Here is your mind

Holy christ almighty does this get me hard.

In recent years a new generation has taken on the blues. They took it, they buried themselves in it and emerged with something amazing. A newly invigorated, stylised and pulsingly enigmatic take on this beloved genre that has been made somewhat inaccessible by the passing of time. We have the success of The White Stripes and Clutch (among others) to thank for this, and believe me I couldn’t be more grateful. So yeah, thanks guys.

Especially in Australia have I particularly fallen head over heals for this new generation of suave, scotch swilling merchants of doom and gloom. I’ve touched on it briefly before in an interview with The Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders, but more on that later. Leading the good fight would probably be The Snowdroppers. Formed in 2007 they stormed back alley bars around the country creating rabid fans wherever they went. They’re playing at The Zoo on December 2nd. Be there.

This here video is exactly what I’m talking. It grinds on my ears with a macabre pulse that makes me want to chain smoke and down a bottle of scotch. Nice scotch, but pretending it isn’t. The sexual tension could but cut with a knife, and never climaxes. Instead it dribbles away into a sort of disappointed decadence. Enough of my poetic wankery. Here’s the fucking clip.

Brisbane locals the Transvaal Diamond Syndicate are doing their part. That’s not to say they’re just chipping in, they’re becoming Brisbane’s voice of the blues. In this video we see gorgeous use of the tinny-as-fuck resonator which works just spectacularly with the almost-funk bass and rushed vocals. It was filmed mostly at Barsoma by the looks of it and documents a night I’m sure have all (or like to think we have anyway) had at one point or another.

You know that friend you have, or maybe just that guy you met once that is just in control? The guy that works into the room and instantly all focus is on him? He controls the room with this seemingly effortless apathy. That is James, the front-man of the Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders. I may have a slight man-crush on him. The vocals are dirty and raspy, and the between song banter is just perfectly authentic. Actually I don’t like using the term authentic, as if it is some sort of imitation. When in reality, it feels like the fucking reality. They haven’t made a full video yet, but here is a dodgy live recording of Drunken Moon.

You know you’re onto a good thing when the band you’re going to see has a guy playing the chain. As in, a large, industrial chain being walloped with an improvised hitting instrument. Graveyard Train are they. What really sets them apart, though, is the harmony. Flawless, guttural harmony performed by every band member. Laced with lightly plucked bluegrass guitar and heavy with dirty washboard imagery.

I think I need a cigarette and a change of underwear.