Odawas – Interview with Michael Tapscott (2009)
The Blue Depths which focussed on ambient old school synths and majestic, dreamy mood-scapes yielded great dividends resulting in Odawas' most cohesive album to date. We recently spoke to Michael Tapscott about the beautiful depths of The Blue Depths, the Odawa live experience including SXSW, soundtracks and the mystery of the sea.
Die! Die! Die! – Form
New Zealand's Die! Die! Die! make their third incision into the heart of rock n' roll but fall short of delivering the expected death blow.
Adalita – Adalita
Australia's first lady of rock and founder member of Magic Dirt, Adalita Srsen, adopts a stripped back stance for her debut solo effort.
Truck Festival – Steventon – 22-24 July 2011
Quietly, unassumingly, Truck Festival has become an annual celebration of all that is so very right about music. When the Bennett brothers witnessed the exploitative attitude of industrial sized events they didn’t just get mad they got even. Truck Festival was their baby and now in its fourteenth year it has blossomed into a rather lovely adolescent. Webcuts birthday boy Don Blandford was at Truck all weekend to report on the action, featuring appearances by: Graham Coxon, Lanterns On The Lake, Cashier No.9, Sarah Cracknell, Johnny Flynn, Edwyn Collins, Caitlin Rose, Mechanical Bride and Sea Of Bees.
Adorable – Footnotes 92-94
Review of mid-90s band, Adorable, compilation album that combines singles, album tracks from their two LPs and b-sides.
Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band
Eric D. Johnson’s Fruit Bats sink their teeth in a third album of sweet pop with The Ruminant Band.
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Melbourne Modular boys gone global return for their third album with mixed results. Just what the hell is a Zonoscope anyway?
TV on the Radio – Dear Science
4AD, 2008 [9/10] Brooklyn art/beat innovators TV on the Radio return with their third album, a soulful slice of inspiration and invention, moving away from the doom and desperation of 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain
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.
Helvelln – Interview with Jeremy Gronow – Part 1
It's ok for you to think "who? never heard of 'em". Honestly, you'd have to be aged 35+, Australian, and a regular listener of Triple J or Triple R. Maybe you watched Neighbours. In the finicky annals of Australian music history, and with no disrespect to Helvelln, they barely warrant a mention. To briefly summarise, Helvelln were an inspired pop/rock 3-piece formed in Melbourne in the late 80's, released two singles and one album and then broke up in the early 90's. Google them and you'll get pictures of mountains. Impressive and rocky, but hardly rock n' roll.
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.
Vivian Girls – Everything Goes Wrong
The title may be Everything Goes Wrong, but to our ears, everything goes right for the Vivian Girls on their sophomore release.
Volcano Choir – Unmap
Bon meets the Bees in this post rock collaboration for Justin Vernon and Collections of Colonies of Bees which results in only a slight buzz.
Lisa Mitchell – Wonder
Avoiding the solo artist's temptation of self-indulgence, Lisa Mitchell imparts some wide-eyed optimism on Wonder.
Malcolm Middleton – Sleight of Heart
Inertia, 2008 [7.5/10] Malcolm Middleton, previously one half of gritty Scottish miserabilists Arap Strap, establishes the modus operandi for his fourth album Sleight of Heart right from the get go. When he sings "We're having
The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
More emotional missives from angry, intense, young American men. What steady diet do they feed you on?