Watch out Chicago: Aussies are invading our city. In the past month, Chicago has been inundated with incredible Down Under acts including Midnight Juggernauts, Cut Copy and The Presets. Australia’s psyche-pop scene has been around for years, but for some reason the time is ripe for these bands to explode worldwide. Chums Kim Moyle and Julian Hamilton (who uncannily sounds like Paul Banks and Tom Smith from Editors) comprise Presets. The guys released the disco/dance debut, “Beams,” in 2005 and just followed it up with ‘Apocalypso,’ which exudes ethereal moments of gloom and doom and expansive dancey tracks such as the contagious single “This Boy’s In Love.” Influences range from Vangelis, Pet Shop Boys and Nirvana, but think Interpol-meets-The-Knife-meets-Culture Club.

“The set is like a DJ set in parts with the songs all mixed together,” Moyle says. “We have remixed some older songs so they have a new flavor and the energy is always sky-high. If you come to our show, you must be prepared to go crazy.” Describing its sound as “demented pop,” no wonder there’s chaos at shows. Increasing their popularity, Presets songs have been remixed by a pedigree of hot remix artists including Lifelike, Digitalism and Cut Copy. An entire remix album entitled “Resets” came out in 2006. “Apocalypso” takes the band’s signature sound to the next level.

“We just tried to make it sound more refined, more unified and generally better,” says Moyle. “That’s not to say the old album is no good, but we did try to push it a little bit. But, we never ever try too hard.” The record reached number one on the Australian charts, solidifying the duo’s newfound success. The classically trained Moyle and Hamilton are highly collaborative. “Neither of us have the last say in anything—we both have a high respect for each other, and we keep each other in check,” Hamilton remarks. “I’m happy to say I can definitely hear both of us really clearly in every song.”

The guys will be touring for the next couple of months, so new material probably won’t be on the horizon. “By the time we finished ‘Apocalypso,’ we both felt like we were only just hitting our strides as composers again,” Hamilton says. “It’s always that way though—just when it felt like we were getting back into the rhythm of writing, we finish the record and we’re back on the road again.” (Garin Pirnia)

The Presets play with Walter Meego, Comasoft and DJ Jordan Z at Abbey Pub, 3420 West Grace, (773)478-4408, on May 30 at 9pm. $15.

By Garin Pirnia

When the year-end accolades come out, Cut Copy’s sophomore record, “In Ghost Colours,” will most likely appear on a multitude of best-of lists. More aligned with psyche-pop than straight-up pop, the Australian trio wax nostalgic and cite influences Tangerine Dream, ELO’s “The Time” and Krautrock. Upon listening, aural flavor crystals explode as the record sounds vintage, yet completely ingenious. Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED
I am not super crazy about RJD2′s last new albums, but I am glad he made them. After revitalizing the stale instrumental hip-hop genre with his 2002 debut, “Dead Ringer,” the Ohio native began moving away from the sound first with 2004′s “Since We Last Spoke” and 2007′s complete departure, “The Third Hand.” The drums still knock, but the soul samples and rappers have been replaced by a loungy, 1960s pop-psych sound and RJD2′s own light-as-air vocals, which are somewhat of an acquired taste, a taste admittedly I have yet to acquire (“The Third Hand” is also available as an instrumental). Early in his career, RJD2 was often compared to DJ Shadow. That comparison still rings true, as both artists have now delved into an original sound, hard to describe and hard to pigeonhole. Even if RJD2 falls short of making a truly great record from start to finish, he has succeeded in crafting something new, and I have a feeling RJD2 has not yet produced his masterpiece. (Michael Hirtzer)
Friday, April 18 at Abbey Pub

RECOMMENDED
Dan Snaith’s glorious Caribou (formerly Manitoba) offered the winning “Andorra” (Merge) late last summer, a glowing collection of Beach Boys-inspired psych pop that later on the record transforms into a heavenly electronic instrumental parade. Snaith sings more than usual on this affair (at least during the first half), and the record benefits, as opener “Melody Day” and, later, “She’s the One,” are two of the best songs the percussionist—and math wizard—has put to tape. The pulsing live experience will have you reeling. Helping out tonight is the much-buzzed Fuck Buttons, duo Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power’s alarming noise-rock experiment. Their debut album, “Street Horrrsing,” is a wall of fuzz and noise and distorted, indecipherable vocal howling. The result? A beautifully hypnotic electro-revolution of the mind. A nightmare journey down the empty, echoing halls of a long-abandoned asylum. An after-hours creepy crawl. The last sound before rapture. (Tom Lynch)

Caribou and Fuck Buttons play April 11 at Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773)276-3600, at 7pm & 10pm. $10-$12.

By Tom Lynch

The 1900s
Last fall the band released its full-length debut, “Cold & Kind,” to wildly enthusiastic reviews.

Baby Teeth
“The Simp,” Baby Teeth’s record from 2007, was a bit of a disappointment, at least compared to the goofy, but smart, debut that was 2005’s “The Baby Teeth Album.”
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RECOMMENDED
Ultra Sonic Edukators have taken over Mondays at Schubas this whole month for its residency program, and for good reason—the band, which was chosen by Rolling Stone in 2006 as one of the best on MySpace (whatever the hell that means), conveys a big, booming Brit-pop sound, much more effective than something The Redwalls would do, with big, distorted guitars and snotty but loveable vocal charisma. (This isn’t quite the Oasis, but it’s in the desert somewhere near.) The recent “Bad Blood” EP (YMA Records), the band’s follow-up to 2006’s debut full-length “Armageddon Is In My Room,” is bold and beautiful, the title track brimming with an eagerness to offer catharsis to any listener on the planet. The psych-pop elements the band injects—however seemingly random—work as well; my only protest is that the EP’s too short. With the consciousness to be fun with the talent to be moving, Ultra Sonic Edukators have nowhere to go but up. (Tom Lynch)
Monday, January 28 at Schubas

By Tom Lynch

Local septet The 1900s raced upon the scene in 2006 with a surprising six-song EP called “Plume Delivery” (Parasol), a small collection the band recorded before it even played its first show. The sound—a bit of a throwback to the whimsy of The Velvet Underground and The Zombies—caught the ear of the press and the band quickly became a local critics’ favorite, while its live shows packed in interested scenesters.

Countless successful shows around town—including a slot in the afternoon heat at this summer’s Lollapalooza—helped solidify the group as one of the city’s bright new bands, destined for bigger things at any moment, and “Cold & Kind,” The 1900s’ debut full-length, again on Parasol, is certainly the vessel. Expanding on “Plume Delivery”’s sound, a bit cleaner, a bit tighter, a bit more Fleetwood Mac, “Cold & Kind” is the record you’d expect from The 1900s. More serene than its EP predecessor, the album is quiet, reflective, a carefully crafted trek into the annals of sentimentality. The vocal harmonies, string arrangements and boy-girl trade-off vocals converge into a warm, melodic peace.
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