Month: July 2021

Album Review: The Jungle Giants – Love Signs (2021 LP)

The Jungle Giants‘ gradual shift from indie rock to electronic dance has officially landed with their new album Love Signs, a 10-track collection of groovy beats and sunny hooks which will win you over. Long-released lead singles “Heavy Hearted”, from July 2019, and “Sending Me Ur Loving”, from January 2020, offered a strong message of…

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Colin Lillie

Colin Lillie takes us on a journey into the soul of his sophomore album Shades Of Love

Singer-songwriter and ‘Gypsy Scotsman’ Colin Lillie need not worry about the curse of the second album.  Shades Of Love, out today is an assured and confident record, one that is full of heart, life, and honest, compelling songwriting. In essence, it’s what we’ve come to expect from Lillie; but equally it also displays an admirable…

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Film Review: The Suicide Squad is violent, unprincipled, and very, very fun!

Arguably one of the best marketing campaigns ever afforded for a blockbuster title, 2016’s Suicide Squad was ultimately a victim of its own hype.  After the DC brand suffered disappointment with the reaction to Batman v Superman, David Ayer’s impressively stacked line-up of second-tier characters and their super villainous mentalities seemed poised to right the…

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Interview: JAWNY on The Story of Hugo EP, staying authentic and the pressure of going viral.

JAWNY is the 25-year-old Bay Area born, Philadelphia adopted and Los Angeles based carnival-funk lover boy pop musician who brought us the 2019 indie anthem ‘Honeypie’. He’s since inked a deal with Interscope, quickly putting out his debut collection For Abby and has now followed up its narrative with another perspective, The Story of Hugo. In…

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Bleachers

Album of the Week: Bleachers – Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night (2021 LP)

Every few years or so you hear about a magical super-producer that’s seemingly always creating massive tunes for other artists. And every time I’m left wondering if these producers do it because they can’t sing and are just good at lyrics and song structure. I’m sure there have been plenty of producers that are more…

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She is Haunted

Book Review: Paige Clark’s debut collection She is Haunted might just be one of the best books of the year

A mother cuts her daughter’s hair because her own starts falling out. A woman leaves her boyfriend because he reminds her of a corpse; another undergoes brain surgery to try to live more comfortably in higher temperatures. A widow physically transforms into her husband so that she does not have to grieve. This is She…

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Dallas Radio

Exclusive Single Premiere: Dallas Radio “Suffering” (2021)

Western Australia continues to throw up talented music acts. Today we premiere “Suffering”, the debut track for Dunsborough outfit Dallas Radio. If this track is any indication, we can expect big choruses, catchy melodies and 90s inspired guitar riffs from the band. The band was born from the elements of two earlier WA bands, Dallas…

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Rooms Hotel Kazbegi Review: An oversized cabin with dream-like views in the Republic of Georgia

Nestled within the Caucasian mountains is a little Georgian town called Stepantsminda, or more commonly known as Kazbegi—for the name of the mountain range it is housed in. Rooms Hotel is a rather popular boutique hotel brand in the Republic of Georgia, with branches in Tbilisi, Bakuriani, and Kazbegi. You would be forgiven to believe that you’ve…

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Track of the Week: Georgia Maq ft. Alice Ivy “Someone Stranger” (2021)

Naarm / Melbourne’s Georgia Maq and Alice Ivy have teamed up on the fun new party banger, “Someone Stranger” and we are delighted to have this as our Track of the Week. Georgia is singer, songwriter and guitarist for Camp Cope, and in 2019 released her debut LP, Pleaser. Annika Schmarsel, a songwriter and producer whose stage name is…

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Ally Row

Exclusive Single Premiere: Ally Row “why do i care” (2021)

The Melbourne-based indie-folk duo, Ally Row, are about to launch “why do i care”, their debut track out onto the world, and we are thrilled to have the premiere of this upbeat feel-good tune today. The duo is comprised of Alice Fitzgerald and Rowan Sizer. Featuring some crafty guitar picking, gorgeous harmonising vocals, a delicate glockenspiel and an…

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Film Review: Jungle Cruise is charming, old-fashioned fun bolstered by the chemistry of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt

As much as Jungle Cruise owes its filmic inception to the success of fellow Disney-theme-park-attraction-turned-blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean, this light-hearted, gloriously old-fashioned adventure is just as much in debt to such titles as The Mummy and The African Queen. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with honouring the spirit of those films in such a…

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Booker Prize announces 2021 longlist

The Booker Prize, one of the industry’s most prestigious awards, has today announced it’s 13 strong longlist. To be considered for the Booker, nominated fiction works must be written in English, and published/slated to be published in the UK and Ireland between October 2020 and September 2021. Taking on the daunting task of narrowing the…

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Flight Simulator Xbox

Microsoft Flight Simulator (Xbox) Review: Clear skies ahead

Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox was being requested by fans before the PC version had even launched last year. To launch on a modern console is a first for Microsoft’s legendary series of flight sims. This is a franchise that predates both Microsoft Office and the Windows operating system and yet has never been available…

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Film Review: Kandisha is an enjoyable horror effort featuring a supernatural female force that kills men gruesomely

Kandisha tells the story of three young teenage women Amelie, Bintou and Morjana (Mathilde Lamusse, Suzy Bemba and Samarcande Saadi); three childhood friends who are enjoying their summer break in the dilapidated streets of Paris. Chilling out with their peers, branding walls with splatterings [sic] of graffiti; it is all about living in the moment…

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Album Review: Chet Faker – Hotel Surrender (2021 LP)

Nick Murphy has had a peculiar existence since bursting on to the scene as Chet Faker working alongside Flume with his moody indie pop winning over a huge alt audience, before a back-and-forth of moniker shifts lost a few along the way. Returning to his Chet Faker project in October 2020, Murphy has released his…

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Film Review: Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins embraces an absurd action narrative with a grounded mentality

Given that Snake Eyes is releasing with the subtitle G.I. Joe Origins, it would appear that Paramount have faith that the G.I. Joe brand could possibly be retooled after the 2009 and 2013 efforts (The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation, respectively) failed to truly ignite as intended. It’s a bold strategy, especially as Robert Schwentke‘s…

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Claire Rosinkranz

Interview: Claire Rosinkranz on ‘6 Of A Billion’, TikTok and teenage rebellion

“Backyard Boy” is one of TikTok’s most viral hits, soundtracking most of the 2020 lockdown for millennials. Claire Rosinkranz is the 17-year-old pop sensation behind the breakout hit that saw her release her debut EP produced by her father, BeVerly Hills BoYfRiEnd, as well as a remixed collection featuring Jeremy Zucker, ROLE MODEL and Australia’s…

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Shiny Joe Ryan

Exclusive Single Premiere: Shiny Joe Ryan “A Stitch In Time” (2021)

Tomorrow, Pond multi-instrumentalist Shiny Joe Ryan drops his sophomore album, Shiny’s Democracy, and we are thrilled today to premiere the final single off the album, “A Stitch in Time”. As you would expect from a multi-instrumentalist and member of Pond, he takes his cues from a variety of influences, including country, pop and rock. A…

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Leon Bridges

Album of the Week: Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound (2021 LP)

A musical chameleon of sorts, Leon Bridges is back in 2021 with a new sound that still fully embraces the genuine strength of his vocal, while also leaning into his gradual progression into RnB. Here on Gold-Diggers Sound, Bridges has well and truly done away with the 1960’s soul sound he first burst out with…

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Locust Summer

Book Review: Grief and nostalgia reign in David Allan-Petale’s Locust Summer

Locust Summer, the debut novel by WA writer David Allan-Petale, has been a long time coming. Shortlisted for the 2017 Australian/Vogel Literary Award administered by Allen and Unwin, the book was released this July by Fremantle Press in the midst of Perth’s latest lockdown. The postponement of a book launch due to circumstances beyond the…

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Film Review: Old is an embarrassing retreat in quality for M. Night Shyamalan

There’s really no other way to say it – M. Night Shyamalan‘s Old is bad.  It’s very bad.  In fact, in some instances it’s downright awful!  Mirroring the same career slump he experienced after the 1-3 punch of The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000) and Signs (2002) with such misfires as The Lady in the Water…

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6 unbelievable mobile app success stories

Before long, the whole world is going to be taken over by mobile. In a world where convenience is everything, it’s important that businesses keep up and make all of their content easily accessible for all. After all, only 30% of web traffic came from devices other than mobile last year, according to Digital Authority…

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The Pinkerton Raid

Exclusive Single Premiere: The Pinkerton Raid “Lisbet Cries” (2021)

The Pinkerton Raid is an indie-rock band from North Carolina in the USA. They have crafted a unique blend of folk, Americana and indie rock.  We are thrilled today to be premiering their latest release, “Lisbet Cries”. The track will be on their long play record The Highway Moves The World, which will be released in 2022. “Lisbet…

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Alyx Dennison

Track of the Week: Alyx Dennison “Keep a Day Free” (2021)

Our Track of the Week is “Keep a Day Free” and comes from Sydney singer/songwriter/producer Alyx Dennison. This is a song that shows great restraint, with its muted elegance and enchanting vocals. It’s beautiful, it’s sensual and a melancholic examination of the pleasures of physical love. The subject matter is as captivating as the song is…

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Interview: Snake Eyes stars Úrsula Corberó, Andrew Koji and Haruka Abe on bringing their G.I. Joe characters to life

As Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins prepares for battle in Australian cinemas this week, the cast were in promotion mode to discuss the choreography and camaraderie on set. Talking to our own Peter Gray, Andrew Koji (who plays Storm Shadow), Haruka Abe (Akiko) and Úrsula Corberó (Baroness) discussed their history with the G.I. Joe brand,…

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Antidote announces 2021 line-up, including a brand new emerging writers mentorship

Livestreaming from the Sydney Opera House on September 5th, Antidote 2021 promises an exciting and inspiring line-up of speakers for its fifth celebration of ideas, action, and change. Speakers including Elizabeth Kolbert, Benjamin Law, Ronnie Gorrie, Bri Lee, Rick Morton, Cathy Park Hong, and Scott Ludlam will cover a wide range of topics, from climate…

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NBA 2K22

A First Look at NBA 2K22’s New and Returning Features

Basketball mania continues! The NBA Finals are drawing to a close, offseason madness is set to begin and we were treated to some sweet NBA 2K22 cover athlete announcements. To top it all off, we got the chance to speak with the team at Visual Concepts and 2K Games as Mike Wang (Gameplay Director), Erick…

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The Therapist

Book Review: Helene Flood is a new voice in Nordic noir with translated work The Therapist

Translated from the Norwegian by Alison McCullough, Helene Flood’s debut adult novel follows Sara, a Norwegian therapist, in the aftermath of her husband’s disappearance. Initially, Sigurd lies about his whereabouts in a voicemail left for Sara. Soon she uncovers a web of deceit that ultimately puts her in harm’s way. Originally published in 2019, English-speaking…

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First Impressions: Turner & Hooch is a safe affair unable to form its own identity

Knowing that one simply can’t just replace Tom Hanks – in whatever capacity – Disney+’s Turner & Hooch reboot tries the next best thing by honouring his character’s legacy, even if it is essentially a veiled attempt at replacement. For the uninitiated, Turner & Hooch was a sizeable success for Hanks in his more comedy-driven…

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Felicity Castagna

Win a copy of Girls In Boys’ Cars by Felicity Castagna

Thanks to our friends at Pan Macmillan Australia we have two copies of Felicity Castagna’s forthcoming book Girls In Boys’ Cars to giveaway.  Girls In Boys’ Cars tells the story of a complicated friendship; of a road trip through NSW in a stolen car; of two funny, sharp and adventurous young women who refuse to…

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