Author: Bruce Baker

The ballot for Golden Plains Nineteen is officially open, giving festival-goers their best chance to secure tickets for the much-loved Victorian festival when it returns in March 2027. This is absolutely one of all-time favourite Australian festivals. Golden Plains Nineteen will take over the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre from Saturday 6 to Monday 8 March 2027,…

The Strokes are returning to Australia in February 2027, announcing headline shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney as part of their Reality Awaits Australia 2027 tour. It will be the New York indie-rock icons’ first Australian headline tour since their sold-out run in 2022, following their return last year to headline Harvest Rock in Adelaide….

Earlier this year, we premiered Lucy Burke’s wonderfully atmospheric single “One Way Track”, one of the early tastes of her latest EP, Meet Me There. Now the Sydney singer-songwriter returns with the video for the EP’s title track, and we’re delighted to be premiering it today. The EP marked a new chapter for Burke, pairing organic…

Back in March, we pad the pleasure of premiering “Winterlude” from Perth-based New Zealand songwriter Damien Binder, and today we’re equally thrilled to be bringing you the video premiere for his latest single, “I Can’t Believe My Mind”. Following his 2023 album Bright Side, 2024’s Heartful EP and this year’s “Winterlude”, Binder continues a rich…

Naarm/Melbourne metalcore outfit Vault Hill are preparing to release their new EP Modern Way this Friday, 25 September, and today we’re thrilled to give you an early listen to the record in full. Inspired by vocalist Morgan O’Brien’s experiences living and working across the Northern Territory, Modern Way is an ambitious and deeply personal collection….

Meanjin/Brisbane indie-rock artist Harley is preparing to release his debut EP, You’re The One I’ll See At Home, this Friday, 18 September, and today we’re stoked to be giving you an exclusive first listen. Harley is no stranger to the AU review. Back in June, we premiered “Tell Me You Love Me”, one of the…

It’s always special to reconnect with an artist whose journey we’ve been following from the beginning. Back in 2019, the AU review premiered BB Sabina’s debut single, “Feast”, so it’s a genuine thrill, seven years later, to be premiering their new album, Dissolve. A lot has changed in those intervening years. Singer and songwriter Beth…

Eora/Sydney indie-rock outfit The Tambourine Girls have returned with their fourth album, Hold Your Horses, a beautifully melodic record shaped by loss, friendship and the process of finding a way forward. At its emotional core is the death of much-loved band member and close friend Nick Weaver, but Hold Your Horses never feels weighed down…

I first saw Empire of the Sun at the Sydney Opera House in 2013. On the way out, I turned to my partner and said, “If you didn’t love that show, there’s something wrong with you.” I’ve caught them every time I’ve had the opportunity since, and the sentiment remains. Empire of the Sun transport you…

After selling out their six-date Australian tour in 2025, The Fray are wasting little time coming back, announcing a major Australian and New Zealand run for February 2027. The Summer of Light Tour will take in a mix of headline arena shows and outdoor dates, with Dashboard Confessional, Bastille, Killing Heidi, Little Birdy and Rachael…

Tove Lo is heading back to Australia, with the Swedish pop powerhouse announcing four headline shows for March 2027 as part of her global ESTRUS TOUR. Presented by Secret Sounds and Live Nation, the tour will take Tove Lo to Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, with Australian rising pop artist SALTY joining her as special…

It’s been seven years since we last heard new music from Pony Face, and the Melbourne indie-psych four-piece make up for lost time with the fabulously hypnotic “Expire”. We’re thrilled today to be premiering the video for “Expire”, the first taste of a forthcoming new album from Pony Face and a welcome reintroduction to a…

Naarm retro-pop rockers Creature Fear have never been afraid to embrace the playful side of their music, and the new video for “Mission To Love You” might be one of their most gleefully unhinged creations yet. Today, we’re thrilled to premiere the clip, a gloriously DIY collision of horror tropes, possessed dancing, strobe lights, laser…

Radiohead are finally coming back to Australia. In what is easily one of the biggest tour announcements of the year, the legendary Oxford band will return in May and June 2027 for their first Australian shows in 15 years, playing a mammoth 16 arena dates across Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. And yes, we’re jumping out of skins…

NSW pop-rock artist Neo Stereo returns this week with his new single “Follow Me”, and today we’re buzzing to be able to give you an exclusive first listen ahead of its release tomorrow, Friday 4th of September. “Follow Me” captures a relationship somewhere between frustration and hope. A driving backbeat and insistent bassline give the…

Southern California folk singer-songwriter Kaz Murphy takes us back through generations of musical dissent on his new single “Old Protest Records”, which we are thrilled to premiere today ahead of its release this Thursday, 3rd of September. Taken from Murphy’s forthcoming fifth studio album Making Noise: Songs Of Rebellion & Redemption, out on the 18th…

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…

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…

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…

Boorloo/Perth artist ALEIA turns betrayal into a chilling roadside ghost story in the accompanying video for her gripping new single, “Willpower”. Ahead of the song’s release tomorrow, the AU review is thrilled to premiere the haunting new clip today. Produced by Dylan Ollivierre (The Money War, EDIE, Joan & The Giants, Siobhan Cotchin), “Willpower” captures the…

Brisbane R&B artist MazZ is preparing to introduce herself with debut single “Memories”, officially out tomorrow, 29th of July, and today we’re thrilled to be giving you the first listen. Signed to UGLi Records, MazZ arrives with a track steeped in late-night atmosphere. Moody synths and dreamy, noir-tinged production create a shadowy backdrop for a…

Australian country-pop artist James Keith is preparing to release his uplifting new single “This Life” tomorrow, 24 July, and today we’re delighted to give you an exclusive first listen. The final single before Keith releases his sophomore album, I Call It Magic When I’m With You, on 9th October, “This Life” is an energetic and…

Sydney alt-rock outfit Verdani are preparing to release their debut EP, The Illusion Is Gone, tomorrow, and today we’re giving you an exclusive first listen. Across four tracks, Verdani move between romantic vulnerability, simmering anger and existential reflection, wrapping weighty themes in dark, atmospheric arrangements. Drawing on post-punk, gothic rock, art rock and baroque influences,…

Nashville-based indie-rock artist and LGBTQ+ advocate Abby Nissenbaum is serving up something playfully subversive with her latest single, “Gentleman”, and today we are delighted to premiere its wonderfully tongue-in-cheek new video. Lifted from Nissenbaum’s new EP, Want to Be Wrong, due for release this Friday, 17th July.  “Gentleman” takes aim at the idealised, hypermasculine “dream…

After a decade spent moving through the relentless cycle of recording, releasing and touring, DMA’S finally allowed themselves the rare luxury of stepping back. That pause has led to DMA’S, the Sydney trio’s self-titled fifth album, due on 21st August. It is a record that looks forward while reconnecting with the raw, guitar-driven energy that…

I first became aware of Gia Darcy in February 2023, when I saw her performing on a stage outside Ed Sheeran’s Sydney concert. I was blown away by her stage presence, vocals and warmth, and have keenly followed her journey ever since. Now, Darcy is taking us behind the scenes of the video for her…

After three EPs, countless shows and a much-needed reset, Naarm indie favourites The Velvet Club have arrived at a huge milestone with the release of their debut album, Are You Falling In Love? Across its ten tracks, the record captures a band leaning back into the raw, immediate joy of 2000s indie-rock — think The…

Melbourne dreamers The Hunter Express are back with “Over Everything”, the first taste of their forthcoming EP, Gold Fades, due for release later this year. Led by singer-songwriter Bradley Ellis, The Hunter Express have always had a gift for turning longing and reflection into something quietly cinematic. On “Over Everything”, that gift is given plenty…

Tarndanya/Adelaide singer-songwriter Lizzie Hosking is back in dark-pop mode with her new single “unforgettable”, and we’re excited to give you an early listen ahead of its release on Friday, July 10. Following her most recent release, “Satellite (Home’s Making Me Homesick)”, “unforgettable” sees Hosking return to her electro-pop, dance-fronted roots with seductive, evocative power. Pairing…

If you’re planning a European festival run toward the end of summer, few events are as rewarding for music discovery as the Reeperbahn Festival. Held each September in the heart of St. Pauli in Hamburg, the festival transforms the neighbourhood’s dense network of clubs, theatres and music venues into one of the world’s great showcases…