Amy Firth – Live

Monto Water Rats, Kings Cross (13/03/2012)
Permalink : http://mostlyferocious.com/2012/04/03/amy-firth-live

Amy FirthIn the back room of a pub in King’s Cross I was lucky enough to stumble upon what could be the next big singer/songwriter in Sydney-born Amy Firth. Despite her unassuming stage presence, this is a one-woman show with a lot going on

Opener ‘Come Running’ is a shock to the system in terms of the power of Amy’s voice and the huge technical ability she has with her guitar. From the start, Amy is effortless in her execution. ‘Aeroplane’ follows suit with a breezy tale of moving away and dreaming of far off lands. It’s clear that there is an autobiographical flavour to most of Amy’s writing and each song gives a certain snapshot of her life so far. In between songs, Amy chats with the audience, and it’s clear that a lot of her work exposes some very personal themes.

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The Men – Open Your Heart

Release Date : 12/03/2012 (Sacred Bones Records)
Permalink : http://mostlyferocious.com/2012/04/03/the-men-open-your-heart

The Men Open Your HeartThe Men, now on their fourth album, are probably one of the most exciting guitar bands around today. Following on from last year’s ‘Leave Home’, ‘Open Your Heart’ shows them genre shifting and demonstrates their boundless invention for crafting amazingly chaotic, beautiful music. Their DIY aesthetic is still very much intact but they are certainly moving on as a band.

The Men have always had their roots in punk and opener ‘Turn It Around’ demonstrates this to perfection. Bashed out in just under four minutes, guitars are ablaze from the start and vocals are throwaway beneath the mayhem. It’s effortlessly done. With drumming bridge on exit, ‘Animal’ follows a similar vein, and is reminiscent of mid-seventies Iggy and The Stooges.

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The Shins – Port of Morrow

Release Date : 20/03/2012 (Columbia Records)
Permalink : http://mostlyferocious.com/2012/04/03/the-shins-port-of-morrow

 

The Shins Port Of Morrow‘Port of Morrow’ is the fourth album from The Shins and it’s been quite a wait since their last outing ‘Wincing The Night Away’ in 2007. Since that time, James Mercer has worked on side-project ‘Broken Bells’ with Danger Mouse, and The Shins have had a fairly substantial change in personnel. It’s safe to say this is not the first time The Shins have changed their line-up – but, to be clear, James Mercer is The Shins. Richard Swift joins on keyboard duties, ex-Modest Mouse Joe Plummer on drums and lesser-known Sub Pop singer/songwriter Jessica Dobson takes lead guitar.

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