>> We like what we hear from Line Drawings, an Australian indie rock quartet whose recently released, self-titled EP has been getting a lot of play here at headquarters. No surprise, really, as Sydney-based Line Drawings' first two Top Friends at MySpace -- :: clicky clicky :: favorites Polvo and Seam -- indicate that we're likely as pre-conditioned to be a fan of these Australians as anyone. Although, if we had to pick our own RIYL to slap on a sticker meant to entice college radio play, we might go with Swervedriver first, as Line Drawings is neither as technical as Polvo nor as seething and disappointed as Seam. That said, there are very pleasing curtains of electric guitar and mildly plaintive vocals, a sturdy recipe (along with well-constructed melodies, also present here) for successful indie rock. Line Drawings has been together since 2007, and prior to that certain of the cohort played together in the act Ides Of Space. The band's self-titled EP contains six moody tracks and opens auspiciously with the urgent guitar anthem "Atmosphere Flies," which is certainly Line Drawings' strongest calling card, and which you can download below. Victoria-based Bell Sounds Digital issued Line Drawings March 28.
Line Drawings --
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[buy Line Drawings from the band right here]
>> We're inclined to be skeptical of one-man bands, who nowadays often ply their trade with loop machine and/or laptop, because the live spectacle can lack the sort of passion that really drives our fandom. There are exceptions, of course, as we think you'll agree -- if you've seen him -- that Dosh can work some hypnotic business on stage (granted, he performed with a colleague when we saw him). All that said, it really comes down to songwriting, and so we were favorably impressed with Asheville, N.C.-based and Maine-bred solo effort Saint Solitude. The band is a fellow named Dup Crosson, and Mr. Crosson writes very catchy indie pop numbers that -- at least as recorded -- bear none of the undesirable hallmarks of the solitary musician. The piano-anchored toe-tapper "Tosabesatoch" touts a light touch and an arresting melody. The rocker "Soft Contact" sounds like something Ben Gibbard might sing if he were in good mood and was backed by a sunshiney outfit; the guitar-and-voice ballad "Stay In Touch" is obvious enough sentiment-wise but is eminently listenable. "Tosabesatoch" is on the split EP He Is Contrary To Him out this month and available at shows, and Crosson is already at work on a full-length he hopes will be ready for public consumption come summer. Saint Solitude embarks on a three-week tour of the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. Thursday, and the act touches down at P.A.'s Lounge in Somerville, Mass. April 25, with Midriff Records' Scuba supporting. Full tour dates are at the Saint Solitude MySpace casa right here. Crosson was kind enough to allow us to post "Tosabesatoch" below, so do check it out.
Saint Solitude --
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[buy Saint Solitude music from Crosson here]
>> Let us be the first to suggest that in the inevitable TV movie that will re-tell the heroics of the past weekend (remember that whole hostage/pirate/sniper thing?), the climax should be dealt with as a montage soundtracked by AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock, We Salute You." The events leading up to the snipers' dispatching the three Somali pirates should unfold in real time, and the decisive gunshots should be unleashed as Brian Johnson shouts "FIRE!" Just sayin.'
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