NEW MUSIC: Listen to Cat Power’s Cherokee.

Cat Power’s first single Ruin was fantastic catchy track and now a second song from her new album Sun has been released. Cherokee features her trademark piano swirl but now fleshed out with additional electronic and string flourishes. Also below you can listen to a remix of the track by Nicolas Jaar. Sun is released August 31st. Cat Power | Cherokee Cat Power | Cherokee … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Listen to Cat Power’s Cherokee.

LIVE REVIEW: The Smashing Pumpkins @ Sydney Entertainment Centre (31/07/12)

by C. Familton With a new album Oceania under his belt it feels like this is a consolidation period for Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins.  He weathered the storm of indifference to the comeback album Zeitgeist and proved he was still the master of grand themes and dreams by announcing the massive ongoing Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project. He has diverted from that to release … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: The Smashing Pumpkins @ Sydney Entertainment Centre (31/07/12)

LISTEN: The Pet Rocks pay tribute to Robert Hughes

  Sad news today about the passing of art critic Robert Hughes who had written countless critiques for Time over the last thirty years as well as penning important works on Australian history and his great love of fishing. The Australian born writer was part of the Push, the group of Sydney academic rebels of the 1950 and 60s that also included Germaine Greer, Clive … Continue reading LISTEN: The Pet Rocks pay tribute to Robert Hughes

ALBUM REVIEW: Daughn Gibson | All Hell

by C. Familton Pennsylvania native Daughn Gibson is a new artist who has seemingly appeared fully formed out of nowhere. The most unique thing about his debut album is the way it morphs between different styles, often quite different realms such as country and soulful electronica but it somehow all hangs together wonderfully and as a result Gibson paints himself as a fascinating chameleon-like musician. … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Daughn Gibson | All Hell

ALBUM REVIEW: M. Ward | A Wasteland Companion

by C. Familton When Matthew Ward began to gather curious listeners and build his audience with his fourth album Transfiguration of Vincent in 2003 he felt like somewhat of a mysterious figure with that husky, otherworldly voice that conjured up images of dusty country roads, dimly-lit juke joints and back porch sunset strumming. As his profile has grown and he has ventured into side projects … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: M. Ward | A Wasteland Companion

LISTEN/DOWNLOAD: Regular John’s new single ‘Slume’

I caught Regular John at Sydney’s Annandale Hotel recently and they were damn impressive. It was the first time I’d seen them with their new guitarist Miles Devine and a much more pronounced role for Ryan Adamson who sings and plays guitar and synths and they definitely kicked up one hell of an epic psych rock noise. They have a new album Strange Flowers coming … Continue reading LISTEN/DOWNLOAD: Regular John’s new single ‘Slume’

ALBUM REVIEW: The Lumineers | The Lumineers

by C. Familton The Lumineers are a trio from Denver, Colorado who deal in folk-leaning americana and on this, their debut album, they’ve managed to capture the essence of their sound pretty effectively. They work in a similar realm to the Avett Brothers with various 60s pop influences infusing the songs with heady melodic pop phrasings and a simplicity to arrangements that gives the album … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Lumineers | The Lumineers

LIVE REVIEW: The xx, Flume @ Metro Theatre, Sydney (20/07/12)

by C. Familton Local gent Flume had the task of warming up the arriving punters at the Metro and he received a surprisingly generous response from the audience. Not surprising because he didn’t deserve it, more that support acts and particularly ones at electronic gigs often get ignored and treated as glorified DJs. In Flume’s case he had the floor nodding their heads to his … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: The xx, Flume @ Metro Theatre, Sydney (20/07/12)

NEWS: Never Mind the Bollocks gets 35th Anniversary Super Deluxe Box Set

It seems like it there is a reissue avalanche at the moment, what with the My Bloody Valentine, Nick Cave, Bowie, Ride and The Velvet Underground among the plethora of others getting remastered, remixed, buffed and expanded. The latest is the Sex Pistols landmark Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols which is turning 35 this year. This is the first time the punk … Continue reading NEWS: Never Mind the Bollocks gets 35th Anniversary Super Deluxe Box Set

LISTEN: Tame Impala | Elephant (single)

Here is the first official release from Tame Impala’s new album Lonerism, out on October 5th via Modular Recordings. This thing rocks like its lumbering namesake and casts a nod to Black Sabbath amid its bouncy glam riffing and tripped out middle sequence where the keyboards take centre stage. It is the perfect balance of calm and tripped out cosmic psych rock with kosmiche flourishes. … Continue reading LISTEN: Tame Impala | Elephant (single)

LIVE REVIEW: The Mess Hall, Regular John, Kill City Creeps @ Annandale Hotel (13/07/12)

by C. Familton The Mess Hall were only playing one show in 2012 and it was nice to see them raising their heads to honour the Annandale on its birthday and its new lease of life care of the imaginative ‘Buy A Brick’ campaign. Kill City Creeps were up first and their frequent live shows are paying dividends with a confident set of loose-hipped swaggering … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: The Mess Hall, Regular John, Kill City Creeps @ Annandale Hotel (13/07/12)

NEW MUSIC: The Velvet Underground & Nico: 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

On October 1st Universal will be releasing a deluxe edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the album. The main point of note with this version over previous re-releases is the inclusion of the Scepter Studios acetate version of the record which has been fetching the insane amount of $155,401 on eBay. The Velvet Underground & Nico: 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Verve/UMe, … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Velvet Underground & Nico: 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition