Album Reviews

Album Review: The Owls – Own The Streets (2014 EP)

It’s been out for a while, but alternative rock outfit The Owls have managed to deliver a solid, bass-heavy and majorly rockin’ EP that will have you wanting to head bang or show of your killer air guitar skills, whatever you fancy. Own The Streets features 6 songs, delivering the perfect recipe of a well-rounded,…

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Album Review: Seaway – Colour Blind (2015 LP)

Bursting with the nostalgic pop-punk vibes of the early 2000s, where bands like The Starting Line and New Found Glory ruled, Seaway are a new fresh face to the pop-punk scene. Since signing with Pure Noise Records, they have been exposed to the same community of people who listen to the likes of State Champs,…

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Album Review: Transvaal Diamond Syndicate – The Shadow (2015 EP)

Transvaal Diamond Syndicate (TDS) have dropped an EP you definitely need in your life. The Shadow is a 6 track blues / roots album that is channeling some 70’s Deep Purple vibes. If you haven’t heard TDS before you are going to get a pleasant surprise with a release full of riffs that are going to…

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Album Review: Dick Diver – Melbourne, Florida (2015 LP)

Melbourne, Florida finds Dick Diver facing up to an unenviable predicament – their last album, Calendar Days, was released to such critical applause that their follow up release automatically has a huge (and some would say unfair) hurdle to overcome – is it better than the last LP? And the answer is….. maybe. Melbourne, Florida…

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Album Review: Pennywise – Yesterdays (2014 LP)

Pennywise will never be accused of reinventing the wheel; and when you’ve been producing durable punk rock albums for 27 years like they have, you don’t generally backslide. You stick to the formula – and that’s exactly what they’ve done with their latest offering Yesterdays. This album smacks of songs that were born of an…

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Album Review: Set Sail – Good Vibes (2015 EP)

It’s April 2011 and I’m on holiday in Sydney. I’m roaming the streets with a Starbucks latte in hand and my digital SLR camera around my neck. I’m feeling sufficiently hip. Then, as I turn the corner onto Pitt Street, the mall directly behind me, my gait is arrested by the sounds of something majestic…

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Album Review: Shihad – FVEY (2014 LP)

It takes a total of about two seconds to recognise the work of Melbourne-based Kiwis Shihad in the opening track of their latest offering, FVEY. A better hit than a double-shot mocha-choca-latte with added rocket fuel, it bursts forth with their familiar intense sound, waking every cell in your being. FVEY, pronounced Five Eyes, refers…

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Album Review: City and Colour – If I Should Go Before You (2015 LP)

Dallas Green is a man of great talents. Since the days of Alexisonfire, Green has been setting himself up by putting together music that is emotive, intricate and personal. There’s no denying that what he writes lyrically empowers many others too. With Green’s latest offering, If I Should Go Before You, we see him experiment…

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Album Review: Pierce Brothers – Into The Dirt (2015 EP)

Into the Dirt is the brand new EP from dynamic duo, the Pierce Brothers. Having gained a stellar reputation through busking on Melbourne’s streets, the multi-instrumentalists have taken to the world stage with passion and ferocity. Earthy acoustics are skillfully executed, their DIY approach oozing with folk. Lyrical narratives are delivered with sincerity and grit, tranquil…

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Album Review: Little May – For The Company (2015 LP)

2015 has been a great year for music. While it was almost universally agreed that 2014 was pretty light on ground-breaking releases and tactfully glorious tunes, 2015 has gone in the complete opposite direction and released banger after absolute banger; masterpiece after masterpiece. And Little May’s For The Company is another one you can add…

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Album Review: David Campbell – The Essential (2015 LP)

Singer, performer, television presenter and all around nice guy – is there anything David Campbell can’t do? David returns with his tenth (can you believe it?!) album The Essential – and it’s just that. I’m always curious as to who these kinds of albums are supposed to be marketed at. Are they made for the…

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Album Review: The Weeknd – Beauty Behind The Madness (2015 LP)

The Weeknd are probably one of my favourite artists of all time, and their new album has totally blown me away. With its pure creative lyricism and catchy hooks coupled with dance beats, if you haven’t heard this album you’re missing out. Click through for my full review of The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness….

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Album Review: State Champs – Around The World and Back (2015 LP)

If there’s one thing that has remained consistent with State Champs it’s their drive for making pop punk sound fresh and charming. With their sophomore release, Around The World and Back, the five-piece have proven once again that pop punk is alive and evolving for generations to come. After several listens of this record, the…

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Album Review: Boy & Bear – Limit of Love (2015 LP)

Boy & Bear are river-boat slow, that kind of deceptively smooth-flowing pace that looks calm and languid on the surface but is moving quite fast underneath. The Sydney folk-rock quintet’s third album Limit Of Love cruises along easily, keeping a lively enough pace that it doesn’t sink into the doldrums. It is, in short, a…

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Album Review: Neon Indian – Vega Intl. Night School (2015 LP)

The highly praised tribal leader of indie synth returns with his first album in four years. We’re of course talking about Neon Indian and his long awaited LP Vega INTL. Night School, officially available this Friday. Firstly – I need to know: how does one attend this night school? Because they will teach you all…

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Album Review: Ryan Adams – 1989 (2015 LP)

There are many things in life that most people would deem to be unnecessary. Examples of these include public transport that doesn’t work, hot cross buns that look like choc-chip but are actually sultana, and now Ryan Adams’ cover album of Taylor Swift’s 1989. To set the precedent for this review, I personally consider a cover…

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Album Review: Art vs Science – Off the Edge of the Earth and Into Forever, Forever (2015 LP)

Art vs Science are back. And before you go jumping down my throat with the ‘they didn’t go anywhere!’s, the truth is that they did. Regardless of how well received their 2014 EP was, you cannot deny that the Sydney trio at one point trod a tightrope hovering over either falling into a party jam…

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Album Review: CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye (2015 LP)

Scottish electronic trio CHVRCHES received quite a bit of attention from their 2013 debut record The Bones of What You Believe; a highly sporadic record that caught on with ravenous hooks of electronic beats and indie elements, becoming a gamechanger for the alternative scene. With the trio’s sophomore release Every Open Eye, CHVRCHES have created a perfect follow-up: something…

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Album Review: Parkway Drive – IRE (2015 LP)

If there’s anything to go by with today’s metalcore scene, it’s safe to say that some bands have reached a plateau in regards to creativity and sound. After listening to Parkway Drive‘s IRE, this record is truly a cathartic approach to what has been firing them up lately. From politics to the cruel things happening around the…

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Album Review: The Co Founder – Old Programs/New Beliefs (2015 EP)

Meet Hayden Eller. The man behind the music project, The Co Founder and an artist that has produced a moving EP titled Old Programs/New Beliefs. Using his own equipment to produce and mix his own material, Eller shows a fiery passion that has made him create songs that resonate quite well with the raw and honest acoustics. Even…

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Album Review: Gary Clark Jr. – The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (2015 LP)

It often takes a few listens to get into a song, but there’s no denying the sweet moment of that feeling like you’ve heard a new song before. Gary Clark Jr. oozes familiar, old-school sentimentality among creative production, and his latest record The Story of Sonny Boy Slim will delight most and move many. Even…

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Album Review: Lifehouse – Out of the Wasteland (2015 LP)

I’ve always had a soft spot for Lifehouse. Having grown up with the band during my teenage years and listening to records such as No Name No Face, Stanley Climbfall, Who We Are and Smoke & Mirrors, I loved how intimate and honest the songs they created back then and it created a wonderful space of comfort whenever I needed something…

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Album Review: Bring Me The Horizon – That’s The Spirit (2015 LP)

Officially confirmed as seventh act for next year’s Soundwave Festival, much hype has surrounded UK metalcore giants, Bring Me The Horizon, with the announcement taking place on release day of their latest LP, That’s The Spirit. It’s interesting to see how the band have developed over time, looking at their past roots of deathcore in Count Your Blessings and Suicide…

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Album Review: Atomic Tom – ERA (2015 LP)

Taking three years to record, mix and produce, alternative rock/pop outfit, Atomic Tom bring a whopper of a release with their latest offering, ERA. Creating a record themselves surely wasn’t easy, however the passion and optimistic tunes that are on this record are sterling. With the band residing from Brooklyn, New York, it’s safe to say they were…

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Album Review: Ocean Carolina – Maudlin Days (2015 LP)

It’s easy to assume that all bands start off with an influence of some sort. Whether it’s from the music they grew up listening to or the people that have influenced them to start their own band, there is no conventional way of making music; you simply do it because you love it. Carrying over…

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miguel wildheart album art

Album Review: Miguel – Wildheart (2015 LP)

Miguel has been setting the bar high with his music. For someone that has a striking ability to apply himself, Wildheart is a sophisticated work of art. Since 2012’s Kaleidoscope Dream, his experimentation with rock music has glued together his songs quite nicely, and the music on this record is no exception. The transition from his slick and contemporary…

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Album Review: Brigades – Indefinite (2015 LP)

Pure Noise Records seem to be pulling out some decent bands in their roster and Brigades was one I kept my eye on. With their fusion of pop punk and hardcore elements mixed together, I was drawn by their music as soon as I stumbled upon their EP, Crocodile Tears and damn was it good. But with their latest…

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counterparts tragedy will find us album art

Album Review: Counterparts – Tragedy Will Find Us (2015 LP)

The Difference Between Hell and Home was a solid album and Canadian melodic-hardcore outfit Counterparts succeed once again with their latest offering of Tragedy Will Find Us. What strikes as impressive from this band is their ability to make their songs intriguing. Instrumentation in each track is different than the last and each lyric pins right to the core…

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Album Review: Art of Sleeping – Shake Shiver (2015 LP)

I remember coming across Art of Sleeping while lurking through YouTube. Songs like “Colourblind” and “Breathe” blew me away with their incredible sound, having a strong focus on their acoustic and alternative rock roots. I had a feeling that this band would go places but unfortunately their debut album, Shake Shiver felt like a step backwards for the them….

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northlane album art

Album Review: Northlane – Node (2015 LP)

Northlane are one of the heaviest bands known to Australia and the rest of the world. After their career as a band finally taking off in 2011 since their release of Discoveries, it’s become clear that they are just thriving with passion and energy. After the departure of original frontman, Adrian Fitipaldes, ex-vocalist of Sound of Seasons, Marcus Bridge has since…

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