For what it’s worth, I really loved 2019’s The Sinking City. It might have been a little janky in parts, but it served up a foreboding and tense atmosphere that felt like the best bits of Resident Evil and BioShock combined. While the gameplay felt a little stiff, I had plenty of fun simply existing…

For one more time this August we’re updating our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music with some of the best new music from across Australia and internationally. Naarm-based singer-songwriter and producer Eyes of Bel is in the spotlight, taking home Track of the Week for her new single “Bygones Will Be Bygones”. The single,…

Bruno Mars is officially heading back Down Under, and he’s bringing some very good company with him. The 16-time Grammy Award winner has expanded his mammoth The Romantic Tour, confirming a run of Australian and New Zealand stadium dates for February and March 2027. And, as if Mars returning to our shores wasn’t enough of…

Queens Of The Stone Age are back with their ninth studio album, Perfecth, arriving October 30 via Matador Records and the desert-rock heavyweights will bring their live show to Australia this December. Perfecth sees Josh Homme and company continuing to push the boundaries of their own distinctive brand of dark, swaggering rock’n’roll. The album takes…

Canberra singer-songwriter Jack Biilmann has been a firm favourite around these parts for some time, and we’re delighted to be premiering his latest single, “(Not) Easy to Love”, ahead of its release this Friday, 28 August. We most recently featured Biilmann in June with “Never Have It All”, another strong addition to a particularly productive…

There are some stories of World War II which were never told. Not because they were uninteresting, or unimportant, but because they couldn’t be told. Because those they belonged to were silent about their work, even after the war ended. And now, so many years on, they are finally ready to be told. It is…

It is arguably one of the best games of all time; Elden Ring became a smash hit when it debuted back in 2022. The extremely difficult and beautiful Souls-like game was and still is undeniably a breathtaking masterpiece. It is safe to say it surprised everyone when FromSoftware advised they were making an edition for…

There’s a fascinating film buried somewhere within The Dog Stars. It’s quieter than its marketing suggests, more interested in grief, loneliness and the necessity of human connection than the violent survivalism its trailers have largely sold. And whenever Ridley Scott allows his latest to simply exist in that contemplative space, there are flashes of something…

Gamescom 2026 is here, and with that, the Opening Night Live showcase, highlighting a whole bunch of new and exciting games on the horizon. There’s a fair amount to cover here, so let’s dive in and run through all the announcements. STAGE TOUR THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT – REMASTERED IS FREE FOR ALL CURRENT…

It’s hard to believe that Grand Theft Auto 6 is not only real, but is releasing later this year. While we’ve known for a couple of weeks now, it’s certainly worth getting excited for Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look, which is set to hit Netflix, YouTube and Rockstar’s own website later this week. No…

New Zealand heavy outfit Haast Hunter are preparing to unleash their highly anticipated debut album, Plastique, on Thursday, 27th August, and today we’re thrilled to give you an exclusive early listen to the record, alongside a track-by-track guide from vocalists Sinaea Elizabeth and Jimi Harper. The debut marks a significant new chapter for the ferocious…

I play the current Call of Duty every year mainly for its multiplayer offerings, but it’s no secret that the franchise has had its ups and downs in recent years. I mean, the less we say about 2023’s Modern Warfare III, the better. But since then, the Modern Warfare franchise has been left at bay,…

For Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins, the “pain cave” has long represented the place an elite athlete willingly enters when the body is screaming to stop, but the mind insists it can keep going. In Threshold, that celebrated capacity to endure takes on a far more complicated meaning. Unfolding across a single high-stakes cross-country ski…

Seminal 90’s band The Wallflowers are touring Australia, playing their breakthrough album Bringing Down the Horse in full. The 1996 album reached #9 on the ARIA charts and was certified gold. You may remember the hit single “One Headlight” or other singles “6th Avenue Heartache”, “The Difference” or “Three Marlenas”. The lead singer and songwriter, Jakob Dylan,…

We currently live in a world that has lost its sense of nuance. Discussions, particularly those conducted online, quickly devolve into chaos where being right, while proving others wrong, is the entire goal. The world has suddenly become very black and white, with people uncomfortable to exist in the grey. Curious minds have become few…

With torrential rain leading up to the 2026 Mundi Mundi Bash, it’s a credit to the organisers that the event took place relatively successfully. Some 10,000 campers made it through the gates, with around a third of the camping area too boggy to be used. Those that missed out will receive full refunds. On top…

Earlier this month, while at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I had the chance to see Sydney writer and comedian Hannah Reilly’s brand-new one-woman show, Roleplay. The 70-minute production has already completely sold out its Edinburgh Fringe run, across 22 shows. In part, this came out of early buzz from must-see show lists on publications like The…

History may be written in retrospect, but Annemarie Jacir has little interest in treating it as something safely contained in the past. With Palestine 36, the acclaimed Palestinian writer-director behind Wajib and When I Saw You turns her attention to the Arab Revolt of the 1930s, crafting an intimate yet expansive portrait of ordinary people…

After more than a decade away from feature filmmaking, Gregg Araki returns with I Want Your Sex, and the wonderfully provocative filmmaker has lost none of his appetite for pushing buttons. Brash, colourful, sexually charged and gleefully inappropriate, this is Araki operating in a considerably more playful register than something like Mysterious Skin, but still…

I’ve had my fair share of FromSoftware games over the years, and while I absolutely love Elden Ring and think it may be the best FromSoftware title, my favourite is still Bloodborne. I simply love the world, tone, slightly more linear nature, and faster combat mechanics, and return to it almost every year. Directed by…

I reviewed the EPOS Impact 500 late last year and found that, while not for everyday use, it is one of the most robust and highly recommended options for the workplace. It’s not to say that you wouldn’t be able to take them out and about, but EPOS had clearly honed in on what made…

Festival season demands more from your styling routine than any other time of year. Between the dust, sweat, crowds, and marathon days that stretch from afternoon sets to sunrise afterparties, staying fresh becomes both an art and a science. Whether you’re heading to a three-day camping festival or a city-based music marathon, the right grooming…

More than a quarter of a century after Memento announced Christopher Nolan as one of cinema’s most audacious storytellers, the fractured psychological thriller is being pulled apart and put back together once again – only this time, rhythm is rewriting the equation. For the latest presentation from Hear My Eyes, Michael “CAVS” Cavanagh, drummer for…

We fell in love with KALEO when they made their Australian debut at Bluesfest back in 2016. It was hard not to. Frontman JJ Julius Son‘s enormous, booming voice seemed purpose-built for a festival stage, while the Icelandic band’s muscular blend of blues, rock, and folk made them one of the festival’s discoveries.  They’ve remained firmly…

For Connor Finch, the key to understanding Jack in Bookish has always been deceptively simple: he’s a working-class kid who learned to survive because nobody gave him much of an alternative. Created by and starring Mark Gatiss, the richly atmospheric detective drama returns to post-war London, where eccentric bookseller Gabriel Book once again puts his…

We’ve reviewed a few Anker Soundcore products over the years and have been generally pleased with the results. I ended up using the Soundcore Space Q45 Headphones long after my initial review back in 2022, as they were some of my favourite headphones at that point in time. While I much prefer over-ear headphones for…

Mafia: The Old Country holds a special place in my heart, mainly for its decision to return to its roots, with a setting based in Sicily. With Sicilian heritage myself, and having been to Sicily only a month after the release of the game last year, it still stands as one of my favourite games…

Thanks to Maslow Entertainment, we have 5 double in-season digital passes (Admit 2) to see an intimate and cinematic portrait of one of Australia’s most enduring and enigmatic artists in Tina Arena: Unravel Me, in nationwide cinemas from August 27th, 2026. Marking 50 years in the spotlight, TINA ARENA: UNRAVEL ME  is an intimate and…

It’s hard to believe that the quintessential local emo record by one of Australia’s most beloved punk bands turns 10 this year. To celebrate this milestone, Trophy Eyes will be performing Chemical Miracle in its entirety around the country this October and November. The Newcastle quartet have also announced they will release a 10-year anniversary…

Melbourne metalcore favourites Windwaker have become a leading force in Australia’s heavy scene and the year is shaping up to be a big one for them. The band recently announced that their third album smile, you’re on camera will be out 23 October via Fearless Records and Civilians. To celebrate the release, Windwaker are embarking…