***Seemingly spontaneously, the tiny Hobart music scene underwent a radical upheaval in the late 1990s. Not content to slog it out on the local cover band circuit or to court the indie mainstream prevalent on the mainland, young bands like Sea Scouts, 50 Million Clowns, Little Ugly Girls, The Frustrations and The Nation Blue turned inward, channelling the experiences of growing up in an insular outpost of civilisation into an uncompromising din of noise rock that bore little or no resemblance to what was happening anywhere else in the world. Foremost among this group of restless explorers were THE STICKMEN. Their sound was a dark blend of post-punk rhythms, mutated surf-rock guitar lines and tightly wound nervous energy. Out of nowhere, only a year after the band's formation, their genius burst forth fully formed on their self-titled debut album in 1998. On songs like 'Strangeworld,' 'Night' and 'Creep Inside,' Guitarist/singer ALDOUS KELLY conjures a foreboding atmosphere that perfectly reflects the damp, crepuscular ambience of cold winter nights in Hobart. Drummer IANTO KELLY and bassist LUKE OSBOURNE lock into skittish grooves, while MATT GREEVES’ innovative use of turntables acts both as a rhythmic device and source of unsettling atmospherics. Their follow-up, Man Made Stars (1999), represents not so much a progression as a consolidation of The Stickmen's vision. Having made tentative forays to Melbourne, where they dazzled small audiences with a bunch of explosive live shows, this album sounds more self-assured, delivering bona-fide classics such as the title track and their...
LP $18.75
12/24/2013
***Seemingly spontaneously, the tiny Hobart music scene underwent a radical upheaval in the late 1990s. Not content to slog it out on the local cover band circuit or to court the indie mainstream prevalent on the mainland, young bands like Sea Scouts, 50 Million Clowns, Little Ugly Girls, The Frustrations and The Nation Blue turned inward, channelling the experiences of growing up in an insular outpost of civilisation into an uncompromising din of noise rock that bore little or no resemblance to what was happening anywhere else in the world. Foremost among this group of restless explorers were THE STICKMEN. Their sound was a dark blend of post-punk rhythms, mutated surf-rock guitar lines and tightly wound nervous energy. Out of nowhere, only a year after the band's formation, their genius burst forth fully formed on their self-titled debut album in 1998. On songs like 'Strangeworld,' 'Night' and 'Creep Inside,' Guitarist/singer ALDOUS KELLY conjures a foreboding atmosphere that perfectly reflects the damp, crepuscular ambience of cold winter nights in Hobart. Drummer IANTO KELLY and bassist LUKE OSBOURNE lock into skittish grooves, while MATT GREEVES’ innovative use of turntables acts both as a rhythmic device and source of unsettling atmospherics. Their follow-up, Man Made Stars (1999), represents not so much a progression as a consolidation of The Stickmen's vision. Having made tentative forays to Melbourne, where they dazzled small audiences with a bunch of explosive live shows, this album sounds more self-assured, delivering bona-fide classics such as the title track and their...
LP $18.75
12/24/2013