Carl’s Jr opens first Melbourne stores as part of ambitious expansion

It has been two years since U.S fast-food giant Carl’s Jr opened their first ever Australian store in Bateau Bay on New South Wales’s Central Coast. It was a success, as was the steady roll out of stores that followed as part of a very ambitious expansion set to see around 300 stores open across…

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Tech Review: DJI’s Mavic 2 Zoom will have you soaring into quiet, compact & professional film capturing

DJI announces a new series of drones quite regularly, but their new Mavic 2 series are their most satisfying technical jump yet when it comes to consumer drones. Don’t be mistaken, using the word “consumer” for these ranges doesn’t mean you’re missing out on any of the tech and quality when it comes to capturing…

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Track of the Day: Alex the Astronaut “Happy Song” (2018)

Alex the Astronaut has released her new single “Happy Song” ahead of her forthcoming Space Tour this November. This track, equally optimistic and melancholic, was performed for the first time to a packed tent at this years Splendour in the Grass. Aiming straight for the heart, “Happy Song” perfectly pairs gloominess with buoyancy, delivering a…

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Rufus Wainwright, The Internet, Hanson and more line up for Zoo Twilights 2019 at Melbourne Zoo

Melbourne Zoo has announced the full lineup for their annual summer concert series Zoo Twilights. Running every weekend from 25 January to 9 March, Zoo Twilights will unite world class musicians and music enthusiasts in a one of a kind summer experience. All proceeds from ticket sales will go straight back into Zoos Victoria’s efforts…

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Film Review: Halloween (USA, 2018) truly captures the atmosphere of John Carpenter’s seminal classic

Trick: The 2018 incarnation of Halloween acts as a direct continuation of the 1978 original, essentially wiping out all seven sequels (and the two Rob Zombie-helmed revisions) that succeeded in the years since. Treat: It’s good.  Like really f***ing good! After surviving the maniacal clutches of psychotic killer Michael Myers forty years prior, Laurie Strode…

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Photo Gallery: Jamie Lee Curtis on the Halloween black carpet at the Australian Premiere in Sydney

In cinemas this Thursday, and following on from a record breaking weekend on the US Box Office, legendary actress Jamie Lee Curtis walked the black carpet in Sydney last night for the Australian premiere of Halloween. Nathan Atkins was there and brings us these photos from the carpet.

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World’s longest sea-crossing, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, is now open

Now connecting Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau is the world’s longest bridge and tunnel sea crossing, a megaproject measuring in at 55km, which is 20 times longer than San Fran’s Golden Gate Bridge, and containing enough steel (400,000 tonnes to be exact) to build 60 Eiffel Towers. Costing approximately $20bn, it’s one of the…

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Applejack to open their first Sydney CBD restaurant “Bopp & Tone”

Applejack, the group behind beloved Sydney venues like The Butler and The Botanist, will finally be making their way into the CBD for the first time with a new restaurant and bar on Carrington Street. Named Bopp & Tone for the Applejack founders’ grandfathers – Keith “Bopp” Evans and Anthony “Tone” Adams – the Mediterranean…

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Surry Hills scores a new “unauthentic Indian” restaurant from Jessi Singh

Renowned chef Jessi Singh has returned to Australia to bring his “unauthentic Indian” cuisine to Sydney, opening Surry Hills’ newest restaurant Don’t Tell Aunty. The space, which replaces the old 4Fourteen, is marked by Singh’s fun and casual atmosphere, inspired by the home of a traditional Indian aunty – that being a place where you…

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The five best Halloween parties in Sydney this year

After-dark museum spooktaculars, scary Inner-West pub raves, Bojack Horseman dress-up parties, and ghoulish dog shows. Yeah, it’s Halloween in Sydney alright. Each year some of the best venues in the city attempt to out-do themselves and lure you into webs of themed events and expensive drinks. Not all are made equal though, so we’ve done…

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Netflix Review: Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina conjures a dark edgy twist to high school drama

Back in the mid 1990’s Sabrina The Teenage Witch took the original Archie Comics character and gave her a more kitschy comedic vibe. With Sabrina often having to learn deep moral lessons after her attempts at magic go awry. But if you ever did read those original comics, you’d be aware that Sabrina and co…

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Live Review: Ceres deliver a legendary sold out show at The Howler, Melbourne

I am about 98.98% sure that we almost made Tom Lanyon cry. From the moment Ceres walked onto the stage for their Viv in the Front Seat tour and launched into their first song, the entire crowd was singing along to every word. The Howler was packed to the brim, there are definitive bruises forming…

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Indigenous Slam Queen crowned Australian Poetry Slam Champion

Her very first performance brought the house down and now Melanie Mununggurr-Williams has been crowned Australian Poetry Slam Champion. Dropping an absolutely stunning slam about aboriginal identity, Melanie won crowds over with her complex piece about breaking free of inner demons, and “being caught between a western white mans world, and ancient aboriginal antiquity”. Her…

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Hotel Review: Shangri-La reimagines the “Urban Resort” with Hong Kong’s Kerry Hotel

Ever since Kerry Hotels launched as a brand back in 2011, it has been well received as a fascinating, and interesting, expression from Shangri-La Group, who are best known for their opulent namesake properties. While Hotel Jen, another critical darling from the group, plays more in the mid-range category with a strong commitment to design…

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Games Review: Mega Man 11 sticks a little too closely to the classic franchise

Oh Mega Man, such a treasured relic of the past, and one of the great gaming franchises of the 8-bit era. It was — is — one of the few series that could get away with being so repetitive and frustratingly difficult because there’s something about its simple premise and nostalgia-inducing schtick that just stuck…

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Album Review: LOSER’s Restless Noise (2018 EP) is a rock collab that’ll leave you wanting more

If, after hearing their first singles, you were left thinking Melbourne’s newest alt-rock trio LOSER sound crazily professional and experienced for a new band, you my friend, would be correct. The trio is the love child of Australian rock icons, with Tim Maxwell (Apart From This/Grim Rhythm) Chris Cowburn (The Smith Street Band) and Craig Selak…

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Photo Gallery: Trophy Eyes + Dear Seattle + Maddy Jane + STUMPS – The Forum, Melbourne (20.10.18)

Trophy Eyes were supported by Dear Seattle, Maddy Jane and STUMPS at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne on Saturday as they closed our their The American Dream tour. Daniel Hanssen was there and brings us these photos from the night:  

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Live Review: Trophy Eyes and friends close a memorable tour with flair and style in Melbourne

It was a big night for any music loving Melbournian on Saturday as Trophy Eyes completed their national tour for the release of their The American Dream album. The band, who have been in the middle of a genre shift over the course of the past couple of years seemed to have completed it through…

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Live Review: Joywave + Sir Sly – Warsaw, Brooklyn NY (20.10.18)

The third stop on a month long tour of the US see California’s Sir Sly and New York’s Joywave fill out Warsaw in Brooklyn. Both regulars of the US touring circuit and members of the Coachella club, Warsaw seems like quite the exclusive venue to catch these guys, nobody was complaining though. They could have…

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Ruby Fields announces December tour dates in Sydney and Melbourne

We know you’ve been waiting for this one. Announced via triple j today, Ruby Fields fans in Melbourne and Sydney won’t have to wait until next year’s Laneway Festival to catch the singer-songwriter live thanks to a brief two-date East Coast tour set in support of her breathtaking latest single “Dinosaur”. Much like her debut…

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Jackie Weaver and Bryan Brown star in the new original series Bloom coming to Stan this summer

This Summer, Stan will introduce us to another new, and original series. From creator, writer and Executive Producer Glen Dolman, comes mystery drama series Bloom. The series takes place in an idyllic country town, one year after a devastating flood kills five of their local residents, where a mysterious new plant with the power to restore their…

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Track of the Day: Stevie Jean “Estranged” (2018)

The voice that captivated everybody in 2017 and scored herself a spot in the Triple J Unearthed High Top 5 is back with another epic track. Stevie Jean‘s “Estranged” is the powerful song dedicated to all the outcasts and outsiders, breaking down the boundaries of organised faith, not judging the person you are and accepting…

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Album of the Week: The Pierce Brothers’ Atlas Shoulders (2018 LP) is the summer album we deserve

Over the years, The Pierce Brothers have become a centrepiece of Blues, Folk and Roots within the Australian music-scape. From their start as Melbourne street buskers, the brothers’ relentless push to hone their own talents and musical abilities have driven them overseas, with landmark tours around the Europe and UK. This has also coincided with…

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Six international food festivals worth travelling for (before 2018 is over)

The final three months of 2018 bring plenty of opportunities for gastronomic tourism (the best kind of travel), whether you’re heading over to North America, travelling around Asia or just keen on a road trip in your backyard. These six highly curated food festivals are well worth getting off the couch for, from historic long-running…

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Book Review: David Cohen’s The Hunter and Other Stories of Men is an offbeat look into the minds of men

Brisbane author David Cohen has put together a much anticipated collection of short stories in the form of his new book The Hunter and Other Stories of Men. The collection contains eighteen stories, most around the ten page mark, whilst some of which were published in various publications between 2004 and 2017. With some of the stories…

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Hotel Review: Hilton juggles quantity and quality in San Francisco’s Union Square

Union Square has long been a useful anchor for visitors set to explore San Francisco, one of the most consistently impressive and dynamic cities in the world. It’s why many big-name hotel chains can be found spread throughout the heart of metropolitan heart of San Fran, with Hilton Union Square remaining one of the most…

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Post Malone is coming to Australia for a huge arena tour in 2019

Multi-platinum pop megastar Post Malone will be making a huge return to Australia next year, announcing a nationwide tour that’ll be taking the “Rockstar” singer across Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. Set for April and May 2019, the string of performances will mark Malone’s first arena tour down under. Known for his vigorous stirred-pot…

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Photo Gallery: Joywave + Sir Sly – Warsaw, Brooklyn NY (20.10.18)

The third stop on a month long tour of the US sees California’s Sir Sly and New York’s Joywave filled out Warsaw in Brooklyn. Both regulars of the US touring circuit and members of the Coachella club, Warsaw seems like quite the exclusive venue to catch these guys. Nobody was complaining though, they could have…

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Live Review: Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto take experimental minimalism to new heights at the Sydney Opera House

A legend across contemporary classical, electronica and experimental music, Ryuichi Sakamoto has had a long an illustrious career. Spanning a number of collaborations, it’s his sixteen year partnership with German composer Alva Noto that has stuck, garnering five albums, along with the soundtrack to the movie The Revenant. A largely improvised affair, the duo meshed sparse…

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Melbourne International Arts Festival Review: One Infinity explores ideas of cultural exchange through incredible contemporary dance

I have a single word for you. Wow! Walking into Malthouse Theatre, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. The audience was split in two, both facing each other on opposite sides of the black lacquered stage, which is set up minimally with Eastern Asian instruments. We are told to mirror the women who sit…

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