We have started making plans for our next record. We live in different cities (again) which is challenging but we are hoping to have it recorded by the end of July. Glen Innes, Stanthorpe, an ex-butter factory and our ex-Spanish-jewellery-store-now-cafe (El Joyero) will hopefully all be making appearances on this record.

As for our cafe/bookshop/record store, El Joyero, we are starting to run shows here and should be open for coffees in a couple of months. We will be selling a select few books and records and will be taking consignment.

If you are interetsed in having a show/art exhibit/film night/screening here or have things for consignment please don't hesitate to email us at eljoyerocafe@gmail.com

Tragic/Athletic – Brakes 10-inch:

Three Months At Sea is simply the most gorgeous song I heard this year. The other three tracks aren’t bad either. This record makes me proud of Brisbane’s music scene.

 - Jakeb Smith -

Where the fuck did that brass outro come from? Oh, sorry - SPOILER ALERT!

This is a great song from a fantastic/orgasmic Brisbane outfit who (judging from their lovely descriptive name) are Shakespeare Jocks.

It's from the group's 10" EP called Brakes which is OUT NOW via their own self-funded vinyl only label Mt. Field Recordings.

An album is also apparently on the way sometime in the not too distant future (ie. 2009) but in the mean time you can give a listen to some more of their music over at their MySpzzzer.

Props to Who The Hell for the heads up.

http://polaroidsofandroids.com/

Tragic/Athletic are the kind of band that have steadily outgrown their initial post-punk roots to inhabit a space that's both more accessible yet also more complex.

Three Months At Sea is a dynamic entry that displays their new-found proficiency in slower, more contemplative compositions before building to a euphoric outro complete with brass section. It's measured and alluring, investing as much in organs and atmosphere as guitar squall. If this is what 'maturing' sounds like then I might just apply for my Senior's Pension.

The EP, Brakes, is available as a 10″ from the bands' own vinyl-only label Mt. Field Recordings - in case the song itself didn't quite solidify their indie cred. Here's hoping there's a full-length follow up is released soon.

By Matt Mickey

http://www.whothehell.net/

Tragic/Athletic @ The Troubadour w/ Charge Group (Syd) + Chalk & Cheese :: 30/10/08

It would be fairly safe to say "chalk and cheese" if one had to compare the decidedly electric, intriguing sound of local indie/art rock fi ve-piece Tragic/Athletic to the earlier artist. The four guys and one girl trade complex song structures, stop-start rhythms, busy basslines and vocal harmonies during their slot, democratically taking turns in front of the mic. Brief, waltztime We Set Sail When The Wind Came and guest trumpeter-featuring closing number are the standouts.

TRAGIC/ATHLETIC
Brakes
(Independent)

Brisbane indies Tragic/Athletic have released an EP on the delicious and underused 10 inch vinyl format with a sweet cover making it a satisfying experience from the very first time you hold onto it. Their loose, cacophonic guitar jams have heaps going on and take a few listens to get your head around, especially given the frequent, frantic timing changes and stylistic divergences. Like, there's some very unexpected slap bass going on during 'Four Decades' which is punctuated with a noisy guitar stab and a little spoken hook before eventually mellowing out into a dramatic, atmospheric landscape. 'Three Months At Sea' is the closest Tragic/Athletic come to traditional songwriting after the opening Modest Mouse-sounding track 'We Set Sail When The Wind Came' and it's still got a lot of room, and some lazy, breathy vocals give it a lot of personality. A very accomplished release.

Tragic/Athletic
Tuesday, 22 July 2008

OLLIE from local indie five-piece TRAGIC/ATHLETIC talks to JAKEB SMITH about new directions, new endeavours, and a sleeping Brisbane music scene.

I haven't heard from you guys in over a year. Did you fall off the radar there?

We definitely, definitely have – in the last year and a half we haven't really lived in the country. We've had someone in Europe and then they came back and lived in Melbourne for seven or eight months and another one go to New York for Six months so that would be probably the reason why you haven't heard anything, we haven't done anything for ages really, just a few shows in between people being home, but not much at all.

Have you kept on running Handclappin' Records?

We haven't, we started something else [Mt. Field Recordings] with Sam from Quebec [the band, obviously] in Melbourne, which is along the same lines, but we're playing on being a purely vinyl, small label. It's something to start new and do it better hopefully. No more Handclappin', but it was good for however long it lasted.

The sound of Tragic/Athletic has changed from hard and fast to slow and spacious, is that the result of growing up a little?

I reckon it's a combination of a few things. Growing up is definitely part of it, maybe the addition of other people, because we used to be a three-piece and now we're five. So that's part of it, growing up and maybe – hopefully – the songwriting ability has improved.

You used to be vaguely labelled as hardcore, but that doesn't seem true any more.

I'm not even that sure it was true beforehand anyway. It was something that someone else said that we sound like dyslexic hardcore, but I thought we were pretty eclectic. Our influences probably haven't really changed, it's just maybe that we're showing it more. We are all still drawn back to the American hardcore scene, but it's not like I listen to The Replacements. I guess also Brisbane seems changed. I think it's really different and we've pulled away from it a bit. I don't feel so strongly connected anymore to what's going on in Brisbane.

What happened do you think?

I think for a good while people were relying on James K (Death:Wolf, On/Oxx) to pull people together to do stuff. Then he went away and everyone sort of sat back and waited for things to happen. You're just wasting your time, you can't really do that: you're got to do things yourself.

I don't really hear about many house parties any more. They used to be every week, am I just out of the loop, or is nothing happening?

I don't think you're wrong, I don't think they're happening any more. I don't know whether I'm out of the loop as well but it doesn't seem to happen much.

(If house parties are still happening in Brisbane, please let Jakeb and Ollie know because it sounds like they'd like to be invited – Ed)

So do you think Tragic/Athletic will end up staying in Brisbane?

No I don't think so, I think everyone's got a pretty deep feeling of they want to go somewhere else. Obviously everyone's got their own agendas of what they want to do. We all want to venture out and try something different, but it all just depends when and where I guess. The next year is a little unsure for us. I think we'd still like to record another record in Brisbane, but after that, who knows?



TRAGIC/ATHLETIC launch their BRAKES 10-inch EP at The Troubadour with Major Major and Do The Robot. The EP is out through Mt. Field Recordings from then on.

"Opening with We Set Sail When The Wind Came from their Brakes 10", Tragic/Athletic were the first band of the night on-stage to entertain the crowd, not just their own vanities. With three of the five band members rotating on lead vocal duties, their special blend of indie, post rock and angst was incredibly fun to watch, especially when it came to the keyboard player's turn to sing. After grabbing bassist Yeo Choong (how many bands is this guy in?!) in a headlock and ruffling his hair, she brought the house down with a particularly punky number. A tasty saxophone solo and Choong noodling away on the main riff from Eminem's Lose Yourself between songs gave me hope for the notion that not all indie musicians are missing a sense of humour." - (by Fortyone)

TRAGIC/ATHLETIC
Brakes
(Mountfield Recordings)
8/10

Local boys Tragic/Athletic deliver four songs swaying between organic and angular, and break away from their previous chaotic sound in the process. 'Brakes' is the work of a more diverse and grown-up band, and while their brand of post-hardcore is probably still too rough around the edges for most, they've streamlined the noisy sound of old into something that is downright catchy at times. With influence coming from all directions, this EP is a compact but consistent package that refuses to be pigeonholed, and thanks to this, it stays interesting (Rob S).