Music

Melbourne indie artist Eddie Casper released his sophomore album Ohmage on Saturday. Self-produced, and with Casper performing all the instrumentation himself, the album was recorded in solitude in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.  In an age dominated by the “single”, Ohmage is a return to the album format of old. Best heard in its entirety from start…

Norwegian experimentalist and avant-rock singer Sturle Dagsland released a new single at the end of last week. “Kusanagi”, which was created together with his brother Sjur, is extraordinary, oddly compelling, and in all likelihood pretty polarising. It’s also quite hard to adequately describe.  Sturle and his brother are from Stavanger, in South West Norway. It’s…

He may have admitted nerves and rustiness in the lead-up to his first live event in more than six months, but DJ Tom Loud, aka Hot Dub Time Machine has still got it when it comes to get a crowd energized. Hot Dub was billed as the main attraction at Saturday’s sold-out Wine Machine festival…

Byron Bay sibling trio The Buckleys have just put out their debut album Daydream, an identity-forming project spanning country, pop, Americana and indie, all wrapped up in what is one of the most summer-appropriate sounds from a young Aussie band right now. It’s hard to choose a highlight from the piece, given no less than…

Last night, Phil Stack, legendary double bassman, jazz and rock maestro, and founding member of Thirsty Merc launched his latest solo album, Colourful Noisy at Marys Underground in Sydney. It was a triumphant night, and an absolute treat to see a band which can seamlessly transition from jazz to rock and be so freaking great…

New Zealand’s sextet, The Phoenix Foundation have just released their first album in five years, Friend Ship.  The album includes recent singles, including “Decision Dollars”, “Hounds of Hell” and “Landline”. It features some incredible guest vocals – including Nadia Reid, Hollie Fullbrook (Tiny Ruins) and Anita Clark (Motte). It’s a wonderfully diverse album, an indie-folk…

There’s been a high level of anticipation about the album drop for the collaboration of drum and bass royalty Sub Focus And Wilkinson and they haven’t failed to deliver with Portals; a journeying 11-track that has moves downtempo and orchestral, but sticks with their D&B signature style. After the pair released single “Take It Up”…

Auckland based indie-pop trip LA Women aren’t letting 2020, or social clout chasing (a very, very common thing) slow them down as they slink of the wobbly pop of “Falling In Love”. Musing on a status-obsessed society, the Kiwi outfit turn in another strong offering following over R&B-indebted funk-pop numbers like “Love Me” and 2019…

Sydney band The Finalists have released the gorgeous and lush track “Learn To Live Without You”. This is the second single off their debut album, First, due to be released on the 6th November. It features some sweet harmonies, reminiscent of the music of the 1960’s.  Today we have the first look at the video…

The 5th Annual National Live Music Awards (#NLMAs) – which will be held digitally this year – has just announced the lineup for the live stream, which is happening at 8.30pm AEDT on Tuesday, 20th October 2020. The award stream will feature performances from The Beamish Brothers (pictured), ARIA award winner Tyrone Noonan in a special tribute…

Like most in the music industry, the past seven months since COVID-19 hit has heavily impacted DJ Tom Lowndes, aka Hot Dub Time Machine or DJ Tom Loud. But this weekend he’ll finally return to the live scene with two shows in Perth. Tom is currently quarantining in an Airbnb house in Perth’s outer suburbs,…

For many people, their music tastes come about in one of two ways: through friends and lived experiences or through their parents and siblings. More recently you could even add the internet to that list. For me, the majority of my musical taste came directly from my dad and brother, while being part of the…

The formidable indie-punk Sydney band, Good Pash are back with a new single, “Delete Me”, the first off their upcoming EP. This band knows how to put together a kick-arse guitar-driven song, with catchy hooks and sharp lyrics. Even with a song such as “Delete Me” which broaches a difficult relationship, they manage to leave…

With today’s announcement of the 2020 ARIA Awards nominees, there were several curveball nominations thrown into the mix. One such surprise was the nomination in the Original Soundtrack/Original Cast Album category for the soundtrack to Untitled Goose Game. Composed by Dan Golding, the soundtrack for the smash hit Melbourne-made video game is a work of…

2020 has delivered a tough blow to the music industry, with live music put on hold and the cancellation of festivals. Despite the struggles brought on by the pandemic, this year’s ARIA Awards Ceremony promises to be something to look forward to. The nominees were announced today via a YouTube premiere, showcasing the diverse talent…

If you’re having a bit of a drowsy Tuesday, you might need this angsty number to get you fired up. Today’s track of the day is UK “slacker-pop” artist Lauran Hibberd with her latest single “Boy Bye”. Exuding a strong ‘90s indie rock vibe, fans of Liz Phair or The Breeders should enjoy this one….

Melbourne duo Eternal Crush are about to release the title track off their upcoming EP, Heavenly Body. The band consists of singer/songwriter Joey Jean and guitarist/producer Jackson Holliday (Northeast Party House). Meeting at a party, discovering a shared love of New Order and The Stone Roses as well as being neighbours, led to them starting…

UK grunge-rock four-piece Scarlet, have just released their latest single “Bring Me Down”. It’s a rocking kick-arse tune laden with hooks and cascading guitars. It’s the perfect song to kick-start the week as our Track of the Day. Fans of bands such as Hole are going to find plenty to love here. Front woman, Jessie…

Keeping travel dreams alive and setting goals has never felt more important. We can all agree that 2020 has been an unfortunate year so far, and almost every facet of daily life has been wrought by this ongoing global pandemic, the start of which now feels like forever ago. The arts has been one of…

Baby Bulldog, aka Steph Barker, is an LA resident and a whirlwind on the drums and vocals. Her latest release is an ode to her car, “Rodney”, and we are thrilled today to have the video premiere for this affectionate homage. As is often the case, the ownership of a car can signpost a significant…

Whichever way you try, Mildlife don’t fit neatly into any genre or pocket. This Melbourne alt-rock four-piece are carving their own original niche and have built upon their burgeoning reputation with this second offering, Automatic, a six-track album which runs for 40 minutes. Mildlife’s 2018 debut Phase led to labels of sci-fi space-jazz or psych-kraut-rock. There’s…

Perth-resident and Albany-born singer/songwriter Carla Geneve has today released a beautiful and deeply personal track, “The Right Reasons”. The is the second single, following on from “Don’t Wanna Be Your Lover” released earlier this year, ahead of her debut full-length album which will be released in 2021. Befitting of the sentiment of the song, the…

Sydney electronic-popsters Mel Blue released their latest single, “Wake Up Call” last month, and today we have the exclusive video premiere for this nostalgia-driven dance tune. The song references the difficulties in maintaining long-distance relationships and has a fun retro feel to it. The video matches the retro feel of the song, with some classic…

In a time and place like 2020, I’m sure I’m not the only person who not only craves for things to go back to some semblance of normality and homogeneity, but also tries to simultaneously avoid the monotonous nature and constant groundhog days we’ve collectively experienced for the past six months. There’s a fine line…

Returning with their first release of 2020, Melbourne rock outfit Fan Girl have unveiled their latest single and music video for “backwards (everything is)”. The relatively sunny single from the group is the result of the band consciously working towards creating a song that was uncharacteristically “happy” within their discography. The track still retains the…

Brisbane alt-pop duo Syrup have just released their latest single, “Turn”, today’s Track of the Day. Syrup is the project of childhood friends Harry Pratt and Henry Anderson. The two are originally from Kingaroy, Queensland, and found common interests in music and skateboarding, which led to the formation of their musical outlet. The funky and incredibly…

They’ve been teasing its release for more than a year, but Melbourne’s Howlite are all set to release their new EP Not Here next week. It’s coming later than originally planned, but that’s 2020 for you. But, before we get to the EP, the band have one more single for you all: “Canary”. And we’re…

From the beginning, TISM were crass, puerile, and aimed their contempt at all, from journalists to their own fans, and even themselves. They made their live debut in 1983 with ‘The Get Fucked Concert’ (disbanding immediately after, only to reform the next year), and released their debut single in 1985, ‘Defecate On My Face’. The…

With festivals banned due to the current pandemic, organisers have either had to postpone, cancel or in the case of the Johnstons of Dashville in the Hunter Valley, think outside the square. ‘Dashville’, near Belford, in the Hunter Valley in NSW has been the home of the Gumball Festival since 2005. This little gem of…

LA-based experimental producer and singer Dolly Spectra is about to release her latest song, “Look Me In The Eye” and we are thrilled to have the first listen of this futuristic tune. This follows on from her previous release and video, “Whatcha Gonna Do”. The opening of “Look Me In The Eye” reminds me of…