Friday, April 23, 2010

Scrapes praise for the Troub show on Wednesday night and Electric Mourning Blues!

"Last night I saw The Scrapes at The Troubadour and my head is still buzzing with their ‘doom sexy’ guitar and violin soundscapes. Their debut album ‘Electric Mourning Blues’ provided the perfect musical backdrop for my travels around Brisbane’s northside today. Closer, ‘Antarctic Beach’ had me reaching for the repeat button… This album after just a few listens would definitely make my Songs To Write To List. The Scrapes will definitely put some poetry in your pencil!"

http://grahamnunn.wordpress.com/

And more from Mr. Nunn here!

"The Scrapes are a relatively new Brisbane band, who have recently released their debut album Electric Mourning Blues. The duo blend feedback drenched guitar with searing violing lines. Of course there are going to be Dirty Three references, but there sounds also channel the western feel of Ennio Morricone. This is a clip of them jamming live in Alchemix studios in Brisbane, so if it takes you somwehere and you are near enough to Brisbane this Wednesday night (April 21), you can catch the band at The Troubadour launching their album and tickets are just a $10′er."

Cheers mate!

JJJ Home and Hosed dig The Scrapes!

"The Scrapes share their name with a violent crust band I saw at a high school fete once. Conveniently it seems that the world is big enough for two Scrapes', and this non-violent-crust version are a duo, from Brisbane.

Using the guitar-versus-violin approach, Adam Cadell and Ryan Potter compose apocalyptic soundscapes, that linger and reverberate through dark gig spaces, and haunt hifi systems. Think feedback/scratches/pedals. Cadell's careful, but hauntingly intense violin melodies dwell in the minors, and dance around Potter's crunchy fretwork.

The emotional command that these musicians have over their instruments is evident in their all-instrumental debut - Electric Mourning Blues - which they are touring with right now. And what an appropriate and evocative title it is! They're going all over the place and playing various unconventional spaces - which could make for some pretty special and reverential gig-going."

Steph Hughes, JJJ.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Norman Records review of Electric Mourning Blues!

"The Scrapes are the Australian duo of violinist Adam Cadell and guitarist Ryan Potter whose early releases were championed by rock subversive and music journalist Julian Cope thus bringing them a little boost in attention and acclaim. The Scrapes' music hints at hybrid of influences that include folk, underground rock, drone and the many forms of landscape inspired music. 'Electric Mourning Blues' has a haunting quality that evokes landscapes, weather patterns and the cycles of nature but this ain't no hippy music. The violins are abrasive, see-saw attacks on the senses and Ryan Potter's guitars are rich and powerful in a David Grubbs kinda way which, when combined, makes for a harsh re-imagining of the traditions of western classical music. Challenging stuff."

The Business Lady, http://www.normanrecords.com/archive.php?date=2010-04-09

Buy the record here: http://www.normanrecords.com/records/115549

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Another Electric Mourning Blues review!

Rave Magazine, Brisbane, Issue 953, April 2010.


"Brisbane-based duo The Scrapes are Adam Cadell and
Ryan Potter, the former on violin and the latter on guitar.
Electric Mourning Blues is their entirely instrumental debut
and it’s got a lot going for it. Comparisons with Dirty
Three are impossible to avoid and from aesthetics to
structure, they have clearly been very infl uential on The
Scrapes. Cadell’s violin is the driving force of the music and
his ability to tap into the instrument’s emotional range is
impressive. The use of guitar is where The Scrapes most
signifi cantly diverge from Dirty Three. It wraps and moves
around the violin, intent on carving its mark into each track
as opposed to serving a backbone role. The use of feedback
and noise is very eff ective, giving the record a rather
sinister undertone, most especially in Antarctic Beach and
Drivetime. Percussion is rarely heard, making the structure
of some tracks a little harder to discern, but it also allows
them to fl ow more freely. It’s very clear that both men are
talented musicians. Electric Mourning Blues is often beautiful,
sometimes dissonant, but always evocative."
MICHAEL PINCOTT