![]() “Sound of Sydney” was a series of compilation albums- appearing in 1983, ’84 and ’86 - and the work of Method Records’ Fabian Byrne, of mod-pop band Fast Cars. You can fight media fragmentation but it’s like yelling at a cloud. Someone young might say it’s Triple J - which would be laughable but it’s, you know, it is somebody’s reality. If you asked 20 different people, you’d get as many different answers. What is “the sound of Sydney”? It’s a rhetorical question, if not an outright non sequitur. Sound of Sydney Volume 4 - Various Artists (Method Records and Music) Written by The Barman on 20 December 2020. With vocalist-guitarist Di Levi based in Bristol, UK, and guitarist-songwriter Fabian Byrne living in Sydney, Australia, the swapping of ideas, sketches, recorded parts and, ultimately, fleshed-out songs, had to occur online. Dropbox is the cloud app that’s become stock-in-trade for projects like this. ![]() It’s 12 songs of classy psych pop, alternately dreamy and lush, occasionally funky or wrapped in strings, and framed loosely on the theme of seeking your dreams in a big city. “LAX” stays well away from that precipice. I know what you’re thinking: Concept equals Pretentious. “LAX” is what people used to call a “concept album” - back when single song downloads weren’t the staple currency of the musical economy. “LAX” suggests distance only makes the creative muse all that much stronger. The onetime ‘80s Sydney mod-power-pop band has been a creative duo since reforming in 2015, working on opposite sides of the globe. Where they’ve come from is academic it’s where Fast Cars are now that counts. With Levy visiting Australia from the UK, Fast Cars did a handful of pre-pandemic shows, and part recorded “Hard” with Peter Bennett ( The Welcome Mat, Fiction Romance) on drums and David Pye on bass. Virtual band, huh? Live shows were where Australian bands traditionally honed their act and of course people interacting in a studio adds an energy that can’t easily be replicated. It was polished pop with hints of its Sussex Hotel beginnings, lush in lots of places and moiving into the realm of dream pop. ![]() The one-time Sydney mod band reformed virtually in 2015, assembling music from composite parts written and recorded by principal members, vocalist-guitarist Di Levi and guitarist Fabian Byrne, on opposite sides of the world. In a digital world where old rules are made to be re-written or not read, Fast Cars have resolutely done things their own way. Hard – Fast Cars (Method Records and Music) Written by The Barman on 30 January 2022. It’s mastered a little quietly but you can compensate by playing it loud. You’d hope Molly would appreciate it because it works all the same. No marching jackboots but a heady sonic picture nonetheless. The flip is a brave take on the Russell Morris song of the same name. “California Dreaming” is part of a concept about ambition and star-making in a strange environment and place but you don’t need the back-story to appreciate the 45. Fast Cars - once a Sydney mod band but these days vocalist Di Levi and multi-instrumentalist Fabian Byrne - sure do, and evoke more in these few minutes than a lifetime of downloads by Taylor Swift clones. Remember albums? They were those things where a band put more than one idea into extended pieces of music (aka songs) that became a sum of a greater part. Nil to do with the Mamas and the Papas song, this is from the fab Fast Cars album “ LAX” and it’s a lush, string-tinged brooder that’s a great calling card for the psychedelic long-player. ![]() California Dreaming b/w The Real Thing - Fast Cars (Method Records)
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