Beastwars IV Destroy Records Sometimes it takes monumental life events to galvanise a band, or any creative endeavour for that matter. In the case of New Zealand band Beastwars it was the diagnosis singer Matt Hyde received, confirming Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In the weeks following his chemotherapy treatment the band hit the studio and recorded their fourth album – a blistering, pummelling, cathartic battle cry of … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Beastwars – IV
A couple of months back we shared the Japanese Television track ‘Bloodworm’. Now their back with the new single ‘Crocodile Dentist’, a swirling, disorientating headlong plunge down the psychedelic rabbit hole. Like a lost 60s relic of a bad trip, the song has a wild and fevered feeling to it. Urgent and spiralling, a kaleidoscopic heady mix of garage rock and b-grade horror that buries … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Japanese Television – Crocodile Dentist
Madison Major of Brooklyn, New York is Champ Major, an experimental folk artist who’s aesthetic is one of creating a sonic environment to match her songs and stories. In the case of ‘Enjoy’ from her EP Receipe For Baking Two Humans Together, it’s a thick and foggy sound, akin to a radio transmission from a distant time and place. Acoustic guitar and a yearning voice … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Champ Major – Enjoy
Obstacle are a USA trio comprised of Annie Murnighan (Found Object), Elias Jarzombek, and Amos Damroth (AJE). They’ve only been around for a year and a half but they already have three digital releases under their belt, including this latest one ‘Unknown Number’. It’s a track that runs its sounds through murky ominous filters with heavily treated and unrecognisable vocals and really interesting rhythms and … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Obstacle – Unknown Number
Brisbane band Shifting Sands recently released the video clip for their track ‘The Intensity’. It’s a haunting, heavy and steady marching song of solemn reflection on the slow decay of the emotional impact of love. It carries the same kind of bruised romanticism that artists such as Mark Lanegan and Leonard Cohen do so well. Shifting Sands are Geoff Corbett (SixFtHick) and Dylan McCormack (Gentle … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Shifting Sands – The Intensity
Amyl & The Sniffers Amyl & The Sniffers Flightless Records Roaring out of the gates like an amalgam of Motorhead, AC/DC and The Datsuns, Amyl & The Sniffers know the power of simplicity, attitude and abandon on their debut self-titled album. It’s a lean 11 songs that capture the spirit and verve of their live shows surprisingly well due to an avoidance of unnecessary studio … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Amyl & The Sniffers – Amyl & The Sniffers
Herbie Hancock Sydney Opera House, June 10th 2019 Herbie Hancock has been playing jazz onstage for nearly sixty years and even though this was his second show of the day in the Opera House’s Concert Hall, the septuagenarian seemed to have boundless energy as he took the audience through a spellbinding two hours of jazz fusion. Hancock has always been one to evolve with the times … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Herbie Hancock @ Sydney Opera House
We first cottoned onto Babe Rainbow with their great infectious single ‘Johny Says Stay Cool’. There was plenty to love about last year’s self-titled album so we’re stoked that they’ve followed it up quickly with this aptly titled stoner soul jam ‘Something New’. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Babe Rainbow – Something New
Swirling, driving, insistent psychedelia is the order of the day on ‘Mantra’, the new track from Detroit band 3ft. It’s one of those songs that feels like it could spiral on endlessly, much like Wooden Shjips or Stereolab at their most hypnotic moments. 3ft have more of a droning psych-rock edge though, filtered through Krautrock, The Clean and Velvet Underground style jangle and verve. The … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: 3ft – Mantra
Straight outta Vancouver, Tanglers cut a fine figure of slinky indie rock on this track ‘Tallboy’. It slithers and skulks along in the shadows like a mooching private investigator. Subtle melodies that sink into your memory cells and a great rhythm section make this a great first introduction to the band whose debut full-length album ‘Tangled in Time’ was released on May 4th, 2019. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Tanglers – Tallboy
Here’s the debut single from Sydney singer-songwriter (and guitarist for Julia Jacklin), Blain Cunneen. ‘Feelin’ Kinda Fragile’ comes from his four track EP The Prizes We Demand which is due out later this year and finds him crafting a fine line in art-pop that reminds us of Beck, Sparklehorse and dEUS . The song’s melodic hooks are draped over some wonderful angular and interwoven instrumentation, where … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Blain Cunneen – Feelin’ Kinda Fragile
A while ago we posted about a track from Joey Beltran called Childhood Memories which was our first taste of this new compilation Pure Sounds of Michigan, an ambient album that invites listeners to take a sunrise-to-sunset tour of Michigan from coast to coast as interpreted by some of the state’s most talented musicians. The album came out a few weeks ago on Detroit-based Assemble Sound, and was imagined, … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Windy & Carl – Forest Trails
Doubtful Sounds 