Anything Can Be Psychedelic Moon Duo’s Sanae Yamada discusses their place in psychedelic music, adding a live drummer to their line-up and performing to the ashes of dead people, with Chris Familton. As the name suggests Moon Duo are a musical pairing, the collaborative project of Yamada and partner Ripley Johnson. The latter is best known for his work with San Francisco psych/drone group Wooden … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Moon Duo
The Holy Soul have been a constant on the Sydney independent music scene for over a decade with their own releases, countless gigs and collaborations with the likes of Robyn Hitchcock, Damo Suzuki (Can) and David Thomas (Pere Ubu). They should be recognised as heroes of the underground, indeed in many circles they are. This album reinforces and enhances that reputation. The Gareth Liddiard-produced Fortean … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Holy Soul – Fortean Times
Only emerging from the Melbourne scene earlier this year, Gold Class’ art is seemingly fully formed; from the artwork to their visual aesthetic and musical take on the brittle and dynamic world of post-punk. To do so in the contemporary climate where the album doesn’t hold the same cultural and economic cache it once did is an admirable approach. There were no early singles showing … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Gold Class – It’s You
Their debut Jersey Flegg initially received no attention on its release but it quickly built a fanbase around its concept (rugby league) and sonic palette. Illywhacka hits similar territory musically and again they’ve loosely based it around a theme, this time online dating. There are shades of Real Estate, Girls and Mac DeMarco in the trembling and shimmering guitars and the way the bass dances … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: You Beauty – Illywhacka
Post-punk was the order of the night and Orion lived up to the label by diving deep into effect-laden guitar, melodic bass and stentorian vocals; the hallmarks of bands such as Joy Division and The Cure. Backed by the cold repetition of a drum machine they impressed in their ability to conjure no-frills melancholic music that hit an emotional sweet spot as readily as it … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: The Fall, Gold Class, Orion @ Metro Theatre (21/10/15)
Callinan has finally released some new material to follow up his 2013 LP Embracism of which we said “he has been overwhelmingly successful at marrying violent dissonance and the traditional art of songwriting”. ‘The Teacher’ sees him hitting new romantic power ballad mode with an emotional tale of teen lust, role models and positions of power and influence. The tongue in cheek angle has been … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Kirin J. Callinan – The Teacher (feat. Connan Mockasin)
It’s hard to imagine why Protomartyr aren’t more popular than they are. They’ve already captured their visceral and dystopian post punk sound across two excellent albums. The Agent Intellect continues that fine form and pushes the dynamic even further into primal rhythms with wire-brush screes of guitar and the distinctive disaffected howl and Mark E Smith-styled rant of frontman Joe Casey. The way they sonically … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Protomartyr – The Agent Intellect
When METZ hit the scene in 2012 with their debut album they felt like a breath of fresh air. Sure they were doing nothing new but they were doing mighty things with tried and true rock n roll elements. Hardcore intensity, punk attitude, post-punk rhythms and jagged, visceral riffing were all turned up to eleven and it reaffirmed that the next generation still had a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: METZ – II
Gold Class came out of nowhere for me with their recent single ‘Life As A Gun’. Possessing a perfectly disaffected post-punk holler and tightly-wound dynamics it set the scene for a new promising act on the local Australian scene to right the balance and provide an antidote to the indie electro soul and generic radio-friendly indie pop and rock that has been polluting the airwaves … Continue reading NEWS: Gold Class Announce Tour And Preview Stream Debut Album
Melbourne trio My Disco have been fairly quiet of late but now they’re about to unleash their new album and going on the sound of first single ‘King Sound’ they’ve stripped things back even further to a dark, minimal and stealth-like piece of musical machinery. Brutal, brooding and clinical it captures the airspace between post-rock and dark electronica perfectly. The new LP Severe has been … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: My Disco Return With New Single And Album
Melbourne band Gold Class have a debut album called It’s You coming out via Spunk in AU/NZ and Felte in US/EU on September 4th. They’ve just released the clip for the first single ‘Life As A Gun’, a dark tension-laden track that channels Protomartyr, Interpol, Joy Division and the Sturm und Drang approach of numerous other post-punk progenitors. TRACK LISTING 01. Furlong 02. Life As A Gun 03. … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Gold Class – Life As A Gun
Fresh off the internet superhighway, here’s the brand new single from New Order and straight off the bat it sounds better than anything they’ve done for years. That melancholic pop streak is there. Bernard Sumner’s trademark guitar riff is intact and he’s singing within the music instead of trying to be a rock singer. Nice stuff. The new album Music Complete is out September 25th on Mute. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: New Order – Restless
Doubtful Sounds 