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
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
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
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)
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
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
by Chris Familton Though Sola Rosa continues to be an increasingly collaborative project, the signature sound still comes from Andrew Spraggon who has been on the New Zealand music scene for two decades, predominately as Sola Rosa but also early on as the singer and guitarist for indie rock band Cicada. The transition from guitars to samplers came at a time when he was running … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Sola Rosa
by Chris Familton Expectations of another album of Donny Benét’s earnest synthetic funk pop weren’t high given that his debut was in such a specific and narrow style. Surprisingly and thankfully those concerns have been comprehensively allayed on Electric Love. This is an album that takes the template of Don’t Hold Back and stretches it, bends it and reconfigures it into refreshingly exuberant shapes. The tools are … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Donny Benét | Electric Love
by Chris Familton On 2009’s Soil Creatures, Melbourne singer-songwriter Paddy Mann (aka Grand Salvo) impressively blended poetry, folk and classical music into a delicate work about life’s intricacies. Three years and a short-lived relocation to Berlin later, and he’s returned with his finest work to date. Slay Me in My Sleep is an ambitious concept album about an old lady and a young boy who breaks into … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Grand Salvo | Slay Me in My Sleep
Melbourne’s Total Control are releasing their first 7″ single on Sub Pop next week and both Scene From A Marriage and the b-side Contract are exclusive to the release. The release comes on the back of their Henge Beat LP from 2011 that garnered great reviews. After a deceptive acoustic guitar intro the song kicks into gear with the band’s choppy swagger making providing a … Continue reading LISTEN: New single from Total Control on Sub Pop
by Chris Familton Now into their third decade, Redd Kross have delivered their seventh album that has them sounding as vital and visceral a power pop band as ever. Researching The Blues has certainly been a long time coming since the band reconvened in 2006 after a decade long hiatus. The quality of songwriting shows that time was put to good use, allowing them to … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Redd Kross | Researching The Blues
by Chris Familton Edward Deer is a relative newcomer to the local scene yet his age and experience belie the maturity of songwriting and performance on his debut album About Monsters. Deer’s style is many faceted and on first listen many will peg him as a singer songwriter of the heart on sleeve confessional type yet this is an album that slowly unveils itself and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Edward Deer | About Monsters
Doubtful Sounds 