This is an astonishing record. A story is secreted among its dayglo pop detritus: girl ditches home, meets wannabe folkstar (who does shit his way) and somewhere around “Colours” they eat tabs or fuck or both. You can practically hear the lysergic acid splash against Wildflower‘s prefrontal cortex. But writing about it is risky. Why…
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UK band Catfish and the Bottlemen, named after lead vocalist Van McCann’s encounter with an Australian busker called Catfish the Bottleman, have recently released their follow-up album to 2014’s debut, The Balcony. The Ride is a stonkingly good collection of tunes which are so polished and mature in their sound and production that I was…
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Ngaiire, to me, is an artist who has existed on the perimeter for far too long. As someone who doesn’t live in Sydney, my exposure to Ngaiire pre-2013 came merely in the form of a backing vocal feature here, a live spot there. ‘Why haven’t we seen more of this girl before?’, I’d think. Then…
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It may have been seven years since Paul Dempsey released his solo album Everything Is True but halfway into “The True Sea”, the opening track on his 2016 release Strange Loop, you forget about the long period in between. Its exploration of space and the loftiness of Dempsey’s vocal over seven and a half minutes…
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With Feelin’ Kinda Free, the Drones have reasserted themselves as the enfant terribles of Australian music. They’re willing to go where others aren’t, and they bring an unmatched intensity to their music. Anticipation has been building for this release since “Taman Shud” dropped last year, a single that showed that this album was going to…
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This Is How I Let You Down is Montreal-based alternative folk-pop band The Franklin Electric’s debut album. The band is headed up by Jon Matte on vocals, piano and trumpet, with Liam Killen on drums and vocals, Alexis Messier on guitar, and Martin Desrosby on bass. Matte is also the songwriter, plus he produced the…
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When British alt-pop band The 1975 came into prominence with the release of their self-titled debut album, their name became synonymous with teenage hipsters across the globe. After two years of touring and tracking their pop rock beats across the world, the band promised a reinvention in the wake of their second album – and…
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Kendrick Lamar‘s To Pimp a Butterfly has been hyped as much as it has for some very good reasons and we’re still yet to see how that album will continue to grow, influence, and inspire the next generation of discerning emcees, who will hopefully seek a similar impact to the one Lamar has had over…
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Parquet Courts are like that crush you had in high school – they’re smarter, cooler, funnier and more interesting than you and all you can really do is bow down to them and hope their cred will rub off on you. They’ve had a career that would make any discerning punk rock fan blush and…
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It has been argued, with varying levels of success, that Simple Plan deviated too far over the past couple of albums. Truth be told, they’ve always clung to the pop flank of pop-punk. Yet when irreverent lyrics and copious amounts of tomfoolery were replaced with love songs and seriousness, punk purists abandoned ship. But Simple…
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First off, who is this Pablo to whom Kanye West refers with his album title, The Life of Pablo? Picasso? Neruda? Escobar? Is he inexplicably trying to revive Petey Pablo’s career? Referencing Radiohead’s classic debut? Maybe he is likening himself San Pablo (St. Paul), another biblical reference following the religious megalomania of Yeezus. Most likely…
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Australia’s sweetheart Troye Sivan has finally unleashed his talents into the stratosphere with his debut record Blue Neighbourhood. Primarily known for his YouTube channel, Sivan is not just another vlogger who earns an income from doing the Chubby Bunny challenge – he has expressed his personal journey into adulthood in a collection of songs that prove the…
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It’s hard to be happy and interesting at the same time. Often, if you listen to an album that comes from a “happy place,” your most likely reaction is going to be either envy or boredom. The fact is, most great art comes from a place of pain – the prevailing wisdom is that dissatisfaction…
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Nineteen year-old Sunshine Coast resident Ayla has just dropped an epic debut EP called When The World Ends. I’ve been listening to Ayla for a little over a year now and I can safely say this represents the best that the talented singer-songwriter has to offer at this stage in her career. When The World Ends consists of 5 tracks….
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A lot has changed for Canadian Claire Boucher, or Grimes, in three years. As she describes it, Art Angels is built on colour in comparison to the “black and white” sound palette of previous album Visions. It’s easy to see what she means; her sound has catapulted from dreamy-synth-pop into a hard-hitting amalgamation of hip-hop,…
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I confess, somewhat shamefully, that Mutemath have only ever existed for me on the peripheral of my musical consciousness. I’ve known about them, primarily, through a friend who has raved about them for years, but I’ve never managed to sit down and actively listen to anything they’ve released. Listening to their new album, Vitals, I…
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Earlier today, US rock group Foo Fighters released a free, out-of-the-blue EP entitled Saint Cecilia. The release is their first since their well received concept LP Sonic Highways, which co-incided with the band’s 20th anniversary and led into what became “The Broken Leg Tour”, following Dave Grohl’s infamous on-stage accident. For those who missed the memo, in…
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Brisbane’s WAAX have been building up a strong live reputation ever since their first two songs – “I for an Eye” and “Wisdom Teeth” – were released. The band hit the studio earlier this year, and back in October, the band released a surprise EP, titled Holy Sick, containing these two songs and two new tracks….
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Music has all different kind of purposes. To entertain, to dance and to sing; but the real purpose, for any music lover, is to feel a connection with it. American emo/punk rock band, Pentimento, recently released their sophomore record, I, No Longer and it’s absolutely stunning. Through heart-wrenching lyrics and grounded punk/emo music, the four-piece…
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Home is masterful in its ability to seep into your very core. Seven ethereal tracks have the potency to achieve an eternal and total state of calm. Repeated references to nature establish a lyrical motif that effectively communicates the complexity and volatility of the human heart. Increased layers of instrumental create a sophisticated sound that…
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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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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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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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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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