Music

Local Melbourne four-piece The Mercy Kills have perfected the art of sleazy, dirty rock and roll. The “Wasting/Save” single is one hell of a sweaty, gritty, ball breaking ride that encompasses the right blend of old school nostalgia with a fierce ‘fuck off’ 21st century attitude. The intense energy of “Wasting/Save” with it’s spiralling riffs,…

Listening to “Hyena”, the first taste of Snowman’s third LP Absence leaves a bittersweet impression as one marvels at the wondrous sonic landscape the band has pieced together, hoping the music never ends, and then the harsh realisation kicks in – that this new, exciting sound you’ve discovered won’t be taken any further as the…

Larry Heath catches up with emerging UK folk singer Bobby Long, at the Byron Bay Bluesfest 2011.

First up, congratulations on your sophomore LP Tambourine! You’ll be launching it around the country in June… what can fans of Monobasic expect from the album and from the tour? Thank you. It took a little while to get here. As far as the album goes, I think it’s a more focused, concept-driven album than…

Just before they hit the Metro Theatre stage in Sydney (one of their Groovin’ The Moo Festival sideshows), Larry Heath sits down with The Drums‘ frontman Jonathan Pierce to talk about heir forthcoming record, touring Australia and more!

Featuring a decidedly more ‘underground’ lineup than in 2010 or 09, the third annual Big British Sound event was downsized from the Metro to the Gaelic Theatre, and the ticket price was a ridiculously affordable $10. Throw in the fact that many guests were able to walk away with a couple of free drinks and…

The day after they played their final Groovin’ The Moo Festival show in Canberra, The Wombats returned to Sydney to play the Enmore Theatre. Larry Heath caught up with Bassist Tord Øverland-Knudsen from the group to talk about the Australian tour, their love letter to Japan “Tokyo”, his side project Sin, their new album (which…

Larry Heath catches up with legendary American guitarist Warren Haynes – long time member of the Allman Brothers Band, The Dead and Gov’t Mule. Sitting down at the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival, they discuss his solo album Man in Motion, working with the Dave Matthews Band and much more.

British indie wonders Guillemots are a band you may not be familiar with, but they are definitely an act you need to know. The four-piece have recently released their third studio album Walk The River, a collection of lush, delicately arranged pop tunes that simultaneously recall the sounds of classic ’80s romance and the exploratory…

Local group Montero kicked off the night with a short set that was entertaining, although probably not in the way the band members intended. Their brand of synth heavy pop was catchy but rather generic. Making the best of having a small crowd to entertain, their lead singer danced wildly around with a tambourine before…

Welcome to our new feature the AU crew poll, in which we ask our contributor base a simple question and take a look at the results. This week we asked our contributors: How often do you download the free “Single of The Week” on iTunes? Here were the results: Rest assured that Apple have not…

In our new series Song Riff Offs, we look at a popular recent song, and trace the riffs back to their origins. In the spirit of the Gary Numan Pleasure Principle tour, we thought we’d kick things off with an oldy … but a goody. THE RIFF OFF THE ORIGINAL Yes, that’s right – London…

Larry Heath sits down with American Soul singer and musician Eli “Paperboy” Reed at the 2011 Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival to discuss his new album, playing at Bluesfest and much more…

Larry Heath catches up with up and coming Brisbane based blues-rock two piece Transvaal Diamond Syndicate (Christian Tryhorn and Tim Price), while the sun sets at the 2011 Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival.

Local minimalist pop duo Leone Western have teamed up with Simone Gustafsson who plays under the moniker Foragers to release a split EP entitled Little Love. The project opens with three Leone Western tracks that show a slight improvement from their earlier work. The synth based melodies are more structured and refined however Leone Western‘s…

Californian natives Young The Giant were the darlings of SXSW this year and contrary to the media hype surrounding the five-piece, their debut album sounds more like an exercise in corporate music marketing than it does a creative endeavour. The main problem with this record is not its lack of appealing tunes, but the fact…

The Head and The Heart are a folk-infused pop band from Seattle. Their self-titled debut record was released by the band last year, but has since been reissued following their signing to the Sub-Pop label. Musically, think luscious harmonies with weird and unusual arrangements, and a sixties sound revitalised for a modern audience. We have…

It’s time for another top five countdown! This week, we’re looking at five of our favourite feature films which feature a score and a soundtrack by a mainstream artist. It seems to be all the rage these days, and as we go through the list, I think you’ll start to figure out why… brilliant albums…

Larry Heath catches up with Sydney based Blues musician Ray Beadle at the 2011 Byron Bay Bluesfest.

Welcome to the new An Industry Conversation on the AU review. Today we chat with Adrian Basso – President of Community Broadcasting Association of Australia – about the establishment of community digital radio services in mainland capital cities around the country. This launch will provide communities in each city with greater choice and a new…

Tomorrow will see Melbourne band Trial Kennedy release their sophomore record Living Undesigned and set off on a massive national tour. In advance of this, we had a chat with drummer Shaun Gionis. First up, congratulations on the new album! Much has been said about this almost being Trial Kennedy 2.0… does it feel like…

We at the AU review are LOVING the new Battles record Gloss Drop and can’t wait for you all to hear it. The band have released a bit of a taste of what to expect in their new single “Ice Cream”. They have accompanied its release with a provocative music video from the same team…

Happy Music Video Monday! We get quite a lot of music videos here at the AU review, so we thought we’d start putting together a weekly article to ensure that you see all the fun stuff we’re getting to watch! First up is PNAU. You may have heard their new single “The Truth” oscillating throughout…

Larry Heath sits down with with Neil Murray, founding member of the Warumpi Band at the 22nd Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest. An artist of many pursuits, they talk about his recent book “My Island Home”, his latest album “Witness”, his collaboration with Jim Moginie of Midnight Oil and a play he wrote back in 1999…

When it comes to regional music festivals, you don’t get much bigger, nor more exciting, than the travelling circus that is Groovin’ The Moo. From the crowds to the bands to its general atmosphere, I have to say that Groovin’ has fast become one of my favourite annual Australian music events. So it was with…

Brisbane’s Ball Park Music are the most awkward bunch of nerds I have ever seen. The band use this to their advantage, with front man Sam Cromack owning the stage, flailing his skeletal limbs around in a very amusing fashion. Their live show is as fun as their studio work, with the six piece really…

Sydney Opera House today announced that the curator of Vivid LIVE, Stephen Pavlovic has secured one of the world’s most enduringly influential bands, The Cure to perform for Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House. Appearing onstage with a uniquely evolving line-up of band members past and present, The Cure “Reflections” will see the band perform…

Award winning, Australian garage rock band British India will be adding an exclusive Northern Territory date to their national tour – to headline Red Bull Bedroom Jam’s first round finale event – The Backyard Jam on Saturday 7th May in Alice Springs. Red Bull Bedroom Jam is on a mission to discover the crème de…

Larry Heath sits down with guitar virtuoso Nathan Cavaleri (right) and drummer extraordinaire Col Hatchman (left) to discuss their project Nat Col and the Kings at the 22nd Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest.

While at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco, just a few days after playing SXSW and The Aussie BBQ in New York, Andrew Wade catches up with Brisbane rock band Grand Atlantic. The boys chat about their SXSW and Aussie BBQ experiences – how it compared to last year – and let us in on…