Because They Can - Alive

The long awaited release for teenage pop-rock band from Sydney, Because They Can has finally arrived, their debut EP, Alive, available in stores and off iTunes from the 25th of January, 2013.

The band managed to get signed by indie label, Sunday Morning Records, in early 2011, after only a year or two as a band and only having a few tracks up on their Facebook and MySpace pages. Soon after this, it was announced that Because They Can were to be a supporting band for Short Stack on their This is Bat Country tour in mid-2011 and from that point on was when their fan base really began to grow. 

In the time between having a few of their own headlining shows, the band released two music videos, for The Way You Hate Me and It's Not About You, but the fans were wondering when they were finally going to get to see a proper release from the boys.

Alive was then announced as what would be the band's debut EP, It's Not About You being the first song released off the EP, along with a few shows and meet and greets announced to go with the release.

The EP is definitely a big step up from anything previously released from the boys, majority of the songs taking quite a more rocky influence rather than their previous pop-punk sound. The band have clearly grown a lot since their old tracks, Check This Once and Rockstar, lead vocalist Eddie Kemp's vocals and writing style having clearly matured.

The stand out songs on the EP would have to be Alive, Pretty Boy, I'm Over It and Salt. These four tracks are attention grabbing and if you're used to the band's older music, will come as quite a shock. Alive and Pretty Boy, are probably the most rocky tracks on the release, Alive particularly with incredibly catchy choruses and hooks. Salt seems to have so far been a bit of a fan favourite, the lyrics are quite powerful and easy to relate to for some.

Open Your Eyes seems to sound a lot more like Because They Can's older tracks, having a slight more influence from pop and pop punk. 

It's Not About You was the first song fans were able to hear off the EP when the boys released a music video for the song in November. But the song when compared to the rest of the EP is probably the let down of the release, if you could even call it that. The song is very poppy, with a catchy chorus but doesn't seem to stand out.

The last two tracks on the EP, I Wish You Knew and I Want You, show a bit more of the other side to the band, with softer, more ballad like lyrics but still keep your attention and are a great end to the EP.

Because They Can have done an excellent job with this EP, and most of the fans seem to agree. It was well worth the long wait and quite impressive for a debut EP.

(Alive - Because They Can available from JB Hi-Fi, Sanity and iTunes)

Diviney - 12th of January, 2012

The 12th of January saw the Metro Lair filled with a few hundred teenage girls for the first Sydney show for Diviney, the ex-front man of Short Stack, Shaun Diviney's, new band. 

(Photography by Jack Toohey)

Short Stack split around April 2012, leaving majority of the teenage fanbase quite heartbroken, most of them having supported the band for many years. Front man Shaun was quite quick to announce his new project, stating they would be heading to America in the coming months to start the recording of new material. 

Diviney has recruited two ex-members of Die For You, Sinj Clarke who also used to play keys for Short Stack while they toured and Chris Circosta. As well as ex Operator Please member, Tim Commandeur. 

Having only released one song on YouTube, titled You're So Cool, and an acoustic video for another track titled, Dance With The Devil, Diviney still managed to completely sell out the Metro Lair, also being only their second ever show. 

First up were The Never Ever who never fail to play a good show, always managing to get the crowd hyped up and involved with their fun, energetic songs, which are easy to sing and dance along to. Another side to the band was also seen as lead vocalist Dylan Nash and bassist Pat Ortiz, played their most recent single Deja Vu, acoustically - ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZLIRwEKH78 )

The next act up were For Our Hero, a pop-rock band from Melbourne, who also played a great set. The band opened with one of their most well-known tracks, Don't You Dare, which appeared to be a crowd favourite. Most of the crowd seemed to be fans of the band, almost everyone knowing at least a few of the songs. Front man Jay Taplin had the audience mesmerised for the half hour set, flaunting his excellent stage presence. They finished their set off with their latest single, Take The Night - ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFpX_IHnBC0 ) . The band played a great set, especially considering only weeks prior to the show, drummer Nax Vee announced his sudden departure from the band, leaving the replacement only a short amount of time to learn the music. 

Next up was who everyone had been waiting for, Diviney. The band opened with Dance With Devil and followed with a few previously unheard tracks, including what is rumoured to soon be the band's first proper single, Skeleton. Some of the other new songs played included Elvis Presley and Eyes Out. The new tracks were quite a lot more pop/dance influenced than any music that had come from Short Stack which came as a disappoint to some fans, but seemed to please most.

Diviney also played a few old Short Stack tracks - Rain On Her Parade, Are You Afraid Of The Dark and Planets - as well as an old Die For You track, Sex Games. 

Apart from when two acoustic songs were played it seemed like there was not a second in Diviney's whole set where the crowd weren't moving. It was a high-energy set filled with plenty of dancing and for the band's second show, it was quite a success.