by Chris Familton Finally the debut solo album from Sydney’s mercurial Kirin J Callinan sees the light of day. As a member of Mercy Arms and subsequent sonic game changer for Jack Ladder he has become a familiar figure on the local music scene. After the disconcerting music clips that preceded it this felt it was going to be a special album and indeed the … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Kirin J Callinan | Embracism
by Chris Familton This feels like the big one for the Wellington sextet, even before it was released there were ads and editorial appearing in international music magazines like Uncut and MOJO and a real sense of coming of age has been in the air. Not that they haven’t already arrived, their preceding albums all contain absolute gems of literate guitar pop (Hitchcock, 40 Years, … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Phoenix Foundation | Fandango
by Fiach Smyth Imagine: music (whose je ne sais quoi is viele Punkte (in the Stockhausen style) but laugh …) – it communicates not-clearly (blurred, obfuscated, misty, nebulous, opaque; camera obscura in depth and breadth and clarity). Imagine music. Now imagine I wrote this whole review the way that These New Puritans wrote Field of Reeds, their third album and without a shadow of a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: These New Puritans | Field of Reeds
by Chris Familton Twenty five years after Mudhoney rose from the ashes of the Seattle band Green River they are one of the few acts of that era still going strong, relatively free of the drama that surrounded many of their contemporaries who lost band members, split up or morphed into superstars. They just keep hanging around doing pretty much exactly the same thing they’ve … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Mudhoney | Vanishing Point
by Chris Familton Showing both strength of character and musical relevance, Alice In Chains survived the death of their singer, regrouped and recaptured the essence of their sound without it sounding like a retrogressive exercise. Their comeback album Black Gives Way to Blue confirmed that and now The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here finds them sounding even stronger and more self-assured. Alice In Chains’ trademark churn and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Alice in Chains | The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
Here we are again at list time, halfway through 2013 and already there have been a swathe of great albums released. We’ve been listening to an eclectic mix of stuff as usual including dub electronica, skronking freeform saxophone, abrasive art rock, retro-leaning post punk and heartstring americana. These are the records we’ve loved the most from what we’ve heard this year. There will be others … Continue reading 2013 MID YEAR FAVOURITE ALBUMS
by Chris Familton Killing Joke rose from the ashes and were one of the few acts that greeted the dawn of the 80s and post-punk with such an intense and heavy sound. They used the loosening of scenes and genres to embrace everything they heard around them – from disco to metal, new wave to goth – in the process creating a truly unique sound … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Killing Joke | The Singles Collection 1979-2012
by Chris Familton Now into their third decade Primal Scream have carved out a varied eclectic career that has taken in punk, pop, electronic, psychedelic, krautrock, rock n roll and americana influences, sometimes playing them straight and other times twisting and mutating combinations of them into new and exciting forms. More Light is their most cohesive attempt at bringing all the facets of their music … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Primal Scream | More Light
by Chris Familton London quartet Savages have been the subject of much anticipation and critical discourse regarding their debut album Silence Yourself and the good news is that they live up to much of the hype. The band don’t trade in anything new or mine any hitherto unknown musical ideas but they show an astute understanding of minimal input/maximum effect when it comes to song … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Savages | Silence Yourself
by Chris Familton Beastwars are something of a musical anomaly in that a group of men in their late thirties arrived seemingly fully formed on the Wellington scene before releasing their debut self-titled LP and rapidly building a strong, nationwide fanbase. The musical allegiance of their fans in the metal scene isn’t a surprise as devotees of the hard, fast and heavy dictum are notoriously … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Beastwars | Blood Becomes Fire
by Chris Familton The brilliantly titled Cruise Your Illusion is the most realised of Milk Music’s albums to date with its ramshackle and parched slacker rock vibes that finds just the right balance of buzzing drive and a laid back stoner aesthetic. The Olympia, Washington band show a strong allegiance to the kind of damaged punk and classic rock that the likes of Dinosaur Jr … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Milk Music | Cruise Your Illusion
by Chris Familton Depeche Mode have had a wonderful evolution and trajectory from their early lightweight disposable pop through the departure of Vince Clarke and Martin Gore’s rapid mastery of the fast changing technology in 80s music, to their peak as masters of psycho-sexual electronic pop music that finely balanced raw emotion and a self-constructed paradigm of art pop and futuristic rock n roll. Post … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Depeche Mode | Delta Machine
Doubtful Sounds 