Breaking News: Timbaland pulls out of Supafest – which kicks off tomorrow.

Ah, this is no good! “Its with great regret that Paperchase Touring announces that Timbaland has cancelled his appearances in Australia for the upcoming Supafest Tour that starts tomorrow at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. Paperchase Touring has been delivering the best urban acts in the world to Australia for many years and this cancellation is…

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Marques Houston to perform a one-off exclusive live showcase in Melbourne

MARQUES HOUSTON LIVE IN MELBOURNE For Melbourne lovers of R&B, Sunday April 24th sees one of the world’s finest, Marques Houston performing a one-off exclusive live showcase. Bursting onto the R&B scene in his pre-teens with the group Immature, Marques Houston quickly became one artist to watch. With popular hits such as “Never Lie” &…

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Directions In Groove (DIG) reunite for run of live shows – kicking off tonight!

Acclaimed Australian acid-jazz / groove / funk band Directions In Groove (DIG) are gearing up for their first run of shows in 8 years, and will play three special intimate shows at Lizottes this week, Cronulla’s Brass Monkey next week, and will head back to the scene of some of their most memorable gigs, legendary…

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Laneway Festival to program stage at Field Day in London.

At this year’s Laneway Festival, UK promoter Eat Your Own Ears and US agency The Windish Agency teamed up to curate a stage at the national festival for the first time. At the recent SXSW Festival, the three parties joined forces again to present ‘Austin or Bust’, one of the event’s most anticipated day parties…

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New Music Videos: Metronomy "The Look" and Parkway Drive "Karma"!

You’ll well know by now that we’re not defined by genre here at the AU review. So today we thought we’d throw together two very different bands in our new music video series. First up, UK electro pop darlings Metronomy are back with their scintillating third album, The English Riviera, out May 6th on renowned…

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the AU interview: Parades (Sydney)

2010 was a big year for Sydney four piece Parades, with their debut LP Foreign Tapes receiving accolades of praise amongst the independent music press. The AU Review had a chat to the band about the past, present and their future plans. How did you guys meet and start playing together? We all went to…

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Post-SXSW 2011: Grand Atlantic + The Parties – Hotel Utah, San Francisco (24.03.11)

One of the worst parts about travelling around on a tight schedule are the delays one encounters while awaiting their next flight. One such delay hit me today, travelling from Las Vegas to San Francisco. The latter is an airport known for its delays – with two runways quite close together, it’s common practice for…

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SXSW 2011: Part Ten – Stubb’s Gospel Brunch feat. Eli “Paperboy” Reed and Closing Night with The Jim Jones Revue (20.03.11)

While most of the South by Southwest contingency say their goodbyes on the Saturday evening, I decided to stay on board for an extra night – primarily to get to be a tourist for once (checking out the capital building, etc), but also to engage in another South by Southwest tradition shared by many. Stubb’s…

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SXSW 2011: Part Eight – The Aussie BBQ Day Party (19.03.11)

The Aussie BBQ has become an institution of the annual SXSW calendar. Organised by Stage Mothers, the event is now put on in four North American cities around the time of SXSW: Toronto (during CMW), New York City, Los Angeles and of course, here in Austin. The event showcases the best in Australian music –…

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SXSW 2011: Part Seven – The Vaccines with City & Colour and more at Stubb's + Menomena in a Church (18.03.11)

Having already taken in a whole heap of music during the day, my Friday evening remained a bit of a blank canvas right up until the night began. My first destination: Bright Eyes announced a ‘pop-up show’, however as essentially no one was let into this event, and gauging that fact pretty quickly, I made…

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The Wombats – This Modern Glitch (2011 LP)

It’s been four years since Liverpudlian’s The Wombats dropped their debut record and made indie kids the world over light up the dance floors with the undeniable energy of “Let’s Dance To Joy Division” and “Moving To New York”. The three piece are finally preparing to release their sophomore effort This Modern Glitch, which features…

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Perth's Snowman to return with new album Absence, set for release on 22 April 2011

NEW ALBUM FEATURING THE ‘FORKCAST’ SINGLE ‘HYENA’ Snowman bring you a new body of work; the brooding, haunting album Absence, set for release on 22 April 2011 via Dot Dash / Remote Control. The once Perth-based four piece met on the edge of the known world (aka Perth), formed a band and released two albums…

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Darwin Deez Adelaide show added to Australian Tour

Due to public demand, Civil Society and 5/4 Entertainment are proud to announce an Adelaide date for Darwin Deez. This newly announced Adelaide date adds to Darwin’s already busy schedule playing headline shows in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, as well as performing at Groovin The Moo nationally. Tickets selling fast! ***** Civil Society is…

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AMP-nominated Pikelet announces a brief but enthusiastic Australian tour in May.

Pikelet’s head-swirling second album Stem recently took on all comers to be one of just nine nominated for the 2010 Australian Music Prize. It was a fitting conclusion to a year packed with adventures such as tours with Dirty Projectors, Devendra Banhart and Broadcast, and festival performances at Queenscliff Music Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival…

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Canada's No Kids among the final Sugar Mountain Festival line-up announcement.

Sugar Mountain Festival – Saturday 30 April 2011 – The Forum, Melbourne FINAL LINE-UP ANNOUNCEMENT The Sugar Mountain Festival is an exciting newcomer to Melbourne’s thriving arts scene, taking place on Saturday 30 April 2011 over multiple locations in Melbourne’s city centre, including The Forum Theatre, No Vacancy Gallery at Federation Square and The Atrium….

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SXSW 2011: Part Nine – The Perez Hilton Party feat. Dirty Vegas, Oh Land, Liz Phair, Kids of 88, Zowie and more… (19.03.11)

Where his 2010 event was very much about the star power, 2011 saw Perez Hilton turn the focus of his annual “One Night in Austin” party to the music – celebrating a selection of often lesser known international artists – including some Aussies and Kiwis – who he had been enjoying during SXSW, and in…

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Album Review: Heytesburg – From The River I Come, To The Desert I Go (2011 EP)

Heytesburg perform music which my iTunes wonderfully characterises as Darkwave. Which is clearly one of the best genre names I have come across; it to some extent also serves as a great definition of the band’s sound. Their music is dark, brooding and multi-layered. There are elements of psychedelia and industrial rock drifting through their…

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SXSW 2011: Part Six – SPIN Party feat. TV on the Radio and The Kills – plus Boy & Bear open the Billboard Bungalow (18.03.11)

My Friday began with a bit of running around, grabbing the obligatory complimentary breakfasts that a couple of the events were running. This resulted in me catching up with Jonquil again (see part one), as I surprisingly sung along to a few of their tracks in the process. It seemed that they had caught on…

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SXSW 2011: Part Five – The Strokes play for free and James Blake headlines the Central Presbyterian Church (17.03.11)

Now, here’s where things get really fun. The Auditorium Stage sees some of the festival’s biggest names play free shows to the public. So, you can imagine the shitfight to get into the venue – some 40,000 people making their way to witness the now legendary New Yorkers. In fact, the only reason I got…

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John Steel Singers + Jonathon Boulet – The Corner Hotel (27.03.2011)

The Corner band room was packed on a Sunday with plenty of revellers ready and waiting for Brisbane’s The John Steel Singers to take to the stage. The band took a few songs to warm up, but the crowd was very receptive as they broke into the opening bars of “Overpass”, and from there on…

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SXSW 2011: Part Four – Erland and Emmylou at the Convention Centre, Day Parties and Grouplove (17.03.11)

It was my second morning in Austin, and decided I best check out some of the free day music on display at the Convention Centre. First up, Erland and the Carnival, whose debut album I gave a glowing review to a year or so ago. They’ve since released a new album, Nightingale (their North American…

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the AU interview at SXSW: Adam Cohen (Montreal)

While at SXSW in Austin, Texas, Larry Heath caught up with Adam Cohen – son of Leonard Cohen, frontman of Low Missions and talented solo singer/songwriter. We discuss his latest project, Like a Man, his first album in six years, the possibility of an Australian tour, the concept of legacy, his conception of ‘art’ and…

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New Music Video: Gareth Liddiard "Strange Tourist"

Gareth Liddiard delivers the second film clip for the title track off his debut solo album Strange Tourist. Filmed at the singers homestead in Havilah, produced and directed by Jasmin Tarasin (Pure Pictures) who has also created clips for Gareth before as well as The Drones, Augie March, Little Red, Mia Dyson and more. The…

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Collarbones album launches next week; Sydney venue change

Electronica duo Collarbones will launch their much anticipated debut album Iconography in Sydney and Newcastle next week. Catch Collarbones at the Croatian Club in Newcastle next Wednesday 30 March, and at the Marrickville Bowling Club in Sydney on Friday 1 April. Please note the Sydney venue has changed – this show is no longer at…

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SXSW 2011: Part Three – Pepsi Max party feat. Pharoahe Monch and the Rolling Stone party feat. Queens of the Stone Age (16.03.11)

Day turned into night and I found myself with a bit of running around to do. First up were NewVillager, a three piece based out of New York, playing at Maggie Mae’s. While the sound at the venue left a lot to be desired, they impressed the crowd, producing unique and entertaining music off their…

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