In 2005, out of the ashes of Earth’s first phase of existence as a band immersed in heavy metallic drone, came a new beast. Still laden with slow-crawling repetition this was drone with quite different colours, textures and most significantly elegant desert-parched melodies that hung in the air rather than being sucked into a dense morass of guitars. With each album over the last decade … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Earth – Primitive and Deadly
Sydney’s Bearhug have taken things into new sonic territory on So Gone, the follow-up to last year’s Over Easy EP. Gone are the clean, jangling and relatively unassuming songs. In their place are eleven tracks that buzz and fizz with layered, distorted guitars in the vein of Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth and a lively The War On Drugs. Their breezy way with melody is still … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Bearhug – So Gone
Now nine albums deep into his solo career, David Kilgour still keeps one foot in The Clean yet that trio is sporadic and seemingly unpredictable in terms of output and activity to the extent that his body of work with band The Heavy Eights is his primary focus and creative outlet. End Times Undone beautifully captures the same mystical lazy strum and innate homespun catchiness … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights – End Times Undone
I’m loving this new track from Melbournian Peter Bibby. With its woozy, drunk guitars, Spectorish drums and lyrical bent in the vein of Courtney Barnett. It pulls you in and seduces you with a ramshackle and desperate charm. Bibby’s voice is a grizzled, burnt out yelp of a thing which suits the song perfectly. Bibby, a recent signing to Spinning Top Music, has just been … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Peter Bibby – Hates My Boozin’
On his second solo album O’Connor has again created a retro-futuristic album of constructed and knowingly-crafted songs. Musically he digs deeper into the well of primitive 80s electronic landscapes and soul-tinged new wave. It’s a pastiche of everything from Pet Shop Boys to New Order with one ear to contemporaries like Xx and Austra and an overall sonic vibe reminiscent of Underground Lovers’ ‘Cold Feelings’. … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Geoffrey O’Connor – Fan Fiction
Sydney duo Jep and Dep have had quite the year beginning with an opening slot before Johnny Marr before going on to play shows with Matt Walker, Mia Dyson, Hatz Fitz and Cara, Kristen Hersh, Raised by Eagles, Tracey McNeil Band and Lindi Ortega as well as their own headline gigs across nearly every reputable venue in Sydney and other parts of the country. Over at our … Continue reading NEWS: Jep and Dep announce debut album, tour and new single
It took Robert Scott a decade to get from his debut solo album (The Creeping Unknown, 2001) to 2011’s Ends Run Together and now he’s turned around his third effort in a mere three years. Of course Scott isn’t just sitting around twiddling his thumbs and working on his paintings between records; he’s still actively involved in both The Bats and The Clean and from … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Robert Scott – The Green House
Die! Die! Die! formed their sonic aesthetic early in their career, those waves of coruscating guitars, tumbling melodic bass-lines, pummelling drums and Andrew Wilson’s passionate punk yelp. S W I M (someone who isn’t me) hits all the same marks while also sounding wider and more worldly, no doubt informed by relentless touring. The fuzz and repetition of ‘Angel’, the hyper speed MBV sound of … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Die! Die! Die! | S W I M
Christchurch natives, now based in Wellington, Minderbender are a duo that clearly have a taste for post punk and electronic music in equal quantities. Emotions is their debut album and it successfully embraces both organic and synthetic musical sounds and revels in their primitive and direct application. The title of the album sums up its theme of twelve different human emotions from ‘Expectations’ through ‘Evasion’, … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Minderbender | Emotions
It’s been three years since Jack Ladder released his acclaimed Hurtsville album. Now the followup Playmates has been announced with a release date of Nov 6th. Here’s the first single ‘Come On Back This Way’ featuring guest vocals from Sharon Van Etten and pedal steel from Jason Walker. That deep austere voice is still the central feature of Ladder’s music with more of an electronic pulse and … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders | Come On Back This Way
Johnny Marr didn’t muck about getting back into the recording studio after touring his debut solo LP around the world. in fact many of the new album’s songs were written on the road. Playland is out October 6th. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Johnny Marr | Easy Money
Now into their second decade, New Zealand trio Die! Die! Die! will be releasing their fifth album S W I M on August 15th and the first taste of the new songs comes in the form of ‘Crystal’ with its damn fine rolling serrating verses. http://youtu.be/p_wbo3R8tZs New Zealand Tour (presented by Undertheradar, 95bFM and Phantom) Friday 15th August, Neck Of The Woods, Auckland Saturday 16th August, … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Die! Die! Die! | Crystal
Doubtful Sounds 