Initially when i found out about the concept of the Laneway festival I was quite intrigued about the whole idea, numerous underground bands in a ‘lane’ or ‘car park’ type area playing to an intermediate sized crowd for a reasonable price (or at least I thought?). Looks now more like a festival for Triple J chart toppers at $80 a ticket?!!!?!?
Wondering now whether it’s worth the effort to see the few bands below which I’ve been hanging out to see. I just don’t know.
We have Hoboken’s most revered and indie rock’s truest mainstays, Yo La Tengo playing the Sydney and Brisbane Laneway Festival. Where do you start with Yo La Tengo? Over arguably the most consistently diverse music-making history comes their strongest release to date: ‘I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat your Ass’. The trio have raised their game to unparalleled heights, creating a multi-genre masterpiece certain to win over new admirers and keep their fiercely loyal fans very happy. Yet believing is in the hearing and so having them on the Laneway Festival bill is about as big an honour as it gets for us.
With their first single ‘Young Folks’ all over the airways with its irresistible whistling and infectious bass line, super-fun Swedish pop trio Peter Bjorn & John head to Australia for the first time. We encourage you to discover this excellent band, combining clever and ironic lyrics with beguiling guitar-fuelled pop and lo-fi electronic samples. Peter Bjorn & John create songs bursting with imagination and heart-on-sleeve emotion.
Local madcap Luke Steele’s The Sleepy Jackson will play their debut Laneway Festival. The singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalists mix everything from electro-pop to alt-country to soaring, George Harrison-esque pop on their second release ‘Personality: One was a Spider, One was A Bird’. Eccentric and exhilarating, the Sleepies are a live proposition not to be missed.
It doesn’t take long to get hooked on Camera Obscura’s enchanting melodies and undeniable hooks. 2006 saw the release of the Glaswegians’ acclaimed third album ‘Let’s Get Out Of This Country’. Decidedly upbeat yet beautifully reflective, it is the sound of a band just hitting their stride.
Sweden’s Love is All are a true indie success story thanks to countless rave reviews in the blogging world. This Guttenberg pop punk five-piece create a collision of sounds (think dance-punk meets riot grrrl meets synth-pop) that is sure to send you careening wildly towards the dance floor. ‘Gloriously giddy, righteously rockin’ Scandi-scoundrels on a boredom banishing mission to ignite your heart’ says NME. We say this is one party band set to light the festival into a frenzy when they play Melbourne and Sydney Laneway Festival.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to introduce another first timer to Australia: Ireland’s own Fionn Regan. His debut album ‘The End Of History’s’ startling maturity and originality is as spellbinding as anything the imagination could possibly conjure up. Folk has a new Pied Piper. Check out www.fionnregan.com for some of the best reviews on any debut album you are likely to see.
Straight outta south-west London and our favourite live act at this year’s SXSW comes the dirty psych rock sound of Archie Bronson Outfit. Sharing a knack for angular riffs and a keen sense of irony, ABO’s rollicking rhythms and intelligent lyrics earned them a nomination for Best New Act at the 2006 MOJO Honours List. It’s not quite pop, but this is music you can dance to. We’re gonna put these cats out in the alley around sunset to ensure a blissed out hour of psych-fi dancing in the streets. Nuts.
The Walkmen are a five piece out of NYC whose song ‘The Rat’ was a monster hit back yonder. Two years on, their latest offering ‘A Hundred Miles Off’ is the album of a band who should be way more famous than they are today. The five-piece are set to take their unique brand of blistering stomp-folk-rock to the Laneway Festival in 2007 and we are thrilled to the bone to have this electrifying Gotham outfit on the bill.
No-one could have predicted the massive success that 2006 bought Youth Group with the release of their third long-player ‘Casino Twilight Dogs’. The hit ‘Forever Young’ has ingrained itself into Australia’s collective consciousness but dig deeper into their latest record and you’ll find one of our finest lyricists in Toby Martin. It’s the delicate melodies, expressive vocals and nimble instrumentation that have won over a legion of new fans and made their loyal community of indie devotees proud.
Last year The Temper Trap rolled into St Jeromes and started hanging out at the bar and being friends with us all. We liked them instantly and hoped like hell that they were an okay band because we just put em on the line up because we thought they were ace. That’s why you start a festival, right? They played last year and blew people’s minds. Set to release their debut self-titled EP in November, the Temper Trap’s live shows are better then we could have imagined. Discover the exciting, dynamic and utterly compelling vision that is their sound.
We proudly present Australia’s finest hip-hop visionary, Macromantics. Macro pens sharp-witted hip hop that leaves you gasping for breath and begging for more. The feeling to her debut album, ‘Moments in Movement’ is so sexy, so fun, so alive and mysterious you can almost taste it. We consider this album one of Australia’s most important releases in years. So did legendary US record label Kill Rock Stars. The future looks very bright for Romy and DJ Amy and we are rapt they play the festival in 2007.
Ground Components are just the best! How many bands these days can honestly say that they have no comparisons? Loud, funny, dangerous and hypnotic, the Ground Components are drenched in some sort of demonic bewilderment that even they sometimes don’t seem to understand. Many argue that their debut record is a modern classic; we tend to imagine them becoming something of a true leader of the Aussie international assault over the coming years. Utterly inspiring.
Their beats are addictive, their synths have twisted personality and Melbourne’s Midnight Juggernauts have come a long long way in the past twelve months. We love bands that are truly DIY and these guys are the real deal with a live show arguably as good as anything you are likely to see on this line up… The swaggering duo brings their eminently danceable brand of indie-electro to the table and we can’t wait.
That completes announcement one with nothing short of six acts on the line-up playing in Australia for the first time. there are many, many more amazing acts to follow!
Tickets on sale Thursday November 2.
