“Inside Your Sun” by Venus II – A Song Review

     Some bands are able to find that Goldilocks Zone within Rock and Electronic/Dance/ Psychedelic. Their sounds may sit in different areas within the Zone, but like the story of Goldilocks in which food and furniture were “just right,” music has a spectrum in which we prefer bands that aren’t too Hard Rock or too Soft Pop. Our musical tastes normally position us outside the Zone, but we enjoy visiting.

     Foals surfaced within the Goldilocks Zone with the release of “My Number.” The song relies on instruments that have been a Rock standard since at least The Beatles’ era. And while the synthesizers play a critical role, they don’t overpower the overall sound. That’s the Golidlocks Zone!

     In Sydney, Jagwar Ma has taken residence in the Zone and the recent release of “OB1” showed their home is made of brick, not sticks. But Jagwar Ma has a neighbor. The Melbourne duo Venus II dropped an album, “Inside Your Sun.” The title track is our favorite. 

     “Inside Your Sun” by Venus II (The members of Melbourne’s Venus II are Jarrad Brown and Ryan Grieve.)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VenusIImusic/

Website: http://www.venusiimusic.com/

More about Venus II – from the email submission:

  Jarrad Brown had an epiphany. As writer and frontman of freewheeling eight-piece collective The Eagle & The Worm, Brown was accustomed to delivering smart pop song writing with lashings of ragged rock'n'roll. But when completing a new batch of demos, he found himself seeking a new landscape, synthesised energy and electronic sound in his head.

  A chance meeting led Brown to Sydney-based producer Ryan Grieve, who runs Hole in the Sky Records, a label known for discovering Tame Impala. With over ten years’ experience in the Australian dance scene, working at the intersection of dance music, indie-pop and immersive audio-visuals as one half of band Canyons (DFA) and with recent project Heart People, Grieve saw Brown as a kindred spirit. Collaboration is second nature to Brown. He is a long standing veteran of the Melbourne jamming scene and a stalwart in bands like Eagle, Dorsal Fins and Custom Kings. These bands – and spiritual cousins like King Gizzard, Jagwar Ma and Saskwatch – work in different ways, unconstrained by traditional release wisdom or formats.

  Working collaboratively, the unlikely pair raked open-mindedly through Brown’s band tracks, trading records and ideas without limits. Inspirations shared – from Baldelli’s cosmic disco to Talk Talk live sessions through Brown's beloved Beach Boys and Stones to Psychemagik and Weatherall’s screamadelica  – became twisted into a new eclectic sound that Brown was searching for - a widescreen exploration of cosmic dance music through an fresh pop prism. So pleased with the results were Brown and Grieve, they anointed the partnership with a new name - Venus II.