Author: Chris Singh

What does my surprise at finding a superlative meal in Waikiki say about the most famous tourist area of Hawaii? Yes, that loud, colourful strip that flows south towards Diamond Head is jam-packed with all the top touristic textures. And that already says a lot. It’s the tourist area of one of the world’s most…

There’s a quiet coastal revolution going down around Sydney. First, Accor saw a mountain of acclaim when they reworked the old Novotel in Manly. transforming it into a more appealing, beach-friendly MGallery. They did the same over at The Brighton Sydney – again, lifting it from mid-range Novotel status and priming it for the premium…

Mixed flooring should always be the first question you ask when buying a vacuum. Not price. Not suction numbers. Flooring. Modern homes are increasingly a patchwork of timber, tile, vinyl and the odd rug, and that reality has fuelled the rise of wet-dry vacuums that promise to do everything in one pass. That category is…

I can’t help but think of Nicholas Hope in Bad Boy Bubby every time I watch a video of Nick Cave performing. The oddly obscure “classic” is the kind of hard-watch that leaks from the more unflinching corners of the Australian psyche. But unlike similarly disquieting films, such as Snowtown and Picnic At Hanging Rock, Bubby’s…

Now that we know that she’ll be down here as part of this year’s Bluesfest, it’s no surprise to see neo-soul queen Erykah Badu announce a few sideshows up and down Australia’s east coast to support her visit. Presented by Bluesfest Tours, the Walk Between Worlds tour will see Erykah Badu will touch down in…

Underworld may be the biggest name on the lineup for a new Carriageworks live series, simply called The Works, but make no mistake about it: the headline is intelligent curation and the art institution’s wondrously well-suited warehouse. Over the next few weeks, Carriageworks will kick the new year off with a series of classic warehouse…

The Cricut Maker 4 is positioned as a versatile cutting machine for home crafting, and after spending time with it, that description holds up. It’s built to handle common projects like card making, vinyl decals, and personalised stationery, while offering enough depth to grow beyond the basics. From setup through to daily use, it feels…

The Ninja Luxe Cafe is a home coffee machine designed around flexibility rather than spectacle. It sits in the growing category of drip brewers that promise more control over strength, size, and iced coffee, without drifting into the complexity of specialty gear. On paper, it reads like a practical upgrade for people who drink coffee…

The over-the-top beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that dominated pop culture last year is still paying dividends for at least one of its participants. Following his viral Super Bowl performance, which centred around Kendrick’s now-signature Drake diss “Not Like Us”, the Compton emcee’s star has puffed right into the stratosphere. He now commands some…

Santa’s state-sanctioned home invasions are just around the corner. The big ball of joy is going to be squeezing down your chimney in just a few weeks, but you don’t want him to spot a sad, empty Christmas tree when he makes it down, do you? Trees that shadow dozens upon dozens of wrapped presents,…

Class-leading brands tend to experiment more with value once they’ve reached a certain threshold of quality. Apple’s been doing it for years with the iPhone, for example. The company has already got smartphone production down to a tee, constantly putting out high-quality phones to fit all price points. Yet, Apple isn’t as adventurous as it…

I’m enjoying this neighbourly interplay between robot vacuums and stick vacuums. Both categories are moving forward, respectively, by borrowing liberally from each other in an ongoing attempt to change the way we think about home cleaning appliances. Since we started doing home tech reviews on the AU review, I’ve been able to test out plenty…

I’ve tried my fair share of robot vacuums, from budget models that whirr around in confusion to premium options that promise smart cleaning but still leave crumbs in the corners. The Narwal Flow doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it feels like it’s paying attention to how the category is evolving, and how this brand can…

All it took was one listen to “Fire” before I was ready to claim House of Protection as the best band in the world right now. Once I saw them live, it was pretty much a done deal. “I think, it’s like, The Prodigy meets Rage Against the Machine,” I would tell people in the…

A few years ago, when I was working at a men’s publication, we received a smart beer-maker that promised to streamline the process of home brewing. It wasn’t easy to use, signalling a tech category still finding its feet. The results were uneven, and the verdict was simple. Home-brewing machines were not quite there yet….

How can you possibly quantify the seismic impact of songs like “Seek & Destroy” and “Enter Sandman” when they’re played live and loud, igniting the air with soundwaves so combustible that you could swear Accor Stadium could burst into flames? You can’t. Sydney waited patiently while Metallica shredded through the rest of their Australian tour…

They’ve done it again. But you expected as much, right? RUFUS DU SOL is ending a breathless world tour in Australia, and right now they’ve landed at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena for the first of three sold-out shows. After that, it’s on to their hometown of Sydney for another string of instant sell-outs. For those…

Nowadays, the word “luxury” is vague and overused in the travel industry. Every influencer and their Pomeranian specialises in “luxury.” Every travel writer and blogger specialises in “luxury”. Everyone wants a piece of that upper-crust lifestyle (very understandable), but few understand that genuine luxury goes far, far beyond aesthetics, location and exclusivity. You cannot claim…

Breville’s latest home appliance is something the brand, best known for its superb coffee machines and category-leading microwaves, has never done before. “In fact, no other company has done this before,” says Tom Groundes-Peace, Senior Global Category Manager & Head of Research at Breville. However, this gave them a slight advantage; Breville could thoroughly test…

Lightweight and powerful is a reasonable pitch for a vacuum that you can pick up for $400 in Australia. As with all leading home appliance and consumer technology categories, the biggest refinement is always in value as brands constantly chase the perfect balance between performance, design and price to address all ends of the market….

Owing to its image quality, compact body and nostalgic, tactile experience, Fujifilm’s approachable X-T30 model has been beloved by travel photographers for years. I know several travel writers and content creators who swear by the X-T30 II and readily suggest it to would-be photographers looking to dip deeper into the expensive world of professional photography….

One of the largest rooftops in L.A., a prime position tucked away from crowds of first-time tourists, and 220 comfortable, light-filled rooms that look like they’re paying homage to Hollywood’s black-and-white era. This is The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood, which has been pitched as one of the neighbourhood’s most fashionable boltholes since opening in the second…

I close my eyes halfway through one of Neil Finn’s good-humoured stretches of crowd banter and can almost swear Rhys Darby was the new lead for Crowded House. The fearless frontman has always charmed with his relatable sense of humour, often quipping with his brother Liam between the band’s many classics. But something about these pop-up…

The Crowne Plaza brand is one of the most recognisable banners for IHG, sitting comfortably in the “affordable premium” market as opposed to outright luxury, often fashioned as that mid-to-upscale that values balance over priced-out exclusivity. It’s been that way for decades, which is why Crowne Plaza is such a prolific brand for every type…

It has been years between drinks for Gearbox and 2K’s pioneering looter-shooter. Borderlands 4 arrived shortly after one of the most nonsensical and unwatchable game-to-screen adaptations of all time, and yet it more than makes up for any damage Jack Black and his crew inflicted on this otherwise fantastic IP. If you take anything away…

Chicago neighbourhoods are just as diverse as New York neighbourhoods. “Think of Chicago as New York City, but just the right size.” That’s how the city was described to me when I first arrived at O’Hare. I was 22 back then, wide-eyed and full of energy, looking forward to my first overseas trip as an…

From mid-to-late October, four major Australian cities will bear witness to one of the only noughties-baiting lineups of the year with RnB Fridayz Live. The festival has been around for years, but this is one of their most varied line-ups to date, with Pitbull and Mariah Carey headlining the whole thing, alongside Lil’ Jon, Wiz…

I think it’s important to have “favourite” artists. Creatives whose words, thoughts and/or works resonate with you so hard that they bypass traditional modes of communication. They don’t speak to your consciousness, they dive to the bottom-of-the-iceberg part of your brain where memory and emotion lie. Music, paintings, books. Any work that speaks to you…

“Everything cool in Los Angeles is hidden,” says Jonny D’Amico, who moves through West Hollywood with the cocksure swagger of the area’s unofficial cultural czar. He never claims the title, but his confidence suggests it. I’m skeptical. Yet after walking with the firebrand up and down West Hollywood’s signature Sunset Strip, I’m convinced. This is…

I haven’t seen the Eiffel Tower since I was nine, so when I crane my neck at the latticework girders and perfectly formed apex, I sigh. Just inches to the left, I duck under the Arc de Triomphe to soak up the romance. For a moment, I feel like I’m in Paris. I dream of…