quick audio picks: 1234
I've never been to Rio, but I bet it's a fun place. Beaches, bikinis, booty, boob jobs, baile funk... what more do you want? Australia's Bumblebeez obviously have a thing for the place and named their recent electro pop jammy after it....
expand review "Rio(1)" is a hype lil' piece with a care-free party vibe, some beat boxin, and a ridiculously catchy hook. "I'm flying down to Rio" over and over - definitely "get-stuck- in-your-head" status right there. If that isn't hype enough for you, this 12" also includes the Crookers Bang Remix(2) and a Herve Remix (3). Both mixes take that shit to level 10+. And since the people over at Modular are so generous, you also get hooked up with the Etienne De Crecy remix(4) if techy is what your into. Packaged in loud and bright pic sleeve (which is almost as loud and bright as the Bumblebeez seizure-inducing myspace page). -snackmaster
quick audio picks: 1234
After a couple of 10"s and an EP that floated up from his homeland of Australia over the last two years, Cut Copy (Dan Whitford) drops a full-length CD that makes good on some of that advanced warning. Cut Copy isn't the...
expand review abstract impressionist his countrymen (and label-mates) The Avalanches are. He instead blends a specific scope of influences - new wave and mellowed-out dance music, mostly - with windblown, electronic rhythms and vocoder vocals. "Future(1)" resembles a contemporary edit of a Human League song, with its synthesized droplets and wistful romanticizing. "Saturday(2)" and the closing "A Dream(3)," meanwhile, shuffle with more breezy house beats. The difference between Cut Copy's nostalgic dance and that of others' is that that he's not as self-conscious, evidenced on songs like "The Twilight(4)" and "Bright Neon Payphone," which expand his sound to incorporate an indie-pop jones. 11 tracks total. -Jazzbo
quick audio picks: 12345
The term "highly anticipated" gets tossed around a lot, but it might actually be an understatement in the case of the new full-length from Cut Copy. This shit is already #1 on the Australian charts... okay, you probably only have to sell...
expand review like 30 copies to top said chart, but this is a great little record which quite a few people have been salivating for. "Little" isn't the right adjective actually, as Cut Copy (with help from DFA's Tim Goldsworthy on production) step up with some epic future/retro dance sounds - check the new version of "Hearts On Fire(1)," the intense "So Haunted(2)," "Nobody Lost, Nobody Found(3)," album opener "Feel The Love(4)" and the alternately jangly/squelchy disco jam "Lights & Music(5)." 15 tracks, 50 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 12345
The term "highly anticipated" gets tossed around a lot, but it might actually be an understatement in the case of the new full-length from Cut Copy. This shit is already #1 on the Australian charts... okay, you probably only have to sell...
expand review like 30 copies to top the said chart, but this is a great little record which quite a few people have been salivating for. "Little" isn't the right adjective actually, as Cut Copy (with help from DFA's Tim Goldsworthy on production) step up with some epic future/retro dance sounds - check the new version of "Hearts On Fire(1)," the intense "So Haunted(2)," "Nobody Lost, Nobody Found(3)," album opener "Feel The Love(4)" and the alternately jangly/squelchy disco jam "Lights & Music(5)." Comes with a big fold-out insert designed by Australia's Alter. 15 tracks, 50 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 12
Hirsute electro chica Peaches puts the club boots to the New Zealander (via London) on this hand clapping, bass distorting remix of their single "Paris Is Burning(1)." Flip features the original track with alternate French vocals on "Paris S'enflamme(2)." Super heavyweight 45...
expand review pressing in a fancy matte pic sleeve. -Van Hammersly
quick audio picks: 1234567
Brand new double-disc comp filled with more of the hip electro we've come to expect from Sydney's Modular label. Disc 1 is a full-on mix assault, featuring 19 tracks selected by Modular and mixed by Thee Bang Gang Deejays. If you haven't...
expand review heard of Bang Gang yet, you will be soon. Around this time in Oz last year, you couldn't walk 2 blocks without seeing a party flyer advertising a Bang Gang gig (or a solo party with crew member Gus Da Hoodrat... yes, Gus Da Hoodrat). Their mix includes tracks from CSS, The Gossip, Futureheads (Digitalism Remix), Klaxons (Van She Remix), MSTRKRFT, The Presets, Jenny Wilson (The Knife Remix), Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Peaches Remix), Justice, Peter Bjorn & John, Hot Chip (Erol Alkan Remix) and more. Disc 2 features 12 unmixed tracks, including some hard-to-find Modular catalog nuggets like the Chicken Lips remix of Wolfmother's "Love Train(1)" and Simian Mobile remixing The Go! Team(2). Also check Ed Banger's DJ Medhi remixing New Young Pony Club's "Ice Cream(3)," SMD's "Hustler(4)," the Riton re-rub of Mystery Jets(5) and the Optimo remix of Franz Ferdinand's "Outsiders(6)." -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 123456
I'll let you in on a secret: Muscles is the shit, and Guns Babes Lemonade is a late-comer in the running for Best Album of 2007. I've been sweating this dude's one-man band steez and bugging Modular for a copy of this...
expand review album for over a year now; in the meantime, he's been making a name for himself in and outside of his native Australia, touring with Soulwax and remixing folks like Robyn and Architecture In Helsinki. Plain and simple: if you're a fan of dance music (or just fun music) and haven't heard Muscles' insane rave synths, multitracked harmonies and obtuse/sweet lyrics yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. Allow me: "Ice Cream(1)," "Hey Muscles I Love You(2)," "One Inch Badge Pin(3)," "Chocolate Raspberry Lemon & Lime(4)," "The Lake(5)" and "Sweaty(6)," which sports a refrain of "PEACE! LOVE! ECSTASY! UNITY! RESPECT!" Comes in a glossy digipak with embossed cover. 11 tracks; 43 minutes. Highly recommended. -Larri Byrd
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The Presets continue to explore the deepest, darkest caverns of electro and rock on Apocalypso, their sophomore full-length for Modular. Along with the buzzsaw single "My People(1)," the Sydney duo get into the housier side of things on tracks like "This Boy's...
expand review In Love(2)," go minimal with "Anywhere(3)," rock out on "Eucalyptus(4)" and even sound like they're having fun(!) on "Yippyo-Ay(5)." (Really, how could you not have fun with a track named "Yippyo-Ay?" Sounds like they've been listening to Chromeo.) 11 tracks; 50 minutes. -Van Hammersly
quick audio picks: 1234
Big track from the Presets, who go the ultra heavy, nearly industrial route this time around. The massive distorted electronics and sick live(?) drums of the original(1) run wild as frontmang Julian Hamilton tears it up with emphatic, ecstatic vocals. Gotta say...
expand review though, the remixes are what's good here. Turbo's D.I.M.(2) manages to retain that intensity while making the whole affair much more dancefloor friendly via chunky synths and a breakdown / end bit which should absolutely murder. Also, woah, where the fuck have Mouse On Mars been? Their bubbling, skittery "Acid Pretzels" version(3) is a nice listen, though not as useful as Krice Menace's dubby remix(4). -Larri Byrd
quick audio picks: 1234
"This Boy's In Love(1)" is one of the more poppy moments on the Presets' Apocalypso full-length, albeit poppy in a very Presets fashion. The drums are still cold, the synths still sinister and chugging, but the lovesong lyrics and saccharine backup vocals...
expand review give it a decidedly 80s slant. If the OG is a little too Depeche Mode for you, this 12" gives you options: there's a plonging minimal remix from Jori Hulkkonen(2), a housey rework by remixer of the moment Lifelike(3) and a more bare-bones edit(4) by Presets drummer K.I.M. with a vocal breakdown perfect for mixing. Oh and thanks to Modular for the info in the fine print: "DO NOT EAT." -Chris Lemon-Red
It feels like The Bumblebeez (aka Bumblebeez 81, but not to be confused with The Bees or Band of Bees) have been around forever, so I was surprised to find out that this album from late 2007 was actually their debut long...
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I've never been to Rio, but I bet it's a fun place. Beaches, bikinis, booty, boob jobs, baile funk... what more do you want? Australia's Bumblebeez obviously have a thing for the place and named their recent electro pop jammy after it....
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From the Avalanches, to AC/DC and especially to Kylie Minogue, Australian exports always manage to capture my man Roger Yamaha's heart. So when we got in this "Future" single by Melbourne's Cut Copy, it wasn't hard to guess who would be first...
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