My first foray into farming simulation games dates back further than Harvest Moon‘s rebrand to Story of Seasons. I’m old enough to remember when it was called Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. That game is now 22 years old. It’s hard to overstate how uncommon slice-of-life narrative games were back then. Today, there are video…
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Brisbane’s Georgia Mae is the next generation of pop star with a message. Having cut her teeth in California for three years, she’s harnessed the Los Angelean resilience and do-it-all attitude that is making her a force to be reckoned with in the Australian scene. Now well and truly settled on home soil thanks to…
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The Medium tells the story of a Thai documentary team who are travelling to the region of Isan to follow the life of the local medium Nim (Sawanee Utoomma). She claims that she was possessed by the spirit of Ba Yan, a deity that the people of Isan worship and a significant presence in Nim’s…
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Bestselling historical fiction author Natasha Lester is back with her sixth foray into the genre and it’s safe to say that her star is continuing to rise. Once again returning to World War Two-era France, Lester’s latest novel is The Riviera House, a multiple timeline romance and adventure story of art, espionage and war. This new offering…
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It may have taken him a while, but the Fresh Prince of Arnhem Land has come through with the goods. Since bursting on to the scene in 2017 with “Cloud 9”, Baker Boy has slowly but surely pieced together a debut album that highlights the dance beats he’s become known for, willingness to indulge modern…
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Jeremy Zucker was the sound of SoundCloud 2018 when his tracks “Comethru” and “All The Kids Are Depressed” went viral, establishing himself at the frontline of the bedroom producer pop wave. Fast-forward to 2020 and Jeremy was gearing up for a world tour off the back of his debut album love is not dying, only to have…
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The brilliantly upbeat “Summerset Stunner” from Sydney pop-punk quintet Afterthought is bursting with sunshine and optimism. With classic indie guitars, a tight beat and soaring harmonies this is a track to celebrate love and friendship. This is the second single to be released from their forthcoming sophomore self-titled EP, to be released on the 22nd October,…
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To coincide with the trailer launch of The Black Phone, the latest horror film from Blumhouse, detailing the abduction of a young boy who learns he is able to communicate with the voices of his captor’s previous victims through a disconnected black phone, Peter Gray chatted with the film’s director, Scott Derrickson, discussing the origins…
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More people than ever are convinced things need to change, but we also really like meat. We humans may be omnivores, but we really like meat. Some 86 percent of people surveyed by data-gatherer Statista say their diet includes meat. So, when you read articles about “strong trends toward veganism” or with provocative headlines such…
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Brisbane-based singer/songwriter, artist, producer and all-round visionary Jaguar Jonze has released “WHO DIED AND MADE YOU KING?”, a blistering take-down on those that misuse their power in the music industry. This is the first release since her Antihero (EP) that was released earlier in the year. Jaguar Jonze is the moniker for Deena Lynch, and…
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Music often has the power to capture the singular highlights within our lives, but rarely can it capture the flow and change of the entire process. Nonetheless, Australian blues artist and Grammy-nominated sound engineer, Sam Teskey, has managed to do that, telling the journey of… us. From womb to death; sonically using music to add…
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Digital and live event producers Branded recently announced the full conference program and speaker lineup for Gaming Matters, one of Asias’ longest running gaming industry conferences. And this year, Australians, and those from aorund the world, will be able to tune in live, as the event goes into a hybrid online and in person format….
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The legendary Cookin’ On 3 Burners recently released the blazing “The World Is Cold”, featuring Melbourne rapper Mantra and vocalist Jane Tyrell. It has that classic 3 Burners funk with attitude a-plenty as they mix up an enticing blend of contrasts, of sugar and spice, of heat and ice. It’s razor-sharp and as soothing as…
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How big is your appetite? That’s the question asked by Sydney electro-pop artist Lou P Scarlett in the catchy “Hungry”, which we have the exclusive premiere of, ahead of its release on Friday. This is a tune with a big driving beat and a happily contagious chorus, which can’t help but put a smile. She sings…
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They call it the CSI effect. The TV show has become so popular that individuals on juries are questioning the experts because the evidence doesn’t resemble TV. Comedian and podcaster, Meshel Laurie’s latest book, CSI Told You Lies is an intriguing look behind the scenes at the professionals working in homicide and victim identification. Laurie…
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“What’s your favourite scary movie?” 25 years ago it was a question posed to Neve Campbell in Wes Craven’s now genre classic Scream, and come January 2022 a new generation of fresh blood will have their knowledge similarly tested in, well, Scream. Less a sequel and more a reinvention, Scream will pay homage to Craven’s…
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William Friedkin’s classic The Exorcist is so ingrained in the demonic possession sub-genre of the horror field that every feature that has come since can’t help but feel like a recycled take on a head-spinning narrative we’ve come to know so well. So, with that, there’s all more the reason to celebrate something like The…
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Forza Horizon 5 has a formula that is, by now, well established. These are semi-arcade racers that are more concerned with taking dream cars for a joy ride than they are about being a detailed motorsport simulation. Forza Horizon 5 returns to the series to the Americas for the first time since the original, setting…
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As the spooky season creeps towards its hallowed end, horror-centric streaming service Shudder is proving to be the gift that keeps on giving for genre fans the globe over. With the recent release of the supernatural scarer Seance (you can read our review here), our own Peter Gray got to chat with the film’s writer…
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Electonic duo SLUMBERJACK have teased out another track from their forthcoming debut LP, Dichotomy, in the form of “Better Off”, featuring the vocals of Sydney-sider Lucy Lucy. It might come as a surprise to many that the duo hasn’t yet released a full-form album, having released a number of singles and EP’s over the…
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“This venue is daunting to play,” admitted Spacey Jane lead singer Caleb Harper early in their maiden set at Perth’s revered Red Hill Auditorium on Saturday night. Given Western Australia’s hard border, Perth-based Spacey Jane have gigged in their hometown countless times before, but playing at Red Hill is something else altogether, as a wonderful,…
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Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Discovery+, HBO Max …those are some of the big ones. But does it surprise you to hear there are a reported 200 streaming services currently available? These undoubtedly sounded like good ideas to board members at various companies, “Yeah! Let’s create our own streaming service! We should get…
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Tomorrow is Love Your Bookshop Day, inviting booklovers to come together and celebrate all the wonderful things that their favourite bookshops do for local communities. They’re booksellers, yes, but they’re so much more. They can give personalised recommendations for gifts and book clubs, or find you that book with the blue cover that was in…
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As a fan of both the Rocky film series and the sport of boxing in general, I often wonder about the next definitive boxing game. Believe it or not, it’s been a decade since EA Sport’s Fight Night Champion, which I still dip back into until this very day. And then I saw it; the…
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Not that it should be grotesquely touted as “freedom day” like it’s a signal to the ongoing pandemic is over, but October 11th has now been confirmed as the day when the fully vaccinated will be able to once again start enjoying fewer restrictions in Sydney. That means that we’re now able to book in…
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Leave it to Hideo Kojima to release Death Stranding Director’s Cut, the expanded version of a game over which he had complete creative control. It’s no secret that Death Stranding landed amid huge anticipation and excitement. It was then met with either an overwhelming sense of confusion and, in some circles, accusations of pretentiousness, or…
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Larissa Behrendt doesn’t pull any punches in this poignant but difficult examination of family relationships, racism, and the justice system. After Story is a captivating tale about a mother and daughter trying to reconnect after years of tragedy, trauma and secrets have created rifts between them. Bookworm Jasmine is a lawyer and the first of…
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Metroid Dread is a game I thought I might never play, let alone review. For years, the Metroid franchise has sat among several other older Nintendo franchises, like F-Zero and Mother/EarthBound, gathering dust. For fans of the series, their own personal dread was real. Was their favourite Ninty franchise dead? As the wait dragged on,…
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You know that meme that’s been around for months now that says ‘tell me x without telling me x’? Well for Sam Fender and his second album Seventeen Going Under, that meme could most definitely be used here in the form of ‘tell me you listened to Bruce Springsteen and The Killers heaps while writing…
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After almost five years Melbourne indie pop duo Client Liaison returned last week with their second album Divine Intervention along with a swathe of singles. The quirky Melbourne-based pair had to delay the original release date amid another lockdown but eventually felt they had to get their music out there for their devoted fanbase. We caught…
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