Bad Dreems are one of the essential bands emerging out of the growing Adelaide scene with their lo-fi, melody-rich guitar songs. 2012 was a big year that saw them release the brilliant single Chills and before dropping Tomorrow Mountain with its darker and moodier undercurrent and the infectiously melancholic Too Old. We caught up with guitarist Alex Cameron to find out some of the albums … Continue reading SONIC KICKS | BAD DREEMS
The new releases are coming thick and fast at the moment as record labels look to release albums they most held over from the end of 2012 to get maximum exposure as we kick off 2013. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have already released one song (We No Who UR) from their new album Push The Sky Away and here’s another. Jubilee Street is … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Pissed Jeans and The Men
by Chris Familton After an eight year recording hiatus The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have returned with an album that finds them in fighting form and returning to some of the touchstones that made them such an exciting and visceral rock n roll band in the 90s. Meat + Bone recaptures some of that stripped down blues and funk that the band built their name … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion | Meat + Bone
This is by no means a snapshot across all forms of electronic music as I have little interest in some strands such as trance, commercial dance music or the mainstream adoption and bastardisation of the name dubstep. I say ‘the name’ as the music itself bears little resemblance to the sounds that were created under that tag through the 00s. My tastes instead drift towards … Continue reading DS Top Electronic Releases of 2012
2012 felt like somewhat of a mixed bag of musical lollies with our favourites encompassing americana, power pop, 80s synth, indie and many shades of psychedelia. The only thing that tied them all together was the strong streak of melody that each was built on. Even in the case of someone like Neil Young & Crazy Horse it was Young’s incredible weaving of musical notes … Continue reading LIST: DS Top Albums of 2012
by Chris Familton Of the recent spate of reunions, Dinosaur Jr’s was one of the most unlikely, but over three albums it’s proven to be one of the most successful. From the cyclical soloing and piano on opener Don’t Pretend You Didn’t Know to the sleepy sway of Stick A Toe In and the rapid-fire riffs of Pierce The Morning Rain, the quota of simple ideas executed … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Dinosaur Jr. | I Bet On Sky
by Chris Familton With a reputation born mainly from their sweat and swagger live shows, The Jim Jones Revue have finally captured some of that frantic magic on their third and best album The Savage Heart. Breathing new life into purist rock n roll isn’t an easy task when you consider the originators of the genre and the huge number of the bands over the … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Jim Jones Revue | The Savage Heart
by Chris Familton The LA quartet return with their sophomore album that finds them throwing more influences into the mix while still maintaining their highly melodic indie rock sound. Strapped feels like a step up for a band that specialized in efficient garage rock dispatches and even though they have softened their rawer edges they have compensated by dialing in more expansive textures and song … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Soft Pack | Strapped
This is the first instalment of an ongoing feature that will look at the inside of vinyl album sleeves. So many album covers have become iconic, instantly recognisable images and they are often the first thing that comes to mind when a record is mentioned. They create the mood, aesthetic and feel of the music presented within. In this day and age of digital immediacy … Continue reading INSIDE SLEEVE: The Cure | Standing On A Beach – The Singles
by Chris Familton The key to The Datsuns’ longevity and relevance in the present is their ability to filter and process the best of the past and inject it with some enthusiasm and energy. Fifth studio album Death Rattle Boogie released 10 years to the day since their acclaimed self-titled debut – is no exception, finding them in ruthlessly efficient form. Spread around the world and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Datsuns | Death Rattle Boogie
by Chris Familton Melodie Nelson’s debut album of 2011, Meditations on the Sun, was a wonderful slice of hazy 60s pop which she has promptly followed up with a record that takes that template and builds on it with an air of confidence in both its songwriting and sound. To The Dollhouse is very much a period piece in that there is little to … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Melodie Nelson | To The Dollhouse
by Chris Familton Jochen Gutsch is a prolific Sydney composer and one-man band with thirteen releases to his name since 2003. I call him a composer because his music is rooted in ambitious ideas with a multitude of elements fighting for space amid his instrumental soundscapes. There is also an overwhelming magpie eclecticism to Hinterlandt that can be both glorious and maddening as he chases … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Hinterlandt | Cartography
Doubtful Sounds 