Volcano Choir – Unmap
Bon meets the Bees in this post rock collaboration for Justin Vernon and Collections of Colonies of Bees which results in only a slight buzz.
Hatcham Social – You Dig The Tunnel, I’ll Hide The Soil
There's no hiding Hatcham Social. "You Dig The Tunnel" kicks the dirt long and high in a dazzling display of pop sensibility.
Bob Mould – Silver Age
Merge, 2012 Alterna-rock statesman hot from bringing a little 90's Sugar to the 10's masses returns with shit-hot album. If that's all the convincing you need, you might as well stop reading now
ROOT! – Interview with DC Root (Damien Cowell) (2008)
In Webcuts' short history we've had the pleasure of publishing many enjoyable and informative interviews, but few have matched the humour and insight pervasive in this feature with DC from Melbourne's ROOT!. The band's history, debunking the misconception that having good lyrics equates to bad music, the sycophantic cult of Nick Cave, politics and much, much more are covered.
The Walkmen – London – 25 August 2010
“You’re one of us, or you’re one of them“. Hamilton Leithauser, fist wrapped tight around the microphone as if he's trying to strangle it, is howling those words. The rest of The Walkmen, heads bowed (as they remain throughout most of the set) play complicit and provide the carnival-esque roar to ram Leithauser’s words home. It’s not so much a question or a suggestion but a statement. For better or for worse, for way back when the band were selling their own white label records at the Middle East in Boston in 2001, I’ve been one of "us".
Owen Pallett – Heartland
From Final Fantasy to something more pallettable Canada's Owen Pallett continues to enthrall with his third album which gets to right to the heart.
Kaki King – Junior
More depressing pop dressed up espionage style on the fifth album from this diminutive guitar goddess. "Junior", indeed.
Grand Duchy – Petit Fours
Grand who? Just call them Mr. and Mrs. Frank Black and everything will be peachy, or desserty...
Faker – Be the Twilight
Capitol/EMI, 2007 [9/10] There is a litany of bands that make the decision to pack their bags and move to Los Angeles to try and catch a spark of what makes the town such a
Who The Hell Are… Civil Civic?
There aren't that many great instrumental duos in the history of rock and roll. I've thought about this for about 20 seconds or so and bored already. To arrive at that musical decision, and to arrive at that musical decision when your bandmate doesn't even live in the same country, is as perverse as it is stupid. Being as they are Australian, perverse stupidity is our calling, and it's why Civil Civic succeed where others have just gone "Dude, we need another member". With the title still up for grabs (or until some smart-ass avant-garde freak shoots me down), Civil Civic could turn out to be the greatest instrumental duo in the history of rock and roll. Wouldn't that be just dandy?
Beth Jeans Houghton – London – 26 September 2012
Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny Kings College, London September 26, 2012 A little face paint and a rummage through the fancy dress chest has the potential to turn even the dreariest of
The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
The Decemberists discard the costumes and dispense with the theatre slipping into more familiar musical threads on album number 6.
Jay Reatard – London – 13 November 2009
Musicians die. Sometimes quite unexpectedly, most before their time, but not often enough for your brain to idle between song, between string changes or tunings to wonder “will this be the last time?”. You don’t, because you’re too busy enjoying the moment. Having witnessed Jay Reatard play what would be his last ever show in London, he was anything but the vision of a man kicking out the last of his jams.
The Scare – Oozevoodoo
If you've been with The Scare lately, you'll be lucky if it's only voodoo you're oozing, otherwise you better see a doctor.
Washed Out – Riding the Chillwave (2011)
As 2011 continues to reveal an abundance of new artists and great music, it's of no surprise that one of the more anticipated debut albums was that of 28-year-old Atlanta based songwriter and producer Ernest Greene, AKA Washed Out. Full of blissful harmonies and gently shifting arrangements, augmented with hip-hop beats and samples, Within And Without quickly became the preferred summer spin at Webcuts. Static's Chris Berkley recently caught up with Ernest to talk about all things Within And Without -- recording the album, the process behind it, and amongst other things, 10CC's "I'm Not In Love" and the 'raunchy' cover art.
Stars – Interview with Evan Cranley on The Five Ghosts (2010)
The new Stars album The Five Ghosts is a focused and streamlined record that in some ways harks back to their synth-pop roots of their first album, albeit being much darker in tone and theme. While Stars' diminutive front-man Torquil Campbell, and its glamorous front-woman Amy Millan, may get the most of the star light we recently had words with the quiet achiever of the band, Evan Cranley. Evan reveals to us details about the process and direction that the new album took, the decision behind the Séance EP, his jack of all trades role in the band, the novel approach to touring the new songs and how to create a fantastic remix.