Features

We waste no time and continue our top 40 list, looking back at what our contributors have voted as the best albums of 2014. We start off with a little known band from the UK… In case you missed it, look back at our choices for 30-21 and 40-31. Tanya Ali: I don’t know why…

the AU review’s Larry Heath sits down with Karl S Williams backstage at Festival of the Sun in Port Macquarie, NSW, to find out his highlights of 2014 and his favourite record of the year, Sharon Van Etten’s Are We There.

Now that we’ve brought our best songs of 2014 countdown to an end, it’s time to get to the albums. And what an incredible year it’s been for the album – this was definitely the harder of the two lists to put together. Both at home and across the globe, 2014 was an amazing year…

Today we conclude our list of best songs of 2014, as voted by the AU’s amazing group of contributors… in case you haven’t been keeping up to date on where we’ve gotten to so far, you can check out 40-31, 30-21 and 20-11. 10. Kingswood – ICFTYDLM (I Can Feel That You Don’t Love Me)…

We continue on with our best songs of 2014, as voted by the AU’s amazing group of contributors… in case you haven’t been keeping up to date on where we’ve gotten to so far, you can check out 40-31 and 30-21. 20. Coldplay – A Sky Full of Stars 19. Courtney Barnett – Pickles in…

It’s that time of the year again when the AU team vote on their favourite songs of the year, resulting in our annual top 40 song list… taking in a mix of local and international music that we haven’t gotten enough of this year. We start things local though at number 40… 40. Thelma Plum…

Following on from yesterday’s first ten tracks, today we bring you the next ten songs that have been voted as the best of the year by the AU review contributors. So, without any wasted time… 30. Taylor Swift – Blank Space Jules LeFevre: Tongue in cheek with a devastating hook – “Blank Space” is proof…

While at Festival of the Sun in Port Macquarie, we asked Allday to share with us what he reckoned were the best Aussie Hip Hop albums of 2014. Here’s what he had to say:

Hardly a year goes by without the release of new Beatles related material. Be they compilation albums, books, covers, gimmicks… it seems there’s always something to keep fans of the iconic British band happy. At this point though, unless McCartney or Ringo bring out some new auto-biography, filled with never before known details, is there…

There were some great releases in 2014, locally and internationally. Instead of wafting on about them and throwing in Pitchfork reviewer wanker buzzwords, I thought it would be easier to list the albums that I enjoyed in 2014: AUSTRALIAN RELEASES 1. Mink Mussel Creek – Mink Mussel Manticore 2. Dan Sultan – Blackbird 3. Blank…

If you read my review of Clockenflap festival in Hong Kong last week, you may remember I mentioned that there were quite a few bands saying that this was the first time they’d played together on a stage… in front of a crowd. Coming from Australia, you can’t help but think that this is the…

From the 8th of January, the city of Sydney will once again be transformed by the annual month long extravaganza known simply as Sydney Festival. The event will take over spaces around the city – some, such as the Famous Spiegeltent, are only here for the festival. But with hundreds upon hundreds of performances, it’s…

The three day Music and Arts Festival Clockenflap just wrapped up its seventh edition in Hong Kong and we were there to bring you exclusive Australian coverage! Throughout the week you’ll read more reviews, see more photo galleries and watch more interviews from the event – but to kick things off, I’ve picked my five…

I’ve been running the AU review for over 6 years now. During that time we’ve had over a hundred photographers come through our doors around the country – probably more… and though I’ve been behind plenty of video cameras, I’ve never dabbled much in photography myself. It can’t be that hard can it? Well, the…

Pictured: Tired Lion The WA music scene is without question among the finest in this country. I dare say it gives Melbourne a run for its money, winning out with its vast and eclectic nature. From experimental electronic to psychedelic rock, pop grooves and indie beats, there is something to be found for everyone here….

The WAM Festival kicks off in Perth today with a great Opening Night party schedule to go off at The Bakery! Ahead of the antics, get to know one of the band’s set to perform, Tired Lion! We get the lowdown on what’s been happening with band from the lovely Sophie Hopes since the AU…

Hailing from Melbourne, Ne Obliviscaris‘ drummer, Dan Presland, is busy getting ready for a massive tour to celebrate their brand new album Citadel, out on Friday. Plus they’re playing Soundwave in the New Year! But he kindly caught up with the AU to deliver his top 5 albums right now. Counting down from 5… 5….

Ahead of the anticipated Stranded Festival on South Stradbroke Island on November 14th, we’re catching up with a few of the artists who are helping us get prepped for the event. Next up, we get Generik to pass along his top 5 weekend destinations. Counting down from number five… 5. Portsea (Victoria) One of my…

This Thursday night the WAM Festival kicks off in Perth for 2014, showcasing the best music of WA – as well as a few guests from Singapore! We’re going to take some time to get to know a few of the WA Music Awards nominees and performers! We kick things off with Methyl Ethel, playing…

We asked the bands playing WAM Festival in Perth – which kicks off today – to share with us the bands they would recommend. Here are the eight artists: Methyl Ethel’s Picks: You’d be hard pressed to find any act that didn’t blow ya socks off during the WAM festival, I love so many bands…

This Thursday night the WAM Festival kicks off in Perth for 2014, showcasing the best music of WA – as well as a few guests from Singapore and Shanghai! We’re going to take some time to get to know a few of the WA Music Awards nominees and performers! Next up we have Pat Chow,…

Ahead of the anticipated Stranded Festival on South Stradbroke Island on November 14th, we’re catching up with a few of the artists who are helping us get prepped for the event. First up, we get POOLCLVB to pass along their top 5 pool party essentials. Counting down from number five… #5 FROZEN MARGARITAS Apply directly…

Tremors are a Brisbane-based duo made up of Madelin Bisgrove and Aidan Hogg and today they’re giving AU review readers the exclusive chance to listen to their debut EP in full. They recorded and wrote their debut EP over two years in various home studios, bedrooms and hotels, after receiving Triple J airplay for their…

The AU is excited to bring you the premiere of the latest installment – number 39 no less – of the Project24 series. A video project that brings you a new live video on the 24th of each month, with each video performed live, recorded, filmed, mixed, mastered and edited… in 24 hours. This month…

Tomorrow marks the release of Gomez’s Ben Ottewell new record Rattlebag via Cooking Vinyl Australia – alongside the start of his national Australian tour. The album serves as the follow up to Ottewell’s 2011 solo Shapes & Shadows, which featured tracks like “Blackbird”, “Take This Beach”, “Shapes and Shadows”. On Rattlebag, Ottewell has collaborated again…

With the new documentary Life After Death From Above available on VOD through Vimeo now, the filmmakers have released this exclusive clip, which dates back to 2003, when Death From Above 1979 (the film’s subjects) were recording a never-to-be-released lo-fi music video for their single “Dead Womb”. Watch the clip here: Rent or Buy the…

We challenged Ed Nash and Jamie Maccoll of UK quartet Bombay Bicycle Club to a game of Australian Music Trivia while they were in Australia last month. it’s slightly possible we made the game a little harder than we need to – but in any case, listen back and enjoy as we delve into the…

Kicking off in New York a matter of hours is the annual CMJ Music Marathon, a showcase of the finest up and coming bands from around the world. This year over 50 Australian bands have made the cut, and over the past week, Sose and Chris have delivered their festival picks. We also interviewed some…

In 2006, Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger called it quits on a band they “started out of boredom and necessity”. That band was Death From Above 1979. In 2011, after five years of silence between them, they reunited for Coachella – and as we now know, this went pretty well. The new documentary Life After…