Known predominantly as the singer, songwriter and guitarist for the band Big Thief, Adrianne Lenker is one of those artists who writes constantly, documenting daily life and existential thoughts as she travels the world with her band. abysskiss is her second solo album and it finds her expanding the raw folk of her debut into a freer and more subtly textured set of songs. Acoustic … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Adrianne Lenker – abysskiss
Suede are this deep into their career and have flirted equally with the charts and the arthouse that they have earned the right to be the masters of their own destiny. Hence they’ve realised that the best Suede albums have a mix of grandiose, sweeping music and dissertations on the minutiae and unease of modern life. The Blue Hour is the third album in a … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Suede – The Blue Hour
It’s hard to believe but Mudhoney are now in their 30th year of active service and on Digital Garbage, their 10th album, they show they’re still the kings of fuzzed-out punk and garage rock. Their disdain for everything fucked up about the world is still vital and biting and they don’t hold back one iota. No topic is out of bounds as they rail against … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Mudhoney – Digital Garbage
On her fourth album, Cash Savage does two things. She takes an unflinching look at Australian society and gives an intimate and evocative insight into love and desire. She does it all with her characteristic swagger and assertive tone, superbly backed by her cohorts, The Last Drinks. Better Than That is a devastating opener, honing in on the events of last year and the impact … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Cash Savage & The Last Drinks – Good Citizens
Press play and the first thing you’ll hear on the new Low album is the equivalent of a digital sandstorm. Slowly but surely, out of the static and sonic scree comes the voice of Alan Sparhawk, sounding like a ghost trying with all his might to re-engage with the physical world. It’s a fascinating way to open an album; a new approach for Low and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Low – Double Negative
They say that it is harder to play music slowly than it is to play it fast. Things fall apart and momentum is lost. In the case of Sydney trio Roadhouses, sedated rock music is their calling card. They deal in drifting, alt-country-imbued, slowcore torch songs where heartache is just a tear away. If you got Lucinda Williams to front Spain, at the Twin Peaks … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Roadhouses – Roadhouses
They were one of the heavyweights of the 90s metal/grunge scene, successfully blending melodic, down-tuned riffs and harmonies with crunching distortion and classic rock elements. Of course theirs is a tale of tragedy with the drug issues and subsequent death of singer Layne Staley curtailing them for a decade, but it is also one of resurrection, determination and integrity. Recruiting vocalist William DuVall 12 years … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Alice In Chains – Rainier Fog
Straight out of the gates the Melbourne quartet lock into a relentless distorted churn of guitars that sounds like 90s era Bailter Space sharing a practice room with Blank Realm. The guitars never let up but the lazy vocal smears a dull monotone melody across the surface of the song. It’s a wonderfully hypnotic and mildly unsettling start to an album that has a real … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Deaf Wish – Lithium Zion
Melbourne’s Harmony have had a four year break between albums but that time has clearly been well spent with Double Negative the strongest culmination of their soulful, ragged and cathartic sound. Carpetbombing (2014) was a sprawling collection of songs that often sounded brittle and impenetrable, the core of the songs sonically buried beneath the surface. It still impressed but the good news is that on … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Harmony – Double Negative
Over the last 30 years you’d be hard pressed to find an artist who has equally embraced music that appeals equally to the commercial pop world and the more discerning and eclectic listener. Damon Albarn really is a man for all seasons, a polymorphic, post-modern songwriter with an insatiable creative streak that has seen him find success, primarily in Blur and Gorillaz, but also with … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Gorillaz – The Now Now
Back in 2012, Money For Rope came out of the gates with a real buzz about their live shows and their debut, self-titled album. They hit the road and apparently kept touring across Europe and the US. Thankfully they eventually got back in the studio and documented those years on the new album Picture Us. As with that debut, the band again mix and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Money For Rope – Picture Us
There’s something undeniably visceral and raw about everything that East Brunswick All Girls Choir do. Exaltation and exorcism are part of their musical modus operandi, such is their commitment to making music that embraces emotion with an unflinching directness. Teddywaddy, the followup to the acclaimed Seven Drummers, charts a course through coruscating punk-laden peaks and drifting, desolate valleys where the songs are stripped and stretched, … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: East Brunswick All Girls Choir – Teddywaddy
Doubtful Sounds 