New Zealand has always produced a high ratio of literate indie pop music, from the brightest corners of Flying Nun to Lawrence Arabia and The Phoenix Foundation. Anthony Tonnon is another in that lineage and on Successor he weaves fascinating tales of wit and tragedy without, importantly, ending up sounding twee and smug. Characters are established in all manner of situations as he sings their … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Anthonie Tonnon – Successor
Fifteen years have passed since David Pearce last released an album as Flying Saucer Attack but really the passing of time has little effect on the experimental guitar soundscapes he creates other than to eschew the vocals and percussion of the band’s early work. Over an hour this collection of instrumental tracks drone, mesmerise and eviscerate with a sonic palette that requires it to be … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Flying Saucer Attack – Instrumentals 2015
If you’re a fan of The Necks you already know what you’re in for – long improvised instrumental pieces of music that explore drone, repetition and texture. The trio deliver just that but this time the point of difference is the dark, unsettling mood and the subsequent feelings of tension and unease that it conjures up; across the shimmering drone of the first piece and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Necks – Vertigo
When METZ hit the scene in 2012 with their debut album they felt like a breath of fresh air. Sure they were doing nothing new but they were doing mighty things with tried and true rock n roll elements. Hardcore intensity, punk attitude, post-punk rhythms and jagged, visceral riffing were all turned up to eleven and it reaffirmed that the next generation still had a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: METZ – II
Perth trio Fall Electric have been working on this album since 2013 and with production from Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker they’ve concocted a set a of songs that swing from lightly psychedelic eclecticism to sweet, straightforward indie pop music. It feels very much a studio project, such is the layering of electronic and organic instrumentation and composition that constantly shape-shifts. Sometimes the sonic lightness causes … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Fall Electric – Interior
Three years ago another English electronic act added their name to the list that includes Depeche Mode, New Order and Underworld; bands that were able to harness futuristic sounds and marry them with a pop sensibility. They all wrote uber-catchy songs yet a common strain of melancholy coursed through most of their work. Django Django (and Hot Chip) in particular are continuing that legacy and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Django Django – Born Under Saturn
Earlier this year Jamie Hutchings (Bluebottle Kiss, Infinity Broke) marked twenty years in music with a retrospective solo show at Camelot Lounge in Marrickville. With a such a strong back catalogue that spans both solo and band releases it was an impressive and rewarding trawl through his discography and a remarkable overview of the evolution of his songwriting craft. Hutchings chatted more than he probably ever … Continue reading SONIC KICKS: Jamie Hutchings
The Auckland quartet have made an auspicious start to their recording career, signing to Spunk who are releasing their debut album across Australia and New Zealand. They’re one of many acts currently making waves with a 90s flavoured sound yet theirs is a blend of influences that makes it hard to pin them down as recyclers of any one band’s sound. That is of course … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: New Gum Sarn – New Gold Mountain
Melbourne band Gold Class have a debut album called It’s You coming out via Spunk in AU/NZ and Felte in US/EU on September 4th. They’ve just released the clip for the first single ‘Life As A Gun’, a dark tension-laden track that channels Protomartyr, Interpol, Joy Division and the Sturm und Drang approach of numerous other post-punk progenitors. TRACK LISTING 01. Furlong 02. Life As A Gun 03. … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Gold Class – Life As A Gun
Faith No More were one of the few high-profile acts that injected humour, irreverence, brutality and puerility into the so-called alternative rock scene of the 90s. Formed in the 80s, they reached their peak in the 90s via a clever strategy known as originality and a penchant for genre collisions that marked them out to some as court jesters while to many they were musical … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Faith No More – Sol Invictus
Bad Seeds co-conspirators Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have created a haunting score to the film Loin Des Hommes, a French film adaptation of Albert Camus’ short story The Guest by director David Olehoffen. Experienced in isolation, without the film to provide the creative scenery, the soundtrack works as a tension-filled, primarily instrumental collection of pieces that use piano, violin, droning tones and some electronica … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Loin Des Hommes
2014 was the year that Courtney Barnett, the unassuming Melbourne resident, went overground in a big way. With multiple international jaunts, appearances on radio and TV shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and many of the top international music festivals. All of that was on the back of two killer singles (‘Avant Gardener’, ‘History Eraser’) and the subsequent The Double EP: A … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
Doubtful Sounds 