Music

The last thing anyone would have expected was Rob Thomas’ current Australian tour to be steeped in controversy. The man who came up in the 90’s as the voice of Tabitha’s Secret and Matchbox 20 falls into the category of inoffensive pop-rock that some may find inauthentic and fairly ordinary in the 2010’s – a…

Damien Leith has had a busy decade since taking out the title of Australian Idol. He’s recorded eight studio albums, written two books, and penned a one-man cabaret. This April marks what would have been Roy Orbison‘s 80th birthday, to celebrate Damien reprises his successful Roy – A Tribute to Roy Orbison tour!

Having been on the road for most of the past decade, Dallas Frasca is certainly no stranger to touring. Before heading back to Europe this May with American rockers The Bellrays in tow, the Melbourne-based band will be playing a few shows around Australia, including festivals Kidgeeridge and Cherry Rock. Check out the complete tour…

Since speaking to Cold War Kids before their Falls Festival set in late 2014, they’ve copped their first number one single in “First”, dropped EP Five Quick Cuts and heavily toured the international festival circuit. Now with their return to Australia for Bluesfest and accompanying sideshows nigh, we spoke to lead man Nathan Willett about…

This week’s music industry news wrap up features the publishing of an APRA|AMCOS report finding that investment in Contemporary Music within the Australian industry could stand to generate over 40 million dollars, a new partnership between Live Nation Australasia and UNIFIED, the Wu-Tang Clan’s vocal opposition to Sydney’s lock out laws and latest chart news! Contemporary Music Investment To…

The first listen of Mangelwurzel can be a bit of a mind fuck. But in the best way possible. Tantalising overstimulation meets uncompromising direction. There’s a thousand elements whooshing around, but it maintains the kind of effortless fluidity that’s not often paired with seemingly disjointed brilliance. We chatted to Cosima Jaala ahead of the release…

Damn, that opening bass line, right? Followed up with Luke Boerdam‘s vocal and well, you’ve got a great formula for a certified banger of a Violent Soho tune. In the boys’ latest cut from forthcoming album WACO, “Viceroy” is yet another chaotic and gleefully reckless piece of classic Soho goodness. Guitars thrash, drums are pummelled and the vocals are strained gloriously…

In This Issue: You are going to want to buckle in for this one, we have an overwhelming batch of releases all due out this weekend! If you were struggling for new tunes, we have you covered on everything from breathy indie goddess Frøkedal to new death metal crew Abyssus and all artists in between….

The visa issues that prevented Canadian rapper Madchild from touring Australia late last year have been all fixed up, granting the artist the opportunity to make good on those dates he missed out on last time round. In April, Madchild will be hitting venues around Australia with his new album, Silver Tongue Devil, with Mastacraft and Mickey Deville on…

As live music and entertainment venues establishes are facing closure not just in Sydney, but elsewhere in the country too, we’ve been reminiscing on some of our favourites around the country over the years. There are notable hotspots in each capital for sure, where some incredible musical talent have cut their teeth as live touring bands…

Crunchy bass and driving beats lead the new single from Canadian four piece Holy Fuck. The new track “Tom Tom” is a cut off their first album in almost six years, Congrats. Check out the new single here: https://soundcloud.com/holyfuck/02-tom-tom-1 Holy Fuck‘s new album Congrats is due out May 7th! ———- This content has recently been ported from…

Now mere weeks out from hitting the States for SXSW, the AU is throwing the spotlight on some of the Australian artists set to represent for our diverse and exciting industry. First up, Sydney act Spookyland, who’ve been on our radar and no doubt the radars of many music fans around the country for some time now. With…

Sydney based trio RÜFÜS first set disco balls turning in 2010. Following two EPs and a debut full-length album, listeners all around the world were grooving to their smooth indie-electronica music. Sophomore album, Bloom, is a lush progression of the catchy hooks, soaring vocals and entrancing dance vibes that the Sydneysiders have effortlessly disseminated for over five years….

Melbourne group Northeast Party House have announced a massive international tour starting at the end of this month. Aussie fans will be able to rejoice in their last week of holidays before returning to uni with Northeast Party House playing at Flinders University’s O’Fiesta, and join in a one-off birthday celebration at Melbourne’s The Corner…

Canadian music festival Osheaga has revealed its 2016 lineup, headlined by Radiohead, Lana Del Ray, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Joining the slew of impressive acts will be Australia’s very own RÜFÜS (or RÜFÜS DU SOL as they’re known in North America), Flume, Hiatus Kaiyote, The Cat Empire, and The Paper Kites. Osheaga 2016 will take…

Perth artist Fait has gone and upped her game with the release of “Chasing Youth” and now, we have a film clip to continue to gawk over while the artist continues to work on her next release. As a stand alone single, “Chasing Youth” is great piece of instrumental music that lends itself to some gorgeous nostalgic…

For most people here, this isn’t the first time they’ve seen the enigma that is Sufjan Stevens; some – like myself – experienced his soul-crushing live show last year at the Sydney Opera House, others are seasoned veterans, having joined the Sufjan train many moons ago upon his release of highly acclaimed album Seven Swans. Regardless…

‘Lay down, lay down. Give me someone new…’ is an extremely pertinent lyric to the entire entity and act that is DMA’s. While they’ve definitely drawn a few favourable comparisons during their rise over the past two years, there’s been plenty of conjecture over whether DMA’s are in fact ‘someone new’ or just something recycled…

When Luke Yeoward quit music following the break up of Melbourne favourites King Cannons, his main priority at the time was set on his family and new life they were forming for themselves in New Zealand. It didn’t take long for the frontman to have that itch however and after only a few months away, the desire to…

Ottawa’s iconic RBC Bluesfest – which, like its Australian equivalent, is far more eclectic than its name suggests – has unleashed an incredible lineup for 2016, with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billy Idol, Duran Duran, Wolf Parade, The Cult, Bryan Ferry, Half Moon Run, Ben Harper, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Monkees and many,…

Mid-west hip hop legends Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will be making their very welcome return to Australia in May of this year as they headline a series of shows dubbed This Is Hip Hop; even better, the collective will be performing their seminal sophomore E. 1999 Eternal in it’s entirety, 21 years (and two months) after it’s…

Brisbane alt-rockers Aerials today release the official music video for their new track “Separate”!  Taking cues from the likes of early Birds of Tokyo, the more melodic elements of artists including The Getaway Plan and more Aussies of that style, Aerials have produced a tune in “Separate” that is full of catchy hooks, well-delivered riffs and some…

There was a lot going on in the Hilltop Hoods‘ camp when I snagged some of MC Pressure‘s time during album release week for their new orchestral record, Drinking From the Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung. Heading back east to Sydney later that day for a round of promo, Pressure remained noticeably chilled out about the fact that…

When you put the legends that are Massive Attack  and arguably one of the best bands at the minute, Young Fathers, together, the chances are high that whatever comes of the link up will be fucking cool. Which brings us to their collaboration, “Voodoo In My Blood”. Taken from Massive Attack’s Ritual Spirit EP, the song is charged with vocals by…

It would seem that everything Harts puts his touch on turns to freakin’ gold lately – the guitarist and songwriter simply just goes from strength to strength. Last night, his new single “Peculiar” was premiered on Dom Alessio’s Home and Hosed show in triple j and already, it’s picking up a lot of support online. Well, count us…

Although the idea of combining the best sounds of Foxes and Delta Goodrem might sound just a bit crazy, I swear “Real Life” by Arthur Beatrice justifies it with four and a half minutes of seriously good music. Take the time out to give this a listen, the piano/electronic beat combination is definitely worth your…

One sentence answers feel pretty bad when you’re a music writer interviewing someone who you grew up listening to. Sometimes, it’s your fault for asking stupid questions and not connecting with the interviewee properly and other times, it has got more to do with the interviewee; how busy they are, or how much they just…

Sydney multi-instrumentalist Moody has been toiling away on some fresh solo music,  a definitive step out from under the shadow of his successful hip-hop trio, True Vibenation. The first result of Moody’s solo venture is in new single, “Say It Like You Own It” – a great fusion of hip-hop beats, electro production and traditional African percussion….

Tech-house pioneer Josh Butler will be touring our shores and New Zealand through March. The tour kicks off in Queenstown, New Zealand and then the tour moves onto Australia, where Butler will stop in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Josh Butler has been on the scene since 2013 and has supported legendary DJ’s and producers such as…

Imagine Dragons are bringing their Smoke + Mirrors tour to big screens across Australia for one night only. The screening will take place on Wednesday, March 2nd. Filmed as part of their current world tour, the set list features hits such as Demons, I Bet My Life  and Radioactive from Night Visions. The concert, directed by Dick Carruthers, comes from their…