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…
It’s hard to imagine something so beautiful can come from something so… ugly. And yet freedom is an ecosystem that rarely functions without friction. It’s the endpoint of a long, arduous and often cruel journey, and the beginning of a life so wonderfully and exclusively yours that it’s impossible not to take the good with…
Victorian singer/songwriter Chloe Violette has today released her stunning debut album, Colourfast. A collection of ten songs exploring identity, heartache, hope and our deep ties to people and place, the record feels both intimate and expansive. Written and recorded across seasons — beginning in March 2023 — Colourfast grew slowly and organically, shaped by patience…
Between classic Las Vegas residences in all the major resorts and scheduled concerts at The Sphere, the Entertainment Capital of the World isn’t slowing down with shows in 2026. It’s impossible to sink into the neon wash of Las Vegas and not want to see every type of show imaginable. The “Vegas cadence” is something…
Twenty years on from the release of “Step Up” – Samantha Jade’s glossy, Diane Warren–penned introduction to the pop world – it’s striking how aptly that title has come to describe her career. Again and again, Jade has stepped up: into new creative arenas, back into an industry that repeatedly underestimated her, and into her…
Few artists have reshaped popular music as decisively as Britney Spears. From the moment she debuted in 1998, she redefined what a pop star could look like, sound like, and represent. Her influence is embedded in the DNA of modern pop – in vocal styles, production trends, choreography, and the marriage of image and music….
Writing tributes isn’t standard fare for the team at the AU review, but the untimely passing of Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst demanded an exception. Several of the team were lucky enough to get to know Rob and his family over the years, and we wanted to take a few moments to reflect upon and honour…
At the turn of the millennium, Victoria Beckham‘s debut solo album arrived carrying an unfair amount of baggage. By 2001, the post-Spice Girls landscape had already begun sorting its winners and footnotes, and “Posh Spice” was too often framed as an image-first participant in pop rather than a musician with something to prove. Listening back…
After more than a decade away from releasing a full-length studio album (the last being 2015’s Breathe In. Breathe Out.), Hilary Duff is rejuvenating her place in pop music with Luck…or Something – a record that feels less like a nostalgic throwback and more like a necessary evolution. Scheduled to arrive on February 20th, via…
When J.Lo arrived at the turn of the millennium, Jennifer Lopez was already famous – but fame and longevity are not the same thing. Released as her sophomore album, J.Lo carried a weighty question: was Lopez a genuine pop force, or merely a celebrity moment stretched into a record deal? Twenty-five years later, the answer…
When Willa Ford announced amanda, her first album in over two decades, it didn’t arrive with the bombast typically expected of a pop comeback. There was no algorithm-chasing single, no irony-soaked Y2K cosplay, no attempt to rewrite history as if the last 25 years hadn’t happened. Instead, what she offered was something far rarer in…
If Britney Spears were to perform in Australia, these are the stages that would make sense. When Britney Spears recently captioned an Instagram post with the words “I will never perform in the U.S. again…but I hope to be sitting on a stool…performing with my son…in the UK and AUSTRALIA very soon,” it was inevitable…
When Blackout arrived in October 2007, it felt less like an album release and more like a cultural reset. Britney Spears – the most photographed woman in the world, trapped in an aggressive media cycle – walked into one of the most turbulent years of her life and somehow delivered a record so forward-thinking that…
A new artist to the AU, Georgia Scarlett steps forward today with the publishing of her debut album, Rhythm of Life, a tender, time-shaped journey through heartbreak, healing and self-discovery. The Meanjin/Brisbane singer-songwriter leans into country-pop and folk storytelling to chart an emotional landscape shaped by change, resilience and the quiet clarity that comes with…
Twenty-five years after its release, the Spice Girls’ third album Forever has returned to turntables with a celebratory anniversary vinyl edition – an event that has inspired a wave of reassessment from fans and critics alike. It’s fitting that this reissue has sparked renewed conversation as Forever has long lived in the shadow of its…
Earlier this week we kicked off our first ever count down of the Best Australian Albums of All Time. And today we reveal the top 20 as voted by the AU review’s contributors. With a broad diversity of ages in our contributor base, this list of 40 albums reflects that. Covering multiple generations of Australian…
With Australian Music Month upon us, and the ARIAs taking place tomorrow, we thought it would be the perfect time to delve into our contributor’s favourite Australian albums of all time. It’s the first time we’ve ever put a list like this together on the AU. With a broad diversity of ages in our contributor…
With the highly anticipated Oasis Australian tour starting today, and massive tours like Lady Gaga on the horizon, we wanted to look back at the last few months of Summer touring in the northern hemisphere and talk about the tours that have impressed us the most. This list only reflects the shows that our team…
Emo icons The Used head into the final week of the Aussie leg of their massive 25th anniversary tour. It’s been a true throwback run, with the band performing their first three albums in full – one each night, in each city. Dates sold out fast, venues were upgraded, and new shows were added, and…
2025 marks ten wonderfully wild years of Beyond The Valley, and its showing no signs of slowing down. Once again, it’ll be taking over the beautiful Barunah Plains on Wadawurrung Country from 28 December – 1 January. This year’s lineup may be one of the most genre-bending yet, with headliners Dom Dolla, Addison Rae, Kid…
Brisbane/Meanjin’s Call the Mourning recently dropped single “Break“, an angsty musing on obsession and the last release ahead of their upcoming EP. Today we’re excited to be premiering the accompanying music video exclusively here on The AU Review. Call the Mourning consists of Constance Grafos (vocals/guitar), Dominic Willimott (drums), and new addition Kai Giovanni (bass),…
It’s been 25 years since Nine Days‘ “Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)” first wormed its way into our ears, with a new generation of listeners falling in love all over again when it appeared in the Oscar winning Everything Everywhere All At Once, reimagined by songwriter John Hampson. To celebrate this massive milestone – as…
