Blood Orange – Coastal Grooves
Putting aside Lightspeed Champion, the chameleon musician/producer known as Dev Hynes unveils his latest project Blood Orange.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Can Bon Iver live up to expectation with his self-titled follow-up to the celebrated For Emma, Forever Ago?
Supergrass – Brisbane – 2 October 2008
"How you doin'? You alright?" asks an out of breath Gaz Coombes during their first Brisbane show in several years. The assembled punters shout back "yeah!", hoping that the next song will be the
The Scare – On Tour With The Scare in Australia (2009)
A first (and probably last) for Webcuts as we jump in the back of a tour van and hit the road with ex-Brisbane trouble makers, now Sydney's problem, The Scare, as they attempt to corrupt the people of Melbourne with their new 'voodoo, and nothing, not even the death of Michael Jackson, was going to get in their way.
Who The Hell Are… The Rifle Volunteer?
It's an audacious pronouncement to commit to releasing 12 singles in 12 months. The Wedding Present set the benchmark in the 90's. Ash tried the same thing recently, in a mixture of desperation and overkill in numbers too large to comprehend and tarnishing the very idea of a single. It's not just two songs on a slab of vinyl (or cd, or one of those less satisfying digital w/artwork jobs). It's a living, breathing statement. A trojan horse in disguise. A rallying cry to fall behind. A rallying cry... See, The Rifle Volunteer comprehend this. "I'll Sleep When That Damned Sun Is Dead", the first single in their year long campaign, is what we're talking about. Here is a band that means business.
Santogold – Santogold
Downtown/Inertia, 2008[rating:7/10] "The rules are...there are no rules" intoned one time (Transvision) vamp Wendy James and is a maxim which Santi White, better known as Santogold, takes to heart. Older and wiser than most of
The Boxer Rebellion – Union
When the dark forces are everywhere who are you gonna call? England's staunchly independent epic rock band The Boxer Rebellion? Maybe not after this disappointing second effort.
Dean Wareham – Black Postcards
Penguin Press, 2008 [rating:7/10] "I don't wanna stay at your party/I don't want talk to your friends/I don't wanna vote for your president/I just wanna be your tugboat captain." Over simple chords, and a shaky
Luke Haines – London – 19 January 2011
This was to be the debut and sole performance of Outsider Music, Luke Haines' most successful solo album to date. An album of some notoriety in that it was individually recorded 50 times and released last September for £75 a throw. An artistic experiment and a gamble of sorts, it was an undeniable success for Haines, the old adage about fools and their money standing true -- all 50 volumes of Outsider Music disappearing quicker than anticipated. With each volume a unique item on its own, buyers have been reticent on sharing and as of yet, no copies have surfaced. So Haines - 1, Rich Fans - 1, Poor Fans - go eat a shit sandwich.
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.
MNDR – Feed Me Diamonds
Ultra, 2012 "Pop music is a platform to say something. You don't have to only talk about parties." Interesting quote from ex-noise artist now shiny electropop-idol-in-waiting, Amanda Warner. Pop music has always been
Ramona – London – 17 April 2011
It's easy to love Ramona, even though everything about them is so flawless and en pointe, unheard for a scruffy bunch of Brighton by-way-of-New-York rockers. Picks in hand, they transform a handful of chords into polished punk perfection, fronted by the coquettish bleach-blonde tomboy Karen Anne, a second generation Edie and Debbie who knows how to hang from a mic stand like she was hanging from your shoulder. Absent from the stage this year so far, they cycle through their set in a brisk half hour, including encore, and you're crying out for a flubbed note, an unrehearsed run through a song they just wrote in the van, or general indifference to whether anybody is listening.
Friendly Fires – Interview with Edd Gibson & Ed Macfarlane (Static, 2009)
The friendly folks from indie-dance sensations Friendly Fires stroll into Static's studio to talk the good talk about their new single "Kiss of Life", the Mercury music prize and more -- "It’s good to kind of feed off the energy of the crowd: suck them like vampires."
Amanda Blank – I Love You
Welcome to the Blank generation - potty mouthed, vacuous, and promiscuous - with the music to match.
Bob Mould – Silver Age
Merge, 2012 Alterna-rock statesman hot from bringing a little 90's Sugar to the 10's masses returns with shit-hot album. If that's all the convincing you need, you might as well stop reading now
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
In an era dominated by unexpected musical collaborations, Broken Bells (James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse) triumphs.















