Music

Emma Louise’s vs. Head vs. Heart is easily one of the most captivating records to be released this year, proving that the attention she found with 2011’s “Jungle” was more than luck — she is undeniably talented and utterly deserving of the success she’s having. I attended her show with high expectations, and was not…

Tonight Alive played the Factory Theatre on Thursday night with support from Because They Can and A Sleepless Melody. Gwendolyn Lee was there and brings us these photos from the pit.

Emma Louise played the Metro Theatre on Friday night with support from Thelma Plum and Patrick James. Gwendolyn Lee was there and brings us these photos from the pit.

When I saw Tonight Alive at Manning Bar just over a year ago, it was easy to see that they had a lot of potential. However, as strong as their performance was, they were still a fairly new band — on stage, their presence merely asked for the audience’s attention. When I saw them this…

Just before they hit the stage in Melbourne on May 3rd and headed overseas for a few weeks, Larry Heath caught up with electronic collaborators Mobin Master and Tate Strauss to talk about their new track “Dreams”, the US and Australian EDM scenes, underage dance festivals and much more. Looks like there are a few…

Trams suck. Really, they do. The tram heading toward this gig tonight seemed to be slowly moved up The Esplanade like a moose with constipation. Eventually it dawdled to The Palais in the plodding fashion that trams do. The Heart of St Kilda has become a special event, and when it comes around each year,…

Sometimes all people want is a drink and song. Halfway between a small gig and your friend’s living room, the Folk Club embraces all that is cosy about folk music while giving artists the chance to perform at full force in front of an audience they can actually see (and talk to afterwards). Folk Club…

This year’s run of the Groovin’ the Moo festival came to a close at Bunbury’s Hay Park on Saturday. Though the festival has been running for a couple of years now, this was the first time I’d ventured along, drawn in part by an eclectic line-up of both Australian and international artists. The festival was…

The past two years for Buchanan have been intense; “The highs were high, and the lows were shitty” according to Josh Simons, leader of the band but now that a debut album has emerged from the process, mastered at the all-famous Abbey Road Studios, the group is only looking forward to an even more prolific…

Ah, Tenacious D. The infamous rock and roll duo (although perhaps they are best described as a “rock and roll tribute act”), comprised of Kyle Gass and Jack Black were last seen on our shores supporting the Foo Fighters at the end of last 2011. Since then they have released a new record (Rize of…

“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty…

I first heard Bec and Ben’s “This Is Why I Love You” last year, on a compilation released by My Sydney Riot. I’ve been a fan since then, but it’s only recently that I’ve had the chance to catch them live. Supported by Burn Antares and The Chitticks, they filled the FBi Social with rock…

Owl Eyes’s debut record Nightswim has a very laid-back atmosphere, so I was under the impression that her live show would be just as smooth. Between the performances of her support acts, the technical mishaps, and the surprising amount of energy she possessed, the night was somewhat scattered — but ultimately, enjoyable.

I’ve always felt like Frightened Rabbit are one of those bands who fit into one of two categories: either you’ve seen them live and rave about them, or they’ve slipped under your radar and you’ve never really heard of them. They’re a band whose Scottish folk sensibilities seem to have connected to a growing audience…

Welcome from Luke (Buchanan‘s handsome lead guitarist) and my own track-by-track breakdown of our band’s debut album. We started writing this album while on tour, stopping en route to Sydney (albeit slightly off course) in Lorne around June 2011. That weekend we wrote Run Faster. A little over 18 months later, and a few days…

Monday night saw Beth Orton kick off her current Australian tour at St. Joseph’s Church in Subiaco, Perth. It was quite simply put an exquisite night of music, with Orton, despite fighting off a cold and jet lag, in fine form. Though as the night progressed it became quickly clear that church pews aren’t designed…

As we get set to hit the road to Singapore for the annual Music Matters conference and festival, we caught up with one of the artists set to play the event, Kevin Lester aka “TheLionCityBoy” to talk about it, the Singapore music scene, being a part of TEDxSingapore, his recent jaunt to SXSW and much…

I feel like we hear about it all the time. Legendary Australian venues being forced to undergo expensive changes from their local council to cater to new residents who are bitching and moaning in the area. Some may argue this is the price we pay for an ever expanding urban sprawl, but when a venue…

Adelaide fans were lucky to very lucky to see Black Sabbath, and they knew it. Having originally being left off of the tour, Adelaide fans petitioned hard and got their wish with the Tuesday night gig at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre being added as the final date on Black Sabbath’s Australian tour. The venue was…

As reported earlier last month by The Guardian, Beyoncé “has banned professional photographers from her current world tour.” Instead, publications are able to use photos from the only accredited photographer on the tour, Frank Micelotta. Plenty of tours suffer from similar restrictions on photographers, but the controversy here is that the ban comes in the…

It’s time once again for my feature column “Larry Likes!” in which I share recent musical discoveries with you – both locally and internationally. In this second edition I move to Melbourne to introduce you to Spender, the production moniker for Tommy Spender who released a new single last month, “Bed & Chair”. I’m a…

the AU review sits backstage and talks to Sydney band Tales in Space to talk about their upcoming tour with Enola Fall (kicking off on May 16th), their music, their live show and much, much more… Tour Details: http://www.talesinspace.com/ Filmed on 20th April 2013 at the Upstairs Beresford in Sydney, Australia, Camera/Interview: Larry Heath Edit:…

…Like Clockwork. Out 6/4. Preorder & receive My God Is The Sun now. iTunes: http://smarturl.it/QOTSAlikeclockwork Matador Store LP/CD: http://smarturl.it/QOTSA Amazon CD: http://amzn.to/102mP6O

With C3 Presents a huge part of Big Day Out now in Australia, the US festivals Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits now play a huge part in lending us our predictions for the yearly Australian event (C3 also put on the two mentioned events). With Lolla already announced, today we also have been graced with…

Our good friends Jinja Safari are about to release their long awaited debut album on May 17th through Island Records Australia, and to help get you all even more excited about it, New York’s Yeasayer have put out a remix of Jinja’s latest single “Plagarist”. You’re going to want to hear this one: Australia/NZ pre-order…

In 2012, Adelaide’s 5/4 Entertainment teamed up with Splendour in the Grass’ Paul Piticco to put on a “bite sized” Splendour in Adelaide, dubbed the “Spin Off Festival”. The first year featured, Lana Del Rey, Kimbra, Band of Skulls and more. 2013 will see the festival returning to give Adelaide fans a reason to celebrate….

Now that Splendour has sold out, we have the pleasure of enjoying a slew of sideshow announcement that make those of us who were sad about not going to Splendour, a little less sad… because many of our favourite bands are coming much closer to home! Today we have announcements for James Blake, Haim, MS…