Sometimes an album comes together through careful planning. Other times, it emerges unexpectedly, shaped by the people, experiences and emotions that find their way into the music. For Boorloo/Perth singer-songwriter Kim Franklin, who records as Blank Instrument, her debut album Jumping at Ghosts is very much the latter. Arriving on Friday, 23 October, the 11-track…
A good number of our readers regularly find themselves travelling across America for conferences, industry events and music festivals, particularly along the West Coast. And while those trips tend to be built around work commitments or a particular event, keeping an eye on what’s happening in Las Vegas can turn an otherwise routine business trip…
From the explosive opening of “KAMIKWASI” to the reflective closing moments of “On Everything”, Kwasi takes listeners on a journey through identity, alienation, self-destruction and ultimately self-acceptance on his debut album, Outstanding MISFIT, released today, 16 October. The Naarm/Melbourne-based Ghanaian-Australian artist has been carving out his own space in the music scene, bringing together hip-hop,…
There are pop stars, there are superstars, and then there is Britney Spears. An artist whose cultural impact has long transcended the music itself, Spears possessed that almost indefinable quality that comes along perhaps once in a generation. She wasn’t merely selling records or setting trends; she was shaping the very language of pop culture,…
While hip hop has been on a wavy trajectory in the past few years, plagued by sameness and algo-baiting TikTok trends, Australian fans have been relatively starved for good international rap concerts over the past twelve months. Even from a local perspective, we’ve only seen the likes of Hilltop Hoods, Kerser and Miss Kaninna doing…
Australian country-rock artist James Keith has plenty to celebrate with the release of his second album, I Call It Magic When I’m With You, out today, Friday, 9 October. Across fourteen tracks, he traces the highs and lows of a relationship, from the thrill of new love to the challenges of distance, doubt and making…
When a song strikes deep, time seems to disappear with everything else. I’ve long thought music has a way of reaching parts of us that our conscious mind can’t always make sense of. There are feelings buried somewhere beneath the language we use every day, emotions we may recognise without ever being able to properly…
Eora/Sydney indie-rock outfit The Tambourine Girls have returned with their fourth album, Hold Your Horses, a beautifully melodic record shaped by loss, friendship and the process of finding a way forward. At its emotional core is the death of much-loved band member and close friend Nick Weaver, but Hold Your Horses never feels weighed down…
Photo by Stephen Porter BIGSOUND Brisbane brought BIG energy to the streets of Fortitude Valley last week, and as an Adelaide girl, the city definitely lived up to its nickname, BrisVegas. BIGSOUND, self proclaimed as “the biggest week in Australian music”, is a huge music conference by day, with networking events and industry panels across…
The iconic Spilt Milk festival has announced its lineup and locations for this December, with one notable change: the Victorian edition is officially relocating from its home in Ballarat to Geelong, and we locals are over the moon. With a killer lineup featuring headline artists like Raye and Lewis Capaldi, it’s definitely going to be a…
I first became aware of Gia Darcy in February 2023, when I saw her performing on a stage outside Ed Sheeran’s Sydney concert. I was blown away by her stage presence, vocals and warmth, and have keenly followed her journey ever since. Now, Darcy is taking us behind the scenes of the video for her…
After three EPs, countless shows and a much-needed reset, Naarm indie favourites The Velvet Club have arrived at a huge milestone with the release of their debut album, Are You Falling In Love? Across its ten tracks, the record captures a band leaning back into the raw, immediate joy of 2000s indie-rock — think The…
If you’re planning a European festival run toward the end of summer, few events are as rewarding for music discovery as the Reeperbahn Festival. Held each September in the heart of St. Pauli in Hamburg, the festival transforms the neighbourhood’s dense network of clubs, theatres and music venues into one of the world’s great showcases…
For the last few years, FLO have been spoken about as a group on the verge. A trio destined for greatness. The future of R&B. The next big thing. At some point, though, we need to stop talking about FLO as a promise and start recognising them as a reality. As they prepare to release…
There are two ways to look at a music festival. The first is as a punter: scanning the lineup, dropping your money months in advance, navigating timetable clashes, dehydration and the inevitable post-gig blues that follow. The second is to wonder how any of it happens at all: how dozens of artists, venues, schedules, budgets…
Boorloo/Perth artist EDIE returns this week with her sophomore EP Garden of Edie, a dark, intoxicating and ultimately freeing electronic-pop release that captures the emotional turbulence of growing up in your twenties. Out today, the EP draws on biblical imagery — particularly the Garden of Eden — to explore loss, betrayal, temptation, self-discovery and the…
“Stars Are Blind” by Paris Hilton is, quite simply, a perfect pop song – and pop history hasn’t quite known what to do with that fact. Released in 2006, it arrived wrapped in the baggage of Hilton’s celebrity persona: heiress, tabloid fixture, reality TV punchline. The song was a moderate hit (a Top 20 placement…
There’s a certain poetic irony in the fact that Delta Goodrem‘s true debut single – “I Don’t Care” – is the one that rarely gets invited into the conversation. Overshadowed by the seismic impact of “Born To Try” and the era-defining success of her debut LP Innocent Eyes, this 2001 release has long been treated…
For Melbourne-based artist Callum Padgham, music has always been a constant — whether he was mashing up punk in a touring band or commanding dancefloors as DJ Be Kind to Other People. But with his latest single, “When I Was a Little Boy”, he steps forward in a way that feels markedly different: unguarded, introspective…
In 2005, when Tammin Sursok released Whatever Will Be, the pop landscape was in a fascinating state of transition. The glossy, hyper-produced dance-pop that had defined the late ’90s was still dominant – championed by figures like fellow soap-turned-pop players Kylie Minogue and Holly Valance – but there was a parallel wave surging forward. Artists…
We’ve been championing Melbourne artist Gypsy Lee since her debut, and with each release she continues to sharpen her voice – both musically and thematically. With her new single “Snitches”, she leans fully into empowerment, delivering a track that is as playful as it is cutting, and as personal as it is universal. A preview…
Fifteen years on, Femme Fatale sits in a fascinating, complicated place in Britney Spears’ catalogue – once dismissed as impersonal and overly synthetic, now increasingly understood as both a cultural pivot point and a quietly resilient achievement. Released in March 2011, Femme Fatale arrived at a moment when mainstream pop was aggressively chasing the club….
Continuing our series on Europe’s best festivals for 2026, Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival is gearing up for a landmark year, celebrating its 10th anniversary from 8th–11th July 2026 with one of its most expansive and genre-spanning line-ups to date. Held at the sprawling Iberdrola Music venue, Mad Cool has quickly established itself as one of…
Things that feel like all-consuming headlines in the moment often fade into footnotes with time. It’s this tension between intensity and hindsight that underpins Blip, the debut EP from Meanjin/Brissie duo STAHR — a high-octane pop/rock release threaded with sharp lyricism, emotional volatility and a knowing sense of glamour. Long-time readers of the AU review…
In 2026, the multicultural festival was an antidote to big tech’s flat pitch. Kankawa Nagarra is turning 80 in June. She says you’re invited to her birthday party, if you can get yourself to Fitzroy Crossing. At WOMADelaide on the weekend, I listened to the Walmatjarri, Gooniyandi and Bunuba Elder yarn with Darren Hanlon under…
In a world of so much division, WOMAD gave me hope. 4 days of embracing nature and culture gave me and other attendees an opportunity to switch off from the never-ending bad news erupting from our screens. I found an incredible sense of community was fostered at WOMAD, and connections between the patrons, the earth,…
When people talk about pop reinvention, the conversation almost always circles back to names like Madonna or Kylie Minogue. Artists who continually reshape their sound, their image, and their relationship with the dance floor. But there’s another pop icon who deserves to be part of that conversation: Melanie C. As she releases “Undefeated Champion”, the…
Every May, Liverpool — one of the UK’s most historic music cities — becomes a launchpad for the next generation of artists as Liverpool Sound City returns with another stacked lineup of rising talent. Now firmly established as one of the UK’s most important new-music festivals, Sound City transforms venues across Liverpool into a buzzing…
Tucked away in the beautiful woodland surrounds of Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset, the End of the Road Festival has quietly built a reputation as one of the UK’s most beloved boutique festivals. Returning from 3–6 September 2026, the event caps off the European festival season with a carefully curated lineup spanning indie, folk, Americana…
When Jennifer Lopez released Rebirth in March 2005, expectations were enormous – perhaps impossibly so. The album arrived in the long shadow of two pop-cultural juggernauts: J.Lo (2001) and This Is Me… Then (2002), records that helped define early-2000s pop and R&B. Both albums produced major hits, iconic imagery, and a public persona that blurred…
