IT was another great year for music in the south-west, with a truckload of amazing releases, superb gigs, and impressive acts catching our attention.
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The Standard's weekly music section Offbeat dedicates itself each week to promoting and celebrating the original music produced in this region — anyone can play covers, but to write, record and perform your own music takes true talent, skill, dedication, guts, and determination.
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jackson McLaren
National radio play, national tours, a residency at the Espy, support slots with Josh Pyke, a few festivals, and — best of all — we finally got to hear his debut album, which is fantastically heartfelt, poignant and beautiful. Take a bow, Mr McLaren — you’ve had another great year.
Honourable mentions: Blackwood Jack, King Evil, Kashmere Club, Red Eagle, Blue Heat, Dr Colossus, The Alamo, Tom Richardson.
RELEASE OF THE YEAR
1. Red Eagle — Red Eagle
The genius of this garage-rock trio’s debut album is that it combines the power of their live show and great songs yet takes advantage of the studio, using impressive production techniques, tricks and overdubs to make a record that’s both raw yet polished, free-wheeling yet controlled, and noisy yet succinct.
2. Blackwood Jack — The Pessimist EP
This EP demonstrates this power trio’s knack for epic dynamics and killer grooves, with producer Brenton Smith perfectly capturing Talen Galbraith’s inventive beats, Daniel Paroissien’s driving bass, and Ben Cue’s freakish skills as both a vocalist and guitarist.
3. Jackson McLaren & The Triple Threat — Songs To Greet The Dawn
The journey of Mailors Flat’s Jackson McLaren continues on this damned fine debut album, where his growing maturity not only manifests in the album’s themes of mortality and memory, but in the increasing assuredness in his voice and his way around a song.
4. Dr Colossus — IV EP
A doom metal EP entirely about The Simpsons? It would be a total joke if it wasn’t so freaking good. The former Portland lads behind this (Jono Colliver and Nathan Johnston) have made something that’s heavy as hell yet perfectly cromulent.
5. King Evil — King Evil EP
From its opening wiry groove to its epic sax-laden finale, this Warrnambool five-piece crams just about everything you can think of into just four songs that stretch out over a dynamic, psychedelic, engrossing and truly impressive 22-and-a-half minutes.
6. Cove — Cove EP
A little surprise packet from Warrnambool’s Liam Barling and Andre Pangrazio, who crafted a transcendental soundscape of airy synths, chiming guitars, melodic basslines and the occasional drum loop to make something unlike anything else made in the south-west this year.
7. Blue Heat — One Day Too Long
The bar-room blues and groovy good times are still present on Blue Heat’s first studio album in 18 years, but this record finds the Warrnambool five-piece covering more ground than ever before, relishing a diversity of tunes and making the most of a stripped-back sound.
8. The Departed — II
From a whisper to a death growl, Adam B Metal’s latest offering has moments of beauty amid the brutality. It never relinquishes its power or its passion, even as it takes 90-degree turns through an astronomical number of riffs, arrangements, dynamics and metal styles.
9. Ebonie Hyland — Ghost Trees EP
An utterly charming EP that sees Warrnambool’s Hyland plucking her way across a sea of emotions, her trusty ukulele in hand. The production is particularly lovely, adding delicate splashes of piano, xylophone and violin to her sweet indie-folk compositions.
10. Various Artists — Backyards
The Kool Skools project and Emmanuel College’s various music courses uncovered a treasure trove of up-and-coming talent, much of which can be found on this surprisingly strong and consistently impressive compilation.
SONG OF THE YEAR
1. Blackwood Jack — Fall Apart
A perfect demonstration of what you can do with just one killer riff, clever dynamics, and a wailing vocal hook. Simple yet smart, and hugely effective live.
2. Red Eagle — Flame
Americana licks, falsetto-drenched choruses, and a massively epic outro make this celebration of sitting by a campfire the best song on a great album.
3. Kashmere Club — The Company
Probably the sharpest bunch of lyrics of the year, held aloft by a great chorus, superb harmonies, and an intelligent arrangement.
4. Say Please — Waves
Yeah, individually these kids can seriously play, but what’s more impressive is how they work together to make an all-round great pop-rock tune.
5. Jackson McLaren & The Triple Threat — Farewell This House
McLaren re-recorded this old song of his about leaving home for his 2014 album and it is thing of rare beauty.
6. Money On Verema — Hook, Line & Sinker
After his Simpsons-themed doom metal band, this was the second biggest surprise from ex-Portland lad Jono Colliver - a perfect little pop nugget from out of nowhere.
7. Blue Heat — Seal My Lips
An unexpected yet welcome change of direction for the band, which sees them take a detour through some funky afrobeat.
8. The Infants — Halves
Warrnambool’s Morse boys have helped create something wonderfully eerie in this sublime piece of goth-pop.
9. Pete Janes — I Don’t Mind
Rustically charming scuzzy campfire singalong from a Warrnambool-via-Simpson singer-songwriter who has definitely found his voice on this tune.
10. Linch — Nameless
Mortlake band evokes mid-career-Muse-meets-early-career-Silverchair on this strong lead track from their debut album.
FILM CLIP OF THE YEAR
Blackwood Jack — Fall Apart (directed by Daniel Paroissien)
A hyperactive burst of 8-bit humour that is endlessly watchable, possibly because of the hypnotic effect of the ever-changing colour scheme. A worthy winner if only for the scarily accurate pixelated portraits of the three Blackwood Jack members and the clever chiptune rendition of the song at the start of the clip.
Honourable mentions: Jackson McLaren’s Here’s A Memory, directed by former Warrnambool artist Brooke Altman, and Moroccan Knights’ The One For You, directed by Peter Corbett.
GIG OF THE YEAR
Kashmere Club, King Evil, Red Eagle & Blackwood Jack @ The Loft in Warrnambool on December 6.
Part-way through Blackwood Jack’s set at this gig (their EP launch), bassist Daniel Paroissien said someone had told him the Warrnambool music scene was dead. Gesturing to the full house that had turned out to watch the four best local bands at present, Paroissien proclaimed, “The scene’s not dead, boss”. This gig emphatically supported Paroissien’s statement, with the gig standing as a triumphant example of not only the talent that regularly arises in the south-west, but the support that is out there for good original music. Mind you, without The Loft the local scene would be in real trouble, but for now it’s in good health.
Honourable mentions: Kennedy’s Creek Music Festival, the Folkie (as always), so many Loft gigs (Kingswood, Dallas Frasca, Graveyard Train, Josh Pyke to name a few) but especially the 10th anniversary featuring The Monaros, Red Eagle and a re-united Roaring 40s, and great to see the Whalers Hotel supporting original Aussie talent again (British India, Illy, Tom Richardson, Jebediah).