About Me
EP REVIEW TIMEOFF AUG 2006
The five performances captured here are a showcase of the richly evocative music redbreast make. May and Find Your Way to Me are simply exquisite, and attention must be paid to Helen Franzmann and Ben Schillers voices - full of hope and lament - combining for a unique blend of subtle and sinister romance. The overall feeling of the EP is both sexy and foreboding - the melancholic, lingering effect making it a truly stunning record. One of the best local releases this year. (DCR)
TIMEOFF LIVE REVIEW EP LAUNCH JUL 2006
"Helen Franzmann (keyboards/vox/heartstrings) of redbreast appears in an adorable pinafore style dress, looking girlish - but with an edge. As a companion intimates, she looks gift-wrapped, and if this is the case then shed make a beautiful present! Sometimes described inadequately as ambient pop, redbreast show that their musical molecules also comprise of folk, jazz, opera.
They open to the crowded and buzzing room with May, a rhythmically placid number with the drums setting a gentle trance-inducing pace while the guitar reverberates like a reggae riff on peyote. Ange Gadds restrained trombone joins the steady flow and gives only a hint of what she can do.
Three songs in, and Brooding Sweat proves to be the place where opera makes frenzied and passionate love to jazz. Franzmanns voice arcs up and descends down for a quick nap in your belly before soaring soprano-wards in an ascent that has you straightening your posture in empathy. Gadds trombone tumbles into a stylised freeform and in these untamed moments she becomes a siren-like sonic temptress. Gadd doesnt just play the trombone, she wields it.
Schillers vocals are finally set free on Shadows Peak, a rollicking number that could draw comparisons to the Nick Cave/Kylie tune Where The Wild Roses Grow, not just because of its love-gone-bloody themes but because when given free rein, Schillers voice is cavernously deep and commanding.
Throughout the set Simon Pitchers is a surgeon on the drums, keeping all the elements together with his tight, gracious playing. As his padded sticks and brushes kiss the drums, Pitchers doesnt display any quirky nuances like Gadds nodding or Franzmanns half-smiles; he just plays, perfectly.
After a performing a one-song encore, the band vacate the stage while the crowd slowly disperse. Exiting The Zoo, the soundscape of the buzzing Friday night Valley is a worthy aural wind-down, but the evenings music is still on repeat in my head.
Its nice to think that I live here and will hear it aloud again soon."
timeoff magazine July 2006
TIMEOFF LIVE REVIEW APR 2006
"They open with a track that's like standing in a rainstorm - padded drumsticks thump the skins while keys twinkle in the back. Franzmann's voice is operatic at times and soars above the music. There are some staccato momenrts that channel Kate Bush. The 'Delicious Ange'... brings a depth of sound [on trombone] to the songs that's priceless... elongated notes creep into the swell of guitar and sit sombrely atop the keys. The delay effects on the guitar fit perfectly... redbreast can create the same definition and otherworldliness of Massive Attack, and have all the brooding sombreness of The National. There are quite amazing soundscapes throughout their set and more than a few moments that echo scenes in a David Lynch film."
timeoff magazine Apr 2006
TIMEOFF LIVE REVIEW FEB 2006
"Their sound consists of eerily angelic vocals, rich guitar and the echoing pad of ringing drums. These guys produce thoughtful sound that stands on its own creative merits. They really have their shit down. They create music that starts like a bedtime story, and then sprints into a fable written by the Brothers Grimm. There's an innocence in the music they make, but its delicate feet aren't afraid to walk in some dusty, rocky ground."
timeoff magazine Feb 2006
