Festival Review: Singapore welcomes a stellar line up as the 2018 St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival kicks off in style

Another year, another Laneway Festival has come and gone. With the closure of Neon Lights last year, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival remains the only up-and-running premiere indie festival in Singapore – surpassing the short-lived likes of counterparts Hostess Weekender, The Gathering, and Camp Symmetry. And yet, this year’s edition of Laneway presented a mixed bag….

Read more

Live Review: Cut Copy soundtrack a hot summer’s night at Melbourne Zoo’s Twilight series

Like many Aussie music fans who spent their teen years or early 20’s with the likes of The Presets, Midnight Juggernauts and PNAU filling up their chunky iPods, Cut Copy was one of the bands at the forefront of Australian dance music in the early 2000s. Bright Like Neon Love brought us “Saturdays” and “That Was Just a Dream”,…

Read more

Groovin the Moo lands Paul Kelly, Royal Blood, Lady Leshurr & more for 2018 tour

As one of the only remaining Australian touring festivals still enjoying successes year in and year out, Groovin the Moo is an example of an event that knows its market, knows its formula for success, and knows how to execute it each year. With a line up that appeals to the younger, first-time festival demographic, as…

Read more

Single of the Day: Benjamin Lazar Davis “A Love Song Seven Ways” (2018)

Meet Benjamin Lazar Davis. The New Yorker has recently announced the release of his debut solo record, Nothing Matters, and with it has dropped the first single from it in “A Love Song Seven Ways” – a dreamy, atmospheric slice of pop music that’s turned our heads today. Flushed with great melody, reminiscent of early Passion Pop…

Read more

Win a double pass to see SHAME in Melbourne or Sydney!

Shame have been billed as one of the highlight artists of this year’s St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival and it’s no real surprise as to why. Through 2017, the South Londoners steadily built up steam in the lead up to the release of their debut album, Songs of Praise. They were gate crashing Glasto, landing on Pitchfork Paris’…

Read more

Games Review: Shadow of the Colossus (PS4, 2018): Improving on a masterpiece

Thirteen years after its release on the PlayStation 2, Shadow of the Colossus remains one of the greatest and most successful experiments in the history of game design.

Read more

Games Review: Monster Hunter World (PS4, 2018): Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

I’m ashamed to say that I’m a latecomer to the Monster Hunter franchise, with my first taste of monster hunting goodness coming late last year in the delightful Monster Hunter Stories. Given that I enjoyed the title so much, I was looking forward to World, but didn’t realise how much it would blow me away….

Read more

London Comes to Life in Vampyr’s Second Episode, ‘Architects of the Obscure’

In the lead up to the release of Vampyr, the team at DONTNOD have been revealing the creative process behind the game through an episodic web series, covering everything from the architecture, history and mythology.

Read more

Tech Review: Logitech G433 7.1 Wired Surround Gaming Headset

Logitech have made a name for themselves in the tech accessories market for dependable, well-built but ultimately pretty safe devices. There’s rarely any going out on a limb for Logitech, and its a strategy that’s worked out quite well for them. Their G433 gaming headset is no exception.

Read more

Travel Essentials: How to Pack for a South Korean Winter (and the Winter Olympic Games)

Now that it is officially 2018, the real countdown to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics is officially on! Our Melbourne writer Anastasia is currently travelling across Seoul. In the first in a series of special posts, Ana gives us her top Korean Travel Essentials that will ensure that you have packed all the right things, ready…

Read more

Three cocktail trends we’ll start seeing more of in 2018 according to James Irvine

James Irvine won’t need an introduce to those deep in Sydney’s cocktail scene, but for the uninitiated: he’s the beverage director for the Swillhouse Group, which own and operate some of the city’s most well known restaurants and bars including Hubert and The Baxter Inn. Who better to ask about the ever-changing world of cocktails?…

Read more

Twilight at Taronga step up their food and drink game for 2018 season

From Sydney City Limits to Laneway, some of the country’s largest music events are getting savvy about what food and drink they serve. The latest to switch things up to a more refined offering is the always popular Twilight at Taronga summer concert series, which has today announced a culinary line-up that’s just as tempting…

Read more

Single of the Day: Siamese “Slaughterhouse” (2018)

Adelaide’s Siamese are burning through 2018 already with the release of their great new tune, “Slaughterhouse”. Coming through under the ranks of Horror My Friend/West Thebarton‘s Tom Gordon, the four piece have definitely been in good company since breaking through on to more radars in the local music scene last year. “Slaughterhouse” positions Siamese in an exciting new…

Read more

Verge Collection taking new single “Feelin’ Old” on the road this April

Perth rockers Verge Collection have announced a bunch of dates in support of their upcoming album Flaneur. The four piece will be hitting a bunch of capital cities as well as Wollongong, Bunbury and the Gold Coast, fresh off the back of massive shows with the like of The Wombats, Skeggs and Bleeding Knees Club. The…

Read more

Wanderers keep the fires burning on their Summer tour; on the road into March

Adelaide local heroes Wanderers have announced a massive tour hitting cities around the country. The trio have made a name for themselves as one of the best emerging soul and roots artists in the country. They’ve cemented themselves as one of the best in the Adelaide roots scene, playing sets at WOMADelaide and touring extensively…

Read more

The Great Escape goes on tour, bringing Durand Jones and the Indications to European venues this May

The Uk’s premiere emerging music festival, The Great Escape, is taking some stellar new artists on tour for the first time, hitting 11 massive dates across Europe. Headlining the tour is Indiana based band Durand Jones and the Indications, who’ve garnered a cult following around their soulful melodies and retro vibes that are reminiscent of Otis…

Read more

BIRDZ and Omar Musa joining forces for the ‘Voodoo Laksa Tour’

Hip Hop powerhouses BIRDZ and Omar Musa have announced their joint “Voodoo Laksa” tour, hitting Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin. Northern Territory raised rapper BIRDZ made waves with his debut album Train of Thought, which didn’t shy away from the political. BIRDZ is known for raw, honest lyrics, and none of his releases demonstrate this better…

Read more

Rocket League Championship will mark Australia’s largest eSports Prize Pool

Throwdown eSports confirms The RLCS World Championship and next season of Rocket League will kick off from 4th February, 2018 with $100,000 AUD  prize pool; the largest seen in Australia to date.

Read more

Sea of Thieves closed beta extended until Jan 31st

If you were one of the lucky few to get into the Sea of Thieves closed beta this last weekend, you may have noticed the odd server issue preventing you from playing. Bit of a hassle really, and Xbox agrees. The beta, which was originally scheduled to end tonight, has been extended another couple of…

Read more

Alliance Française French Film Festival announces packed 2018 program

Returning to Palace Cinemas from late February until mid- April, the 29th annual Alliance Française French Film Festival will look to spoil audiences with a selection of 47 feature films, 2 documentaries and a TV series, all of which will seek to embody the passion, diversity and artistry of contemporary French cinema. Artistic Director Philippe Platel will…

Read more

Kaiju fights return on a grand scale in the latest Pacific Rim: Uprising trailer

The second official trailer for Pacific Rim: Uprising has been released, and looks to bring back awesome Kaiju fights on a grand scale. Filmed right here in Australia, the sequel sees Star Wars‘ John Boyega in the role of Jake Pentecost, the son of Stacker Pentecost, played by Idris Elba in the first film. Jake is…

Read more

Netflix crime-thriller series Seven Seconds shows off first official trailer

Netflix original series Seven Seconds has recently revealed its first official trailer, with enough to unpack, and a lot for crime-thriller fans to look forward to. Seven Seconds centres around the death of a young African- American teen, as his death sparks a fire in the heart of his mother, but sets forth a series…

Read more

ABC’s Emmy Award winning series Nowhere Boys enters production for its fourth series

Production is now officially underway on the fourth season of the ABC’s Emmy award winning series Nowhere Boys. The series is currently filming in various Melbourne based locations, with the supernatural action-adventure series looking to premiere later this year on both ABC ME and the ABC ME app. The gang will return this season from…

Read more

Could the trade window finally break the Korean stranglehold on the Overwatch League?

In its first three weeks of competition, the Overwatch League, Blizzard’s ambitious tilt at an organised esports league, has been dominated by a triumvirate of Korean supersquads. All three have confidently held gold, silver and bronze on the ladder since the competition began. Many, ourselves included, wondered what, if anything, Blizzard could do to ensure…

Read more

Interview: Sweet Country director Warwick Thornton on the importance of storytelling as an Indigenous filmmaker

In cinemas now, Sweet Country director Warwick Thornton sat down with The Iris’ Peter Gray to talk about the film and the importance of storytelling as an Indigenous filmmaker. You’ve been involved in other projects since Samson and Delilah, but would you classify Sweet Country as your official follow-up? Yeah sophomore project.  The second album,…

Read more

In the final days of Virgin America, we put their service to the test against new owners Alaska Airlines

On 11th January, Virgin America made its final flight under the callsign “redwood”. It’s now flying as “Alaska”, as Alaska Airlines moves towards the completion of its merger with the much loved airline. This said, the airlines continue to each fly with their respective branding and flair, at least until April 25th (though it will take…

Read more

Sydney Festival Review: Wild Bore is more than a reviewer’s worst nightmare

Wild Bore is everything that’s wrong with the business of theatre. Or, to be less ambiguous, it is a piece of theatre about everything that is wrong with the business of theatre, wrapped up creatively into an hour of bodily humour. It’s timely, pointed and it’s a lot of fun. Part of the 2018 Sydney…

Read more

Gelato Messina release new Tim Tam flavours: Turkish Delight, Iced Coffee and Choc-Cherry Coconut

For the second time ever, iconic Aussie snack lords Arnott’s have teamed up with dessert gods Gelato Messina to create three new gelato-inspired flavours for the infinitely loved Tim Tam. The last time we this dream collaboration popped up, we got four new iterations of the legendary biscuit, the best being “Black Forest” and the…

Read more

Review: Foo Fighters prove more than deserving of Sydney’s largest stadium stage

Wearing an Oxford Art Factory t-shirt – where the iconic frontman last performed in Sydney – Dave Grohl and his fighters of Foo returned to Sydney last night, thrilling audiences in their ANZ Stadium debut with a rollicking 3 hour set that proved as much a trip down memory lane as it was a celebration…

Read more

Win a double pass to see Wiley in Sydney and Melbourne

Godfather of Grime, UK’s Wiley will kick off his debut Australia/New Zealand tour in Wellington tomorrow. After 11 studio albums, forming seminal crews like Roll Deep with mentees Dizzee Rascal and Skepta, and publishing an autobiography, this will be his first headline tour of the region. Either directly responsible or indirectly influencing almost all major…

Read more