El Perro del Mar – Love Is Not Pop
While we love pop, Sweden's El Perro Del Mar remind us that pop is not love.
Dark Mean – Dark Mean
Canadian folk-sters Dark Mean deliver a "must-listen album with staying power, and one of the year’s best" on their self-released debut.
Okkervil River – Brisbane – 3 May 2009
The highlights of the night are rightly saved for the encore; “Blue Tulip” combines both delicate folk and heavier rock modes with an acoustic beginning slowly building to a layered, cathartic second half that envelopes the Zoo in a thick haze of distorted bliss.
Deerhunter – Microcastle
4AD, 2008 [10/10] It's refreshing to listen to a band riding on a wave of no hype. No Myspace campaigns, no sycophantic hipsters attempting to crystal ball the next Vampire Weekend. Bradford Cox could probably
Hop Farm Festival – Kent – 1-3 July 2011
In the history of modern music festivals, few line-ups could compare with the distinctly 70's flavoured action offered at the Hop Farm Festival last weekend. While The Eagles were wheeled out of retirement as headliners on the first night, the purportedly Morrissey-curated second day included such rock pantheon artists as Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and Patti Smith. All in all, it's a jaw-dropping stroke of genius, with Morrissey having the hardest of acts to follow the swathe these three so cleanly cut through the Kent countryside. Oh, and did we forget to mention Prince was there too?
Alela Diane – To Be Still
Nevada City's beguiling folk heroine Alela Diane returns with a white diamond of a second album. Be still, our beating heart.
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.
Wendy James – London – 9 June 2011
Why hello, Wendy James. It’s been a while. Almost 20 years since I saw Transvision Vamp play at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. A mostly unremarkable show except for the amount of intimidating drunks in attendance and the fact they played their current ‘hit‘ twice. Australia loved Transvision Vamp, almost in the same way it loved Blondie, decades before. Stick a blonde wig on a mop, put it in front of a bunch of guys in leather jackets and you're set. Transvision Vamp at that time were in their career descent with Little Magnets Versus The Bubble of Babble (my head still shudders at the idiocy of this title) and this was their last roll of the dice.
Beach House – Bloom
Bella Union, 2012 [rating:5/10] Since their self-titled debut in 2006, Portland duo Beach House have become a band synonymous with the 'dream-pop' side of contemporary music, a tag that suitably sums up Beach House's immaculate
Coco Electrik – Interview (2007)
Former Brisbanite Anne Booty is the leading force behind genre defying Brighton-London based act Coco Electrik. We grill Anne about debut LP Army Behind the Sun, performing live and receive an answer to the question: Are Friends Electrik?
Dappled Cities – Zounds
The new album from Sydney art-pop five piece Dappled Cities reached forty eight on the Australian chart. Gold Zoundz indeed.
Grand Duchy – Petit Fours
Grand who? Just call them Mr. and Mrs. Frank Black and everything will be peachy, or desserty...
Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks – Mirror Traffic
Pavement reunion done and dusted, Stephen Malkmus and Co. get back to making adult indie rock on album number five.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Can Bon Iver live up to expectation with his self-titled follow-up to the celebrated For Emma, Forever Ago?
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.
Adorable – Footnotes 92-94
Review of mid-90s band, Adorable, compilation album that combines singles, album tracks from their two LPs and b-sides.