Author: Liv Toerkell

Album Review: Gary Clark Jr. – This Land (2019 LP)

The bluesman appears to have become a rare and shy character in the age of synthesizers and auto tune. Still some loyal guitar heroes keep on carrying the torch for the moody genre. Among them is Texas born and raised guitarist and singer Gary Clark Jr. Even though he clearly has a passion for the…

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Album Review: Yola – Walk Through Fire (2019 LP)

For those who expected time travel to be possible by now, Walk Through Fire, the debut album by British singer Yola, will not be a disappointment. Together with Black Keys front man Dan Auerbach, the vocal prodigy lets her voice glister on the twelve country soul tracks, transporting listeners straight back to the peak of…

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Album Review: Dandy Warhols – Why You So Crazy (2019 LP)

After 25 five years in the music industry you are either on the way of becoming a legend – if not already one – or awkwardly trying to keep up with what popular music has become in 2019. Somehow, The Dandy Warhols manage to do both at the same time. At their turn of the…

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Album Review: Two People’s First Body (2019 LP) is here to move you

Just Two People making music sounds pretty standard doesn’t it? Except that Phoebe Lou and Joey Clough are no ordinary people. With their five-piece band Snakadaktal, they gathered a loyal following in the indie pop scene until the outfit broke up in 2014. But this did not stop the childhood friends from pursuing their dream…

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Album of the Week: The Paz Band’s Supply & Demand (2018 LP) delivers more energy than a lightning bolt

Take five cups of rock n roll, two spoons full of Buddy Guy influenced electric blues, a sprinkle of 60s style soul, and top it all off with a voice as versatile as a chameleon… and you have something that resembles The Paz Band, a five-piece from Tel Aviv, who have been packing large venues in…

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SXSW 2019 just got even bigger: Here’s everything you need to know

The SXSW Conference and Festival, or South by Southwest, recently announced additions to its massive line up of showcasing artists for 2019. For several decades now, this Texas based event has been celebrating music, film and interactive media and has turned into a hot spot for connecting with other international artist, labels, and audiences. Being…

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Meet the first Aussies heading to Brighton for The Great Escape 2019

To celebrate a ten-year partnership with Sounds Australia, UK’s premier showcasing event The Great Escape will host a slew of Australian artists at their next annual run, with Australia as the focus country for the event. And they’ve announced the first ten Aussie artists to grace the event’s stages. From the 9th until the 11th of May,…

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Album of the Week: Antony & Cleopatra – Hurt Like Hell (2018 EP)

No, we are not talking about the Shakespeare drama here, even if “Hurt Like Hell” was probably something Cleopatra would have said about her demise. Hurt Like Hell is the title of the new EP by the deep house Duo Antony & Cleopatra. The album was released on Friday and contains six ready-to-dance-to tracks packed with…

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Track of the Day: Emily C. Browning feat. Ariza “Outgoing” (2018)

Mix New Zealand grown guitar tunes with Colombian producing skill and you get “Outgoing”, our track of the day. Emily C. Browning, the sweetheart from the island, started fiddling around on the guitar at a young age, before eventually moving on to graduating with a Bachelor Degree in Music Arts. Her jazz influenced guitar play and…

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Come Out and Play: Who’s headlining Good Things Festival in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne?

As one of Australia’s biggest festivals for alternative rock music fans, Good Things is kicking off their run across the East Coast this December. From the 7th until the 9th of December, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane get to enjoy the massive line up the festival features. To make sure you don’t miss your favourite acts, Good Things…

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Exclusive Video Premiere: Violetta Zironi “Oasis” (2018)

There’s a songbird who sings and her name is Violetta Zironi. The Italian-born singer and guitarist started her musical career at the young age of sixteen, when she first picked up a pen and paper to express her thoughts in songs. A duet with the legendary Ben E. King, an international tour, and a critically…

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Album of the Week: Harts unleashes the eclectic Queens, Kings, & All Big Things (2018 LP)

Darren Hart, more commonly known as the multi-instrumentalist Harts, gained recognition with his debut album Smoke Fire Hope Desire in 2016 and is now taking the meaning of the one-man show to the next level (though he does perform with an incredible band, it must be said). The musical blend of the Indian-born and Australia…

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Track of the Day: Wanderers “What I Do” (2018)

The new single “What I Do” from Adelaide duo Wanderers is the perfect track to ring in summer. Dusty Lee Stephensen and Matt Birkin outshine themselves on this upbeat jam, which started life as merely a looped groove to practice bass to. Now, fleshed out and with a good dose of Motown influence, it adds a fresh…

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Track of the Day: Betty Who “Between You & Me” (2018)

Betty Who? Is a question not many will ask after the highly successful run this pop starlet is currently having. The Sydney-born singer-songwriter scored a Top Ten spot on the Australian Charts with her best-known single “I Love You Always Forever” and has been touring extensively throughout the year. Since then Betty Who, a now…

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Aussies Abroad: Jade Imagine to join Julia Jacklin’s UK tour this month

Melbourne indie pop outfit Jade Imagine will head to England and Scotland to support Julia Jacklin on her headlining tour across the island later this month. The shows in London and Manchester are already sold out and fans in Glasgow should hurry up to secure a ticket, because this combination attracts indie fans like a…

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Album Review: Larkin Poe’s Venom & Faith (2018 LP) is a modern interpretation of traditional blues music

The blues sisters from Atlanta are back with their long-awaited fourth studio album, Venom & Faith, which follows up on the critical acclaim of last year’s Peach, which was nominated for a Blues Music Award, with a collection of ten bluesy tracks. Don’t be fooled Larkin Poe is not a man, but instead two sisters, Megan and Rebecca…

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Disney takes on Netflix: Everything you need to know about the exclusive new content coming to Disney+

Production giant Disney has finally confirmed the name of its long talked about streaming device. The name, Disney+, might not be the most creative, but it will contain the beloved classics and well as new features and might put other streaming platforms to shame. The new direct-to-customer service will go online in late 2019. CEO Bob…

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Album Review: Imagine Dragons’ Origins (2018 LP) is disappointingly unoriginal

Las Vegas four-piece Imagine Dragons are probably best known for their incredibly overplayed songs “Radioactive” and “Thunder”. They fuse genres from Pop, to EDM and Hip Hop on one LP, and strike up a wide angle of important topics like world peace, depression and love. A mixture that might sound intriguing, but the outcome is…

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Album of the Week: Cyanide Thornton’s debut self-titled LP is a transcendent experience

It almost seems unbelievable that the self-titled LP is Cyanide Thornton’s first release. The Melbourne three-piece formed in 2016 and quickly gathered a local following in the alternative rock circuits of the city. The much-anticipated self-titled album will drop on Friday and is a collection of seven unique and musically advanced tracks. The album is like a…

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Interview: Glitoris (Canberra) talk The Policy debut album and the raw energy of their live shows

Canberra rockers Glitoris released their debut album The Policy on Friday – and today tickets to their album tour go on sale. Last week, Liv Toerkell caught up with the group to talk about the album, the upcoming tour, the raw energy of their live show and the issues they face in the male-dominated music…

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Track of the Day: Jacob Banks “Kumbaya” (2018)

Jacob Banks is not just a great singer and songwriter but also an expert at fusing genres to create unique tracks like new single, “Kumbaya”, which was released on Friday along with Banks’ long-awaited debut album Village.  At thirteen Banks moved from his home in Nigeria to Birmingham in the UK, where he started playing…

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Live Review: Aussie trio Haiku Hands thrill with Synne Sanden at Maze in Berlin (Germany)

Let me tell you a little story of megaphones, neon masks and confetti. Once upon a time, in a town called Berlin, people started dropping into a cosy little underground bar in the middle of Kreuzberg. The vibe is relaxed and the small crowd of mostly young hipsters is lounging on steps or on chairs…

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Album Review: Oh Pep! – I Wasn’t Only Thinking About You… (2018 LP)

Melbourne Duo Olivia Hally and Pepita Emmerichs, known as Oh Pep!, are back again. Since they first met in a performing arts school in 2009, the girls have brought out two EPs, one full-length album, and concluded several international tours. Now the duo follow on from their critically acclaimed debut Stadium Cake with I Wasn’t Only…

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8 acts you need to see at Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival

With ticket prices from Australia to Hong Kong at record lows, now would be as good a time as any to look into tickets to Hong Kong for the city’s long-running outdoor music and arts festival, Clockenflap. As one of Hong Kong’s signature music events, the festival features about one hundred different acts and will…

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Nine shows not to miss at the Sydney Festival in 2019

Every January, Sydney Festival helps kick off the new year with a massive cultural celebration, and 2019 is looking to be no different. The 2019 instalment of the festival includes eighteen world premieres, five Australian premieres, and eight Australian exclusives, and features a programme which runs the gamut of cutting edge contemporary theatre, visual arts and…

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Track of the Day: Curtis Harding “Where We Are” (2018)

Emerging retro soul singer-songwriter Curtis Harding has followed up last year’s Face Your Fear album with brand new single, “Where We Are”,  an eight minute beauty that is packed with nostalgia for 60’s soul. Harding, the son of a gospel singer (an influence you can still hear today), kicked off his career as a background singer…

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The AU Turns 10 in Perth: Meet the Bands playing our stages at WAMFest

On November 2nd and 3rd, more than one hundred local Western Australian bands will play at multiple venues across the city for FREE as part of the annual WAMFest. And this year, as part of the AU review’s national run of 10th birthday celebrations, we’re taking over no less than four stages at the Amplifier Capitol on…

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Live Review: Kurt Vile and The Violators hypnotise their Berlin audience as the Bottle It In tour gets rolling

On a Thursday night at 7:45, the almost century-old venue in Kreuzberg, Berlin, starts filling up. Some laid back rock tunes play in the background as I watch an audience pour into Huxley’s that could not be any more diverse. Ten-year-old kids with their parents mingle amongst hipsters in their late 20s, and a couple…

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Album of the Week: Greta Van Fleet’s Anthem of the Peaceful Army (2018 LP) is an ode to 70s rock

Topping the US Rock Charts for not one, but five consecutive weeks, opening for Bob Seger, winning the Loudwire music awards, playing sold out shows across the globe and gaining acclaim from namely artists like Elton John before even releasing an album. May I introduce Greta Van Fleet, the Michigan Rock outfit that mixed up…

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Party your way to a dream ski trip to Canada this Halloween

Whether wizard, witch or vampire everyone is invited. On 27th October, Network Canada’s famous Halloween shaker Halloween International – Devil’s Night is set to return to Sydney’s Greenwood Hotel. In addition to 3 DJ areas, the party has several Canadian activities lined up for guests, from bull-riding (Calgary Stampede style) to snowboarding in the Canadian Rockies. They’ll…

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