Year: 2021

Afterthought

Exclusive Single Premiere: Afterthought “Summerset Stunner” (2021)

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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Interview: The Black Phone writer/director Scott Derrickson on his love of the Horror genre and the importance of casting.

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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New Meat Substitutes are Winning Hearts and Mouths by Focusing on Taste and Texture

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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Jaguar Jonze

Track of the Week: Jaguar Jonze “WHO DIED AND MADE YOU KING?” (2021)

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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Album Review: Sam Teskey’s debut Cycles powerfully captures the beauty of life

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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Singapore gaming conference Gaming Matters to go live online internationally tomorrow

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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Cookin' On 3 Burners

Cookin’ On 3 Burners give us their Top 5 Dream Collaborators

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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Lou P Scarlett

Exclusive Single Premiere: Lou P Scarlett “Hungry” (2021)

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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CSI Told You Lies

Book Review: Meshel Laurie’s CSI Told You Lies puts the truth back into True Crime

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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It’s always someone you know in first Scream trailer

“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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Film Review: The Old Ways is a supernaturally inclined horror film that values humanity and cultural traditions

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

Forza Horizon 5 Preview: No One Sleep In Mexico

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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Interview: Writer/director Simon Barrett on his film making debut Seance; “People who don’t like horror have no business making horror movies”

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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SLUMBERJACK

Interview: SLUMBERJACK and Lucy Lucy interview each other!

  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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Live Review: Spacey Jane + Supathick – Red Hill Auditorium, Perth (09.10.21)

“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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The Big Streaming Services Think They’ve Got You… But Changes are Afoot

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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Love Your Bookshop Day 2021: The AU Books Team on some of their favourite local bookstores

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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Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions Review: A Fun, Flawed Arcade Romp

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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Five spots to book next week now that “Freedom Day” is upon Sydney

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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Death Stranding Director’s Cut Review: Same Road, Fresh Pavement

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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After Story

Book Review: Larissa Behrendt dissects complex family relationships in her entrancing new book After Story

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 Review: Fear and legacy franchises

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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Sam Fender

Album of the Week: Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under (2021 LP)

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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Interview: Client Liaison on new album Divine Intervention, stolen jumpers & NFTs

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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Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 Review: Viva La Revolution

The Far Cry series has faltered over the past few years. Recent iterations were either lacking immersive worlds, memorable villains, innovative gameplay, or all three. While far from terrible, it’s clear that nothing has been as good as the darling that is Far Cry 3. And it seems as though Ubisoft has heard. Far Cry…

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transfer Nintendo Switch OLED

How to transfer your Nintendo account to your new Switch OLED

You’ve just opened your brand new Nintendo Switch OLED and you’re ready to transfer your account across. But wait a second — how do you do that, exactly? Here’s our step-by-step guide to transferring your user and save data to a new Nintendo Switch OLED. 1. First things first So to start with, let’s answer…

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Switch OLED

Nintendo Switch OLED Model Review: Lateral thinking with withered technology

The Switch OLED represents the best version of the Nintendo Switch hardware to date. In the four years since the launch, the core Switch hardware has received one prior refresh. The 2019 model featured a higher capacity battery and made a small change to the shape of the Joy-Cons. The Switch OLED is, largely, more…

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Battlefield 2042 Open Beta Impressions: Order Through Chaos

Battlefield 2042 might just be enough to bring me back to Battlefield. In BF’s recent absence, Warzone and Modern Warfare have drawn many competitive shooter fans over to the Call of Duty franchise in the past few years. myself included. But a recent hands-on with Battlefield 2042’s Open Beta reminded me exactly why I’ve missed the…

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Track of the Week: Dancing On Tables, “OH” (2021)

Scotland’s Dancing On Tables have just released the new music video for single “OH“. With EP Play Play Play due out later this month, and the band recently signing to Enci Records/LV Music, now’s the perfect time to get into the rising alt-rockers. Fresh off a recent supporting stint on Catfish and The Bottlemen’s arena tour, and…

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Film Review: Titane is a wild and grotesque, yet incredibly heartfelt body horror masterpiece

Similar to how Jordan Peele, Robert Eggers, Jennifer Kent, and Ari Aster all secured their place in the annals of genre cinema with their debut offerings, Julia Docournau‘s bold cannibalistic horror effort Raw cemented the French filmmaker as a name to pay consistent attention to.  And just as those aforementioned auteurs all swung big with…

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