Washington – I Believe You Liar

Over the past 2 years or so, Megan Washington has slowly carved out a reputation for producing quirky and enlightening pop songs. Tracks like Cement, Clementine and How to Tame Lions managed to gain regular radio airtime, and the Australian public slowly began to take notice of the talent that was at hand. With I Believe You Liar, Washington fulfils all expectations by producing an album that is full of twists and turns, highlighting the Melbourne chanteuse’s ability to be equal parts uplifting and inverted when the time is nigh.

There is so much variation on I Believe You Liar that it is hard to really single-out Washington’s style. However, at its core, the music is quintessential indie-pop, with subtle tangents that help to make each track unique. The combination of mostly high-end electric guitar and catchy piano hooks pushes the majority of the album. Another attractive side to Washington’s sound is the frequent use of either shakers or tambourine in the rockier, upbeat tracks on this CD, which help to further engage the listener. These elements are no more evident than at the beginning of the album, with Navy Blues and Cement encapsulating the real pop aspect that is scattered throughout I Believe You Liar.

Songs like The Hardest Part and the tango-inducing Spanish Temper carry on with the more playful components of the album, showcasing Washington’s impeccable turn-of-phrase in her songwriting. In contrast, the minimalism of tracks like Lover/Soldier and Underground highlight a more emotional and reflective characteristic of the artist’s music. In the case of Underground, Megan takes on the role of a balladeer, singing lyrics that evoke images of sunny days spent with family over a lightly finger-picked electric guitar. Bona fide singles Rich Kids and Sunday Best further strengthen the mid-section of this album, and it is these tracks that display the more chic elements of Washington’s sound.

The album also sees previously released tracks reappear, which is certainly implemented to good effect in the case of Clementine and How to Tame Lions. The former opens with a deep synth line that ultimately leads into a joyous, optimistic sounding tune, and shows off Washington’s ability to write lyrics that are simple in essence, but still seem to represent greater meanings. How to Tame Lions, in the same vein as Clementine, opens with a drone-like keyboard beat and slowly opens up to display a more introspective side of the singer that questions ideas of life and love with quite thoughtful analogies. It is interesting to see how these two tracks almost find the middle ground between the upbeat and down-tempo extremes on I Believe You Liar.

Washington manages to find the perfect balance in a lyrical sense between the harder, edgier songs and the more emotive and raw moments on the album. It is clear that the singer has given herself plenty of freedom in the songs that are written, and the unpredictability of time signatures and lyrical content helps to make the album a more enjoyable listening experience on the whole. The album culminates in the beautifully crafted title track, which floats along through a symphonic-sounding string section backing an elegant grand piano line, and sees Megan singing with more emotion than any other track on I Believe You Liar.

Put simply, this album is going to great things for Megan and her friends. In I Believe You Liar, we have witnessed an artist with raw talent and emotion not scared to write unashamedly pop songs that are unique, yet still manage to connect with a wide audience. It appears Australia has a new female songwriter to embrace, and it appears we will be embracing Washington for years to come yet. She has certainly established herself amongst her contemporaries with this album; it is hard to imagine what more she can come up with, but the prospect is indeed an exciting one.

The Bank Holidays - Sail Becomes A Kite

The Bank Holidays are a band you would listen to on a beach, sitting on the sand, dreaming the day away. Comprised of Nat Carson, Stuart Leach, and James and Bekk Crombie, the group’s second album Sail Becomes A Kite evokes images of getting lost in far away places, while also containing lighter, more contemplative moments which add a dreamy element to the album. Metaphors of the sea and floating away on the breeze help to carry themes of love and loss, and allow the listener to contemplate and dream simultaneously.

The follow-up to As A Film, the band’s debut LP, Sail Becomes A Kite was very much influenced by a sense of longing for “home” after an extensive stay in a Norwegian coastal house. It is easy to see both the Australian and European inflections on this album come together; the band’s acoustic-laden brand of pop is created in a rather spacious and almost atmospheric manner. Particles is a particularly good example of these elements in full force, as the song slowly sways and swaggers along care of a lightly strummed acoustic melody and a beautifully engaging pitter-patter drum-beat. Without It also implements these stylings, while incorporating female vocals in this instance to add a different perspective on the lyrical themes. Yes, I use female in a broader sense, as it is not clear on either the liner notes or the band’s website exactly who the central vocalists on this record are. But this ultimately becomes one of the album’s focal points in that the inclusion of group harmonies throughout the record help to enhance the main vocal output of each song, and make the sound become more of a collective effort.

The female-led tracks certainly provide the higher points on Sail Becomes A Kite, perhaps due to the fact that these vocal performances suit the band’s dreamy sound more accurately. It must be said however, that the predominately male-led songs add a different element to The Bank Holidays’ sound. Songs like Tripping Up To Fall In Love and Her Majesty’s Voice help to make the record that much more eclectic and diverse. Think Animal Collective doing the Beach Boys. It is hard not to draw a comparison to the seminal 70s surf-rockers, yet The Bank Holidays encapsulate this sound so well that they almost manage to make it their own.

Organic synth over-tones become more prevalent on the latter half of the album, as the album takes another turn and leans towards a more retrospective vision compared to the aforementioned rockier-type tracks. In The Desert is a slow-burner that displays a more thoughtful level of songwriting, while album closer Gravity’s Playthings is perhaps a more traditional folk song that could quite easily have come from one of your parents’ vintage record collections circa late 1960s. The sunny elements of the band’s sound genuinely return here, with a subtle vibraphone melody building into a massive chorus that sounds equal parts joyous and demanding, and makes it one of the standout tracks of the album.

Sail Becomes A Kite is no more spacious as it is engaging; no more retrospective as it is introspective; and overall, cleverly combines a variety of pop elements to create a sound that evokes images of running wild and being free. And although the band intended the record to sound more autumnal than their debut release, the summery influences are still here for all to see. A fantastic release from a band that is clearly moving forward with their sound and doing great things around the country. We will surely be hearing more from The Bank Holidays as the weather gets warmer, the nights get longer, and our worries disappear.

Otouto - Arty Folk

Melbourne 3-piece Otouto have managed to create a fresh-sounding release with their debut record entitled PIP. The trio, comprised of talented sisters Hazel and Martha Brown, and drummer extraordinaire Kishore Ryan (Kid Sam), make art-folk music that flows like a cool breeze in the summer. The combination of exquisitely plucked nylon strings, off-beat synths and Ryan's unique-sounding kitchenware drum set-up make for a compelling listen throughout. The lyrics on PIP are mostly drawn from small thoughts, phrases or observations that come together and somehow manage to hold meaning, thanks mostly to Hazel Brown's intricate vocal deivery. At times, the high notes that Brown inflects tend to reference artsts like Regina Spektor and Laura Marling, but with that little Australian insight to give the lyrics a more suburban feel. Standout tracks include Cartoon Shoes, Autumn, W. Hillier, and Sushi. The lyrical content on the latter has absolutely nothing to do with anything yet still sounds encapsulating ("I mistook a man eating sushi / For a man putting on a fake moustache").

Otouto have recently been booked for a long run of dates in the U.S. which is a sign of their blossoming success to date. The band could also be a goer for St Jeromes Laneway Festival next year on their homecoming. Get out and see this band when they do return; they are a delight.