Month: July 2019

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Review: Defense against the dark arts

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is made up of so many narrative and mechanical moving parts that it feels like it should be collapsing under its own weight. Instead, like one of its steely tactical field commanders, it never wavers in its vision or its confidence in itself. A far cry from the Fire Emblem games…

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Photo Gallery: The Lumineers + Tyne-James Organ – Enmore Theatre, Sydney (22.07.19)

The Lumineers put on a memorable set on Monday for their only Splendour In The Grass sideshow, the group catered to their adoring Sydney fans with a set list that included all of the fan favourites and a couple from their up and coming album III.   

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The 2019 ‘Booker Dozen’ revealed

The longlist for the 2019 Booker Prize is out, but readers will have to wait a little while to pick up copies of a few of the contenders, with books such as The Testaments not due out until September 2019. This list, hotly anticipated by bibliophiles everywhere, is notoriously difficult to predict, and 2019 is…

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The WF-1000XM3 is music to our ears

Tokyo is an insane city. It’s beautiful, busy, bustling. It’s an insane, gleaming spiders web of interlocking streets, humming with life. But like any other city, it’s noisy. It’s really noisy. Which might be why Sony flew me there to road-test their new WF-1000XM3 earbuds. What better was to test their noise-cancelling capabilities? I’d never…

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Track of the Day: Nas “Vernon Family” (2019)

Though The Lost Tapes 2, the highly anticipated new release from legendary New York rapper Nas, features a jaw-dropping line up of classic beatmakers like Pete Rock and RZA, it’s actually Pharrell Williams that has turned in the album’s best moment. Already hailed as a “return to form” for the top-tier lyricist, the album has…

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There’s now an app that tracks Australia’s BYO restaurants

Over 3,200 of Australia’s best BYO restaurants are now being tracked by GPS thanks to a new smartphone App from wine retailer Cellarmasters. BYO Finder, which launches this week, is a free app created to assist wine and food lovers easily scope out which restaurants in their area allow for BYO, amongst other details including…

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Hotel Review: Hong Kong’s Ovolo Central is slim in stature, large in value & newly renovated

The Ovolo Hotels brand is one that you’ve probably seen popping up quite a bit of late, with new openings in Australia (including this one in Brisbane). But the brand all started in Hong Kong about 18 years ago. It was a hotel placed in a slim building in the heart of Hong Kong (literally…

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Track of the Day: Nautical Mile “Marionette” (2019)

Perth pop-punkers Nautical Mile have just dropped their latest single, “Marionette“, and it’s a belter! Since forming in 2015, the band have released two killer EPs, and shared stages with the likes of Trophy Eyes, Hellions, Hawthorne Heights and The Decline. Consisting of Brodi Owen on vocals, Dan Ray on guitar, Caleb Wynter on drums, and…

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Live Review: Friendly Fires are back and burning brighter than ever

It once seemed like St Albans’ party-starters Friendly Fires were destined to become one of the biggest bands of their time, back in the days of their 2008 self-titled debut. Frontman Ed Macfarlane, earnestly goofy in his stage presence, seriously clever in his delivery, could light a room on fire; their music was remarkably detail-oriented…

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Wishing the Sony Walkman a Happy 40th

Do you remember your first Walkman? I know I do. I recall feeling like I had a universe in my pocket. Well, not in my pocket. Clipped to the belt near my packet. Either way, I had a tiny, sleek box that would accept a cassette and click shut with a satisfying “schlick” noise. I’d…

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Exclusive Video Premiere: Four Lions “Gone” (2019)

Alt-country rockers Four Lions have just dropped their latest single “Gone“, and we’re stoked to be bringing you the exclusive premiere of the track’s video! “Gone” is the third release from the Bendigo band’s latest album Hard Days. Penned by frontman Shann Lions, it was one the earliest songs to make it to the track…

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Book Review: Take a trip through the history of cinema with Dominic Smith’s The Electric Hotel

Pioneering French filmmaker Claude Ballard has lived at the Hotel Knickerbocker for almost half a century. It’s a quiet existence, by Hollywood hotel standards at least, and Claude fills his days taking photographs and keeping an eye on the hotel’s more vulnerable residents. But when an enthusiastic young film student arrives, keen to discover the…

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Flight Review: Delta & Westjet from JFK to Prince Edward Island via Toronto’s Pearson International

Transiting from a domestic to an international flight at Toronto’s Pearson International, as we’ve talked about in the past, can prove to be a bit of a nightmare. But how does it compare when you’ve got to connect from international to domestic? You may not have to clear US customs post security, but you still…

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10 things you need to do on the iconic Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas is a complicated beast of a city if you aren’t properly organised. The often chaotic sea of neon lights and hedonism can become a blur between the whirlwind of bars, shows and high-end restaurants, but as long as you play your cards right, a weekend stomping around Vegas could very well be the…

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Photo Gallery: Friendly Fires + World Champion – Metro Theatre, Sydney (22.07.19)

Friendly Fires set Sydney’s Metro Theatre alight last night during their Splendour in the Grass sideshow, making their first time back in Australia in six years. Belinda Dipalo was there to bring you these photos.

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An enormous new food precinct has opened in Greater Western Sydney

As Sydney’s great expansion of top restaurants out west continues, a new 550-seat food precinct has started rolling out in Rooty Hill. Titled Eat Street – part of the ongoing West HQ development – the stacked eat street has bought with it an exciting line-up to join already established outlets Chur Burger and Eat St….

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Live Review: Hilltop Hoods close Splendour In The Grass, Day Three, Byron Bay, (21.07.19)

Splendour In The Grass’ final day of performances saw the acts wind down and a softer mood take over the festival. Folk performances were aplenty with Matt Corby and The Lumineers putting together some incredible moments, intermingling with the raucous energy of masterful performances by SZA and Hilltop Hoods. Of course, the day was haunted…

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Live Review: Spin Off Festival – Adelaide Showgrounds (19.07.19)

Adelaide played host to the Spin Off Festival, the annual mini-Splendour event which featured headliner Childish Gambino, alongside an impressive lineup of international and local acts. The one-day festival took place at the Adelaide Showgrounds on what turned out to be a sunny Friday for Adelaide in winter. The event tried a new set-up this…

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Spotify now has a dedicated Disney hub for classics, Marvel and Star Wars

Disney-loving streamers using Spotify have some pretty nostalgic listening sessions ahead of them, as Spotify launches a dedicated “Disney Hub”. Created in response to the increasing popularity of Disney tunes on the service, the new list of curated playlists within Spotify was launched just last week from a partnership between the two companies. Just this…

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This Bondi hotel is giving guests the chance to live like an “Instagram influencer’

Are you an Instagram influencer? If you answered yes to that question, then that’s probably a no. Not that it matters though, especially since for the next two months sun-kissed hotel QT Bondi are committed to treating all guests like VIP influencers, irrespective of how many followers they have on the ‘gram. It’s no secret…

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Book Review: Bindy Pritchard’s Fabulous Lives offers a series of rich vignettes from a motley crew of characters

A suburban family finds a prehistoric egg. A lonely woman aids a fallen angel. An American woman plots to take the Parisian honey industry by storm. These are just a few of the moments captured in Bindy Pritchard‘s stunning short story collection Fabulous Lives. Curious, yet always relatable, Pritchard’s vignettes are filled with the sort of…

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Track of the Day: Sampa the Great “OMG” (2019)

Exploring the idea of home through her African heritage has evidently given Sampa the Great a whole new burst of creative energy, because “OMG” (along with preceding single “Final Form”, which shares a Sylvers sample with Ghostface Killah’s “Be Easy”) represents the emcee’s finest work to date. Lifted from her forthcoming album The Return, due…

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Photo Gallery: Splendour in the Grass – Byron Bay, Day 2 (20.07.19)

The second day of Splendour in the Grass is underway with another glorious day and plenty of music to keep everyone entertained. Check out this gallery of Wolf Alice, Dean Lewis, Catfish and the Bottlemen and much, much more. John Goodridge was on the ground to bring these images.

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Photo Gallery: Spin Off Festival – Adelaide Showgrounds (19.07.19)

Adelaide’s Splendour In The Grass side festival Spin Off grew to a whole new level in 2019 with an amazing line up featuring Catfish and the Bottlemen, Wolf Alice, Ballpark Music, Ocean Alley, Hockey Dad, Mallrat, Kwame and Ruby Fields. Kerrie Geier was there to take some snaps for the AU review.  

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Live Review: Childish Gambino nourished our spirits – Splendour In The Grass, Day Two (20.07.19)

After the high spirit opening day of Splendour In The Grass’, its second had a lot to live up to. Of course, this was no problem with a line-up that would be the envy of most other festivals in Australia. While a minority of the crowd skulked through the gates, looking a bit rougher around…

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Live Review: Maribou State + Swooping Duck – Forum Theatre, Melbourne (18.07.19)

Completing their run of Splendour slideshows before their inevitable super set on Saturday, Maribou State put on a brilliant set for those unfortunate enough to miss out on the festival action over the weekend. The London duo used the evening to stamp their quality as they melded live instrumentation with some golden production work. While…

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Splendour Interview: Odette (AUS) on her SITG debut, poetry and James Blake

Odette is an ephemeral angel, quite frankly. Both in performance and in person. Her debut Splendour performance was just that, with transcending lighting states and dance moves that sent the crowd to another planet. Currently on-site at Splendour, The AU Review chatted to her ahead of her set to see how those debut-nerves are doing….

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Splendour Interview: Meg Mac (AUS) on her SITG surprises, Hope and collaborating

Meg Mac drew one of the largest crowds to the G.W. McLennan tent at Splendour In The Grass: Day One (check out our review: HERE) Dressed in all-white with her now iconic wide-brimmed hat, her sun-down performance echoed around the festival as she played her tracks from the early days to now. We got the chance…

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Flight Review: Business Class from Melbourne to Hong Kong with Virgin Australia (VA69)

This month marks the one year anniversary of the debut of the Sydney to Hong Kong Route – the maiden flight of which we were very excited to be a part of. So how have Virgin’s flights to Hong Kong changed in that time? We started further south this time around, and flew Business Class…

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It’s better where it’s wetter: New York City’s newest attractions are perched by its rivers

When I think of New York City, I think of a bright concrete jungle with the famous Central Park at its epicentre. But in recent years, the city has been pushing its hotspots out closer to its rivers – the Hudson River on its West between Manhattan and New Jersey, and the East River, between…

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