Darcy Wigram

Underlapper - Softly Harboured - [hellosQuare / Feral Media]

Sydney sweet electronica-ey post rock sextet Underlapper made a splash with their gorgeous debut disc Red Spring a few years ago, gigged consistently and then seemingly disappeared. Luckily for us, they were locked in some kind of sunny studio writing and recording this album.

Within the first two songs, you hear soft female guest vocals, noodle-y sax, skittish cymbals and manic chanting, on top of the guitars and boxes that the band are known for. And the vibe is sunny - for what it’s worth, post-rock will always have a kind of lamenting grind, but the progressions on Softly Harboured are replete with lashings of
hope, resolution, and regret less reflection. There's some rich Peter Hollo guest cello on there, and even when the vocals get a bit Tucker B's style rambunctious, you don't get a sense of dread, instead awash with the dynamic sound-scapes the band creates. And make no mistake – this is completely a band. At any time at least four instruments are getting played, the electronics being an enhancement, not to cheat. More vocal heavy than their first album, Underlapper's music now has a different taste, adding an element of colloquialism to their previously friendly prettiness. Still, perfect for early weekend mornings wrapped in a doona sitting near the heater, looking out into the garden as the new days sun glistens the frost.

ALBUM OF THE ISSUE Los Capitanes Rest For The Wicked [Sound System]

Los Caps... that hardworking ska punk band that played every underage gig possible when we were 15, making us all swoon, skank, and snog in equal measure... I *fondly* remember you, Los Capitanes.

For their new album, the band have decided to wear all of their influences on their hoodie sleeves and put out a record that smashes from ska punk to hair metal to hip hop to reggae to pop emo to post hardcore to Harry Connic Jr style schmalz, all in the space of three songs. It’s enthralling. They are the Girl Talk of ska punk bands.

They’re potty-mouthed and sometimes write a few too many words than actually fit, but it doesn't matter as soon enough a doomy metal sequence will break out in some flamenco guitar and the singer will deride your friends for all listening to indie. This is the best experience I’ve had with an album in ages, and whilst I don’t love all of it, it’s more ambitious than Kanye West's latest, and so much more fun. I was expecting another Pokers inspired horn-blow (and would have been happily satisfied), and instead got a magnum opus.

DAZED & FLAWLEZZ - Hardly flawed

These guys don’t seem to lie. They call their promotions For The People and their night My Favourite Things. Obvious, but why beat around the bush with your intentions?

DAZED & FLAWLEZZ played a gig out in Belconnen earlier this year that absolutely destroyed everyone in attendance. The feedback from many of the more cynical heads led me to become intrigued, and I happened to catch them later and feel the rapture - dynamic, exciting, familiar and bassy, their sentiment was positive and the crowd appreciated it as such. But where did they come from?

“Well, it all started about four years back when we met up doing an audio engineering course,” Flawlezz chimes in. “I saw some guy with his hat to the side, so we got chatting ‘cause we were the only two obviously hip-hop guys there. We didn’t know each other, but on the first day found we had some common ground, and found out we had the same goals, same passions and same loves. We were in a new city, and over time began to kind of lean on each other for a lot of stuff as we settled in.” Dazed continues: “[We’re] pretty much two dudes that really like their hip-hop. What makes us different is that, opposed to your general Aussie hip-hop crews that grew up together and have known each other their whole life, these are two guys from completely different backgrounds that bonded over hip-hop. And in that there are different aspects - Flawlezz loves the West Coast kind of sound, where I’m more into underground beats, so we have to meet somewhere in the middle of that, and that’s what makes us who we are.”

To date, there is nothing of theirs to buy in stores, so do they have any intentions of releasing material, or are they just going to stick with the live shows for the next while to make their mark?

Flawlezz reckons that “the live shows don’t hurt in getting people into it, and I think our live show is our strongest weapon. We have plans to release stuff, but we are battlers - and by battlers, we are living day to day, we weren’t born with a silver spoon in our mouths, so that will come in time.”

azed agrees: “There is also about an album-and-a-half of Dazed & Flawlezz stuff, about an album of solo tracks each. We just need some money or someone to sign us or something.” Noting that distance between the members makes things tough - with Flawlezz living in Canberra, their DJ Mad Cow in Sydney, and Dazed in Melbourne -  they explain that “the internet has made it heaps easier. On that note, we have a mixtape that’s almost all done, all we need is a little more studio time and it will be finished.”

And they are bringing My Favourite Things to Canberra, but this is the third instalment, and one that looks surprising to the uninitiated.

“There are a lot of people from down here who had been to the first two, so I didn’t want to rip them off by pretending the first two didn’t happen, even if they were interstate,” Flawlezz says with authority. Dazed continues: “We got tired of going to hip-hop parties and seeing the same thing - lots of wall flowers, staunch dudes being tough, and we just wanted to put on a party where people have fun, there’s no attitude, lots of good tunes and everyone having a nice time… So we put on the first two in Sydney, and they were great! It’s been about a year and we thought we should have a reunion of sorts.” “It’s a night for the people,” Flawlezz concludes. “A good old-fashioned night where we can get down and have a say in what music is played.”

MFT3 features Dazed & Flawlezz with DJ Mad Cow alongside Sydney’s MC Undertow, Rhymeministers, B-Ware, Halfcast and DJs Alistair and Miss Universe on Saturday July 12 at Mercury Bar. There’ll be giveaways, open mic, MPC jam, fresh kicks comp, and all for a thrifty $5 entry.

DJ Krush / Bec Paton @ ANU Bar, Thursday May 22

Chilly nights are always warmed with the promise of lush hip-hop and electronica, and my expectations were high for this one to both warm my feet and satisfy my longing for music a bit more abstract than the fare often served up by the bigger touring electronic artists and DJs.

We arrived to find the lush sounds of ex-Canberran Bec Paton doing a warm-up set that, had it been louder, and she not a support DJ, would have been more than enough entertainment for one night. Her sublime mixing of records that would pose problems to the most talented of selectors formed a beat-laden, diverse, bass-y and beautiful introduction to the night - which was only slowed by quickly rectified turntable problems - and seemed like a tribute to all Krush is about: gorgeous sounds juxtaposed by drums-of-death.

The crowd swelled and with it, the atmosphere, so when DJ Krush took the stage an almighty cheer erupted from the crowd. For the next hour-and-a-half, we were presented with a wonderfully diverse display of track knowledge, manipulation and mixing skills. Happily, the Canberra crowd were appreciative - I’m sure roars of approval would emanate anytime, anywhere Krush started doing his live rendition of DJ Shadow’s Organ Donor, but cheers were elicited (deservedly) at the dropping of any of his own tracks, and any time some wizardry occurred. I couldn’t see exactly what he was using - it looked like two decks and some type of fancy effects unit - but make no mistake, he was controlling the machines and therefore the music; not making the job easy for himself. For music that, to the punters, was often beautiful and relaxing, the level of movement Krush exerted between implements to create it was mesmerising and somewhat exhausting to watch.

A satisfactory wash of amazement followed us out of the Refectory that night, so glad that we again had the pleasure of seeing a true master of his craft - and introduced by one of the more appropriately selected support acts for this type of show. If Krush ever comes to town again, make sure you get along!