4/5 stars
New Estate � Considering� (W.Minc)
It�s a shame Considering� comes at a time when the predictable Christmas compilations and best-of sets are bound to overshadow it. The Melbourne-based indie supergroup of sorts (members� previous bands include Sleepy Township, Fur, Huon, Jaguar Is Jaguar), who formed less than a year ago, offer up ten superb tracks of intelligently crafted, slightly fuzzy and energetic indie-rock.
Vocal and songwriting duties are shared between all four members, which ensures there�s no danger of songs sounding stale or same-ish. The urgent �Open� is a real highlight, as is the Cure-sounding �Dream Planning� and anthem-like closer �Out Of Control�.
And you can�t go past lyrics like �you�re busy making preparations for letting yourself down� (�Learning Zone�), delivered in typically lazy indie-rock fashion. It�s difficult picking favourites though � each listen brings another lead guitar line, drum roll, vocal trade-off or bass run to admire.
If you�ve already compiled your �Albums Of 2003� list it might make life easier if you steer clear of Considering�. It really is that good.
(Nick Coppack)
www.tangents.co.uk
I Swear To God The Feeling�s Real
Just before the start of the holidays at the end of 2003, a CD dropped into my hands. It came via the very kind Shane Moritz and I don�t think I ever said thank you. Oddly enough I didn�t play it straight away, or if I did it failed to penetrate the defenses of my end of term psyche. It gets like that, you know. The CD was called �considering� and was by a Melbourne band called New Estate. Shane said he loved them dearly. Having finally given it the attention it deserves, I�d have to say I agree with him.
I used to live on a New Estate. It was the early 1970s and I remember going with my parents to see our house being built; a little box just like all the other little boxes, but I imagine the thrill for my parents must have been immense. There were fields beyond the estate for years and we used to watch foxes run across and dream we saw ghosts in the windows of the deserted cottage. Eventually though they knocked down the cottage, dug up the fields and built even more little boxes. My friend�s mother used to call it the Ghetto, which I always thought was more than unkind, but aside from that I had no real feelings of warmth for the place. And as far as I can recall, none of the girls walked around in confetti and sunshine.
I don�t know if new estates in Australia look much like the one I grew up in, but certainly the cover painting for �considering� looks familiar, looks like it could be Troon or Melbourne or anywhere. New Estate themselves sound like they could be from anywhere also: they possess the kind of effortless placelessness that the best bands manage so effortlessly. What�s easier to do is to place them in a cultural geography. So imagine the land of early Boo Radleys� melody and mayhem, where Swirlies swoosh and where children are lulled to sleep by My Bloody Valentine when they still wrote songs (so, you know, there�s an understanding here that MBV lost their way when they started work on Loveless and that in fact if we�re being honest the best MBV record is �You Made Me Realise� and that the best album is the aptly titled Ecstasy). Throw in a delicious occasional reference to Life Without Buildings, the Jean Paul Sartre Experience and Straitjacket Fits and you know you�re living in a pretty special place.
Alistair Fitchett
BEAT�S �LLOR N KCOR� TOP 10 20/11/2003
1. Fait Accompli SPENCER P JONES
2. Rough Trade�s Country 1 VARIOUS
3. Rock and Roll RYAN ADAMS
4. Considering� NEW ESTATE
5. Circles THE AUTUMN DEFENCE
6. Countrysides CRACKER
7. Hobo Sapiens JOHN CALE
8. The Morning After Girls THE MORNING AFTER GIRLS
9. Sunday Driver THE BENTLEYS
10. Drive By THE NECKS
Missing Link top 10 Leo
1. Papa M, Hole of Burning Alms.
2. My Disco!, "Collapse of..." 7-inch.
3. Linda Perhacs, Parrallelograms.
4. Mice Parade, Obrigado Saudade.
5. Califone, Heron King Blues.
6. Anthony Pateras / Sean Baxter / David Brown, Ataxia.
7. Wild Strawberries (movie).
8. New Estate, Considering.
9. Urinals, What Is Real and What..
10. Von Lmo, Transformer....
Villiage Voice
Consumer Guide
by Robert Christgau
Honorable Mention
NEW ESTATE
Considering . . (W.Minc import)
The kind of young band that's doubly convincing on tunes it can't quite handle ("Open," "Don't Like the Way")