written by Chris Familton A decade since their last show in Sydney and finally Manic Street Preachers return – with a few more albums under the collective belt and somewhat of a new lease of life. Dead Actors Club had the opening honours and they seemed like somewhat of an odd fit with the headliners. They played a set that was high on looks and … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Manic Street Preachers @ Metro, Sydney 15/11/10
written by Chris Familton Stepping out of the shadows of Radiohead has been a major event and a long time coming for Philip Selway. He has been the solid backbone of the English quartet for 25 years so the release of his debut Familial at this point comes as a pleasant surprise. Also surprising is the lack of focus on traditional drumming – instead Selway … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Philip Selway
Dear Time’s Waste is the recording name for Kiwi Claire Duncan and this track is taken from her debut album Spell – out on Nov 26th via Speak N Spell/Inertia. Her sound is a wash of indie pop textures akin to The Cure and ghostly melancholy electronica. MP3: Dear Times Waste | These Words Stick Me To You Continue reading MP3: Dear Time’s Waste | These Words Stick Me To You…
Cleveland Ohio’s Cloud Nothings are getting all the love at the moment for their carefree jangle guitar pop not disimilar to Beach Fossils… Have a listen, make up your own mind… MP3: Cloud Nothings | Understand At All Continue reading MP3: Cloud Nothings | Understand At All
….and the maggots dance, 1…2…3… Bruce Russell, who runs the Xpressway label also does a radio show on Volcano Radio in Lyttleton and he recently put together a playlist of tracks that were important moments in NZ music that didn’t appear on the Flying Nun label. Ironically the playlist was compiled at the request of FN to celebrate the release of the latest Dead C … Continue reading STREAM: 13 important NZ songs that weren’t on Flying Nun…
Those Purple Sneakers scenesters are about to release a followup to their first mix cd and have imaginatively called it We Mix You Dance Vol. 2. This time round they’ve thrown in the likes of Sleigh Bells, Deerhunter, Soft Pack and LCD Soundsystem. Check out the the promo mix below with 13 tracks in 9 mins for a taste of the full 46 track comp… We … Continue reading NEWS: Purple Sneakers release volume 2 of We Mix You Dance…
written by Chris Familton It felt like somewhat of a flashback heading to the Annandale to see 78 Saab, such was the ritual a decade ago when they were fresh faces on the local scene alongside the likes of Bluebottle Kiss, Further and Peabody – seemingly playing every weekend around town. The newer guard of Sydney music opened the night with Yae!Tiger filling the room … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: 78 Saab @ The Annandale Hotel, Sydney 29/10/10
The Sydney Festival program was anounced today and we’ve gone straight to the musical line-up to see what they’ve got planned for 2011. Opening Night will be headlined in the Domain by Emmylou Harris while Arrested Development, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis and others will perform across the city. The rest of the festival is packed as usual with great acts with Beach House, Sufjan Stevens, The … Continue reading NEWS: Sydney Festival 2011 program launched…
Some bands take their unique recipe and keep on serving up the same music over and over again. For many this spells staleness but for others it can mean a progressive refinement of something special and the continuation of the search for the perfect song. 78 Saab are into their fifteenth year and with album number four they give us everything we have come to … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: 78 Saab – Good Fortune (2010)
Wellington folks who can’t make the trip up to Auckland for the 2011 Laneway Festival will be mighty stoked this morning to wake to the announcement that a selection of the bands will play a show at the Wellington Town Hall on Tuesday Feb 1st. Line Up LADYHAWKE YEASAYER DEERHUNTER BEACH HOUSE BLONDE REDHEAD ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFITTI Tickets on sale 8th Nov via Ticketek. … Continue reading NEWS: Laneway selection to play Wellington show…
written by Chris Familton It was somewhat surprising to see that Dengue Fever were playing the Factory, given that their profile is fairly low in Australia. As it turned out those concerns were realised with a small crowd spread sparsely across the Factory. The upside was that by the end of the evening they attendees wholeheartedly made up for it with their enthusiasm. Transat were … Continue reading GIG REVIEW: Dengue Fever @ Factory Theatre, Sydney 15/10/10
written by Chris Familton On the opening track Caseman, Andrew Wilson sings “I’m not giving up on our love” and it sums up the approach Die! Die! Die! have taken on their third album Form. They still sound vibrant with that heady, controlled rush of chaos, tinged with desperation and angst. With the greatness of their second album Promises, Promises the band didn’t receive anywhere … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Die! Die! Die! | Form
Doubtful Sounds 