Protomartyr delivered one of my favourite guitar-based records of last year in the dark, post-punk rock of No Passion All Technique so I was pretty excited to see they already have a follow-up recorded and just released. Under Color of Official Right takes the key elements of the last album and improves on them exponentially. The vocals are less barked and approach melodic singing in … Continue reading SONG OF THE WEEK: Protomartyr | Maidenhead
Many thought that it was well and truly the end of the line when Greg Dulli, John Curley, Rick McCollum and drummer Steve Earle went their separate ways in 2001. Their dark and mysterious chemistry felt like it had probably run its natural course yet they went out on the back of their three finest albums. It was therefore a surprise to many when The … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Afghan Whigs | Do To The Beast
The Frowning Clouds played an opening set that would surely have won them a barrel of new fans with a sound rooted in 60s beat and garage rock. They’re only a young band with one album under their belt yet their air of self-assurance and equally self-deprecating nonchalance perfectly suited their melody-rich guitar pop. They were a near-perfect package both visually and sonically with the … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Sunnyboys @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney (29.03.14)
Take one part The Drones, one part Neil Young and a touch of raw guitar-driven soul and you’re on your way to getting to grips with the sound of this Melbourne band. Their attraction lies in the mellow/intense mood shifts of songs like Darius, the cathartic wailing angst of Dirty Bird and record’s skeletal musical bones. Seven Drummers, named for those who’ve occupied the drum … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: East Brunswick All Girls Choir | Seven Drummers
Glitterhouse Records are about to release the third volume of The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project where incomplete or unrecorded Pierce songs have been finished with a superb cast of singers including Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, Deborah Harry, Thurston Moore, Mick Harvey and many others. Axels & Sockets is out May 2nd in USA/Europe and locally in Australia shortly after May 5th. ‘Constant Limbo (Constant Rain)’ is the … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: 2nd single from The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project: Axels & Sockets
The Amazing Snakeheads are making waves and garnering great reviews with the debut LP Amphetamine Ballads which was released locally in Australia last week. Coming across like the wayward stepsons of Gun Club, Jesus Lizard and Nick Cave circa Birthday Party and Grinderman, the Scottish trio take rock n roll, blues and swamp punk back to the gutter under the light of a seedy streetlamp. ‘Here It … Continue reading TRACK OF THE WEEK: The Amazing Snakeheads | Here It Comes Again
After releasing Let the Sunburnt Country Burn in 2013, Sydney band Greta Mob haven’t wasted time in getting new music out on the streets with their new EP Gyspy Town due Friday March 28th. The title track (a re-working of the song that appeared on their debut album) features Spencer P. Jones (The Johnnys, Beasts of Bourbon etc) and it sounds like its been injected with blood-red technicolor. … Continue reading TRACK OF THE WEEK: Greta Mob | Gypsy Town (Revisited) Feat. Spencer P Jones
Eschewing the trend of recent years for hard rock bands to base their touring around festivals such as Soundwave and to a lesser extent Big Day Out, Josh Homme and Trent Reznor decided they could have more fun and deliver a better show for the fans by teaming up as a double-headed alt-rock tag team and playing ten arena shows across Australasia. Who would play … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails @ Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney (06/03/14)
Afghan Whigs surprised quite a few people recently with their Bob Odenkirk – assisted announcement that they’re releasing their first new album in 16 years this April. Do to the Beast is coming out via Sub Pop Records (April 15th), was mostly recorded at Josh Homme’s Pink Duck studio and includes contributions from Alain Johannes (QOTSA), Clay Tarver (Chavez), Mark McGuire (Emeralds) and others. Here’s … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Afghan Whigs | Algiers
The City Lights have been our recent track of the week with (She’s Got) My Name and My Number and now they’ve gone and released a clip for the song, filmed at Sydney’s Midnight Special. The track is available as a split 7″ with The Exile Co and via their Bandcamp page. Continue reading VIDEO: The City Lights | (She’s Got) My Name and My Number
Wooden Shjips have been mining the same rich vein of droning, psychedelic space rock over three albums and a couple of compilations yet here, on their fourth, they show no signs of going stale as they slyly inject subtle variations into their tried and true style. If Back To Land has anything to differentiate itself from previous releases it is in the looser and lighter … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Wooden Shjips | Back To Land
The Sydney Festival always provides the perfect opportunity for open-minded music fans to discover new and diverse acts and styles of music. Listening to a few conversations in the queue before the doors opened it appeared there were a quite a number of attendees with little or no knowledge of the music of Omara Moctar, otherwise known as Bombino. What they witnessed over the ensuing … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Bombino @ The Spiegeltent, Sydney (09/01/14)
Doubtful Sounds 