I’m a big fan of RVG, their last album Feral was one of my favourites in 2020, so having a new single in the inbox this morning was a real treat. They deliver 100% too. ‘Nothing Really Changes‘ is a glorious slow-building rock track that glistens with retro synths over a muscular rhythm section. Frontperson Romy Vager is in exultant, brooding and defiant form, nailing … Continue reading RVG RETURN WITH A STELLAR AND STRIKING NEW 2023 SINGLE
Returning after a ten-year sojourn, freshly stewed from the mind of legendary rock outlier J Mascis, instrumental psych sideshow Heavy Blanket are back with the release of new album Moon Is on Outer Battery Records. Forever the creator and custodian of noise in all its inimitable forms, Mascis’ recent raid on a stash of unused riffs has yielded an exceptionally heavy trove of new tracks. Over six … Continue reading NEW HEAVY BLANKET (J. MASCIS) LP OUT END OF JANUARY
After celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary last year, Metallica have today released the official music video for ‘Lux Æterna,’ from the album 72 Seasons available April 14th, 2023. James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich co-produced the 77-minute, 12-song album with their longtime producer, Greg Fidelman. The record is a rumination of sorts on childhood, with “72 seasons” representing the number of seasons we live through … Continue reading Metallica release first new single in six years and announce new album
Sydney songwriter and author Lo Carmen has been busy of late, on the promo trail for her excellent book Lovers Dreamers Fighters and a run of live shows with her band The Great Beyond. Now the recorded fruits of their labour has arrived with the new single ‘Half Girl Half Beast‘ which slithers from the swamp in a sultry and ghostly crawl – a long overdue … Continue reading LO CARMEN GETS GLORIOUSLY DREAMY AND SWAMPY ON NEW SINGLE ‘HALF GIRL HALF BEAST’
A great sound on this brand new single from Wellington, NZ band Hans Pucket. ‘No Drama‘ is the title track from their forthcoming new LP due out on on USA label Carpark Records on November 4th. The single brilliantly blends crunchy guitar rock with soft art-pop shapes and a widescreen indie retro-futurist aesthetic. There are strings, horns and one can pick out a faint hint … Continue reading Aotearoa’s Hans Pucket Release New Single ‘No Drama’
Melbourne songwriter Fenn Wilson has released his latest single ‘Howl‘ from this forthcoming album Honey Dates Death (ghazal), out early 2023. The song highlights Wilson’s rich vocal sound and his way with melodies that weave together and soar skyward while managing to be both tough and tender. The instruments rock in an ornate and emotive way, recalling Jeff Buckley in the swing of the rhythm section … Continue reading FENN WILSON RELEASES THE DARK, SWIRLING BEAUTY OF ‘HOWL’
Hailing from Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Coffin Club get taut and frantic on this mighty slice of post-hardcore and post-punk that brings to mind Hot Snakes, Fugazi, Mudhoney and their compatriots Die! Die! Die. The song deals with themes of exploitation in the workplace, lack of care for low income workers, and trying to cope in a capitalist world despite all the stresses and … Continue reading COFFIN CLUB UNLEASH THE FRANTIC PUNK OF FSTFWRD/RWND
Dion Lunadon‘s punk rock credentials are pretty impeccable. From scrappy North Shore beginnings in Aotearoa/New Zealand as part of the much missed 90s trio Nothing At All!, through the bigger garage rock sound of the D4 and time spent overseas with blistering noiseniks A Place To Bury Strangers , he’s primarily carved out a career as a band player. Now he’s set to release his … Continue reading DION LUNADON GETS PRIMITIVE AND NOISY ON NEW PUNK ROCK SINGLE
The Afghan Whigs are set to release their new studio album How Do You Burn? on September 9th, today announcing the album and releasing the new string-laden and lush single ‘The Getaway’. The new album features a raft of special vocal guests, as detailed in the album media release: For his supporting cast, Dulli called upon several serial collaborators including the late Mark Lanegan, who was a … Continue reading THE AFGHAN WHIGS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘HOW DO YOU BURN?’
oWo possess a dark and supremely catchy sound that casts a familiar shadow back to the 90s heyday of alternative Australian rock music while still sounding like a pure product of the bars and pubs of Sydney’s Inner West in 2022. In the immortal words of oWo, “Rock’s not dead. It’s just inherently unstable.” On the back of the well-received singles ‘Super Role Model’ and ‘Exit Plan‘, the … Continue reading THE DEBUT ALBUM BY SYDNEY TRIO OWO IS OUT NOW
There’s a clear line that can be drawn from Australian recording project The Finch Cycle, to the post-rock titans Mogwai. It’s there in the slow dynamic sweep of grand electric gestures, stately guitars and the eviscerating sonic detonation that occurs at the three minute mark of ‘Operation Island’. The guitars march and chime in lockstep, a frantic metallic chug before the clouds clear and the … Continue reading THE FINCH CYCLE EXPLORE ATMOSPHERIC POST-ROCK DYNAMICS ON ‘OPERATION ISLAND’
‘The Fires Burned‘ drops the gears and hits the accelerator, immediately levelling out at cruise controlled high speed sense of urgency, there’s a Krautrock insistency locked into the rhythm section – as much chug and churn as narcotised tunnel vision. Mantra-like vocals intone deep nothings across the pealing and swirling guitars. Distortion harnessed like a controlled back burn – where the forest meets the desert. This … Continue reading NEW MUSIC from noisy Chicago Krautrock/post-punk group Koalra
Doubtful Sounds 