Mistletone

Artwork by Carl Breitkreuz

CASS MCCOMBS TOUR DATES:

MELBOURNE: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 17 @ THE CORNER with special guests The Orbweavers + Wintercoats. Tickets on sale now from The Corner box office.

SYDNEY: SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18 @ THE STANDARD with special guests The Singing Skies. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

PERTH MONDAY FEBRUARY 20 @ PERTH INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL. Tickets on sale now from Perth Festival.

Mistletone proudly presents Cass McCombs and his band for the first time in Australia, performing at Perth Festival plus two shows only in Melbourne and Sydney.

California-based singer/songwriter Cass McCombs’ moody but often surprisingly humorous music has won the hearts of many Australian fans who will be thrilled that he is finally visiting our shores after releasing six acclaimed and much loved albums, most recently the gently optimistic Humor Risk and one of the stars of last year’s best-of lists, the dark chamber music-inspired Wit’s End, which featured the song hailed by many as the best of 2011, County Line.

Deeply distrustful of “The Business”, Cass has stayed relatively underground, supported by a devoted fan base and his label/publisher. In 2010, Domino Records hired a photo-surveillance private investigator to follow Cass and take what would become the publicity shots for Wit’s End. Examples such as this suggest that he and mainstream acceptance are in a state of perpetual stalemate.

However, in contrast to his persona, Cass’s music is generous, the melodies always infectious, the production and musicianship first-rate. And at the forefront of his craft are always the lyrics, which more than any songwriter today propels the avant-garde. He presents morally ambiguous situations for the listener, allowing them to interpret however they choose.

Cass has always refused to speak his influences, except for American folk music and The Beatles. He is a folk artist, telling the stories of his native land in a modern tongue.

Cass McCombs was born in 1977 and raised in Northern California. He is of the generation that grew up hearing the stories still fresh on people’s minds: Zodiac killings, Zebra killings, Manson, Black Panthers, SLA, riots, People’s Park, LSD, etc. These were the local legends and became the basis for Cass’s imagination. He is a child of the ’70s.

Cass lived many years drifting the U.S. before ever attempting to make music seriously, and learned from this experience to listen to people’s stories from many walks of life. Instead of university, this was his education: working as a janitor, in a horse stable, a book shop; as a soda jerk, truck driver, movie projectionist; he worked construction in New Jersey, and at a midtown NYC delicatessen. Cass developed his narrative songwriting style, and since has always expressed himself through the use of characters.

He writes stories for his friends using their humour, their language, with detail and color, relating their drug use to classical literary themes, for instance. Rather than fulfilling the stereotype of the confessional singer-songwriter, he describes the lifestyles and feelings of those that surround him, with more love than judgment.

Humor Risk is his sixth-and-a-half record, the second of two albums Cass released in 2011. The first was Wit’s End, which featured the tragic song County Line, named by Pitchfork as their number 8 best song of 2011.

Musically, Humor Risk is more rhythm-based, and with a heavier lyricism, than its sparse predecessor. Both were compiled from recordings made over the course of three years, in various places such as New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and mixed in a single session and divided into albums.

This follows the way Cass works; he writes continuously, not for any album in mind, and then puts them into themed groups. And this is why Australian audiences are in for such a rare treat when this “unobtrusively brilliant” (to quote John Peel) artist finally lands on our shores.

“An extraordinary display of songwriting prowess… another casually monumental achievement from one of the great singer-songwriters of the day“- Q (four stars)

“One of America’s most unique and affecting songwriters” – UNCUT (four stars)

“A genuine twenty-first century maverick” – MOJO (four stars)

“Suffering rarely has sounded so comforting” – SPIN

TORO Y MOI + WASHED OUT CO-HEADLINE SHOWS:

SYDNEY: Wednesday 8 February: Washed Out + Toro Y Moi + Guerre + Future Classic DJs @ Manning Bar. Tickets $50+bf on sale now from Oztix outlets and the venue. Presented by Mistletone, Penny Drop, FBi Radio + The Thousands.

MELBOURNE: Thursday 9 February: Toro Y Moi + Washed Out + Chet Faker + Two Bright Lakes DJs @ The Hi-Fi. Tickets $50 + bf on sale now from the venue, phone 1300-THEHIFI (843 443) or Polyester Records. Presented by Mistletone, Penny Drop, Triple R + The Thousands.

Mistletone and Penny Drop are happy to announce that Washed Out and Toro Y Moi are teaming up for two blissed-out double headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Both bands are also on the Laneway Festival lineup nationally.

The friendship between Toro Y Moi‘s Chaz Bundick and Washed Out’s Ernest Greene goes back to their high school days in South Carolina. Growing up in the south with a host of shared influences and aesthetics, both artists have maintained a mutual admiration and love of collaboration as they have followed their own trajectories, each wielding an increasingly resonant influence over the musical culture of today. Having remixed each other’s tunes and toured together in the US, and now sharing a place on the Laneway Festival lineup, it makes perfect sense for Washed Out and Toro Y Moi to join forces for two special shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

The solo project of Ernest Greene, Washed Out has transformed under watchful eyes since his perpetually lush synth-pop took world stage in 2009. Borne from the back-porch of his parents’ rural Georgia home, his first recordings – the Life of Leisure and High Times EPs – saw him rise to the forefront of his genre, before a debut album, Within and Without was released to widespread acclaim this July. Produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley), Within and Without explores sound and style with a wide-eyed authenticity. From rhythmic electronica layered with orchestral synthscapes to his human touch, it is Washed Out’s ability to draw from a dozen places at once that has become his hallmark. Renowned for its infectious energy, Washed Out’s moving live show pairs four-on-the-floor beats with boundless pop hooks, and at the hands of his band, Ernest’s music unfolds and surrounds. Following an Australian live debut in 2010, Washed Out will bring the spacious, sun-drenched sounds of Within and Without to our shores this January and February.

• “It’s music for dreaming, the keyboard equivalent to shoegaze, reinforced by its song titles and vocals mostly mixed beneath the waves to gorgeously woozy effect.” – MOJO

• “Greene’s best trick: Using those elements of the past while crafting an album that sounds like a beautiful, dreamy future.” – ROLLING STONE

The past year has been intensely successful for Toro Y Moi, led by prolific and multi-talented 24 year old South Carolina musician / producer / designer / photographer Chaz Bundick. Toro Y Moi’s achievements this year include an acclaimed sophomore album, Underneath the Pine; remix work for Tyler, the Creator; a split 7” with Cloud Nothings; a 12” single under his house music moniker, Les Sins; a steady stream of international tour dates; and most recently, a brilliant new 12″ EP Freaking Out (out now on Mistletone Records / Inertia). Toro Y Moi rose to the fore of the music blogosphere in summer 2009, when Chaz and a few peers made their hazy bedroom recordings the most talked-about sound of the season. Critics across the board took notice of the range of Toro Y Moi’s compositions, and his debut album Causers of This (Mistletone 2009) showcased his ability to make elements of Brian Wilson’s pop, 80s R&B, and Stones Throw hip hop coalesce into a distinct sound that’s as suitable for a dancefloor as it is a pair of headphones. Having spent the year listening to film composers like Françoise de Roubaix and Ennio Morricone, Chaz returned to his parents’ home in Columbia (the birthplace of many Toro tracks of yore) to bring Underneath the Pine to fruition. A deeply personal album, Underneath the Pine evokes R. Stevie Moore’s homespun ruminations, David Axelrod’s sonic scope, the spacey disco of Mandre, and the pervasive funk of Toro Y Moi’s debut. Since then Toro Y Moi has toured extensively, adding two more members—a bassist and drummer—to his live show, and steadily accrued more supporters and acclaim. Toro Y Moi’s live shows reflect the band’s progression (to quote Pitchfork) from “funky 1980s-tinged makeout jams to more explicitly funky 80s-tinged dancefloor jams”, an enigmatic and dizzying formula that never fails to fill the dancefloor.

• “The last four years have seen Toro Y Moi (aka Chaz Bundick) enjoy a metereoic rise. Though still associated with the ‘chillwave’ sound he helped popularise with his 2010 debut, he’s always worked across a variety of genres; everything from laptop pop to house to indie.” – MUSIC AUSTRALIA GUIDE (5 stars)

Artwork by Bjorn Copeland

Happy birthday to us! Mistletone has just turned 5 years old, and spring is almost sprung into summer. Hope you can join us at a Mistletone happening soon! good times to be had by all!

TOURING: HTRK

HTRK‘s homecoming tour has begun with a sold out & rapturously received club show in Melbourne. The duo’s upcoming shows in Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will serve as the official launches of their amazing album Work (work, work), out now on CD and deluxe limited edition vinyl in all good record stores, and on mail order.

HTRK TOUR DATES:

NEWCASTLE: Wednesday, November 23 @ Emma Soup Gallery (Emma Soup 1st birthday celebration) with In the Dollhouse + Stitched Vision. Tickets $15 + booking fee on sale now from Oztix. 7pm start. All ages.

SYDNEY: Thursday, November 24 @ Goodgod Small Club with Lost Animal + Kirin J. Callinan. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. * SELLING FAST!

MELBOURNE: Friday, November 25 @ St Michael’s Uniting Church, corner Collins & Russell Sts: Labels Live showcase curated by Mistletone to celebrate the label’s 5th birthday & presented by Melbourne Music Week. Featuring HTRK, Beaches, The Orbweavers, Montero & Wintercoats. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. 7pm start. All ages.

BRISBANE: Saturday, November 26 @ The Bridge Club with Lakes, Secret Birds, Nite Fields. Doors open 7pm. Tickets $18 + booking fee on sale now from Oztix. Presented by Mistletone, The Thousands and 4ZZZ.

• “HTRK have returned with a decidely minimal, and introspective album. Where previous recordings pulsed with slow, sinuous basslines and guitar-driven arrangements, Work (Work, Work) finds its claustrophobic structure in layered synths, indistinct and evocative lyrics and skeletal drum machine patterns.” – TRIPLE R ALBUM OF THE WEEK

TOURING: DAEDELUS

Mistletone proudly presents Daedelus, dignitary of the LA beat scene, full time musician and part time dandy. An uber-inspiring experimental music producer, Daedelus is currently signed to the Ninja Tune label but has released material on labels such as Mush, Big Dada, Soul Jazz, Stones Throw, Alpha Pup, Brainfeeder and Warp. He is also a founding DJ at the internet radio station Dublab and creates music from orchestral samples, funky breakbeats, and anything else that strikes his fancy.

DAEDELUS TOUR DATES:

BRISBANE: Wednesday, November 23 @ Bridge Club with Outerwaves (EP Launch), Tincture, Dot.AY vs Rubijaq + Dank Morass DJs. Tickets on sale from Moshtix. Presented by Silo Arts and Mistletone.

MELBOURNE: Thursday, November 24: Racket @ Kubik Melbourne (Lower Terrace, Birrarung Marr) with Qua. Presented by Melbourne Music Week, Marksthespot, Racket Sound, Art, Experiments. Starts. 7pm. Tickets & more info here.

SYDNEY: Friday, November 25 @ Goodgod Small Club with special guests Collarbones and Galapagoose. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

MELBOURNE: Saturday, November 26: DJ Kidz Party @ ArtPlay with Spoonbill + VJ John Power. Presented by Melbourne Music Week as part of the DJ Kidz program. Ticketing details & more information here.

PERTH: Saturday, November 26 @ The Bakery with special guests Collarbones, Diger Rokwell, Ben M and Clunk. Tickets on sale now from heatseeker / now baking, Planet Video, 78 Records, Mills Records and Star Surf. Presented by Life Is Noise.

MELBOURNE: Sunday, November 27 @ RAOBGAB with special guests Collarbones and Galapagoose + DJ Mack Daddy Albino Dwarf. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

• “A composer, a performer, an inventor. That’s what I really strive to be, and of the Victorian era, arguably the ultimate age of invention. Going from horse power to horsepower.That is from horse to steam to gas.” – ALFRED DARLINGTON (DAEDELUS)

TOURING: KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS

Having sold out Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory and The Corner in Melbourne, Mistletone proudly present by popular demand, two extra shows by Kurt Vile & the Violators in Melbourne and Sydney. This massively anticipated tour is now only 2 weeks away! It’s been a stellar year for Kurt Vile; he’s just followed up his sensational album Smoke Ring For My Halo (surely one of the albums of this year) with a new six song EP, So Outta Reach (both out locally through Remote Control). Whet your appetite, here’s Kurt performing a beautiful version of Baby’s Arms for La Blogotheque Take Away Show.

KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS TOUR DATES:

PERTH: Saturday December 3 @ The Bakery with special guests Split Seconds and The Long Lost Brothers. Tickets on sale from lifeisnoise.com, Now Baking, Heatseeker, 78 Records, Mills and Planet. Presented by Mistletone, Life Is Noise, The Thousands, RTR & Drum Media.

MELBOURNE: Sunday December 4 @ The Corner with special guests Fabulous Diamonds + Chook Race. Presented by Mistletone, Triple R, Inpress and The Thousands. This show is now sold out.

MELBOURNE: Monday December 5 @ Northcote Social Club with special guests Twerps and Montero. Doors 7:30pm. Tickets on sale now from the venue.

SYDNEY: Tuesday December 6 @ Oxford Art Factory with special guests Royal Headache and Step-Panther. Presented by Mistletone, Drum Media and The Thousands. This show is now sold out.

SYDNEY: Wednesday December 7 @ Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville with Circle Pit + special guests to be announced. Doors open 7:30pm. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

BRISBANE: Thursday December 8 @ Woodland with Blank Realm. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. Presented by Mistletone, Happy Endings, The Thousands, Street Press Australia & 4zzz.

TOURING: DAN DEACON ENSEMBLE

DAN DEACON is returning to Australia, and this time he’s bringing his ensemble. No amount of text can describe how amazing this will be! Dan had already gained notoriety on the American DIY music circuit for his spastic and bizarre solo-electronic performances by the time his album Spiderman of the Rings (Mistletone, 2007) established him as a noise-pop songsmith. Dan followed Spiderman with the dense, sprawling Bromst in 2009. All those who participated in Dan’s incredible performances on his previous solo tours for Laneway, Golden Plains and Summer Tones will never forget them; and even as his live shows became larger-scale and less intimate, Dan has never lessened his emphasis on audience participation.The Dan Deacon Ensemble lineup features Denny Bowen (Double Dagger) on drums, Dave Jacober (Dope Body) on drums/mallets, Chester Gwazda (Nuclear Power Pants, producer of Bromst & Dan’s forthcoming album) on synths/computers and Jordan Casey (Zomes) on synths.

DAN DEACON TOUR DATES:

MARION BAY, TAS: Falls Festival, 29th Dec – 1st January.

ADELAIDE: Fri 6th January @ Adelaide Festival Centre, Space Theatre. Doors 10pm, all ages. Tickets on sale now.

BUSSELTON, WA: Southbound Festival, 7th & 8th January.

SYDNEY: Wed 11th January @ Sydney Festival w/- John Maus @ Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Keystone Festival Bar, Sydney. Tickets on sale now from from the Sydney Festival website.

BRISBANE: Thu 12th January @ Woodland w/- John Maus and Toy Balloon. Tickets on sale now from Oztix.

MELBOURNE: Fri 13th January @ Mistletone Fright Night w/- John Maus, Rat vs Possum, Jonti, Montero and Parking Lot Experiments. Door prizes galore for the most frightful costumes! Tickets $35 + booking fee on sale now from The Corner Box Office.

TOURING: JOHN MAUS

Hypnagogic, hypnotic, mind and life altering; John Maus makes music that taps into melancholic fantasy, and affirms that we are all truly alive. His groundbreaking new album We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (released on one of our fave labels ever, Upset The Rhythm, distro’d locally through Inertia) has been one of the iconic records of 2011. The confrontation of punk, the fleeting poignancy of 80s movie soundtracks, the insistent pulse of Moroder and the spirituality of Medieval and Baroque music all find salvation in John Maus. It’s a world where the Germs jam with Jerry Goldsmith, Cabaret Voltaire relocate to Eternia and Josquin des Prez writes a new score for RoboCop. Questing synthesisers, tensely strung bass lines and chasing drum machines provide the perfect backdrop for John’s deeply resonant reverb-drenched vocal. John comes to Australia for the first time from his birthplace of Austin, Minnesota, where is working towards his PhD in Political Science.

JOHN MAUS TOUR DATES:

SYDNEY: Wed 11th January @ Sydney Festival w/- Dan Deacon Ensemble @ Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Keystone Festival Bar, Sydney. Tickets on sale from Nov 9 on the Sydney Festival website.

BRISBANE: Thu 12th January @ Woodland w/-  Dan Deacon Ensemble and Toy Balloon. Tickets on sale now from Oztix.

MELBOURNE: Friday January 13: Mistletone Fright Night @ The Corner w/- Dan Deacon Ensemble, Rat vs Possum, Jonti, Montero and Parking Lot Experiments. Door prizes galore for the most frightful costumes. Tickets $35 + booking fee on sale now from The Corner Box Office.

MELBOURNE: Saturday January 14 @ Sugar Mountain Festival w/- Deerhoof, Tune-Yards, Shabazz Palaces, Thee Oh Sees, Julianna Barwick, Sun Araw, Prince Rama + more. Tickets on sale via Ticketmaster or phone 136 100.

TOURING: JULIANNA BARWICK

Julianna Barwick‘s atmospheric world is one of ghostly echoes, galactic lullabies and traditional chants. By means of loops and pedals, and occasional piano and percussion, she builds layer upon layer of abstract vocals to create a delicate sound of lush ambient folk. Julianna’s amazing new album The Magic Place (out now on Mistletone Records / Inertia and available on mail order) is a nine-piece full-length album of magic and solace, bursting joy and healing tones. Like Sigur Rós’s ethereal glossolalia, there’s a very particular joy in listening to Julianna’s music. Free of the constraints of narrative and traceable language, it’s the same joy in giving yourself over to opera in a foreign language, of letting go of your pesky rational mind and allowing the feeling to come through in the voices and performance.

JULIANNA BARWICK TOUR DATES:

Saturday January 14: Sugar Mountain Festival, Melbourne w/- Deerhoof, Tune-Yards, Shabazz Palaces, Thee Oh Sees, John Maus, Sun Araw, Prince Rama + more. Tickets on sale via Ticketmaster or phone 136 100.

Sunday January 15 + Tuesday January 17: Sydney Festival @ The Famous Spiegeltent, Honda Festival Garden, Hyde Park. Tickets on sale from Nov 9 on the Sydney Festival website or Ticketek.

Wednesday January 18: The Toff, Melbourne w/- special guests to be announced. Tickets on sale now.

Thursday January 19: MONA FOMA 2012: Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art’s Festival of Music and Art. Tickets on sale now from the festival website.

Friday January 20: Adelaide Festival Centre Sessions @ Space Theatre. Doors 6:30pm, all ages. Tickets on sale now.

• “So beautiful it might indeed reach the ear of heaven” – SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (4 stars)

TOURING: ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI

The most talked about act at Laneway 2011, Ariel Pink and his Haunted Graffiti are set to return to Australia for Golden Plains Festival and a gaggle of epic club shows. L.A.’s little lost prince of experimental pop, lo-fidelity disco, and cassette tape wizardry, Ariel Pink has gone from being under the influence to influencing bedroom producers world-wide. Get ready for full length sets, glittery trousers, feather boas, and amazing times!

ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI TOUR DATES:

SYDNEY: Friday March 2 @ Oxford Art Factory with special guests Richard In Your Mind + Erik Omen. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

PLAYGROUND WEEKENDER: Saturday March 3 @ Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry. Tickets on sale now.

MELBOURNE: Sunday March 4 @ Corner Hotel with special guests Lost Animal + Montero. Tickets on sale now from the venue.

BRISBANE: Thursday March 8 @ The Zoo with special guests Dune Rats + Magic Spells. Tickets on sale now from the venue. Presented by Mistletone and Happy End-ings.

Saturday March 10: Golden Plains Festival, Victoria. Golden Plains ticket info here.

Sunday March 11: Adelaide Festival. Tickets on sale now from BASS ONLINE or phone: 131 246.

TOURING: TORO Y MOI

Mistletone is psyched to bring you Toro Y Moi’s incredible new EP Freaking Out, out now on digital and 12″ vinyl release, and to announce Toro Y Moi’s upcoming tour for Laneway Festival (keep your eyes peeled for an imminent sideshow announcement!). In the meantime, check out this rad live rendition of ‘Light Black‘ from Underneath the Pine for Pitchfork TV, filmed in a darkened studio with a lot of kaleidoscope camera work with tripped out color adjustments courtesy of City of Music.

• “The last four years have seen Toro Y Moi (aka Chaz Bundick) enjoy a metereoic rise. Though still associated with the chillwave sound he helped popularise with his 2010 debut, he’s always worked across a variety of genres; everything from laptop pop to house to indie. Freaking Out attempts to assemble those elements under one synth heavy banner — a five track EP that has him channelling Prince on the title track, referencing 80s movie soundtracks on All Alone and dabbling with filtered club sounds. If Bundick isn’t careful, he might accidentally record a hit” – MUSIC AUSTRALIA GUIDE (5 stars)

TOURING: WOODEN SHJIPS

San Francisco trance-rock quartet Wooden Shjips return to our shores, bringing back their mesmerising, desert-fried sonic explorations to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. With smatterings of kraut-rock and a lot of psych, Wooden Shjips bring to mind Suicide or an even-more-drugged-up Stooges. There’s fuzzed-out guitars, feedback blasts, hauntingly ethereal organ and rock-solid, driving drums. It’s great travelling music, whether for a road trip or a trip of an entirely different kind. This one is going to be good folks, bring your earplugs and your Visine.

While indebted to the psych music of the 1960s and mid-70s, electric Neil Young, and even the induced travels of Spacemen 3, the music of Wooden Shjips is in every way their own. Earlier this year the Shjips unleashed West, a brand new LP packed full of visceral, forbidding rock, on Thrill Jockey with a local release on Fuse. On that LP and in their live shows, the Shjips draw power through stretching-to-infinity repetition and their ability to turn crunchy 1970s boogie-rock into isolation-chamber space-out fare.

WOODEN SHJIPS TOUR DATES:

SYDNEY: SAT MAR 24 @ Oxford Art Factory. Tickets on sale Monday through Moshtix.

BRISBANE: SUN MAR 25 @ The Zoo. Tickets on sale Monday through Oztix.

MELBOURNE: WED MAR 28 @ The Corner. Tickets on sale Monday through the venue.

PERTH: FRI MAR 30 @ The Bakery. Tickets on sale Monday through the venue.

• “Wooden Shjips combine and update the transportative force of the Velvet Underground’s no-blues drone, Can’s unrelenting pulse and the holy garage-rock fire of the 13th Floor Elevators into a compact, wrapped-in-reverb trip of vintage transcendence and forward thrust” – DAVID FRICKE (ROLLING STONE)
• “Mind-shredding head music for stationary stoners (which) also speaks surprisingly well to the hips. Buried beneath the endlessly repeating guitar riffs and Ripley Johnson’s drugged-up drawl are deep basslines, soulful organ washes, and the nonstop rattle of a booty-tickling tambourine” – THE AV CLUB

NEW ON MISTLETONE MAIL ORDER:

THE ORBWEAVERS – LOOM (CD $20)

• “Loom, the latest album from Melbourne band The Orbweavers, offers delicately crafted folk music, and captivating ethereal acoustic soundscapes. Inspired by the natural and human history of the Merri Creek region, the album draws a vivid image of the changing and evolving environment with its distinctive and moving songs.” – TRIPLE R ALBUM OF THE WEEK

JONTI – TWIRLIGIG (CD $15 / LP $25 including postage)

• “It’s hard not to get swept up in the Technicolour splashes, wonky, broken beats and heart-melting, sun-drunk harmonies that entangle Twirligig. The debut joint from Sydney wunderkind Jonti is about as happily heterogenous as records get, mining laterla hip hop (Cyclic Love), retro synth palettes, Beach Boys harmonies and more. But while this record’s joyous disposition evokes hours of fun in the sun, a deeper listen reveals a level of compositional awareness and astuteness and acumen as rare as hens teeth. Few others can even touch what Jonti has in spades” – MUSIC AUSTRALIA GUIDE (4.5 stars)

WINTERCOATS – SKETCHES (12″ VINYL $20 including postage)

• “Sketches is the perfect title for the second EP from James Wallace’s Wintercoats project. Reflecting the prominence of both loop-driven contours and vocal-less passages of soundtrack-y beauty, ineatly encapsulates what manages to sound like an entire universe over just six songs. And yet there’s nothing unfinished about Wallace’s work. An eerie merger of classical flutters of piano and violin with shoegaze-worthy soundscapes, it feels complete and immersive” – INPRESS

MONTERO – MUMBAI/RAINMAN (7″ VINYL $15 including postage)

• “Montero have set a new Australian benchmark for slow, anthemic ballads that simply float across the grooves of the 7″ that they’re pressed on” – THE THOUSANDS

x TEAM MISTLETONE

Artwork by Bjenny Montero

WOODEN SHJIPS TOUR DATES:

SYDNEY: SAT MAR 24 @ Oxford Art Factory w/- The Laurels + DCM. Tickets on sale now through Moshtix.
BRISBANE: SUN MAR 25 @ The Zoo w/- Secret Birds + Nite Fields. Tickets on sale now through Oztix.
MELBOURNE: WED MAR 28 @ The Corner w/ Beaches + Forces. Tickets on sale now through the venue.
PERTH: FRI MAR 30 @ The Bakery w/- Mental Powers and French Rockets. Tickets on sale now through Oztix.

“Wooden Shjips combine and update the transportative force of the Velvet Underground’s no-blues drone, Can’s unrelenting pulse and the holy garage-rock fire of the 13th Floor Elevators into a compact, wrapped-in-reverb trip of vintage transcendence and forward thrust.” – DAVID FRICKE (ROLLING STONE)

San Francisco trance-rock quartet WOODEN SHJIPS return to our shores, bringing back their trance-inducing, desert-fried, maximum-volume rock ‘n’ roll. While indebted to the psych music of the ‘60s and mid-‘70s, electric Neil Young, and even the induced travels of Spacemen 3, the Shjips’ music is in every way their own. Earlier this year, Wooden Shjips unleashed West, a brand new LP packed full of visceral, forbidding rock, on Thrill Jockey with a local release on Fuse. On that LP and in their live shows, the Shjips draw power through stretching-to-infinity repetition and their ability to turn crunchy 1970s boogie-rock into isolation-chamber space-out fare. This one is going to be good folks, bring your earplugs and your Visine.

The experience of Wooden Shjips has been equated to that of the Japanese phenomenon called maboroshi, which is somewhat similar to seeing a mirage or hallucinating in time. In the context of imagination/dreams, maboroshi is attributed to past occurrences and can take on a meaning like “phantoms.” The group’s songs seem to exist in a dream state in which anything is possible.

Wooden Shjips, as they are today, started in 2006. The band self released a 10″ and 7″ that year and started playing shows shortly thereafter. Prior to 2006, Wooden Shjips was an experiment in primitive and minimalist rock. After it imploded, Ripley Johnson, guitar and vocals, assembled the current lineup of Dusty Jermier on bass, Nash Whalen on organ, and Omar Ahsanuddin on drums.

West marks the first time the band recorded in a proper studio, as well as the first time with an engineer (Phil Manley). All previous recordings, either self-released, for Holy Mountain, or Mexican Summer were done more piecemeal in the band’s rehearsal studio. West was recorded and mixed in six days at Lucky Cat Studios in San Francisco. It was mastered by Sonic Boom at Blanker Unisinn, Brooklyn, with additional mastering by Heba Kadry at the Lodge in New York.

The over riding theme for the album (as indicated by the title) is the American West, and all of the mythology, romanticism, and idealism that it embodies. The band members grew up on the East Coast, so for a long time the history and literature of the West was an abstraction and a fascination for them.

Part of the allure of the West, which is part of the myth, is the concept of Manifest Destiny, the vastness, and the possibilities for reinvention, which is not to say that is what each song is specifically about, but it was very much an undercurrent during the songwriting of the album. The artwork also touches on the same theme by using an iconic structure that is both a gateway in a literal and metaphorical sense.

It is easy to see why these would appeal to Wooden Shjips, as their music lends itself to exploration. It is both transformative and transporting, the sum being far greater than it’s parts. The steady driving rhythms are the elliptical motion machine driven by the often thick and distorted guitar lines, melodic and boundless. Where they may lead cannot be anticipated but following them is exhilarating. It is all about getting there, the destination, while the experience of getting there is an adventure.

It is the guitar lines that guide both the listener and the band on the literal and metaphorical journey into the vastness. The ghostly vocals, obscured by dense layers of instruments surrounding them, are alluring with their airy mystery. This elusive quality further draws the listener in, while they attempt to grasp at their meaning. West is an epic journey to the edge and beyond.

Video: Crossing (live)

“Most of the songs on the album West are thematically linked to the romantic idea of the American west, or what that means to us as a band,” says Wooden Shjips’ frontman and guitarist Ripley Johnson (returning  to the Shjips fold after flitting around the world with Moon Duo, most recently in Australia for Sound Summit). “For Crossing, that is represented in images of epic road trips and losing oneself in the rhythm of the road. It’s existentialism as transport, both physically and spiritually, literally and metaphorically.”

Mistletone proudly presents John Maus on his first Australian tour, performing at Mistletone Fright Night and Sugar Mountain Festival in Melbourne, with other dates to be announced.

JOHN MAUS TOUR DATES:

SYDNEY: Wed 11th January @ Sydney Festival w/- Dan Deacon Ensemble @ Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Keystone Festival Bar, Sydney. Tickets on sale from Nov 9 on the Sydney Festival website.

BRISBANE: Thu 12th January @ Woodland w/- Dan Deacon Ensemble and Toy Balloon. Tickets on sale now from Oztix.

MELBOURNE: Friday January 13: Mistletone Fright Night @ The Corner w/- Dan Deacon Ensemble, Rat vs Possum, Jonti, Montero and Parking Lot Experiments. Door prizes galore for the most frightful costumes. Tickets $35 + booking fee on sale now from The Corner Box Office.

MELBOURNE: Saturday January 14 @ Sugar Mountain Festival w/- Deerhoof, Tune-Yards, Shabazz Palaces, Thee Oh Sees, Julianna Barwick, Sun Araw, Prince Rama + more. Tickets on sale via Ticketmaster or phone 136 100.

Hypnagogic, hypnotic, mind and life altering; John Maus makes music that taps into melancholic fantasy, and affirms that we are all truly alive. His groundbreaking new album We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (released on one of our fave labels ever, Upset The Rhythm, distro’d locally through Inertia) has been one of the iconic records of 2011.

The confrontation of punk, the fleeting poignancy of 80s movie soundtracks, the insistent pulse of Moroder and the spirituality of Medieval and Baroque music all find salvation in John Maus. It’s a world where the Germs jam with Jerry Goldsmith, Cabaret Voltaire relocate to Eternia and Josquin des Prez writes a new score for RoboCop. Questing synthesisers, tensely strung bass lines and chasing drum machines provide the perfect backdrop for John’s deeply resonant reverb-drenched vocal. John comes to Australia for the first time from his birthplace of Austin, Minnesota, where is working towards his PhD in Political Science.

Artwork by Carl Breitkreuz

ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI TOUR DATES:

SYDNEY: Friday March 2 @ Oxford Art Factory with special guests  Geneva Jacuzzi, Richard In Your Mind + Erik Omen. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. Presented by Mistletone and The Thousands.

PLAYGROUND WEEKENDER: Saturday March 3 @ Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry. Tickets on sale now.

MELBOURNE: Sunday March 4 @ Corner Hotel with special guests Geneva Jacuzzi, Lost Animal + Montero. Tickets on sale now from the venue. Presented by Mistletone, Triple R and The Thousands. 

BRISBANE: Thursday March 8 @ The Zoo with special guests Dune Rats + Magic Spells. Tickets on sale now from the venue. Presented by Mistletone, The Thousands and Happy End-ings.

MEREDITH, VICTORIA: Saturday March 10: Golden Plains Festival. SOLD OUT!

ADELAIDE: Sunday March 11 @ Adelaide Festival with special guest Geneva Jacuzzi. Tickets on sale now from BASS ONLINE or phone: 131 246.

Mistletone, Triple R & The Thousands proudly present the return of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’s return in 2012 for a gaggle of epic festival & club shows. LA’s little lost prince of experimental pop, lo-fidelity disco, and cassette tape wizardry, Ariel Pink has gone from being under the influence to influencing bedroom producers world-wide. Get ready for full length sets, glittery trousers, feather boas, and amazing times!

Underground cult figure turned international pop star, Ariel Pink’s sound is as sublime as it is surreal, loaded with hazy nostalgia and a fiercely experimental pop palette. Establishing himself as one of the most prolific songwriters and unique talents of his generation, Ariel Pink’s influence on today’s bands and genres has been profound.

And in super exciting news just to hand, LA synth-pop sorceress Geneva Jacuzzi is joining Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’s Australian tour as the main support for the Sydney and Melbourne club shows, as well as a double bill at Adelaide Festival.

Geneva Jacuzzi (born Geneva Garvin) is a musician and visual artist known for her unique style of synth driven bedroom pop recordings, theatrical stage personas and retro style video art. Her lyrics describe blood being thrown onto fire, clown-like machines in search of sadness, and the raging monologues of future/past elemental beings. Her live shows are unlike anything you will ever experience, referencing commedia dell’arte, Cocteau, Artaud, Schlemmer, dada, kabuki, French surrealism and Italian futurism.

Every Geneva Jacuzzi song is a starkly expressionistic mini-drama that with plots allowing her to find a new way into those places between art, music and theatre. Jacuzzi is a long-time collaborator with Ariel Pink — the most talked about act at Laneway 2011, the author of Pitchfork’s #1 jam last year (Round and Round), and one of the most influential artists of our time.

Don’t miss LA’s reigning prince and princess of lo-fidelity disco, experimental pop and mythical drama when their formidable powers collide!

A few words about Mistletone’s history with Ariel, whom we consider our spiritual leader…

Mistletone’s first ever release was House Arrest by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (MIST001, 2006), and our first ever tour was Ariel with an Australian backing band in 2006. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti since signed to 4AD and their amazing album Before Today was locally released through Remote Control. We are thrilled to bring Ariel and the band, together with Geneva Jacuzzi, back to our sunny shores in 2012.

Ariel Pink was raised in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles, attending Beverly Hills High School and later the California Institute of the Arts. In high school, Ariel was a fan of such Gothic rock acts as Christian Death, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, and The Cure (whom he cites as his favorite band). He started writing songs “around age 10″ and has recorded over 500 songs on hundreds of cassette tapes since 1996.

Ariel produces and plays almost all of his own music, and is noted for creating drum sounds using primarily his mouth, and sometimes his armpits. His home recording technique gives his music a very lo-fi sound, to the point where new listeners may mistake the era of his music. Ariel’s influences range from R. Stevie Moore–friend, mentor, and “father of home recording” —to Michael Jackson. Aside from his music, Ariel creates and sells semi-abstract and surreal grotesque drawings which can be viewed at his unofficial website.

From 2000–2002, Ariel collaborated with fellow Los Angeles recording artist coL, which resulted in each being featured on one another’s albums. In the summer of 2003, Ariel passed a CD-R on to Animal Collective after being introduced by mutual friend and occasional collaborator Jimi Hey (All Night Radio, Indian Jewelry, Beachwood Sparks, The Rapture) at one of their shows. Unbeknownst to Pink, Animal Collective had recently started their own record label, Paw Tracks. Animal Collective member Josh Dibb remembers: “It sat on the floor of the van for a week or so…  Finally we played it and we were just like ‘Woah!’. Brian was, like, ‘I’m making it my goal in life to put this kid’s record out on our label’.“

Several weeks later they contacted him to sign him on Paw Tracks. Ariel became the first musician on the label aside from the members of Animal Collective. The next year, the label reissued The Doldrums, an album which had been originally recorded in 1999. Since then, Paw Tracks (now co-owned by Carpark Records) has released two other reissues of Pink’s previous recordings, Worn Copy and House Arrest (Mistletone’s first ever release).

Ariel gradually caught the attention of media sources around the United States as well as internationally. As most of his albums are self-made, many of them have never been heard by fans. Almost all of Pink’s albums which have been commercially released come from his recently released Haunted Graffiti series and are thus the best known. In 2006, Pink’s collaboration with Holy Shit front-man Matt Fishbeck led to the release of Stranded at Two Harbors.

After initially playing shows with pre-recorded music, Ariel later employed the efforts of Gary War, Robert Robinson (Sore Eros), Tim Koh (White Magic), and John Maus while touring. In 2008, Ariel formed a new band with keyboardist/ guitarist/ backing vocalist Kenny Gilmore, drummer/ vocalist/ guitarist Jimi Hey, and guitarist Cole M. Greif-Neill (Ethnik Klensr, The Samps, Nite Jewel), who became known as Haunted Graffiti. Drummer Aaron Sperske (Beachwood Sparks, Lilys) has since replaced Jimi Hey, and guitarist Joseph Kennedy has replaced Greif-Neill. Consistent touring with a fixed band lineup has led to a much more accessible and musically tighter show for concert goers.

Haunted Graffiti toured with Chairlift, Cryptacize and Vivian Girls, followed by a performance at Coachella. In November 2009, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti was signed to 4AD records. Their first single “Round and Round” in March 2010 marked a studio quality departure from his former lo-fi recordings. A new album, Before Today, followed in June 2010.

Before Today was recognized by Pitchfork in their “Best New Music” category. The album includes some new versions of songs released on previous records, notably “L’Estat (acc. to the widow’s maid)”, “Round and Round” (formerly titled “Frontman/Hold On (I’m Calling)”) and “Beverly Kills”. In December 2010, Pitchfork named “Round and Round” the number 1 song on their list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2010. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti were chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival that they curated in May 2011. Having previously toured Australia as a solo artist with a local backing band in 2006, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti toured as a full band in 2011 as part of Laneway Festival and well-received headline shows in Melbourne and Sydney. The 2012 tour promises to be the most mind expanding yet!

DAN DEACON is returning to Australia, and this time he’s bringing his ensemble. No amount of text can describe how amazing this will be!

DAN DEACON TOUR DATES:

MARION BAY, TAS: Falls Festival, Friday 30th January.

LORNE, VIC: Falls Festival, Saturday 31st January (Dan Deacon solo set + Dan Deacon Ensemble set to count down the new year!).

ADELAIDE: Fri 6th January @ Adelaide Festival Centre, Space Theatre. Doors 10pm, all ages. Tickets on sale now.

BUSSELTON, WA: Southbound Festival, Saturday 7th January..

SYDNEY: Wed 11th January @ Sydney Festival w/- John Maus @ Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Keystone Festival Bar, Sydney. Tickets on sale now on the Sydney Festival website or phone 1300 668 812, and also through Ticketek, phone 132 849.

BRISBANE: Thu 12th January @ Woodland w/- John Maus and Toy Balloon. Tickets on sale now from Oztix.

MELBOURNE: Fri 13th January @ Mistletone Fright Night w/- John Maus, Rat vs Possum, Jonti, Montero and Parking Lot Experiments. Door prizes galore for the most frightful costumes! Tickets $35 + booking fee on sale now from The Corner Box Office.

NOISY Baltimore electro-shock artist and dance-party authority Dan Deacon is renowned as one of the world’s funnest and most epic live performers. Crazy and inspirational, participatory and energetic, his intense live show breaks down audience inhibitions to enable mass mayhem and fun.

Dan Deacon had already gained notoriety on the American DIY music circuit for his spastic and bizarre solo-electronic performances by the time his album Spiderman of the Rings (Mistletone, 2007) established him as a noise-pop songsmith. Dan followed Spiderman with the dense, sprawling Bromst in 2009. Bromst’s heavy use of live instruments prompted the composer to form the 17-piece Dan Deacon Ensemble, which toured in support of the album. Even as his live shows became larger-scale and less intimate, Dan has never lessened his emphasis on audience participation.

He has since delved back into art music through collaborations with premiere percussion ensemble So Percussion, as well as soundtracks for the films Hilvarenbeek and, most recently, Francis Ford Coppola’s upcoming Gothic Horror feature, Twixt. Dan is currently building out a studio to record his next album.

The Dan Deacon Ensemble lineup features Denny Bowen (Double Dagger) on drums, Dave Jacober (Dope Body) on drums/mallets,
Chester Gwazda (Nuclear Power Pants, producer of Bromst & Dan’s forthcoming album) on synths/computers and Jordan Casey (Zomes) on synths.

Mistletone proudly presents Julianna Barwick, touring Australia for the first time. Brooklyn-based solo artist Julianna Barwick creates music which is at once orchestral, choral and meditative, using her voice as an instrument to create soaring, capacious chants and mystical invocations. Totally captivating and moving, Julianna has been compared to the likes of Philip Glass, Brian Eno, Panda Bear, Stars Of The Lid and Cocteau Twins.

JULIANNA BARWICK TOUR DATES:

Saturday January 14: Sugar Mountain Festival, Melbourne w/- Deerhoof, Tune-Yards, Shabazz Palaces, Thee Oh Sees, John Maus, Sun Araw, Prince Rama + more. Tickets on sale via Ticketmaster or phone 136 100.

Sunday January 15 + Tuesday January 17: Sydney Festival @ The Famous Spiegeltent, Honda Festival Garden, Hyde Park. Tickets on sale from Nov 9 on the Sydney Festival website or Ticketek.

Wednesday January 18: The Toff, Melbourne w/- Wintercoats + Superstar. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix – phone: 1300 GET TIX (438 849), Moshtix outlets including Polyester (Fitzroy & City) or online here.

Thursday January 19: MONA FOMA 2012: Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art’s Festival of Music and Art. Tickets on sale now from the festival website.

Friday January 20: Adelaide Festival Centre Sessions @ Space Theatre. Doors 6:30pm, all ages. Tickets on sale now.

JULIANNA BARWICK makes sublime, ethereal, pastoral folk music, with heavenly harmonies and weaving sonic architecture. Julianna’s experimental soundscapes are in part informed by her experience growing up in Louisiana and Missouri, singing weekly with her church congregation and school choirs. Her loop-based compositions replicate the soaring textures of a large choral group using only her voice, a loop station and some occasional instrumentation.

Julianna’s amazing new album The Magic Place (out now on Mistletone Records / Inertia and available on mail order) is a nine-piece full-length album of magic and solace, bursting joy and healing tones. Like Sigur Rós’s ethereal glossolalia, there’s a very particular joy in listening to Julianna’s music. Free of the constraints of narrative and traceable language, it’s the same joy in giving yourself over to opera in a foreign language, of letting go of your pesky rational mind and allowing the feeling to come through in the voices and performance.

“So beautiful it might indeed reach the ear of heaven” – SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (4 stars)

“Singing in church choirs while growing up in rural Louisiana, Julianna Barwick loved how it felt to be in the middle of the chorus: in harmonious unity, swallowed up by sound. Her music attempts to recreate that sensation solo by using a loop station — an effects unit that layers sounds infinitely — to become a one-woman choir. Her ambient music is peer to fellow loopers such as Animal Collective bro Panda Bear and somnambulist droner Grouper but it’s very much its own thing. Barwick constructs opaque audio atmospheres from swarms of heavenly harmonies and cloudy drones, making music equal parts canonical and environmental. After two records testing these waters (2007’s Sanguine and 2009’s Florine), Barwick is the master of her idiosyncratic domain on The Magic Place. Named after a childhood birch, in the branches of which she would retreat into fantasy. The LP taps into imagination and escape, its rapturous suite of tone-songs — with apt names such as Envelop and Cloak — suggest cinema, the subconscious, transcendence, the firmament, heaven and any other realm of mystery and mysticism.” – THE AGE (4.5 stars)

Mistletone proudly presents How To Dress Well, aka Brooklyn-via-Cologne’s Tom Krell, on his first ever Australian tour. How To Dress Well’s unique brand of reverb-soaked, ethereal, heart-on-sleeve glo-fi comes to Phoenix Public House on Saturday 3rd December, with special guests Oscar & Martin and Wintercoats. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix.

Garnering inspiration from a broad range of artistic, cinematic, philosophical, and musical sources, How To Dress Well is provocative and compelling music. Tom Krell’s disarmingly beautiful vocal lines are as angelic as they are harrowing; his voice seems to swell up out of nowhere, the multiple tracks colliding with each other to form stirring, otherworldly harmonies, overtones, and distortions. Krell’s compositions are abstract and yet unmistakably pop and r&b; an exploration of voice and sound that transgresses typical expectations about song structure to evoke enthralling images of what is left of love after it is broken, and how to find in ourselves those places and moments where love remains.

How To Dress Well has appeared at the Sonar Festival, OFF Festival, Rokslide Festival, London’s XOYO, and completed sold out tours of Europe & North America and headline shows around the world. How To Dress Well is currently signed to Tri-Angle records, recently named the #1 indie label of the year by the American Billboard. Last year’s record Love Remains by How To Dress Well is a shimmering diamond of a release, fusing almost apathetic ambience with emotional intensity and fiercely intelligent production. It’s an understated record that draws on unexpected influences and is somehow simultaneously brutally honest and deliberately opaque. In a live setting, How To Dress Well brings this intensity and emotional ambiguity to the foreground for what is sure to be a spellbinding show.

Artwork by Alex Fregon

Hey. Mistletone is throwing another one of our perennial parties! We’ve called it Mistletone Fright Night, ‘cos it’s on Friday 13th January (at The Corner in Melbourne), and also as a nod to Mistletone’s first artist and spiritual leader Ariel Pink.

The super spooky lineup features the mega awesome Dan Deacon Ensemble; John Maus, the musical thrills junkie with charisma & mystery to burn; everyone’s fav kaleidoscopic noise-pop warriors Rat vs Possum, the return of technicolour inventor-producer-wunderkind
Jonti, back from 6 months soaking up & becoming part of the fertile LA beats scene; soft-rock easy rider SUPRÉ-group Montero and their seductive man-core anthems for tomorrow; and the ever-effervescent Parking Lot Experiments with their playful mix of pop and cheese.

Throw in the mad skillz of DJ Adam Christou between bands, a whole lotta audience participation, a synchronised interpretative dance session, and door prizes for the most frightful costumes bestowed by our discerning judges, and you’ve got yourself a big one!

Mistletone Fright Night: Friday 13th January at The Corner Hotel. Tickets on sale now from The Corner Box Office and Polyester Records for $35 + booking fee (or $40 at the door if still available).

Fright Night is proudly brought to you by Mistletone and Triple R.

PLAYING TIMES……….
7:30pm Doors open
8:00pm Parking Lot Experiments
8:40 Montero
9:25 Jonti
10:10 Rat vs Possum
10:55 John Maus
11:30 Dan Deacon Ensemble
+ DJ Adam Christou between bands!

Read on for band blurb teasers…

DAN, DAN DEACON is the man we’ve all been waiting for, our hero and yours, with his mega awesome ensemble in tow! This maniacal, loveable alchemist from the Baltimore DIY party scene is renowned as one of the world’s funnest and most epic live performers. Equal parts crazy and inspirational, participatory and energetic, Dan Deacon has built his reputation on his live shows, wild messes of frenetic dancing, comedic theatrics, and audience participation, all powered by his ecstatic electro-pop. Dan has had an amazing 2011; he signed with Domino Records, has been making amazing collaborations with Francis Ford Coppola, and now he’s back in Australia with his ensemble, whom Dan aptly describes as “champions” of the Baltimore scene: namely, Denny Bowen (from the now sadly defunct Double Dagger) on drums, Dave Jacober (Dope Body) on drums ‘n’ mallets, Chester Gwazda (Nuclear Power Pants, producer of Bromst (Mistletone, 2009) and Dan’s forthcoming album – mixed at Mistletone Studios!) on synths/computers and Jordan Casey (Zomes) on synths. As Dan so eloquently puts it: “It’s the first tour of this new ensemble lineup of two drummers, two synth players and one me. There will be four more humans, and most likely the energy will be a zillion times more.” Be prepared for Dan to transform The Corner into a complete circus, transforming us all into willing participants in his own twisted, joy-inducing fantasy.

The excellent times don’t end there, for our other international Fright Night guest of honour is one of this year’s most lauded and uncompromising artists: PhD candidate, one time Professor of Political Philosophy & Theory at the University Of Hawaii, reverb addict and self-confessed “musical thrills junkie”, JOHN MAUS. Revered for his maximalist/ baroque/ bombastic take on pop music, John’s groundbreaking album We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (released on one of our fave labels ever, Upset The Rhythm and distributed locally through Inertia) was one of the iconic records of 2011. The confrontation of punk, the fleeting poignancy of 80s movie soundtracks, the insistent pulse of Moroder and the spirituality of medieval and baroque music all find salvation in John Maus. Hypnagogic, hypnotic, mind and life altering, John Maus makes music that affirms that we are all truly alive. His live show is incredible — believe it!

Fright Night is a special show for RAT VS POSSUM: it’s their drummer Baby Andrew’s final show, and thus your last chance to witness the raw, throbbing power of this lean, mean, web designing, drumming machine before Rat vs Possum turn another page in their increasingly riveting history as a band who have made many a quantum leap, evolving into a fully formed, well-oiled musical Terminator, hell-bent on destroying the Death Star and the Temple Of Doom. This five-piece posse comes equipped with serious dancefloor chops, equally influenced by psychedelic pop, disco, rave culture, Krautrock and early ’70s German electronica. The new Rat vs Possum LP Let Music & Bodies Unite (Sensory Projects) is an accelerated burst of pop music more akin to a vivacious, brightly coloured firework than just another catchy tune on the radio; and their always-intoxicating live performances create a bespoke type of pop music you can truly dance to, mung out to, lose yourself in and freak out to.

Mistletone’s first ever Sydney signing JONTI described 2011 as a dream come true, and this recent glowing review from Mess + Noise says it best: “With Twirligig, Jonti Danilewitz has a delivered an album with nary a dull moment. Seriously, not one dull moment. He also establishes, without a shadow of a doubt, that he is the best hip-hop producer to have come out of Australia in recent memory – and yes, he was born and raised in South Africa, but let’s just let that rest for the time being. Like The Avalanches before him, Jonti has a knack for compositions that strike a balance between innovative and classic, between headphones and the dancefloor; it’s smart music that’s effortlessly enjoyable. In short, he’s vindicated those that have been singing his praises through two name changes, and he’s lived up to the hype that comes with signing to iconic US label Stones Throw.”

MONTERO is a smooth sailing slow-wave group who like to rock, softly. Described as lounging somewhere between Ariel Pink and 10CC, Montero walks a soft-rock/ romantic-prog path that few dare follow. With high-pitched male harmonies and new-age synths, they construct vibrational treatises for the cosmic and sensitive 21st century man. The debut Montero seven-inch Mumbai b/w Rainman (Mistletone, 2011) unveiled a gift for instantly memorable melodies. From post-nervous breakdown ballads and tender affirmations of masculine existence, to tracks that parachute into prog via some pre-yoga crystal-gazing, Montero takes an imaginative approach to classic love songs for audiences tired of the bullshit screamo. While happily liking whatever the punks hate, Montero is more about personal inclination than any polarised musical protest. Ben Montero (Mistletone’s artist in residence) just simply happens to find schmaltzy music VERY psychedelic.

PARKING LOT EXPERIMENTS are four guys of varying attractiveness who will play for you an immersive set of unhinged, ecstatic, melodic pop songs. They’ve been described as unconventional yet totally unpretentious, fluctuating between fiercely danceable loops, folky interludes and playful banter. Currently in the middle part of recording their second, most-awesome album, PLE 2: The Squeakquel, PLE make songs with a free-spirited ethos — roaring colourbursts for last-level triumphs, enthusiasm measured in buckets of sweat. Their particular brand of manic and joyous synth-pop has seen them support such luminaries as Dan Deacon, Yeasayer and WHY?, and has had them play the legendary Campus A Low Hum music festival in New Zealand in back-to-back years – an honour rarely bestowed.