Eleanor Friedberger’s debut solo album Last Summer was a fantastic collection of quirky songs that showed she can easily step out of the shadow of Fiery Furnaces and command a stage and a full album with her own songs. The good news is that is set to continue with her new album Personal Record, due out via Merge on June 4th. After the tracklisting you can … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Eleanor Friedberger | Stare at the Sun
Iggy and the Stooges return with their first new music since The Weirdness (2007) and the passing of guitarist Ron Asheton. The Stooges have had James Williamson back on guitar duties for a few years now and his slashing chords are all over Burn, the first track to be released from their new LP Ready To Die which is due out April 30th. Burn already sounds … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Iggy and the Stooges | Burn
Sydney songwriter Bryan Estepa has been releasing music for a decade now and on Heart vs Mind he has consolidated those years of songwriting, performing and developing his craft to produce a superb album that excels in effortless, meticulous and timeless songwriting. The predominant feature of the record is how versatile Estepa is as a musical magpie. He dips into all manner of stylistic pools, whether it be the … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Bryan Estepa – Heart vs Mind (2013)
Cocorosie have announced their new album Tales of a GrassWidow will be released on May 27th, 2013 (via City Slang) and they’ve also graced us with the first track to come from the record – Gravediggress. This will be the Casady sisters’ fifth album and again features guest vocals from Antony Hegarty. Gravediggress is pure Cocorosie with the two distinct vocal styles playing off one … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Cocorosie | Gravediggress
Songwriter Mark Moldre is about to release his sophomore solo album An Ear To The Earth on April 5th and we’ve been lucky enough to have an exclusive listen and now share with you its first single Killer Anxiety. As with Moldre’s last album The Waiting Room (2010) this is another slice of inventive left-of-centre guitar pop that effortlessly blends contagious melodies with wry observations on … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Mark Moldre | Killer Anxiety
by Chris Familton Psychedelic music in its many forms has experienced a healthy renaissance in recent years. Sure it has never gone away but for a long time it was relegated back to the underground, the place where it first emerged. Now we have everything from wigged-out psych rock at the heavy end of the spectrum down to lightly tarnished psych folk, not too far … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Foxygen | We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic
by Chris Familton As far as experimental, improvised music goes The Necks are the masters of their craft, never playing the same set twice and composing and creating widescreen, emotionally rich music in the moment. The trio played two hour long sets at The Basement and even though the instrumentation remained the same (piano, drums, bass) the virtuosic talent and imagination of Chris Abrahams, Tony … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: The Necks @ The Basement, Sydney (13/02/13)
Sydney band Bearhug have a new EP Over Easy on the horizon and they’ve set free the first song from it – Fireworks. It jangles, shimmies, chops and swings with a sweet haze and towards the end they drop a late night groove to bring it all home. I’ve only caught the band live once when they supported Lawrence Arabia but they impressed. Keep a … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Bearhug | Fireworks
by Chris Familton The biggest thought on most punters minds as they awoke was how the weather was going to affect the Sydney leg of this years Laneway Festival. Showers and wind were forecast, a contrast to previous years of hot sunny days encased in the sandstone walls of Rozelle’s SCA. The anticipated weather did intermittently sweep through the grounds but as is usually the … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: St Jerome’s Laneway Festival @ Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney (02/02/13)
by Chris Familton Things kicked off with the fantastically named Raw Prawn. A band that sounded as uncooked and naive as their moniker suggests. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the band played a set that balanced precariously between authentic 70s UK punk and lo-fi primitive glam rock. It all sounded like it could fall apart at any point. Songs like None Left hit … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: The Men, Royal Headache @ Goodgod Small Club, Sydney (30/01/13)
by Chris Familton Seemingly emerging out of nowhere, Matthew E. White’s Big Inner is quickly spreading via word-of-mouth as one of the first great albums of 2013. Those accolades are well and truly deserved for a record that balances intimacy and grand gestures so well. The ideas are simple (love and religion) yet the prolific melodies and strength of composition make it sound like a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Matthew E. White | Big Inner
by Chris Familton Rules is the debut album from two Australian expats who met in Barcelona and spent the next two years constructing its songs. As the title suggest they set themselves some strict guidelines with which to write the instrumental music that would comprise their debut album, a record that thrives on energy, ebullient yet melancholic melodies and some brutal and primitive rhythms. Instrumental … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Civil Civic | Rules
Doubtful Sounds 