This week, Melbourne’s The Cat Empire have released their fourth brand new song of 2018, “Killa”, as they steadily build toward the release of their next studio album. The song’s author Felix Riebl explains, “Kila is one of those songs you write and know that an album will be built around it.” All the while, the band…
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The ARIA Awards have announced the nominees for this year’s Artisan, Fine Arts and Best Comedy categories. With titles such as Best Classical Album, Best Jazz Album, Best World Music Album, along with Producer Of The Year, Engineer Of The Year, Best Cover Art and Best Comedy up for grabs. Topping the list are Amy Shark, Gurrumul…
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We’re getting into the nitty gritty of spring now, and as a result there’s plenty of outdoor things to do around Melbourne this month. If you don’t feel like spending one of the most exciting months of the year on the couch, then what awaits for your is an urban jungle full of rooftop pool…
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Since the release of his debut album The Fox and the Monk in 2006, British folk musician John Smith has built a reputation as one of the UK’s finest songwriters and guitar players. With five albums to his name, and with another set for release tomorrow, he is an artist that is not only well…
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Sydneysiders prepare to say a bittersweet goodbye to Kensington Street Social, the excellent resident restaurant of The Old Clare Hotel which was one of the first to open when Kensington Street was in it’s infancy. Bitter because KSS was a great place; sweet because it’s making way for Barzaari Chippendale, an expansion for the Marrickville-born…
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“Fall Asleep” is the latest single from London’s Big Joanie, and the first taste of their forthcoming debut album Sistahs, which will be released next month via Thurston Moore’s brand new record label, The Daydream Library Series. Big Joanie, a black feminist punk band, were formed in 2013 out a frustration at the lack of intersectionality within…
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Earlier this year while he was here for Sydney Film Festival – and not long after I had the chance to see the film at SXSW – I sat down with director Bart Layton to talk about his new film American Animals, which is in cinemas next Thursday. Based on a true story that happened at…
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Earlier this year, we sat down with Hyun Lee, the director of a short film called Asian Girls which screened at SXSW in Austin, Texas and then at the Sydney Film Festival. We talked about the making of the film, working with Rainbow Chan, and the benefits and importance of diversity in film funding. It’s…
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I’m going to preface this review by saying, I’m not a comics person, I just enjoy comic-adaptation movies. So my reviews tend to have this film-centric lens rather than delving into how aspects of specific comic editions or stories can be seen threaded through the movie. So now that I’ve gotten that out of the…
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Imagine actress Parker Posey is occupying the seat beside you on a plane, her beloved pooch Gracie on her lap. Imagine she’s feeling rather conversational. Parker Posey, that is, not Gracie. That’s the basic premise of You’re On An Airplane, the first memoir from the versatile performer and star of Dazed and Confused, the recent…
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The Corner Hotel was fortunate enough to welcome some young talent into its band room at the end of last week; the ceiling suspending multiple fluorescent light tubes giving the atmosphere quite a futuristic twist to the traditional spotlights and strobes. It was all in place for Ruel, the 15-year-old Sydney based singer-songwriter who has…
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Thanks to Cowlick Entertainment, we have 10 Double Passes to give away to Harmony, part one of the “Five Frequencies Saga” and the final work of Jessica Falkholt, the Home and Away star who we tragically lost in a car crash late last year. Harmony chronicles the story of Harmony, a super-empath born with the…
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Brisbane pop-rock artist Shanon Watkins is back with a new music video for his latest single “We Lived“, and ahead of its official release this Friday, we’re excited to premiere it exclusively on the AU today. “We Lived” deviates slightly from Shanon’s usual optimistic tone, embracing a more sombre feeling, allowing the listener a chance…
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It’s safe to say that when it comes to travel Catriona Rowntree, rightfully referred to as the country’s “Most Travelled Woman” and famed as the bubbly presenter of Getaway, is an authority. She’s been leaping from country to country for years now, and so an opportunity to pick her brain about travel isn’t to be…
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October is consistently one of the best months to be living in, or visiting, Sydney. Why? Festival. As we enter the middle of spring, there’s a true celebratory air across the city, as festivals, fairs, and multi-day events pop-up for their annual editions, providing plenty of things to do for those who want to get…
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Yesterday Sharon Van Etten announced the forthcoming release of her new record Remind Me Tomorrow, her first since Are We There was released four years ago, dropping a new single, and taste of what’s to come, “Comeback Kid” in the process. Van Etten has been busy in those intervening years, with the New Yorker heading back…
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C’est La Vie may be American musician Phospherescent’s seventh studio album, but it is probably his first blatantly optimistic ode to love, life, and everything in it. The first release, “New Birth in New England,” was released a few months ago, and indeed hinted at a friendly, easy return after a five-year hiatus. A time during…
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Tommy and the Commies are a punk band from Ontario, Canada, and have just delivered their debut project Here Come. Even as most punk releases go, this project is quite short, weighing in at just 16 minutes. But it makes up for its brevity with some excellent pacing, writing, and instrumental work. The project starts…
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I wouldn’t blame you if this indie point and click puzzle adventure slipped through the cracks, especially with the extreme amount of indie titles being released each month. The Low Road follows a new spy hoping to get her foot in the door so she can get out and do some field work. It comments on…
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For a long time, tablets have existed in a nebulous space – not quite as practical as a phone, and not nearly as capable as a laptop. The Microsoft Surface Go exists somewhere in the space between, filling a much needed niche in portable computing. For just over a week, I had the chance to…
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The Mario Party franchise has long established itself as a ruthless destroyer of friendships. From its earliest, controller-ruining days on the Nintendo 64, the series has sought to emulate the classic board game shenanigans of something like Monopoly. But, like Monopoly, a core part of its design involves regularly screwing over anyone unfortunate enough to…
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The second and final day of the Yours & Owls Festival in Wollongong promised another day of beautiful weather and even better music; with (in my opinion), an even stronger lineup than the preceding day. E^ST opened things up on the main stage, and then rising star Didirri – who has had an amazing 2018…
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Dave Jenkins Jr’s new indie rock project, Not A Boys Name, is off to a flying start with the release of an impressive new single “Hazard Perception Test”, and a video to match. A song about resilience and learning how to navigate negativity, “Hazard Perception Test” is punchy and melodic. The video, directed by Matt…
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American Animals is the scripted film debut from writer/director Bart Layton, who walked away with a BAFTA for his debut effort, the documentary The Imposter. Knowing he comes from a documentary background is unsurprising when you see this film, which screened at Sundance earlier this year to a good deal of critical acclaim, and continued…
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Ahead of the release of their debut album next month, Melbourne’s The Putbacks have dropped the record’s first single, a twisted, eclectic and wonderful odd collaboration with Bilal called “The Ways”. Since their formation in the early 2000’s The Putbacks have established themselves as one of Australia’s premiere funk ensembles; they’ve served as the house…
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The second day of Yours & Owls brought more incredible talent to the Wollongong foreshore including Cub Sport, Methyl Ethel, Pist Idiots, Alex The Astronaut, Sarah Blasko, Hockey Dad, Alison Wonderland and many, many more. Danny Hanssen brings us back these photos from the festivities:
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Tonight in Sydney, the third annual National Live Music Awards announced the nominees across 55 categories, and revealed the addition of the award’s “Hall of Fame” equivalent, detailing their plans to induct a legendary Australian band as the award’s first “Live Legends”. The band in question will be announced closer to the 6th December event, and will…
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If you haven’t heard any of Kira Puru‘s music, exactly how big is that rock you’re hiding under? Her single “Molotov” has had a lot of airplay on Triple J, and her undeniably cool ‘Like A Version’ performance of Katy Perry‘s “Last Friday Night” is what dreams are made of. Her debut self-titled EP contains the…
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In Mira Robertson’s debut novel, her eponymous heroine, Emily Dean, is sent to stay with her grandmother and great uncle on their property while her mother recovers from what I can only presume is a nervous breakdown of sorts. It’s most definitely not a farm, as Emily is told by her family, though to the…
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When Oz Comic Con rolls in to Sydney, a wide variety of film and television stars get the chance to visit Australia as part of the convention line-up. More often than not they’re international stars, but funnily enough for the Brisbane and Sydney Oz Comic Con dates this September, Australian actor Nathaniel Buzolic got to…
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