Who The Hell Are… The Volcano Diary?
Sometimes a mood, feeling or memory can be condensed into a single album or song. It can be due to overexposure to that certain piece of music at the time of a memory being made, like, let's say, Christmas, or it can be the result of new music that already sounds familiar hitting on certain emotional chords, no pun intended. And new music that feels old, strange tunes that feel like a lifelong pal, is not necessarily an indictment of inherent quality, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. So goes with The Volcano Diary, a very new band that feels like they've been making music for decades.
Primal Scream – Brisbane – 5 February 2009
Primal Scream make their once a decade journey to Australia which we catch at the Tivoli in Brisbane along with Adelaide upstarts Wolf & Cub.
R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now
With appearances from Peaches and Patti Smith, R.E.M. show no signs of wear and tear in their fourth decade of making music.
Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue
Turn left off Apathy Street, hang a right on Take It or Leave It road and there you'll find Ambivalence Avenue the new offering from Bibio.
Way Out West Festival – Gothenburg – 2009 – Part 1
Once again Sweden's WoW proved to be worthy of its acronym and Webcuts was there to cover all three days. We (re) acquaint ourselves with the likes of Glasvegas, Grizzly Bear, Florence & The Machine, Echo & The Bunnymen, Wilco, Vivian Girls, Bon Iver and My Bloody Valentine, to name but a few.
Future of the Left – Travels With Myself and Another
To hell with good intentions - Future of the Left's second album blows everything else out of the water.
Okkervil River – The Stand Ins
Jagjaguwar, 2008 The Austin boys in Okkervil River are back with another album and like always it's filled with surprising stories, dense lyrics and great tunes that stick with you. The
Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Many a rock band have experimented with electronica but can Scotland's most successful export since kilts and haggis pull it off?
Taken By Trees – East of Eden
Ex-Concrete Victoria Bergsman heads to Pakistan to seek inspiration for her second album as Taken By Trees.
fun. – Aim and Ignite
We take aim at the confusingly labelled American trio fun.'s first offering and find it's a fun album, period.
Julian Plenti – Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper
Paul Banks discovers that the best path to seduction lies in reduction on his first solo outing as the mysterious Julian Plenti.
My Morning Jacket – Circuital
Album number six for these free-wheeling long-haired holdin' on to black metal giants of Southern Rock.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Mute/EMI, 2008 [rating:8/10] The passing of time has done nothing to dampen Nick Cave's spirit or soften his tongue. In the preceding decade spent mostly strapped to the piano like a bible-addicted lothario, it gave
Amanda Palmer – Australian Interview (2010)
From the Dresden Dolls to her solo album, Amanda Palmer has never been less than a bold and intriguing character in American rock music. In Australia for a slew of live dates we talk to the force of nature herself about her engagement to Neil Gaiman, her Golden Globes outfit switch-a-roo, the controversy surrounding her new Evelyn Evelyn project, what's on her bed side table and a dream involving Anna Pavlova wearing a spacesuit... and God.
Wild Nothing – Interview about Nocturne (2012)
Riding the crest of the dream-pop insurgence that brought with it bands like Beach Fossils, Twin Sister and Still Corners, was that of Jack Tatum and Wild Nothing, who' s debut album of 2010, Gemini
Prefuse 73 – Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian
No we have no idea what Ampexian means, but globe trotting Scott Herren otherwise known as Prefuse 73 does on his fifth disc of beats and pieces.