by Chris Familton This feels like the big one for the Wellington sextet, even before it was released there were ads and editorial appearing in international music magazines like Uncut and MOJO and a real sense of coming of age has been in the air. Not that they haven’t already arrived, their preceding albums all contain absolute gems of literate guitar pop (Hitchcock, 40 Years, … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Phoenix Foundation | Fandango
by Fiach Smyth Imagine: music (whose je ne sais quoi is viele Punkte (in the Stockhausen style) but laugh …) – it communicates not-clearly (blurred, obfuscated, misty, nebulous, opaque; camera obscura in depth and breadth and clarity). Imagine music. Now imagine I wrote this whole review the way that These New Puritans wrote Field of Reeds, their third album and without a shadow of a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: These New Puritans | Field of Reeds
On Saturday July 20th Carriageworks in Sydney will host At First Sight which is being billed as a ‘vinyl romance’ style festival with 11 bands and more than 10 DJs soundtracking the day while you peruse the record bins of record stores, labels and private sellers. This is a killer line-upof bands that you are unlikely to see all on the same festival stage. Great … Continue reading NEWS: The ‘At First Sight’ record fair and festival is fast approaching….
by Chris Familton Glass Towers have been fine tuning their brisk indie guitar tales of young love, lost and won for a couple of years and they played an almost seamless set of cascading guitar melodies and energetic enthusiasm, particularly singer/guitarist Ben Hannam who manages to combine the sound of Robert Smith, Morrissey, Alex Kapranos and Ian McCulloch in his wounded yelp. They lacked any … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Toy, Glass Towers @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney (19/06/13)
by Sarah Norman Contrary to what was stated on their Facebook page, Dappled Cities’ co-lead singer and guitarist Dave Rennick was not, in point of fact, there to kiss the first 400 guests through the door. I know this for certain, as having seen this, I made damned sure that I was in the first 20 or so guests to arrive… (I have my reasons). … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Dappled Cities @ The Hi-Fi, Sydney (20/06/13)
It’s a busy time for Sydney’s Kirin J Callinan as he prepares to release his debut album embark on an American tour supporting Ariel Pink. From the streets of New York he gives Chris Familton an insight into his emergence as a solo artist. Not long into our conversation Kirin J Callinan pauses before painting, with an element of concern in his voice, the picture … Continue reading INTERVIEW: The Antithesis of Escapism – Kirin J Callinan
by Chris Familton Twenty five years after Mudhoney rose from the ashes of the Seattle band Green River they are one of the few acts of that era still going strong, relatively free of the drama that surrounded many of their contemporaries who lost band members, split up or morphed into superstars. They just keep hanging around doing pretty much exactly the same thing they’ve … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Mudhoney | Vanishing Point
One of our favourite Australian global bands Bad//Dreems release another new track, this one from their forthcoming Badlands EP due out July 19th via Mirador Records. The lads from Radelaide haven’t put a foot wrong yet. Killer song, brilliant video… Continue reading WATCH: Bad//Dreems | Hoping For (video)
by Chris Familton Showing both strength of character and musical relevance, Alice In Chains survived the death of their singer, regrouped and recaptured the essence of their sound without it sounding like a retrogressive exercise. Their comeback album Black Gives Way to Blue confirmed that and now The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here finds them sounding even stronger and more self-assured. Alice In Chains’ trademark churn and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Alice in Chains | The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
Here we are again at list time, halfway through 2013 and already there have been a swathe of great albums released. We’ve been listening to an eclectic mix of stuff as usual including dub electronica, skronking freeform saxophone, abrasive art rock, retro-leaning post punk and heartstring americana. These are the records we’ve loved the most from what we’ve heard this year. There will be others … Continue reading 2013 MID YEAR FAVOURITE ALBUMS
by Chris Familton Support acts can sometimes be a lottery. Will they be selected based on a musical similarity to the headliner or a subtle genre variation still with some stylistic connection to them? Will they be a band riding a current radio playlist/bloggers wave or a historical antecedent, forebears of the headliners who are possibly playing at their behest? In the case the band … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Killing Joke @ Metro Theatre, Sydney (08/06/13)
Mark Moldre has released the second single from his recent sophomore solo album An Ear To The Earth and it is accompanied by a very cool black & white clip steeped in gallows humour and a distinct old-Australia rural feel. I love the gang backing vocals on Where Will I Be?, make sure you check out the rest of the album (listen and buy on … Continue reading WATCH: Mark Moldre | Where Will I Be?
Doubtful Sounds 