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 Chris Familton Glass Towers have been fine tuning their brisk indie guitar tales of young love, lost and won for a couple of years and they played an almost seamless set of cascading guitar melodies and energetic enthusiasm, particularly singer/guitarist Ben Hannam who manages to combine the sound of Robert Smith, Morrissey, Alex Kapranos and Ian McCulloch in his wounded yelp. They lacked any … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Toy, Glass Towers @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney (19/06/13)
by Sarah Norman Contrary to what was stated on their Facebook page, Dappled Cities’ co-lead singer and guitarist Dave Rennick was not, in point of fact, there to kiss the first 400 guests through the door. I know this for certain, as having seen this, I made damned sure that I was in the first 20 or so guests to arrive… (I have my reasons). … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Dappled Cities @ The Hi-Fi, Sydney (20/06/13)
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
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
Slowly but surely it feels like rock n roll of the good kind is seeping back into the Sydney scene. Greta Mob are set to be one of the key players if the rest of their songs are as good as this bleeding, drunken stagger of a song. It conjures up images of Finn Andrews of The Veils jamming with The Drones. Good stuff then… … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Greta Mob | The Petite Bourgeois Blues
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
Out this week is the latest of R.E.M.’s reissues that have been released on a regular basis since the band officially called it a day in 2011. Green was released in 1988 and here at DS we rate this as our favourite R.E.M. LP with Automatic For The People pushing hard for the same honour. With a raft of singles that infiltrated international charts it … Continue reading NEWS: R.E.M. release 25th anniversary edition of ‘Green’.
Doubtful Sounds 