Tag: "alternative rock"

Sub Atari Knives @ The Evelyn
0 Comments. 1,395 Views. Posted 24 Apr 2012 @ 12:51pm.
  Another ripping night of Melbourne alternative music. An extremely varied bill more suited to the open minded among us. Thankfully, there are a number of those in Melbourne, and a very solid crowd jammed into the classic surrounds of the mighty Evelyn this cool early autumn Melbourne evening.   Featuring two members of one of Melbourne’s best known alternative/heavy acts Sydonia, I... Read More
Jack's Mannequin : People And Things
0 Comments. 703 Views. Posted 19 Apr 2012 @ 2:30pm.
  Jack’s Mannequin and frontman Andrew McMahon and are back with their third studio album People And Things, released alongside the band’s performances at Soundwave this year. Their first record to be released since McMahon’s recovery from leukaemia, the album debuted in the United States at number one on the Billboard alternative rock albums chart, with a top ten showing on the Billboard... Read More
Patti Smith : April Fool
0 Comments. 1,137 Views. Posted 11 Apr 2012 @ 1:45pm.
  This mild-mannered indie rock tune leads off Patti’s first collection of new material in nearly a decade. Featuring Television’s Tom Verlaine on lead guitar, April Fool is unexpectedly seductive, with subtle and warm instrumentation bubbling around her still-harsh and distinctive voice. ‘Come on your rusted bike,’ she sings, ‘Come, we’ll break all the rules/We’ll ride like riders ride/... Read More
Garbage : Blood For Poppies
0 Comments. 715 Views. Posted 28 Mar 2012 @ 1:31pm.
  One of the most beautiful coincidences within the realms of music journalism is when the title of the artist is also a descriptor for their style of music. Scottish/American alt-rock now with added hints of grunge and electro. For the love of God shut the fuck up and realise your irrelevancy. Read More
Mystery Jets : Someone Purer
0 Comments. 724 Views. Posted 28 Mar 2012 @ 5:58am.
  When I was 18 my friend made me buy a $50 ticket with him to go and see Mystery Jets at The Hi-Fi so he could try and score with some girl he met on last.fm. Similarly to their latest release, the evening ended in disappointment for all. The type of insipid indie-rock you'd expect to hear from a Croydon high school three-piece who think they're alternative because they bought a reissue of... Read More
Field Music : Plumb
0 Comments. 788 Views. Posted 28 Mar 2012 @ 5:43am.
  Creatively-boisterous siblings Peter and David Brewis – aka Field Music – have indulged in fits of whimsical experimentation for this, their brand new LP. Their steep ambition has come at a price, however: Plumb is defined by a disorienting incoherence, making for a decidedly challenging listening experience.   The record concerns itself with a mischievous whimsy, lofty and forever... Read More
SXSW 2012 @ Austin, Texas
0 Comments. 2,103 Views. Posted 20 Mar 2012 @ 12:20pm.
  In his inspired and inspiring SXSW keynote address, Bruce Springsteen quoted legendary music critic Lester Bangs, who wrote that Elvis Presley was the last thing that we would all agree on. Springsteen talked about a time when there were so few bands around that record stores didn’t exist, when albums were racked in a corner of the local drug store. Not anymore. There are more music... Read More
Lower Dens : Brains
0 Comments. 596 Views. Posted 7 Mar 2012 @ 9:48am.
  Brains is a lush, simmering brew of muted indie rock vocals and chugging glitch, an overwhelming kind of song that drowns you in a sea of sound and tickles you with the detail. That’s what it feels like – getting tickled underwater. A brilliant, hypnotising tune. Read More
Real Estate : Easy
0 Comments. 527 Views. Posted 7 Mar 2012 @ 9:35am.
  Real Estate’s sunny sixties psych pop has a bit of muscle under the surface – a kicking rhythm to drive the washed out harmonies and twanging guitar patterns. I’m getting a bit of an emperor’s new clothes feel about this one though – the their rolling, dreamy indie rock is nice but awfully forgettable.   Read More
Ali E @ Workers Club
0 Comments. 1,374 Views. Posted 6 Mar 2012 @ 11:44am.
  It was a drizzly Saturday afternoon in Melbourne, perfect for an afternoon of melancholic yet inspired music from some of the cities promising young stars. It was the launch party of Ali E’s debut solo album Landless, and she'd brought along some like-minded musicians to help her celebrate the occasion.   First up were Elephant Eyes, a four-piece fronted by Kate McMahon, who despite... Read More
Digitalism Sideshow
0 Comments. 1,421 Views. Posted 1 Mar 2012 @ 2:27pm.
Hot on the heels of their announcement on the 2012 Groovin' The Moo lineup, the German duo Digitalism have announced a Melbourne sideshow. The two were last on Australian shores for the 2011 Parklife tour, and after receiving rapturous acclaim are swiftly returning to showcase their unique blend of electro, indie and rock. Read More
Battleships : In Retrospect
0 Comments. 1,020 Views. Posted 29 Feb 2012 @ 8:27am.
  Battleships are a new Sydney band, In Retrospect is their debut single. It’s a curious beast, straddling straight indie, dream pop and grander baroque rock noodling. The vocal sound is naïve and slightly nerdy, but the music has a trembling sort of ambition. Not a terrifically strong sound, but not bad for a first effort. Read More
Iowa : Panic Attack
0 Comments. 847 Views. Posted 29 Feb 2012 @ 8:22am.
  Melbourne three-piece Iowa follow Complete Control with an ode to the fuzzier side of grunge rock, a heavy but melodic churn of guitars that follows in the shoe-gazing footsteps of Dinosaur Jr. Panic Attack is a dynamic and thoughtful revision of the genre, but it’s not terrifically memorable. Could make for a killer live show, mind you.   Read More
Devotional : Mercy
0 Comments. 774 Views. Posted 29 Feb 2012 @ 8:16am.
  This washed out drift of indie rock recalls American Analogue Set, with its scrawling guitars and wispy, Mazzy Starr-like vocal performance. It’s a gentle and atmospheric effort from Sydney’s Devotional (formerly called A Casual End Mile), but it doesn’t improve on its predecessors. Read More
Sugar Army : Hooks For Hands
0 Comments. 808 Views. Posted 22 Feb 2012 @ 10:53am.
  The lead track from Sugar Army’s as-yet-unreleased second album shows a continuing fixation with Bloc Party-style angular indie rock. It’s kind of unconvincing at first, and maybe a little dated, but it turns all mad and electric in the chorus, music sweeping out like The Killers are wont to do while the lyrics only serve to confuse and alarm. “When you’ve got hooks for hands/The more... Read More
Soundwave Release Extra Tickets
0 Comments. 2,594 Views. Posted 24 Jan 2012 @ 9:39am.
Strap on your sandals and tighten your togas for the rush to get involved in final release of tickets to the impending rock 'n' roll tsunami that is Soundwave Festival.  Due to almost immediate sell-out show in Melbourne that will feature some of the biggest metal, punk and thrash names on the planet (Limp Bizkit, anyone?), the kind folks at Soundwave have announced a strictly limited... Read More
The Shins : Simple Song
0 Comments. 739 Views. Posted 18 Jan 2012 @ 2:49pm.
The long-awaited follow up to Wincing The Night Away is due out in March, an album called Port Of Morrow. Simple Song is an electrifying preview, channeling '80s New Wave accents and the odd Beach Boys-flavoured melody into a fearless, day-glo pop tune that acts as a joyful battle cry from these sorely missed indie soldiers. Read More
Bush : The Sea Of Memories
0 Comments. 1,061 Views. Posted 18 Jan 2012 @ 11:03am.
  Many people may think that British act Bush is an early to mid '90s one hit wonder band, with their 1994 album Sixteen Stone and its massive worldwide smash hit single Glycerine their only real moment in the sun. Truth of the matter however, is that The Sea Of Memories is their fifth album, it's just that it comes after a decade long hiatus.     So how have the last ten years... Read More
Soundgarden
0 Comments. 2,076 Views. Posted 19 Jan 2012 @ 8:09am.
On April 16, 2010, Soundgarden played their first 21st century gig at The Showbox in Seattle. On the guest list were Eddie Vedder, Built To Spill’s Scott Plouf, Exene Cervenka of LA punk legends X and Mudhoney’s Mark Arm and Matt Lukin. “We were playing in front of an audience who were primarily friends, relatives and peers,” says lead guitarist Kim Thayil of the momentous night. “This is what... Read More
Georgia Fair : All Through Winter
0 Comments. 1,145 Views. Posted 13 Jan 2012 @ 8:54am.
When I first saw Georgia Fair play it was in a support slot for Oh Mercy, and the Sydney duo of Jordan Wilson and Ben Riley performed a sublime rendition of Crosby Stills & Nash's Helplessly Hoping. A gutsy play no doubt, but they were able to pull it off - so much so that the pedant in me didn't even get riled up about the ignored third harmony part.   The wistful acoustic finger-... Read More
Single Of The Week No. 2 - Howler : Back Of Your Neck
0 Comments. 1,039 Views. Posted 14 Dec 2011 @ 9:46am.
This clattering fusion of west coast sunshine and jangling garage rock has got me smiling from ear to ear. The debut single from Howler, taken from their forthcoming debut album, is melodic, agitated indie rock somewhere between The Drums and Black Lips. A mangy, effortless backyard party tune to get you through summer. Read More
Tigertown
0 Comments. 4,996 Views. Posted 9 Dec 2011 @ 8:24am.
To many artists, the prospect of playing with their brothers and sisters might be a nightmare thought - not to mention that it only takes a short look into the music history books to find that more than a few sibling rivalries have spelled the demise of bands in the past. However, Chris, guitarist from bohemian, alternative indie Sydney-siders, Tigertown, reassures us that this is not the... Read More
Kurt Vile : So Outta Reach
0 Comments. 1,248 Views. Posted 1 Dec 2011 @ 9:24am.
Outtakes from the Smoke Ring For My Halo recording sessions have been cobbled together to make the So Outta Reach EP, a treat for fans who can't seem to get enough of current indie darling, Kurt Vile. Vile's melancholic, hazy drone of a voice is something you either appreciate as a non-negotiable feature that is somehow aesthetically pleasing as well as monotonous, or you move on... Read More
Number Station : Hold On
0 Comments. 1,083 Views. Posted 30 Nov 2011 @ 8:38am.
Points for style - Number Station have the most beautiful and environmentally responsible CD packaging I've seen in a while - an origami sleeve that unfolds into a Rothko-esque mini poster. The track walks a fine line between angular Brooklyn style indie rock and a fluid, straight up pop melody. It doesn't smack you over the head with a killer hook or a radically distinctive sound, but the song... Read More
Q&A: Joe Forrester
0 Comments. 1,158 Views. Posted 30 Nov 2011 @ 10:10am.
Name/Band: Joe Forrester.   Define your genre in five words or less:   Alternative folk-rock.   So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say?   "Shit, I hope that guy's okay."   How long have you been gigging and writing?   I've been doing the solo acoustic-based stuff for a bit... Read More
Lester The Fierce : The Summer Deluge
0 Comments. 1,836 Views. Posted 25 Nov 2011 @ 12:00pm.
Though still largely unknown, local artist Anita Lester has already done more in her four year career to push the envelope in music and performance than many do in their lifetime. Lester's first exposure was as the singer songwriter of unorthodox acoustic trio Me And The Grownups, a group whose rich fusion of folk melodic sensibility, classical composition and poetic lyrics, was all the richer... Read More
Ups and Downs : Out of the Darkness
0 Comments. 1,578 Views. Posted 10 Nov 2011 @ 9:01am.
In many ways, the Ups and Downs story - recounted dryly in drummer Darren Atkinson's liner notes to the newOut of the Darkness compilation - is no different to thousands of other independent bands: early popular success, a whiff of overseas interest, injection of label funds, a change in artistic direction, dilution of original fanbase, popular decline and eventual break-up. Like the band's... Read More
Black Cherry
0 Comments. 1,921 Views. Posted 9 Nov 2011 @ 8:39am.
If you thought burlesque was getting bland and rock was getting repetitive, and you can no longer justify the hefty entry fee to see one band play a half hour set, take note of Black Cherry, a Sydney-born event that aims to converge a range of subcultures while providing non-stop entertainment. The night takes place this Friday at The Royal Melbourne Hotel across two stages, with all kinds of... Read More
Muscles
0 Comments. 850 Views. Posted 3 Nov 2011 @ 7:56am.
Social media reigns supreme as the maker and breaker of careers, so I am talking to a slightly shell-shocked Chris Copulos - aka Muscles - as he witnesses the fallout of his 'Rave Pimp' proclamation on Twitter. "I had a few beers at lunch and it was one of those 'drunken tweets' that maybe I should take off now that I've sobered up," reflects an under the weather sounding Copulos. He continues... Read More
Creepshow - Saturday October 29, The Espy
0 Comments. 2,212 Views. Posted 2 Nov 2011 @ 12:34pm.
The lineup for this year’s edition of Creepshow was extremely strong, and much devilish and rocking fun was had by all. Moroccan Kings took the stage, dressed as Red Indians, and tore the Espy front bar down with their funky but bold take on alternative rock. Their sound and performance is ultra quirky, but they have a massive sound for a three piece. Heaps of fun. Into the Gershwin for mighty... Read More
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