On his exceptional new album, Bill Callahan (formerly Smog) has recorded his most peaceful and meditative set of songs. There is a bucolic, contemplative feel to the eight songs on offer as they weave across percussive landscapes, led by flutes and hypnotic guitars. Sonically the album is rooted in pastoral folk, much of it soaked in dub-heavy reverb and delay. The focus though is firmly … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Bill Callahan | Dream River
When you first hear 12 Omeros you are immediately welcomed and drawn in by the beautiful meandering rhythms of ‘(You’ve Got Your) Face On Straight’. The song smoothes out the stress lines with its meandering slouch and slither approach, not dissimilar to dub in the hands of some neurotic city dwellers and they then cheekily set you up for more of the same hazy comfort music with … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Sharpie Crows | 12 Omeros
Sydney’s Sister Jane are releasing Whole Wide World, the first single from their new album, on October 15th and have kindly sent a pre-release stream out into the digital aether. It finds them sounding impressively widescreen with tumbling drums, reverb-laden guitars peeling off all corners of the canvas and vocals that resonate with lush melodicism and barely contained urgency. There’s a decidedly UK post punk/indie … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Sister Jane | Whole Wide World
One of our favourites of the last year, Courtney Barnett, has released the video for her excellent Avant Gardener single. The track comes from her LP The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas due out October 15th. Continue reading VIDEO: Courtney Barnett | Avant Gardener
The band name and artwork for this album set me up with the expectation of another constructed indie facsimile bled dry of imagination and real emotion. Thankfully this duo out of Melbourne flipped my preconceptions by way of their compositional agility and creative twisting of pop and electronica. Tom Iansek has one of those voices that comes from the Jeff Buckley school of sensitive choirboy … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Big Scary | Not Art
I first saw Geoffrey O’Connor in a garish woollen jumper playing with Crayon Fields at the Hopetoun Hotel. They impressed with their twee indie guitar pop, it was knowingly constructed, literate music, the sum of its parts. Fast forward to the 2012 Laneway Festival and the pasty bespectacled man in front of me was the same guy sans woolly jersey. Now O’Connor was ostensibly solo, … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Geoffrey O’Connor | Jacqueline
There seem to be a ton of music comps doing the rounds at the moment, whether it is the soulless plasticity of TV talent shows, songwriting competitions or industry led initiatives at unearthing new artists. At the good end of the spectrum is a new search for Australia’s best electronic DJ/producer led by the Australian Independent Music Awards (AIMAs) in conjunction with beer titans Budweiser. Hooking … Continue reading NEWS: Budweiser and AIMAs search for Australia’s Producer/DJ of the Year
Wellington, NZ band The Golden Awesome are heading to Melbourne for a handful of shows in October after they support Beach Fossils in their hometown later this month. If you’re a fan of dense, layered hypnotic rock music then you’ll want to get along and check them out. They continue the same psych lineage of bands like MBV, Lush, Ride and JAMC while also tipping … Continue reading TOUR NEWS: The Golden Awesome announce Melbourne shows
It’s good to see Uncle Al Jourgensen ageing disgracefully in the clip for PermaWar, the first single from what is purportedly the final album under the Ministry name. As usual Jourgensen has made a play on words calling the album From Beer To Eternity. The song itself ticks all the industrial metal boxes and it chugs along with just the right balance of menace and … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Ministry | PermaWar
If you see King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live odds are you’ll be smitten with their rambling garage psych rock. It feels loose but it hits hard. Their debut LP 12 Bar Bruise was mighty fine and then they went and followed it up with the mystifying and not particularly great concept LP Eyes Like The Sky. Now you can hear the excellent I’m Not … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard | I’m Not A Man Unless I Have A Woman
For the last three years Pedestrian.TV have been hosting the Australian Blogster Awards which cover a range of subject matter including music, food, fashion photography and more. Last year Doubtful Sounds was honoured to be included in the music finalists and the good news is that DS has again made the final list of nominees. Just as exciting is the fact that our Americana blog Post To Wire has … Continue reading VOTE for Doubtful Sounds in the 2013 Pedestrian.TV Ultrabook Blogster Awards
by Chris Familton The years roll by but New Zealand seems to have the consistent knack for throwing up bands that continue the lineage that was formed in the early 80s while still carving out a niche for themselves in the overcrowded world of left-of-centre guitar rock. Popstrangers have already released a stellar record this year and now Ghost Wave have turned potential into an … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Ghost Wave | Ages
Doubtful Sounds 