 Parades have been at the forefront of the music scene in Sydney for the past year, following their debut LP Foreign Tapes which was a perfect mix of soft, atmospheric synths, hammering drum beats, and weightless overlapping harmonies. Their music has drawn similarities to Radiohead, Sigur Ros and Postal Service among others with their sweet harmonies, double timed beats, and atmospheric sounds. To limit Parades to a mere comparison is an insult to what they represent, they have created a sound that is completely unique and unheard of in the spectrum of Australian music. They have suffered a huge loss in recent times with the girls from Kyu: Freya and Alex, who lay down their angelic vocals on tracks from the Hunters EP and the Foreign Tapes LP, parting ways for good to focus on their duo.
Having seen them in a live setting with and without the female backing vocalists, it takes away a certain element from their performance, however new track Water Stories proves that Parades can still create beautifully intimate indie pop without a female backing, for the voices they do posess, although male, reach such delicate highs, they compliment the harsh double-time drum beat and the atmospheric guitars perfectly. Jonathan Boulet is still a revelation, throwing down driving rhythmic drum beats, and abstract outros, he shows talent which belies his age, at 22 he has two highly successful and sort out acts in Parades and his solo act Jonathan Boulet, and a hardcore band Snake Face. In all, Water Stories is an excellent follow up to Foreign Tapes and gives a good idea of the future. They will be playing FBI's Choose Your Own Adventure with the likes of Faker, Deep Sea Arcade, Andy Bull and Matt Corby on July 2.
 Ghoul aren't a metal band, a horror movie, or a creature of the supernatural variety. Although they do have a supernatural talent at creating surreal experimental music. They combine cool synths with abstract beats, hand claps, and are driven by a strangely seductive voice. Ghoul are following in the footsteps of a host of experimental bands from Sydney, gaining supporting slots for PVT, Seekae and Pikelet who are growing in popularity with airplay on Triple J and FBI. The track 3Mark is a stand out; dark and alluring, it rolls on effortlessly it almost puts you in a trance with its ethereal soundscapes and sonic glitches. Ghoul are a the next up and coming experimental act to emerge out of Sydney. They will be playing Splendour in the Grass 2011, so if you missed tickets, you should check these guys out! Download their track 3Mark below. Download to listen, or alternatively stream (and download 3 free tracks) at their unearthed site: http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=24555
 Karnivool proved once again they are the absolute epitome of hard rock in Australia right now. Their music is just so technically amazing, analysing each band member in a live setting just astounds me to the depths of their ability. Coming to the roundhouse armed with a swag of old and new, Karnivool played a killer set drawn from Persona, Themata and Sound Awake and including a new song which gives an idea of the direction they will take in their future work. Ian Kenny was in his zone, creating incredible build ups with his voice, which can be so incredibly intimate, during the song Change Part 2, and brooding and aggressive during Roquefort, to pure aggression in Themata. With a rhythm section as tight as ever, led by Drew Goddard, and the emphatic Steve Judd on drums, they punched out a wall of noise to which intense headbanging was the only option. Being an avid fan of Karnivool since Persona, my love for their music has grown emphatically over the years with Themata and Sound Awake, which I may add I listened to alone for a month straight! I am incredibly eager for new music from these guys, and Ian Kenny's heavy involvement and touring with his successful side project Birds of Tokyo slows the process monumentally. Not to mention the heavy touring schedule of the US, UK and Europe of Karnivool. Here's a video of their new song recorded live. This song is pretty dark, and incredibly fast and technical which may hint a movement towards a heavier sound:
In terms of their technical ability, noone in Australian music comes close. Themata was the brainchild of lead guitarist Drew Goddard, who actually played drums in recording Themata, which resulted in a heavy, angry guitar and bass driven sound most evident in songs like Themata, Roquefort, Lifelike, and Scarabs. However other songs on the record such as Cote, Fear Of The Sky and Mauseum gave us a deeper insight into the band's ability, with clean harmonic build ups to demonic break downs, and hard hitting choruses. These songs showed the ability of Karnivool to change the mood from serenity to pure aggression. Their second release, Sound Awake took this songwriting process to another level, with the band utilising a more collaborative effort with all band members contributing more evenly. The change was very noticeable, with no loss in the heaviness that accompanied Themata, but a clear difference in terms of each musicians individual presence in each song. With the depth of talent that Karnivool posesses, they couldnt go wrong! Steve Judd finally exerted his own influence on the songs, introducing a heavy polyrhythm with odd time singatures across many tracks on the record, my favourites being Simple Boy, Set Fire To The Hive, Goliath, and The Caudal Lure; all just technically brilliant! Bassist John Stockman and his beastly 6-string stand out on Goliath, Simple Boy, and Set Fire To the Hive. The guitar pairing of Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking are heavy as always, bringing a new dimension to Karnivool's songs, Set Fire To The Hive is an absolute beast of a song; the speed and aggression brings forth something entirely different I have ever heard before. The song that sums up Karnivool's heightened collaboration is present in the song Change Part 2, which is just an absolute smorgasboard of sound, and incorporates delightful harmonies, delicate build ups, and smashing break downs and the outro..my god! Karnivool closed with this song on Saturday and the outro drum beat was all i could hear in my head for hours afterwards! For your listening pleasure, click below:
 New Navy, Rufus and Sons of Alamo will be playing Oxford Art Factory's Gallery Bary for free tonight in support of New Navy's EP release titled ' Uluwatu'. New Navy are a Sydney band who infuse summery guitars and whistles to create a indie pop noise that's unique and fun, and make you swoon a little. Their EP was mixed by Jono Ma from Los Valentinos who has also worked with Foals, which gives their music a more danceable, and upbeat sound. Their single Zimbabwe has been getting frequent airplay on FBI 94.5 and are making a name for themselves. Check New Navy out for free streaming here: http://newnavy.bandcamp.com/
 Rufus just signed to Parklife 2011 and have some incredibly cool remixes including a stellar remix of Gotye's Hearts A Mess. Check them out for free streaming here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/R%C3%BCF%C3%BCS/130693886974245?sk=app_178091127385
 HOLY CRAP! Death From Above 1979, Digitalism, Little Dragon, Santigold, Adrian Lux, Flux Pavillion, Nero, Magnetic Man, The Gossip, Katy B, Crystal Fighters, Simian Mobile Disco, Naked & Famous, Kimbra, Goldfields, Example and more! This lineup is so immensely impressive I can barely control myself. It is perfectly weighted with artists from every realm of dance music. So many of these artists just make me want to loose my shit when I listen to their music (and dance uncontrollably), this parklife is going to be a guaranteed dance-fest from the moment it kicks off! Tickets go on sale June 30 and there is a presale function on the website for those of you who don't want to miss out (including myself). Check it out at www.parklife.com.auIts a huge enough drawcard for DFA 1979 to be on the bill, but to back it up with such quality acts, including prime dub step artists in Flux Pavillion, Nero and , this is sure to be a winner!
 For those of you who don't know DFA 1979 they are fucking huge! They caused a riot at SXSW festival there were so many punters trying to catch their show, they completely outstaged Kanye West, Jay Z AND Foo Fighters with their prescence. They booked every major festival this year with their reunion announcement, after 6 years in oblivion: SXSW, Lollapolooza, Coachella, Leeds and Reading Festival, and festivals in about 10 other countries. The dance-punk duo play synth infused dance-punk using drums and bass alone. But by god do they make a huge racket! To get a taster for what they do, there are some sweet videos on their blog, including a rehearsal filmed from Grainger's bass http://deathfromabove1979.com/blog/, and some footage from the riot at SXSW. I can only hope for a repeat at Parklife!
Funeral Party's music stands for everything I crave in music. Fast drums, screaming guitars, howling vocals and cow bells. Gotta love those cow bells! Their music makes you want to live fast and die young, and make the most of every moment: ie drink, party, fornicate and cause mayhem. The two tracks I've singled out for your pleasure are Finale and New York City Moves to the Sound of LA. Both infuse great overlapping elements, of guitar and bass with a pedantic drum line and cowbells which combine to create a wall of noise led by the powerful voice of Chad Elliot which make it impossible to sit still to. Both make me want to absolutely unleash! These guys have emerged from the LA party scene and are quickly gaining momentum, recently earning a spot on NME's Top 50 Best Bands of 2011! They tour Australia shorty hitting Metro Theatre in August. Check out their album Golden Age of Knowhere out now!
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