Album Reviews

It has been argued, with varying levels of success, that Simple Plan deviated too far over the past couple of albums. Truth be told, they’ve always clung to the pop flank of pop-punk. Yet when irreverent lyrics and copious amounts of tomfoolery were replaced with love songs and seriousness, punk purists abandoned ship. But Simple…

Straight up, Hymns is as far removed from the Bloc Party that burst on to the scene in the mid 2000’s as possible. Hymns doesn’t have a “Banquet” or “Helicopter”, and slightly misses the mark with its balladry. But, the development and reincarnation of Bloc Party on Hymns obviously didn’t want the band to be…

First off, who is this Pablo to whom Kanye West refers with his album title, The Life of Pablo? Picasso? Neruda? Escobar? Is he inexplicably trying to revive Petey Pablo’s career? Referencing Radiohead’s classic debut? Maybe he is likening himself San Pablo (St. Paul), another biblical reference following the religious megalomania of Yeezus. Most likely…

Sydney four-piece The Jezabels have progressed in leaps and bounds following their 2007 debut. With four awards under their belt, the band has enthralled listeners with innovative soundscapes and lyrical prowess. Weaving between different genres their latest release, SYNTHIA is a product of stunning composition and production. A cohesive body of work, each track maintains individuality…

Their first album in four years, The Waterfall is a bracing return for My Morning Jacket, that will reaffirm them in the canon of indie rock. It’s graceful and lyrically robust, while still maintaining the positive vibes of the group. It’s been a while coming, but throughout the album’s run time, it proves a stellar…

Back in 2013, Savages released a critically acclaimed album, Silence Yourself – a post-punk gem that even had its own manifesto as part of the cover art. The anticipation was high then for Adore Life, an album devoted entirely to love songs. Luckily, Savages have lived up to the hype and delivered another excellent LP.  The album begins with the scorching…

For a while there, it seemed like Blackalicious would be no more – they burst out of the blocks in the early noughties with three classic LPs, before a decade-long silence after 2005’s The Craft. But back in 2015, the duo broke their hiatus in a big way with Imani Vol. 1. The album is not…

Sydney-based former Novocastrians, Love Parade, released their second album, Shake On The Mission, earlier in 2015 and it’s one of the sneakiest albums I’ve heard in a while. I’ve found myself randomly humming or singing tunes from the album at the oddest of times, usually when I’m supposed to be deeply engrossed in something heinously…

Mystery Jets have been a slowly growing force ever since their debut in 2006. Since the release of debut LP Making Dens, the London act have continuously changed their style and scope, while maintaining the roots of who they were when it all began. From the young and earnest Twenty One, to the synth led…

There seems to be a growing trend in the entertainment industry of over-hyping. Some new whatever comes out, or is announced, and it whips everyone into a frenzy just thinking about the potential for a new whatever-the-hell-is-being-hyped. Unfortunately, the other growing trend is letting those who are hyped up for something down, and as a…

2015 was a good year for hometown hero Courtney Barnett, who went from an indie darling into a huge success story and Grammy nominee. 2015 was also kind to the label she started, Milk! Records, when a year of growth and huge sales of Courtney’s debut album was rewarded with an AIR award for Best Independent…

They’re contenders for the APRA Song of the Year and they recently dropped into Falls Festival for a set or two. Let’s take a look back at Hiatus Kaiyote‘s sophomore album that propelled them further than they thought they could go. That’s right, we’re talking about future-soul, funk time travellers Hiatus Kaiyote and Choose Your…

Disaster, dilemma, gloom and an absolutely dreadful time: It’s what Daughter do. And to be frank, they do it way too well for you to not be at least a little bit concerned about the band members’ wellbeing. Daughter, the London based trio consisting of vocalist Elena Tonra, Swede Igor Haefeli, and Frenchman Remi Aguilella,…

It’s impossible to review ★ (Blackstar), David Bowie’s 25th and, devastatingly, last album, in any subjective way given the tragic events that have passed since its release. Lyrics, especially from the title track and “Lazarus”, are now refracted through his death and are hard to interpret without his illness in mind. But, for the record, I bought…

Horror My Friend may have taken a while in crafting this beast of a debut record but the wait is most certainly worth it; the Adelaide band has come out guitars thrashing, confident and ambitious – the trio has harnessed some well established post-punk/90’s rock influences in producing a record that isn’t scrappy. It’s aggressive…

LA noise band HEALTH officially released their third studio album Death Magic earlier in the year. The hiatus between their previous album Get Color and the new Death Magic has paid off. These guys have been dipping their toes into numerous projects over the years, from game soundtracks to video collabs with greats like Eric…

Australia’s sweetheart Troye Sivan has finally unleashed his talents into the stratosphere with his debut record Blue Neighbourhood. Primarily known for his YouTube channel, Sivan is not just another vlogger who earns an income from doing the Chubby Bunny challenge – he has expressed his personal journey into adulthood in a collection of songs that prove the…

Angsty pop-punk isn’t a new thing. It isn’t a bad thing. It will always have a place within the lives of adolescents trying to find something to connect with. And frankly, I’m not ashamed to admit that some of my favourite times listening to music now is when I revisit the music I listened to…

Since releasing their debut EP three years ago, Sydney’s Lime Cordiale have been synonymous with the Australian summer. Think road trips, rivers and bars in small towns. Their work is nostalgic in a way that particularly appeals to millennials, probably because – as they access the band’s music using the internet – it makes them…

It’s hard to be happy and interesting at the same time. Often, if you listen to an album that comes from a “happy place,” your most likely reaction is going to be either envy or boredom. The fact is, most great art comes from a place of pain – the prevailing wisdom is that dissatisfaction…

Nineteen year-old Sunshine Coast resident Ayla has just dropped an epic debut EP called When The World Ends. I’ve been listening to Ayla for a little over a year now and I can safely say this represents the best that the talented singer-songwriter has to offer at this stage in her career. When The World Ends consists of 5 tracks….

Controversial Sydney rapper Kerser has released his fifth album in as many years, Next Step. While it contains every vulgar word in the English language (at least twice) and he insults everything from popular Aussie TV shows to well-known football players, it also has moments of honest, real emotions. “Only Rap You Need” is the…

‘Status is always ripe for satire; status is always good for comedy.’ These words by Stephen Colbert perfectly sum up the concept that is The 12th Man. As the writer of Austen Tayshus’ classic “Australiana”, Billy Birmingham has been the man behind many a laugh, parody, and satire that has resonated within the Australian comedy…

I know what you’re thinking – that sounds like a really morbid name for an album. Honestly, I agree with you. Thankfully, the music contained within is anything but morbid. It is soothing and easy. Daniel Lee Kendall aka Daniel Forsyth has been off the radar for a few years. What a way to return….

I won’t deny that I was extremely excited for this album. It’s been a whole four-years since the world has heard a full-length record from Adele Adkins, arguably one of the best voices of our generation. The long awaited record is called 25 and it is Adele’s third album following the monumental success of 21 and…

The resurgence of psychedelic rock in recent years has resulted in a spectrum of works, ranging from the successful, to the catchy, to the downright forgettable. Thankfully, Nick Allbrook of Pond (and formerly, Tame Impala) has managed to fall onto the better side of that spectrum with his new EP, Walrus. The five tracks on…

Melbourne’s Hunting Season don’t sound fully Australian, or at least Australian right now, even though they’re playing in that very fertile field of dreamy Aussie indie-rock. They sound… Pacific North-Western if anything. Their EP Lost Forever is perhaps not even quite of the 2010s. There’s a very clear pop-punk overtone to the EP, but a…

Loon Lake have put out their last hurrah with Low Res, and while saddening for most it’s probably their best yet. There isn’t a stand alone hit like “Cherry Lips” but as a whole it’s a strong album with plenty of those feel good vibes. It carries on that quirky lyricism, cheeky nostalgic and heart…

In any artistic career that lasts decades, there will inevitably be a period where the artist loses touch with their fans, their music and themselves. For Neil Young, this period was the entire 1980s. In a career of weird moves (most notably 2010’s Fork in the Road, a concept album devoted entirely to the benefits…

LOLAWOLF released their latest summery EP Every Fucking Day earlier this year – in our winter, to be exact. The brief album lays somewhere in minimalist hip hop and electronica. The trippy trio, fronted by Zoë Kravitz, have toured with the likes of Lilly Allen and Miley. It’ll be interesting to see if they launch into…