When people drop the needle on the record, insert the CD or click play on their phone and hear the distinctive roar of dense and distorted guitar on the new Dinosaur Jr album a great number of them will think “this sounds like just another Dinosaur Jr album”. That was my gut reaction on first listen. All the components are there. The symbiotic fusion of … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Dinosaur Jr – Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not
Three years on from their debut Ages, Ghost Wave sound a wholly more authentic and lived-in proposition. Ages sounded like the sum of its influences (UK indie, Krautrock, NZ 80s alt-guitar pop) and they mastered them exceedingly well, but Radio Norfolk takes those sounds further and deeper, co-mingling and cross-pollinating with more sonic grit and subtlety. Psychedelia has permeated music strongly in recent years, much … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Ghost Wave – Radio Norfolk
THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHEDELIA & BREAKBEATS The Laurels have re-emerged from the studio with an adventurous take on their brand of psych rock that takes influence from both Primal Scream and Public Enemy. Singer and guitarist Luke O’Farrell takes Chris Familton inside the creation of Sonicology. “I went a bit nuts, we all went a bit crazy in the studio working on these songs “ … Continue reading INTERVIEW: The Laurels
Many may have expected the collaboration between Jim White (Dirty Three) and Cretan lute player George Xylouris to be a one-off collaboration but now they’re onto album number two which features Xylouris singing on more tracks and the pair digging deeper into their primitive jazz and post-rock sense of musical adventure. The mood of the album varies from languid to visceral. ’Forging’ is a galloping … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Xylouris White – Black Peak
Kim Gordon has kept pretty busy in the last couple of post-Sonic Youth years. She’s continued to work on visual art, collaborated with in Body/Head, released her acclaimed Girl In A Band autobiography and now, with little buildup, she’s released her first single under her own name. Murdered Out was recorded with producer Justin Raisen and is built on a huge lurching drum beat courtesy … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Kim Gordon Releases Debut Solo Single ‘Murdered Out’
Red Bull continue their support of local music with this sponsored show curated by the good folk at I OH YOU. It was a super low door price and first in first served which ensured punters were queuing at the door early. You Beauty had a false start to their set with guitar amp issues causing a minor delay before they returned to the cramped … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Gold Class + Straight Arrows + You Beauty @ Plan B, Sydney (26/08/16)
Witch Hats have a few very good albums under the collective belt but their latest, Deliverance, is hands down the best thing they’ve done. It’s a blistering set of lurching rock ‘n’ roll and in our review we said “They’re firmly in the realm of The Clash, The Drones and The Gun Club yet they’ve dug their own hook-laden hole and decorated it with all … Continue reading SONIC KICKS: Witch Hats
The Tambourine Girls feature 3 ex-members of Sydney band Deep Sea Arcade who are now forging their own winding path through the outer reaches of garage-pop and psychedelia. They’ve just released the catchy and near-eponymous new single ‘The Tambourine Girl’, with the clip below. Recorded with producer Tim Whitten (Powderfinger, The Go-Betweens, Hoodoo Gurus), the song itself is captivating, evocative in its execution encompassing the mythology … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Tambourine Girls – The Tambourine Girl
Sere hit the ground running on their debut self-titled release. It’s a three track EP but it could easily be considered a mini album with its 24 minute runtime and the varied terrain they cover. The doom quota is high from the Auckland quartet yet never in a super-serious, studied manner. These guys can hammer down but they also show a desire to expand the … Continue reading EP REVIEW: Sere – Sere
Terry – It’s not the kind of name that screams rockstar or great commercial ambition and as such it’s a fitting moniker for this Melbourne quartet comprised of members of skewed rock ’n’ roll, underground royalty bands such as Total Control, UV Race and Dick Diver. They operate firmly in the realm of woolly and wonky, lo-fi indie rock with a healthy strain of blank-faced … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Terry – Terry HQ
Their third album and first in five years, Deliverance is a consistently impressive encapsulation of the evolution Melbourne’s Witch Hats have shown across their records. There’s plenty of dark, lurching rock ‘n’ roll with howling dirges and claustrophobic angst. The bass is deep and heavy, anchoring the songs as they stagger off into Stooges proto-punk, and nihilistic post-punk. The key is the melodies that still burn … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Witch Hats – Deliverance
Swedish psych folk rock band GOAT have announced their new album Requiem will be out on October 7th. Here’s the first taste – the droning, hypnotic Try My Robe, which digs a Tinariwen-like hole in your synapses. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: GOAT – Try My Robe
Doubtful Sounds 