It’s that time of the year again; we’ve already rounded up the full AU crew’s Top 40 Songs of 2015, but here’s something a bit different. The AU’s Chris Singh looks at the best hip-hop and R&B tracks of 2015 after countless hours (probably days; who knows) of picking apart the year’s best releases and…
As we welcome Summer and the New Year, we welcome the horrid sight of fake tans gone wrong, gym junkies parading the streets shirtless, long lines to use (much to our dismay) port-a-loos or to buy an overpriced beverage, sniffer dogs guarding entry gates and in the distance; a giant stage which will be home…
London’s Pure Youth have only been around since 2014 but they’ve wasted no time in building an impressive rep for themselves through this year. Demonstrating that the indie scene that flourished under the wing of bands like The Maccabees, The Wombats and more recently, The 1975 and Circa Waves, is certainly not done in unearthing…
Perth’s most nomadic festival returned to the city foreshore for the 2015 instalment over the weekend, bringing back previous innovations of the Teepee Village, that super casual boutique vibe and of course some killer artists. Though the weather felt like it was going to be a torturously windy day, the parameters of the festival seemed…
It’s that time of the year again; we’ve already rounded up the full AU crew’s Top 40 Songs of 2015, but here’s something a bit different. The AU’s Chris Singh looks at the best hip-hop and R&B tracks of 2015 after countless hours (probably days; who knows) of picking apart the year’s best releases and…
Taking on The Strands‘ 1997 original, Circa Waves have recently released their own version of “Something Like You”. The boys strip the music back and embrace an acoustic vibe for their cover and for fans of Circa Waves, it’s a real treat to see them operate in this way. Their version of “Something Like You”…
New York artist Elliot Moss recently released the music video for his single “Pattern Repeating” and if you haven’t been able to check it out (ditto for his debut album Highspeeds), now is your shot. Taking things down a bit, “Pattern Repeating” sits comfortably in alongside material released by your Bon Ivers, your James Blakes…
And here we have it: the top 10 albums of the year. We won’t waste any time and shall get right into proceedings – however if you want to look back at part one, head HERE, part two is HERE and part three from earlier today is HERE. 10. Florence And The Machine – How Big, How Blue,…
Today we continue our top 40 albums countdown, kicking off with an artist who’s just about to hit our shores for Falls Festival and some anticipated sideshows… If you’d like to look back on part one of our countdown, head HERE, and part two is HERE. 20. Leon Bridges – Coming Home “Leon Bridges has…
In our 99th installment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Mat Cammarano from Perth, and chat about his eclectic influences, growing up with music and check out his new track, “Ashes”. Musician: Mat Cammarano Website / Social Media: milkmanrecordings.com.au Facebook / Soundcloud Genre: Electronic, Indie, Pop Members & their roles: At the moment it’s a solo…
It’s an interesting concept. Release one song a month for a year via SoundCloud and see what happens. One would think that, given the amount of music currently floating about on the internet by independent, unsigned artists, it would be easy for content to fade out and not make a scratch on the consciousness on…
David Hobson is one of Australia’s most celebrated and accomplished opera singers, but he’s definitely not a rigid elitist, as is the popular stereotype for that genre of music. I had a chat to him recently about his experience with the 2015 Bravo! Cruise of the Performing Arts, which he’ll be part of again next…
Irish songwriter Zack Boone has only recently landed on my radar, following an email sent to me a few weeks ago with the subject line simply reading: Take five minutes to listen to this guy. I’m glad I did. The song is called “Beautiful”; a chill, delicate acoustic number, it’s a love letter that isn’t…
If you didn’t have a crush on Cam Avery before, chances are you’re going to now. “We’re Just Making it Worse” is the Perth musician’s latest single as a solo artist and we are…how do we say? Here. For. It. A bluesy, smoky ballad, the tune has Avery and Alexandra Savoir going toe to toe…
A new festival is coming to the stunning Barossa Valley region in South Australia next year and it brings with it a solid inaugural line up! The Silver Fern Festival was announced today to be headlined by Jason Isbell and will play host to the final ever show performed by The Audreys. To take place…
“Join us for a frolic in the forest”, reads the tagline for Gaytimes, a brand new Australian camping festival designed for the gay community by the team at Closet Party. Gaytimes will be going down in March 2016 at Kinglake in Victoria, with an impressive curated line-up headlined by the great Paul Mac and beefed…
As far as final local shows of the year go, I was happy to be spending mine with some artists I’ve loved getting to know more about through 2015. Wasted Wanderers headlined at Jive, braving the Adelaide heatwave in enticing friends and people keen for some live music out of their air-conditioned homes for a…
One of Detroit’s finest emcees Guilty Simpson is stepping back in the frame with Katalyst for a return Australian tour that will see the two artists team up again for four shows across the country. Kicking off late January in Canberra, Guilty and Katalyst will be showcasing their work to Australian fans with older material…
In This Issue: Just in, sad news for Soundwave. Triple J ends an era of podcasts. There are sign ups as well as the CMC Awards performers announced plus the latest ARIA charts. RIP Soundwave Soundwave festival has officially been cancelled due to poor ticket sales, confirmed as of today. The festival will not be returning…
Yesterday, the final nail in the Soundwave coffin was well and truly hammered in, with AJ Maddah (in usual style) taking to Twitter to announced that the festival would not be going ahead in 2016 due to poor ticket sales. Following on from the previous announcement that the festival would cease to exist nationally in…
With the Falls Festival and Southbound tours kicking off just after Christmas, we’re faced with the exciting opportunity in welcoming some of our favourite bands and artists back to Australia. Some of them have only just been out this way on other festivals or headline tours of their own, some are making their debut and…
Adelaide duo Problems have released maybe one of my favourite tracks this year in “Pretending”. Having been working consistently through 2015 on new music, developing on the live front and generally establishing a presence for themselves not only in Adelaide but with a wider audience beyond, Justin Walkden and Shane Lock have demonstrated with this…
As Alicia Keys first belted out, This girl is on fire, and this could easily apply to Brisbane native, ROMY. Armed with a smoky R&B aesthetic ready to burn up, the LA-based songstress has dropped the video for her debut single “Wild Heart” and we are all about the direction she is headed in. Directing…
Now this was a bit confusing; David Bowie has released a new song of his forthcoming ★ (pronounced “Blackstar”) album, and it’s the title track from his off-Broadway production “Lazarus”. It was performed live on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but it wasn’t Bowie who was behind the microphone – of course – it…
We continue our countdown of best albums of the year, as voted by the AU review’s contributors… If you want to look back at the first ten on the list, head HERE. 30. Justin Bieber – Purpose “This was a surprising one for me. There seems to still be a stigma around vibing on this…
Earlier today we finished up the countdown of our 40 favourite songs of 2015, and now we commence our top 40 albums of 2015, showcasing an eclectic mix of music from all over the world – including plenty here at home… Here we go with 40 to 31: 40. Miguel – Wildheart “This album is pure…
Lisa Crawley has been an artist we’ve loved getting to know more about this year. Releasing her new EP, Up in the Air, at the tailend of November, Crawley showcased a refined sense of songwriting, blending some great melodic pop sounds that evoke a classic retro vibe without planting herself solely in one era of…
Future Classic and the Museum of Contemporary Art have revealed the artists taking part in next year’s FCxMCA series in Sydney and again, these summer nights are going to be musts in your calendar. A fusion of contemporary art and music showcased in the surrounds of the MCA’s Sculpture Terrace, FCxMCA already has enjoyed a…
One cannot overstate the importance and influence that has been surrounding Big Daddy Kane ever since he stamped hip-hop with one of it’s most endearing styles back in the 80’s. The likes of Jay Z, Common and Black Thought regularly note the impact Kane has had on their understanding of the technical side of emceeing,…
Any chance to feature Lisa Mitchell, we’re gonna take it. The songstress recently linked up with Georgia Fair and Anita Lester (Lester the Fierce) for this cute track, “The Coldest Night of the Year”. The single is part of the It’s Coming on Christmas compilation that also features tracks by the likes of Marika Hackman…
