The latest in my series of charmers: Jodi Phyllis of The Clouds, who sings “Pocket” from their 1991 album Penny Century, and “Apollo” from the 1992 Octopus album. This band were the darlings of Sydney’s indie scene, which no longer really exists for various (mostly unfortunate) reasons, but besides the sorry fact that pub culture is a gross white ghetto, one factor that most don’t want to face is that indie guitar music can get really boring. But not The Clouds. They were tangential. They were pretentious, in a good way. They were also pretending to be a 4AD band, but their obvious debt to The Pixies in particular never seemed to count against them, because they wore their love on their sleeves, swerving science-fictionally from noisy ray-attack to sublime and surfy quiet. And quiet love is what these songs are about: melancholy indie longing, a long white sigh. It seems like so long ago.
Oh! The Clouds! That good 90s jangly-girl-singer-indie-beergarden-sunshine stuff. How I miss it. And to think, I spent my last ten dollars on birth control and beer…
jean
17 Dec 03 at 10:08 pm
But no mention that Jodi Phyllis is continuing to be the best thing as a solo act. Beautiful lyrics, melodies, and style when she knows its right.
“Why is it, that you and I, have got so much to say
About the broken dreams we just can’t throw away…”
She’s my favourite.
Simon
20 Dec 03 at 1:12 pm
Cinema, Memory, and National Identity
There have been times in years past when my own house made me so bored and restless that I spent whole Saturdays doing the rounds of my friends, dropping in for cups of tea and a chat. My behaviour in the blogosphere lately has been exactly like that -…
creativity/machine
21 Dec 03 at 8:02 am