PJ Harvey

Festival Review: Aussies dominate on first day of Primavera Porto (06.06.24)

Primavera Sound Porto celebrates ten years of music festivals with an amazing lineup. Created in Barcelona, the Porto, Portugal leg is held in the Parque da Cidade, a large park right on Porto’s shore. With four stages and numerous pop-up installations, there’s plenty to keep everyone entertained. The atmospheric pop and futuristic Portugese R&B artist,…

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The Moogai‘s emotional and psychological terror elements find unrest: Sydney Film Festival Review

The controversial historical treatment of Australia’s native people by white settlers and the continuing generational trauma within the Indigenous communities weigh heavy on the narrative themes of Jon Bell‘s The Moogai.  There’s a ripe premise to lean into horror genre sensibilities – “moogai” is the Bundjalung language for a malevolent child-stealing entity that is the…

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Interview: Joshua John Miller on writing and directing The Exorcism; “I was not prepared for this experience.”

Russell Crowe stars as troubled actor Anthony Miller, who begins to unravel while working on a supernatural film. His estranged daughter wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. Such is the logline for The Exorcism, a new dramatic horror film from writer/director Joshua John Miller,…

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Film Review: Hit Man; Netflix’s sexy actioner is a much deeper, more philosophical outing than expected

The blending of genres isn’t as easy as Richard Linklater makes it look in the deliciously fun Hit Man, a-sexy-romantic-comedy-cum-philosophical-action-film that the School of Rock helmer and lead charmer Glen Powell have co-scribed together in a seamless fashion. Given that Linklater has so often deviated from the expectation put forward in some of his films…

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Film Review: Am I OK? is a delicate journey navigated through the grace that is Dakota Johnson

There’s something of a full circle moment experienced with Am I OK?, Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne‘s co-directorial feature debut.  The real-life couple, who met on the set of a Sundance selection title (2013’s In A World…), returned to the festival as married women detailing their own journey of self-discovery and acceptance with a film…

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New Music Discoveries 7th June: Blusher, Lime Cordiale, Los Bitchos, and more

As we step further into June, we’ve added ten more tracks to our Discovery Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. Our Track of the Week is “24 Hours in Paris” and comes from Naarm-based pop-trio Blusher. The track is lush and dreamy electro-pop, infused with a hint of melancholy. The band shares the background to…

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The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless headset bolsters its incredible value with premium features

Turtle Beach has released two previous versions of the Stealth 600 range in the last few years, with versions for PS5, Switch, PC, and a separate headset that is compatible with Xbox. With so many options flooding the market, it becomes a more difficult task to decide on value for money and longevity, taking into…

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Hotel Review: The Pierside is the perfect base for Santa Monica

While a spate of skyscraping new-builds has given Downtown L.A. a much-needed kick into modernity, Santa Monica hasn’t added much to its hotel count over the last few years. The city of Santa Monica has around 40 hotels, including a few eye-popping grand dames like The Georgian Hotel (with its unforgettable candy blue exterior), the…

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Romeo and Juliet Suite

The Australian premiere of L.A. Dance Project’s Romeo and Juliet Suite at the Sydney Opera House is flawless

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, an ill-fated tale of star-crossed lovers, has been re-imagined time and time again. I honestly thought there was no ground left to cover when it came to adaptations of the beloved classic. I have never been more delighted to be wrong. Set to Prokofiev’s iconic score, Romeo and Juliet Suite at…

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Album Review: Peggy Gou I Hear You (2024 LP)

With so many dancefloor anthems already under her belt, it’s hard to believe that I Hear You is Peggy Gou’s debut album. The South Korean-born singer, producer and DJ has risen to undeniable prominence amongst the house music scene and beyond, with her upcoming festival appearances including Glastonbury and Primavera Sounds. The 10 tracks on…

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Book Review: It’s a tale of two cities in Siang Lu’s Ghost Cities

Following his well-regarded first novel The Whitewash, Siang Lu returns to long form fiction with his latest novel Ghost Cities, an unusual tale filled with imaginative twists and turns, philosophical discussions and sparks of dry humour. Ghost Cities is a novel told in two parts. The first in the modern day, follows a young man…

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The Sonos Ace is an admirable first attempt at delivering some premium over-ear headphones

Sonos is well known for its high-quality audio and stylish designs across a variety of soundbars and wireless speakers. But for as good as they are, it seemed like there was a small gap in the market. Sony has done it with the WH-1000XM5. Bose has done it with the QuietComfort Ultra. Everyone’s either seen,…

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Film Review: The Watchers is a tense, though questionably executed chiller

Given M. Night Shyamalan‘s penchant for banking the majority of his theatrical narratives on “the twist ending”, it’s understandable to walk into his daughter’s feature directorial debut with the same type of expectation. Whilst I can’t personally speak to whether or not the A.M. Shine novel Ishana Night Shyamalan has adapted is faithfully recreated here…

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Photo Gallery: Fever Ray – Vivid Live Sydney Opera House (05.06.24)

Swedish singer-songwriter Karin Dreijer under the alias Fever Ray and one half of the electronic music due The Knife dazzled with an impressive set at Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid Live. Pete Dovgan was there to capture the night.

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Korea’s “Eternal Nature” gallery comes to Las Vegas: A look inside America’s first ARTE MUSEUM

At the end of November last year, Korea’s large scale digital art gallery – ARTE MUSEUM – opened their first (and still only) location in North America, on the Las Vegas Strip. It’s part of a burgeoning trend of immersive experiences in the city, and sits amongst seven locations for the gallery around the world….

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Film Review: I Used To Be Funny offsets its humorously-adjacent title with a dark, heartbreaking temperament.

After showcasing her stellar comedic delivery across 2022’s Bodies Bodies Bodies and last year’s Bottoms, Rachel Sennott continues her dominance as one of the industry’s most exciting talents with a more dramatic flex in Ally Pankiw‘s I Used To Be Funny, which offsets its lead’s comedic capabilities and humorously-adjacent title with a dark, heartbreaking temperament….

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Sabrina Carpenter announces release of new album Short n’ Sweet

Riding high off the success of single “Espresso’”(which, among other things, has at least corrected people who referred to the beverage as an “Expresso”) Sabrina Carpenter has announced the release of her new LP, Short n’ Sweet, with an August 23rd street date. The pint-sized popstar has put all her nights of working late (‘Cause…

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Film Review: Bad Boys: Ride or Die honours series nostalgia as much as it creatively projects forward

Whilst this is a franchise that has indulged in its fair share of overtly-violent set-pieces for close to three decades now, there’s something to be said for the fact that Bad Boys: Ride or Die – the fourth in this surprisingly resilient series – is determined to keep the action on hand ageing gracefully. Yes,…

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The Ministry of Time

Book Review: Kaliane Bradley’s blockbuster debut The Ministry of Time is a charming mix of quirky and critical

Some books really pack a punch, stuffing so much into their pages that it’s difficult to know where to start in a review. Kaliane Bradley‘s The Ministry of Time is one such book. The endorsements plastered across the cover and inside pages describe it as everything from clever, witty, charming and wonderful, to brilliant, thrilling,…

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Interview: Ishana Night Shyamalan on her new horror film The Watchers; “It was always my intention from the very beginning to play with restraint as much as possible”

From producer M. Night Shyamalan comes The Watchers, written for the screen and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan and based on the novel by A.M. Shine. The film follows Mina (Dakota Fanning), a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside…

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F1 24 feels more like a solid evolution rather than a radical revolution

Over the years, developer Codemasters has done a fantastic job at creating numerous Formula 1 games that look gorgeous, are fun to play, and are meticulously crafted to include a number of customisation options for controller and simulation users alike. The F1 World mode has incorporated online and offline components in unique ways, while career…

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Thom Yorke

Thom Yorke is coming to Australia

Thom Yorke has chosen some iconic venues for his inaugural solo tour. The frontman for Radiohead will be heading down to Australia in October and November to play shows at the Sydney Opera House and Sidney Myer Music Bowl. He is best known of course for the nine albums of Radiohead, multiple Grammy awards, as a…

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Photo Gallery: Angie McMahon + Annie-Rose Maloney – Forum, Melbourne (31.05.24)

Angie McMahon returned to Melbourne in full force for night three of her sold-out Forum takeover. The hometown show was filled with warmth, the crowd holding space for McMahon just as much as she was for them. The trajectory of her 2023 record Light, Dark, Light Again is well known by now, earning her incredible critical…

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25 years on, South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut remains one of the best movie musicals and as timely as ever

Feeling old, buddy? This month, the big screen adaptation of South Park, South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut, celebrates its 25th anniversary. Debuting at the end of June 1999, the film was amongst the most controversial of a year filled with controversial but successful, MPAA R-Rated films. You had The Matrix, which had been an…

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Surprise! RUN have dropped their latest EP, True Heaviness Is Time TODAY!

Melbourne’s very own post-metalcore quintet RUN emerges with their sophomore EP, True Heaviness Is Time, dropping as a surprise release today. This six-track EP builds on the raw energy and emotion of their previous work, blending crushing heaviness with lush melodies. Self-produced by guitarist Lewis Noke-Edwards and mixed by the acclaimed Forrester Savell, the EP…

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Le Shiv

Guest Playlist: Le Shiv share their on-tour playlist

Last month, indie/alt/rock/psych-pop Le Shiv finally released the fan-favourite “I Remember” to the streaming services. They’ve been playing this sweet slice of rock since their early days, and until now the only place to hear it was at a show. Thankfully that has all changed. This is the first release since their fabulous debut EP,…

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Photo Gallery: Montell Fish – Northcote Theatre, Melbourne (01.06.24)

Pittsburgh-native Montell Fish touched down in Melbourne on Friday for the VIC leg of his AUS/NZ Intercession Before Charlotte tour. From the get-go, Fish’s performance is rife with emotion and vulnerability – the singer draped in moody strobes and a mask. The costume references his alto-ego dj gummy bear, the moniker he also releases music under. Throughout…

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The ROG Ally X has been announced and is coming to Australia

Asus has announced the Asus ROG Ally X is coming to Australia with pre-orders starting today. The upgraded version of the ROG Ally features the same AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, but we’ll now see an increase in battery life, RAM and storage along with a brand-new chassis that improves the ergonomics, cooling and connectivity….

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Bad Friends

‘Bad Friends’ Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee announce Australian and New Zealand tour.

Brace yourselves, comedy fans. US comedy stars Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee, the co-hosts of wildly popular podcast Bad Friends, have announced they will be trekking down under for their ‘Bad Friends Tour‘ this November! Establishing themselves first within the elite ranks of the US comedy scene, Santino and Lee’s podcast venture has amassed a…

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Aussie rock royalty Cold Chisel celebrate “The Big Five-0” with 50th anniversary tour announcement

Cold Chisel announced this week a massive 50 year anniversary celebration with The Big Five-0 tour. The undeniable impact “Chisel” have had on the Aussie rock scene in their half century really goes without saying. So what better way to kick of the celebration of the bands legacy than to take it all the way back…

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