by Chris Familton Smith Westerns still feel like newcomers pushing to assert themselves amongst a group of already established friends but they are now up to album number three, a fact that nullifies any flash in the pan claims for the band. On Soft Will they continue to mine the same vein of power pop and glam infused indie guitar pop but there is a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Smith Westerns | Soft Will
by Chris Familton Finally the debut solo album from Sydney’s mercurial Kirin J Callinan sees the light of day. As a member of Mercy Arms and subsequent sonic game changer for Jack Ladder he has become a familiar figure on the local music scene. After the disconcerting music clips that preceded it this felt it was going to be a special album and indeed the … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Kirin J Callinan | Embracism
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 Fiach Smyth Imagine: music (whose je ne sais quoi is viele Punkte (in the Stockhausen style) but laugh …) – it communicates not-clearly (blurred, obfuscated, misty, nebulous, opaque; camera obscura in depth and breadth and clarity). Imagine music. Now imagine I wrote this whole review the way that These New Puritans wrote Field of Reeds, their third album and without a shadow of a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: These New Puritans | Field of Reeds
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)
It’s a busy time for Sydney’s Kirin J Callinan as he prepares to release his debut album embark on an American tour supporting Ariel Pink. From the streets of New York he gives Chris Familton an insight into his emergence as a solo artist. Not long into our conversation Kirin J Callinan pauses before painting, with an element of concern in his voice, the picture … Continue reading INTERVIEW: The Antithesis of Escapism – Kirin J Callinan
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
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’.
by Chris Familton Palma Violets fight a gallant fight and show flashes of exciting talent but ultimately this feels like a band trading on raw energy and still finding their songwriting feet. 180 is one of those albums that comes laden with tabloid music press hype so it was always going to be hard to live up to those constructed expectations, especially on one’s debut … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Palma Violets | 180
by Chris Familton Kurt Vile’s last LP Smoke Ring For My Halo made good all the promise he had showed in flashes on his earlier albums and so, with expectation hanging heavy in the air he has gone and taken that template, tightened its sound and expanded its possibilities on the superb 69 minute Wakin On A Pretty Daze. Ten minute opener Wakin On A … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Kurt Vile | Wakin On A Pretty Daze
Melbourne quartet Beaches return with their second album She Beats, out May 3rd on the ever excellent Chapter Music label. Their debut was a brilliant mix of bittersweet psychedelic rock woth shades of krautrock and jangly guitar pop. They’ve refined that mix even further on their new single Send Them Away which sounds very reminiscent of New Zealand’s The Bats. I’m really looking forward to … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Beaches | Send Them Away
Doubtful Sounds 