Author: Larry Heath

Michel Gondry has always been one of my favourite directors. His ability to take dreamlike concepts and turn them into something visually tangible has always been his strength, and a unifying quality between all his productions – be they feature length, short or music video format. Though perhaps we won’t consider The Green Hornet in…

One of our favourite artists here at the AU for many years now has been Pluto Jonze, the Sydney based electronic artist who has been making waves with tracks like “Plastic Bag in a Hurricane”. After a long wait, our patience is finally being rewarded with the release of his debut album Eject, being released…

Some gigs fade into memory as nothing more than a fun night, others we try desperately to forget… and then there are the few that we know we’ll always remember. They’re the honest, personal, sometimes elaborate performances that sit apart from the rest. They’re usually put together by a band who are at the top…

Japanese rockers Boris will be returning to Australia next week to perform their seminal record Flood in full. Drummer and vocalist from the group, Atsuo, took some time out to talk to us via e-mail and here’s what he had to say about he upcoming tour: What prompted the idea to tour Flood specifically? It…

Black Penny is one of the latest bars to make a splash in the trendy Surry Hills scene, with a focus on good vibes, classy decor, live music, unique cocktails and shared dishes to enjoy “between friends”, such as the “scallops in a blanket” ($17), pictured above. One of their most popular cocktails is the…

Dark Mofo is a brilliantly named winter festival which is debuting TODAY in and around Hobart in Tasmania, and running until June 23rd. It features concerts and performances; MONA’s first large-scale public art project and exhibition, ‘Beam In Thine Own Eye’; the Hobart City Council Dark Mofo ‘Winter Feast’; a family-friendly festivus to enliven the…

I’ve always found David Gordon Green to be a surprising director. Who would have predicted the auteur of the acclaimed George Washington (released back in 2001 in limited theatres and given wider life on DVD thanks to the Criterion Collection) would end up collaborating with comedian Danny McBride on a series of films (Your Highness…

After seeing the film at the Australian premiere in Sydney on Sunday night, yesterday morning I sat down with a group of bloggers and Marc Forster, the director of the upcoming Zombie-focused thriller World War Z, being released in 2D and 3D in Australia on June 20th. We spoke about the film’s lengthy production, working…

Sydney based rapper Rapaport has just dropped a new music video for his track “Anaconda Remix” (Produced by Untold) which was released on the 2012 Patterns Mixtape on Big Village Records. We’re proud to premiere the music video today exclusively on the AU review! Come and do the drunk boogie… The video was directed by…

The Way, Way Back was written and directed by Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, who are best known as the co-writers for the Alexander Payne helmed The Descendants, as well as playing the Dean in Community and Ben in the TV series Ben & Kate, respectively. The Way, Way Back, which premiered last Thursday night…

Premiering earlier this week on triple j, some of our favourite Sydney/Blue Mountains kids are finally back with new material after relocating to London. “Dojo Rising” is the first taste of the forthcoming Cloud Control record, Dream Cave, which is due out on August 9th, the follow up to their AMP winning debut Bliss Release….

Lovelace is a film in two halves. The first is the story of Linda Lovelace – the iconic actress from the 70s porn film sensation Deep Throat – that everyone else had told, including Lovelace herself in her early cash-ins such as Inside Linda Lovelace. The second is the story that Linda revealed when she…

The location for this review has moved. You can read it HERE.

Yesterday morning I sat down with Matt Ravier, the program manager and curator of The Hub. Sitting at Sydney’s Town Hall and premiering at the 2012 Sydney Film Festival, The Hub has become the heart of the Sydney Film Festival, with daily events and most importantly: drinks with other film fans and the film community….

The touch-screen supported Izakaya has become a more recent addition to the Sydney food scene, with Wagaya and Mizuya both proving popular destinations for both Japanese locals and westerners with Karaoke rooms, booths for almost all guests and a wide and varied selection of food and drinks on hand. Yebisu Izakaya in Regent Place (next…

Every major city has its premiere viewing platform. New York has the Empire State Building. Sydney has the Centrepoint Tower. Auckland has the Sky Tower. And never a city to be outdone, Melbourne has the Eureka Tower, which has its viewing point – the “SkyDeck” – on the 88th floor of the building. At 285…

The Holiday Inn hotel chain has undergone a staggering amount of changes over the last decade, taking it from a budget hotel/motel chain that most people associated with overnight stops along highways or airport layovers, into an upmarket full service – though reasonably priced – group of hotels that focus on comfort and quality of…

In my last article looking back on Digital & Music Matters in Singapore (there’s a pile of interviews still to come!), I’m going to take you back to the Beer Garden, the concept bar where we also spent our Wednesday evening for the annual Aussie BBQ. On Friday, the venue a showcase of bands from…

Well we are entering our 6th and final week. We are laying down guitar solos, vocals and a few final touches. New York has really been a mind blowing experience! And the record is coming together just right. It’s sounding massive… Here are a few photos from our most recent experiences: The Lazys meet the…

Melbourne based musician Laura Imbruglia stopped by the AU review offices in Sydney last night and performed the track “If I Ever” for an AU session. It’s the first song she wrote for her forthcoming third record “What A Treat”, due out next Friday, June 7th. Filmed at the AU HQ on 24th April 2013….

When triple j took their annual regional, free, all ages, drug and alcohol free One Night Stand event to Dubbo earlier this year, they attracted over 18,000 punters, making it the largest One Night Stand ever. To celebrate the night, and ensure no one ever forgets their experience – whether they were watching/listening to it…

As drummer and frontman for Staying At Home, Animal Shapes and Lights Out, Nick Van Breda has been an active member of the Australian music industry for the last decade. Over the past two years, Nick has been workign with Sydney producer Dylan Adams (Sticky Fingers, Sailmaker) on his own solo material, which has resulted…

Short Films are a massive draw card of the annual SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, and the woman who helps put that program together goes by the name of Claudette Godfrey. She’s currently in the country to present a collection of the best 2013 Short Films at the St Kilda Film Festival, and she…

Ever since Queens of the Stone Age released their acclaimed record Songs For The Deaf in 2002, which took the underground band to the attention of the world, it would be fair to say the band have struggled to reach similar levels of acclaim. Lullabies to Paralyze, released in 2005, showed that the band were…

Baz Luhrmann has always been hit and miss for me. Though I can understand why his filmic style is detested by some, and loved by others, for me the success of his style comes down to the content. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t. Australia – average story equals an average film, though admittedly…

Local Singapore group These Brittle Bones kicked things off at the Crazy Elephant on the last night of Music Matters, with a British lead singer on the keys, who just so happens to be fourteen! I don’t know about you, but I certainly wasn’t performing at an international industry event at that age. The music…

When I arrived at the HP Showcase at the New Zealand themed bar Fern & Kiwi, as part of the 2013 Music Matters LIVE event in Singapore, I was greeted to a band from India called Indus Creed (pictured above), members of whom I saw take part in the Bombay Metal Project at the NH7…