Month: August 2020

The AU’s Father’s Day Gift Guide: PlayStation Edition

Father’s Day approaches. Dad’s doing the right thing, he’s staying home and helping to stop the spread! He loves his games, but all those weeks cooped up in the house have left him a bit starved for entertainment. He’s actually managed to chew through the old Pile Of Shame, the games he bought but never…

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vayla

Track of the Day: vayla “Run Out” (2020)

Adelaide-based solo artist vayla dropped their debut single “Run Out” on Friday – and it’s a delight. vayla is the new solo project from DRESS CODE guitarist and keyboardist Jayden Lugg. The project combines Lugg’s love of 80’s synth-pop and contemporary pop music. It’s also very much a DIY effort with Lugg doing all the…

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Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League set for 2022

Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League, Rocksteady Games’ follow up to Batman: Arkham Knight, will arrive on next-gen platforms in 2022. The reveal trailer came during the DC FanDome livestream. Though it features no gameplay, it does present a concept that piques interest. How does a motley crew like the Suicide Squad — in this…

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PGA Tour 2K21 Review: A Par is Born

Upon seeing PGA Tour 2K21’s reveal, I immediately thought back to all the great memories I had playing golfing games; a sport which I admittedly don’t care that much for. Be it Microsoft Golf, Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour, or even Outlaw Golf, (I bet you forgot that existed) there was something so satisfying about measuring…

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Gotham Knights

WB Montreal reveals Gotham Knights at last

We finally know what WB Games Montreal has been working on all this time — Gotham Knights. The Batman: Arkham Origins studio has spent the last four years teasing a Batman game of their own creation. Now, all is revealed at last. The trailer, released this morning during the DC FanDome livestream, shows a world in…

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Film Review: Tenet is an ambitious, visually stunning, inherently interesting, mind-numbingly confusing tale

There’s a scene relatively early in Christopher Nolan‘s ambitious time-bending actioner Tenet where Clemence Poesey is explaining to John David Washington‘s confused character – known only as The Protagonist – about the supposed science behind his forthcoming operation; “Don’t try to understand it” she assuredly states. And it’s that advice that audiences best take when…

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Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator Review: Wings of liberty

I knew from the first that Microsoft Flight Simulator was something special. More than just a graphical showpiece, it had a clear goal in mind — to instill the joy and wonder of flight in anyone who decides to install it. It worked. From the earliest trailers, it captured the industry’s attention, an industry that…

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Naked Giants Band

‘Looking Past the Pandemic’ with Naked Giants from Seattle, USA

Keeping travel dreams alive and setting goals has never felt more important. We can all agree that 2020 has been an unfortunate year so far, and almost every facet of daily life has been wrought by this ongoing global pandemic, the start of which now feels like forever ago. The arts has been one of…

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Exclusive Video Premiere: Miss Lucy “Ocean” (2020)

After working on many projects with artists such as Eliza and The Delusionals and SAV, the Gold Coast based artist Miss Lucy also known as Blair Condon has made big moves this year by breaking out as a new solo artist. The multi-instrumentalist and producer has made headlines over debut single “All In A Day”…

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‘Looking Past the Pandemic’ with Pillow Queens from Dublin, Ireland

Keeping travel dreams alive and setting goals has never felt more important. We can all agree that 2020 has been an unfortunate year so far, and almost every facet of daily life has been wrought by this ongoing global pandemic, the start of which now feels like forever ago. The arts has been one of…

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Messina hooks up with Coco Pops for white chocolate gelato

Seeing as just about every brand in Australia has Gelato Messina on their ‘must collaborate’ list, it was only a matter of time before Kellogg’s tapped the dessert lords to help celebrate the relatively new White Chocolate version of the company’s famed Coco Pops. From September 1st, Gelato Messina will be slinging a Coco Pops…

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Imogen Clark

Interview: Imogen Clark on recording her EP The Making Of Me and moving to Nashville

Sydney singer-songwriter Imogen Clark drops her latest EP today, The Making of Me. It’s been a tumultuous 18 months or so for Clark. The cumulative effect of back-to-back European and Northern American tours, the ending of a significant relationship and other difficulties faced in her personal life, led to some much-needed soul-searching. This led to…

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Track of the Day: Georgia Mae “Soul Like This” (2020)

Australian singer-songwriter Georgia Mae has skyrocketed with success this year and has released her latest track “Soul Like This” with Lemon Tree Records/Sony Music Entertainment Australia. “Soul Like This” is a graceful tune with an entanglement of acoustics and stunning emotive vocals from Mae. The track tells a powerful message of loving and finding yourself…

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Battletoads

Battletoads Review: Return of the weekend rental

There’s a lot I like about Dlala Games’ take on Battletoads, but there’s just as much that I don’t. The latest Battletoads arrives almost 20 years after the NES original. It’s a side-scrolling beat-em-up in the same vein as the original, but it makes several changes to the series’ formula that may not sit well…

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Roll’d dishes out new traditional soup range and meal boxes

Whether it’s their innovative rice paper rolls, vermicelli noodle bowls or their classic soup phở that you love, Roll’d is dishing out their latest noodle soup range this winter. Extracted from Roll’d owner, Bao Hoang’s mum’s (Phien Hoang) secret recipes, the traditional Vietnamese soups include the Bún bò Huế, Bánh Canh Cua and Mì Tôm…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Gated Community “Lay Low and Snitch” (2020)

Straight from the first note, Kiwi-Aussie duo Gated Community swing hard with energetic rhymes, effortlessly cruising the bubbling, Hyphy-like production of their new song “Lay Low and Snitch”. This kind of explosive, irrepressible hip hop is a welcome break from the nihilistic ’emo rap’ that’s still flooding all corners of the internet, so we’re proud…

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Bootleg Rascal’s Jimmy Jesus: My Favourite Up and Coming Artists

Gold Coast party starters Bootleg Rascal have an upcoming EP Collaborations of Very Isolated Delinquents ‘19 on the way. Produced by the band themselves, alongside Ian Pritchett (Boo Seeka, Kim Churchill, Angus and Julia Stone), and Simon Dobson (Little May, STUPID BABY), the EP is everything you’d expect from the boys, continuing the duo’s track…

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Review: Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town takes you back on the Switch… in 3D!

Harvest Moon was the shiz when I was growing up, I played the very first Game Boy version and basically played every handheld iteration afterwards. I loved that game to bits and it’s no wonder that I was immediately drawn to Stardew Valley. Now reverting back to its original Japanese name, Story of Seasons released…

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Troye Sivan’s new EP In A Dream is just one of his many iso-accomplishments

Despite the relentless chaos 2020 has thrown everyone’s way, Troye Sivan manages to mould it to himself and wear it with ease. It comes as no surprise – the 25-year-old megastar has been adapting to walk through open doors his entire life. It’s how he can bill himself as a YouTuber-turned-actor-turned-global-pop-sensation and how we’re only…

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Grievous Bodily Calm

Track of the Day: Grievous Bodily Calm “Mosaic” (2020)

They have one of my favourite band names and they’re back with a new single. Perth’s Grievous Bodily Calm are releasing “Mosaic” today.  Written and conceived during the coronavirus shutdown, “Mosaic” was primarily written in the studio. It was born out of experimentation: “We wanted to experiment with our writing process by delaying jamming as…

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Film Review: Echo in the Canyon fails to dig deep

There was something in the water in Laurel Canyon. This area in California is one that hosted many great musical acts, especially during the sixties and seventies. Echo in the Canyon is a documentary that examines this free-wheeling period but only scratches the surface of the time’s divine light. Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is a big…

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Album of the Week: Alex The Astronaut – The Theory of Absolutely Nothing (2020 LP)

Who said science and the arts can’t go hand-in-hand? At a time where everyone is being told that STEM is more important than the arts, it’s the Venn diagrams like Alex The Astronaut that help put everything into perspective. Equal parts scientist and musician, Alex The Astronaut has taken a few years to put to…

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Briggs

Interview: Briggs on Always Was, pub trivia, and The Simpsons

Briggs, or Senator Briggs as he’s referred to as, has been charging through this year churning out project after project like the world was never in disarray. On top of his huge collaboration with Tim Minchin on “HouseFyre”, Briggs has also penned a children’s book and is gearing up to release his first body of…

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Language of Butterflies

Book Review: Wendy Williams’ The Language of Butterflies is a profound love letter to a vanishing species

Wendy Williams’ new book The Language of Butterflies is an enchanting look at one of the world’s most beautiful and resilient animals and the role they play in our ecosystem. It’s a trove of facts and treasure and all things butterfly and moth. From evolution, survival, nature and existence, it’s all covered here in great…

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Interview: Camp 8 unpacks his brilliant EP Everything

There is a distinct skill required in distilling beauty from heartache. Reuben Apirana, the man behind the Camp 8 moniker, may have mastered it on his EP Everything. Produced by Hayden Calnin, the EP’s 22 minutes take you on a journey of heartbreak, loss and, ultimately acceptance. Apirana wears his heart on his sleeve as…

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Film Review: Sequin in a Blue Room is a risqué but nonetheless important teen-aimed drama

A cautionary tale about the thrills and perils of recreational sex in the digital dating world, Sequin in a Blue Room is a risqué but nonetheless important teen-aimed drama that offers something of a safe space for queer or questioning audiences regarding the nature of their sexual selves. An erotic film without being overtly explicit…

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Sea Girls: Five things that influenced the band on their debut album, Open Up Your Head

English rock band Sea Girls have just released their debut album Open Up Your Head. With a sound drenched in 00s indie rock, Sea Girls are a perfect match for fans of The Killers, Two Door Cinema Club and Bloc Party. The band have already reached great heights – they recently sold out an upcoming…

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What you need to know about Record Store Day Australia on August 29th

“The pandemic will not stop us!” declare Record Store Day Australia organisers. Since its inception in 2008, Record Store Day has long been a staple in any music fan’s year. Hosted in 26 countries around the world, the day commemorates independent record stores with the release of limited edition records, live music, and more. 2020,…

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Lark Distillery releases its first ever blended malt whisky, Symphony No.1

Australia’s whisky pioneers over at Tasmania’s Lark Distilling Co. have lifted the barrel on their first ever blended malt whisky, Symphony No.1. Released at the perfect time, with Father’s Day right around the corner, the release has been built with a harmony of exceptional Tasmanian single malt whiskies, collated to offer whisky lovers an approachable…

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Sydney Underground Film Festival unveils first-ever online program

Sydney’s leading festival for cult and underground film, the Sydney Underground Film Festival (SUFF), is back for its 14th year from Thursday 10th September – Sunday 20th September.  In 2020 the Festival will take place entirely online, offering a new opportunity for audiences all over the country to experience the glory of some of the world’s…

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