ALBUM REVIEW: David Byrne & St. Vincent | Love This Giant
by Chris Familton Musical pairings are a common event for individual songs but two artists collaborating to produce an album’s worth of music doesn’t happen as often as one would expect. David Byrne has always been a songwriter with a strong sense of curiosity and communality, whether it be the polymorphic approach to his work in Talking Heads and their melding of funk, pop, soul … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: David Byrne & St. Vincent | Love This Giant
WATCH: Jen Cloher | Mount Beauty
Jen Cloher has a new album In Blood Memory due out early in 2013 and here’s the first taste of how it will sound. Mount Beauty shifts from tender folk tinged pop beginnings to a swinging, swagger of a rock song with a bunch of country flavours added into the mix. You can download a free MP3 of Mount Beauty here Jen Cloher and Courtney … Continue reading WATCH: Jen Cloher | Mount Beauty
SONIC KICKS: Charlie Horse
Charlie Horse released one of our favourite albums of the year with I Hope I’m Not A Monster and in a full interview that we’ll be publishing in the coming weeks they tell us they’re already halfway through the next record which should be out in the second half of 2013. With a widescreen rock n roll sound that draws influence from Neil Young, The … Continue reading SONIC KICKS: Charlie Horse
ALBUM REVIEW: TOY | TOY
by Chris Familton Highly touted by the UK press and championed by The Horrors, this London quintet continue the English tradition of exploratory psychedelic rock music with mixed but generally good results. TOY aren’t beholden to a singular sound or style and that makes their debut album feel like a ranging, searching collection of songs. From the indie pop classicism of Reasons Why to the … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: TOY | TOY
NEWS: Ex-Girls Christopher Owens announces solo album details
It is great to see Christopher Owens remaining active and releasing his first solo album so soon after the Girls split was announced. His new album Lysandre will be released on January 14th, 2013 via Turnstile Music. According to the press release for the album: Lysandre follows Owens from San Francisco – where he’s filled with excitement after writing his band’s Album – to New York … Continue reading NEWS: Ex-Girls Christopher Owens announces solo album details
NEW MUSIC: Beastwars release first taste of their new LP
New Zealand masters of the heavy Beastwars have gone from strength to strength on the back of their live shows and their great debut LP. Ahead of the release of the second album they’ve pressed up two of the tracks on ‘glow in the dark’ 7″ vinyl. You can check out The Sleeper (B-side) below, a dark ominous lumbering monster of a track and the … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Beastwars release first taste of their new LP
NEW MUSIC: Bad//Dreems release new song Tomorrow Mountain
I’ve dug everything I’ve heard from Bad//Dreems (SA) so far, especially the brilliant Chills and now they’ve released a new track, Tomorrow Mountain as a stream and/or ‘name your price’ (including free) download on their Bandcamp page. It sees them heading into a darker, atmospheric place that feels more spacious but at the same time the lyrics and cavernous, slashing guitar sound conjures up feelings of dread and … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Bad//Dreems release new song Tomorrow Mountain
NEWS: Flying Nun & Real Groovy Records release new Toy Love compilation LP
PRESS RELEASE Before Flying Nun, before any ‘Dunedin Sound’, there was Toy Love. Now more than 30 years later, the five-piece (Chris Knox, Alec Bathgate, Paul Kean, Jane Walker and Mike Dooley) are set to receive both the New Zealand Herald Legacy Award at this year’s New Zealand Music Awards and an induction into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. To celebrate, Flying Nun … Continue reading NEWS: Flying Nun & Real Groovy Records release new Toy Love compilation LP
LIVE REVIEW: Gary Clark Jr. @ Annandale Hotel, Sydney (28/09/12)
by Chris Familton Doc Holliday Takes the Shotgun had the opening honours and proceeded to rip up the memo that says the support band has to battle shitty sound, a disinterested sparse crowd and not upstage the main act. The singer and bassist spent the set lurching madly around the stage and dancefloor looking vaguely menacing between cheesy grins. Their sound sat somewhere between the … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Gary Clark Jr. @ Annandale Hotel, Sydney (28/09/12)
ALBUM REVIEW: Moon Duo | Circles
by Chris Familton It was only last year that Moon Duo gave us their debut album Mazes, a record which showed that though guitarist Ripley Johnson (Wooden Shjips) was still operating in similar terrain to his aquatic pals, the addition of Sanae Yamada’s synth textures provided plenty of new angles to discover and bliss out to. Circles takes that template and stretches and tightens it … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Moon Duo | Circles
NEW MUSIC: I Dream In Transit | Absolute Peace 7″
Melbourne duo I Dream In Transit have recently released the wonderful new single Absolute Peace backed with the equally great Night Dog. They’ve pressed it as a 7″ too so for those of you who covet the black circle you can grab a limited edition pressing if you are quick. Head over to their Bandcamp page to order now and/or stream and buy a digital … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: I Dream In Transit | Absolute Peace 7″
EP REVIEW: Cool Cult | Cool Cult
by Chris Familton Residents of Auckland New Zealand, Cool Cult are a post punk trio who released their six track self-titled EP a few months ago and though I was impressed on first listen it is only now, coming back to it again that I’m struck by how mature and sonically engaging the songs are. Comparisons with fellow NZ’ers Die Die! Die! are inevitable as … Continue reading EP REVIEW: Cool Cult | Cool Cult
Doubtful Sounds 