When I was a child learning to count and spell, I never thought I would visit Mississippi, the word used to measure time and to prove how good I was at spelling. But, I took a chance on Clarksdale. It’s a small town located in the north part of Mississippi, about an hour south of…
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If you haven’t heard any of Kira Puru‘s music, exactly how big is that rock you’re hiding under? Her single “Molotov” has had a lot of airplay on Triple J, and her undeniably cool ‘Like A Version’ performance of Katy Perry‘s “Last Friday Night” is what dreams are made of. Her debut self-titled EP contains the…
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Boston Calling kicked off the weekend to a mid-sized crowd on a hot, windy day, which gave me major flashbacks to the Big Day Out and Falls Festivals past. Within the first ten minutes I was sweaty, covered in dirt, and had sneezed about a hundred times. But if you don’t get a little grimy and…
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The second day of Boston Calling had the biggest headliners, and a solid late afternoon run on the Red and Green stages. The Pod Saves America podcast was a good idea until the line ended up going out the door and around the corner, but Manchester Orchestra on the Green stage was a good enough…
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The hot weather and sun we’d had on the first two days felt like a distant memory by Sunday afternoon. The temperature dropped 20 degrees overnight, and the cold wind made the light rain feel a million times worse than it was. The weather inspired me to check out The Arena stage, held in a…
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This year’s Boston Calling Music Festival takes place between May 25 and May 27, at Harvard Athletic Complex in Massachusetts in the USA. A festival with this many headliners – Eminem, The Killers, Jack White, Queens of the Stone Age, Paramore, and Tyler, The Creator – doesn’t really need to do much else to get…
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British India returned to The Metro with songs from their latest album Forgetting the Future and two support acts, Deadlove and Planet, in tow. First support act Deadlove were loud and energetic, their set could be heard from the bar at The Metro. Playing to a small crowd that gradually grew throughout the set, the…
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The Guild has three locations in Austin, and I chose to stay at the one on Red River and 9th Street – right across from the iconic Stubb’s BBQ. It proved itself to offer something quite different to the usual hotel experience. Upon booking, I received a text asking me to send photos of my…
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My experience with the Holiday Inn Ontario Airport, California (about an hour east of Los Angeles) started two days before I was set to arrive. I wanted to make sure that arriving late at night after a music festival would be acceptable, and that I could have a late checkout the next day. The woman…
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I have never listened to St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) before this album, and while I feel I need to go and do that now, I am happy that MASSEDUCTION was my introduction to her music and her amazing talent. MASSEDUCTION is, quite frankly, the best thing I’ve listened to in a while. The production…
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The Lisbon Marriott Hotel is the stereotype of a hotel that would have been considered classy in the ’80s, but hasn’t been updated since. The lobby has a huge revolving door – something about them always makes me nervous – a bar and restaurant immediately opposite the entrance, and a large check-in desk to the…
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For anyone not in the know, CalJam is the birth child of Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age. Debuting in San Bernadino, about an hour and a half drive from LA, the festival hosted a huge lineup including Cage The Elephant, The Kills, Royal Blood, Liam Gallagher and Babes in Toyland. Like any…
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I have been a British India fan from the start. I remember playing “Tie Up My Hands” on repeat back in 2007, and since then, I’ve followed their progress and danced in their moshpits in venues and festivals all over Sydney. To say their sixth album, Forgetting the Future is great is an understatement. Their…
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Stepping into Marquis Reforma in Mexico City is what I’d imagine stepping into a palace is like. Staff greeted my friend and I as the taxi dropped us off, and held our suitcases for us while we checked in. The lobby is decorated with marble-effect tiling, gold and black statues, and large plants. There are…
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When I checked into my original Barbados hotel, in the Carribean, I was sorely disappointed. The bed was uncomfortable, bathroom dirty, and, because of the open plan of the building, was barely private. The next morning I trawled Booking.com for a better hotel nearby and found a deal at Time Out Hotel, only a ten…
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The Preatures‘ second album Girlhood, follow up to their 2014 debut Blue Planet Eyes, explores matters that affect us as girls in a fun, pop-driven way. Opening track “Girlhood” blasts in without an intro, and makes me want to jump around my bedroom while singing into a hairbrush. If they were intending to make female…
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The War on Drugs‘ Adam Granduciel has a lot to live up to with latest album, A Deeper Understanding. 2014’s Lost in the Dream received high, widespread acclaim – our review even called it a masterpiece – which means this album is given the unlucky task of upholding or exceeding the hype. A Deeper Understanding…
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It was a different kind of set to the ones I’m used to from The Living End. This is a band that headlines festivals, starts mosh pits, and causes all ’round chaos in Australia. But on this sticky Monday night in New York, they were very much a support act. It wasn’t from lack of…
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I have been to one European festival before – Main Square in France – but that was six years ago. In that time I got used to the stricter, but definitely more organized, festivals in Australia and the US. If there’s one thing you should take away from this piece it’s this: if you’re going…
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One of Australia’s best known and celebrated singer-songwriters, Sarah Blasko is touring around Australia, but this tour is special because she’s playing completely solo at all of her shows. We caught up with Sarah to find out why she’s decided to play solo now, and get the insider information about her new album. I saw…
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I didn’t have a real reason to head to Mexico City for a weekend getaway, other than the flights were cheap (from mainland USA) and I love Mexican food. The only real plan I had was to go to the Frida Kahlo Museum… so the rest of our weekend was (naturally) spent exploring, eating, shopping, and drinking. One bonus…
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LCD Soundsystem did a run of shows at the brand new venue Brooklyn Steel. The band showed they’re not losing their edge whatsoever. And, we all know. I was there. I have to preface this by saying LCD Soundsystem was my ‘white whale’. My friend invited me to see them at the Hordern all the…
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It may have been April Fools’ Day when King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard played, but these boys weren’t foolin’. This show was added because they’d sold out the night before, showing their live antics and talent have reached fans on the other side of the world. Opening act Orb had a strong following, and…
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I’m an Australian who’s lived in New York for the last nine months, and two months in I managed to lose my passport and visa. I replaced the passport, but $300 and three arguments you only have with government employees later, I had to replace my visa too. I had to leave the country to…
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Listening to this 19 track long album before you realise it’s a collection of EPs can be confronting. Hanni El Khatib produced five separate EPs last year and this collection is all of them thrown together. The first track, “Baby’s OK” has a strong drum beat and starts with the line, “I was high as…
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The first time I listened to this album, I had questions. The first: why are they breaking up their band when their latest album is this good? The second: where are the subdued, quiet Augustines I remember from their 2014 self-titled album? Opening track “Are We Alive” assaulted my ears with a drum frenzy and…
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Let me preface this review by saying I am in love with Laura Marling. I have been since 2013, when she enchanted the entire tent at Splendour in the Grass. Her songwriting shows wisdom and depth beyond her years, and many of her songs make me feel like they’ve been written just for me. I’ve…
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Ty Segall‘s latest, self-titled album – the ninth in his discography – starts with the dirty, riff-driven track “Break a Guitar”. It’s the perfect opener for an album full of more dirty, riff-driven tracks and sets the scene. Segall’s voice stays within an easy range and complements the rest of the instruments, with its familiar…
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The Jezabels played to an adoring crowd on a freezing cold night, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in New York. Going to see The Jezabels is something I associate with summer. Both because I’ve only seen them at summer festivals in Australia – Falls Festival, Homebake, and Laneway Festival – and because I remember…
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Grouplove brought their fun and energetic live show to Brooklyn, and showed off new tracks from latest album Big Mess. The irony of arriving late and dishevelled to see a band whose latest album is called Big Mess – and is about how chaotic life can be – was not lost on me. I arrived…
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