HEALTH – Interview with Jake Duzsik (Static, 2010)
Finding unexpected notoriety through their collaboration with electronic arsonists Crystal Castles, Los Angeles Noise Rock quartet HEALTH have been a prominent musical force in the LA scene over the past couple of years. With their second album Get Colour released late last year, the band have evolved beyond being nihilistic noise makers into an act that is pushing the textural accessibility switch.
Headless Chickens – Gaskrankinstation
Continuing our exploration into the Secret History of Australian Music, we open the doors to our New Zealand neighbours and welcome the Headless Chickens as we fill our tanks in their "Gaskrankinstation"
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
Mark E. Smith – Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith
Viking, 2008 [rating:6/10] It begins at the end, or the supposed end, where having retired the old guard for a succession of young guns, Mark E. Smith faces up to a musician mutiny on The
The Soft Pack – The Soft Pack
No hard hits from San Diego's The Soft Pack, just bland indie rock with some scant memorable moments.
King Creosote – Flick the Vs
The two fingered salute is vigorously given by Scottish anti-folk hero King Creosote on new album Flick the Vs.
Destroyer – Kaputt
Lyrically and musically, simply one of the best records you'll hear all year. Dan Bejar -- Genius. Kaputt -- Divine.
The Primitives – Back and In Full Bloom (2010)
When you get down to the nuts and bolts of rock and roll, it's not about how tight your jeans are or how good your stylist is, it's about the music. It's about the song. For some bands in particular, it's about the pop song. Two and half minutes of spun gold that held your attention long after the needle left the record. Few bands embodied the spirit of the sublime '60s pop song than The Primitives. Sitting backstage at The Scala in London, Webcuts catches up with Tracy and Paul to rewind the clock and to talk about the events that brought The Primitives into the 21st Century and what lies ahead for the band.
Metric – Fantasies
Canadian/American synth-rockers Metric return with their fourth (or third) album. Fantasies. Will it be yours though?
HTRK – Marry Me Tonight
New No Wave or Narco-Electro? Whatever the case, Marry Me Tonight is well worth making an engagement with...
The Thermals – Now We Can See
Portland's The Thermals return with warm power-pop, tempered by decidedly cooler lyrical themes on Now We Can See.
Pony Up – Stay Gold
Give it up, or rather give up your gold, for one of Montreal's premiere exponents of indie-pop Pony Up, and their sophomore album.
Hatcham Social – You Dig The Tunnel, I’ll Hide The Soil
There's no hiding Hatcham Social. "You Dig The Tunnel" kicks the dirt long and high in a dazzling display of pop sensibility.
Jess Ducrou – Interview about Splendour in the Grass (2009)
Second Splendour line up in full and interview with Splendour promoter Jess Ducrou about the tremendous success of the festival, the process for picking the line-up and this year's bands, future expansion of the site and the improvements in ticketing technology.
Pavement – Brighten The Corners (Nicene Creedence Edition)
Expanded and remastered fourth album tour de force from Stockton, CA quintet. High-ho silver ride!
The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever
Heaven is here, and if the album is half as great as this review, then The Hold Steady should be counting their lucky stars.