Year: 2019

Live Review: Cog + Osaka Punch + The Omnific, Max Watt’s Sydney (15.02.19)

Sydney’s Cog have remained incredibly active since returning from a six-year hiatus in 2016, finally releasing new music last year and launching into 2019 with new song Drawn Together. Taking the single on a national tour before heading to Europe, the three-piece played a completely packed Max Watt’s. Opener, Melbourne’s The Omnific surprised the early arrivers…

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Circus Review: Matador is a thrilling mix of burlesque, dance, and circus acts (The Melba Spiegeltent until 2nd March)

A thrilling, beautiful, and jaw-dropping production. Matador is a fusion of burlesque, high energy dance pieces, and jaw-dropping aerial acts, all set to a story inspired the tale of the love torn bull and the seductive matador. The two-hour production is a thrilling series of electric solo and group dance numbers with awe inspiring circus…

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Photo Gallery: Aloe Blacc + Hyclass – Festival Gardens, Perth (15.02.19)

Aloe Blacc and his awesome band put on an amazing performance which had the crowd at the Festival Gardens dancing and singing throughout the night to hits like “Brooklyn In The Summer”, “I Need a Dollar” and even throwing in a short rendition of John Farnham’s “You’re the Voice” during the set. Joining in on the fun…

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Photo Gallery: Little May + RO + Elizabeth Fader – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney (15.02.19)

It had been a long time coming, but Little May returned to Sydney for a headline gig on Friday night, with the venue being the Oxford Art Factory. On the cusp of their album being released, Blame My Body, a number of the new songs were showcased to an enthusiastic audience. 8 of the songs…

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Games Review: Jump Force marries bad fanfiction with worse graphics

Most of us went through a Shonen Jump phase at one point or another in our lives, whether it was inspired by Naruto, Goku, Ichigo or any of the other dozens of characters that have shined in the magazine over the years. Jump Force brings their worlds back to life, leveraging the nostalgia and dedication…

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Live Review: Cog + Osaka Punch + The Omnific – The Triffid, Brisbane (14.02.19)

When Cog announced they were touring again, the hairs on my neck stood up. Having taken a break from touring nearly ten years ago, they’re thankfully back doing what they do best – music. On this tour, they’re also bringing a new album, Drawn Together, with them, the band’s first new music in ten years. A wave of…

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Games Review: Crackdown 3 is not the platform exclusive the Xbox One badly needs right now

I think we all knew, deep down, that Crackdown 3 was never going to be anything special. Years of delays don’t seem to have given developer Sumo Digital the space they needed to build on even the original game’s most basic concepts. It seems content to replicate the parts of the original that worked best…

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Theatre Review: Peter Pan Goes Wrong takes “the show must go on” quite literally (Sydney Lyric to 3rd March)

The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society have returned to Sydney, which may be a surprise to some considering the rather disastrous turn of events in their last production, The Murder at Haversham Manor. Now, they’re back thanks to a sizeable donation from the Uncle of one of the cast members, Max, and here to present their…

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Tokyo’s famous Wagyumafia opens first international venue in Hong Kong

Famed for their exclusive wagyu beef omakase menus, Tokyo’s Wagyumafia has officially begun expanding outside of Japan, with their first international location opening up in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Fitting into a modest 18-seat space on Oi Kwan Road, the members-only restaurant (non-members can still go, but they’ll get a pared down menu) has unsurprisingly…

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Album Review: Millencolin – SOS (2019 LP)

A lot has changed in the world over the past twenty-six years. The era circa 1992 was a completely different time. For one, both myself and Millencolin were in our infancy. Without listing all the other similarities between myself and the band (there aren’t any), it would remiss of me to not note how influential…

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Album Review: The Twilight Sad – It Won/t Be Like This All The Time (2019 LP)

Walls play an integral part in The Twilight Sad’s aesthetic. Since their first release, the Scottish band has used everything in their arsenal to overwhelm listeners with a wall of sound; from Andy MacFarlane’s roaring guitars to accordions and fire extinguishers. Other walls came in the form of singer James Graham’s lyrics, where situations and…

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Track of the Day: Machine Age “Dust” (2019)

“Dust” is the new single from Brisbane experimental electronic rock artist Machine Age, and the first taste of their forthcoming debut album, Point of Departure, due for release later this year. Machine Age is the brainchild of Adrian Mauro. When Mauro was fifteen, his older brother passed away following a long battle with leukaemia, leaving Mauro to…

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Exclusive Video Premiere: Bearfoot “Luminate” (2019)

Ahead of the offical release next week we are pleased today to be premiering the new film clip for “Luminate”, the recent single from Sunny Coast’s resident roots band Bearfoot.  Released in November, “Luminate” is dedicated to the time the band spent at the eponymous music festival in New Zealand back in early 2017, and…

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Riley welcomes Rocco: Cairns’ first and only rooftop bar

Recently opened luxury resort Riley has lifted the lid on Cairns’ first and only rooftop bar and restaurant, presenting locals and guests with Rocco which sits on the property’s 12th floor. Defined by its 270-degree views of the tropical city and the surrounding Coral Sea, Rocco is being pushed as a venue big on “atmosphere,…

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Crackdown 3‘s Director Goodwin is the one villain the game won’t let me kill

Crackdown 3 is a game about an agency of highly trained, superpowered cops taking back the city of New Providence from the claws of an evil corporate empire called Terranova. Each sector of the city is overseen by a different brutal crimelord under Terranova’s control. The game’s main campaign has the player baiting these supervillains…

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Blu-Ray Review: A Star is Born takes us on stage and into the jam sessions for its home release

Lady Gaga is not the first singer to embark on the transition from music to film (J. Lo, I’m looking at you), and I doubt she will be the last. However, never before have I seen a musician take this leap with such skill, such talent and such raw emotion reminiscent of a seasoned actor….

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Interview: Tia Gostelow (AUS) on her impressive year ahead, her debut album and dream collabs.

Tia Gostelow is the epitome of “hard work pays off”. At just 19-years-old, the singer-songwriter has already secured numerous accolades that Aussie artists spend years chasing: currently six high-rotation songs on Triple J, their Feature Album of the Week and a Like A Version artist. She’s also snagged herself a worldwide publishing deal, been nominated for…

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Track of the Day: Connie Constance “English Rose” (2019)

The title track off Connie Constance’s debut album, “English Rose” is a minimal reinterpretation of The Jam’s 1978 classic. Constance has traded the acoustic guitar for piano that is equally sombre, yet alluring when paired with her smooth and soulful voice that is beautifully an effortless catalyst to relaxation. “No matter where I roam, I will…

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Canon announces their lightest, most affordable full-frame mirrorless camera to date

Off the back of the EOS R System release last September, Canon has today announced their lightest and most affordable full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera to date. The EOS RP announcement has also been coupled with the news that Canon has developed six new RF lenses for release this year, including the dynamic RF 24-240mm…

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Games Review: Far Cry: New Dawn puts insanity back in the spotlight

If I know one thing, it’s that the Far Cry series has always found its beauty amongst the insanity. From highlights like Far Cry 3, it’s safe to say the series had morphed from a tropical survival experience into an insane holiday of blood, hallucinations and chaos. Far Cry: New Dawn stands as a worthy…

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Games Review: Aragami: Shadow Edition rewards patience with deeply satisfying stealth

Aragami: Shadow Edition is a rather clever blend of modern stealth elements and old school action-adventure. Its most obvious mechanical influence seems to be Tenchu: Stealth Assassins with a little of Splinter Cell‘s shadow cover thrown in for good measure. It adopts an animated look reminiscent of Okami. Indeed, like Okami, Aragami is steeped in…

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Games Review: The Stillness of the Wind is a game of great peace and sadness

The Stillness of the Wind is a melancholy tale and one that frequently had me in tears, even if it was hard to articulate why. The premise is simple — you play as Talma, an old woman who lives on a farm. As the years have gone by, the people in Talma’s life have left…

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Film Review: Happy Death Day 2U (USA, 2019) is just as much of a surprise as the delightfully twisted original

Just as much of a surprise as the delightfully twisted original – 2017’s Happy Death Day – Happy Death Day 2U is revelatory not because it improves on its predecessor’s horror temperament, but because it completely bypasses the slasher genre trope and cements itself firmly within the grounds of science-fiction. Given how much fun writer and director…

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Photo Gallery: In The Round #014 Ft. Elska, Ayla, Steve Smyth & Tamma – The Vanguard, Sydney (12.02.19)

The fourteenth edition of In The Round was held last night at the Vanguard in Newtown, Sydney. It was a great combination of instruments and vocals in the unique and intimate setting which governs these shows. Elska from the Gold Coast was the curator of this edition. She plays the harps, employing loops and had…

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Track of the Day: Kim Churchill “After The Sun” (2019)

It’s looking to be a big year ahead for Australian artist Kim Churchill, with four location-based EP’s set to be released across 2019 and 2020 that took the acclaimed singer/songwriter to Germany, Canada, Australia and the UK; with each EP written and recorded in their respective location. The first track to emerge from this project…

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Film Review: Alita: Battle Angel (USA, 2019) is faithful to its source material and very entertaining, when love isn’t in the air

English-language live-action film adaptations of manga/anime source material have been quite problematic, to say the least. While most of the films just fail to capture the spirit of the source material due to bad filmmaking (eg. Fist of the North Star, Death Note [2017]), other examples fail just due to the fact that they did…

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Games Review: Apex Legends is the best Battle Royale title in the world right now

I haven’t enjoyed any title in the Battle Royale genre before Apex Legends. Not one. To date, my firmly held opinion has been that BR is a multiplayer mode that has risen well above its station, lacking the substance required to be a genre unto itself. Apex Legends not only changed my opinion on Battle…

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An open letter to Gladys Berejiklian and the NSW Liberals: This isn’t just a war on festivals. It’s a war on jobs, culture and common sense.

Over the last 13 years of being involved in the music industry wearing one hat or another, if I’ve learnt anything, it’s that this industry is full of the hardest workers of any I’ve ever come across. Roadies who sleep in hammocks in the scaffolding of a festival stage so they can pack down your…

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New cruise option linking the heart of Vancouver and Victoria (Canada) for the first time

Back when I lived in Vancouver, the only real option of getting between downtown Vancouver and Vancouver Island – home to British Columbia’s capital Victoria – was by way of a large, run-of-the-mill ferry operated by BC Ferries. It’s relatively affordable – at under $20 each way – takes about 90 minutes and has food…

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Games Review: Metro Exodus’ post-apocalyptic Russia is terrifyingly beautiful

Now is as good a time as any for 4A Games’ Metro franchise to emerge from its dank subterranean setting and venture out into a terribly unforgiving post-apocalyptic Russia. It’s what series protagonist Artyom has strived for all these years after all, setting out on an ambitious adventure across harsh tundras, spooky desserts and mysterious…

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