Music

It’s come as no surprise that when Sia announced her return to Australia yesterday, the tour announcement was nothing short of huge. For her first shows back in the country in over five years, the Adelaide native has plotted out her debut Australian stadium run for the east coast this November & December (as well as adding…

Returning for its second year to kick off Vivid Sydney, Kings Cross Hotel was transformed on Saturday into the 6-floor, multi-genre extravaganza known as the ‘Welcome To Kings Cross’ party. Curated by Adam Lewis,  for whom the event was a dedication to the diversity and vibrance of Sydney’s nightlife, the lineup featured party favourites including…

Winning the Telstra Road to Discovery in 2015 gave Sydney songwriter Merpire a great platform to launch her music from and since then,she ha become a live performer in demand and a songwriting talent to be reckoned with. Most recently heading into the studio with Andy Bull, Merpire has released a new single in “Holding Breath”. The tune…

Kick off a brand new week with some of our favourite cuts from the likes of SAINt JHN, Night Drive, Mikhael Paskalev and Overcoats! If you missed out on what our writers and editors were loving in terms new music last week, simply hit ‘play’ on our playlist below for a refresher course in some awesome cuts of pop,…

In the dark corners of Hobart, surrounded by many a fast food restaurant or club, sits the Odeon Theatre, the premiere setting for the majority of all age concerts to grace Tasmania’s capital. In the wake of their new release, More Afraid Of You Than You Are Of Me, The Smith Street Band make their…

Something magical happened at The Gasometer Hotel on Thursday night. The lighting was dimmed to sultry, red stage lights catching the smoke in the air, the oversized disco ball looming overhead, and Donny Benét (the sexiest man in music), was set to take the stage. Silver Linings took to the stage first, to warm the…

Now the dust has finally settled on The Great Escape for another year and a flight back to Australia beckons, I’ve been loading up my flight playlist and have come to land on my top eight artists from my time out in Brighton. Of course, there were some shining artists I’d known about prior, while…

We give Melbourne’s Baby Blue a lot of love, and for good reason. The four-piece, fronted by Rhea Caldwell, are a genre-spanning group, spinning through grooving 60’s rock, indie pop melodies, and solid guitar riffs. What’s better than just Baby Blue? How about Baby Blue’s single “New Girlfriend”, taken from their debut EP In My Mind, and dogs? Rhea reached out…

The Church frontman Steve Kilbey and All India Radio’s Martin Kennedy have been releasing music under the guise Kilbey Kennedy since 2009, and today the prolific pair have released album number five: Glow and Fade. I caught up with Martin Kennedy to talk about the album, which they are calling their “Magnum Opus”, its cover…

There was a song on Phoenix’s Bankrupt album called ‘Trying To Be Cool”, which is a fair description for a lot people you see at gigs. I mean, maybe they really do dress and act like that, but surely there’s an essence to their gig persona where they really are just trying to be cool….

Mikhael Paskalev is back with another sparkly number, this time in “Shotgun”. A fine return from the Norwegian pop maestro – with swirling textural vibes akin to popular Tears For Fears cuts and when his vocal kicks in, there’s hits of Passion Pit vibrancy that will instantly draw indie pop fans in. As a tune…

As we arrived in the iconic, well coloured sails for the opening night of Vivid, the excitement for the return of Seattle outfit Fleet Foxes, who were helping opening the festival, was palpable. A screen sat at the back of the stage, and a note (presumably) from the band told us they missed us (“welcome to…

The resurgence of 90s indie and/or grunge inspired rock has seen both melancholy and massive bands on the scene, some taking the genre in modern and inspired directions. New Jersey’s Trü are definitely in the latter category, their rhythmic guitars work injected with a certain shoegaze feel. “Take A Peek” is the opening track from their upcoming…

Across two continents, over the last two months, I’ve caught up with Tom Ogden, lead singer of UK rising superstars Blossoms. We first sat down at Coachella, where they played an early set, and spoke again while they were touring Europe in their own headline shows, fresh from touring the USA with  Two Door Cinema…

One of our top acts to watch at this years Great Escape Festival, Kamikaze Girls have dropped the music video for their single “Deathcap”, and have cemented why they were one of our picks. The UK two piece bring their unique post riot grrrl sound and fuzz-soaked rock stronger than ever in the clip, filmed by Katie McMillan, and edited…

Zander Hawley is an American songwriter truly coming into his own with this, his debut album, When I Get Blue. Having first come across his music a few years ago (he is one half of LA’s Honeywater with Amandla Stenberg), I’ve been keeping track on Hawley’s solo releases out of Nashville since. There’s a poignancy that permeates throughout Hawley’s…

For Gold Coast artist Angie Farr, aka Old Sault, her debut EP Mostly Worried signified a great entrance to to the east coast Aussie music scene. Her single “Sleeping With Danger” established Old Sault as an artist to watch and propelled her to more success on triple j Unearthed, while her work with acclaimed producer Govinda Doyle on the EP…

You wouldn’t normally couple the words ‘dark’ and ‘euphoria’ together but somehow, when Brisbane’s Tabrill puts his touch on music, the two blend together well. Case in point, his new single, “Sans”. The song is minimalistic in delivery; the space normally occupied by vocals is instead filled with layers of dark electronic production, establishing a great…

Laura Imbruglia‘s Amateur Hour returns for a second season, bringing to screen seven episodes featuring interviews, music and more. The DIY style variety show has been filmed in Sydney and Melbourne, hosted by Imbruglia, and will be featuring the likes of Olympia, Candy Bowers, Ash Flanders and more in its new season. It’s a unique presentation and one that has…

Directed by Anthony Supreme, we head to New York City to follow Brooklyn’s SAINt JHN and his fellow Supreme-clad crew around in this, the official music video for “3 Below”. The noticeably down-temp trap-infused beat has made “3 Below” a favourite with the blogs and fans recently and now, there’s an extra attachment to the song for…

Our friends at PBS 106.7 FM are holding their annual Radio Festival right now, driving subscriptions to one of Melbourne – and Australia’s – finest community radio stations. Entirely non-for-profit, PBS relies on subscribers to champion local and underrepresented music across Melbourne and Australia and so they’re festival drive is one of the most important…

One in four performing artists have attempted or considered suicide. More than one in three performing artists, and one in four industry support workers, report mental health problems (Entertainment Assist, 2014). Think about the last band you listened to, or the last gig you went to. A four person band? At least one person from…

Indie rockers The Districts are back, dropping their second single from their upcoming LP, Popular Manipulations. “If Before I Wake” is heavy on the drone, citing influences from shoegaze to  The Velvet Underground. There’s a distinct sound to these guys, touching on that 00’s indie rock vibe, with some modern finesse, all moulded by vocalist Rob Grote‘s distinctive and soaring voice. Of…

Dean Lewis is one of those artists who has an effortless charm about him. At The Great Escape this year, I was able to watch him perform twice – a proper introduction to his onstage presence – and it was undeniable, the hold the songwriter had over his audience. He’s slightly awkward, almost coy, in his…

Missed the best new tracks hand-selected by our own writers? Catch up on all the goodness, from the raucous new one by Press Club to the bubbling electronic R&B beats by Ladi6, this playlist covers all bases. Get listening now! ———- This content has recently been ported from its original home on The AU Review:…

Melbourne’s Splendidid (not a typo) have been crafting a niche for themselves in the inner North’s music scene over the last eight months. Voracious gigging has allowed the group to jam out riffs and melodies live, and flesh out their psych-soaked songs based on what the audience digs. Dom Alessio (triple j) describes their sound as “sunshine…

Musicians around Australia will have the opportunity to engage in frank discussions about mental health thanks to a just announced series Music and the Mind: Panels on Mental Health, which will tour the country throughout May and June 2017. The events, presented by the Australasian Performing Right Association (ARPA AMCOS) and Support Act, will open up discussions…

It’s hard to position Allday within the cohort of musicians that make up the Australian scene. From Adelaide to Melbourne to now, Los Angeles, the rapper still very much holds a place within the local music scene but to look at how his last year or so has rounded off, it’s evident that the Allday brand is…

Ah, The Great Escape. Snipping at the heels of its American counterpart, SXSW, the British festival – established for music discovery – has grown considerably in recent year, drawing thousands of music fans and industry professionals out to Brighton to watch hundreds of established and emerging bands from the world over showcase their sounds in a variety of…

New York duo Overcoats are JJ Mitchell and Hana Elion – two musicians who have captivated our attention recently. Their debut album YOUNG is out now – exuding excitement and charm, there have been many moments on the album that caught our attention initially but more importantly, kept it. Current single “Leave The Light On” is one such example, a…