Album Review - Young Man Old Man

Artist: Hoodlum Shouts (Aus)

Release Date: 28^th March, 2012

While much of this year has been taken up by my own overblown hype regarding new albums by some of my favourite artists (The Mars Volta, Meshuggah, the impending Soundgarden release and the possibility of new Pearl Jam and Tool albums by the year’s end), it is genuinely refreshing to be listening, jaw-dropped to an album that, while I thought it would be good, didn’t expect to be such a rewarding, brilliant listen comparable to the very best music going around right now.  The best way I can describe my first listening experience of Canberra based quartet Hoodlum Shouts’ debut album, Young Man Old Man, is by comparing it to daring your younger brother to punch you in the face.  You know it’s coming, you know it’ll be half decent, but really, you have it in your head that because he’s smaller than you, there’s no possible way he can deliver a blow that knocks you off your feet.  Then, suddenly, you’re on your back, face covered in blood, unable to speak because you have a fractured jaw and unable to recall the moments between your brother winding up and the present moment of total confusion over how he managed to inflict so much damage on your poor face.  At the same time though, you have a certain sense of pride about the proceedings.  There’s no ill will.  He is, after all, your brother. 

Young Man Old Man did exactly that to me.  I knew it was going to be a decent listen, but I didn’t realise that it would be the passion-drenched powerhouse that it is.  I felt, afterwards, utterly stupid for not knowing of this band earlier than I had, yet proud that I own their music and am able to listen to it as it’s coming out.  From the beginning drone of instrumental intro La Nina, to the closing moments of Last Of Them, Hoodlum Shouts don’t let up.  But rather than try and run you over and force you to listen to them by coming straight at you and pounding you over the head, they create an atmosphere that slowly drags you towards them.  You get sucked into their world and their ideals through a sound that I’ve described to friends as “doom punk”.  They are, undoubtedly, a punk band.  The political nature of their lyrics, their association with the excellent Poison City Records and the non-stop, relentless attitude they display towards touring and live performance confirms this.  But where many punk bands go for speed and quick statements to get their points across, Hoodlum Shouts slow everything down.  They create atmospheres out of simple, repeated chords that force you to rock your head back and forth and get caught up in their groove.

The highlight of the album would have to be the two-parted title tracks, Young Man and Old Man.  Placed right in the middle of the album, it is clear that the band wants particular attention paid to these tracks.  When I saw them play about a month ago, vocalist Sam Leyshon, introduced the song by stating that it was about former rugby league player (and the first major professional sports person to come out about his homosexuality in Australia), Ian Roberts.  The song seems to concern Roberts’s relationship with murdered teen Aaron Light.  While I don’t know much about the subject (rugby stories are generally ignored in Melbourne’s mainstream media thanks to the dominance of Australian Rules Football), the song has certainly made me want to find out more, as any good punk song should.  It presents you with an issue, or an incident that highlights something very specific about the world we live in and forces you to question it, form your own opinions and challenge the general consensus.  On top of all of this, it is a powerful, emotion filled track that forces you to pay attention and sweeps you away with its lament of someone lost who didn’t deserve the fate that they were given.

To wrap things up, I honestly can’t recommend this album enough.  Sure, it won’t be everyone’s idea of good music, but there hasn’t been a band that has invited a listener to challenge themselves and their views like this in a long, long time.  I have been, and will be, listening to this album over and over again.  Just like a brother with a talent for smashing faces, you can stand behind this album and be confident that it will help you fight your fights with its passion and ideals.  Ladies and gentlemen, Hoodlum Shouts’ Young Man Old Man album has become my first true contender for album of the year.  Be sure you head out and see them on their upcoming tour!

Live Review - Luca Brasi/The Smith Street Band

February 25, 2012 – The Gasometer Hotel, Melbourne

There was plenty of political rubbish over the past weekend to make even the most ardent “Aussie” embarrassed.  I won’t go into the details of it because politics isn’t my strong point and much of my opinion is based on media hearsay rather than actually knowing what the hell is/was going on.  Suffice to say that there was a lot of talk about being embarrassed by our leaders and there was a whole bunch of people saying that they were ashamed to be Australian.  But what’s all this got to do with a music review?  Well, not much other than the fact that I wanted to point out that those same people who felt ashamed to be a part of this country, should get out and see some live Australian music so that their faith in this nation can be well and truly restored.

Saturday night at the Gasometer was certainly one of those nights where the overabundance of Australian talent was on display.  My love for The Smith Street Band has been pretty obvious here since I started this blog a couple of months ago.  I’ve also recently reviewed a couple of other outstanding Australian artists in Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackette’s and Mojo Juju.  And now, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to welcome punk band Luca Brasi to that list of Australian bands that make me very proud and fortunate to be born and living precisely where I do.

Hailing from the criminally, often forgotten state of Tasmania, Luca Brasi are an extremely powerful unit.  I’m not going to try and compare their sound to anything in particular because they have that rare quality where their sound reminds you of a whole bunch of different bands, but when you try and use those bands to describe them, you find that those comparisons are totally misleading.  It’s a quality that indicates a true original.  Where many bands are going out and trying to sound like something specific, others, like Luca Brasi, are chasing a sound in their heads that is made up of many hours listening to, and learning from, a lot of different bands.  Don’t get me wrong, this band only have one official release to their name (that I’m aware of) and they are still working on their sound, but there is some serious promise for some truly outstanding work to be come.

The band, currently promoting their debut album, Extended Family, (available from Poison City Records here), have had a rough time of things over the weekend.  On their way over to Melbourne, the airline they were flying with somehow managed to lose one of their guitars.  On top of this, their set at Gasometer was delayed due to some equipment malfunctions.  However, the four piece didn’t let it affect their performance.  After bursting out of the gates with album opener, Beacons, the band laughed off their technical troubles with a, “Sorry about the technical difficulties…we’re from Tasmania” (for readers from the U.S., an equivalent would be, “...we’re from the south”, or if you’re Canadian it would be “…we’re from Newfoundland”, sorry about everyone else, I’m not sure of the equivalent for everywhere, maybe “…we’re from Australia”).  The band punched through their set with energy and passion, clearly connecting with their audience with the amount of head swaying and singing along.  Luca Brasi are definitely a band to keep an eye on in the future.

Soon after Luca Brasi left the stage it was hometown heroes, The Smith Street Band’s turn.  Like Luca Brasi, the band started a little late due to some technical difficulties (mostly with front man, Wil Wagner’s equipment) but put it all aside once they were finally ready to go.  The band explodes on stage with so much passion that you get the feeling they truly believe every moment on the stage could be their last, so they spent each moment squeezing out as much power and force as they can.  It was a short set by the band, but they did play two new songs, both of which point to some very promising new music that is, hopefully, on the way soon.  Whether these tracks surface on a new single, EP or LP is yet to be known, but whatever The Smith Street Band put out, you can be sure that it is some quality stuff.

This was also the first time I had seen The Smith Street Band at a smaller gig, having seen them support Fucked Up and Jim Ward previously.  During their supporting slots, it took a while for the crowd to warm to the band before being won over completely by the obvious talent and truly awesome song writing on display.  Here, it was great to see a crowd singing along, even taking over from Wagner during the excellent Sigourney Weaver.  The highlight of their set would have to have been older song, South East Facing Wall, though.  There’s something that happens to this track live that gives it an extra immediacy, and a boost in its melancholy.  Maybe it’s the fact that there is a crowd singing along with it and connecting with it as much as Wagner is.  Either way, the track is electrifying when played live.  It truly demonstrates that beauty that occurs when an artist releases something to the public, and then the public takes it, connects with it, and feeds it back to the band creating a rare synergy between artist and audience.

I shouldn’t neglect to mention Hoodlum Shouts either.  Another Poison City band who, while they seem to require a bit more effort that the other bands on the bill, certainly appear to be a band worth sticking with and getting into.  Their sound reminded me a little of a more underground punk version of Midnight Oil.  They seem to have the same social consciousness that the pub rock legends had and I would love to get my hands on their EP to really give them a good listen.  A band worth checking out for sure.

My apologies to opening band, Cavalcade.  Unfortunately, I arrived at the venue a little late than intended and missed their set.  Sorry guys.

Overall, it seems as though Poison City have their ears in the right place.  I am yet to be unimpressed by any artist on their roster.  They have the right idea and are helping to push a scene that deserves recognition.  While indie bands are dominating the airwaves and our metal bands are doing very well overseas, these punk masters are slowly brewing beneath the surface and it’s only a matter of time before larger audiences take notice and these bands get the recognition they deserve.