Year: 2014

TV Review: The Feed – Season 2, Episode 63 (Taboo Week) – 26th May 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

And we’re off! With the crew at The Feed focussing on the unspeakable and the impolite throughout the last week of May for its ‘Taboo Week’, what better way to kick off than with a brief look at the tragedy that are the Isla Vista killings. Whenever a shooting takes place, we as commentators and…

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Film Review: Bastards of Young (USA, 2013)

It’s Halloween, and the dance floor has been rolled out, the alcohol has been mixed and the candy bought: it’s time for Kevulie IX – Kevin (Christopher J Domig) and Julie’s (Lucy Walters) annual Halloween party. Their best friends, Jesse (Gregory Perri) and Jen (Amelia Martin), have been married for ten years and are on…

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Music Matters Live Photo Gallery and Review: The Boxer Rebellion – Aquanova, Singapore (24.05.14)

Opening things with “Always”, UK quartet The Boxer Rebellion brought their energetic live show to Singapore for the first time for Music Matters, in a set which closed the final night of official festivities (and their second of the event). A favourite from the set was “Diamond”, which comes off their last record Promises. Another…

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Twin Lakes' Canadian Music Week Photo Tour Diary (Part One)

After a twenty hour flight and a 7 hour stop over of frantic drinking in San Fran airport we all arrived safe and sound but a little hung over in Toronto, Canada. We considered ourselves lucky to even get there at all considering we nearly missed our flight in Sydney due to an overlook of…

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TV Review: Mad Men – Season 7 Episode 6 “The Strategy” (USA, 2014)

What an episode! The Strategy stands up against some of the finest episodes of the entire series and will likely be looked back upon a defining moment of season 7. A whole lot happened in this one, by Mad Men standards of ‘a lot’, and much of focused on Don and Peggy. Always the most…

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Box Office Report: X-Men: Days of Future Past has the year’s biggest opening and revitalises the franchise

Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000) is generally credited with starting the phenomenally successful boom of modern comic book film adaptations that has dominated popular culture in the years since. Previous to the release of the film, comic book films had found some success with the Superman and Batman series, but had hit a low point with Batman & Robin in…

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New 22 Jump Street clip: “Twins”

We’re only a few weeks away from the release of comedy sequel 22 Jump Street, and publicity for the film is heating up. Just a couple of weeks after the release of the last clip from the film, Sony has released a clip from another scene. The new clip sees Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) meeting their…

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Theatre Review: Werewolf Priest! The Lamentable Ballad of Father Hank Grimby – The Blue Room Theatre (22.05.14)

The paranormal has long captured the interests of writers, directors and actors alike. You can even go into bookshops and find whole shelves devoted to the genre. Werewolf Priest!: The Lamentable Ballad of Father Hank Grimby, the latest production from writer, director and producer Levon J Polinelli both continues this burgeoning genre, and successfully parodies…

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Hello Asia! Interview: io band (Taiwan Rock Group) io樂團 at Canadian Music Week (CMW 2014) in Toronto!

Hello Asia! sits down with Taiwan Rock Group IO (io樂團), during Canadian Music Week in Toronto to talk about their time living in Vancouver, the Taiwan music scene, their experiences at the festival, their music and much more…

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Music Matters Live Review: Sound Gallery ft. Ash Grunwald + Bec Laughton – Kuro Bar & Restaurant (21.05.14)

In the first of two massive Australian showcases at Music Matters in Singapore (the other being the long running Aussie BBQ), the recent addition to Sounds Australia’s roster of events – Sound Gallery – made its Singaporean debut with four outstanding intimate performances at the Kuro Bar and Restaurant as part of Music Matters last…

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TV Review: Fargo – Season 1, Episode 5 “The Six Ungraspables” (USA, 2014)

We’ve officially reached the half-way point of the series and with the plans of most of our characters now in full motion, it’s looking a lot clearer cut. But the clean-up crew of both the hit-men and the police are now hot on the trails and making in-roads to getting things wrapped up, or so…

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Album Review: Swing Noir – Music From The Jazz Clubs of 1930s Europe (2014 Compilation)

This is certainly a swinging album of hot gypsy jazz of the 1930’s. Featuring some of the most influential musicians of the time – Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to name but a few. Although title Swing Noir this is certainly more of an example of the hot club jazz style…

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the AU interview: Midlake (USA) at the Sydney Opera House for the Vivid Festival!

the AU review’s Chris Singh sits down with USA group Midlake while at the Sydney Opera House for the 2014 Vivid Festival. They talk about their music, the festival and much, much more!

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Music Matters Conference Day 3 Wrap Up – The Ritz Carlton Millenia, Singapore (23.05.14)

Music Matters delegates moved upstairs for the final day of the Music Matters Conference in Singapore. Kicking off the day was a wrap up of one of the popular threads of conversation throughout the week: the growth potential in Asia’s developing markets, a discussion that naturally weighed heavily towards piracy issues in the region. Moderated…

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Tour Diary: The Black Lullaby at Canadian Music Week 2014 in Toronto (Part Two)

Hi, we are The Black Lullaby, a 4-piece rock band from north coast NSW. This is a tour diary for the AU Review of our trip to Toronto where we showcased at Canadian Music Week 2014. We had an awesome time and met some great people and saw some amazing bands – check out our…

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IMAX Film Review: Godzilla (USA, 2014)

Instantly recognisable, the gigantic monster that is Godzilla has stalked remakes of the original Ishiro Honda classic for 60 years now, and while results have varied, the tale remains a classic. Gojira was originally conceived as a response to the tragedies which devastated Hiroshima, Negasaki, and Bikini Atoll, serving as a metaphor for the destruction…

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the fault in our stars soundtrack art

Album Review: The Fault In Our Stars: Music From The Motion Picture (2014 LP)

The art of executing a perfect compilation of songs for a film is like making a perfect mixtape for your soulmate. Everything about this soundtrack makes my knees weak and my hopes for this film are soaring so high right now. My gut feeling tells me that it will be as good as the book…

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Music Matters Conference Day 2 Wrap Up (Part Two) – The Ritz Carlton Millenia, Singapore (22.05.14)

After lunch on day two and the HP live sessions that included a performance by Australia’s Lyon Apprentice, Daniel Glass, the Founder and President of the influential Glassnote Entertainment Group was interviewed by Ralph Simon in the afternoon’s first session. Glass reflected on his origins as a young DJ, which got him interested in the…

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Music Matters Conference Day 2 Wrap Up (Part One) – The Ritz Carlton Millenia, Singapore (22.05.14)

Janice Koh kick started the second day of Music Matters as it moved into the Ritz Carlton ballroom, in front of a packed out room. The Nominated Member of Parliament talked about the actions the Singapore government are taking to work against piracy websites alongside the successes of Singapore bands at events internationally like Canadian…

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TV Review: The Feed – Season 2, Episode 61 – 22nd May 2014 (SBS2, Australia)

Thursday evenings are always a good night for The Feed crew – it’s always a fairly broad reaching episode that manages to touch on a lot of different topics, and last night’s was no different. Opening with the nightly wrap, we were subject to (/able to view, depending on how generous you’re feeling) Tony Abbott’s…

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Drinking with the AU: Matilda Bay Brewery 30th Birthday (21.05.14)

Matilda Bay Brewery, founded in 1984, threw a 30th birthday party and we were invited to help celebrate their occasion. It was perfect that the party reflected that delicious era of music from the 1980s, but mixed it up with music from the 90s and now. A cab took us to the Matilda Bay Brewery…

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Album Review: Ray LaMontagne – Supernova (2014 LP)

With his breakthrough track, “Trouble”, off the album of the same name, Ray LaMontagne made a distinctive name for himself in the music industry as a unique, soulful singer/songwriter with an acoustic and raw sound. But it has been more than 10 years since the cult favourite of folk, roots and classic rock fans released…

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Music Matters Conference Day 1 Wrap Up – The Ritz Carlton Millenia, Singapore (21.05.14)

Music Matters kicked off the first day of its three day programme at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore with a panel on Asia’s largest emerging market: China. Moderated by Ed Peto, the Managing Director of Outdustry, the panel of four industry experts from AEG Live Asia, Split United, EN.DI.ASI and S.T.D. outlined touring strategies in…

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Tour Diary: The Black Lullaby at Canadian Music Week 2014 in Toronto (Part One)

Hi, we are The Black Lullaby, a 4-piece rock band from north coast NSW. This is a tour diary for the AU Review of our trip to Toronto where we showcased at Canadian Music Week 2014. We had an awesome time and met some great people and saw some amazing bands – check out our…

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Hodor! Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn coming to Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne

Melbournians, you better start working on your best Hodor impressions, because your favourite Bran-carrying giant is coming to town. That’s right, Irish actor (and DJ) Kristian Nairn, who portrays Hodor on the HBO juggernaut series Game of Thrones, has been announced as a guest at Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne on July 5th and 6th. Fans will be…

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Zack Snyder’s currently-shooting Batman vs Superman film gets a title

All over the world, fans of comic books and their film adaptations are joint in anticipation of one film. Some are expecting a masterpiece, some are cautiously optimistic, and others are already sharpening their pitchforks. Regardless, they will all be there on opening night to see whether Zack Snyder can successfully bring the two most…

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Film Review: Sex After Kids (Canada, 2013)

There was a recent study which found that newborns often cry during the night because they’re trying to prevent their parents from reproducing again. This is the same sort of environment that the light comedy, Sex After Kids with tag line, “By any means necessary” comes from. This film explores sexuality and the social issues…

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Album Review: The Great Conjunction – Wait For Apophis (2014 EP)

Sydney outfit The Great Conjunction are fairly new onto the scene with their cavernous alternative indie-rock sounds. They write music that’s deeply intricate on so many layers, think like Arcade Fire or The New Pornographers or The Dears, that it can take quite a few listens to really appreciate it. I’ll openly admit it took me some proper spins to get the…

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Album Review: Sarah McLachlan – Shine On (2014 LP)

Like stepping in from the cold to find a warm fireplace and your favourite blanket. The new album, Shine On, by Sarah McLachlan is the musical equivalent of getting re-acquainted with an old friend. Filled with her distinctive and glistening vocals that have been off the airways for far too long. In fact this album…

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Video Tour Diary: Newcastle band Twin Lakes head to Toronto, Canada for Canadian Music Week 2014!

Newcastle band Twin Lakes headed to Toronto for Canadian Music Week and have brought back this video that documents their adventures, travelling from Sydney, all the way to Toronto and back. The band will also be bringing you a more detailed look at their journey later in the week! But until then, enjoy this glimpse…

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