Month: August 2019

12 Janet Jackson songs we NEED to hear at “RNB Fridays Live”

Not be an entitled crazed fan or anything, but Janet Jackson kind of needs to play the following songs when she headlines the just-announced RNB Fridays Live in November. The annual festival, which always manages to craft heavily nostalgic line-ups of hip hop and R&B, will be headlined by the iconic artist who hasn’t performed…

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Track of the Day: Enter Shikari “Stop the Clocks” (2019)

Enter Shikari, the lads from St. Albans in the UK have finally released “Stop the Clocks”, a song they’ve been playing live since late last year. Ever since the track was added to the live shows, it has become a favourite with fans, and it’s little wonder why. It has a joyous UK indie dance/pop feel…

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Accessorise your gaming set up with these sexy new PS4 controllers

I never used to be the kind of person who was interested in collecting coloured or limited edition controllers, but that’s all changed in the last hardware generation. Both PlayStation and Xbox regularly release beautiful, stylish new controllers and every one of them demands I buy them immediately. Perfect example: look at these beautiful new…

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Stan just announced four new shows for its stacked content schedule

Australian streaming service Stan are continuing to strengthen their TV show line-up, huddling closer with long term partners Showtime to bring four new shows to the platform. Given Showtime is already a huge present in the TV section of Stan, this new content line-up should be very well received. Especially since it includes Ethan Hawke…

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Microsoft Pro Intellimouse Review: All work, no play

Microsoft’s Intellimouse brand has been around a really long time. For much of its life, the Intellimouse has been found at the cheaper end of the hardware scale, the kind of mouse your dad would buy when purchasing a $450 laptop on Boxing Day. Knowing that this was likely the target audience for their device,…

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Age of Wonders: Planetfall Review: Strong sci-fi strategy

Here’s a video game truism for you: Given a long enough timeline, all games in the Civilization tradition will eventually find their way into a sci-fi setting. The Age of Wonders series is no exception, using its fourth full instalment to trade high fantasy for science fantasy. This is not to suggest that it strays…

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Exclusive Video Premiere: Ella Fence “Don’t Feed The Monster” (2019)

We’re rounding out the working week with an exclusive look at the new video for “Don’t Feed The Monster“, from award winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ella Fence. A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Ella’s musical style is rich, packed with vibrant imagery, and led by stunning vocals. It’s a sound that flows from…

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Track of the Day: Stevan “LNT” 2019

Hailing from Wollongong, the talented Stevan has just dropped his second single “LNT”, following on from his successful debut release “Timee” Only two years out of high school, he has demonstrated an amazing array of skills incorporating producing, drums, guitars, songwriting and vocals. It’s little wonder he has already scored himself a record deal with…

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Post-BIGSOUND showcase event Music Matters Live officially returning to Singapore next month

The 14th annual Music Matters Live festival – which accompanies the All That Matters conference – is set to return to Singapore for the ninth time next month, and event organisers have revealed the first drips of information about the event – including its dates, location and the first five acts confirmed to perform at…

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Live Review: The Smashing Pumpkins cover “Old Town Road” (sort of) as they shine on tour with Noel Gallagher

A surprising mix of artists descended on the Budweiser Stage in Toronto tonight, with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds shortly into their set when I arrived, after an earlier set from openers AFI. What does link these acts though are ever growing, rabid fanbases. You mat not feel like you’ve heard much new music from these…

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8 new restaurants to check out at Sydney’s epic Darling Square precinct

Now pushing forth as one of the largest and more comprehensive lifestyle precincts in Sydney, Darling Square has revealed a few more layers to it’s ongoing development. And this new wave features some incredible new dining and retail concepts, filling the spaces between Darling Harbour and Haymarket with some of the city’s best new openings….

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Film Review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood plays like a glorious love letter to the Tinseltown of old

With only eight films in his illustrious career, writer/director Quentin Tarantino has left an indelible mark on cinema in the last few decades. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny the filmmaker’s unique style and vision. With Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his ninth (and potentially penultimate) film, Tarantino offers a deeply personal piece…

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Festival Review: Sesh And The City returns to celebrate Brisbane’s sesh lords

After the breakout success last year on Ekka Eve, Sesh And The City has graced Brisbane for the second time with a top billing line-up and a Saturday takeover at Brightside. Ambitious to compare Brisbane to New York? Hardly. Is there any correlation with Sex and the City other than the punny name of the…

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A Falls Festival veteran gives his pro tips to a first timer for 2019/2020

Falls Festival dropped an incredible line-up for their 2019/2020 New Years celebration last week, which started a discussion between two writers here at the AU review.  I’m Tait, I’m 22-years-old and have never been to Falls Festival, but this year is looking to be my first. I used to be a Brisbanite so my New…

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Lollapalooza lands in Berlin next month with a wicked lineup – including these three Aussie acts!

The world-famous music festival Lollapalooza will be in German shores for the 5th year early next month, September 7th and 8th. While this year’s lineup is largely pop-leaning, you’ll find that the festival still offers little bites for everyone and Australia joins in on the fun, giving Germany a taste of Aus, with Byron Bay’s…

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Album Review: Seeker Lover Keeper – Wild Seeds (2019 LP)

You can tell a lot about the quality of an act based on how contemporary and current their music sounds even when listening to it eight years after it was first released. “Even Though I’m A Woman” is still one of my favourite and timely tracks, while “We Will Know What It Is” will always…

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Borderlands 3 Preview: Welcome back to Pandora. We’re leaving.

In early May, I was among the first in the world to play Borderlands 3 at the official gameplay reveal event in Los Angeles. That preview gave us access to two of the game’s four classes — the muscular Siren Amara and the cloak-and-dagger Operative Zane. We were promised then that we’d get to spend…

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Aussies Abroad: Melbourne’s Press Club set to dominate the UK and Europe with another massive tour

With their new album Wasted Energy due out on Friday, Melbourne’s Press Club are hitting the road for their biggest ever tour of the UK and Europe. And the latest single from the anticipated record also just hit the airwaves – the fantastic “New Years Eve”. Wasted Energy is the follow up to the band’s…

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Live Review: Rüfüs Du Sol deliver an unforgettable live show as they continue to conquer the USA

As part of their latest North American tour, Australia’s Rüfüs Du Sol (formerly just Rüfüs) made their debut at Washington DC’s 6k capacity venue The Anthem last week, selling it out and bringing along an updated version of the incredible light show and production you might have witnessed via that Coachella live stream earlier this…

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Track of the Day: Charlie Finn “Going Blind” (2019)

Born and raised in Ohio, alt-country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Finn made his way to Sydney back in 2013, but stayed musically true to his Midwest roots. “Going Blind” is the second single from his forthcoming EP, and is a follow-up to “Picking Up The Pieces“, which launched earlier this year. Recorded with Sydney pop artist…

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Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Review: They did the mash

For the first few hours, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order feels very much of a time and place — specifically 2006, which was when the previous installment was released. My first impression was of a game that felt rather samey, and a touch clunky at times. Critically, and despite its 13 year hiatus,…

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Track of the Day: N.Y.C.K. “Alive” (2019)

With the release of their debut album, Wild Streak, just around the corner, Melbourne duo N.Y.C.K. (otherwise known as Dominique Garrard and Nick Acquroff) have dropped their latest single “Alive“, and we just love it! “Alive” is the third release from the forthcoming album, sharing its name with the duo’s debut EP. Envisioned as a…

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Track of the Day: DRESS CODE “Youth Culture” (2019)

Earlier this month emerging Adelaide indie quartet DRESS CODE dropped their new single, “Youth Culture”; a dreamy gem of a track that’s been lifted from the band’s debut EP, which is set to drop in early 2020. Reflecting on the ways in which young people romanticise everyday moments in a bid to imitate the glamour of…

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Book Review: Kathryn Hind’s debut, Hitch takes readers on a journey in more than one sense of the word

Canberra-based author Kathryn Hind‘s debut novel Hitch was published in June this year. The inaugural winner of the Penguin Literary Prize, Hitch tells the story of Amelia, a young woman of indeterminate age, who is hitchhiking her way to Melbourne. Her journey is an emotional one as well as a physical one, and throughout the book, there…

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Film Review: The Australian Dream looks at our national shame through the lens of one of our biggest sporting heroes

The Australian Dream is one of two recent documentaries about AFL legend Adam Goodes’ playing career and his his powerful anti-racism advocacy, with Ten’s The Final Quarter already making waves. Written by famed journalist Stan Grant and directed by BAFTA-winning director Daniel Gordon, the film is an inspiring (and infuriating) exploration into the depths of…

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Exclusive Video Premiere: Mijo “You’ve Got Your Life” (2019)

Need something to help kickstart the working week? How about an exclusive sneak peek at the video for singer-songwriter Mijo‘s latest, “You’ve Got Your Life“? This is surf-rock at its brightest and most infectious, asking that age old question of just how we’re going to make this one life we’re given really count. Mijo says:…

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Track of the Day: Austen “Money” (2019)

One of 2018’s most played artists on Triple J – a feat she managed with just one song! – Brisbane songstress Austen is back with new self-love anthem “Money”. If you like your electro-pop brooding yet uplifting, this is one track you’ll want to get on your playlist! The third glimpse from her upcoming EP, Austen…

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Shadowplay by Peppers Review: a dark twist on luxury living

The shimmering silver, reflective ripple-like façade of Shadowplay by Peppers looks awkwardly out of place in overdeveloped Southbank. Melbourne’s major entertainment district is no stranger to impressive buildings, but this new apartment hotel really is something else. It’s as if the building has been ripped from the pages of a futuristic graphic novel, standing at…

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Book Review: Whitney Scharer explores a real life romance in The Age of Light

The year is 1926, and American model Lee Miller has arrived in Paris. Leaving behind a successful career at Vogue, she’s ready to take her place behind the camera, rather than in front of it. After convincing surrealist Man Ray to take her on as his assistant, she begins her education, but soon finds herself…

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Track of the Day: Woodes “How Long I’d Wait” (2019)

Enigmatic Melbourne artist Woodes has returned with her new single, “How Long I’d Wait”. Replete with a live string quartet, this has all the hallmarks of a classic Woodes tune, there’s soaring guitars and those distinctive anthemic vocals. Talking about the single’s gestation and creation, Woodes said: “My friend Scott (who I wrote Dots with)…

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