Amaya Laucirica was born into the rural solitude of Millicent, South Australia. She discovered music was more than a mere distraction, subsequently moving to Melbourne to expand her musical prospects where she recorded a rough five track demo CD. This was to become the basis for her debut album, Sugar Lights. The recordings gained the interest of several notables, including Mick Harvey, who offered assistance with arrangements, and Peter J. Moore, who mastered the album in Canada. Moore has previously produced the Cowboy Junkies, Neko Case and Emmylou Harris.
The Chills / Pink Frost
I was reading about this song somewhere and downloaded it, as you do these days. I fell in love with that lo-fi dark rhythmic sound. It kinda has an up drum beat but the lyrics are so dark. I went out and bought the record — Kaleidoscope World — on vinyl, which is a collection of their early singles. It was the first for me of the Flying Nun bunch, and I’ve had a curiosity for New Zealand pop music ever since.
Bob Dylan / Highway 61 Revisited
This album was the first Bob Dylan album I heard, and it blew my mind. The mix of Dylan’s lyrics, the hard sound production, and Michael Bloomfield’s guitar work is the core of this — his guitar lines just cut right through. This album was very important to me as an aspiring musician, and when I listen to it today, it hits just as hard.
Sonic Youth / Rain on Tin
Murray Street is one of my favourite Sonic Youth records. It has a great sense of melody and it just meanders along, but it meanders so beautifully. Rain on Tin is my favourite. I had that song on repeat for a month and I still go back to it after a year. All the guitar parts just sing together, and I always hang on for that outro. A jamming bliss!
The Pixies / Gouge Away
I was so excited to discover the Pixies in high-school, and Gouge Away is still one of my favourites. I love the whole Surfa Rosa album. It’s a modern classic. The bass line does it for me, it’s kinda creepy and cool and Frank Black’s lyrics are outstanding. I love Joey Santiago’s guitar line: how it squeals and bends. And they kinda own that loud/quiet/loud dynamic. It builds and dies then builds again.
PJ Harvey / Down By The Water
When I first listened to the album, I was so excited to hear this song that I listened to it repeatedly just to make sure I had listened to all of it properly. I love the percussion and the organ bass. It’s pulsating and intense. But it’s the vocals and her lyrics that do it to me. You can’t help but pay attention. She has to be one of the most dramatic and emotive modern performers I’ve ever heard and seen.
Neil Young / Down By The River
A friend bought me my first Neil Young record, which was Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, and I was totally hooked. I then became a Neil Young fanatic. I love the whole sound of the record, it sounds like the best jam session captured on vinyl. I love it at the start when the bass kicks in and sets for the opening: ‘Be on my side, I’ll be on your side’. Neil Young has such an emotive, soulful voice and this is one of my favourite Crazy Horse moments.
My Bloody Valentine / Soon
When I first heard Loveless, I immediately felt it was one of those albums that defines a certain time. Those guitars! Kevin Shields is a genius. But this song is the highlight for me on that album. The drums are so dreamy; it so gracefully crosses over to nearly being a dance track, but you might not notice because you’re in a wall of sound daze.
Velvet Underground / Waiting For the Man
It’s the sound: those feedback guitars and John Cale hitting those piano keys. But it’s all Lou Reed – and this song just sounds ‘ultra cool’. I’m a huge fan of Lou Reed’s lyrics. And I love his vocal delivery on this album.
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