Books Editor. An admirer of songs and reader of books. Simon has a PhD in English and Comparative Literature. All errant apostrophes are his own.
Since the release of Daisy Jones and the Six back in 2019, narratives about fictional bands, singers and songwriters have undergone something of a renaissance. Dawnie Walton’s debut The Final Revival of Opal & Nev builds on the oral history format of Daisy Jones, and takes the next step. Walton succeeds in telling a story…
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We’re big fans of EJ Worland here at the AU. His debut EP No One Left To Blame, which dropped earlier this month, was our Album of the Week. His single “Over The Pond” came in at 27 on our 40 Best Australian Tracks of 2020 too. His is a sound firmly rooted in the…
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Next week, Wednesday April 28th, will see the best and brightest of Australian literature descend on Sydney’s Carriageworks for the premier event in the Australian book industry calendar; and we’re giving five of you the chance to join them. We have five General Admissions double passes to give away to the 2021 ABIAs Awards Gala….
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I told myself that I wouldn’t entertain pandemic adjacent albums. But, Rhiannon Giddens’ latest, recorded with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, has proven to be an exception. It helps that it’s not an album of songs about sourdough and lockdowns. It also helps that it’s superb. They’re Calling Me Home is a timely album, with pertinent…
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“Devil’s Sound” is the latest synth-led slice of dark pop from Brooklyn’s HEN. HEN, who’s real name is Henry Kaye, is a rising Queer star, producer and singer-songwriter. Last year saw him release his debut EP Velvet Rage and the stand alone single “Roll Back”; and now he’s teamed up with experienced producer Yoad Nevo…
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Somehow we’re three months into the year and Easter is just around the corner. So it’s time for another look into our most anticipated books of 2021. This time we’ve taken a deep dive into the books set to be published April through to June. With so many books published each week and month, this…
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Illawarra indie quartet Maple Mall are back with a new single — “Down This Way” — their second for 2021 so far; and only their third single of their career overall. “Down This Way” is another cracking release from the lads from Illawarra. It really hits those chilled out late summer vibes perfectly. Three singles…
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This morning the Stella Prize have announced their 2021 shortlist live on ABC Radio National’s Breakfast program. The 2021 shortlist spans fiction and non-fiction and showcases the extraordinary talent and ingenuity on display across the Australian literary landscape. The 2021 prize saw the judges receive over 160 entries from Australian women and non-binary writers. Earlier…
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Lord Huron is back and with a new album on the way. On May 21st the alt-country outfit will release their fourth album: Long Lost. The group have already kick started the album cycle with the release of the first single “Mine Forever”. Long Lost is billed as a concept album. It is centred around…
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Last night saw the best and brightest of WA’s music scene come together to celebrate the very best of 2020 at the WAMAwards. Taking place as part of WA Music Week, the evening was testament to Western Australia’s vibrant, talented, and resilient music scene, with live performances from winners, Adrian Dzvuke, Noah Dillon and more….
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For the second year the Indie Book Awards have been announced online, with The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams announced as Australian independent booksellers’ favourite book of the year. On winning the award, Pip Williams hailed the work of Australia’s independent booksellers as they adapted to working in a pandemic lockdown: “The Dictionary…
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Last week saw West Australian act Camarano release their debut album, Where Am I Now?. The album is the band’s first major release since their EP Shadow Calling in 2019. Meanwhile, they’ve been teasing the album across the last year, drip feeding us a trio of singles: “Holiday Inn”, “Give It To Me Straight”, and…
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Duo Teo & Jay release their second single of 2021 this week. “Paradise”, only the duo’s third single, is a sweet self-produced slice of R&B. Officially released on Friday, we’re excited to bring you this chance to hear it before the rest. The duo met at Berkley’s College of Music, and have been working together…
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After having to cancel last year’s festival due to COVID, Sydney Writers Festival is coming back stronger and bolder in 2021. According to Artistic Director Michael Williams, who joined the Festival last year, the theme for the 2021 Festival is “Within Reach”, and will highlight the writers who are shaping Australian literature right now. “It…
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Cornwall, December 1972. Three lighthouse keepers vanish from a remote offshore lighthouse. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. And, the Principal Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm that never happened. This is the set-up for Emma Stonex’s The Lamplighters. The Lamplighters is inspired by real events, despite its…
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Early this morning the longlist for the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction was announced. This year’s sixteen strong longlist honours and celebrates a selection of both new and well-established writers. The list also draws from across a range of genres, and the sixteen novels explore a variety of themes, from family and motherhood, to themes…
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Brisbane alt-pop duo Syrup are back with their latest single “Catch Your Flow”. Co-produced by Slum Sociable‘s Ed Quinn, “Catch Your Flow” is a certified bop, and should be added to your playlists post haste. Tackling topics of uncertainty and longing for a ‘sign’ from the universe, the new single blends the duo’s now signature…
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Poetry and prose, critique and compassion all come together in Dropbear, the debut collection from award-winning writer, poet and editor Evelyn Araluen. It’s a remarkable collection; smart, thoughtful and articulate. To put it frankly, it comes as a surprise that this is Araluen’s debut book. Dropbear explores the imagery and mythology surrounding popular ideas of…
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Singer-songwriter Julien Baker is all set to release her forthcoming album Little Oblivions later this week. Officially released on February 26th, the album delivers a sound that is bigger, bolder and more expansive than the sparse intimacy that we’ve come to expect from Baker. Recorded pre-COVID, Little Oblivions might be a sonic shift for Baker,…
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Sydney’s Highline haven’t let a little thing like a global pandemic throw off their hard earned momentum. The quartet are back with a new single, “Staying Sane”, and with the promise of more to come. It was still early days for the band pre-covid. They’d released their debut EP and played their first ever shows…
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Thanks to Madman Entertainment we have ten double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the Golden Globe-nominated MINARI, the tender and sweeping story for writer/director Lee Isaac Chung, and starring Steven Yuen. The film arrives in Australian cinemas on February 18th. Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in…
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If you like your guitar’s jangly, then look no further than Songs From Another Life, the sophomore album from indie rock duo The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness. By way of introduction, the band are something of an atypical endeavour. The band’s two members – Gonzalo Marcos (from Spanish indie popsters El Palacio de…
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Armed with an impressive array of obscure and worldly instruments and an astounding vocal, Norwegian artist Sturle Dagsland has crafted an album that is extraordinary, compelling and undoubtedly idiosyncratic. That it is his debut, makes it all the more remarkable. When I reviewed “Kusanagi”, the album’s lead single back in October, I remarked that it…
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Love Is An Ex-Country is the compelling new memoir from Arab American writer and academic Randa Jarrar. The book (much like its author) is provocative, powerful and utterly unabashed. Presented as a travel memoir, Love is an Ex-Country begins with Jarrar heading on a cross-country road trip, emulating a similar trip taken by celebrated Egyptian…
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Indie rock continues to be in fine form in Australia, with another band throwing their hats into the ring. Maple Mall are a four piece from the Illawarra region of New South Wales, who have just released their sophomore single “Coastin’”. It’s very much early days for the lads from Illawarra – they only played…
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The Tasmanian landscape and a whole host of engaging, charming and well drawn characters populate the stories that make up Born Into This, the debut short story collection from Adam Thompson; an emerging Aboriginal (pakana) author from Tasmania. The collection comprises sixteen stories, often brief, but always impactful. In spite of this brevity, Thompson is…
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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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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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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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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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