Year: 2012

On the eve of the release of their seventh album Heaven we caught up with The Walkmen’s Pete Bauer to discuss the latest record, life on the road and the highs and lows of their ten years making music together. Hey, how are you? Hey, I’m good I’m completely confused with the time differences at…

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with The Dandy Warhols since I saw the film clip for “Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth” on Rage when I was twelve. That clip was the perfect blend of arty flamboyance and the ridiculous excesses that fame brings – which is a fitting metaphor for the…

We catch up with Sydney based singer/songwriter Luke Cleland at Newton’s Nation festival in Bathurst at the end of April 2012. Interview/Edit: Larry Heath Additional Editor: Rick Clifford Video: Yaya Stempler

We catch up with Sydney based singer/songwriter Eli Wolfe, while he was at The Aussie BBQ at Canadian Music Week in Toronto. Interview/Edit: Larry Heath Camera: Andrew Wade

It’s not long now until Splendour in the Grass (can you believe it’s next month!?) and we’re getting a little excited. One local band in particular is making a good bit of buzz in advance of their performance at the festival, and that’s Brisbane’s Mosman Alder, who have dropped their debut EP Burn Bright. We…

Larry Heath and Andrew Wade from the AU review head to the Lofty Dog in Austin, Texas with the one and only Henry Wagons. As well as finding out what he and his band Wagons are up to at the moment (and how SXSW is treating him), we learn about Henry’s two dogs as he…

The Bakery played host to the final showcase of the WAMi Festival on Friday, with The Wire magazine organising a showcase filled with some of Perth’s best emerging talent; all of whom happened to be launching something, be it a single, album or music video. The Warning Birds kicked off proceedings to an already ample…

Thursday night saw The Bakery open its doors to the public for Jumpclimb’s WAMi Showcase, the fourth in a series of showcases highlighting the breadth and variety of the West Australian music scene. Bastian’s Happy Flight ended a two month live hiatus to open the night with a set chock full of 80s style synth…

While backstage at The Aussie BBQ in Austin, Texas during SXSW, Larry Heath from the AU review caught up with Kim Benzie, lead vocalist of Brisbane rock outfit Dead Letter Circus. Both the interviewer and interviewee were reasonably hungover during this interview, and Kim calls Larry on this halfway through their chat… at which point…

A new day, a new approach. Through no fault of my own this day was hard to follow owing to overlapping set and a hefty does of indecisiveness. This saw a rapid-fire approach for the first half of the day before settling in entirely at the main stage for the night. Pete Holmes Comedian Pete…

We catch up with Montreal’s I.NO out the front of Planet Quebec during SXSW 2012. Interviewer and Editor: Larry Heath Camera: Mandy Hall Producer: Andrew Wade

Larry Heath from the AU review catches up with Felix Riebl from Australia’s own The Cat Empire, just after they soundchecked their headlining show as part of Toronto’s Canadian Music Week. Felix brings us up to date on how the last of their 10th Anniversary Shows are going, what’s next for the band, what Canada…

We catch up with Bathurst rock outfit City Falls at Newton’s Nation festival in Bathurst at the end of April 2012. Interview/Edit: Larry Heath Additional Editing: Rick Clifford Video: Yaya Stempler

Day two of Song Summit brought with it some fantastic panels, and closed up with an amazing night of music. The talk which brought the masses in was a surprisingly insightful conversation with Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden, who’s in town as part of the immensely successful TV show The Voice. Madden was a surprisingly good…

This June and July, the eastward states of Australia will be treated to an epic triple bill, dubbed the “This Epic Tour”. Making up the bill are three Melbourne rock bands celebrating their latest single releases: Kingswood, Money For Rope and Damn Terran. The tour will kick off at Melbourne’s Workers Club on June 28…

Spanish-French musician Anthony Gonzalez, aka, M83 has released a new video directed by Manu & Fleur (Sabastien Tellier, Canyons) in conjunction with his recently released EP, ‘Reunion’. It is the second single to be taken from his critically acclaimed album Hurry Up We’re Dreaming out now on Pod through Inertia. The video takes a thematic…

Mildura garage rockers Jackson Firebird are launching their high-octane debut album Cock Rockin’ on June 8, 2012. They’re going to mark the occasion with the Paper Scissors Rock tour in Victoria and NSW. Previously, the band has earned their touring stripes alongside You Am I, King Cannons, Snowdroppers, Little Birdy and the Fumes. Two killer…

We caught up with Sydney based singer/songwriter Jordan Millar at Newton’s Nation festival in Bathurst at the end of April, 2012. Here’s what we learnt along the way… CREDITS Interview/Edit: Larry Heath Video: Yaya Stempler

I’m a recent convert to the work of Shara Worden who is better known as My Brightest Diamond and while I’d heard rumour of her live performance spectaculars I was not fully prepared for the insane levels of awesome that ensued during her show, nor do I feel adept to be writing this review as…

Locals I, A Man have a good sound and their sweeping, spectral arrangements are incredibly dreamy live. Opening with “Five Four” from their latest EP You’re Boring Us All the band immediately got the crowd’s attention with the ambient beauty of their music. I, A Man definitely aren’t show ponies with the four piece possessing…

Just after she finished up her last show at SXSW (as part of the Planet Quebec event), I caught up with Montreal based singer/songwriter Ariane Moffatt to talk about her latest bilingual album MA, the festival, Australia and more… Welcome to Texas! Thank you! You were just saying you just finished up your last show…

JOE BONAMASSA Award-winning blues rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Joe Bonamassa and his world-class touring band are returning to Australia for a series of concerts. The tour is in support of Bonamassa’s brand new solo album Driving Towards The Daylight as well as the recently released DVD/Blu-ray Joe Bonamassa: Beacon Theatre – Live From New York,…

With one of the most killer beats on their record Watch The Throne, Jay-Z and Kanye West have delivered a killer music video for their track “No Church in the Wild”, featuring Frank Ocean. Inspired by the London Riots, this is an epic music video, well worth the wait…

It’s been two years since Paul Marshall a.k.a Lone Wolf released his acclaimed record The Devil and I. We decided to catch up with him and have a chat about his latest project, The Lovers, an album whose production is being partially funded by fans. Find out about the new record below, as well as…

In this month’s edition of “The AU Monthly Review”, we look back over the month of May, which unfortunately got off to a sombre start… 1. In Memoriam – Adam Yauch, Donna Summer and Robin Gibb The theory of “bad news comes in threes” seems to ring true in this instance as we learn that…

The final day of music for me on this trip quite appropriately kicked off with the annual Aussie BBQ at Heebie Jeebies. With the stage in an outdoor beer garden (right next to the BBQ), the weather had us nervous but thankfully the overcast sky stayed just that; the rain keeping at bay. This kept…

We catch up with Sydney based rockers Far Away Stables at Newton’s Nation festival in Bathurst at the end of April 2012. Interview/Edit: Larry Heath Additional Editing: Rick Clifford Video: Yaya Stempler

From high atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge, we had the unique opportunity last night to join some 120 climbers as they helped (literally) light up celebrations for launch of Sydney’s fourth annual VIVID Festival. Battling cold and blustery conditions, the climbers, covered in lights, were just one of the many ways the city was celebrating…

The folk at Modular records sure know how to throw a party and with a triple threat line-up that good it was disheartening to see the bandroom barely at half capacity. In spite of the poor showing Jonathan Boulet and co. put on a fantastic performance. Showcasing new material from their forthcoming LP We Keep…

Local songstress Siobhan pulled in quite the crowd of family and friends to launch her debut LP Soldier Heart. Opening with “Don’t Take Her Heart If You’re Going To Let Her Down” it was clear from the onset that nerves were getting the better of the young band with Siobhan’s vocals meandering and the harmonies…