Dimmer - Crystalator

My favourite Dimmer release - the debut single

What a way to announce yourself to the planet.

Totally sick!

Complete genius!

Dimmer - Crystalator (single)

1.  Crystalator
2.  Dawn's Coming In

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Dimmer - Degrees of Existence

If you haven't heard Shoulda Been Huge favourites Straitjacket Fits, hang your head in shame. Luckily for you, redemption is only a click (or two) away.

Dimmer were formed after the breakup of The Fits. Dimmer plough a more electronic path then The Fits but still maintain The Fits' edginess.

If you wanna hear Dimmer, head over to Bedlam's excellent Australian and New Zealand music blog Rising Above Bedlam where you can score a copy of the excellent It All Looks The Same At Night, which is actually a compilation of the first two Dimmer albums. And while you're there, check out some other great Australian and New Zealand music......including the best collection of The Triffids material this side of Humpty Doo.

Alternatively, if you don't mind parting with your hard earneds, head over to the New Zealand bandcamp site where you can pick up the latest and greatest Dimmer album Degrees of Existence for a mere US$ 8 - that's little more than a burger, coke and fries - and much easier on the wasteline! Degrees of Existence lies somewhere between early Dimmer and The Fits. I can't recommend this album highly enough - hell, I've (temporarily) come out of blogging retirement to plug it so you know it must be good!

Straitjacket Fits - Hail

Some more Australasiana - if such a word exists...

I posted the Straitjacket Fits Blow back in February. It didn't receive the traction I felt it deserved, in terms of both downloads and comments. So here, dear reader, is your chance to make amends.

A quick recap....."The Fits" emerged from Dunedin, New Zealand. They released three great albums before disbanding in the mid 90s. Their debut album Hail was released in 1988. The album posted here is the 1990 re-release, comprising of the Life In One Chord EP and original debut album. Although they fit (groan) within the broad sphere of indie/alternative, The Fits had their own unique and diverse sound resulting from the differing contributions of their two songwriters:  Shayne Carter contributed the snap and crackle, while Andrew Brough provided the pop (groan). This is acknowledged in the sleeve notes of Hail, which almost apologetically refer to the "different flavours" of the music on offer - like that's a bad thing?

Opener Dialing a Prayer sets the scene well, alternating between pop, subdued and spooky, and psychedelic, and features some great guitar noise. Telling Tales and Dead Heat are more straightforward indie pop, while Hail is more raucous and discordant.

She Speeds is the standout track. The subdued verses build suspense until the song bursts to life in the choruses, eventually leading into a joyous bridge. Sparkle That Shines and Take From The Years are again more straightforward indie pop. So Long Marianne sounds like mid-sixties Stones.

Grate is a mid-tempo atmospheric track built on great (oh puhlease!) discordant distorted guitar riffing. Fabulous Things is a slow-tempo atmospheric pop reminiscent of their best known song, Down In Splendour. Life In One Chord is a great three minute blast of pure punk, featuring some great guitar noise.



Straitjacket Fits - 1990 - Hail

1. Dialling A Prayer
2. Telling Tales
3. Dead Heat
4. Hail
5. Only You Knew
6. She Speeds
7. Sparkle That Shines
8. Take From The Years
9. So Long Marianne
10. Grate
11. Fabulous Things
12. All That That Brings
13. Life In One Chord
14. This Taste Delight

FLAC
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Flying Nun EP megapost

A few weeks back I posted some JPS Experience EPs. I knew I had another EP hiding away somewhere.....and here it is: Breathe, featuring two tracks (Breathe, Block) from Bleeding Star, and 2 non-album tracks which are every bit as good.

JPS Experience - 1993 - Breathe EP
1. Breathe
2. Up In the Sky
3. Kickback
4. Block

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And here are the three Straitjacket Fits CD singles released from the excellent Blow album. First we have Done, featuring two non-album tracks, including the malevolent Whiteout, the highlight of their 1993 Big Day Out shows in Australia. The versions of Done and Spacing have different mixes than the album versions. IMHO Done is a bit lackluster compared to the raucous album version - but still worth a listen!

Straitjacket Fits - 1992 - Done
1. Done
2. Spacing
3. Solid
4. Whiteout

FLAC
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Next up is Cat Inna Can, featuring two non-album tracks Sycamore and Satellite, the latter being an excellent cover of the Sex Pistols tune.

Straitjacket Fits - 1993 - Cat Inna Can
1. Cat Inna Can
2. Sycamore
3. Satellite

FLAC
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Last but not least is If I Were You, featuring demos of two of the standout tracks from Blow, Brother's Keeper and Burn It Up. The album versions are pretty faithful to the demos, but the demos are worth a listen for the completist and/or obsessive!

Straitjacket Fits - 1993 - If I Were You
1. If I Were You
2. Brother's Keeper (demo)
3. Burn It Up (demo)

FLAC
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Various Artists - No Alternative

This is probably my favorite compilation album. Yeah, I know that most of the tracks are probably rejects from the artists own albums, and/or experiments that didn't work out, etc. etc., but in my humble opinion the whole package (i.e. concept, songs, artwork, hidden track) is a winner.

So where to start?

Let's start with the hidden, uncredited track - Nirvana's Verse Chorus Verse. A. Classic. I still find it staggering that Kurt could dish out a long line of songs like this (e.g. Dive, Oh The Guilt, Aneurysm, Even in his youth, etc., etc.), which crapped from a great height over what the majority of similar bands were doing, and then have the perversity to leave the songs off Nirvana albums. Or in this case, allow the song to appear uncredited!

Then we have American Music Club and Bob Mould - two artists that, dare I say it, shoulda been huge - performing what I assume are outtakes, yet which eclipse the best songs from most bands.

Plus we have Soundgarden's Show Me, possibly their most under-appreciated song (including by the band themselves), which somehow manages to sound more like The Stones that their version of The Stones' Stray Cat Blues (go figure).

And also Straitjacket Fits' Brittle, and intriguing sounding song from an intriguing sounding band.

And when you thought that was all, there's Pavement's Unseen power of the picket fence. While not in the league of their best material, it's still worth a listen, if only to hear them professing their love for REM!

Hey, lets not forget the Beasties It's the new style, rapped to the backing tape from "Hold it now, hit it" (from memory) - not as good as the original, but again worth a listen.

Honorable mentions also go out to Smashing Pumpkins, Uncle Tupelo and The Breeders.

And the mighty Sonic Youth apparently appear on the cassette version (unfortunately not included here - sigh)! 

1. Superdeformed - Matthew Sweet
2. For All to See - Buffalo Tom
3. Sexual Healing - Soul Asylum
4. Take a Walk - Urge Overkill
5. All Your Jeans Were Too Tight - American Music Club
6. Bitch - The Goo Goo Dolls
7. Unseen Power of the Picket Fence - Pavement
8. Glynis - The Smashing Pumpkins
9. Can't Fight It - Bob Mould
10. Hold On - Sarah McLachlan
11. Show Me - Soundgarden
12. Brittle - Straitjacket Fits
13. Joed Out - Barbara Manning
14. Heavy 33 - The Verlaines
15. Effigy - Uncle Tupelo
16. New Style - Beastie Boys
17. Iris - The Breeders
18. Memorial Song - Patti Smith
19. Verse Chorus Verse - Nirvana

FLAC Pt1, Pt2, Pt3
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Straitjacket Fits - Blow

My first encounter with New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits was hearing Down In Splendour in the early 90's. This song was a alternative pop hit in Australia, and was played incessantly on youth radio station Triple J. And I HATED it with a passion! So I was apathetic when I heard Straitjacket Fits would be playing the 1994 Big Day Out festival tour of Australia.

Since a few of my then fave bands (Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins) were playing the BDO, I decided to attend three of the shows, those in Melbourne, Sydney and my hometown of Adelaide. Since there were no other bands I wanted to see while Straitjacket Fits played at the first BDO show, I thought I'd begrudgingly watch them - and it was a revelation! So much so that by the third BDO show they were the band I was most eager to see. The set they played at the BDO shows was largely derived from the Blow album featured in this post.

Straitjacket Fits had their own unique sound - a sound difficult to describe, so I won't try! They fit within the broad sphere of indie/alternative, but they were not afraid to expand out into other areas - two of the excellent singles being a case in point. Cat Inna Can has a rockabilly feel, and is noticeable for using "da da das" and "meow meows" without detracting from the song or sounding kitsch or camp - no mean feat! And If I were you has relaxed, jazzy vocals over a reggae rhythm.

Blow kicks of with Done, a raucous and joyous song with a gonzoid riff, distorted vocals, guitar feedback and great dynamics - an indication of a band at the peak of it's powers. Brother's Keeper is fast paced and urgent, with the lead guitar following the vocals to great effect. Burn it up is a slow and brooding. Spacing is sparse and atmospheric, with a jazzy vocal feel, rolling tom-tom beat and guitars drifting in an out. Every song is short and concise, clocking in at under three and a half minutes.

My only criticism of the album is that the awesome Whiteout, arguably the highlight of the BDO shows, was left off the album - though it is available on the Done single.

Straitjacket Fits - 1993 - Blow

1. Done
2. Falling
3. Brother's Keeper
4. Cat Inna Can
5. Burn It Up
6. Joyride
7. Train
8. Let It Blow
9. If I Were You
10. Turn
11. Way
12. Spacing

FLAC Pt1, Pt2, Pt3
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