Album Review: The Stanleys Debut Album by The Stanleys (2017) (Label: Off The Hip)

Although I emigrated to South Africa over a decade ago, I am very much still a Pom (a British person). I have an Australian friend at work who also emigrated around the same time. We both love cricket and enjoy each others company when the two teams play each other in the Ashes series between our two countries. It is a very big deal to us and many of our countrymen.

Album Review: Electric Trails From Nowhere by The Golden Rail (2017) (Label: Pretty Olivia Records and Off The Hip)

Although Ian Freeman and Jeff Baker have had a song writing relationship that has spanned 30 years encompassing notable Australian bands like Header, The Rainyard, The Palisades and the Summer Suns, they perhaps may not have envisioned being as prolific as they have in the last 18 months.

Album Review - Edge of a Dream by The Jangle Band (2015) (Labels: Pretty Olivia Records / Off The Hip / Egomaniac Music)

Things I love get bastardized. Poetic social commentary is forgone for rappers informing how to kill in rhyming couplets. Tranquil, skillful 5 days cricket now gets more attention when played by huge thugs clubbing the ball with a plank for two hours a night and getting huge sums of money for regularly scoring 19 runs off 7 balls.

The concept of books/novels is being challenged by two line internet micro-stories that clever sorts then attribute 97 pages of meaning too and German '63% Glonckenspeil Reisling' makes the fine wine top 20 as published by Supermarkets R Us...blimey even the 'bun' is now seen as a viable addition to the list of possible hairstyles for a man.

Jangle-pop has certainly not escaped such bastardization. In the last five years the guitar melody has drifted increasingly towards all things shoegaze and as such seems to get forced through the echo, reverb and fuzz productions tubes so that it fits more precisely with the vocals that have already been tortured in the same manner.