Month: April 2020

Greta Stanley

Track of the Day: Greta Stanley “Soak Into This” (2020)

Far North Queenslander Greta Stanley has released a new track, “Soak Into This” as her first single for 2020. This follows on from her triumphant EP Sun In My Eyes, which was released last year. Stanley has well and truly established herself on the Australian indie-pop scene, with sold-out headline shows last year, and quality supports with…

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Tribeca Film Festival Review: A Better You is a charming, self-reflective look on the social-media age

*Due to the current global crisis the planned 2020 Tribeca Film Festival has been postponed. The AU Review has been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. A commentary on the so-called perfection of social media, Eamonn Murphy‘s quirky short A Better You is…

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Meet DualSense, the new PlayStation 5 controller

PlayStation have revealed its next generation  wireless controller. Dubbed DualSense, the controller will ship with the PlayStation 5 console later this year. The reveal came via a post on the official PlayStation blog. The post details the controller’s capabilities and the thinking behind its design. Let’s break it down Its overall design is a stark…

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Parasite

Bong Joon-ho’s award-winning Parasite is out this weekend on Stan

Months ahead of its originally slated streaming release date, four-time Oscar winner Parasite has been bumped up Stan’s schedule and arrives in just a few days. For those who are yet to see what the hype is about, Bong Joon-ho’s history-making tragicomedy will be available on Stan (in all its 4K glory) from Easter Saturday,…

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Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review: Calm in the COVID-19 storm

I’ve never played an Animal Crossing game before. This might make me a terrible Nintendo fan. My curiosity was piqued by Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the lead-up to its launch. It seemed to offer something calming and unchallenging in a global moment of hardship and complexity. Fans have now had over two weeks to…

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Etihad Health Screening

Etihad to trail contactless health screenings to detect COVID-19 at airports

In collaboration with Australian company Elenium Automation, Etihad Airways will begin trialling an innovative new technology to help identify travellers with medical conditions before they fly, potentially including the early stages of COVID-19. Rolling out at the end of this month for trialling throughout May at the airline’s hub airport in Abu Dhabi, Etihad will…

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Track of the Day: Alex L’Estrange “Social” (2020)

Back in 2016, we premiered the music video for Alex L’Estrange‘s “Nothing To Hide“. Now, almost four years later, L’Estrange is back, with the stunning “Social“. It’s a dreamy slice of (almost) Britpop, with shades of Blur and The Lightning Seeds. After losing his day job due to the COVID-19 crisis, L’Estrange found himself wandering…

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Freds Merivale

Mr. Wong, Totti’s and more Merivale restaurants switch to delivery

Although Justin Hemmes had announced the closure of his considerable restaurants and bars due to COVID-19 just a few weeks ago, his Merivale empire is now switching to delivery with the of launch a “Merivale at Home” platform. This will allow diners to take advantage of a new at-home dining service that delivers some of…

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Red Spice Road

Recipe: Red Spice Road’s Roasted King Prawns, Coconut Mustard Sauce

During these unprecedented times, when staying at home is of the utmost importance, us here at The AU Review are going to be doing everything we can to help readers live their best lives, indoors. As with many other media companies who typically focus on getting folks out and about, we’re shifting to adapt to…

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LocalSpots

LocalSpots: new gift card app to support small businesses during lockdown

There has been much discussion about ways we can help support struggling small businesses across the hospitality and retail sectors in the face of COVID-19. Now that the government has, necessarily, shuttered all non-essential venues, cash flow has all but frozen for Australia’s favourite restaurants, cafes, florists, hairdressers and the like. How do we support…

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Tribeca Film Festival Review: Query addresses the social norms of sexuality in a disarmingly comfortable manner

*Due to the current global crisis the planned 2020 Tribeca Film Festival has been postponed. The AU Review has been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. Much like the recent slate of short films that were intended for this year’s SXSW Film Festival,…

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Resident Evil 3 Review: Short, fast, loud

A remake of Resident Evil 3 was only a matter of time. After Resident Evil 2′s critical and commercial success, it made sense for Capcom to continue their hot streak. And so, only a year later, it’s here. Resident Evil 3 proves the franchise is alive and thriving, creatively reimagining and modernising older titles in its…

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Album Review: A Choir of Ghosts mesmerises with folk debut An Ounce of Gold

Based in Sweden, singer-songwriter James Augur fronts folk outfit A Choir of Ghosts. Debut album, An Ounce of Gold was three years in the making, bringing together a series of talented musicians to help form his choir. The end result is stunning, an eleven strong offering of melancholy alt-folk that transports the listener worlds away….

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Film Review: Almost Love (aka Sell By) overcomes genre unoriginality with a strong ensemble and an honest voice

Best not to be fooled by Almost Love‘s incredibly generic title (its alternative UK/international moniker Sell By isn’t much better either) as Mike Doyle‘s interconnected relationship drama plays stronger than it deserves to, thanks in large part to an ensemble cast that are allowed to play to and with their own respective strengths. Set in…

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The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us Part II Has Been Delayed Indefinitely

The Last of Us Part II has been delayed indefinitely. The news, while unsurprising, still comes as a blow to fans staring down the barrel of a year spent in Covid-19 enforced isolation. The announcement came through from PlayStation earlier this morning: Update: SIE has made the difficult decision to delay the launch of The…

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Ikoria

Godzilla, Mothra and more coming to Magic: The Gathering

Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths presents one of the stranger crossover ideas we’ve seen all year. Wizards of the Coast’s ever-popular card game Magic: The Gathering will add a series of cards based on popular Toho Co monsters like Godzilla, Mothra, King Caesar and more. The cards will be a special feature of the upcoming Ikoria:…

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All Time Low

Album Review: All Time Low return with the cathartic Wake Up, Sunshine

After tugging our emotions by re-recording their nostalgic Still Nothing Personal: A Ten Year Tribute, acclaimed pop-punk band All Time Low are back with their latest album: Wake Up, Sunshine. The Baltimore band were formed in 2003, and have had eight successful studio albums and counting. For this new album, lead vocalist Alex Gaskarth describes their…

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TOWNS

Track of the Day: TOWNS “Stardust” (2020)

Adelaide-based duo, TOWNS have released their new single “Stardust”, premiering on Triple J Good Nights just this week. The up-and-coming alternative rock band have displayed exceeding success after releasing their single “Safe To Stay” with over 280,000 streams on Spotify. Whilst embarking on three national tours including runs with Dear Seattle, Bugs, and Eat Your Heart…

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Violent Soho

Album Review: Violent Soho’s Everything Is A-OK is a welcome accompaniment to any Sunday Sesh on the deck

This album could not be more aptly titled with everything that is happening around Australia right now. One of Brisbane’s biggest alt-rock bands Violent Soho are releasing their fifth studio album, Everything Is A-OK today. However, in light of current circumstances, things are going to be played out a little differently this time. A national album…

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IIKO Ramen

Recipe: IIKO Mazesoba’s DIY broth-less ramen

During these unprecedented times, when staying at home is of the utmost importance, us here at The AU Review are going to be doing everything we can to help readers live their best lives, indoors. As with many other media companies who typically focus on getting folks out and about, we’re shifting to adapt to…

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Track of the Day: Jess Day “Signals” (2020)

Jess Day from Adelaide has a new track out tomorrow, “Signals”, on the back of a run of singles which has well and truly established her as a potent talent. Her debut single “Why is She So Beautiful?” landed her as a triple J Unearthed feature artist,  with the followup releases”Rabbit Hole” and “Affection” both…

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Travel Diary: This Way North (Melbourne) reflect on recording in Nashville and performing in New Orleans

Back in January, in what feels like several lifetimes ago, we were lucky enough to get to head along to New Orleans for the annual Folk Alliance conference and festival. One of the Aussie acts performing at the event, Melbourne duo This Way North, were fitting in shows there amongst a longer trip in the…

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M. Hoffman

Exclusive Single Premiere: M. Hofmann “Not There Yet” (2020)

There are elements of M. Hofmann’s story that will be familiar to many music fans. He picked up a guitar in his early teens. He plied his trade in various band’s over the years, moving up and down the East Coast, having left his childhood home in Tasmania. Songwriting became a habit, and then he…

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Brian Fallon Local Honey

Album of the Week: On Local Honey, Brian Fallon mines the present and the personal

Brian Fallon has traded in the punk rock of The Gaslight Anthem and his youth for the countrified folk of Local Honey. Though followers of his career, will know he’s no stranger to the acoustic guitar.  Local Honey is Fallon’s third solo album, and his first in two years, following 2018’s acclaimed Sleepwalkers. It’s also…

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Supporting your local indie record stores just got easier

Indie record stores across Australia, like so many retailers, are doing it tough at the moment due to the COVID-19 crisis. The postponement of Record Store Day, often those stores biggest trading day of the year, until later in the year will only have added to the pressures. Independent record stores, along with our live…

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Bayonetta

Why Bayonetta and Vanquish is the perfect isolation bundle for action-loving gamers

Two games I never finished have been repackaged, remastered and released as a solid double package. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the hell out of my brief time with both Bayonetta (2009) and Vanquish (2010) but it was at a point in my life when video games ebbed out of my radar for a…

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Some of Australia’s finest live music photographers have put their works up for sale for the first time

With the COVID-19 shutdown bringing the arts industry to a standstill, there are plenty of ways you can help out those affected by the current crisis. The first port of call for the Australian music scene is the Sounds of Silence website – an industry initiative to bring together various industry bodies to collate efforts…

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Espresso Martini

You can now get kegs of espresso martini delivered straight to your door

Although they’ve shut doors for now, Glebe’s stalwart Toxteth Hotel is making the most of the situation by using their bottle shop delivery service in the best way possible. That, of course, means kegs filled with their reliable espresso martinis are doing the rounds. Though it’s not just espresso martini on the menu. Kegs of…

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12 things we learned from the Star Wars Episode IX feature length documentary, The Skywalker Legacy

With each Star Wars film in the latest trilogy, fans have been treated to a feature length documentary about the making of the film, alongside its home release. They have surprisingly honest and detailed, in particular The Director and The Jedi, which took time to address some of the backlash Episode VIII received. The latest…

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Album Review: Future Static bring the noise with sophomore EP Fatalist

Formed in 2016, post-hardcore kids Future Static have been working hard to solidify their place on the Melbourne scene. Fatalist is the second EP from the band, which consists of singer Bri Marsh, guitarists Ryan Qualizza and Jack Smith, bassist Kira Neil and drummer Jackson Trudel. Of the EP, Marsh said: “It’s a bleak look at…

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