Max Leone has been making waves since his bold decision to drop out of Berklee College of Music and pursue his artistry in Los Angeles. The Portland-native draws from a vast pool of influences: from Jack Johnson inspiring his love of guitar, Tom Misch’s experimentation, Frank Ocean who he drew his pseudonym from, to his…
We’re big fans of EJ Worland here at the AU. His debut EP No One Left To Blame, which dropped earlier this month, was our Album of the Week. His single “Over The Pond” came in at 27 on our 40 Best Australian Tracks of 2020 too. His is a sound firmly rooted in the…
Bob Evans, aka Kevin Mitchell, releases his sixth studio album, Tomorrowland, today but it’s also his first since parting with EMI Music. Mitchell calls it his “entry into middle age”, with shades of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and The Cure. Tomorrowland is a vision long held by Mitchell and with the “silver lining” that COVID-19…
Pinkish Blu are an iridescent Adelaidean pop band that will have lyric-lovers falling head over heels for their romanticised intricacy. Their debut EP, There’s no such thing as good people, had consistent airplay on triple j and earned them support spots with the likes of G Flip, The Reubens, Trophy Eyes and more. In fact,…
2021 is the year of JESSIA. The TikTok phenomenon uploaded a semblance of a song hook on January 1st, only to have the Internet demand to hear more. Now her hit single “I’m Not Pretty”, birthed through the platform and its power for collaboration, sits at over 46 million Spotify streams, 10.9 million TikTok views…
Western Sydney-born, London-residing Mali-Koa is best known as the older sister of Calum Hood – the bassist of global sensations 5 Seconds of Summer. However, she’s been cutting through the industry and making a name for herself outside of her family ties. In 2020, she released her debut album Hunger, featuring collaborators such as Grammy-Award…
Black Pumas released their debut album in 2019, just two years after the band’s formation. They have since become four-time GRAMMY nominees and performers. And then there was that small matter of being invited to play at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and having their music featured in a Super Bowl ad. Their rise has been…
The Soul Movers are aptly named for their body-driven music that will have any seated crown writhing in their seats. Fronted by Lizzie Mack and Murray Cook (aka the original red Wiggle), the group combine electrifying guitar riffs with 60s soul groove and a sprinkling of pop to form a night that audiences could never…
Formed through Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music in the 2000s, Lake Street Dive has been a staple in the soul-rock scene, distinguished by their jazz prowess and genre transcendence. They hit the big time with their singles “Good Kisser” and “Rich Girl” from their 2018 album Free Yourself Up, only to back it up…
Thandi Phoenix rose to international prominence with her feature on Rudimental‘s 2018 track, “My Way”. In 2019, she wowed her fans with her eponymous debut EP including hits such as “Say It” and “Cleopatra”, and now she’s following it up with her latest single “Count Me Out”. The Sydney artist places her silken RnB voice on…
Middle Kids album Today We’re The Greatest is a triumphant follow up to the debut success of Lost Friends. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Lars Stalfors (St. Vincent, Soccer Mommy), the Sydney trio track the journey of frontwoman Hannah Joy and bandmate Tim Fitz’s marriage and budding family. Hannah’s sense of love isn’t romanticised…
Maisie Peters grew to Internet fame since launching her YouTube back in 2015. Six years on and she’s rising to take over the globe with the success of her latest single “John Hughes Movie” (her favourite is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). Touting Taylor Swift as a fan and her inspiration, Peters is the next generation…
When Mark Ronson‘s taking you out for macarons and tea while begging you to join his label, you know you’re onto a winning recipe. That’s exactly the story for Raissa (pronounced “rye-sah”), your newfound sci-fi pop fantasy and Zelig Record’s recent newcomer who’s touted to be the next King Princess. Growing up in London, Beijing,…
Birds of Tokyo are back in swing of things with 2021 already seeing the band jet across the country in an opportunistic symphony orchestra tour, Fremantle prison shows, and an upcoming gig on Rottnest Island for Cooper’s Live, Loud & Local series. Playing tracks from their latest album, Human Design, the Rottnest gig marks almost a year…
Chicago native Alexander 23 has released his second EP Oh No, Not Again! tracking the “cycle” of a relationship from yearning to falling in love, breaking up to recovery. His universally honest and easily accessible lyricism has him blowing up online, with his track “IDK You Yet” capturing the hearts of TikTokers and sending him…
“Don’t fix what isn’t broken” is exactly the mantra Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler seemingly live by as they offer their latest EP brent ii as a follow up to their 2019 global success together. Through the 2020 summer of the pandemic, the pair retreated to an upstate New York cabin to continue the story of brent as they evolved…
Brisbane indie pop band Sheppard have never quite been wholly accepted by Australian audiences, despite massive world tours, top 10 hits around the globe and boasting more than 740 million streams across all platforms led by huge 2014 hit “Geronimo”. Sheppard – now a core three-piece consisting of siblings George, Amy and Emma – are…
Singer-songwriter Julien Baker is all set to release her forthcoming album Little Oblivions later this week. Officially released on February 26th, the album delivers a sound that is bigger, bolder and more expansive than the sparse intimacy that we’ve come to expect from Baker. Recorded pre-COVID, Little Oblivions might be a sonic shift for Baker,…
Sydney’s Highline haven’t let a little thing like a global pandemic throw off their hard earned momentum. The quartet are back with a new single, “Staying Sane”, and with the promise of more to come. It was still early days for the band pre-covid. They’d released their debut EP and played their first ever shows…
Bow Anderson is the next biggest thing to come out of Scotland – you could say she’s the New Wave. At twenty three, she’s already familiar with hard work and setbacks, after her semi-professional trampolining career crumbled from a leg injury. It was through rehab that she found her passion (and talent) in music, singing…
The D.O.C. is one of the most important figures in hip hop’s history. As a founding member of the G-Funk style that was popularised by Dr. Dre, NWA, Eazy-E, Outkast and Snoop Dogg, The D.O.C.’s music legacy is undeniable. From penning lyrics for the greats like Dre at 18-years-old, to writing on one of the…
Imogen Clark is a machine when it comes out to music. And yet her constant output doesn’t diminish the quality of her work. Her recent release “Forget About London” is the first indicator of her EP Bastards, out later in the year. Clark fuses rock and indie pop to tell her own stories of love…
Odette‘s 2017 debut album To A Stranger earned her national recognition with ARIA nominations for Best Adult Contemporary Album and Breakthrough Artist. Not to mention gold certifications across two singles. Following up its success was bound to be a daunting task, but the 23-year-old’s second album Herald is a superb body of work tackling mental…
Swedish rock ‘n’ rollers The Hives have always been known for their charismatic and energetic live shows and this week they’ll play a Sydney show as part of their World’s First World Wide Web World Tour 2021. But the shows won’t be your standard online stream, with The Hives differentiating themselves with a unique level…
Jarryd James hit international recognition with his debut album Thirty One back in 2015. His lead single “Do You Remember” has been streamed over 111 million times since its January 2015 release and picked up Best Pop Release at that year’s ARIAs, alongside four other nominations for Jarryd. To say his debut was successful is…
Norwegian experimental singer Sturle Dagsland continues to tease his forthcoming self-titled debut album, set for release early next month – February 5th. The latest single to be lifted from the album is “Dreaming”; a track that showcases the album’s more ethereal side. It’s positively serene compared to the previously released “Kusanagi” and “Waif”; which highlighted…
Passenger will release his 13th studio album, Songs For The Drunk & Brokenhearted on January 8th. Penned by Passenger – aka Mike Rosenberg – when he was newly single, the album features that raw and authentic vulnerability that Passenger’s global fan-base has grown to love. Fans from all over the world will have the opportunity to…
Hailing from Maitland, NSW, sister duo Kinder are injecting the Australian music landscape with a sorely missed Ghanaian influence. Briony and Savannah Osei recently released their single “Come Along” with A.GIRL, teaming up through Ricochet writing camp run by KLP. Bonding over the sense of community in their respective heritages, “Come Along” combines a Ghanaian…
When you hear it, you wonder how a coupling like Josh Teskey and Ash Grunwald had never come to be before now. It’s a match made in Blues heaven. And, in a world that seems to be dominated by just how electronic music can become, this album is a time-capsule full of pure and simple…
Keeping travel dreams alive and setting goals has never felt more important. We can all agree that 2020 has been an unfortunate year so far, and almost every facet of daily life has been wrought by this ongoing global pandemic, the start of which now feels like forever ago. The arts has been one of…
