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.
Twin Sister – Vampires With Dreaming Kids / Colour Your Life
How many times do you get given a record and for it to feel like a breath of fresh air? Here you are then.
Laneway Festival – Brisbane – 4 February 2011
In complete contrast to a month ago when it was "precipitation nation" Brisbane’s fourth St. Jerome’s Laneway festival could've been subtitled "Boiling Brisvegas". Unlike many festivals Laneway 2011 had a remarkably consistent quality throughout the entire day, so regardless of the weather it was always destined to be a scorcher. We braved the extreme ultra violet index to report on Australia's Rat Vs Possum, Cloud Control and Cut Copy. While sampling UK's Foals and America's best of the best with Beach House, The Antlers, Warpaint, Blonde Redhead, Ariel Pink, Holy Fuck. Oh and LES SAVY FAV!.
Daestro – Moondagger
Will it be knives out for Detroit's Randoph Chabot aka Daestro or maybe a friendly slap on the back instead?
Destroyer – Kaputt
Lyrically and musically, simply one of the best records you'll hear all year. Dan Bejar -- Genius. Kaputt -- Divine.
Blur – Midlife: A Beginner’s Guide To Blur
The predictable commercial foibles of a greatest hits compilation are largely avoided here; each of the tracks have been carefully selected by the band and many of them are touched-up or alternative versions.
Art Brut – Art Brut vs. Satan
Eddie and the bruisers return with their third long player of songs about love and hate. And comic books and chocolate milkshakes.
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
Apparently Tweedy had been saving up his impetuousness for this, Wilco's seventh album, as his tongue has never been buried so deeply in his cheek.
Hatcham Social – Sidewalk EP
One of Webcuts favourite albums of last year, Hatcham Social hit the new year with this 6 track EP of new and familiar.
Cat Power – Dark End Of The Street
A christmas gift from Chan Marshall aka Cat Power. You might want to keep the receipt...
The Fierce & The Dead – If It Carries On Like This We Are Moving To Morecombe
Epic post-rock from The Fierce & The Dead on their debut album. Seek it out, post-rock fans.
Bad Lieutenant – Never Cry Another Tear
If New Order and Doves made a record, how would it sound? Something like this, we think...
Detektivbyrån – Hemvägen
Danarkia, 2006 [8/10] With glockenspiel, accordion and toy-piano Detektivbyrån (Dee-tek-teeve-bu-ron, "The Detective Agency") take their audience on an imaginative musical journey through the urban streets of Paris and the forests of Värmland, the Swedish province
The Mountain Goats – The Life of the World to Come
Well versed in the Bible John Darnielle's Mountain Goats new album doesn't actually require a religious bone in your body to enjoy.
Warpaint – London – 26 August 2010
It’s shows like this which give birth to the very nature of rock and roll. The hip-swaying sounds of a band as they rock back and forth, eyes closed, mouths pressed against the microphone with their feet marking the beat. It’s an undeniably sexual thing. This isn't news. It’s why they tried to ban Elvis in the 50’s. He turned young girls on, and it wasn’t so much the man, but the music, the stage, the sweat, the motion -- the rock and roll of it all. Wedged together in this barely ventilated Old Street basement, Los Angeles' Warpaint are presiding over something that had this been the 50's, would've gotten them banned too.
Harlem – Hippies
Of Harlem, this brief explanation should suffice -- "those who don’t sicken quickly of energetic, repetitive three-chord rock will have a lot to love".