EP Review: Paint The Sand – Embers

I’m writing this up on a Friday evening after a long week and I can’t think of anything right now that I’d prefer to listen to.

It has been two years since Ben Maurice released his début Where I’ve Been EP under the moniker of Paint The Sand. This third EP, entitled Embers, showcases just how much he has improved over that period.

Paint the Sand stands for all things surfing, summer, beaches and barbecues. I would have been surprised if the album art didn’t relate to a beach or road trip in some way. Sure enough, the cover is a shot of ripples on the sea. It reminds me of Signs of Life, from the church Edge Kingsland

Embers evokes the feeling of huddling round the fire on a cold night. Opener “Flicker” offers the sounds of a match being struck and flames crackling, followed by a sparse reverberating intro.

“Flicker” is in itself an indicator of how far Ben has come. I listened to “Flicker”, and then to “Intro” from his 2012 release. Both are similar: instrumental interludes played on guitar. But the new recording is crisper and Ben has advanced from relying on his prized Baby Taylor acoustic guitar to using an electric guitar with effects that offer new possibilities.

“Embers” is a slow burning track that slowly ebbs and swells. The drumming is basic but does enough to add plenty of depth to the song.

“Stop, Wait, Feel” is the highlight of the EP. It sounds like it has had the most effort put into it. There is some great layering, with backing vocals and guitar harmonizing and piano. Ben has become more confident with his guitar playing and singing to the extent that he even includes a guitar solo

The untitled final track sounds raw and grungy at first, but it pulls back to leave a cappella vocals lingering in the air.

The production sounds good. The extra instruments have added new elements to the music. Using electric guitar has allowed Ben to play with his sound and inject new dynamics into his songwriting. It’s nice to see how far he has progressed over the past two years.

Embers is short , as one would expect from an EP. The three songs and an intro only take 11 minutes to listen to. But after a long week those 11 minutes have done wonders to help me unwind.

Joseph James

Live Review: Ellie Goulding at the Wellington TSB Arena

Ellie Goulding

w/ Broods

TSB Arena Wellington

Monday 9 June 2014

Brother/sister duo Broods proved to be an ideal choice as tonight’s opening act. It was a homecoming of sorts for the two, who, along with their drummer, played a half hour set of sparse synth based music that complemented Goulding’s electropop brilliantly. Although the sampling sounded a bit weak to start with, once the mix improved they played a suitably dynamic set. Broods is quite a departure from the siblings’ previous band, The Peasants, and judging from crowd reaction they could well follow down the path just recently paved by Lorde.

If Broods gave a taste then Goulding gave the full combo deal, demonstrating how well the style of music can be played with a full band. Goulding herself proved adept on both guitar and drums, showing her to be more than just a pretty voice that can gyrate across a stage. She started off strong with hits like ‘Figure 8’ and ‘Starry Eyed’ before changing down a gear to a stripped back song. She then stripped it back even more for a short acoustic set of songs with just guitar or piano for accompaniment. An Elton John cover preceded a lull in the set but the pace picked back up eventually, providing more opportunities for the crowd to move about.

From there on in it got better and better, with Goulding appearing more comfortable to “be silly” onstage, as she told us in her polite English accent. The audience in turn seemed to receive each song better than the last, until the band finally concluded with the song ‘Burn’.

This is one of the better setups I’ve seen at this venue. The stands at the rear were set up, making the arena appear fuller. The lights and screens were impressive. Goulding had the goods. Enjoyable and diverse, she demonstrated that an excellent concert can be put on without the overly excessive price of admission that her popstar contemporaries charge. She has the voice, the charisma and the stage show without the diva attitude to match.

Joseph James

Live Review: Shihad at Riwaka Hotel, Nelson (Ignite tour)

This review was originally posted on the Rip It Up website. It has since been taken down because Rip It Up merged with Groove Guide and redid their site.

Shihad

w/ Cairo Knife Fight and The Naked and Famous

Riwaka Hotel, Nelson

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Opening act tonight was Cairo Knife Fight who, despite only having only two members, created a huge wall of sound by employing the usage of looping pedals. Particularly impressive was Nick Gaffaney’s phenomenal drumming. How he manages to sing, drum and play bass on the synth with his left hand whilst operating the looping pedal simultaneously I’ll never know. Who said men can’t multi-task? Their moody, ambient sound would have better suited a later slot once the sun had set, but their playing can’t really be faulted.

The Naked and Famous attracted more attention, the tent becoming noticeably more crowded once they’d started playing. Their style is one that has become trendy of late, dual softly sung vocals over electric sounds and synthesisers. Not what you’d typically expect from an act opening for veteran rockers, but they elicited a favourable reaction from the crowd regardless

As good as the first two bands were, they were nothing compared to the headliners. Chants for the band had been erupting intermittently all night, and when Shihad finally came onstage, they did not disappoint.

It was everything you’d expect from a Shihad show. Sing along songs, aggressive songs, jump up and down songs, old songs, recent songs. With 22 years of experience under their belts, there was really no possibility that they couldn’t deliver the goods. This gig was mainly a showcase of their latest album, Ignite, which made up nearly half the setlist. The rest constituted mainly of songs from General Electric and Pacifier, the band’s two most commercially successful albums.

One highlight was the song ‘Sleepeater’ that they closed with. Although they have played it live before, at the time it was an unreleased track they were previewing to the crowd. This was probably the first time it had been played in New Zealand that people actually knew it, and it worked well, as did all the new songs. Once they’d left the stage the crowd started chanting again. “SHIHAD, SHIHAD!”

The encore was ‘Envy’, from Killjoy, and their parting song was the wave-your-lighters-in-the-air ballad ‘Pacifier’.

The crowd kept the chant going for a good five minutes or more after Shihad had finished their encore. I was surprised that the band didn’t come back on; the crowd reaction was so strong.

I walked away with ringing ears (despite the fact I wore earplugs), and with ridiculously muddy shoes. Tonight was my sixth time seeing Shihad live. I can’t wait to see them for a seventh time at Big Day Out.