Stegosaurus? – Stegosaurus? National Anthem

This Shanghai four-piece sound like the listened to a little to much RHCP and watched Jurassic Park a few times too many. Thankfully the result of this combination is surprisingly good. They have a bunch of new tracks up on their Douban page (‘Brains’, ‘Monkey Wings’ ‘你脑子’), but ‘Stegosaurus? National Anthem’, with lines like “putting terror in the pterodactyl”, is the best of the lot.

Wanderlust – Jumping Cake

A nice little NES-on-acid track. The completely electronic arrangement is a bit of a departure from Wanderlust’s previous songs. ‘Jumping Cake’ is layered nicely, and reminds me of Caribou’s recent work.

Little Punk – Cuties

Little Punk again. ‘Cuties’ is a little racier (and more what I expected from Little Punk) than ‘I’m Not In The Mood For Making A Song’, but it’s also a very disarming track. Give it a listen.

Christmas – La Ji Tong

Imagine if Robert Smith had sung the Cure’s ‘Close To Me’ in Chinese. Now imagine if he was wearing tin foil glasses when he did it. Okay, now imagine that he’s singing it to a garbage bin. Hey! It’s Christmas’ ‘La Ji Tong’. This songs is really catchy (thanks to Beijing Gig Guide and Beijing Daze for the heads up).

Tookoo – Star

This is off Tookoo’s upcoming EP, Will She Be There. Musically I really like this song – the vibe I get is of late 90s Oasis (not everyone’s favourite, but they have their merits). But I find the way the vocals are recorded irritating. So I’m on the fence with ‘Star’, and I’m hoping the vocals are a bit better on the rest of the EP.

Guai Li – Devil Rabbit

We started off with with Guai Li last week, and they’re back again with a killer (I mean that literally) video that can be added to the collection of excellent Maybe Mars film clips. It’s a devil rabbit guys! I’m not sure if there is any deeper meaning to the song.

Pairs – Yangpu Qu

Okay, this is kind of cheating. We did have this song last week, but they’ve gone and released a film clip in the mean time. At also means I can plug two things: the new Shanghai-based label Qu Records, and Pairs’ two shows in Beijing this week (Friday at What Bar, Saturday at Raying Temple in Tongzhou).

Little Punk – I’m Not In The Mood For Making A Song

Little Punk is part of the excellent Shanghai band Boys Climbing Ropes, and this his her first solo effort. It’s pretty cool, and not what I expected at all genre-wise. Kudos to Qu Records for putting this one out too. An auspicious start. In the video she does a great job of pointing out the source of the majority of Shanghai’s social issues – white guys – and just how difficult they are to combat. At least that’s what I took away from it.

B-Side Lovers – A Rock Way Of Self-Destruction

I was a little concerned by the very ‘Rustic’ sound of the title, but this duo comprising Hedgehog members Zo and Atom have managed to make a really cool departure from the pop-punk sound of their main project. ‘A Rock Way’ swaggers like a Lou Reed number backed by the Bad Seeds. In fact I’m willing to say I like this as much as most Hedgehog songs.

Cassette – A Boy With The Red Elephant (Explosion Version 3DB)

Cassette run pretty much counter to most of the scene in Beijing with their trip-hop/dream pop/cabaret vibe. This is clearly a good thing if this song is anything to go by. I especially like the Mezzanine-style guitar rave up mid-song. They’re in the middle of recording an EP – hopefully all the songs will be on the same level as this track.

Guai Li – Be Cool

I can’t quite pin down what this sounds like to me. Arcade Fire was my first thought, U2 my second thought (note the military style drum and repetititve, jagged riff a la ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’), and shoegaze is another possible point of reference. Either way, it sounds good. The vocal levels are a bit uneven, so hopefully this is just a demo, but ‘Be Cool’ really bodes well for Guai Li’s upcoming album Flight Of Delusion.

Bigger Bang – 上海爱人 (Shanghai Lover)

Everytime I hear Bigger Bang I like them just a little bit more. ‘Shanghai Lover’ sees the band getting even more retro with some excellent polysynths and flanger use, while Pupi continues to stake her claim as China’s top rock frontwoman. One contentious issue though – have Bigger Bang ever actually been to Shanghai? Romantic is not the first word that springs to mind when thinking of the place.

Pink Chimneys – 打开收音机 (Turn On The Radio)

I’ve given these guys and gals a mention on Beijing Noise before, but they’re not really so well known. I dig the tweeness and naivety of ‘Turn On The Radio’. As I mentioned in the aforementioned interview, the Pink Chimneys have a similar feel to the sound of the early Go-Betweens, and if we’re lucky they might just mkae the jump to amazingly beautiful and technical pop songs as the Go-B’s did.

Pairs – Yangpu Qu

You read the interview, now hear the song. This was recorded for an album Andy Best is putting together featuring tracks from Pairs and Boys Climbing Ropes‘ Little Punk, and  judging from the sound of ‘Yangpu Qu’ it should be a doozy. Cheers to SmartShanghai for bringing us this one on their MP3 Monday blog (hmm, coincidental name?).

CNdY Live At MAO Livehouse – July 22

An entire set here for you. CNdY (which apparently stands for Cheers! Nowhere doggy Youth) occupy the space between late 90s Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails of the same era – a sort of industrial-lite. These guys use the same practice space as my band, and everytime we practice they seem to be there too. Everytime we just end up hanging outside listening to them play through the door. These guys are tight (might have something to do with the 4-5 hour practice sessions they are apparently having).

Pairs are two people (Xiao Zhong & F) who also happen to be one of China’s hottest bands of the moment. They are coming to Beijing on August 13 (Old What Bar) and 14 (Raying Temple, Tongzhou), and I suggest you be there.

Having only heard the tracks on Douban and Tudou, I get the vibe of a strong Lightning Bolt influence. Is this correct, and what other sources do you directly or indirectly bring into your music?

I really like Lightning Bolt, and spent some time on a beanbag watching their DVD and listening to them driving on the Calder. I think we rip off other bands way more directly than Lightning Bolt, but I guess that drumming style creeps in and out on some songs. It’s pretty ace fun to play that way. Other sources I guess are Royal Headache, The Antlers, At the Drive-In, Eddy Current Supression Ring and I guess just generally going outside the apartment. I do dig the way Lightning Bolt will play a lot of warehouse spaces and house parties and play on the ground surrounded by people with their fingers in their ears and the token guy in a baseball hat who is in to it a little too much.

Yeah, the live show is definitely one of the more interesting elements of Lightning Bolt. Do you feel that the Shanghai scene is at a point of evolving/devolving into that less conventional style of show, especially with the advent of the Expo and the trouble its caused with local venues?

I don’t really know. You never know which way it could go; I know there are some really cool spaces in Shanghai that bands could play at, and they very well could be happening but never reach my ears. Pairs have some plans to do some kind of shows like that, but it’s easy for us being a two piece and not needed all that much stuff. I guess I can only say that it would be ace if it happens, and I wouldn’t put it as impossible but at the moment; if it’s happening it’s not reaching my ears.

I’ve only been to two gigs in Shanghai, but my impression was of a much more intimate and energetic scene than in Beijing. There also seems to be a much more DIY aesthetic too, with a lot of bands/labels/blogs popping up. This is just a perspective from the outside though, so what is your take on it?

Really? I thought that about Beijing. My take on the Shanghai scene is that there are quite a lot of DIY things popping up, but it’s still all a little too slick for me. I just don’t completely buy it.
When we were in Beijing I felt a better sense of community and friendship, people were pretty friendly to each other. However, I too was kind of on the outside and I’m sure under that there is the same scene bitching and ego strutting that runs in every city. I feel that Beijing bands are taking a few more risks, where as a lot of Shanghai bands are good – but you see them once, there is no need to see them again. Their set never changes, they never do anything differently. I could be wrong, I pretty much am quite often.

I guess that’s just a ‘grass is greener’ thinking on both our parts then! Do you feel you are taking risks with your music?

We do try and at least play different songs each set. We have around 10 songs at the moment which means we can mix up the trash we play so we don’t get bored of it – and we are trying to play in places that don’t really have live bands play. The other month we took a drum kit to a restaurant and played at the back of the room which went down aye oh kaye. I guess we are taking some risks with our music; like seeing how long we can play same two chords with the same lyrics bumped over them. Although, I’m not sure if that’s taking risks or just displaying a lack of talent. But the fact we can’t really play our instruments really well and we still get up on some crud stage is surely risking something; even if it’s just deflating our huge egos.

Do you feel there are any other bands in Shanghai (or anywhere in China for that matter) who are doing a similar thing?

I really like Carpet Of Let from Tianjin. They remind me of me and my friends when we were playing around. I like their attitude towards music and friends. Plus they are all in a bunch of different bands and are killer supportive and creative. The Duddettes in Shanghai are putting on good performances. Each one is different, they are in to performing in a bunch of different places plus they are fun as shit so I do like seeing them. I also like what Miniless is doing with the Mini E showcase thing, although I haven’t made it to any of those nights as I am a moron.

So how did Pairs come together??

I went to last years X games to get my dose of motorbikes doing stuff to 28 Days – Rip it up and a F tapped me on the shoulder and said she liked my shirt. She was by herself but claims she was with a friend who was in the VIP section but F found that area boring and so we hung out the entire day. I never saw this friend, so I assume she was Ms. Scott No Friends, but she still denies it.
I was meeting a bunch of different suckers at places and trying to make tunes, but nothing stuck. People were generally idiots or too smart for my idiocy, so I messaged F and she was done for stooping to my level. We met up and went to a studio next to an underground KTV and wrote some solid gold hits.

You seem to be touring pretty extensively around China – something that not too many bands attempt here. How does this fit into the bigger picture of Pairs?

In Shanghai, there seems to be only around 3 or 4 different places to play, so if you want to play a lot it’s pretty easy to feel like you are wearing out your welcome; so we like to go around to different places and play. Plus, we’re just have 2 heads in the band, so it’s pretty easy to move around the place. I think the bigger picture of the band is just to meet some nice jerks and see some different places. Being in a band has to be one of the best excuses for rolling about the place and meeting some interesting people. It’s keeping us off the streets, so Mum is happy.

What’s the next step for Pairs?

We’re recording soon, but who knows if it will ever see the light of day. We need to write some new songs, that’s for sure. I do have some ideas, but it’s probably best not to talk about them as their is a high possibilty that they will never happen. So, most likely we’ll just be playing shows, rolling our shirts over our stomachs and hanging out.

http://www.douban.com/artist/pairs/

Videos

So tonight was something a lot of people in Beijing’s rock community have been waiting for – the launch of Subs‘ sophomore album, Queen Of Fucking Everything. It’s been a winding road for Subs between this release and their last album, Down, which they released in 2006, and the band were clearly pleased to have made it.

But first a mention of the support acts. The first band, The Dancers, were a pretty appropriate pick. They are one of the acts to emerge from the ashes of Joyside (the common denominator being bassist Liu Hao), but their hard rock/punk mix sounds a lot more interesting (and less exploitive) than the music of Joyside. They got the crowd moving with songs like the excellent ‘Frogs Want To Go Home’. The second support act were Anhuiren Omnipotent Youth Hotel who, funnily enough, have almost 10 times more play counts on Douban than Subs. The were a relative unknown to a lot of the crowd at MAO however, and their blues-folk-psych-rock hybrid seem an odd choice to warm up for China’s premiere punk band. But they also had the ultimate trump card – a trumpet – not to mention a real swell guitarist in the form of Dong 2 Gan (It’s possible I have that name wrong). I would seriously recommend giving these guys a listen if you haven’t had the pleasure already, but I have to state again that they didn’t really fit neatly in the line up, or should have at least been on before The Dancers.

Of course the crowd was here for one band anyway, and, by the time the music cut out and the band got ready to take the stage, MAO was almost at full capacity. I was slightly amused to see each member of Subs come onto the stage wearing the same outfits as they were wearing on the album I just purchased, but it also drove home the fact that they are a band who know how to work a crowd.

And work they did. Kang Mao bounced around the stage while delivering the lyrics of each new song in her trademark accusatory howl, Wu Hao showed why he is considered one of China most solid, innovative guitarists, and the rhythm section of Li Fan (drums) and Zhu Lei (bass) pulled out all stops to keep up. In fact, while watching their performance it occurred to me that Li and Zhu were as vital to the sound of Subs as the band’s more iconic singer and guitarist. The way they fill in the shattered guitar of Wu Hao evokes the style of Swedish anarcho-punks Refused. But, of course, the crowd was generally focused on the enigmatic Kang Mao for the majority of the show. She jumped, she howled, she screamed, twisted, distorted, admonished, and then dived into the crowd. What more would you expect from Subs?

And the new songs? Well you’ll have to wait a little while for a review of the album, but it was clear from their performance that Subs are extremely proud of these tracks. And, given the issues they had getting the album made (no name mentioning here, but Kang Mao made a statement during the show which could basically be summed up as “Fuck record labels”), it was no surprise to see the band clearly overjoyed to show off the new music in front of a hometown crowd.

Pangbianr Presents: Music & Film Festival featuring an afternoon of independent short films and La Loupe’s CD release. Films from both professional and student contemporary filmmakers hailing from China, Taiwan, Canada, U.S., and Mexico will be screened in the afternoon. Indie folk duo La Loupe will then perform to celebrate the release of their premier album. Additionally, just in case you’re in need of some creative cooking ideas, the first edition of the Pangbianr Recipe Zine will be available.

July 25th, 3:00-8:00. Come on out to 2 Kolegas on this beautiful summer Sunday to enjoy film and music with your friends. Free Entry!

www.pangbianr.com

www.myspace.com/laloupemusic

www.2kolegas.com

Pangbianr.com is a platform for exploring the lived experience of making art, music, film and food in China. Started by a group of friends living in Beijing who are looking to promote the DIY ethos, not only through the Pangbianr website, but through live music, art, film, fliers, and food events as well. July 25th is the first of many Pangbianr-related happenings to come.

The same can’t be said of the artists though. There’s a distinct lack of Maybe Mars and Modern Sky bands on the lineup (apart from Demerit), more notable due to the fact that they seem to be appearing at every other festival around. The bill isn’t quite at the same level as last year, though it should be interesting to see the one-two of Chinese punk legend He Yong (pictured), and British post-punk stalwarts Killing Joke.

Day 1 (July 30)

Day 2 (July 31)

Day 3 (August 1)

The above image is a bunch of shirts the Shanghai band Pairs have created and are planning on giving out for free. I dig this DIY attitude which seems to be more pervasive in Shanghai than Beijing (though that is just from what information I gleam from certain blogs like Kungfuology or Layabozi). Either way, Beijing bands could learn a lot from this egalitarian attitude. Too many alternative bands here in Beijing get a little bit of attention and suddenly feel like they have to play the part of the aloof rock stars. There also seems to be a general attitude that popularity comes first, and then after that you should record albums/make videos/do tours. While this would be the way to go in a city with a larger gig-going population, Beijinger punters tend to be less devoted and more in need of something to capture there attention. A few bands do manage to do this, for better or worse. DUDE, Zhang Si’an, many of the Tag Team records artists, and a number of others could be seen as managing to pull this off. All of these acts have an admirable work ethic.

Anyway, Pairs are an excellent band, and good luck on getting a t-shirt. Keep an eye out for an interview with them here later in the month.

I turned up just as The Offset:Spectacles were leaving the stage, so no review of them. Fortunately though, I did get to see Hot & Cold. I remembering seeing Hot & Cold a number of times last year. I wasn’t too impressed and chalked them up as Suicide wannabes spurting out atonal noise (as opposed to a more interesting dissonance) over stock standard drum machine loops. After releasing a free, downloadable single in January this year, Hot & Cold dropped off the radar for a bit. Now either they have totally redefined their style while they were away, or (possibly) I’ve redefined my tastes. Either way, I was blown away by Hot & Cold this time around. They still sound like Suicide for sure, but now they have condensed the wondering jam sessions into tight, furious pop songs. Simon Frank’s vocal performance was particularly impressive; the sort of shamanic drawl, reminiscent of Nick Cave or David Byrne, that sits well with the thrash-disco sound of Hot & Cold. Subsequently they have quickly gone from the Maybe Mars I rated least to the one I am most excited about.

White+ followed on from Hot & Cold. They are a side project of Carsick Cars’ Shou Wang and The Gar drummer Wang Xu – the plus being added due to Wang Xu replacing (temporarily?) former drummer Shenggy. White+ were a little more subdued than Hot & Cold, but no less impressive. Shou Wang swapped guitar for keyboard, vocals, and an impressive looking amount of pedals which he used to alter his voice into an instrument of its own. Wang Xu seems an inspired choice to fill Shenggy’s shoes. He constantly had an eye on the master conductor Shou Wang and his beats subtly reflected the shifting sounds of his partner.

The last act were 10. Even in Beijing’s rather avant-garde rock community, 10 are quite an oddity. The big haired Itta performs a sort of freestlye pseudo-opera while bashing on a keytar, while Japanese expat Marqido provide a solid base for Itta’s wanderings. It’s a little hard to put the sound of 10 into words, but it was clearly a little to ‘out there’ for a few patrons who started to thin out (or perhaps they were just Americans off to watch their new found love of football killed off at the hands/feet of Asamoah Gyan). The rest of crowd, however, was drawn into the swirling highs and lows of Itta’s vocals, with the hypnotic effect being punctuated only by the bashing of her keytar. While their music can get a little same-ish after a while, it is unique enough to keep you attentive for the whole set.

Artists
Hot & Cold
White+
10

A little check on the status of each artist supposedly confirmed to be playing Show of Peace doesn’t turn up much. Jimmy Page basically doesn’t tour anymore, and Joe Perry/Aerosmith have not shows booked in October. However a lack of evidence against the confirmed bands playing doesn’t really make up for the fact that no other act besides Page or Perry has in anyway confirmed an appearance at the festival. So what is going on?