Grace.

Merry Christmas Aussies, hope you've all had a great day! :smiley:

There's only 1h 15m left of Christmas here, but to the rest of the world, MERRY CHRISTMAS :D

YES! And I never want them to leave :bomb: DO IT. Thanks, btw :nice: Like the new vids! Thank you!! :kiss: All you need to be a fan is to love the band, which I'm confident you do! :wacky: GAHHH Thanks for the links guys!!! I've downloaded it but haven't been able to listen to it and won't until later tonight.. :bomb: Can't wait to hear it! MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!!

Thanks guys :wacky: Haha, Smoggy is great! I wanted to say hi at the gig but didn't want to bother him :P Must be in the air..? You get why I get there so early though right? :P Yeah, I knew if we did something completely random like that we would get a bit of attention from him, which, now that you mention it, is actually quite rare for an artist with so much international acclaim. He's just too damn amazing for his own good sometimes :awesome: Only... what, 13 hours? 'til THE FALL! :awesome:

Pictures!

OK! Sorry for taking so long! I've had a really busy week and I've only just gotten home for christmas in the last couple of days And yeah I've been on here a couple of times in the last couple of days but wanted to get the review right before sharing it with you guys! So there you go. Hands down my favourite gig of the year, and I’ve seen quite a few artists (not quite as many as Alex though) in this last 12 months. Oh and Perrine, you were right – I forgot about Muse and U2 quickly enough! :P Now catching up to what's been happening in this thread... LESS THAN 24 HOURS TIL THE NEW ALBUM! I'm not expecting too much seeing as it was made on an iPad, but it should still be amazing :wacky: Unfortunately I'm 10 hours ahead of the UK it'll feel like ages :P

Haha :D If you have any questions or anything about any of the bands/releases, don't hesitate to ask me! :awesome:

Hi Carrow! I'm your mixtape maker! :D I must admit, when I got you as a partner I freaked out a bit after looking at your blog and pretty much scrapped what I'd had planned for my mixtape, because it seemed to me that you'd listened to most artists/songs that I was going to put on there! As a result I took full advantage of my geographical location and put a lot of Aussie tunes on there, because I was pretty certain you hadn't heard much Aussie stuff :P Anyway! The Piper's Song - Gypsy & The Cat One of my favourites from the debut by this (Aussie) band. :thumbsup: I love it too, hopefully the new album keeps up with this song! The Ghost Inside - Broken Bells There are a couple of gems on that album, this song being one (in my opinion anyway). I thought this one might be a bit touch-and-go. This is a song called The Ghost I Saw When I Was Dreaming by a band called Ball Park Music, that have only recently started out in my home city. I thought this was the most easily accessible song on their EP. Isn't is great??? Like you said, this is a cover of The xx's Crystalised, performed by Gorillaz at a recent BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Session. Unfortunately not many people seem to have heard it, but I think it's fantastic! Rabbit Song - Boy & Bear (another Aussie artist...) This song if from their debut EP, which was released earlier this year. The whole EP is brilliant, so if you like this song I highly recommend you check out some of their other stuff! Let You Down - Hungry Kids of Hungary. Another track from a debut album by an Aussie band. They often get likened to VW :D Half Full Glass of Wine - Tame Impala I saw on your blog that you liked Tame Impala's debut LP, so I thought I'd give you a taste of some of thier earlier stuff ;) Sunsets - Powderfinger Haha, I wasn't sure about adding this one. But I wanted to because these guys have just debanded after playing a massive farewell tour around the country, sort of as a tribute I guess, as they're pretty much legends over here. But they're not everyone's cup of tea, I know :P This song is from one of their earlier but most successful albums. Board the Apartment Up - Seabellies Another track from an Aussie debut... the whole album follows a similar sound but is very good. Broken Bones - The Holidays Yet another track from an Aussie band's debut album - my favourite song from the album, so if you love this track I would definitely recommend you take a look at the album because it's really, REALLY good! Haha, I saw that you liked Delphic (from your blog) so I knew you'd appreciate it! It's one of my favourite tracks of the year too :heart: These guys need to be listened to more!! Correct! Grizzly Bear - And I Was a Boy From School (Hot Chip Cover) This was recorded for Triple J, a (rather amazing) national radio station we have. Every week they get a band in to play one of their songs and then a cover, and then release some of the covers in a compilation every year. This is by far my favourite song on the latest compilation. Big Jet Plane - Angus & Julia Stone What if I told you the vocals were male? :P The harmonies are female, though. Another great Aussie artist, this is from their sophomore album. It's great :D Beast of Love - Cloud Control I must admit, this was one of my least favourite songs on the album this song came off (again, a debut from an Aussie artist) until I heard it live, perhaps you'd have liked some of their other songs better. Anyway, it's one of my favourite Australian albums of the year, so (obviously) I'm going to recommend you look more into these guys, too! Also, the harmonies are sung by a male ;) Yes! Glad you enjoyed it, I love it too :D Kettering - The Antlers That's exactly what I thought when I first heard the song!! It's so... haunting, I guess. If you don't want to be reduced to tears then don't listen to the rest of the album, but I wouldn't recommend that, because it's brilliant! You're VERY welcome, I'm really glad you enjoyed it (I'm satisfied with an 8/10 :P)! And that you didn't know many of the songs, I was a little worried! Also, with 11 of the tracks being from Australian artists (and a lot of those from debut albums or releases) hopefully I've given you a bit of an insight into the Aussie music scene :P Tracklisting: 1. The Piper’s Song – Gypsy & the Cat [Gilgamesh] 2. Holidays (Featuring Alan Palomo) – Miami Horror [illumination] 3. Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) – The Wombats 4. The Ghost Inside – Broken Bells [broken Bells] 5. The Ghost I Saw When I Was Dreaming – Ball Park Music [Conquer the Town, Easy as Cake EP] 6. Crystalised (The xx cover) – Gorillaz 7. Rabbit Song – Boy & Bear [With Emperor Antarctica EP] 8. Let You Down – Hungry Kids of Hungary [Escapades] 9. Half Full Glass of Wine – Tame Impala [Tame Impala EP] 10. Sunsets – Powderfinger [Vulture Street] 11. Board the Apartment Up – Seabellies [by Limbo Lake] 12. Broken Bones – The Holidays 13. Acolyte – Delphic [Acolyte] 14. And I Was a Boy From School (Hot Chip Cover) – Grizzly Bear [Triple J Like a Version Volume 6] 15. Big Jet Plane – Angus & Julia Stone [Down The Way] 16. Beast of Love – Cloud Control [bliss Release] 17. You’ve Got the Love (The xx Remix) – Florence + The Machine 18. Kettering – The Antlers [Hospice] And the link for anyone who wants it: http://www.sendspace.com/file/6ppapy

^ Thanks, Lore! :nice:

I was hoping my card would be here when I got home yesterday, but it wasn't. Oh well, I'll keep my hopes high! Hopefully I don't have a repeat of last year.. :uhoh:

I did get good vibes tix because my friend and I want to see Phoenix (and Friendly Fires), and that news has made me VERY happy! I know everyone seems to love cee lo green but I personally can't stand him. I liked that "F**k you" song for about the first two times I heard it and can't stand his new one :P

^Oh wow, is it that soon? I really better get mine in! The past month or so has been pretty intense but I should get mine in by the deadline, I think.

^Thanks, I'll be sure to have a look! So voting for the Triple J Hottest 100 has started! Has anyone voted or know what they're voting for? Also, Gorillaz on Sunday were AWESOME. Possibly the best gig of super december overall for me! :awesome:

TONIGHT WAS FRIGGING AMAZING!! :bomb: :bomb: :bomb: Of course, I wasn't expecting anything else :lol: I'll be back in the next couple of days with a proper review, but I had SUCH an amazing time!! Didn't get to meet any members of the band (not for lack of trying!) but I don't really mind because a couple of other amazing things happened :wacky: Thanks for the link Louise!! :cheesy: Seconded :sneaky:

Ahhh, thanks for posting! I missed these when they were aired the other day (literally the day after I packed up my radio... :dozey:)! YES!!! In 24 hours I'll be there!!!! :bomb: Thanks! :dance:

:heart: Well it was well translated! Haha, my bad :embarrassed: Yeah, this is one artist I'm definitely going to look into! Guess I won't look too much into this one then... :P Oops, I meant track 08! :P I think so, if you listen closely enough to the lyrics :D That's interesting, because none of the tracks had album art except this one! What was the picture you tried to put over the rest of them? Haha, I'd love to know it :lol: Like I said, the amount of work you put into it really showed, so thank you! You definitely did! :lol: Can't say I actually noticed the user title. But I know you're a huge Elbow and Frightened Rabbit fan. Plus I downloaded your mixtape last exchange and it had a title, and this one obviously had a title, which I think was the first point of giveaway. And the fact that it had a theme, and... I don't know, I just had a feeling it was you, even though I guess I don't really know you :shrug: Aww, thanks :blush: There's a couple of artists here who I have been meaning to check out, and a few who I will definitely be looking more into! Again, a big thank you! :hug:

Exactly the reason I haven't posted mine yet, and probably won't until it's almost the deadline :P

Hi mixtaper! (Firstly a warning - long complicated mixtape = LONG review!) Firstly, I will say I was slightly freaked out (but at the same time really happy) to receive a mixtape clocking in at almost 1 hour 40 min, with 20 tracks. Much longer than I was expecting! I LOVED that you called it “Life on Melancholy Hill” – I don’t know if it was because you noticed I’ve been going through a massive Gorillaz phase, or because you thought it would suit the feel of the mixtape (which it did, to a tee), or both, but anyway it really made me smile :D The mixtape as a whole: One of the things that had me captivated about this mixtape was that is was very obviously themed - imagine what it would be like to live on a place called Melancholy Hill, and you can imagine the sound of this mixtape! It was very conceptual and I can't shake the feeling that there's a story in the mixtape that I can't quite grasp properly. The songs are all, more or less, about fear, melancholy (funnily enough) and monsters in the dark. Did you mean to make a story out of the tracks or am I just looking too far into it? I've always been bad at this sort of thing :P Lots of strings, drama and very atmospheric songs. Now to the tracks themselves: 1. A beautiful, haunting number with a really nice female voice, reminds me a little of Laura Marling (but I know it isn't). Love the inclusion of strings. "Melancholy" perfectly captures the feel of this song, one of my favourites on the tape and a great start! 2. Awesome cover of Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage”. Includes some trumpets, lots of strings and even a clarinet! Once again a haunting feel to it. Very different to the original but I like it. The piano’s beautiful and the strings capture the drama of the song very well. Probably one of my favourite tracks on the tape. 3. Once again, lots of strings (I’m guessing my mixtaper likes strings??) An instrumental piece, quite pretty but a little sad. 4. This one wakes me up a bit after the last one with solid bassline and some spooky synths. Another instrumental piece, but much more lively than the last. I really like it, retro-sounding synths included. 5. This track and the last either just merge really well or they're from the same soundtrack, surely. Begins with sounds like fireworks far away, and the an electronic voice speaks a few words. The fireworks stop and suddenly I'm hearing a conversation between a male and female - I can't decide if they're both robots or not, but the male's voice sounds like Harrison Ford. Anyway, it sounds like an excerpt from a movie made long ago. As soon as the voice finishes there are more synths that sound like they belong in a movie made in the 70s or 80s (I don't know my movie eras very well :P) The rest is a very dramatic, synth-filled instrumental. 6. Distant base and piano start off the track. I welcome the addition of vocals in this song. Elbow, if I’m not mistaken? I only know “The Seldon Seen Kid” so don’t know any of their past stuff, but it definitely sounds like Guy Garvey. Anyway, the song isn't too complicated and another of my favourites on the mixtape. 7. The clap at the beginning of this one surprised me after those quieter songs! Nice male vocals, singing "baby I'm on my way". Some interesting sounds that fade to a deep voice chanting something that sounds familiar. It might just be the beat, that's familiar, though. Then some really happy synths start playing to end the song of in a... strange and unexpected way. 8. Haha, soundtrack from an old movie? It actually kinda sounds like voices from a few of different movies shoved together so they sound like they were meant to be together. Sounds like an old sci-fi. "Look,it’s in the trees! It’s coming! The Demon, it’s coming! Ahhhh!” :lol: And then a high-pitched female singing about being a coward, and things in the dark that aren’t real chasing her. “It’s coming for me, through the trees, help me someone” Not a big fan of her voice, although it’s very powerful. Kind of sounds like Kate Bush? That’s a complete guess though… I'm not sure if these two clips were originally placed liked this or if you did, but either way it was pretty clever ;) 9. A nice piano piece, drags on a little though. 10. Harps! More female vocals, sounds a little like the song girl singing as track 09, but a little nicer. Another slow number, with acoustic guitar, strings and some piano sprinkled in there. She sings about people coming to visit her in California. 11. Male vocals that sound like they're answering the girl's calls in the previous song. More piano and acoustic guitar. Not a huge fan of the vocals but they sound somewhat familiar. 12. Beautiful female vocals (sounds like the vocalist from track 01), singing a story about a beautiful girl who kills her lovers. A little dark, but I quite like the song. 13. Background humming and lots of interesting electronic sounds. Elbow/Guy Garvey song again, if I’m not mistaken! Lucky I like his voice. 14. One of the more cheerful moments of the mixtape. An American male voice, not a huge fan of his voice (I think it's the accent) but it’s not bad, and it's a nice break from the dark songs that have dominated the mixtape thus far. 15. Another instrumental, creepy piano and a few other creepy sounds. Makes me think of walking through a scary, deserted underground science lab where experiments have gone really wrong in the past... Really long silence at the end though, that goes for about a minute. 16. Uplifting beginning! Electric guitar and piano, and a singer with a really thick Scottish accent. I’m thinking Frightened Rabbit, but only because I don’t really know any other bands with such a thick accent. A slightly Christmas-themed song, though not as cheerful as your run-of-the-mill Christmas song, seeing as it's about a homeless man alone in the streets on Christmas Eve. 17. Guy Garvey again! A big fan of this man, are we? Or maybe I’m just getting mixed up and thinking every vocalist on this mixtape sounds like him?… pretty sure it’s him though. Really short song, only goes for like a minute. A very atmospheric song, with lots of reverb. 18. The beginning of this song makes me think of a cheesy soap opera. Another instrumental song, complete with xylophones. Probably the weakest instrumental on the mixtape and it drags on a little, but it's not completely terrible. 19. Left the album art on this one ;) not that it matters because I'd never heard of the artist or album before. A pretty simple track, with really creepy female vocals. Really creepy. She sings about 'staying alive.' 20. An excerpt from a documentary on whales… random. But hey, I learned a couple of things about whales that I didn't know. Certainly not what I expected to get out of this exchange! Weirdly, as I was listening to this all I could think of was the video for 'On Melancholy Hill', the part at the end where the manatee is dragged into the water :thinking: THANK YOU for making this mixtape for me, I really enjoyed listening to it! If anything, it was a little long and dragged out at times. But then, the more I listened to it the less it felt like this. In any case, the amount of effort you put into this mixtape really shows through and I really, really appreciate it! It also contained a lot of music that I wouldn't normally listen to, so thanks for opening my eyes a little more to some artists I haven't heard before! My favourites tracks were probably: 1, 2, 6 and 12, but there weren't many that I wouldn't listen to again. This story thing is really bugging me, I can't shake the feeling you put these tracks together because they make a story. I feel like it's all there in my head but I'm having trouble linking it into a cohesive piece. All I know is it involves robots, monsters in the dark and at the end they all go and live in the sea with the whales :P Now, I'm going to take a stab at who I think my mixtaper might be... Sorry my review was so long! Now, tracklisting please! :D

! :freak: Didn't realise it was so close! :cheesy: 2 days til my concert!! :freak: :bomb: :bomb:

I bought "The Fool" a few weeks ago and love it! It's really different and chilled, some talented girls right there. And they're coming out to tour Oz in February, can't wait to see them! :awesome:

:surprised: hope it's as good as the last one!

Hey, I discovered this site a couple of weeks back too, when they did the Foals session! I love it, but haven't checked it in a while and didn't realise they'd had so many good artists in, thanks for posting the links. I'll get to downloading them right away :awesome:

7:51am, preparing to move house.

Today I have to move alllll my stuff from my old house to my new house by myself :blank:

Congrats Bryce! :awesome: