The Last 5 Years, #70 - 61

Brisbane's Finest: The Grates, Astrid and The Asteroids, Jeremy Neale + The Kite String Tangle!

Hey... welcome back. What are we doing here? Well, to celebrate our 5th birthday, this April we're looking back at our favourite songs from the past five years! Let's listen to some goodness... 

#100 - 91

#90 - 81

#80 - 71

#70. GIVEN THE CHANCE

by The Kite String Tangle

One look and you can take me down

But I know that you'd be up for it

I know that you'd be up for it.

The first of six Brisbane based acts to feature on today's portion of the countdown, The Kite String Tangle has been working hard and building a solid fan-base all over the world over the past couple of years. On it's way to over half a million YouTube views and over 1.7 million Soundcloud listens, 'Given The Chance' dominated triple J radio in 2013 and hit it big at #19 on the Hottest 100. The career of Australia's most exciting emerging electronic music maker was launched and we became FFL. That's fans for life. It's a thing, it's happening. I'm not sure if I saw The Kite String Tangle out in the Valley on Saturday night. But if it was him, hopefully he doesn't remember me yelling out, "Kite String Tangle!" at him. If he does, that takes the number of Brisbane musicians I've harassed in the Valley to five. Six if I got both Veronicas. (Matt Bond)

#69. THE WIRE

by Haim

Always keep your heart locked tight

Don't let your mind retire.

"You know I'm bad at communication, it's the hardest thing for me to do." It only took the first notes of the guitar and Danielle Haim's opening lyrics for me to know this was the Haim song for me. A lot of fans go for the R n' B flavoured tracks on their debut, Days Are Gone, but with 'The Wire' they embraced the sounds of 70s Californian rock and left me wanting to hear so much more of it. I thought this would be the Haim gals big coming out party on the US charts, but 2013 was the year of 'Thrift Shop', 'Blurred Lines', 'Harlem Shake' and 'Scream and Shout', so I guess there was no room for 'The Wire'. (Matt Bond)

#68. YOU ARE NEW

by The Trouble With Templeton

You are new, never seen that face before

Punched in school, I guess it's what those scars were for...

'You Are New' is another track that I find myself loving more and more with every listen from another one of our favourite Brisbane acts, The Trouble With Templeton. I don't really know how to explain it, but the way the track is put together creates a sort of rolling motion. It's constantly rolling along with the vocal line and the guitar and it makes it incredibly easy to go from start to finish and straight back to the start again... always rolling along. From the Facebook page, we can see that Thomas Calder & Co. have been hard at work on album #3, the follow-up to the phenomenal Rookie and we're hoping to get a teaser of what to expect soon. It looks like one of the songs is called 'Fucking Shits'. I'm sold. (Matt Bond)

#67. SWEET SOUR

by Band of Skulls

I know what you've been through

We don't really need to talk about it.

Hey ok, here we go, the part of the countdown where I get to live out my bluesy rock fantasies and declare all of my allegiances lie with guitars and drums. I like all sorts of music, so I’m not going to do that, but I can’t deny how much I like a bluesy rock song and Band Of Skulls have provided so many of them over the last few years. I love love love the solid beats and those ripping chords that drive ‘Sweet Sour’ from the very beginning. I love love love that stripped back pause and those words I like to sing along to every time; “sour by the minute but you’re sweeter by the hour” and I love the whole English-ness of it all. Band Of Skulls made their way to the top of my most played so many times over in the last few years and I’m gonna predict they’ll be staying there for a little while yet. (Jo Michelmore)

#66. SUCKERPUNCH

by Kingswood

I feel the fire, your heart is deafening

What have you done?

My dear.

Well hello there, speaking of bluesy rock, here’s the Australian version of things. I was a teeny bit slow on the Kingswood bandwagon, but now I’ve hopped on I’m holding on with both hands with no plans to jump off anytime soon, as long as that bandwagon is moving along with dirty guitars, heavy basslines and that gravely rock voice I’ve learnt to love, this is a bandwagon that’s gonna get crowded, really quickly. If you haven’t jumped on I suggest finding a spot now, because with songs like ‘Suckerpunch’ being written by this band, all seats will be full soon. (Jo Michelmore)

#65. REFLEKTOR

by Arcade Fire

We fell in love

Alone on a stage

In a reflective age.

This is where I get to remind everyone again that I went to Glastonbury last year and had the best time ever. Because I did, don't be so jealous. Arcade Fire were their headlining and I while I liked 'Reflektor' before seeing them perform it live, afterwards I was completely in love. The smooth blending of disco-inspired dance beats and Arcade Fire's Grammy award winning sound was so full of win. It's easy to understand how they pulled it off so easily when you see James Murphy's name listed in the production credits. I don't know what Regine is singing in French, but I love that too. (Matt Bond)

#64. AUTOPSY

by Astrid and The Asteroids

Five knocks on the doctor's door, don't know what I am asking for

But I don't feel fine.

Oh Astrid and the Asteroids, excuse me if I have a moment here, I’m still getting over your breakup. Zayn can leave One Direction a hundred times over and it won’t match the sadness I felt when I heard you were disbanding. I know you all have your own things going on but there was such magic in the combination of your talents. Yes, there’s a lot of pop, but not a lot of pop of this calibre floating around. ‘Autopsy’ was only one of a bunch of the AATA tracks we loved, this one a perfectly catchy little tune with a heart of darkness and that’s the kind of pop I love the best. I may still be getting over the break up, but at least Astrid and her Asteroids left us with incredible tracks like this one to remember them by. (Jo Michelmore)

#63. IN STRANGER TIMES

by Jeremy Neale ft. Go Violets

Don't you cry, my baby

For I will stay close to you.

Oh, Brisbane... home to cool cats like Jeremy Neale and the now defunct (but forever in our hearts) Go Violets. They let their powers combine for the track 'In Stranger Times', a super fun and highly retro-ish number that will get stuck in your head for days and days. And you won't mind, because it's really good and when I think about some of the songs that have been stuck in my head throughout my life... Anyway, you get to meet Neale and each of the Go Violet ladies in the hilarious/amazing clip. Ruby and Harriette are now part of Babaganouj with Charles Sale, Alice is rocking away in Tempura Nights, Phoebe is now in two-piece Stevie and Jeremy Neale is still fighting... always fighting... never not fighting. He's also still releasing mighty fine music too. (Matt Bond)

#62. IT WON'T HURT ANYMORE

by The Grates

Blood and fear, hearts on trees, pig skin knees

It's not gonna hurt anymore, than it was ever going to.

The Grates, here’s where I get to say thank you. The thing is, it’s all lies. Tell it to me, over and over again, because that’s exactly what I need, but I know they’re lies. But because you like me, tell me everything you think I need to hear and tell it exactly the way I want to hear it. Make it short and sweet, exactly as it should be and make it mean something. Then put your arms around me and let me cry on your shoulder forever and for only a few minutes and then let’s not speak of it again. Let’s pretend it’s all ok and just know everything will be bittersweet from here on in. And then leave me with the sounds, with three and a half minutes of emotion and heartbreak and every time I need it I’ll hear it again and again, because we know it’s always going to hurt, but “it’s not gonna hurt anymore, than it was ever going to…”. Thank you Grates for giving me more than that song, midway through that incredible album, but giving me a little moment of my life every now and then. (Jo Michelmore)

#61. GO

by Grimes

Happy scenes, a stupid dream when I dream of you

They don't stay, it might all be delusion but I couldn't say.

Grimes has always had an interesting way with sounds, not afraid to experiment with different feelings and thoughts, but always staying true to the sound of Grimes, which is interesting, because I’ve never really been able to figure out what that sound is. Maybe it’s just a feeling. A feeling of something harsh, a feeling of something awesome, a feeling of something inexplicably catchy and addictively danceable, all the while being…Grimes. ‘Go’ is all of those things and then it’s those sounds at the very end of being all alone on a darkened dancefloor and not caring one little bit. It’s all of those things and it’s electronic music at it’s very best. (Jo Michelmore)