Emalia is Australia’s next R&B queen. Think a 2020s Ciara or Ashanti. It’s about time our Aussie music scene crowned a local Alicia Keys and Emalia would easily qualify as a frontrunner. Over the past year, this Sydney singer has released four incredible R&B-pop singles that take her listeners through a darker journey of lust and…
Stumbled Upon was a series of new music discovery, established by Kat Hunter on the AU review in 2014. It ran 116 installments between then and 2016, with then Editor-in-Chief Sosefina Fuamoli taking over from Kat in the final year. Along the way we discovered acts like Serina Pech (pictured), IV League, Harrison Storm, Slumberhaze…
Australia-UK trio Greatest Hits have knocked it out of the park again with their latest single “Trying”, the third in a very young career, following the excellent “Mortals” and “Phil, Slow It Down”. Produced and mixed by Sean Cook (Bombay Bicycle Club, MGMT, Best Coast), “Trying” sheds light on the band’s endearing knack at weaving…
There are some people who think happiness is as easy to achieve as typing out a smiley-faced emoji. Ariel Gore knows the reality is far more complex. Her latest book, F*ck Happiness: How the Science of Psychology Ignores Women is a deep and insightful look at the positive psychology movement and where it rests in…
This week marks the return of Irish rockers Fontaines D.C.. The Dublin-based band are all set to release A Hero’s Death, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut album Dogrel. The album’s success, including a Mercury Prize nomination, saw the band spend a considerable amount of time on the road. A transience that has ultimately…
What a year 2020 has been – and we’re only 7 months down! With COVID-19 (still) wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting and, let’s face it, unprepared world, reportings of weekend movie grosses hardly feels necessary. And yet, as the entertainment industry remains one of COVID’s biggest casualties, it’s difficult not to find importance in the…
Post-punk Protomartyr return with their anticipated fifth album, Ultimate Success Today. Whilst the band wrote and recorded their album last year, the Detroit band eerily foreshadowed the ongoing battles the world is currently facing. Gracing our ears with a flair for enigmatic and avant-garde chords, their new album doesn’t disappoint with important philanthropic messages. Their…
Sydney grunge-pop rockers TILD are about to release their latest single, “Wasting Time”, and we are stoked today to have the exclusive video premiere of this gem prior to its release tomorrow. The band have been busy since forming in 2019, releasing singles “Slowly”, “Wolf” and more recently “Make Up”. It has sweet infectious vibes,…
KitKat Chunky and KitKat Gold have been spliced together to create the chocolate brand’s latest offering, perfectly timed to jump on all the hype that’s been surrounding the historic wafer these past few weeks. First, Sydney got its very first KitKat chocolatory, which opened to massive fanfare with an endless array of KitKat flavours, its…
David Thompson’s Long Chim in Sydney CBD is now firmly positioned as one of the best spots for modern Thai food in the city. And it’s often the opening acts that get all the fanfare, with plenty of smaller dishes served up as the highlights of this restaurant’s extensive menu. Count the incredible vegetarian spring…
“This one looks like it’d fit right into the movie Pineapple Express”, write Sydney’s feverishly popular Burger Head on Facebook, referring to the restaurant’s weekly special. As with several of the city’s most popular burger spots, Penrith-born Burger Head does up a unique and inventive burger each week which is almost always lapped up in…
2020 has been a prolific year for Tasmanian indie-pop artist Nuria, and she’s showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. On Friday July 31st, she’ll be dropping single number eight for the year, the punchy and powerful “Touch”. If like us, you can’t wait, you’re in luck, as we’re bringing you this exclusive first listen….
Sydney indie-rockers Gaspar Sanz are back with, “On My Mind”, their second single of the year. Written back in 2019, the single’s message of utilising your own oppression as a form of power has become all the more poignant and timely in the increasing mess of uncertainty that is 2020. Recorded in Sydney with producer…
Isaiah Firebrace rose to national prominence after taking out the top spot on The X Factor Australia in 2016. The following year, he broke onto the global stage representing Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final with his single “Don’t Come Easy”, placing ninth. At just 20-years-old, this certified-Platinum singer has accomplishments under his belt that…
Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group has officially confirmed an exclusive master franchise agreement with Five Guys. This will involve the iconic US burger chain opening stores across Australia and New Zealand, starting with multiple venues in Sydney CBD. “Our commitment is to open approx. 20 stores nationwide in the right locations and with the right staff,”…
PlayStation have confirmed their August 2020 line up of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. August will bring a little single-player action in Activision’s recently released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered. For those looking for multiplayer fun, the excellent battle royale indie Fall Guys will be your new favourite after-work game. Modern Warfare…
If your current Android phone isn’t powerful enough for you, the latest from Asus is going to delight. By the end of August, Asus will have brought its new ROG Phone 3 to Australia, blasting away all over Android phones with sheer power, if this eye watering spec sheet is anything to go by. Obviously…
Gold Coast’s impactful Home of the Arts (HOTA) has now confirmed the 20 Australian artists that will make up the inaugural exhibition program for the venue’s new $60.5 million HOTA Gallery in April 2021. Although it feels like forever away right now, the energetic cultural precinct is looking forward to next year [as we all…
Some of Sydney’s top restaurants have come together under the “Plates For Good” initiative, established to help industry staff who have been impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Eight of the city’s favourite eateries have committed to donating the purchase price of every Westholme Wagyu dish ordered to that venue’s staff who have lost income…
After the great news that Carriageworks had been saved with the support of a group of donors, the Sydney art institution has officially announced Friday 7th August as a reopening date. And with the space once again being open to the public, comes new commissions that’ll take over the space as part of the ongoing…
Australian-born but New York-resident Sir Winston has a pumping new tune out for you, “Holywood Hills”. The song references a rather gnarly party where his girlfriend has taken some pills at a party in the Hollywood Hills, and the mayhem associated with that. Thankfully that’s a crisis not many of us have to endure. This…
The 2020 Longlist for the Booker Prize has today been unveiled, bringing with it its fair share of surprises. Though the inclusion of one title, Hilary Mantel‘s The Mirror & The Light, will likely shock no-one. That said this year’s longlist looks to be an eclectic mixture of established talents and debut authors. That the majority…
The guest performers for this year’s National Indigenous Music Awards have been announced today. The awards, which will be broadcast on across TV, Radio and online on August 8th, will feature performances from national treasure Archie Roach, Gamilaraay singer Thelma Plum, Pitjantjatjara and Torres Strait Island R&B star Miiesha and more. The evening will also…
Sydney’s pop-punk outfit Ride For Rain are about to drop their latest EP, Never Magenta, and we are thrilled to be able to give you a listen to it in full today, prior to its release on Friday. We are also premiering today the video for the third track on the EP, “Let Go”. This is…
The teen sex comedy isn’t a rarity within the studio system, but they are often quite outlandish enough that they never entirely ring true regarding the situations they’d like teenagers to relate to. Weighing down the high concept mentality so often adopted by the genre, Yes, God, Yes is that rare beast that hopes to…
This November, Australian fans of JBL’s vibrant Pulse speakers will be able to get their hands on the fourth-generation of the beloved LED music box. Promising a step up from its predecessor in every way, the Pulse 4 will literally shine with a battery life of 12 hours, a sturdy IPX7 waterproof design, and an…
As truffle season is here, it’s no surprise that our favourite restaurants have begun showcasing the winter fungus on their menus. As New Shanghai returns with their new winter truffle menu, the AU Review caught up with New Shanghai’s Head Chef Sam Wu, who spoke about all things truffle and the inspiration behind the new…
Unless you somehow magically lose your fingerprint, you’ll never have to worry about misplacing the front door keys again. That is, if you pick up Samsung’s newly launched A30 Smart Lock, which is the latest in the ever-growing smart home security sector. Already racking up a nod at the International Design Excellence Awards, the A30…
Though Melbourne’s Palais Theatre may be begging for some life right now, a new music video from Aussie music royalty Something For Kate fills out the empty venue as the three-piece perform on stage to no one. A rush of energy courses through “Waste Our Breath”, the second single lifted from SFK’s first album in…
Occupying the conceptual space between a tablet and a laptop has always been Microsoft’s goal with the Surface Book series. And it’s been a success thus far, striking a swift balance that pulls some of the best parts from each world and welds it together with a premium build. The experience switching between the two…
