  Bachelor Of ArtsBachelor of Arts are a three piece noise-rock band from Melbourne, Australia. It's a city perpetually on the move yet with a moody and overcast story to be told, much like the sound of the band. With this grounding, Bill Forshaw (Guitar/Vocals), Angus Tarnawsky (Drums/Vocals) and Kevin Mcdowell (Bass/Vocals) create some of the most startlingly interesting pop music you'll come across. It channels the exploration of the late 70s NYC scene crossed with the shifting rhythms and sense of restraint that the 90s Chicago scene was known for. What Bachelor of Arts create is precise, full of energy and littered with the kind of chaotic elegance that is exciting on a record or witnessed live at a show.
For a young band, they've toured extensively, covering Australia several times over and now in March 2009 are about to embark on a three week tour of the United States. The past two years has seen the group sharing stages with the likes of Japanther (US), These New Puritans (UK), Bakelite (CAN), Die! Die! Die! (NZ), My Disco, Witch Hats, Fabulous Diamonds and Ohana in all sorts of venues, galleries and spaces. This year also sees the international release of their debut album Infinite Jest. Upon it's 2008 limited Australian release, Rip It Up Magazine described the album as "A strong debut...There's all the vocal intensity, angry hooks and antagonistic bass of the punk side and the calculated guitar stabs, complex rhythms and looping noise that are math rock staples...about the same consistency overall that you'd get if you blended experimentalists The Fall with Black Flag." Captured live to 2" tape by engineer Finn Keane with help from long time friends Sloth and Neil at Head Gap Studios, It's full of life with a gritty sound that underpins the road Bachelor of Arts has travelled. It's certainly a long way from their initial Throbbing Gristle styled two-piece experiments! ALBUM 'INFINITE JEST' REVIEWS 2008 RIP IT UP (AUS) …Jest is a strong debut, a packaging of post-punk and experimental rock. The Melbourne trio have toured recently in support of UK art rockers These New Puritans and New Zealand punks Die! Die! Die! with a sound that has no trouble meeting with either of them. There's all the vocal intensity, angry hooks and antagonistic bass of the punk side and the calculated guitar stabs, complex rhythms and looping noise that are math rock staples. It's only a little poppy, probably about the same consistency overall that you'd get if you blended experimentalists The Fall with Black Flag. A lofty but earned comparison; while everyone interjects with vocals and all are no Rollins the bassist Kevin McDowell could play a worthy Chuck Dukowski. It's his rhythms that are the strongest point of Infinite Jest and really dominate songs like Running For The Sake Of It and lead single Apathy. The liner notes claim …Jest is a "snapshot of Melbourne, Australia" and having popped over there a couple of times recently I find they captured the pretentiousness quite well. They maintain through the whole album an understandable amount of anger and confusion. It's relatable to, say, the time you couldn't get into that bar on Collins St with normal shoes while the unshaven guy wearing 10-year-old Pumps and flannel didn't even have to pay the cover charge. Infinite Jest is the right soundtrack to get that generational rage out. Brad McNaughton - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - REVIEW OF SPLIT 7" LAUNCH 2009 AUSTRALIA FASTER LOUDER Limited space in front of the stage signified the start of the Bachelor of Arts set, reminding us that this is what great headline shows are made of. For a relatively young band, Bachelor of Arts have a decent amount of touring mileage under their belts. Tonight’s show is their first home, fresh from their U.S. tour playing with Dinowalrus – the other half of the split 7” curiously titled Beethoven, Freedom & A Hard Place. They began by blitzing right into their new single Beethoven to the type of joy that comes from a crowd that knows its watching something awesome. It’s the chaotic elegance of Angus Tarnawsky’s percussion that underpins all of the band’s intricate rhythmic structures, balanced by catchy melodies. Bill Forshaw’s effortless guitar riffs are matched only in urgency by bassist Kevin McDowell and their own vocals. Tarnawsky can really thrash skin, this being showcased by crowd favourite Bang Bang Boom Boom from their earlier Signal Receiving EP. Live highlight’s from the band’s full-length Infinite Jest, include Teresa,
with its catchy mnemonic lyrics and Apathy that would give Mark E.
Smith something to rant about. After dashing post-set to grab a set
list from the stage, the audience seemed reluctant to leave, confirming
that this was one of the Bachelor’s best local performances ever. Kelele UNITED STATES We're crammed like sardines with backpacks into the basement of a house in Watertown that (it turns out) isn't so difficult to get to for DIY pilgrims who can deal with the #71 bus schedule. Forshaw and McDowell, along with Angus Tarnawsky, are Bachelor of Arts, a hyper noise-rock band flown in from Melbourne for a two-week tour of the East Coast. It's all grimy Gang of Four punk dance and skronk - kind of like Nick Cave doing rugby chants... |
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