Features

Splendour in the Grass dominated music news this week with the unveil of their 2019 line-up, which is headlined by millennial hip hop heroes Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino, as well as world-conquering Aussies Tame Impala and Top Dawg Entertainment crooner SZA. Not just on-trend, it’s exciting as hell. But as always, Splendour is…

Currently doing the film festival rounds – with its Australian premiere happening at the Gold Coast Film Festival on Monday – is Waiting: The Van Duren Story, from first time Australian directors Greg Carey and Wade Jackson. The film documents the life of Memphis based songwriter Van Duren, a much loved artist by those in…

Brisbane indie rockers Future Haunts have returned from a bit of a break with a brand new single, “Weather Vane”, and we’re excited to be bringing you this exclusive first listen.  Following the release of their debut EP, Rubicon, in 2016 and the follow-up single “Make Time” in 2017, the lads from Future Haunts headed…

Earlier this year, Sydney’s This Week In The Universe released Tellurian, the band’s sophomore album and the follow-up to their self titled debut. Today, we’re excited to premiere the video clip accompanying the second single from the album: “Ultra Poseable”. This Week In The Universe is the brainchild of musical brothers Beau and Casey Golden….

With weekend of films and special events that included appearances from the likes of Boyz II Men, Santigold, Bishop Briggs and more, into a week of official showcases that included everyone from Joan Jett to Shakey Graves and Andrew Bird, SXSW 2019 was as jam packed as ever. So what were our favourite musical moments…

Today we’re stoked to introduce you all to primetime., Melbourne’s latest self anointed “superb-troup” featuring members of Fan Girl, Sophisticated Dingo and more, as well as premiere their debut EP crimetime.  crimetime. is a raucous, swaggering and no bullshit slice of Australian punk rock. Occasionally jarring, but always full of character and attitude, the EP is…

The ringing sirens and looping jingles that echo through the arcade are maddening, even after a few minutes. They’re also the antithesis-soundtrack to the personality of Yorke. 20-year old Grace Hughes, who adopted the moniker “Yorke” last year in homage to her love of New York City, is calm, chilled and charming as we spent…

Spanning over the course of the next two weeks, from the third until the seventeenth, the 2019 Brunswick Music Festival is hosting some of the premier music acts from around the globe. With a long list of acts and activities, speakers and galleries to view spanning over such a long period, it can make it…

We’re excited today to be premiere, Until The Children Grow Old, the debut EP from the Brisbane via Sunshine Coast singer-songwriter Chakra Efendi. At only nineteen years old, Efendi has already built something of a dedicated cult both at home and overseas thanks to a series of demos posted to SoundCloud. Demos, which to date,…

Central Coast duo Winterbourne have just dropped their new music video “Take The Golden”, and are excited to be taking AU review readers on an exclusive look behind the scenes on the making of the clip, which you can watch below: Winterbourne wrote “Take The Golden” in Berlin with producer and songwriter Tobias Kuhn, while the…

Six awesome up-and-coming South Aussie music acts have been selected to perform as part of this years Superloop 500 After Race Concert Series along side some of the biggest biggest names in international and Australian music. In its ninth year, Music SA’s Bands on Track initiative received a record 280 submissions, which were judged by…

Ahead of the offical release next week we are pleased today to be premiering the new film clip for “Luminate”, the recent single from Sunny Coast’s resident roots band Bearfoot.  Released in November, “Luminate” is dedicated to the time the band spent at the eponymous music festival in New Zealand back in early 2017, and…

Over the last 13 years of being involved in the music industry wearing one hat or another, if I’ve learnt anything, it’s that this industry is full of the hardest workers of any I’ve ever come across. Roadies who sleep in hammocks in the scaffolding of a festival stage so they can pack down your…

Today we’re stoked to premiere the new single from Melbourne rockers The Paddy Cakes ahead of its official release on Thursday.  Recorded and produced by Dylan Adams (DMA’s, Skeggs, West Thebarton), “Depressing All” is all set to play a part in the quartet’s forthcoming debut EP, which is set for release on Friday March 22nd. …

We’re pleased today to be premiering, Artifice, the new EP from New Zealand-via-Australia singer-songwriter Alanna Eileen.  The recording of Artifice saw Alanna heading across to the United States last October, for a ten day recording stint at Montrose Recording in Virginia, with production coming from Sparklehorse’s Alan Weatherhead. The EP’s eight tracks were written between July…

Today’s devastating news about the cancellation of Central Coast Mountain Sounds Festival raises many more questions about the NSW Governments festival safety regulations and approach to tackling drug deaths. Just one week out from the festival, Mountain Sounds, originally budgeting for 11 user-pay police report being blindsided with a $200,000 in upfront costs for 45 user-pay police…

Last month the genre bending Australian musician Laura Imbruglia dropped “The Creeps”, a taste of her impending fourth album Scared Of You. Today, we’re excited to be premiering the accompanying hilarious music video, which was co-conceived with director and renowned photographer Nick Mckinlay. With the track taking a significantly different musical route to previous singles…

I’ve been a country music fan for over ten years and I’d never attended the legendary Tamworth Country Music Festival until this year. Blasphemy, you say! But better late than never, right? I didn’t know what to expect; I thought I’d hate it (at least subconsciously anyway) but I was pleasantly surprised to love every…

Kyoto band Zahatorte are a genre-defying trio who blend old-world European cafe sounds with the undeniably Japanese penchant for perfectionism. They’ll be coming to Australia next month for the first time, and before we show them our own country, we asked them to share with us their nine favourite secret hangouts in their hometown. So…

With Ocean Alley taking out the Hottest 100 over the long weekend, we’re excited to (finally) bring you the AU review’s own favourite tracks of 2018, with an eclectic mix of songs from Australia and around the world that we loved over the calendar year. 40. Tropical Fuck Storm – You Let My Tyres Down…

Country has long been a dirty word in the Australian music industry. That iconic image of a grizzled, cowboy hat-wearing, man strumming away on his banjo and singing about the bush is a thing of the past. But the genre is changing, albeit a little sexy, with home-grown artists Keith Urban and Morgan Evans, as…

Southeast Desert Metal singer/guitarist Chris Wallace is introducing the basics of his Indigenous language, Arrernte. “In our language,” he says, “If I say ‘Werte’, it means ‘greetings to you’. You greet me back with ‘Mwere’. That means, ‘How you been?’” The Arrernte people’s traditional land is located in the centre of Northern Territory, including Alice…

Earlier this month, we sat down with Didirri, Vera Blue and Clowns to talk about their favourite music of 2018; potentially the songs they’ll be choosing for the Hottest 100 and some of the albums that excited them over the last 12 months. Photo of Didirri taken at Festival of the Sun by Larry Heath

It’s finally here – the Summer season of festivals that not only provide an eclectic mix of the best acts currently touring, but require a road trip which offers the chance to visit some of Australia’s most unique and stunning regional locations. Here are our top reasons for why you need to plan a road…

It’s time to look back on the incredible year of music from Australia and around the world as we count down our 40 favourite records from the year. We’ll rush through 40-11 and then get into the nitty gritty of our top ten releases… 40. Tinashe – Joyride 39. David Byrne – American Utopia 38….

On Wednesday we were excited to reveal our nominees for the 5th Annual AU Awards, celebrating the best in Australian music over the last 12 months. Now today we’re presenting the winners across all those categories, which are awarded based on both recorded and live merit. Australian Live Music Event of the Year (Metro) St….

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…

2018 has been a very difficult year for ‘best of’ lists where hip hop and R&B is concerned. The often intertwined genres haven’t seen this much quality output for years, constant head-turning and critically acclaimed albums from artists both old and new have made the past 12 months the best in the scene since 2012….

The AU Awards are back for the fifth consecutive year, celebrating the best Australian artists of 2018. All categories take into consideration both albums and live performance, and there’s no argument that everyone on this list has had a massive year. We’ll be announcing the winners this Friday! And the nominees are… SOLO ARTIST OF…

Phil Collins is an artist who doesn’t take himself too seriously. The solo musician and former member of Genesis has written a memoir titled, Not Dead Yet, as you do. He has been on the receiving end of some jokes but he takes them all with good humour. Ahead of his Australian and New Zealand…