Album Reviews

Album Review: Maddy Jane – Not Human At All (2018 EP)

Maddy Jane appears to be on the precipice of success. At a time where Australian female singer-songwriters are on the up and up, the Tasmanian has continually evolved to a point where you just know she’s about to be in everyone’s ears and on everyone’s playlists. On the back of 2017’s breakout single “No Other…

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Album Review: Divide and Dissolve – Abomination (2018 LP)

Unsettling string effects, followed by bone crunching percussion is the first punch Divide and Dissolve hit you with on their new album, Abomination. The aim and intent is clear: this is an album to challenge, to dismantle and to change perspective. The Melbourne duo have been forming for themselves a strong presence within local community and unsurprisingly,…

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Album Review: Above and Beyond – Common Ground (2018 LP)

If you’re looking for the perfect cruisy soundtrack for your summer beach party the latest release from Above and Beyond could be just for you. The English based EDM group is already making waves on the charts within days of their latest release, Common Ground. The list of nominations and awards that they have amassed…

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Album Review: Django Django – Marble Skies (2018 LP)

Django Django’s third full album since their sophomore Born Under Saturn – released back in 2015 – stirs mixed emotions for many fans and fist time listeners alike. Notably for this one, it feels like the influences behind the music aren’t as clear as songs gone past. The majority of the LP edges somewhere towards a…

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Album Review: Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers (2018 LP)

As good as change may be, continuity and familiarity is just as great. And in some cases, it’s probably better. Here on the new Brian Fallon album, Sleepwalkers, the American artist has embraced some changes from his The Gaslight Anthem days, whilst maintaining much of what has allowed him to develop such a loyal and…

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Album Review: The Sad Song Co. – Worth (2018 LP)

If you look in the dictionary for the definition of multi-talented I’m not entirely certain you wouldn’t see a picture of Nigel Powell smiling back at you.  For the uninitiated, Nigel is the powerhouse drummer in The Sleeping Souls, the relentlessly touring (and recording) band for Frank Turner. He’s also from Dive Dive, and the…

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Album Review: Tiny Little Houses – Idiot Proverbs (2018 LP)

Having been in and around Australian listeners’ ears for near enough to the past four years, it’s safe to say it has been a slow burn as Tiny Little Houses have gradually built up to their debut album, the (I hope) mostly ironically titled Idiot Proverbs. If you do yourself a favour and head over…

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Album Review: Frank Turner – Songbook (2017 LP)

Arguably the world’s hardest-touring musician, Frank Turner has somehow managed to find enough spare time to collate and release a new album to see out 2017. Songbook is a double CD offering – the first CD being a celebration of some of his finest songs recorded so far in his career, and the second being ten…

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Album Review: Electric Wizard – Wizard Bloody Wizard (2017 LP)

It’s no secret how much Dorset, England metalheads Electric Wizard worship Black Sabbath. There’s the surface level influence, like the slow beats, bottom-heavy riffs, and Satan-worshipping lyrics, and their name is a reference to two of their idol’s songs – “Electric Funeral” and “The Wizard”. The band has made their influence more obvious by paraphrasing…

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Album Review: Tame Impala – Currents B-Sides & Remixes (2017 EP)

If you’ve been craving new Tame Impala, then this one’s for you. After two years since Currents hit home sending shockwaves through the nation, frontman Kevin Parker has decided to revisit the group’s third LP, giving fans their well needed pick-me-up. Sparing three B-sides and two remixes, Parker isn’t holding back – the EP makes up just…

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Album Review: Greta Stanley – Full Grown (2017 LP)

Like just about everyone else in existence, your late teens and early twenties is a time where you’re trying to find your place and struggle to work out what and who you are or want to be. While Greta Stanley admits to being in this boat, one thing she definitely has already worked out is…

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Album Review: Purple Disco Machine – Soulmatic (2017 LP)

German producer Purple Disco Machine has released his debut studio album Soulmatic and it’s as full of funk and soul as can be. After working with Jamiroquai and Gorillaz, the influences are clear. The 13-track album starts with “Music in You” featuring Lorenz Rhode and is packed full of vintage disco vibes and that 70’s funk…

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Album Review: St. Vincent – MASSEDUCTION (2017 LP)

I have never listened to St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) before this album, and while I feel I need to go and do that now, I am happy that MASSEDUCTION was my introduction to her music and her amazing talent. MASSEDUCTION is, quite frankly, the best thing I’ve listened to in a while. The production…

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Album Review: British India – Forgetting The Future (2017 LP)

I have been a British India fan from the start. I remember playing “Tie Up My Hands” on repeat back in 2007, and since then, I’ve followed their progress and danced in their moshpits in venues and festivals all over Sydney. To say their sixth album, Forgetting the Future is great is an understatement. Their…

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Album Review: Pearl Jam – Let’s Play Two (2017 LP)

“Good evening, Wrigley Field,” Eddie Vedder welcomes as the opening guitar to 1998’s “Low Light” begins behind him. The live album was recorded over two nights in August 2016 in Vedder’s hometown of Chicago before the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians World Series and accompanies a documentary directed by Danny Clinch who previously worked with the band…

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Album Review: Wolf Alice – Visions of a Life (2017 LP)

Ever since they released their break out single “Bros”, Wolf Alice has been a band who’ve been able to create tracks that are earnest, heartfelt and easily relatable, whilst simultaneously being as aggressive and downright brilliant as you could expect from a band in their genre. Where their debut album, 2015’s fantastic My Love Is…

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Album Review: Foo Fighters – Concrete and Gold (2017 LP)

It can’t be easy when you’ve been around as long as the Foo Fighters, both collectively and as the myriad of musical permutations of the individuals within the band, to come up with an album that sounds fresh and exciting but Concrete and Gold, the latest offering by the Foos, is just that. From the moment…

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Album Review: Princess Nokia – 1992 Deluxe (2017 LP)

Far from the days of Lauryn Hill, women are more represented in rap than ever. In some ways that’s a good thing, but unfortunately there’s a lot of undeserved stigma surrounding a large portion of the female artists of the genre. If there was going to be an artist who can break past the stigma…

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Album Review: Tyler The Creator – Flower Boy (2017 LP)

Tyler the Creator’s near decade long rap career has been sprinkled with controversy, if the term “sprinkled” really meant “completely survived by”. Tyler’s aggressive, controversial style and lyricism garnered a cult following for the Odd Future member. Tyler’s tracks involved rape, misogyny, abuse, homophobia and many other controversial topics, all of which incited riots and…

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Album Review: The Belligerents – Science Fiction (2017 LP)

The Belligerents’ debut album Science Fiction has landed. And you will want to get on board. The long-awaited full-length release from this Brisbane band, who have had the industry buzzing for some time, is out now through Sony. The record is full of all the grand splendour you’d hope for: driving guitars, spaced out keys,…

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Album Review: Ted Leo – The Hanged Man (2017 LP)

It’s been seven years since Ted Leo released The Brutalist Bricks, his last solo album. For someone who released five albums in the first decade of this century, that’s a notable drop-off. It’s not like he hasn’t been busy, he released an album as The Both in 2014 with Aimee Mann and seems to spend more…

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Album Review: The War on Drugs – A Deeper Understanding (2017 LP)

The War on Drugs‘ Adam Granduciel has a lot to live up to with latest album, A Deeper Understanding. 2014’s Lost in the Dream received high, widespread acclaim – our review even called it a masterpiece – which means this album is given the unlucky task of upholding or exceeding the hype. A Deeper Understanding…

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Album Review: The Preatures – Girlhood (2017 LP)

The Preatures‘ second album Girlhood, follow up to their 2014 debut Blue Planet Eyes, explores matters that affect us as girls in a fun, pop-driven way. Opening track “Girlhood” blasts in without an intro, and makes me want to jump around my bedroom while singing into a hairbrush. If they were intending to make female…

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Album Review: Yeo – Desire Path (2017 LP)

In the months following the release of Yeo‘s Ganbaru record last year, I felt the Melbourne producer remained criminally slept on; what we had been given was a nigh on flawless collection of songs that put his talent as alt-pop producer and purveyor well on display, as well as giving us an insight into one of the…

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Album Review: Gordi – Reservoir (2017 LP)

When I was younger, after Saturday sport, if I’d played well and scored a goal, my Dad would give me dollar to buy something from the canteen. Without failure, I’d buy a bag of mixed lollies. Mainly because it was great value, but also because you never knew what you were going to get until…

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Album Review: Gang Of Youths – Go Farther In Lightness (2017 LP)

Straight off the bat, Go Farther In Lightness is a victory album. It’s a victory of love and loss; a triumph for hope and life. It’s an album with many peaks and just as many moments that make you ponder and appreciate your existence. It’s a compass for those lacking direction. It’s the ‘I may…

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Album Review: Mura Masa – Mura Masa (2017 LP)

The self-titled debut album from British pop DJ Alex Crossan AKA Mura Masa, while producing some quality bangers and funky house tracks, fails to come across as a much of a Mura Masa project. The quality of the tracks, the production and the diversity of sounds on the album all contribute to the positive sides of…

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Album Review: Saskwatch – Manual Override (2017 LP)

Change, for the lack of a better word, is good. And while they may have moved even further away from the soul and horns that made me fall in love with them in the first place, Saskwatch continually prove they know how to make devastatingly beautiful indie-pop. This is no different here on their fourth…

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Album Review: The Creases – Tremolow (2017 LP)

How can a song be anthemic if no one’s ever heard it before? The Creases answer that question in their stunning debut album Tremolow. While there’s been a lot of hype around this beloved Brisbane band since they formed four years ago, they waited until now to release their LP. One of the reasons was…

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Album Review: Make Them Suffer – Worlds Apart (2017 LP)

Perth based sextet Make Them Suffer are back with their glorious third studio album, Worlds Apart. I will be honest, heavy deathcore is not my norm. But, as an angsty teen growing up in a depleting economy where a Thrasher T-shirt is more than my rent, I still find myself turning towards the choleric, emotion dripping genre…

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