Music

The term Kintsugi is a beautiful one (the Japanese word for the art of mending broken pottery) and as the title of Death Cab For Cutie‘s eighth studio album it’s a good indication of where the band stands in both sadness and heartache. 2011’s Codes and Keys, brought an upbeat indie rock style but now, since the many changes…

Last month, Danish group Mew played their first US shows in six years at SXSW in anticipation of the release of their long awaited sixth full length record +- (Plus Minus). Larry Heath had the opportunity at the festival to sit down with Johan Wohlert and Jonah Bjerre of the group to talk about getting the band back together – with bassist Johan returning to the band for the first time since departing in 2006. We talk about working with American Producer Michael Beinhorn again – the pair having previously worked with him on the acclaimed And the Glass Handed Kites (2005). We talk about working with Kimbra and Russell from Bloc Party. But perhaps the most important question of all was: when will the band finally be coming to Australia?

Today marks the day that Brisbane-based “edgy chunk rockers” Ninth Of May are releasing the music video for the brand new single “Ramen”, and we’re proud to exclusively premiere the track on the AU today. The entirely self-produced project sees jjj unearthed winners collaborating with some of Brisbane’s finest musicians, delivering a striking yet mesmerizing…

Our most-loved songs are often from a heartbroken man. And while Goon has an undoubtedly autobiographic touch to it, Tobias Jesso Jr at least takes on the persona of any sad lover pining helplessly for what once was. Sure a whole album dedicated to heartbreak has its melodrama, but Jesso Jr brought his real-life experience…

Self-described as “darkly whimsical folktronica”, Quintessential Doll are an up-and-coming Brisbane outfit fronted by Steph Linsdell, who is today premiering her new track “Thunder Gods”, featuring the incredible vocals of Clio Em, on the AU. The genre-bending track, jumping between the words of Opera, Electronica, Indie Pop and, indeed, “folktronica”, is a stand out of…

Last Tuesday saw the annual tradition of the APRA Music Awards hit Sydney, a celebration of the Australian music which has made the biggest impact at home and around the globe over the past 12 months. Thanks to a special between Moshcam and APRA, the “Song of the Year” live performances were recorded and streamed,…

the AU review sat down with Los Angeles based group AWOLNATION‘s frontman Aaron Bruno while at SXSW earlier this month. We talk about the madness of SXSW, “it’s kind of like how life on the road is in general… I think people come together at South by and experience a little bit of what it’s…

the AU review sits down with Paul Saulnier of Canadian outfit PS I Love You at SXSW to talk about the festival, their latest music with For Those Who Stay, working with Paper Bag Records in Toronto, potential trips to Australia, his favourite Australian bands, evolving the live show “we’ve gotten better at it, I…

In the 34th installment of ‘Stumbled Upon’, we meet the UK’s Edgarville and chat about keeping things simple, their upcoming 3 month tour around the UK and get to know a little more about the band. Read on: Band Name: Edgarville Website / Social Media: Facebook Genre: Acoustic Members & their roles: Ed – singer,…

The line up for today’s A Day On the Green at Bimbadgen Winery in the Hunter Valley has a stellar line up featuring a plethora of talented musicians. The venue appears to be practically sold out as there isn’t much green left to sit on, the regular general admission punters always arrive early to grab…

Head to Texas for her fourth SXSW, Lenka has brought us back a tour diary of her return to the massive event, which was full of birthday celebrations, delayed flights and a brief few days in LA for rehearsals and Pho. Day One: Arrive in Los Angeles for rehearsals with my LA-based band, (who I’ve…

the AU review captured Brooklyn group Great Caesar in the AU’s pop up venue at SXSW performing a brand new track “Hey Jolene” as part of their SXSW AU Sessions series. Watch the full performance here: For more on the band head to: http://www.greatcaesarband.com/

Earlier this week at the APRA Awards – which took place at Carriageworks in Sydney – artists joined together for unique collaborations to cover the songs that were nominated for APRA Song of the Year. It’s an annual tradition at the Awards and it’s always an entertaining and unique part of the night. We’ll be…

Talk about taking a great song and making it something even more special – Thelma Plum and Andy Bull – with the help of the Dans from Art vs Science managed to do just that, delivering a stunning cover of Dan Sultan’s “Kimberley Calling” at the APRA Awards earlier this week in Sydney. The song…

the AU review captures Petter Ericson Stakee – the lead vocalist and guitarist of UK (via New York) group Alberta Cross – in the AU’s pop up venue at SXSW performing their latest single “Isolation” as part of their SXSW AU Sessions series. The track comes from the forthcoming self-titled album (number three!), due out…

In the 33rd installment of ‘Stumbled Upon’, we meet Melbourne quartet Big Smoke, and chat about their latest track ‘Try A Little Love’, the music that inspired them and find out how they got started… Band Name: Big Smoke Website / Social Media: Facebook / Soundcloud Genre: Rock ‘n’ Roll Members & their roles: Adrian…

the AU review sat down in the AU’s pop up venue at SXSW with Dispatch’s Chadwick Stokes, about to head to Australia to play shows in Australia for the first time with his band – as well as appearing at Bluesfest in Byron Bay and playing solo shows of his own. Chadwick’s solo record The…

the AU review captures emerging artist Imogen Clark performing a beautiful acoustic track at the first ever AU sessions live event at The Hive Bar in Erskineville. The track is called “Things You Never Had” and you can watch it here: Filmed at The AU Sessions – 24th February 2015. The AU Sessions takes place…

In the final parts from the AU review’s interview with Perfect Pussy from last month, Meredith Graves and the group talk about their favourite Australian Hardcore Bands, wanting to pet Koalas and Kangaroos and much more… And watch this clip to see what the band think about Australian Spiders (spoiler alert: they’re not a big…

the AU review captures emerging Sydney artist Taryn La Fauci performing a beautiful acoustic track at the first ever AU sessions live event at The Hive Bar in Erskineville. The track is called “All Of Me” and you can watch it here: Filmed at The AU Sessions – 24th February 2015. The AU Sessions takes…

Scottish four piece Twin Atlantic were recently in Australia touring with Soundwave Festival and managed to stop by backstage and play a friendly game of beer pong in the AU review tournament. After the competition ended, members Sam McTrusty and Ross McNae stayed to talk about finding inspiration in Australia, what it’s like playing home grown shows and future tour plans. Check it out below!

2015 will no doubt be George Maple’s year. The Future Classic star first won fans nationally in 2014 with her debut EP Vacant Space and had everyone singing along to lead single ‘Talk Talk’. Now the singer-songwriter is making waves overseas, grabbing the attention of music heavyweights in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York City.

Put together each year by the popular music aggregation site The Hype Machine, Hype Hotel has become a mainstay of the annual SXSW music festival. Every time the Hotel returns, it gets bigger and better, and this year was no exception, taking over a massive warehouse on the East side of town. One of our…

As we fly back to Australia from our sixth annual week of coverage at SXSW in Austin, Texas, we’ve spent some time reflecting on our experiences and now present to you the second annual AU review SXSW Music Awards – acknowledging the bands who made the biggest impressions on us at the event. These awards…

With SXSW at an end, the music world is looking ahead to the rest of the major festivals to take over America this year. Following the announcement of Outside Lands in San Francisco earlier this week (see that lineup HERE), it’s now Lollapalooza’s turn – the iconic Chicago festival set to take place from July…

the AU review presents Hong Kong band Noughts and Exes performing their track “Seasons” for the AU sessions. The track is taken from their album And So It Goes…. The band is made up of members from around the world: Joshua Wong, Guitar/Vocals (Australia), Gideon So, Keyboard (Canada), Alex Bedwell, Drums (UK) and Alix Farquhar,…

Falling In Reverse have just released their most recent LP Just Like You. Since their controversial single, “Alone”, Ronnie Radke and his fellow band mates have gotten quite a following with their stylish direction in the post-hardcore scene and have been turning heads since their early days with “The Drug in Me is You”. Unfortunately, the band’s image has…

Coming to Australia next month, Canadian electronic artist, Peaches, will be heading our way for Groovin’ The Moo festival to dazzle audiences with her delightful presence on stage. After putting her heart and soul into writing lyrics for her new album, she takes a bit of a breather in Berlin, mentally preparing herself for the upcoming busy schedule…

The week that is SXSW in Austin; Texas always brings with it its fair share of opportunities to discover new artists. Here were my five discoveries at the festival, all of whom seem destined for greatness. Some may be names you already know, others will probably be ones you’ve never heard of before. But they’re…

The third annual Grulke Prize has been awarded in three categories to some of the showcasing artists taking part in SXSW this year. The special accolade, created in honour of the late Brent Grulke, who was the Creative Director of the SXSW Music Festival, recognises artists from both the US and abroad who have shown…