Music

Splendour in the Grass is almost upon us and the sideshows kicked off in Melbourne last week, including an intimate set at the Workers Club with the UK’s best kept secret The Joy Formidable. The Workers underwent a slight transformation for the evening, with the front bar closed off to the general public and the…

Cabins (pictured below) kicked things off with some loud bluesy rock and roll. Whether you arrived in time for them or The Vasco Era, it would have been a similar treat, but I think those that made it just that little bit earlier would have been pretty chuffed! The second song of the night, “Mary”…

Having just released his unexpectedly brilliant debut album ((un)), and touring Australia for the first time this September with Parklife, we had a chat to the maestro of “wonky pop”, Dan Black… while he was sitting on a street corner in Paris – where he just so happens to live! Ah, the life of the…

It is difficult to imagine, when observing the masses of leather jackets, studs, and dirty beards at the Annandale on Friday night, that these crowds were here to see a band whose most popular song references Jesus in its title. A self-confessed stoner rock band, Violent Soho were here to ignite an explosive release for…

All good things must come to an end, even Glastonbury. So now we are onto the last day of Glastonbury, all that’s left after this is a wasteland of tents, and trip back to home comforts. The day started off well, with Frightened Rabbit on the Other Stage. They played a strong set, and showed…

Another Friday night, another fantastic lineup at World Bar’s MUM! As is always the case, there was plenty of mayhem on multiple stages, so I wasn’t able to catch everyone, but here’s a short recap of the three bands I did see. First up on tonight’s national affair were Adelaide’s Steering by Stars. Touring their…

Returning to Australia for a short tour this September, including a stop off at the Sydney Fringe Festival, we chat with Toronto’s Buck 65. We chat about the tour, his upcoming EP, working with Sufjan Stevens, Marie-Pierre Arthur and Hawksley Workman and living in France! Hi Buck! Thank for taking the time to speak with…

Kat Mahina recently chatted with the lead vocalist of Melbourne’s Goodnight Owl, Eddie Alexander. He let’s us in on who Goodnight Owl are, what they’re all about and what’s next! How did the band meet and start playing together? We started playing together because Joe and I recorded the EP and then obviously needed to…

Kite Club’s debut EP Esoterica is a surreal experience that envelopes the listener in a miasma of wistful pop melodies that are deliciously avant garde in their construction. Nicholas D. Futcher, the young musical mind behind Kite Club, has created a sound that is similar to the likes of Dirty Projectors and Wild Beasts with…

Melbourne duo Fabulous Diamonds have finally dropped their second LP, aptly titled Fabulous Diamonds II! As they tour the album around the country with a series of album launches, we had a quick chat with one half of the band, Nisa Venerosa. First of all, congratulations on the new album Fabulous Diamonds II! 
You launched…

The first event of Summer returns… STEREOSONIC 2010 NATIONAL TOUR DATES: Saturday 27th Nov – SYDNEY – Sydney Showgrounds – Main Arena and Surrounds  12pm-11pm (Gates open 11:45am) Sunday 28th Nov – PERTH* – Claremont Showground  12pm-10pm (Gates open 11:30am) Saturday 4th Dec – ADELAIDE – Bonython Park  12pm-10pm (Gates open 11:45am) Saturday 4th Dec…

Hello Ernest, its Amanda from the AU review, how’s the day been? Pretty good, Keita and I have been buying more jumpers. Ah yes I was at your gig a couple of weeks ago at Oxford art factory, and I was taking a look at your sweet jumpers you have on sale. They go pretty…

Last Friday, Darren Hanlon’s anticipated new album I Will Love You At All was released nationwide. Ahead of the release, I got a phone call from the man himself, and we chatted about the new album, songwriting, SXSW (who wasn’t there in 2010, seriously!?), signing to a US label, and why playing in Tippaburra was…

It’s a pretty disconcerting feeling when you venture to see a band who made it into your Top 10 Albums of 2009 list and end up entering a near-empty venue, but then again, it’s Brisbane and Black Cab aren’t well known up here, despite having long conquered their hometown of Melbourne. So to those who…

UK buzz band Fanfarlo recently made an appearance on the Twilight soundtrack with “Atlas”, and now they’re 2009 album Reservoir has finally been released in Australia, too! I spoke to bassist Justin Finch during one of his brief breaks at home in London, about touring, baseball, music videos and plenty more… read on! Not long…

Lone Wolf is the alter-ego of singer-songwriter Paul Marshall; though don’t call him a singer-songwriter to his face. Hailing from Leeds, UK he has just released his first album The Devil And I  under the new name, and has even more recently been seen opening for Broken Bells at the Meltdown festival in London. The…

A week before they launched their mini-Australian tour alongside the 2010 Splendour in the Grass Festival, I sat down in Sydney with Luke B and James of Brisbane’s Violent Soho. Signed to Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label, the band has been setting North America alight with an extensive tour over the last year or so….

Music is a powerful medium that can heal a broken heart, make the dark days bearable and add another layer of happiness to the tender, joyous moments in one’s life. The new EP from up and coming local artists Goodnight Owl does all of this and more, with their gorgeous electronic arrangements that offer comfort,…

Do you remember the magical feeling you have when you first fall in love? How you suddenly start smiling at nothing, as the whole world bursts into Technicolor? I had a similar experience as I was listening to Firestarter, the debut LP from Dan Parsons. At the tender age of 22, the talented Mr. Parsons…

Onto Saturday and the second day of the festival, with a great number of acts lined up throughout the day, bringing incredibly eclectic and varied performances to the enthusiastic crowd. The only constant for all the bands playing was the quality of the performances they delivered. It was a rather low key start to the…

Given the band name and album art, you’d be forgiven for thinking Castratii were a hardcore metal group. [Ed: They’re not!?] The three piece from the Blue Mountains make atmospheric compositions that are so dark and brooding, they may have been taken straight from the bowels of hell. Their new double single Orchid/Surrogates is drenched…

Better late than never has always been my motto, and whilst I missed most of the supports for Eagle & The Worm, I stumbled into the Northcote band room just in time to be forced back out again by the wall to wall crowd of people spastic dancing to Barbarion. Born from the fire pits…

Dear Ball Park Music, “I don’t really know you but I like to have imaginary conversations in my head… Where I tell you off and you go home with your tail between your legs” (Sea Strangers)… Well… I don’t really plan to tell you off, but that has been my stuck rolling around my head…

So it’s Friday, the official start day of the Glastonbury Festival. Overnight and all through the morning the final punters arrive, bringing the total on site population to around 177,500 people, making the festival site the third largest city in the South West. So with all those people it can be a little overwhelming and…

I remember listening to Regurgitator when I was in primary school and being told off by my mother for playing obscenities in her house. So when it was announced earlier in the year that the boys were back, moving to Melbourne to work on a new record, with a couple of live shows thrown in…

Glastonbury, mythical home of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth, in reality home to the holy grail of musical festivals the world over. Music Lovers and self confessed hippies descend on rural Somerset for a long weekend of music, more music and the greatest of atmospheres. I know it sounds trite but there really is an atmosphere surrounding Glastonbury, everyone…

Firstly I have to clear something up. I’m not exactly what you’d call a fan of techno, trance, dance, hard dance, gabba or anything similar to the aforementioned. The intense ch and ts that doesn’t let up is boring and somewhat irritating and I find the repetitive hooks, bass and ‘melodies’ to be a touch…

Ahead of the release of their new album Church With No Magic on July 19th through Warp Records, Larry Heath chats to Laurence Pike, the man you’ll often find behind the drums of Sydney’s PVT (formerly Pivot). We chat about the upcoming album, the name change, Bill Murray, playing at SXSW and more! Hi Laurence,…

The long anticipated debut LP from up-and-coming artists Amy Meredith is Restless, and it finally dropped yesterday! A week before the release, Larry Heath had a chat to drummer Kosta Theodosis about the album, touring plans and Xylophones.  You’re not on tour at the moment, so how have Amy Meredith been spending the weeks leading up to the…