Album Reviews

From the immediate start of his debut album, Trevor Sensor’s husky-voiced howl will resonate with you for sometime.  Recorded at Steve Albini‘s Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, the LP features production work from Brandon Darner (Imagine Dragons), Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado and Richard Swift (The Shins). Sensor’s voice is especially reminiscent of a late 1980/1990’s Bob…

The first time I heard “Rooting For You” I burst into tears. I was going through a break up at the time see, and I’m a pretty vulnerable person to begin with, so the added mental weight, backed by the beauty of London Grammar was all too much to bare. There was something about that…

The sophomore album from Brit-rockers Royal Blood is a punchy follow-up to their self-titled debut. Unfortunately, How Did We Get So Dark? lacks in many areas that made Royal Blood the captivating album that it was. The debut album from Royal Blood was rife with catchy riffs, gritty guitars and convincing vocals. How Did We…

We’ve had a week now to sink our teeth into the eighth album from American group Portugal. The Man, an outfit I’ve been listening to now for almost a decade. Their evolution from 2009’s The Satanic Satanist to 2013’s Evil Friends is a remarkable one – seeing the group catapulted from unknowns to one of…

This month, well known Aussie rockers Grinspoon are releasing a deluxe edition of their first studio album Guide to Better Living. Celebrating the 20 years it’s been around by adding a load of live tracks to the album list. Grinspoon formed in 1995 and released Guide to Better Living two years later in September. The…

After eighteen months in the studio, Perth trio Crooked Colours have just released their debut album Vera. This is a well-crafted and enjoyable release for those that love their music laid-back yet still up-tempo. The opening track “Flow” is a likable and catchy tune that has those summer vibes threading through. It begins with that…

On their most recent album, Precious Art, Rozwell Kid commit to this very 90s, Get Up Kids-esque, early Weezer kind of fuzzy pop punk. There’s nothing that would sound out of place in the background of a scene in a Buffy episode from 1998. Here’s the main question you need to answer before heading into…

Phoenix is a seemingly cool band. They just ooze confidence in their music and live sets. Here on their sixth album Ti Amo, the Parisian four-piece seemingly rest on these cool laurels that has made them favourites worldwide, while not really progressing all that much as a band. While the band are notable and proud…

When “Liability” came out, it sucker punched me right in the face. You start listening to it and you’re like, ‘Oooo this is nice’, and then the lyrics sink in and your face turns red and the tears start welling and then BAM! Emotions! Lorde has a way of doing that. She knows how to…

There’s always something impressive about melancholic music. While it’s definitely not the most upbeat and joyous moods and genres to be in, the modesty, honesty and heart-wrenching nature of the music is what makes it so relatable to so many people; irrespective of their demographic. And here on the debut EP of nyck you’re more…

What can I say about Ceres that hasn’t already been said – often by me? Ceres is my favourite Australian band, hands down. Their first album, I Don’t Want To Be Anywhere But Here, is one of my favourite albums of all time. Their second album, Drag It Down On You, is a melodious, cathartic,…

Angst manifests in many different forms, and deny it all you want, it’s a necessary outlet for the frustrations of the mundane. It’s just a part of life and thankfully, we have music to get us through. More specifically however, we have Girlpool. Self titled as an anti-debut, the Californian duo recently dropped their latest record…

UK indie-rockers alt-J first sent shock waves through the music world back in 2012, following the release of their debut album An Awesome Wave. Pocketing a Mercury Music Prize, an Ivor Novello ‘Album Award’ for songwriting and three BRIT award nominations, the band quickly rose to international acclaim, hooking listeners far and wide with their…

You know those days where you’re just kind of annoyed at the world and its patriarchal bullshit? You’re so irritated that it makes you want to laugh-cry. If only there was a Garage Punk album that would allow you to yell AND have a good chuckle, thus releasing all that pent up frustration. Enter Groundbreaking…

When I first sat down to Benjamin Booker’s new album Witness, I entirely expected to hear much the same of what made me love his self-titled debut album: blues guitar being shredded like Marty McFly does in the first Back To The Future. And while there are still aspects of this on the new album,…

For those expecting an album that completely revolutionises music, akin to Mozart, Bach, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc., please look elsewhere. For those expecting a fun, innovative rap album that provides a new style to an arguably often stale genre, look no further than the new Lil Yachty album, Teenage Emotions. The follow-up to impressive…

Hachiku’s upcoming self-titled EP is dreamy. That sounds like a disingenuous, relatively vague description of the fuzzy beats and twinkly melodies, but Hachiku – otherwise known as Anika Ostendorf – has these deft, light vocals, sung in a clipped, wide-eyed accent are just that – dreamy. It’s an early summer, soft-lights-and-cool-water kind of sound, and…

Zander Hawley is an American songwriter truly coming into his own with this, his debut album, When I Get Blue. Having first come across his music a few years ago (he is one half of LA’s Honeywater with Amandla Stenberg), I’ve been keeping track on Hawley’s solo releases out of Nashville since. There’s a poignancy that permeates throughout Hawley’s…

The coolest kids on the block and possibly the sweetest kids of the bunch – Western Australian band San Cisco are back with The Water, a serenade of rich insistent pop tunes. Lets dive in. The band began their string of melodic love dedications back in 2010, with their first EP Golden Revolver. Led by storyteller Jordi Davieson on vocals, Scarlett Stevens, Josh Biondillo and Nick Gardner were…

British ‘left hand’ pop artist, Joe Goddard, has finally graced us with his second LP, Electric Lines. It’s been a long eight year wait since his debut solo album Harvest Fest, but makes up for it with the 10 tracks on the LP full of irresistible, futuristic hymns. Starting off as a member of Hot…

Across six albums released since 2008, POND have made a name for themselves as a band with ever-interchangeable members and a thirst for reviving the best psychedelic rock of the 1960’s/70’s. The initial motivation for POND was to create a collaborative musical project that could have anybody involved whenever they wanted. The result is a band currently…

The much-hyped return of Gorillaz has been justified…to an extent. It’s been some years since 2010’s Plastic Beach introduced us to some brilliant pieces of songwriting and so understandably, when tour dates and hints of new music began filtering out, the excitement levels surrounding a new Gorillaz record began peaking long before any solid details about the record…

It’s a little demoralising finding a musician who is infinitely more talented than you in plenty more areas than just music. In this instance, it’s Alex The Astronaut, the multi-talented musician, soccer player, and scientist. Smarts and sporting prowess aside, Alex The Astronaut is a seriously talented, and supremely wordy lyricist and musician. Here on…

Though firmly anchored in Americana Chris Shiflett‘s third solo album, West Coast Town, translates beautifully to the Australian country scene.  I most recently listened to the album as I churned through a road trip through Victoria and New South Wales and it made many of the 1400 kilometers melt away.  There’s something about the wide…

On Local Natives‘ third full-length effort, we see the five-piece opting to stay consistent with their sound on their 12-track offering of harmony-rich, up-beat indie-rock. Sunlit Youth follows their sophomore album Hummingbird (2013), a release that saw the band grapple darker themes and question whether their future material would resemble a recovery. In Sunlit Youth, Local Natives have successfully created…

This just in: guitar and drums aren’t dead. Who’d have thought it? In an age where every man, woman, and dog seem to only use synths and drum pads, Sydney two-piece Polish Club have gone about releasing a blistering debut album. On the back of a couple years crafting their blues and garage rock sound,…

Evolution is what makes humans the race we are. While Darwin’s theory of evolution is most notably recognised by the summary of ‘survival of the fittest’, it also speaks about one’s ability to adapt and change to its environment. And here on his current EP A Boy And His Rose, Sean Heathcliff has shown that…

Canadian four-piece The Franklin Electric have been moving and shaking in the folk scene since 2012, entering and winning a Nashville songwriting competition with over 8000 other bands from around the world. Flavoured with alternative pop, their debut LP This Is How I Let You Down layers perceptive lyrics with string-based harmonies, emotive piano chords and their self-proclaimed secret weapon, the…

To celebrate 25 years in the business, The Waifs have delivered their glorious eighth LP, Ironbark. They asked their fans what they wanted, and delivered a stunningly created 25 song album. All tracks were recorded at the Karl Marx beared guitarist, Josh Cunningham‘s quaint bushland house in rugged Moruya in New South Wales. Still very…

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…