NEW MUSIC: Fox Grin – Black Tree

New music in the sense that it’s new to us… Fox Grin (Atlanta, Georgia) actually released their LP King Of Spades back in January of this year but we’ve only just come across this great track, ‘Black Tree’, in the last couple of weeks. It’s a upbeat shimmer and dance through art-rock and avant-pop. Downbeat by nature but thoroughly on the up musically, it cuts … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Fox Grin – Black Tree

NEW MUSIC: Joe McKee – I’ll Be Your Host

Joe McKee used to be the main guy in Snowman but now he’s based in Los Angeles and has recorded a new album, An Australian Alien, under his own name, alongside members of Ariel Pink, Drugdealer and The Pixies. ‘I’ll Be Your Host’ is a beautiful hazy, dream-like drift of avant-pop, complete with a heavenly sax solo. Check out the video and then hit the Bandcamp … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Joe McKee – I’ll Be Your Host

INTERVIEW: The Goon Sax

TALKING WE’RE NOT TALKING Brisbane trio The Goon Sax return with their second album and as Louis Forster and Riley Jones explain to Chris Familton, the desire to document their thoughts and experiences through an open musical relationship remains the driving ethos of the band.  They were still teenagers negotiating the twin worlds of school life and being in a band when they released their … Continue reading INTERVIEW: The Goon Sax

NEW MUSIC: The Rebels of Tijuana – Erotique

Psychedelia out of France from The Rebels of Tijuana. This track, ‘Erotique’, comes from their new double album Asile recorded on analog tape at the Back To Mono Studio with Christian Hierro and due out on October 5th. Gallic pop drips all over this track as it digs a psych garage rock groove and follows it with swing and verve. Great video clip too. The band have … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Rebels of Tijuana – Erotique

NEW MUSIC: Grand Sun – Go Home

Here’s the debut single from the Lisbon, Portugal quartet Grand Sun. ‘Go Home’ is a sunny psych pop trip built on bouncing rhythms, quirky diversions in chants and handclaps and, aesthetically speaking, one foot in 90s England and the other in 60s California. A wonderfully infectious track. Hit up their Bandcamp page below to buy the track at a ‘name your price’ and find links … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Grand Sun – Go Home

ALBUM REVIEW: Gorillaz – The Now Now

Over the last 30 years you’d be hard pressed to find an artist who has equally embraced music that appeals equally to the commercial pop world and the more discerning and eclectic listener. Damon Albarn really is a man for all seasons, a polymorphic, post-modern songwriter with an insatiable creative streak that has seen him find success, primarily in Blur and Gorillaz, but also with … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Gorillaz – The Now Now

DOUBTFUL SOUNDS – Spotify Mix Series

We’ve got a new series of mixes happening over on Spotify. As is our want, these are all over the show. One minute you’re in downtown LA in the 80s, next you’re off to New Orleans in the 20s before a quick jaunt to Auckland in the 1990s. Dub, post-punk, glam metal, ambient, pop, country and jazz. Anything goes. Catch up with the first three … Continue reading DOUBTFUL SOUNDS – Spotify Mix Series

INTERVIEW: Django Django (2018)

TIC TAC TOE TAPPING On the eve of the release of their third album, Marble Skies, and an hour before they take the stage in London to launch it, drummer/producer David Maclean chats with Chris Familton about where the inspiration comes from in the creation of their multifaceted sound. Django Django are now three albums deep into a career that started with a bang when … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Django Django (2018)

ALBUM REVIEW: Django Django – Marble Skies

In the past Django Django have managed to wrangle the seemingly disparate styles of electronic pop and rockabilly rhythms into songs that roll and pulse, both on the dance floor and as highly attractive synth pop. They continue that template here but it all sounds more refined and cohesive. Their trademark vocal delivery and the way the melodies and harmonies are layered and blended is … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Django Django – Marble Skies

VIDEO: Dictaphone Blues – Bully

Aucklander Edward Castelow has unveiled a new pop-tastic sound with the first single from his new EP due out next month. The video has been floating around the internet for a few months now but it’s worth revisiting or checking out for the first time if you haven’t seen/heard it. In the past Edward has written in more of an indie/alt-pop style, more similar to … Continue reading VIDEO: Dictaphone Blues – Bully

ALBUM REVIEW: Machine Translations – Oh

J Walker returns with his first album in four years and it finds him in an eclectic yet economical mood. The Bright Door (2007) possessed polish and an ornate sheen while Oh replaces that with rougher edges and a subtle shift toward a lower-fi aesthetic. The opening track Made A Friend sounds like Beck in his melancholic balladeer mode before the first single Parliament Of … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Machine Translations – Oh

ALBUM REVIEW: Nic Cester – Sugar Rush

Eight years since the release of the last Jet album Shaka Rock, frontman Nic Cester has finally stepped out under his own name with his debut solo album. Sugar Rush isn’t a great stylistic departure from the band’s last record, but it does dial back the rock elements, instead taking a trip into a tantalising stew of soulful psych-pop and Black Keys-flavoured boogie rock grooves. … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Nic Cester – Sugar Rush