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REVIEW album Old Subbacultcha Old Subbacultcha

NEW ARTIST OF THE DAY: THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS

Old Subbacultcha

Old Subbacultcha



A dizzying mish-mash of styles and influences from Brisbane that is quite breath-taking...

Subba-Cultcha.com says:
 "Brisbane band, The John Steel Singers have delivered a brilliant track that squashes together a myriad of disparate sounds and influences into something quite beguiling. There's the wonky, but somewhat melancholic-sounding influence of Metronomy's keyboards, combined with the frenetic guitar work of Albert Hammond Jr. this keeps building and building throughout the song, creating something quite brilliantly chaotic and challenging. CSN&Y harmonies clash with the ghostly spirit of something wistful, the music seems more emotive than merely trying to sound like their favourite bands, creating something quite fresh and original. The press release talks about a krautrock influence, but it feels more like the Krautrock-inspired work of the Beta Band than any direct influence from that bygone era."
john steel If ever the phrase “build it and they will come” was relevant to a band, Brisbane’s The John Steel Singers would be it; ‘They’ being the jams that make up the group’s stupendous new album Everything’s A Thread. To ‘It’, being the makeshift-studio which the band constructed in a 70s-build house owned by singer Luke’s parents, overlooking Mount Coolum on the Gold Coast of Australia. From the moment Luke’s dad suggested nailing acoustic foam to the ceiling, they took the idea and ran with it. Attempting to capture a groove in the spirit of krautrock pioneers Can and Neu!, the Singers adapted every inch of their surroundings into a unique jamming space which lead to Everything’s A Thread’s fluid arrangements, variation in dynamics and miscellaneous texture. “Luke found an organ on the side of the road, Tim's friend sold us a keyboard for crazy cheap because he thought it was shitty and now I love it more than my own non-existent children,” tells Pete. “Experimentation is good for making you relaxed. We jam a lot and those moments are some of the best in our lives.” Like all the best coastal albums it's brim with sparkling, sun kissed sounds, but here the band’s creative freedom equally allows for lurking in the shade. Moving from the hook-heavy pop numbers 'Happy Before' and ‘Common Thread’ to the sinister sound of ‘The Marksman’ and soulful yet strange vibe of ‘There’s a Bird’. The Singers move from playful harmony filled summer nuggets, to electronic sheened pop, psychedelic sea shanties, kraut-pop and hard riffing cosmic rock with ease, evoking an uncanny vibe like mist resting on the ocean just before sunset. “Nicolas knew how to declutter the shit we had recorded to give the parts space” says Pete of mixer Nicolas Vernhes (Deerhunter, Fiery Furnaces) giving the record its clarity in sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNEdQOK1J2g THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS SIGN TO FULL TIME HOBBY - 'EVERYTHING’S A THREAD' TO BE RELEASED IN THE UK ON JULY 28TH

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