Music

Those who say folk is a dying or dead genre are those who are uninitiated with Fleet Foxes. Critically acclaimed indie-folk band Fleet Foxes return after losing band member Josh Tillman, who currently performs under the guise of Father John Misty. Helplessness Blues is still highly regarded as one of the best albums of 2011,…

Shockingly, we find ourselves in the second half of 2017 already. In terms of new music, we’ve been hit with some heavy releases from some of pop music’s biggest names, while some of our favourite Australian artists have come out swinging with impressive album and EP releases all their own. As the first week of…

Amidst all the talk of venue closures in Sydney in the past couple of years, there have been a couple of bright lights in recent weeks, one of which is been the return of the Lansdowne Hotel, which originally closed in 2015 after almost 90 years of live music. Another venue which recently closed, The…

Kicking off next Wednesday, and continuing on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, Sydney venue Leadbelly Newtown is launching a new Singer/Songwriter night called In The Round at Leadbelly. Inspired by the sessions at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, the night – which is curated by a different musician each month – features four musicians…

Oh Boy and Mallrat are proving to be a powerful little duo making some ridiculously catchy music that’s only continuing to get better with each spin. Their latest collaboration comes to us in “Rush Hour” – encompassing 90’s R&B vibes in production and Mallrat’s vocal, the electro-pop number is effortless in its delivery and charm. “Rush Hour”…

Not-quite from Melbourne band Gumboot are self described as “post surf idiosyncratic goth rock”. I don’t know if I entirely agree with this sentiment, but they are indeed something unique. It’s not often you see lead riffs being hammered out, rag-style, on keys, while the rest of the group explores slacker-punk territory. Gumboot’s second EP, Holiday, dropped on…

After stumbling upon a disused time machine, Cookin’ On 3 Burners are propelled back to the year 1971, whereupon breaking into a local high school science lab, they cautiously combine the elements and mix together the perfect ingredients to bring about the creation Lab Experiments Volume 1: Mixin’ which was released earlier this month. The…

LA Clippers fan Vince Staples set the rap game alight with his debut album Summertime ’06. The captivating conscious hip-hop album left fans satisfied, yet hungry for a new project. Enter Prima Donna; the more experimental album which was rather divisive for Vince Staples fans. However, the experimentalist in Vince wouldn’t stop there, as fans…

If anyone knows how to tug at your heartstrings and make dreamy electro pop come to life, it’s the XX.  Ahead of what is sure to be an absolutely epic set at Splendour in the Grass, the band have just dropped their video for “I Dare You” and it’s wonderful. Not only is an open…

It’s that time of week again- slide into our weekly Spotify playlist for a wrap up of all the best new music. This one includes an electro-pop powerhouse addition from Blyolk, Curtis Harding‘s soulful new release and the latest cut from SAATSUMA‘s forthcoming debut album. Get listening below! ———- This content has recently been ported…

Relative newcomers SPIT opened the evening, their saccharine garage-punk even more evolved than when I saw them play last. With a triple mustang combo, they were a wall of sound, held together by the razor sharp drumming of Jonnine Nokes. One of their hallmark features is the alternating, dynamic vocals, shared between guitarists Chloe Turner…

I saw Kacy Hill live at Splendour In The Grass 2016 on the back of knowing two songs of hers. Going into the set thinking her sound was maybe a cross between James Blake and Montaigne, I quickly realised I was doing her an injustice in comparing her to any other artist (irrespective of the…

San Mei has been establishing herself on the radars of many musical tastemakers and crowds for a little while and in the lead up to the release of her debut EP Necessary (out July 14th), the musician has continued to spur on the hype train with the release of the record’s title track. “Necessary” sees San Mei…

Ten seconds in: hands are thrown in the air, heads are banging, hair whipping, water bottles spraying, a couple both wearing spikey chokers are making out – as soon as Grinspoon hit the stage the crowd instantly transitioned from relatively chilled, to nostalgic 90’s punk rock! Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of their album, Guide to Better…

Brisbane five-piece WAAX should need no introduction. They’re one of the country’s best independent acts, both their album releases and live performances receiving glowing praise from all directions. They dropped their second EP, Wild & Weak, on June 2nd, which showed a mature direction for the band – tighter riffs, effortless breakdowns, and tackling deeper lyrical content. They’ve…

It’s been four years since Washed Out‘s (Ernest Greene), last album; and boy has a lot changed. 2013’s Paracosm was a tuneful record of utter warmth and bliss whereas new album, Mister Mellow, is a 13-track thickly woven psychedelic tapestry of samples and arrangements with a full length visual counterpart. Whilst this is keeping with…

The national ‘Fire Sign’ tour that has seen Remi, Sensible J and Sampa The Great collaborate on continues to Hobart this weekend before finishing up north in Darwin come July 8th. The reviews and chatter that have emerged in the wake of completed shows around the country so far have been positive and driven by enthusiasm – these…

With their new single “Destroying the Evidence”, Brooklyn four piece Sempahore have doled out a hit of indie that takes me right back to the days I was obsessed with the likes of Animal Collective, Beach House and Bloc Party. The first single to be taken from the band’s debut album All Too Robot (due out in September), “Destroying…

Tomorrow, the Sydney music community will be coming together for one helluva party in Kings Cross – another mark of solidarity felt within the scene against the well-publicised and still-damning lock out laws that have ruined many facets of Sydney’s nightlife and live music culture. Meet Me In The Cross, the joint initiative between the Keep…

Hey Geronimo have just released their new single ‘Bad Citizen’ via Chugg Music. Mixed by local legend Magoo, the hook-heavy, high-energy track, shouts a frantic message of warning over distorted guitars, bombastic drums and paranoid synths. Front-man Pete Kilroy reflects on the cause for alarm in the current politically charged climate, where digital platforms create…

Easy to grasp, unrelenting in its palatableness – the Brit-rock indie quintet has served up a safe sixth album. Delivering on their typically loud choruses and drum breaks once more – For Crying Out Loud is what we expect from Kasabian. It’s music you could either jump a skipping rope to or down a lager…

Melbourne’s five-(sometimes six-sometimes seven)-piece Mesa Cosa return with a call to their snake worshipping cult of destruction, the ‘Church of the Snake’. The inimitable group descend into darkness and explore an underworld full of occult rituals in their latest offering, obliterating the listener with their trademark psych-punk. Don’t worry, there’s no *actual* footage of them in the…

It’s been a little bit since Curtis Harding set hearts a-flutter with new music but with “On & On” now out and circulating, no doubt heart rates are beginning to accelerate again. Rich in soul and evocative drive, “On & On” wastes no time in honing in on the listener and hooking them in. Each inch of…

Festivals are, of course, the perfect opportunity to see some of the world’s biggest artists perform live, and this year’s Splendour in the Grass is no exception, with some of our favourite headline acts performing. However, there’s nothing better than discovering an act that you haven’t heard of before, so here are a few of our…

For Sydney-based singer songwriter Taryn La Fauci – and no doubt, her fans – the release of her debut album Cycling has a been a highly anticipated one. With her debut EP UNVEIL being released to a positive reception back in 2014, La Fauci has been absolutely thriving as a live performer, locking down impressive live shows and…

Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Clea recorded her debut EP Fairweather between a mix of coastal, rural and inner city studios and that transient nature has injected itself into her dreamy debut. A mix of urban-esque yet freeing electronic beats lie on a wave beneath Clea’s folk-like, airy vocals as the EP progresses between primary use of synths to…

Bernard Fanning speaks to me with a weathered cynicism and humour of a musician who has most certainly done this all before. By ‘this’, I mean the usual press junket that accompanies an album release or a tour announcement. Thankfully, the ice between us had already been broken back in 2016, when I interviewed him…

Releasing his first collection of music in over a decade, Japanese multi-instrumentalist Cornelius has recently given fans a little gift in the music video for “Sometime/Someplace”. Taken from the new album Mellow Waves, the song is effortlessly clean and edgy – progressions make the futuristic nature of the song almost hypnotic, while the off-beat percussion and guitar…

From the immediate start of his debut album, Trevor Sensor’s husky-voiced howl will resonate with you for sometime.  Recorded at Steve Albini‘s Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, the LP features production work from Brandon Darner (Imagine Dragons), Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado and Richard Swift (The Shins). Sensor’s voice is especially reminiscent of a late 1980/1990’s Bob…

Australia’s music industry will be on show in Adelaide this July, with the inaugural ‘Indie-Con’ launching in the country’s UNESCO City of Music come July 27th & 28th. Kicking off in conjunction with the 11th AIR Awards, Indie-Con Australia follows on from the original UK model, first established to get down to the nitty gritty…