After a 10 year break, Sydney quartet Hoolahan returned to active duty last year with the release of their Wayne Connolly-produced album Casuarina. We’re pleased to premiere the video clip for the second single from the album, ‘Instant Gain’. It’s a song draped in chiming guitar, keening and bittersweet vocal melodies and the kind of brisk rhythm you might find propelling a song by The … Continue reading PREMIERE: Hoolahan – Instant Gain
Karl Blau experienced a taste of wider critical acclaim on the back of his last album Introducing Karl Blau. The title and the fact that it was a collection of country covers was somewhat misleading, given that he’s has already released something more than 20 albums. With Out Her Space, Blau has shape-shifted into the world of avant rock, funk and soul, eschewing his lo-fi … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Karl Blau – Out Her Space
Now up to album number twelve as Destroyer, Dan Bejar, one-time member of The New Pornographers, has fully embraced the world of lush and literate sophisticated synth pop. Think New Order’s primitive machine sound, the avant, collage-like work of The The and Morrissey’s lyrical twists and turns of phrase and you’re in the right region. Musically there are plenty of glorious post-punk melancholic moments with … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Destroyer – ken
Out Of Silence is unique for the fact that it was rehearsed and then recorded live at Finn’s Auckland studio, whilst being streamed live to the world via Facebook and You Tube. It was a fascinating insight into a logistical and creatively adventurous undertaking. Even for those who didn’t see or know about the process, the spirit and communality of the session is imbued in … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Neil Finn – Out Of Silence
The New Zealand folk singer arrived with a reputation for unsettling live performances which suggested a fragile personality that was, at the same time, quite unique and creatively courageous. Aldous Harding wrote and sang like a distant echo from archaic times. It was heart-on-sleeve stuff but delivered with a a theatrical bent that sounded quite magnificent and intriguing but perhaps obfuscated the content of her … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Aldous Harding (2017)
Gold Class + Flowertruck + Neighbourhood Void @ The Lansdowne, July 15th, 2017 It was great to arrive and see the newly re-opened Lansdowne hit the ground running with a busy downstairs bar and a band room that, as it filled, had a definite vibe and communal atmosphere. Youngsters Neighbourhood Void were the first to grace the low stage and they played a strong and … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Gold Class @ The Lansdowne, Sydney
Artistically speaking, pop art is an apt description of the style and approach that Hollow Everdaze have near-perfected on Cartoons. A decade into their career they’re still uncovering lush, sun-kissed pop nuggets that swoon, sway and deftly swagger through 60s eccentricity, 80s/90s British indie and right up to the modernism of a band such as Spoon. There’s a wistful quality to the songs yet they … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Hollow Everdaze – Cartoons
Canadian musician and artist Chad VanGaalen first came on our radar back in 2008 with his third album Soft Airplane and in particular the single ‘Molten Light‘. Since then we’ve kept a keen eye on everything he’s released, from Diaper Island (2011) through to Shrink Dust (2014) the forthcoming new LP Light Information (September 8th, 2017, Sub Pop). Here’s the first clip from the new album, … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Chad VanGaalen – Pine and Clover [Official Video]
BEHIND THE BRAVADO Down the line from LA, where he’s between tours with Pond and Mac DeMarco, Kirin J. Callinan gives Chris Familton an insight into the creative process behind his new album Bravado and why it took four years to complete. Kirin J. Callinan is something of a modern day renaissance man, a polymorphic pop provocateur who revels in stretching creative boundaries and treading … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Kirin J Callinan
Belles Will Ring + Le Pie + The Wednesday Night @ Factory Floor, March 17th, 2017 Three shades of psychedelia ruled a wet and windy Sydney night as Belles Will Ring triumphantly returned after a five year absence from the stage. The Wednesday Night recently released their debut LP and through shifting lineup changes have been refining their live show, becoming more nuanced and hypnotic … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Belles Will Ring
Hot on the heels of her collaborative album with Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, Jesca Hoop backs it up with a new solo album that dives deeper into her experimental songwriting, drawing on folk, indie and art pop. The songs here are minimal, skeletal even. Simple percussive elements, at one point just the keys of a typewriter, form the basis for hypnotic melodies and lyrical … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Jesca Hoop – Memories Are Now
BALANCING INSTINCT AND REASON Margaret Glaspy has had a career-high last 12 months that has seen her go from working long hours to pay New York rent to touring large venues with The Lumineers. She takes Chris Familton through the creation of her debut album and the changes it has brought her. With so much work going into the writing, recording and producing of Emotions … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Margaret Glaspy
Doubtful Sounds 