The first proper record from Melbourne’s Brothersister Records is imaginative, eclectic and as DIY as any of the label’s previous CD-R and free download releases.
The Brothersister label got me thinking about a couple of friends who have a second child on the way. These parents haven’t scoped out the new kid’s sex – which may seem positively arcane in some circles – and that’s left them talking about a new brother-sister. The ambiguity gives it a thrilling uncertainty.
Brothersister caught my ear with a series of releases from Kharkov, Drama For Yamaha, Inquiet, Emperors of Blefuscu and Young Love – carefully packaged discs in well-designed sleeves or free downloads from the label’s website. I got caught up in the excitement of it all, the mix of friendly naivete and musical talent, and an outright eclecticism that took in dissonant pop, evocative ambience and uptempo beats.
The label approached its first compilation, and first ‘proper’ release, with the same (lack of) focus. Sam Szoke-Burke and Royce Ng (the label’s co-founders) approached friends around the world, artists they had crossed paths with in Europe, Asia, North America and here in Australia. Ideas tumble out of the speakers. One review I read interpreted that as a lack of cohesion.
But despite the mix of reference points, this fifty gallon drum flows. The lively range of sounds is poetic rather than particularly experimental. The key influence is probably post-punk, with its attendant inclusivity, calling in encouragement from drone and Kraut rock, Animal Collective, 8-bit and toy electronics, off-key punk rock and whatever else came to hand (including a piano accordion on UK group Directorsound’s ‘Before the March’). The Andersens, a group that includes members of Maher Shalal Hash Baz and the Tenniscoats, make a significant break in the album’s generally uptempo pace. The nostalgic tilt of their song, ‘Ether,’ balances out some poppier pieces. Jason Supercreep, who runs LA-based label Human Ear Music with Ariel Pink, finishes with a track whose barely-restrained sexuality sets it at apart the rest of the album.
The real meat here, however, is local. There are great songs from in-house bands Inquiet (Sam Szoke-Burke’s band) and Emperors of Blefuscu (which features John Bartley/Kharkov and Royce Ng). One of the finest local numbers is a song from Holland, who has since become Poland – apparently following a cease-and-desist note from the local embassy. Taken from her Pocketclock-released EP, which experimented with out-of-sync funk, ‘Random Pop’ is the least likely of the four tracks to be confused for house music. Its off-kilter rhythms are pretty, and clumsy too. Pompey, another Pocketclock artist, is responsible for the ‘A Fifty Gallon Drum’ in the title. His beat patterns tend towards the polyrhythmic, it’s a rich sound that almost cloaks his murmured song.
The record is available at gigs or from the Brothersister site.
Matthew Levinson
