When you first hear 12 Omeros you are immediately welcomed and drawn in by the beautiful meandering rhythms of ‘(You’ve Got Your) Face On Straight’. The song smoothes out the stress lines with its meandering slouch and slither approach, not dissimilar to dub in the hands of some neurotic city dwellers and they then cheekily set you up for more of the same hazy comfort music with … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Sharpie Crows | 12 Omeros
The band name and artwork for this album set me up with the expectation of another constructed indie facsimile bled dry of imagination and real emotion. Thankfully this duo out of Melbourne flipped my preconceptions by way of their compositional agility and creative twisting of pop and electronica. Tom Iansek has one of those voices that comes from the Jeff Buckley school of sensitive choirboy … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Big Scary | Not Art
by Chris Familton The years roll by but New Zealand seems to have the consistent knack for throwing up bands that continue the lineage that was formed in the early 80s while still carving out a niche for themselves in the overcrowded world of left-of-centre guitar rock. Popstrangers have already released a stellar record this year and now Ghost Wave have turned potential into an … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Ghost Wave | Ages
by Chris Familton Over the space of a few years Julia Holter has quickly established herself as a composer, songwriter and singer with a special talent for creating sonically exquisite music. Hers is a musical style that channels classical, jazz, folk, electronica and the avant-garde and Loud City Song stands as her most fascinating and fully realised album to date. There is a feeling akin … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Julia Holter | Loud City Song
by Chris Familton Mix small town pessimism, youthful optimism, suburban nihilism and a lo-fi aesthetic and you have some of the ingredients that make the essential sound of Bad//Dreems on their superb Badlands EP. The Adelaide natives have been teasing/threatening us for a while now with a string of singles (Chills, Tomorrow Mountain and Caroline) and now those songs plus another trio of equally terrific … Continue reading REVIEW: Bad//Dreems | Badlands EP
by Chris Familton Recorded at Terminal 5 in New York in July 2011, Live In NYC marked the release of Jane’s Addiction’s most recent studio album The Great Escape Artist. As with most live albums you are left with a ‘you had to be there’ feeling but as far as aural representations of live shows go this is a dynamic, visceral and sonically engaging recording. … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Jane’s Addiction | Live In NYC
by Chris Familton On his debut album Daughn Gibson painted a fascinating world soundtracked by Americana, electronica and gothic balladry. The artwork for that album was subdued black and white and fittingly, in line with the music within, the cover of Me Moan is a darker themed explosion of pink and purple sexual and religious imagery. Gibson has taken the basic musical premise of All … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Daughn Gibson | Me Moan
by Chris Familton Eleanor Friedberger has followed up her 2011 debut album relatively quickly and for that we should be thankful as it continues where that record left off with razor sharp observations of life and love in her typically infectious and deceivingly poetic manner. The four year hiatus of The Fiery Furnaces has been a golden period for Friedberger, allowing her to spread her … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Eleanor Friedberger | Personal Record
By Chris Familton Just over a decade after their defining and most successful album Songs For Deaf, Josh Homme and gang return with their sixth studio record in the highly anticipated …Like Clockwork. Since that 2002 peak the band have increasingly explored darker, more eclectic musical territory and while much of it was brave, genre defying and often fascinating there was always the nagging question … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Queens of the Stone Age | …Like Clockwork
by Chris Familton Melbourne quintet Beaches produce an excellent debut album five years ago that reinforced the continued relevance of creative guitar music. Thankfully the group have again convened to collectively pen a new batch of free-ranging, sonically psych-imbued songs that highlight their ability to compose songs rich in melody across an expansive musical terrain. In some ways Beaches are an instrumental band. Sure they have … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Beaches | She Beats
by Chris Familton Fat Freddy’s Drop don’t rush things with this only their third full length album in 14 years (excluding a pair of live albums). That steady approach is also one of the defining aspects of their sound and their propensity for slowly evolving electronic, soul, dub and funk workouts that equally nurture listener’s limbs and ears. Blackbird is without doubt their most cohesive … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Fat Freddy’s Drop | Blackbird
by Chris Familton Smith Westerns still feel like newcomers pushing to assert themselves amongst a group of already established friends but they are now up to album number three, a fact that nullifies any flash in the pan claims for the band. On Soft Will they continue to mine the same vein of power pop and glam infused indie guitar pop but there is a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Smith Westerns | Soft Will
Doubtful Sounds 