Month: June 2018

Single of the Day: CLYPSO “Pop Roll Flow” (2018)

Continuing to build hype, Sydney producer and vocalist CLYPSO has dropped a catchy new single in “Pop Roll Flow”. Soon to be out on the road with PNAU and What So Not, you can envision the direction CLYPSO’s career is heading and man, she’s only getting started. The bass is gritty and enticing, bringing together electronic…

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Behind the Scenes with Byron Bay’s PLTS during the making of “Maelstrom”

Ahead of their July tour, Byron Bay’s PLTS delve into their latest single “Maelstrom” with us, taking us behind the scenes of making this hectic new tune. Writing the single in Sydney with JP Fung and recording at the renowned Forbes Street Studios with Matt Redlich at the helm, “Maelstrom” did not come without challenges and but as we…

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Interview: Suming Rupi on bringing traditional Taiwanese music to the Barunga Festival

Suming Rupi is an Amis Taiwanese musician who has played a handful of shows around the world in his fifteen years as a performer, including Glastonbury and Fuji Rock Festival. He is kind, humble and generous with his time as AU Review sat with him at Barunga Festival over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend –…

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Live Review: The Presets harness massive energy at hometown show at the Enmore Theatre

Irrespective of their time away from the musical spotlight, The Presets will always have a place in the hearts of the Australian dance music community. And despite the best efforts of some members of the crowd to dampen the nights of others in attendance, the two-piece definitely crushed the Sydney leg of their Hi-Viz album…

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Live Review: City Calm Down display prowess as one of the country’s best live bands at Sydney’s Metro Theatre

I’m going to let you in on a little secret here: I was quite late jumping on the City Calm Down train. I’ll happily admit that. My first real exposure to the band was at Splendour In The Grass a few years back, when they covered David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”. At the time, I was…

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Tech Review: Cygnett FreePlay Wireless Earphones: Puzzle bobble

One thing a pair of earphones should do the first time you put them in your ears is make a good impression. Before you even turn them on, they should sit comfortably in the ears with minimal wobble and, ideally, not make you feel like Lobot from Star Wars (though I’ve reviewed my share that…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: BlacKKKlansman (USA, 2018) sees Spike Lee channel his frustration for one of his finest films to date

Spike Lee is quite clearly fired up as he scatters sharp, defiant dialogue all through BlacKKKlansman, his first feature film since 2015’s good-but-uneven Chi-Raq and without a doubt one of his best works to date. That is no overstatement either, with Lee directing a big middle finger to the racism both explicit and implicit, by…

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Tech Review: Ultimate Ears Blast and Megablast integrate with Alexa to become the perfect home and outdoor speaker

From Ultimate Ears previous releases of the Boom 2 and Megaboom, the company has just released the satisfying modern upgrades of the Blast and it’s seriously larger friend, the Megablast. The well-known strong and robust build of UE speakers have been improved with the incorporation of Amazon’s Alexa to not only accompany you in the…

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Games Review: Lego The Incredibles (PS4, 2018): Saving the world one brick at a time

With the world of LEGO dominating the video game market with numerous adaptations of beloved properties, a venture based on The Incredibles films seems like a natural fit.  With The Incredibles 2 out in cinemas, you may think that LEGO’s “cash grab” tactics may be at play here. Well, you would be terribly mistaken. LEGO…

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A day at Australia’s newest world-class race track with the 2018 Mustang GT

Two hours east of Adelaide city lies Australia’s newest world-class motorsport park for competitors, enthusiasts and spectators. Luckily for us, The Bend Motorsport Park’s opening coincided with the launch of the 2018 Mustang it what would be a showcase of Adelaide scenery and adrenaline-charged pleasure. An hour outside of Adelaide we stopped at Wistow Bakery…

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Flight Review: TAP Air Portugal may be one of Europe’s best kept secrets (Flying Barcelona to London via Porto)

After arriving in Barcelona without a suitcase, hours of flight delays and not even a glass of water thanks to British Airways, I was starting to think that non-budget airlines were non-existent in Europe. With the likes of Ryanair and EasyJet defining the budget carrier model for the region, other, once full-service airlines have followed…

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Vision Direct opens shop in Melbourne, is giving away 100 designer glasses for free this week

Over the next three days, Melbourne locals will be able to get their hands on a free pair of prescription glasses as popular online retailer VisionDirect.com.au opens its very first Vision Direct Optical Centre in the heart of the CBD. They’ll be going large for their opening week, committing 100 free premium acetate frames and…

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Matt Moran is bringing an 80-seat Chiswick pop-up to Splendour in the Grass

For the first time ever Matt Moran will be taking his iconic Sydney restaurant Chiswick and hosting a 80-seat pop-up iteration at this year’s Splendour in the Grass. The iconic three-day festival will no doubt benefit from Moran’s planted-to-plated approach which has seen Chiswick, both the original in Woollahra and the extension at the Art…

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Interview: Tim Campbell (Australia) talks nostalgia, sports, and high school discos.

Tim Campbell has dabbled in so many forms of entertainment that it’s becoming hard to classify him as a particular type of entertainer. It’s a general classification that he is content with regardless. Here he chats to Philippe Perez while he is on the road for his High School Disco tour. There seems to be…

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Flight Review: Is Virgin Australia’s award winning coast-to-coast “The Business” Service worthy of its hype?

A lot has been made about Virgin Australia‘s upgraded A330’s, operating from East to West Coast, in particular their “The Business” product, which offers a flat bed on Australia’s longest domestic route. The acclaim has sat on the quality of the seats, the fact that every seat has aisle access, and on the high quality…

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A look into the Barunga Festival and why everyone should travel north at least once for the experience

Over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, approximately 4000 people from across the country gathered to take part in a camping festival, Barunga, held within the Barunga community, 80 kilometres South of Katherine, home of the Bagala people. For this weekend alone, outsiders are exempt from obtaining a permit and are welcomed for three days of…

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Single of the Day: Dro Carey ft. Kwame, Renz, Raj Mahal “Atmosphere” (2018)

Talk about a fiery collaboration. Dro Carey has linked up with one of the country’s hottest new talents in hip hop (Kwame), as well as Sydney’s Raj Mahal and London MC Renz for this new one “Atmosphere” – turn it up loud. Jumping enthusiastically into grime territory with “Atmosphere”, Carey switches gears in swapping the cleaner edges of…

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Playlist: The sounds behind the creation of Hugo Bladel’s intoxicating “Feel The Love”

Hugo Bladel‘s “Feel The Love” single has been hitting all the right spots since its recent release – a funk laden tune that has gotten us yearning for the warmth of summer. Since we’re still battening down the hatches and keeping warm for the next few months however, music like this is proving to be…

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Album Review: Jack River – Sugar Mountain (2018 LP)

There’s always been a strange sense of beauty in melancholia and pain when conveyed in music. Whether it is how relatable or genuinely makes the listener empathise well beyond belief, that’s still up for debate. What definitely is known, however, is that Jack River manages to expertly pull off her debut album Sugar Mountain and…

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Film Review: Brothers’ Nest (Australia, 2018) is a tight, well paced pitch black comedic thriller

If you thought the family in Animal Kingdom had problems, wait until you meet Australia’s newest dysfunctional family. In the new film from Director Clayton Jacobson, starring both himself and his brother Shane Jacobson, we spend some time getting to know the real life brothers as they play fictional brothers Jeff and Terry – reuniting…

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Join the journey for the perfect dress in the newest trailer for Ladies in Black

The newest trailer for Ladies in Black is here, from Academy-Award nominated director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy) and based on author Madeline St. John’s best-selling novel, The Women in Black. Set in Sydney during the summer of 1959, in a time of heavy European migration, Lisa, a shy schoolgirl, takes on a prestigious job at local department…

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Sydney Film Fest Review: The Rider (USA, 2018) is an absolute masterpiece from director Chloe Zhao

Expectations can be a very powerful thing, especially when they are low. When people are asked to survey a form of art with subject matter that doesn’t interest them, it’s very certain that they won’t like it. But there are those forms that exceed one’s expectations and manage to give a satisfying experience and what…

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Tech Review: Can a Compact Camera Handle Like a D-SLR? We Test Canon’s Powershot G1 X Mark III

Boasting “DSLR Performance in a compact body”, Canon’s Powershot G1X Mark III claims to be a “compact without compromise” – and it does a pretty good job of living up to those claims.

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First Impressions: The Crossing Will Suck You In

The premise of ABC Studio’s recent offering The Crossing is simple. Several hundred people wash up on an isolated Oregon beach near a town called Port Canaan. Most are dead but some have survived. The notion of an assumed shipwreck quickly evaporates as no evidence of any lost ships or aircraft can be found. And,…

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Exploring Downtown L.A.’s extensive underground tunnels is a glimpse into 1920s prohibition

There are millions of interesting little details threaded through the rich, and often controversial, history of Los Angeles, one of the most storied cities in the world thanks to its confluence of just about everything you can think of. It’s one of North America’s most multi-cultural, famed for it’s (mostly) sunny weather and largely distinct…

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Music Video of the Day: The Frights “Me and We and I” (2018)

Having made an impressive debut in the UK at The Great Escape this year, US surf-punks The Frights have continued to show their chops with a catchy new vibe in “Me and We and I”. Taken from the band’s upcoming new album Hyperchondriac, “Me and We and I” is wrapped up in warm tone and great melody execution;…

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BROCKHAMPTON level up with headline east coast shows in September

BROCKHAMPTON have already made a name for themselves as one of 2018’s breakthrough artists, turning expectations on their head and coming through with some of the best hip hop and rap music we’ve heard from a young group in a hot minute. Set to make their Australian debut on the LISTEN OUT tour this year, BROCKHAMPTON…

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Eilish Gilligan, KAIIT, Sleep Talk & more confirmed on BIGSOUND’s first artist reveal

BIGSOUND continues to gear up this year, with the September festival revealing more of its cards for 2018 – their first artist announcement coming this afternoon. Some familiar faces will return to The Valley to showcase their music, while a whole range of fresh names will be on the bill to bring themselves to the…

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Check out this rework of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” from Texan synth pop group BUHU

If you’re a fan of the Peter Gabriel original and synthy soundscapes, then this cover of “In Your Eyes” may be up your alley. Courtesy of Texan group BUHU, this quirky, dreamy cover of the pop classic hits the right notes for today’s digital-heavy music climate. It’s gearing up to be a busy year for the Austin locals,…

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The Living End hit Sydney & Melbourne for two intimate gigs as they debut tracks off their next LP

Hot on the heels of finishing up a new record in Berlin, and signing a new global publishing deal with BMG, legendary Trio The Living End hit Sydney’s Lansdowne on Tuesday night and The Gasometer in Melbourne on Wednesday for two secret intimate gigs as they debuted tracks off their next, yet-to-be-titled LP. In their…

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