This dream-pop trio from California are back with new single “Starlet”, a hazy, 80’s tinged number from their upcoming EP Alexander Devotion, due February 10th. Letting Up Despite Great Faults have had a prolific career despite their recent hiatus, producing three studio albums and a number of EP’s since their beginnings in 2006. However, on choosing…
Organisations like Human Rights Watch are essential, as they help expose atrocities taking place in war-torn countries. The organisation regularly runs a Human Rights Film festival and they are also supporting a screening of a documentary film called E-Team, a look at what has been happening in Syria and Libya. It was also the recipient of…
Today was a massive day for sports. You probably heard about it. The Atlanta Falcons blew a 25 point lead and fell to the New England Patriots at Superbowl LI. But maybe you’re not into sports. Maybe, like us here at The Iris, you’re major movie buffs and if that’s the case, then the Superbowl…
The fifth season of HBO’s Girls – in many ways – raised the bar for the popular but divisive series. Both as a writer and an actress, Lena Dunham cleverly and effectively built on all the aspects of the show that have worked in the past and dropped what didn’t. Efforts by everyone involved helped…
Come early August of this year, Australia will see the welcome debut of one of the world’s fastest growing hotel brands: Aloft. Part of Marriott International, the little sister to the famed W hotel series (Aloft is branded as “a vision of W Hotels”) will see their 224-room down under debut stand tall in Rivervale,…
Swanston Street staple Noodle Kingdom is no more. The Sze family’s beloved restaurant has passed down to daughter Tiffy who has transformed the space into what is now Mr Kwok, an homage to her father as part of the newly formed Next Week Group, and a push towards the LanZhou and Gansu regions of China…
A refreshed sense of vibrancy? A positive outlook on what’s still to come from artists in our own backyard as well as abroad? This year’s Laneway Festival had a lot going for it this year. In terms of highlights of the 2017 Laneway Festival, let’s start with Adelaide local, Lonelyspeck. Recently welcomed into the TEEF family, Lonelyspeck’s profile…
Late last week, Music Victoria announced the launch of Live Music Professionals, the organisation’s brand new 100% free mentorship program targeted towards independent promoters and live music venues within the Victorian region. Focused on helping create a strong and sustainable live music economy in Victoria, the new program will match a total of 20 successful applicants with some of the state’s most…
Winter at Westbeth is a film that’s all about “the art.” And celebrating it at every age. This documentary looks at three young at heart, elderly, American artists who live in a vibrant, housing complex called Westbeth Artists Housing in New York. It is ultimately a film that is like a love letter to the…
One of the best television shows of 2016 is coming to Australia with award winning comedy drama Atlanta to air on SBS Viceland (formerly SBS 2) from the end of this month. Created by Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) who also stars in the acclaimed series, Atlanta will premiere on Tuesday, February 28 with two episodes from 9.20pm….
The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) launched its program this year, with 2017 also being its 30th anniversary year. Held at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Federation Square, Melbourne, the conference runs from 5th to the 8th March. Passes, both All Access and Day Passes (for days 2-4 only) are now…
The Book of Mormon has been one of the most talked about musicals to ever make its way down under, and this weekend the Australian premiere was held in Melbourne to officially commence its long awaited run on our shores – some six years after it made box office history in New York City. The comedic…
I find myself sitting in QPAC, eyes half closed. I’m moving through springtime, by a babbling brook. I’m gazing from a snowy summit, blistering winds gazing my face faster than coarse sands. But all the while, just in my peripheral, I can see these damn yellow sneakers. They follow me through the foothills. They sit…
“Nothing articulates love like a bottle of super-premium gin packaged with a cucumber and a rose”. At least that’s what Hendrick’s Gin are banking on by collaborating with Dan Murphy’s to bring Australia some very limited edition (there’s are only 500 packs available across Australia) love this Valentine’s Day. From now until this Wednesday (8th…
On January 26th Arnott’s announced that their latest Tim Tam collaboration would be with one of Australia’s most beloved dessert brands, Gelato Messina. Excitement was immediate. Messina have become the go-to for funky gelato flavours, and Arnott’s iconic Tim Tam remain one of the country’s most beloved snacks (they are even available in the U.S…
After making a name for themselves in the Melbourne suburbs of Mordialloc and Elsternwick, Tommy Ruff are kick-starting the new year by branching out their popular fish bar to the Windsor end of Chapel Street. Designed by Studio Equator, the latest venue to the growing name features pastel coloured walls reminiscent of the beach and oak-wood…
British dream-electropop group Blossoms are only on the way up – after their eponymous debut album spent two weeks at UK number one last year, they’ve received nominations for both ‘Best Breakthrough Act’ at the BRIT Awards and ‘Best New Act’ at the VO5 NME Awards this year. Yeah. These guys are more than alright. To add…
Melbourne’s Fierce Mild are cinematic. They’re art-rock. They’re post-rock. They’re psychedelic. They’re a truly unique sound, and today they’ve spoiled us with new single, ‘Solaris’, and the announcement of a tour kicking off this month. ‘Written entirely in response to a dream journal’, ‘Solaris’ is a tempestuous, five-minute journey of guitar distortion, ambience, and a lyrical…
Download Festival returns to Leicestershire in the UK this June and alongside the likes of Aerosmith, Biffy Clyro and System of a Down now comes an impressive addition of artists, including our own Airbourne and Northlane. Widely regarded as the world’s premier rock and metal event in the UK, Download draws in huge numbers annually over…
Helen Shanahan’s new single “I Only Hide” invites the listener in, as she opens up about the battle of suffering from anxiety. It’s an issue still incredibly prevalent today and for many creatives, music often provides a great avenue for comfort and escape. The single is officially released on February 17th, but you can listen…
It turns out, if you harp on a company long enough, they will eventually bow to your demands. Sony have revealed a raft of changes and additions bound for the PlayStation 4 in the new v4.50 system software update, chief among them the long-awaited ability to plug in a USB hard drive and have it work.
After thirty years of acclaim in the US, British comedy treasure Tracey Ullman is back in the UK with this all-new character-driven sketch comedy series. Discover the secret life of a shoplifter and hooligan Dame Judi Dench; Dame Maggie Smith’s home-filmed auditions for blockbuster feature films; an inside look at the life of Germany’s Angela…
Now’s your chance to sit back, grab some food and drink, and start the diet. The Santa Clarita Diet! Just over a year ago I would have told you it was silly to even fathom a show’s entire season coming out in one day. It made no sense to me back then, how could they…
The Download Festival returns to Leicestershire in the UK this June and alongside the likes of Aerosmith, Biffy Clyro and System of a Down now comes an impressive addition of artists, including our own Airbourne and Northlane. Widely regarded as the world’s premier rock and metal event in the UK, Download draws in huge numbers annually over three days; this year, running from…
WA group Rag n’ Bone have continued their winning streak, following on from a number of impressive shows at the tailed of 2016 and an impressive slot at the Fremantle Falls Downtown event last month, with the release of a new single in “Pissy Flow”. Taken from the band’s upcoming debut album, A Handful of…
Fresh from their ridiculous set at the Laneway Festival in Melbourne over the weekend, Glass Animals stormed Melbourne Town Hall losing no fans. Opening the Wednesday night shindig was local lad Lanks and there couldn’t have been a more perfect pairing. There is a reason why he cops the accolades he does and although the…
Ah, Jackson Phillips. We’ve missed, ya. The new single from Day Wave is here, it’s called “Something Here” and yep, it’s definitely something. Named Zane Lowe’s World Record on Beats 1, the Californian has now given us another taste of his forthcoming debut album, The Days We Had. With the album due out in May, this glorious puzzle of…
A hundred new artists have been added to this year’s line up for The Great Escape out in Brighton, UK in May. Widely regarded as the biggest festival in Europe for new music discovery, we’re stoked to see the likes of Sampa The Great, Tired Lion, Slaves, Marika Hackman and more join a stellar group of artists from all over the…
One of those bands we counted ourselves so lucky to have seen in 2016, Pretty City, have come back on to our radars with a brand new single in “Don’t You Remember Me My Love”. The psych rockers are about to head out on a tour of North America, so it’s fitting that this is the type of…
Walking into the studio, you’re welcomed with a flood of pink and green lights swirled within a hazy mist; giving off a still swamp like mystic. The band steps onto the stage, and as soon as the first guitar string is strung it cuts through the mist, bursting with room-filling synths. Suddenly this small studio…
