NEW MUSIC: Purling Hiss | Mercury Retrograde

Purling Hiss have just released their new album Water On Mars via Drag City/Mistletone and we’re hooked on first listen. They’ve refined the noise and boosted all the great elements of psych, pop and garage rock to produce an album that embraces all the greatness of 90s guitar music from Nirvana to Dinosaur Jr to The Lemonheads. The band come out of the same loose … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Purling Hiss | Mercury Retrograde

INTERVIEW: Popstrangers

by Chris Familton Popstrangers are the latest in a long line of New Zealand bands to emerge with a psychedelic and moody take on pop-tinged post punk. Their debut album Antipodes proves the band aren’t just riding on the hype of a few singles, instead it shows they have a strong idea of the sounds and ideas they want to capture, though Joel Flyger is … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Popstrangers

NEW MUSIC: Saskwatch | I Get Lonely

Melbourne is throwing up some great soul and funk bands of late, particularly the ones with a subtle strain of garage rock running through their grooves. Saskwatch have released a new single this month which was recorded by go-to-guy Mikey Young. It is out now digitally and will be followed by a 7″ vinyl release on Northside Records. Keep an eye on their Bandcamp page … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Saskwatch | I Get Lonely

LIVE REVIEW: Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ Sydney Entertainment Centre (10/03/13)

by Chris Familton The previous night at the Bimbagden Estate winery in the Hunter Valley was a superb 2 hour show from Neil Young & Crazy Horse with only one thing missing – his full stage setup. Of course musically it didn’t matter, everything still sounded as widescreen and epic as usual but it certainly felt comforting to arrive at the Sydney Entertainment Centre to … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ Sydney Entertainment Centre (10/03/13)

NEW MUSIC: Iggy and the Stooges | Burn

Iggy and the Stooges return with their first new music since The Weirdness (2007) and the passing of guitarist Ron Asheton. The Stooges have had James Williamson back on guitar duties for a few years now and his slashing chords are all over Burn, the first track to be released from their new LP Ready To Die which is due out April 30th. Burn already sounds … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Iggy and the Stooges | Burn

LIVE REVIEW: Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations @ Paradiso at Town Hall (25/01/13)

by Chris Familton In a rare use of the Sydney Town Hall for rock n roll, Sydney Festival honoured both the original and seminal 1972 Nuggets 60s garage rock compilation and its recent Australian tribute Antipodean Interpolations of the First Psychedelic Era. The night was a chance for six of those bands to play short sets that gave a snapshot of their own Nuggets-spirited sound. … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations @ Paradiso at Town Hall (25/01/13)

ALBUM REVIEW: Nuggets – The Original, Antipodean Interpolations and Down Under…

by Chris Familton Lenny Kaye compiled the seminal garage/punk-rock collection Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 forty years ago and to mark the anniversary two new compilations have been released to celebrate the equivalent Australian scenes in the late 60s and in 2012. Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations of the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 is the closest you’ll come to a snapshot of the … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Nuggets – The Original, Antipodean Interpolations and Down Under…

ALBUM REVIEW: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion | Meat + Bone

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

ALBUM REVIEW: The Jim Jones Revue | The Savage Heart

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

ALBUM REVIEW: The Soft Pack | Strapped

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

LIVE REVIEW: Charlie Horse @ The Factory Floor, Sydney (03/11/12)

by Chris Familton Featuring Charlie Horse bassist Craig Beck on guitar and vocals, Rushing Dolls have a big strong sound that relies on 90s rock dynamics and impassioned vocals from the school of Placebo but they lacked a stage presence that might otherwise make their songs more believable and enjoyable. They build melody into their rock and there were some flashes of where they might … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Charlie Horse @ The Factory Floor, Sydney (03/11/12)