Patrick Wolf Intimate Acoustic Tour

The androgynous British wunderkind Patrick Wolf has today announced his return to Australian soil. The tour will present a special opportunity for fans to witness Patrick Wolf in an intimate...
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Slash Announces Stadium Tour Posted 17 May 2012 @ 9:40am 106 views 0 comments One of the all-time guitar greats has announced his triumphant return to Australia, bringing with him a stellar backing band and a certified classic body of work. When perpetually top-hat-adorned guitar god Slash was last in Australia, a series of venues upgrades took place to cater for demand. It still wasn't enough, with shows selling out in rapid succession. This time, Slash is heading...
Q&A: The Morning Night Posted 16 May 2012 @ 4:16pm 30 views 0 comments Define your genre in five words or less:Landscape art pop from Perth.   When's the gig and with who? We're launching our debut album Otis in Melbourne on Friday May 18 at the Worker's Club with Jill Birt and Alsy McDonald. We've got some great local supports in Lowtide, Dirt Farmer and Rain Party. We're then jetting to Sydney to do the same on Sunday.   What inspires or has influenced...
The Exploders : Orche.Stratros.Pheric Posted 16 May 2012 @ 4:00pm 101 views 1 comment Online aggregators like the hype machine and triple j’s unearthed platform enable bands to quickly skyrocket to great heights of popularity in a very short time frame. The method of which is not always conducive to the continued longevity of a group, with the ability to replicate the intensity that their initial flame created often unachievable. The Exploders entered the Australian music scene...
Stonnington Jazz Posted 16 May 2012 @ 3:44pm 49 views 0 comments Like Mr Noir, you may think jazz is just for science teachers and other elbow-patched drips. Do you fear jazz, the lack of rules, the lack of boundaries? Perhaps it’s time to branch out and discover the energy. “That’s what drew me to it, when I was 16,” says Allan Browne, the highly-esteemed patron of Stonnington Jazz.  During his incredible musical career of over 50 years, Browne has...
The Brothers Grim And The Blue Murders Posted 16 May 2012 @ 3:25pm 22 views 0 comments Brothers Grim And The Blue Murders do a mean line in confronting love songs – late in our interview, singer James Grim refers to a song the band’s written recent as “probably the nastiest love song we’ve ever written” – but the opening topic of our conversation is at the other end of the artistic spectrum: the Star Wars saga. “The good thing with the first three that were made is that the...
The Shins : The Rifle's Spiral Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:52pm 40 views 0 comments Taken from the intoxicating, layered gem that is Port Of Morrow, The Rifle's Spiral has an almost psychedelic feel, a hypnotic pulse in the vocal melody and a circular swirl of guitars, beautifully balanced against the bouncing rhythm section. There’s an urgency to it, a vitality, but also a grim and weighty undercurrent. A strange and amazing tune.
The Men : Open Your Heart Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:47pm 18 views 0 comments The Men turned a few heads at SXSW this year with their gut-wrenchingly loud performances. A ‘cult’ band in their native NYC, the power punk collective will be introduced to Australian audiences this month when their third full length record, Open Your Heart, is released locally through Spunk. The title track aptly demonstrates their frantic tsunami of sound, where three guitarists race each...
Foster The People : Don't Stop (Color On The Walls) Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:37pm 13 views 0 comments The press release is a little confusing, but I think Foster The People have released a 3D video for this tune based on Precious Based the Novel by Sapphire. Possibly my wires were crossed somewhere. Appearing alongside Pumped Up Kicks on the band’s debut album Torches, this tune is bouncy but unremarkable paint-by-numbers contempo-pop that would make a really average soundtrack to a really...
Dune Rats : Fuck It Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:33pm 45 views 0 comments Joining Bleeding Knees Club at the vanguard of Brisbane’s garage punk revival, Dune Rats are a mangy duo whose latest single has the burnt out noise pop thrust of Wavves, simple and melodic but also distorted and braying, with a snarl that can be traced back to Kurt Cobain.
Bobby Womack : The Bravest Man In The Universe Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:28pm 6 views 0 comments Bobby Womack, R&B legend and co-writer of Across 110th Street, is set to release his first album of original music since 1994. Like Gil Scott-Heron before him, Womack has been taken under the wing of XL Recordings boss Richard Russell, who seems determined to give the long-dormant Womack and new lease on artistic life. Russel and Damon Albarn have produced Womack’s new album, which features...
Mr Little Jeans : Runaway Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:24pm 21 views 0 comments Norwegian-born, LA-based synth pop artist Mr Little Jeans (aka Monica Birkenes) has made a few bubbles in the blogsphere with her covers of Arcade Fires’ The Suburbs and Beyonce’s Single Ladies – two demure and dispirited hipster cuts that sound pretty cool but suck all the passion, vitality and urgency from the originals. She gives me the irrits, launching her career off the back of other...
Graveyard Train : I'm Gone Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:15pm 13 views 0 comments The Graveyarders have a new album out this week, and a smashing new single to promote it. I'm Gone has the hallmark foot-stomping, steel guitar riffs and gruff man choir accents that we’ve come to know and love, but it is somehow more straight-faced than previous efforts. This one is serious.
Drawn From Bees : The Ballad Of Running Bear Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:12pm 7 views 0 comments Lifted from the second album by Brisbane art rock collective Drawn From Bees (due out in September), The Ballad Of Running Bear is a high intensity, goth-flavoured rock epic that holds one fraught note for its entire duration. The incredibly upsetting video features slow motion footage of girl in lingerie playing a butcher dominatrix,  slapping a guy in the face with raw meat and then...
Elephant Eyes : Mother Said Posted 16 May 2012 @ 1:05pm 135 views 0 comments The latest single from Melbourne’s Elephant Eyes is a blissfully warm folk pop number filled with spooling piano notes and a teasing vocal performance from singer Kate McMahon. Tripping lightly up and down the scale, turning unexpectedly smoky and billowing out to a wail in the final chorus, her voice is full of confidence and character.
The Woohoo Revue Posted 16 May 2012 @ 12:37pm 29 views 0 comments Dannie McKenzie, acoustic guitarist of the Balkan-influenced gypsy folk act The Woohoo Revue answers the phone as he’s been wandering around his “disheveled apartment” in the middle of the afternoon. McKenzie sounds dazed, as if the phone call was coming from beyond the grave. It’s particularly curious considering the frantic yet focused energy within the music of The Woohoo Revue, evident both...
60 Seconds With... Emperors Posted 16 May 2012 @ 12:30pm 26 views 0 comments Define your genre in five words or less: Glitch chill power wave core. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like?A lot of guitar bands from the '90s. Early Weezer, Ash, Smashing Pumpkins etc. A radio DJ recently described us on air as sounding like a Foo Fighters cover band. I’m fine with that, but only if she’s referring to the first...
Q&A: Owl Eyes Posted 16 May 2012 @ 12:11pm 66 views 0 comments Your Name: Owl Eyes aka Brooke Addamo.   Define your genre in five words or less: Whimsical, synthy pop.   How long have you been gigging and writing? I have been writing since I was 16. I fell in love with music after starting singing lessons at the age of 12; from there I pretty much lived on stage. I decided to use the moniker Owl Eyes a few years ago and have been writing and...
Crunch! - May 16, 2012 Posted 16 May 2012 @ 12:00pm 55 views 0 comments New Rush On The WayCanadian prog legends Rush release their new album Clockwork Angels on June 8 via Roadrunner/Loud & Proud. They've released an official lyric video for the single Headlong Flight. A couple of the album's tracks (Caravan and BU2B were performed on the band's Time Machine tour and were featured on the live album of the same name. The new album will be accompanied by a novel...
Core - May 16, 2012 Posted 16 May 2012 @ 11:55am 44 views 0 comments I am not usually inclined to comment on sensational viral news stories and I certainly am not in any way qualified to comment on transgender issues, but as a longstanding fan of Against Me!’s I wouldn’t mind weighing in on the recent news that frontperson Tom Gabel identifies as a woman and will undergo procedures to transform into Laura Jane Grace. I guess Gabel was one of the more likely...
World's End Press Tour Posted 16 May 2012 @ 11:44am 100 views 0 comments One of the most exciting acts to emerge from ol' Melbourne town in recent memory, World's End Press, have announced their return to the touring circuit. The funk-worshipping outfit have been slaying it at many of the country's biggest festivals, as well as some choice support slots.   The tour coincides with the upcoming release of their new EP, Second Day Uptown.   Their appearance at...
Q&A: Kumar Shome Posted 16 May 2012 @ 11:34am 37 views 0 comments So then, what’s the band name and what do you ‘do’ in the band? The bands’ name is Kumar Shome and The Punkawallahs. I am the frontman and lead guitarist. What do you reckon people will say you sound like?Generally they have replied our sound is a combination of jazz, rock and sonic psychedelics that gets you pumped.  What do you love about making music?The endless possibilities to...
The Jezabels Posted 16 May 2012 @ 10:06am 150 views 0 comments You wouldn’t have to walk far within the larger cities of Australia to find countless bands plying their craft on stages both big and small. Yet the divide between the bands that occupy these stages is one not easily defined.  What then, is the intangible that separates? And when an Australian band does make the leap to larger stages, is it necessary for them to then leave the country for...
Father John Misty : Fear Fun Posted 16 May 2012 @ 9:49am 109 views 0 comments As the dust settled on another hallowed Fleet Foxes album, the various members scatter and make hay with their side-projects. On the downside, Poor Moon (featuring two Fleet Foxes members) have released a five-track EP of dull AM radio rock that hardly leaves you anticipating any further releases. On the positive side, the new album from ex-drummer Josh Tillman is a wonderful release. Like Poor...
60 Seconds With... Rosencrants Posted 15 May 2012 @ 6:26pm 3 views 0 comments So then, what’s the band name and what do you ‘do’ in the band? We are Dougie, Frog, Danny Gregavorichnalias, and Spina, and together we are Rosencrants. We enjoy using our instruments to organise sounds in accordance with specific tones and rhythms. This is commonly known as music. Sometimes we do it in front of people.       What do you think people will say you sound...
Electric Guest Posted 15 May 2012 @ 6:11pm 15 views 0 comments Los Angeles duo Electric Guest make sprightly indie pop that recalls the cheesier side of ‘70s MOR as much as it does contemporary bands like Phoenix. The pair are on the fast-track to next big thing status – they recently played a series of showcase gigs at The Echo in Los Angeles, and in spite of the fact that they only had one single to their name at the time, the shows were a smashing success...
Opossum Posted 15 May 2012 @ 5:59pm 41 views 0 comments With Kody Neilson’s former band, Mint Chicks, pushing a violent and chaotic energy both through their music and through performance, Neilson himself is hesitant to the point of complete nervousness when we chat. Maybe he’s having a bad day, but he chooses his words with absolute trepidation and stutters his way through most sentences. His new project, Opossom, may be a more accurate...
Gin Wigmore : Gravel And Wine Posted 15 May 2012 @ 5:49pm 15 views 0 comments Gin Wigmore’s sophomore release, Gravel And Wine, sounds like gravel and should be enjoyed with a big glass of the best red wine (or a bottle-full of the cheap stuff). New Zealand’s sultry, gravelly-voiced blonde bombshell has produced an album of attitude-soaked blues rock. Although, she did learn during its recording process that she doesn’t really have the blues – not the ‘real’ blues anyway...
Money For Rope Posted 15 May 2012 @ 5:44pm 21 views 0 comments When asked about the decision-making process in Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Blixa Bargeld was typically blunt. “Democracy, it is too slow,” Bargeld mused with Teutonic bluntness. It’s an assessment with which Jules McKenzie might almost agree, as his band Money For Rope inches closer to deciding on the artwork for the band’s forthcoming debut album. “Having six guys in the band does not, in any...
Max Crumbs : Maidenhair Posted 15 May 2012 @ 2:45pm 67 views 0 comments Maidenhair is a party album of sorts, hitting an appealing middle ground somewhere between civilized dinner party and 3am PARTY. Bedroom electronica can be obscure to the point of only turning up in a select few other bedrooms, but the latest sample-swamped collection of collages from Max Crumbs (aka sometime hardcore drummer Max Kohane) is destined to be enjoyed by a wider audience.  ...
City And Colour @ The Palais Posted 15 May 2012 @ 12:57pm 84 views 1 comment What better night to settle into some suicidal-thought inducing music than a cut-glass-with-nipples-cold Wednesday evening in St Kilda? Perfect. Never have the op-shop smelling armchairs of the Palais felt better. I’m not sure if you’ve been to a gig here on a warmer day, but it's not pleasant. However as we loiter on the cusp of winter, sitting down to watch Dallas play guitar as he took many a...