The Australian Music Prize (The Amp) has today announced its shortlist of nine albums its judges consider to be the best of 2011. Akin to the Polaris Prize in Canada or the UK's Mercury Prize, the nine albums are in the running for a $30,000 cash prize thanks to PPCA and they are:

ABBE MAY - Design Desire
ADALITA - Adalita
BOY & BEAR - Moonfire
GOTYE - Making Mirrors
GURRUMUL - Rrakala
JACK LADDER & THE DREAMLANDERS - Hurtsville
THE JEZABELS - Prisoner
KIMBRA - Vows
THE MIDDLE EAST - I Want That You Are Always Happy

Taking part in the first of Channel [V]’s Guerrilla Gigs for 2012, Boy & Bear nearly filled out the square in front of Manly Wharf. Such was the demand to see the multi-ARIA award winning group, there was already an attentive crowd sitting and waiting half an hour before the event was due to start.

There has been much talk about the behind-the-scenes happenings of Big Day Out lately, from the controversy to the ridiculously expensive ticket price but none of that seems to matter on the big day – as you enter the festival all you need is enough good music to make for a fun day.

Wasting no time, I positioned myself in the main area’s pavilion to check out what the early-afternoon had in store for the infamous blue and orange stages.

Despite the crappy weather of yesterday’s ‘Shtraya’ Day that affected all those wishing to indulge in some good ol’ Aussie shindigs at the beach or chuck back some coldies at a music festival (at least in Sydney), Triple J’s hottest 100 countdown became the rock of our iconic day. Parties were held in commemoration of its greatness and all Shtrayans worth their salt paused as the the number one track of the year was announced... which was no bloody surprise.

And we're here! It's time to announce the top 10 albums of 2011, as voted by the contributors of the AU review. But before we get there, you may remember we had an album on the list released back in 2010 (Grinderman 2)... so we're going to kick off our final countdown with a look at what made number 41 on our list.

Earlier this year, Luke Girgis AKA Coptic Soldier gave us one of the more interesting Australian Hip-Hop releases of 2011 with The Sound of Wings 2, an acoustic take on his debut LP which turned more than a few heads and received much critical acclaim. Now that he has the attention he needs, Girgis has decided to release a free five-track mixtape entitled Their Sound, Our Wings.

Boy & Bear, Ball Park Music and The Paper Kites blew the roof off the Enmore Theatre in Sydney over the weekend. Mikki Gomez hit up the photo pit of their first show and brings us these photos.

Oz music has never looked so good. On this Saturday night, Boy & Bear plus friends turned blood to gold, sporting the metaphorical green and yellow stripes showing the future in music is looking very promising in this fair nation. The first set was a short one from Melbourne’s The Paper Kites. They lived up to expectations that they will help fill the void left by The Middle East as the boasted at times epic folk rock tunes. They were basically a perfect choice of openers for the evening.

With Moonfire, the Sydney quintet Boy & Bear have released one of the most anticipated albums of the year - and they don’t disappoint.

Emerging from the post-Mumford & Sons folk hysteria that was 2009/2010, Boy & Bear have crafted a debut that stands apart from their With Emperor Antartica EP and strongly on its own.

Are you ready to rock this New Year’s season? Because the PYRAMID ROCK FESTIVAL sure as hell are!