Today's Hotness: Bored Nothing, Kigo



>> Sounding as laid-back and natural as when your humble scribe first listened to it in his underwear, the latest release from Melbourne, Australia's slacktastic Bored Nothing captured that relaxed mindset, and man, was it perfect for the occasion. The self-released, four-song Thanks For The Mammaries EP (not the wording that we expect many use on Mother's Day) collects a set of warm, fuzzy lo-fi rock tunes that tout just enough strange tones and warbling to recreate for listeners the bedroom in which it was recorded. Bored Nothing is a vehicle largely driven by a fellow named Fergus Miller, who has been releasing music under the Bored Nothing moniker for about three years. The songs from this latest EP are the sort that travel with you during the day -- never forcing themselves in, but always eager to provide the right frame of reference for your thoughts. The two strongest cuts, "Just Because" and "Dial Tone Blues," showcase the disparate soft and loud aspects of the project. The former is a tape-machine acoustic lament that is achingly beautiful in its clunking rhythm and loping chord structure. It needs little more than a repeated chorus to work its charm. "Dial Tone Blues" is a more surfy, guitar-pop number that layers clean electric guitars and a helping of reverb over Miller's slight falsetto. The result is a mellow bouncer that echoes efforts of bands like Real Estate or even Further (circa their great, under-appreciated lo-fi statement Grimes Golden). The biggest appeal of Thanks For The Mammaries is in the approach: its charm could be compared to that of the self-titled third Velvet Underground album, where the closeted mix of rock elements works more as a lullaby than an alarm. Go ahead and get cozy. Stream the EP via the embed below and click through to download it gratis. Bored Nothing also contributed a tune to the recent Audio Antihero compilation we wrote about here last month, so take some time to revisit the Homerically titled strummer "Black Snuff Pouch And Scuffed Mood Ring (Original Version Recorded While I Was Writing It, Through My Laptop Speaker While I Was Watching 'Castaway' With Tom Hanks On TV, Which By The Way, Did Not Make Much Of An Impression On Me)" right here. As for the future of Bored Nothing, it sounds like the band is taking some time off to write a new record after a flurry of recent live dates, so Mammaries will have to occupy you for the foreseeable future. -- Edward Charlton



>> Sure, Tame Impala undeniably has their dream-pop moments, but we honestly can't call to mind another contemporary Australian shoegaze act (without resorting to the Googles). Until now, that is, as we recently turned on to Kigo and the act's clipped, neon approach to the form. Comprised solely of one D.B. Pearce, Brisbane-based Kigo's latest EP, self-released in late May as a digital download under the title Some Other Place, beautifully explores some singular textures and monumental moments within a framework marked by maximum delay and distortion. The music is almost gothic; indeed, Kigo's compositions carry a certain dark element to them, calling to mind the music of mighty lovesliescrushing and their ecclesiastical tones. Closer "Washed" features a guitar lead that hints ever so briefly at The Cure's "Pictures Of You." But it is the song "I Won't (I Can't)" that is the highlight of Some Other Place. It is almost a love-letter to the blistering alien world that is My Bloody Valentine's "To Here Knows When." Glitchy drums flicker underneath dark, excoriating distortion, while soft whispering, cooing, and a pleasant, rising synth-flute line imbue the song with a gentle humanity, even eroticism. Some Other Place furthers the great shoegaze and dream-pop conversation, one which newer bands keep current and relevant as each endeavors to put its unique stamp on the revered sound and style. Kigo does all of this, and from a country where -- at least from an outsider vantage point -- this sort of thing is a little more rare and precious. Stream the EP via the embed below and click through to download it for whatever you'd like to pay for it. And then get ready for more, as an update to Kigo's Facebook teepee from last week indicates that a new EP is already being written. Thereafter the pace of releases may slow, as Pearce considers writing a full-length collection. -- Edward Charlton