Interview: Not a Boy’s Name talks about “Hazard Perception Test” and his BIGSOUND debut

Dave Jenkins Jr’s new indie rock project, Not A Boys Name, is off to a flying start with the release of an impressive new single “Hazard Perception Test”, and a video to match. A song about resilience and learning how to navigate negativity, “Hazard Perception Test” is punchy and melodic. The video, directed by Matt…

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Film Review: American Animals (USA, 2018) is a masterful, original take on the heist & true crime genres

American Animals is the scripted film debut from writer/director Bart Layton, who walked away with a BAFTA for his debut effort, the documentary The Imposter. Knowing he comes from a documentary background is unsurprising when you see this film, which screened at Sundance earlier this year to a good deal of critical acclaim, and continued…

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Track of the Day: The Putbacks feat. Bilal “The Ways” (2018)

Ahead of the release of their debut album next month, Melbourne’s The Putbacks have dropped the record’s first single, a twisted, eclectic and wonderful odd collaboration with Bilal called “The Ways”. Since their formation in the early 2000’s The Putbacks have established themselves as one of Australia’s premiere funk ensembles; they’ve served as the house…

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Photo Gallery: Yours & Owls Day Two ft. Cub Sport + Methyl Ethel and more – Stuart Park, Wollongong (30.09.18)

The second day of Yours & Owls brought more incredible talent to the Wollongong foreshore including Cub Sport, Methyl Ethel, Pist Idiots, Alex The Astronaut, Sarah Blasko, Hockey Dad, Alison Wonderland and many, many more. Danny Hanssen brings us back these photos from the festivities:

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Camp Cope, Cable Ties and Baker Boy top the nominees for 2018 National Live Music Awards

Tonight in Sydney, the third annual National Live Music Awards announced the nominees across 55 categories, and revealed the addition of the award’s “Hall of Fame” equivalent, detailing their plans to induct a legendary Australian band as the award’s first “Live Legends”. The band in question will be announced closer to the 6th December event, and will…

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Album Review: Kira Puru – Self-Titled (2018 EP)

If you haven’t heard any of Kira Puru‘s music, exactly how big is that rock you’re hiding under? Her single “Molotov” has had a lot of airplay on Triple J, and her undeniably cool ‘Like A Version’ performance of Katy Perry‘s “Last Friday Night” is what dreams are made of. Her debut self-titled EP contains the…

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Book Review: Mira Robertson’s The Unexpected Education of Emily Dean adds something new to well-trodden ground

In Mira Robertson’s debut novel, her eponymous heroine, Emily Dean, is sent to stay with her grandmother and great uncle on their property while her mother recovers from what I can only presume is a nervous breakdown of sorts.  It’s most definitely not a farm, as Emily is told by her family, though to the…

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Interview: Nathaniel Buzolic on The Originals, cosplay, channelling Tom Hardy and Oz Comic Con

When Oz Comic Con rolls in to Sydney, a wide variety of film and television stars get the chance to visit Australia as part of the convention line-up. More often than not they’re international stars, but funnily enough for the Brisbane and Sydney Oz Comic Con dates this September, Australian actor Nathaniel Buzolic got to…

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Melbourne Fringe Review: Why Gillian English’s 10 Things I Hate About Taming of the Shrew is the best

Gillian English is my new favourite person. We have never met before but as soon as she stood on the makeshift stage at Belleville and roared her way into my life with her insistently angry comedy, I knew I had met my match. Viewer warning: If you have an undying love for Shakespeare than I…

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Album Review: Father’s Awful Swim (2018 LP) feels like a house party in hell (and we want to go)

Father, the ringleader of cutting-edge Atlanta multimedia label Awful Records, has returned with a new album in collaboration with Adult Swim – a DIY label and a DIY network coming together to craft something truly unique. Father’s style is one that many try to replicate and often struggle to do so – his odd delivery,…

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Melbourne Fringe Review: Funerals with Phoebe proved the perfect ending to an incredible festival

Delightful, different and refreshing, real life funeral singer Phoebe Deklerk‘s show Funerals with Phoebe proved to be the perfect ending to my amazing month of Melbourne Fringe Festival shows. Have you ever wondered what songs you’d like to have at your funeral? Or noticed just how similar wedding and funeral songs can actually be? Would you consider…

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Melbourne Fringe Review: Bonnie Curtis’s GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS is confronting, imaginative and refreshingly honest

Being a woman in this modern age can suck. The expectation to keep that waist small, to get those likes on instagram and to have those Kylie Jenner-esque lips. The expectation to be more or less perfect. It’s unreasonable, isn’t it? Sometimes the way we move about in society and the pressures we put on…

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Brisbane Festival Review: Gareth Liddiard reveals the ragged beauty within his chaotic songs

The audience surrounded the square stage set-up in the middle of The Tivoli. It’s part of Brisbane Festival’s Tivoli In The Round programme, where fans experienced intimate performances from Australia’s best musicians. However, Gareth Liddiard found it unusual to have eyes on him from all directions, quipping to the crowd, “You’ve got to remind me…

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The King of the Small Screen: There hasn’t been a year Ted Danson hasn’t been on TV since 1975

Holy forking shirtballs! Did you know there hasn’t been a single year since 1975 that Ted Danson hasn’t been on our TV screens? It’s true! The American actor, currently appearing as Michael on the third season of NBC/Netflix’s The Good Place, has not shied away from the limelight over all these years. As a result, we…

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Review: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ take on Bernstein’s Candide provides a mish-mash of all possible worlds

For years people have been perplexed by Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. Is it an operetta? A comedy? Musical theatre? A little of all of the above? Perhaps the safest description is that of “comic operetta,” where the draw-card is some dynamic and electric music. Mitchell Butel directs this latest production, which coincides with what would have…

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Watch: Stefan Hunt’s short film We’re All Going To Die released online after touring the world

In September last year, the art festival We’re All Going To Die premiered in Sydney. Founder Stefan Hunt is promoting his message and encouraging people across the globe to “Fear less and live more”. WAGTD is a creative community in place to remind you to celebrate life through the lens of death, using art to…

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The Presets set to headline massive outdoor New Year’s Eve Party in Newtown

The NYE festival NYE In The Park have announced the festival’s return to Sydney’s Victoria Park on New Years Eve 2018. Following up on the success of last year’s party, this year the crew will bring an even bigger line up on stage to ring in the new year. Headlined by Aussie electronic dance duo The…

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Photo Gallery: Yours & Owls Day One ft. Peking Duk – Stuart Park, Wollongong (29.09.18)

The first day of Yours & Owls brought a slew of incredible talent to the Wollongong foreshore including Maddy Jane, CLEWS, Alice Ivy, Mallrat, Tiny Little Houses, Middle Kids, Hellions, The Jungle Giants, Peking Duk and many, many more. Danny Hanssen brings us back these photos from the festivities:

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5 things we learned at the Shadowhunters panel at Oz Comic-Con Sydney

When the end of September rolls around you can be certain of two things, the end of the NRL/AFL football seasons, and Oz Comic Con Sydney. Once again one of Australia’s biggest pop culture events rolled into the International Convention Centre (ICC) where fans can meet some of their favourite celebrities from film and television,…

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Book Review: Harry Cook’s Pink Ink is a queer-positive memoir that doesn’t sugarcoat things

When actor and activist Harry Cook migrated to Australia at the age of ten homosexuality had only been recently decriminalised. A few years later he would struggle with coming-out to his parents. He says acceptance was hard, because there weren’t many queer-positive stories around at the time (in fact, homophobic propaganda was rife during the AIDs…

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Games Review: Destiny 2: Forsaken (PS4, 2018) is the expansion you’ve been waiting for

It’s been three weeks since Forsaken, the latest expansion for Destiny 2 launched, and in many ways I’m still struggling to wrap my head around the enormity of it. I’ve got a life outside of my work on this website — I have a side job, I have obligations to friends and family, I have…

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Games Review: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Xbox One, 2018) is huge, confident and full of big ideas

Before we begin, a personal note: Between Nintendo and Ubisoft, I have had to write out the word “Odyssey” so often over the last two years that I’ll never misspell it again. Big thanks to both companies for that little toward self improvement. One year on from Ubisoft’s drastic reconstruction of its most popular franchise,…

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WIN one of 10 Virtual Tickets to BlizzCon 2018!

BlizzCon 2018, the biggest event of the year for fans of Blizzard Entertainment, is now only a month away. There’s so much to see at a convention this huge — from announcements for Blizzard titles like Overwatch, World of Warcraft and Hearthstone, to the pulse-pounding finale of the Overwatch World Cup — that it’s become…

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Photo Gallery: Oz Comic-Con Sydney 2018 with Cary Elwes, Nathaniel Buzolic and more

On a cool, fresh, sunny September weekend as the school holidays kicked off, ICC Darling Harbour hosted Oz Comic-Con Sydney. It’s an event Where awe-inspiring actors, colourful cosplay, gladiatorial gamers, bodacious book authors, and compelling comics all come together. Over the course of the weekend, celebrity film and TV stars hosted question & answer panels…

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Photo Gallery: Hideous Sun Demon + Kaitlin Keegan + Cosy + Post Depression Makeout Session – Mojos, Fremantle (29.09.18)

The next stop on Hideous Sun Demon‘s Fame Erotic Dream tour was Mojo’s Bar in Fremantle, where they delivered a full on psych-punk experience. Joining them in the fun were Kaitlin Keegan, Cosy and Post Depression Makeout Session. Our photographer Stuart Sevastos brings us the highlights of the night.

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Live Review: Jack River + Jess Kent + Annie Hamilton – Metro Theatre, Sydney (28.09.18)

While it may just be her on stage alias, the brains, vocals and stories behind Jack River is so much more. An entrepreneur, promoter and musician, Holly Rankin brought to life her musical talents and journey as the Sydney leg of her Sugar Mountain album tour made its way to a sold out Metro Theatre….

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Live Review: Allen Stone puts the Soul back into the Croxton Bandroom with Thando

Upon the coloured light bulbs and mood lighting, the room filled up with an agenda of groovy beats and neo-soul. Allen Stone was in town, playing at the Croxton Bandroom in Melbourne’s sacred north. It would be his only Australian show before hitting the Byron Bay Blues Festival in early 2019. Not being familiar with…

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Book Review: Stuart Coupe’s Roadies hands the mic back to Australia’s road crew

There’s no question that Australia’s roadies know their way around a microphone. A concert set-up doesn’t magically appear out of nowhere. It take tireless crew members toiling away to unpack, set-up, test and re-pack the staging and equipment; and repeating this process as they travel to different towns and venues. For too long, roadies may…

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Interview: ALEX (UK) on Pop Culture, Retrowave and Simulations

Retrowave and synthwave are still rather under-the-radar sub-genres of electronica. They often involve a strong link to pop culture and 80’s-inspired musical themes. Last week, I got the chance to speak with ALEX, a U.K based producer and thought leader in the retrowave and synthwave genres. ALEX’s most recent album, Simulations, is a 10-track stream-of-consciousness…

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Festival Review: Wollongong’s Yours and Owls kicks off 2018 event with epic sets from Peking Duk, Moaning Lisa, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and more

While most of Sydney’s partygoers were heading to Listen Out, I jumped on the train to Wollongong to check out the sold out Yours & Owls two day festival; an annual event which has become among the most anticipated and celebrated in the region. Often being overseas at the same time, it was my first…

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