1 2 3 4 5 Reviewed for FasterLouder Its been a great year for krautrock with the release of the Kraftwerk remastered albums, the amazing explorations of the new Flaming Lips record and now, late in the year, the release of the debut album by Bristol’s Beak>. The main attention is obviously focused on the involvement of Geoff Barrow, he of Portishead fame, who predominately plays drums on … Continue reading REVIEW: BEAK>
1 2 3 4 5 Reviewed for FasterLouder One could almost take the title of Devendra Banhart’s latest album as a defeatist statement; the acknowledgment that he is still searching with his music and is himself unsure of where he is heading. Some parts of What Will We Be back that statement up, especially 4 of the last 5 songs which are Banhart on autopilot, … Continue reading REVIEW: DEVENDRA BANHART – What Will We Be
1 2 3 4 5 Reviewed for The Dwarf Metal is one of the few genres that should always be taken with a grain of salt. From the poodle rockers to the thrash metallers and the po-faced post-metal moodists there is the overwhelming impression of people taking themselves too seriously. Fans of metal either fall into the category of obsessive listeners who are dazzled by … Continue reading REVIEW: SLAYER – World Painted Blood
Reviewed for FasterLouder Playing three shows at the Annandale, this was almost the perfect place to see one of Australia’s iconic rock bands of the last 20 years. It was unclear whether they decided to play these shows to support The Annandale’s financial battles with council or merely that they wanted to get back to basics in a small and sweaty pub venue. Either way … Continue reading REVIEW: YOU AM I @ The Annandale, Sydney (14/11/09)
1 2 3 4 5 Reviewed for FasterLouder Here we are entering the 2nd decade of the 21st century and surveying the musical landscape there is a noticeable absence of what we used to call ‘rock stars’ leading the way forward. The big names like U2 and Coldplay are stuck in a rut, Kings Of Leon have veered a little too close to becoming a … Continue reading REVIEW: Them Crooked Vultures
1 2 3 4 5 Odawas have reduced to a duo on The Blue Depths, their third album, and in doing so they have also stripped back their sound to reveal a lush and austere collection of songs. On first listen it is hard to penetrate the shiny surface of the music as it drifts by, but on further listening a depth and beauty emerges … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: ODAWAS | The Blue Depths
1 2 3 4 5 Russian Circles are proponents of the metallic side of post-rock where the peaks and roughs are the largest in the genre. They take up some of the same spaces as Mogwai, Tool, Isis and Najda but they never tend to ape or drift too close to any one of those progenitors. Geneva is 7 tracks of instrumental mood and impending … Continue reading album review: russian circles – geneva
1 2 3 4 5 Sydney’s Richard In Your Mind have just dropped the first release for their new label Rice Is Nice. Summertime EP is a gumbo stew of styles and instruments that feels frenetic, schizophrenic, fun and fearless. For now at least it is a fresh blast of cut and paste indie hip hop and funk that dually serves the feet and the … Continue reading REVIEW: RICHARD IN YOUR MIND – Summertime EP
Diary 1 2 3 4 5 LP2 1 2 3 4 5 reviewed for FasterLouder Sunny Day Real Estate were a ‘best kept secret’ for many years, especially in these parts of the world, so it is interesting to see the attention they are now getting and the level of cult fandom they have achieved. I first came into contact with them in the mid … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE – Diary & LP2
1 2 3 4 5 Reviewed for The Dwarf Shoegaze is genre that has been going through somewhat of a renaissance in the last few years. On the local scene you have the likes of The Laurels admirably resurrecting a sound that was at its peak when the band were probably still in nappies. Internationally there has been a revival led by acts like A … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS – Exploding Head
1 2 3 4 5 Richard Youngs is an experimental, avantgarde English musician based in Glasgow who has been releasing both his own music and the recordings of others (via his No Fans Records label) since the 80s. His latest release on Jagjaguwar is a hypnotic collection of songs that hang in the air and focus primarily on the voice. Youngs’ voice has a haunting, … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: RICHARD YOUNGS – Under Stellar Stream
1 2 3 4 5 Reviewed for FasterLouder Sydney’s The Maladies have been playing together for a few years now, taking their time getting around to recording an album. That has worked in the listener’s favour as the clumsily titled With You Right By My Side… is 40 minutes of consistently brilliant songwriting, lively playing and the exceptional voice of Daniele Marando. The thing that … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: THE MALADIES – With You Right By My Side, Baby The Deal Just Can’t Go Down
Doubtful Sounds 