The new LP from Melbourne’s Gosteleradio Good Deeds Against the Dead is a down beat affair that sounds as though it was written under the influence of a cocktail of illicit substances and Pink Floyd’s back catalogue. Formed as a side project of Plug in City and TTT, Gosteleradio are one of the more interesting…
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The Falls Music and Arts Festival jukebox is bursting with goodness, spinning inside, raring to be unleashed. Lean over and flick through because this sound machine is filled to the brim with talent from near and far that will make your skin tingle and your mind blow. Celebrating a magnificent 18 years in Lorne and…
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Sunset Sounds’ smooth grooves and fine rockin’ tunes are warming up for this hot summer festival – back for the third year in 2011 after sell out shows the past two years running. Set under the lush green canopies of Brisbane’s magnificent City and Botanic Gardens, this gathering of superfine artists from near and far…
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Buick Six aren’t releasing ground breaking music. Everything on their Common Arms EP is derivative of seventies rock and the early nineties garage scene. However, there is something obscenely endearing about their particular brand of guitar driven rock that is packed full of energy, mischief and killer hooks. The boys from Brisbane have taken on…
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SOUNDWAVE RETURNS, BIGGER, BETTER & GOING WHERE NO FESTIVAL HAS GONE BEFORE… There used to be a saying at Soundwave that no one band is bigger than the festival. That saying will be tested in 2011 as we proudly announce a rare chance to see rock legends IRON MAIDEN as the headline artist for next…
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Brisbane artist Dan Parsons made the trek down to Melbourne this weekend to showcase the tunes from his debut LP Firestarter. First stop was a set with the full band at The Toff In Town, a cozy venue with a lively atmosphere that suited the mood of the music. Parsons is a confident entertainer who…
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When attending Splendour in the Grass, one part of the day quite difficult to make it in time for is anything pre-Noon. Two bands who fit into this category conveniently joined forces for a wonderful evening at the Oxford Art Factory, and my final Splendour in the Grass sideshow for 2010. Having regretfully missed a…
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All girl rock bands are not only few and far between in the current live music scene, but I think it’s fair to say that they’ve always been a rarity. Enter Creepers, a five piece Sydney band, made up entirely of talented females, two of which kick the shit out of the drums quite frequently….
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As I entered the Splendour grounds for the final day – exhausted, aching, sunburnt – I couldn’t help but feel quite at a loss as to what my life would be like without sleeping in an overheated van, experiencing such amazing music in the middle of nowhere. It has truly been an outstanding weekend I…
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Broken Social Scene is a group that masters the art of musical collaboration, a talent which has shaped the constant development and diversity of sound which exists in their music. With the ubiquitous dynamic between its varied and multiple members, and the resulting sentience in their sound, Broken Social Scene have become one of the…
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Here’s a scrawling of memories regarding a gig at the lovely Factory Theatre in Sydney that involved a certain formido Leporidae – Frightened Rabbit to quote the Latin. I arrived a little late and missed the start of support act Sierra Fin. However, the group showed some nice enthusiasm, especially drummer Frosty who used his…
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There was electricity in the air of the Prince Bandroom as hundreds of excited punters braved the stormy weather and made the trek down to St. Kilda to catch electro-pop wonders Passion Pit on the last of their Splendour in the Grass sideshows. Supporting the boys on their Australian tour were The Joy Formidable who…
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Just two days ago, the Metro Theatre was faced with a dark divide: on one side were the loitering, cigarette smoking hipsters; and the other, groups of chubby middle-aged men joking loudly and drinking VB. It’s moments like these which bring a tear to my eye, proud of music’s role in bringing all sorts of…
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Once again, Oxford Art Factory has played host to a night for the memory bank with The Drums throwing one hell of a party. This review is a tad behind schedule for reasons beyond control of Ares the mighty war god, but here it is for you to peruse. Before I get to the goodness…
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From the minute I entered the venue on day two, I found myself feeling much more a part of the festival atmosphere than I did the day prior. What would go on to happen today and the next would prove Splendour 2010 to be the best festival I’ve ever attended in the Southern Hemisphere –…
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The wonderful fortnight of Splendour in the Grass sideshows continued last night with the sole international hip hop artist to get a spot on the lineup: Canada’s K-OS. Catching him briefly at Splendour and being blown away by his set at Good Vibrations many years ago, I had eagerly anticipated his sideshow. I arrived at…
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48 hours or so after Splendour came to an end, I return to Sydney slightly under the weather, with the memories of an excellent weekend that passed by all too quickly. Thankfully, the sideshows continue around the city and the country, keeping our live music withdrawals at bay – at least for the moment. The…
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It’s a little overdue, but now is as good a time as any to take a look-see at Tame Impala’s debut album InnerSpeaker. Given the belated nature of this review there is a good chance that you have probably heard most of the LP, or even acquired its goodness for your own enjoyment. Nevertheless, there…
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After hearing about the epic 6 hour delays some punters encountered entering the camping area in the later hours of Thursday evening, I couldn’t help but be thankful I had elected to stay in a hotel in Brisbane for the first night. Thankfully, the delays were down to between 1 and 2 hours by the…
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“No-one told you to come to my concert, and that’s what I appreciate the most. There’s no sheep in this crowd.” -Richard Ashcroft, prior to his embarrassing Splendour fiasco. Ashcroft is the soul of an era once past, one of the few britpop legends managing to survive with the same dignity they once possessed. His…
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A large crowd was crammed into the Workers bandroom to watch local folktronic act Goodnight Owl launch the film clip for “Maps and Compasses”, taken from their recently released self titled EP. Supporting the band were a young group from Geelong called Sleep Decade. Sleep Decade were a pleasant surprise with their pleasant blend of…
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Brisbane’s finest purveyors of indie pop, The Boat People, graced the Worker’s Club with one of the final shows on their Dear Darkly album launch tour. First on the billing were local act Drugs In Vegas. Formed in their final year of high school, Drugs In Vegas have already amassed quite the fan base through…
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Pop audiences in Australia have never really embraced big, outdoor festivals (remember Rumba?), but Paperchase Touring seemed to have found a winning format of late with R&B/urban mini-festivals at Acer Arena such as Supafest and Winter Jam. This time it’s called Winterbeatz, and it boasts Ne-Yo, T-Pain, Outkast’s Big Boi and Fatman Scoop. Arena doors…
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Opting to enjoy a night in Brisbane rather than at the Splendour campgrounds, I headed along to the Troubadour to catch up and coming bands Blame Ringo and Montpelier, who tonight were celebrating the launch of a tour around QLD and Northern NSW. With the exhaustion of an extensive touring schedule yet to kick in,…
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Tomorrow we head up to Splendour in the Grass, but before we make the voyage, we thought we’d touch base with one of our favourite bands, Frightened Rabbit, who are playing at the Festival on Sunday, alongside a few sideshows around the country! Kindly taking up the interview with us was Grant Hutchinson, the drummer…
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As I entered the Hordern Pavilion beer garden, I found my ears telling my feet something they didn’t expect: RUN. There was a sound coming from the stage that simply sounded amazing. It wasn’t The Temper Trap, no – it was way too early! It was a band from North Wales (via London) called The…
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Splendour in the Grass is almost upon us and the sideshows kicked off in Melbourne last week, including an intimate set at the Workers Club with the UK’s best kept secret The Joy Formidable. The Workers underwent a slight transformation for the evening, with the front bar closed off to the general public and the…
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It is difficult to imagine, when observing the masses of leather jackets, studs, and dirty beards at the Annandale on Friday night, that these crowds were here to see a band whose most popular song references Jesus in its title. A self-confessed stoner rock band, Violent Soho were here to ignite an explosive release for…
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Having just released his unexpectedly brilliant debut album ((un)), and touring Australia for the first time this September with Parklife, we had a chat to the maestro of “wonky pop”, Dan Black… while he was sitting on a street corner in Paris – where he just so happens to live! Ah, the life of the…
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Cabins (pictured below) kicked things off with some loud bluesy rock and roll. Whether you arrived in time for them or The Vasco Era, it would have been a similar treat, but I think those that made it just that little bit earlier would have been pretty chuffed! The second song of the night, “Mary”…
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