Year: 2021

Magic Mike Live

Review: Is it hot in here? Magic Mike Live comes to Sydney

It is with no small amount of amusement that I tell you, Magic Mike Live has been one of the most difficult reviews I’ve ever had to write. It would be easy for me to sit here and wax lyrical about how attractive the dancers were (because they were) or how much the crowd of…

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You can now get huge native flavour versions of lamingtons in Sydney

Since opening a Sydney flagship store late last year, Tokyo Lamington has opened up to various interpretations of the namesake treat held so dearly in the hearts and minds of Aussies nationwide. The humble lamington has seen some head-turning interpretations from the speciality dessert store, which has been introduced a “Melbourne Bushfood” series, introducing a…

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The Hives

Interview: ‘Crocodile juice & vegemite’ for brekky, The Hives set for Sydney in World Tour

Swedish rock ‘n’ rollers The Hives have always been known for their charismatic and energetic live shows and this week they’ll play a Sydney show as part of their World’s First World Wide Web World Tour 2021. But the shows won’t be your standard online stream, with The Hives differentiating themselves with a unique level…

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Film Review: Brothers By Blood is an all-too ordinary mob story that seems unfortunately content with coaxing by on familiarity

Despite a talented cast that consists of such reliable names as Matthias Schoenaerts, Joel Kinnaman, Ryan Phillippe, and Maika Monroe, Brothers By Blood (originally known as The Sounds of Philadelphia) is an all-too ordinary mob story that seems unfortunately content with coaxing by on familiarity. Masculinity, faith, loyalty, redemption, brotherhood, a criminal underworld…it’s stock standard…

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TV Review: The Sister elevates a standard premise with a supernatural element

A nonlinear storyline, a dash of supernatural suggestion, and committed performances across the board, The Sister switches enough of the standard murder-mystery thriller concept for it to earn viewer interest over the course of its four sharp episodes. Within minutes of Neil Cross‘s screenplay unfolding on the screen – the writer adapting from his own…

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Lady Whistledown delivers an announcement: Bridgerton Season 2 is coming!

Prepare for another social season.  Bridgerton, the romantic, scandalous, and quick-witted series that became one of Netflix’s most-watched shows of all time, will be returning for a second salacious season, as stated by the society papers of Lady Whistledown. “Dearest readers, The ton are abuzz with the latest gossip, and so it is my honour…

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Ever wanted to watch a movie from a hot spring? Now in Victoria, you can.

Watching a movie underneath the stars whilst being submerged in a hot spring pool? Where do I sign up? A movie experience like no other, this February the Peninsula Hot Springs in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula return to host a movie season like no other as every Friday night in February – plus a special Valentine’s…

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Jarryd James. Credit- Mitch Lowe

Interview: Jarryd James on P.M., New York City and sunburns

Jarryd James hit international recognition with his debut album Thirty One back in 2015. His lead single “Do You Remember” has been streamed over 111 million times since its January 2015 release and picked up Best Pop Release at that year’s ARIAs, alongside four other nominations for Jarryd. To say his debut was successful is…

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Drunk Tank Pink

Album of the Week: Shame – Drunk Tank Pink (2021 LP)

After the absolute shitstorm of 2020, you’d have thought 2021 would hopefully deliver some sort of reprieve. After losing pretty much every avenue of income last year, English band Shame pinned all their hopes on 2021 being the year they could thrive, via touring their new album Drunk Tank Pink. Slaving away through last year…

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The Space Between

Album Review: Illy – The Space Between (2021 LP)

COVID-19 and lockdown delayed the release of Illy’s sixth studio album The Space Between by eight months. Although for an album three years in the making, a bit of patience wasn’t too much to ask for both artist and his fanbase. He’s dropped plenty of singles in the meantime. Melbourne-based Illy, Alasdair Murray, hadn’t put…

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Skyglow

Book Review: Lose yourself in Leslie Thiele’s short story collection Skyglow

A woman adjusts to her new urban landscape. A slaughterman comes to terms with the death of his wife. A rodeo ringer blows into town, wreaking havoc. These are just a handful of the eclectic characters, locations, and stories that come gloriously together in Leslie Thiele‘s recent collection Skyglow. Bouncing from the past to the…

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LANKS

Exclusive Single Premiere: LANKS “Cold Blood” (2021)

LANKS is the solo project for Will Cuming. Cuming, an Australian native but now residing in Brooklyn, NY is a producer and multi-instrumentalist. He has been working on a double-album, Spirits Pt. 1. and 2. Pt 1. was released late last year and features exclusively guest vocalists. Pt 2. sees LANKS taking control of the…

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daste.

Exclusive Single Premiere: daste. “somebody like you” (2021)

Gold Coast-trio daste.  are about to release their first single of the year, “somebody like you”, a beautiful uplifting tune, and we are thrilled to be premiering it today. This is the second track to be released off their forthcoming debut album dusk/dawn, due out mid-year. “somebody like you” follows on from “either way”, which…

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Film Review: Dave Franco’s The Rental is a gradually unnerving thriller that speaks to his skills as a storyteller

It goes without saying that within the realms of the horror film, setting plays a large factor.  From the Bates Motel – and, by extension, THAT shower – in Psycho to the murderous New York dwelling of The Amityville Horror, places of habitation are often their own character if utilised precisely enough.  In The Rental,…

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Indie Book Awards

Shortlist announced for 2021 Indie Book Awards

This morning the shortlist for the 2021 Indie Book Awards have been unveiled. The twenty-four shortlisted books, the best books of the year as nominated by Australian independent booksellers, now go on to vie for the coveted Overall Indie ‘Book of the Year’ for 2021.  A panel of judge will choose the winners in each…

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Hitman 3 Review: Mission complete

Three years have passed since Square Enix abruptly cut ties with Hitman 3 developer IO Interactive. The good news is that there appears to have been some measure of reconciliation. Though IO is self-publishing Hitman 3 in many territories, Square Enix is the publishing partner for Hitman 3 in Oceania. Without getting into specifics, reconciliation…

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Hardline

Track of the Week: Julien Baker “Hardline” (2021)

Singer-songwriter Julien Baker continues to tease her forthcoming album Little Oblivions, treating fans to new single “Hardline”.  The new single, the first track on the new album, further showcases the more expansive sound that Baker has opted for on the forthcoming album. It’s bigger, bolder, but at the same time, so clearly a Julien Baker…

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Illy

Guest Playlist: Illy shares songs from the artists who changed his life

The genre defying and ARIA Award winning artist Illy has returned with his sixth LP, The Space Between.  Released on Friday, the album is the culmination of over three years of persistence, grind, and continent hopping. Illy split the album’s recording sessions between his hometown of Melbourne, and studios around the world, including, Los Angeles,…

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Sturle Dagsland

Interview: Sturle Dagsland on his debut LP, creative process, and recording with huskies

Norwegian experimental singer Sturle Dagsland continues to tease his forthcoming self-titled debut album, set for release early next month – February 5th.  The latest single to be lifted from the album is “Dreaming”; a track that showcases the album’s more ethereal side. It’s positively serene compared to the previously released “Kusanagi” and “Waif”; which highlighted…

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The Forest of Moon and Sword

Book Review: Join Art on the quest to save her mother in Amy Raphael’s middle grade folk tale The Forest of Moon and Sword

In the dead of night, the Witchfinder General’s men came to Kelso and snatched away Art’s mother. Narrowly avoiding being taken herself, Art was left with nothing but a sword, her mother’s trusty book of remedies and salves, and her faithful horse Lady. It’s not much, but with the forest to guide her, she sets…

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SXSW Film Festival 2021 announces opening night headliner and other premiere highlights

The SXSW Film Festival has announced its opening night headliner as the 28th annual event prepares to announce its complete film lineup on February 10th, 2021. Serving as the opening night headliner will be Michael D. Ratner‘s Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, a powerful YouTube Originals documentary event that explores the aspects that led…

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Sydney Festival Review: Circa’s Humans 2.0 is a slick, edgy and contemporary production

Globally acclaimed Queensland contemporary circus group Circa have delivered a sequel to their ground breaking 2017 show Humans. Humans 2.0 is a ‘love letter to humanity’, exploring trust, vulnerability and the extremes of human ability. Those extremes are of evident immediately, as the cast of 10 begin with outrageous feats of acrobatics. At times it…

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Live Review: Birds of Tokyo’s symphonic tour with WASO is a raging success

WA alt-rockers Birds of Tokyo have done plenty in their 15-year existence, but a symphonic tour is something completely foreign and new, so frontman Ian Kenny admitted they were “shitting bricks” with their first few shows at the idyllic Perth Concert Hall over the weekend. Birds of Tokyo’s symphonic tour commenced on Thursday night with…

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Sydney Festival Review: Autocannibal is a gruesomely funny exploration into our apocalypse

Autocannibal presents a dystopian circus exploring the nature of sustenance. Isolated as the only remaining human in a world bereft of food and water, our protagonist battles a sea of junk and plastic, avoiding the obvious reality that there’s only one thing remaining for him to truly eat. Mick Jones is a versatile performer, delivering…

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First Impressions: Marvel’s WandaVision on Disney+ marches to the beat of its own bold, sitcom-celebrating drum

Given that 2020 was unable to give us the Marvel titles we had originally anticipated thanks to a certain pandemic – both Black Widow and Eternals were set for release – WandaVision has somewhat of an extra layer of pressure added to it, now that it is officially both the first taste of the MCU…

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Interview: Actor Aldis Hodge on working with Regina King in One Night In Miami and the importance of the film’s release

Academy Award winning actress Regina King‘s feature film directorial debut, One Night In Miami, is arriving this week on Amazon Prime Video.  An adaptation of Kemp Powers’ acclaimed stage play detailing a fictionalised meeting between  Malcom X, Muhammed Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke in a Miami hotel room in 1964, the film has been…

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Outlawed

Book Review: Anna North ventures into the feminist Wild West in Outlawed

  There are few things that will turn a woman to becoming an outlaw faster than the threat of being hanged as a witch. So it is for Ada, the protagonist of Anna North’s latest novel, Outlawed.  Described as a mash up of The Handmaid’s Tale with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Outlawed takes place in “the year of…

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Ubisoft Massive

Ubisoft Massive building open-world Star Wars adventure

Yesterday brought a tease about an Indiana Jones game at Bethesda. Today we have a Star Wars game landing at Ubisoft. It would appear the new LucasFilm Games division is on a bit of a roll. Announced in an interview with Wired, an untitled, open-world Star Wars project is underway at Ubisoft Massive, creators of…

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LitFestBergen

Perth to feature in LitFestBergen’s Eurovision-style literary event

“Hello Perth, this is Bergen calling.” Perth and Writing WA will be featured, along with ten other international locations, in LitFestBergen’s Literature Live Around The World on February 12th. One of the few positives that has come from the global Covid-19 pandemic, is the increasing use of the virtual. In 2020, Literary Awards and Book Festivals…

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Indiana Jones

Bethesda teases new Indiana Jones game from Wolfenstein dev

It took the new LucasFilm Games division just 24 hours to announce a new Indiana Jones game. The still-untitled game has landed at Wolfenstein: The New Colossus developer MachineGames. Its parent company Bethesda, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft, shared a teaser video on its social media accounts. It then clarified that the game is still in…

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