Song #41: We Have Band - "Oh!"

Went to Sydney on Sunday for the second annual Days Like This! festival. Turned out to be a pretty quality day in spite of a pretty odd venue choice (the main stage was practically a car park). Highlights included Amp Fiddler, Cat Power and once again seeing my friends in Micachu and the Shapes. This lot, however, were easily my surprise of the day. Mica would not stop hyping them up in the lead-up to their set, but when it came down to it she could easily validate it.

Let's focus on this track in particular. The fact I had never heard it before and already knew the chorus within the first thirty seconds speaks volumes about how goddamn catchy this one was. Huge booming rhythms, a slinky bass line and even a nod to roller-disco is what makes this one such a treat. Live, it was even more off the chain - the titular "OH!" was practically screamed by Darren, Tom and Dede as they swayed and shook their respective booties in proper accordance with our own. Pure, unadulterated fun. Fuck yeah.

FINAL RATING (/10): 9

Their album drops in April and I'm wetting myself in excitement for it. Let's party.

Oh, and here's the video!

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We Have David

Song #11: The Phenomenal Handclap Band - "All of the Above"

I think the 100 Days thing has really gotten me onto trying new things and being a little more daring with my time. As an example, today I'm going to be interviewing a guy from a band I don't really know that well. His name is Daniel Collás, who is one half of the creative force behind The Phenomenal Handclap Band, fresh outta New York City. If the name is not familiar, perhaps the chorus "5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40..." is? Yep, THAT song. Fun fact: a girl I went to school with is in the Bonds Underwear ad that features 15 to 20 as its background music.

So what else do they have to offer? Surprisingly, a lot more than you'd think. This track in particular is a bizarre funk pastiche, with a McCartney-esque falsetto, spacetrip organ, whirring electric guitar and fucking BONGOS. If that doesn't make a song win, what does? Maybe a friggin' harmonica solo? Yes, Phenomenal Handclap Band, that WILL do nicely. This is a five and a half minute orbit through space and time, and you don't normally get to say stuff like that for music from 2009 (usually, it's 1976!).

FINAL RATING (/10): 9

This is great. I'm glad I took the risk to say I'd interview them, this is going to be really interesting.

If you're interested in catching them live, they'll be here for Pyramid Rock in a couple of weeks, in addition to doing some shows with Chairlift in Sydney and Melbourne. Get amongst it.

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David