At a time when political absurdity has become so commonplace that reality frequently feels beyond parody, the return of Sacha Baron Cohen‘s Ali G should, in theory, provide the perfect opportunity to expose the increasingly ridiculous state of modern society. After all, Baron Cohen built his reputation on confronting prejudice through comedy, using the apparent…
History has a way of making the inevitable seem obvious. We look back on defining moments with the comfort of knowing how they unfolded, often forgetting that the people responsible for shaping them were operating without that same certainty. In the 72 hours leading up to D-Day, as the Allied forces prepared to launch the…
History may remember D-Day as one of the defining victories of the Second World War, but for the men tasked with deciding when it should take place, victory was anything but certain. Before Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, before the sacrifices and triumphs that would become etched into collective memory, there were weather…
Walking past Sydney’s TikTok Entertainment Centre on Sunday evening, you might wonder what’s happening… What is that sound? Just 9,000 people inside having a sing-song. What are they singing? “F**k yoooouuu, f**k you very, very mucchhhhh!” This is the Lily-oke show with tour band, Dallas Minor Sextet. The deal? They play, you sing. It’s that…
With their newest album Everybody Tells The Truth officially announced for release on February 5, Slowly Slowly are getting ready to enter a new chapter. For frontman Ben Stewart, it’s a chapter that feels especially good, with the band’s third Good Things Festival appearance on the horizon and a renewed confidence in the music they’re…
Castlevania has been driving stakes into the hearts of players for 40 years. Konami’s gothic saga debuted in 1986 and became a cornerstone of the NES era as Simon Belmont stormed Dracula’s castle, before 1997’s Symphony of the Night redefined what side-scrolling adventure games could be and gave the entire Metroidvania genre its name. More…
In an age where our lives are increasingly curated for social media and differing opinions can be silenced with the click of a button, the idea of throwing complete strangers into a house where there’s nowhere to hide feels more fascinating than ever. As Big Brother Australia returns to Network 10 with live nominations, live…
Few films have courted controversy quite as enthusiastically as Ken Russell’s The Devils, and even fewer have emerged from decades of censorship feeling quite so alarmingly relevant. First released in 1971, Russell’s feverish examination of religious fanaticism, sexual repression and institutional corruption has long existed under the shadow of its own notoriety, with its most…
Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) brought the full production of his now infamous comeback show to Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, giving the Indonesian capital one of the largest concerts in the city’s history. And while the show’s spectacular visuals confirmed West’s lofty ambitions, glaring sound issues marred most of the night, holding…
I don’t think I’m alone in saying Fort Lauderdale has never been on my radar. You’ll hear locals trying to grab a sense of casual coolness by referring to it as just “Lauderdale”, but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as “Chi-Town” or “Philly”. Try as they might, it’s hard to piece apart a…
Canberra gets a bit of a bum rap amongst Australians, but the nation’s capital is well worth a visit. It’s a city only in name, preferring wide-open expanses to densely packed skyscrapers, bringing the country right onto the steps of Parliament House. A custodian of Australia’s history, good and bad, it embraces everything from museums…
Television has become awfully serious about being taken seriously. Prestige dramas arrive with cinematic ambitions, comedies increasingly disguise themselves as emotionally bruising character studies, and the once-reliable pleasure of spending half an hour with a group of funny people in a familiar setting has become something of an endangered experience. Somewhere along the way, the…
As audiences fall in love with Miranda Hart all over again, rumours of a sitcom revival couldn’t come at a better time. With traditional television comedy becoming an increasingly rare commodity, perhaps what we need now is a little more laughter, a little less cynicism, and a return to the wonderfully chaotic world of Miranda….
After conquering the global box office to the tune of $1.7 billion, Christopher Nolan‘s mythological epic The Odyssey is preparing for its next journey, this time from the biggest screens imaginable to the comfort of your living room. The film will arrive on digital platforms, 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on November 18th, 2026 (months…
For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed the first Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun game. While it might have been a little shallow and repetitive in parts, it’s an incredibly competent and fun boomer shooter. Thankfully, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 has taken notes and kept the receipts, because even though it’s not perfect, it’s a much more varied…
There was something wonderfully unceremonious about Mudhoney‘s arrival on stage. No grand entrance, no extended introduction, just four grunge veterans who helped define Seattle’s sound, wandering into view to an immediate chorus of cheers and a heartfelt shout of “I love you Steve!” from somewhere in the crowd. With no barrier between band and audience,…
Friday was a pretty busy day for Sydney pop punks Stand Atlantic. Not only did they drop new album GODBREATH, but they kicked off a tour in support of the new release, starting things off in (a very wet) Brisbane. We headed to the Fortitude Music Hall to catch the first show of the tour…
Seattle grunge legends Mudhoney brought their Australian tour to Sydney’s Factory Theatre on Thursday night. They were joined by Californian garage-rock trio Primitive Ring and local favourites Cammy Cautious and the Wrestlers. Mudhoney have one Australian show remaining, at The Northern in Byron Bay on Sunday, 25 October. You can grab a ticket HERE. Amy…
You Am I are in the midst of their ‘Strung Up’ tour, featuring a string quartet that adds an extra layer to their performance. The aptly named “Electric Eel Orchestra” joined You Am I at The Tivoli in Brisbane on Thursday, 22 October. The tour celebrates 30 years of their ARIA award-winning album, Hourly,…
Some of the most revealing moments in music history were never intended for an audience. In 1993, Andros Georgiou picked up a Sony Handycam and began filming his cousin, lifelong best friend and creative collaborator, George Michael, as they embarked on one of the most ambitious projects of the singer’s career. The resulting footage now…
There’s something particularly unsettling about a villain who doesn’t believe he’s doing anything wrong. Someone whose moral compass is so spectacularly broken that manipulation becomes second nature, cruelty is simply another means of communication, and the line between charm and menace is practically nonexistent. In the increasingly dangerous world of The Terminal List, that man…
Ten new tracks hit the Discovery Playlist this week on Spotify and Apple Music, including the two premieres we shared earlier. Our track of the week comes from Annie Hamilton, whose new single “chainmail” arrived on Wednesday as the first taste of her third album, due early next year. Hamilton wrote it on a solo…
Sometimes an album comes together through careful planning. Other times, it emerges unexpectedly, shaped by the people, experiences and emotions that find their way into the music. For Boorloo/Perth singer-songwriter Kim Franklin, who records as Blank Instrument, her debut album Jumping at Ghosts is very much the latter. Arriving on Friday, 23 October, the 11-track…
Some pop stars spend their careers trying to escape the characters that made them famous. Others spend years attempting to reinvent themselves, distancing their present from a past they would rather audiences forget. Hilary Duff, however, seems to have arrived at a rather refreshing realisation: there’s something quite wonderful about embracing every version of yourself….
Buena Vista All Stars will make their Australian debut in February 2027, bringing their 14-piece Cuban ensemble to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne for three exclusive shows. Led by musical director Demetrio Muñiz and trumpeter Manuel Machado, both of whom have worked with the Buena Vista Social Club, the group celebrates Cuba’s musical heritage, drawing on…
Tickets for the next chapter of the Mundi Mundi Bash are now on sale. The iconic bush festival is held on the plains outside Silverton, near Broken Hill and will be held from 19-21 August 2027. Legendary performer Jimmy Barnes will lead the charge and has some words to say about the event: “The Mundi…
Nintendo has a long history of sports games; it made its Wii console infamous with Wii Sports being included with the console, and from there a few sequels and spin-offs have come to each console after. In this latest instalment, we return to Wuhu Island from the Wii Sports Resort game with some classic games…
I’m going to admit something here: despite the fact it’s been doing the rounds, I haven’t read The Housemaid by Freida McFadden yet. Instead, I’ve been reading her latest novel, The Witch. And coming to understand just why she’s become so popular lately. Though the book has its share of flaws, The Witch was a…
Sydney’s The Buoys release their second album, Concrete Cowboy, this Friday, 23 October. It follows 2024’s Lustre, which debuted at #7 on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart and earned a J Award nomination for Australian Album of the Year. Produced again by Chris Collins, the new record was shaped by frontwoman Zoe Catterall’s move back…
Canberra-based country-pop artist Leila has been a familiar face here at the AU review. We premiered her single “Do Without” last year, followed by the title track of her new EP, “Heart and Soul”, back in July. We’ve enjoyed watching her develop as a songwriter, and today we’re delighted to bring you the exclusive premiere…
