vernon pre Bon Iver? Actually, wait... don't I know that guy?

grass widow

Sometimes I work from home, sometimes I come into a big officey area... Today I'm in the office and someone nearby is playing Sade 'Sweetest Taboo' really loudly... it's killing me.

I have been trying to drown it out with these girls: Grass Widow

They write wonderful vocally-driven post punk with quirky, contagious 60s pop harmonies and so much sass. Their songs can be a little messy at times, but I think that only ads to the overall charm. And their song 'To Where' is such a GEM!

'To Where' Grass Widow

See?! Killer track! So perfect for drowning out Sade melodies! Is it safe to say I prefer them to Vivian Girls? Is that allowed?

Make A Mess records released their first recording in April which has since sold out. They might be reissuing it, but I don't know. Check in with Captured Tracks though, because there were rumours a while back that they were picking up distribution rights.

memory cassette vs weird tapes

Two days after my birthday last year, almost exactly a year ago, I posted 'Asleep At A Party' by Memory Cassette.

Initially, the project was sold as a collaboration between former Hail Social social member Dayve Hawke and an unnamed Philadelphia vocalist. Later I found out it was just Hawke, and his femme alter ego... Kinda like Natasha Khan's Pearl...

Regardless, I thought the song was just the best birthday present, and since then have been wandering along with Memory Cassette/Weird Tapes/Memory Tapes, falling in love with the wistful, nostalgic, and wonderfully evocative pop electronics.

Today, Pitchfork (who else?) got the premiere for the song's video.



'Call and Response' EP is sold out (except in stores - try Rough Trade London) but the debut full-length 'Seek Magic' is due for release in September through Acephale

Christina Milan

OOFFF!

What a slow jam

'Chameleon' Christina Milan feat. The-Dream

I love it when couples get together professionally and it doesn't suck

via Fader blog