Peaches – I Feel Cream
The always fruity Peaches is back with fourth album I Feel Cream which finds her giving the past a slip and whipping it real good.
Ape School – Ape School
Former member of Natural, Lily's and Holopaw, Florida's Michael Johnson aka Ape School shows off a whole new set of skills for his second album.
The Charlatans – Brisbane – 10 November 2010
It's been a long time time between drinks for The Charlatans and Australia. Fresh from playing their Some Friendly 20th Anniversary shows around the UK The Charlatans were down under recently with a more conventional touring schedule. It's certainly not the fan fest that they are used to back home but a rapturous welcome still greets the band. With a set drawn mostly from their very early material honed through recent tours, and the obligatory new songs that every band pulls out, it's a different set to what fans might expect but shows the depth of quality over their long career.
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
Way Out West Festival – Gothenburg – 2008
Gothenburg's 2008 Way Out West Festival - Buzzcocks, The Sonics, Okkervil River, Sonic Youth, The National, Grinderman, Broder Daniel, Silverbullit, Caesars, Neil Young,.
All Tomorrow’s Parties – Brisbane – 2009
The much lauded ATP festival reaches Australia and we give you the rundown on the Brisbane leg including reviews of Robert Forster, Spiritualized, The Saints and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Against Me! – White Crosses
Fifth album from these Floridian punkers. File under "anarchy, unfulfillment and frustration".
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
Sounding more like a theme park ride than a band, Ariel Pink pulls off both with a little 70's funk and 80's new wave self-exploration.
Shout Out Louds – Interview (2007)
Just call it the comeback. While the Shout Out Loud's debut album Howl Howl Gaff Gaff showed promise few could have predicated the seismic improvement for follow-up Our Ill Wills -- a veritable treasure chest
Foals – Australian Interview with Walter Gervers (Static, 2011)
To say expectations were high for Foals' second album Total Life Forever would be stating the exceedingly obvious but from the grandeur and exquisite melancholy of “Spanish Sahara” to the frenetic indie-pop of “This Orient” to the dance funk of “Miami” it met and exceeded them with uncommon ease. Total Life Forever elevated Foals further from their peers and into the rare league of artists who maintain credibility with a more accessible sound and thus gaining a larger listening base whilst still remaining true to their experimental pop principles. We spoke to bassist Walter Gervers while the band was in Australia for the St. Jerome’s Laneway festivals and some recording on the sly.
Arcade Fire – Sweden – 30 June 2010
As anticipation mounts for the release of their upcoming third album The Suburbs, Arcade Fire commence on a brief hit-and-run tour of intimate and out-of-the-way places in Europe, somehow finding themselves performing on a moat in the middle of a limestone quarry in Sweden. For a band like Arcade Fire, such inventive and idyllic surrounds seem apt, but it only poses the question -- How hard can a quarry rock?
Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer
Despite all the record's anomalisms, it's really gorgeous at its core, and there are more than enough enticing musical phrases to drive the listener back to wrestling with its eccentricities.
Camera Obscura – Interview with Carey Lander (Static, 2010)
With their fourth album My Maudlin Career Glasgow's Camera Obscura shifted further away from their indie pop origins to create their own take on Bacharachian orchestral pop and '60s soul contrasted against sparse country melancholy. Keyboardist and backing vocalist Carey Lander talks about joining the band, meeting Lloyd Cole, the orchestral and country elements in their sound and how they came to cover the Boss.
Doves – Kingdom of Rust
Fourth album in from these Mancunian maestros, offering a slight return to their electro/house days as Sub Sub.
Times New Viking – Australian Interview with Jared and Adam (2011)
Was there really once a musical sub-genre called 'Shitgaze'? I mean, somebody actually sat around, coined that term and then hoisted it on a few unsuspecting bands who by fate or ill-fortune found themselves trapped under its audiophile repelling umbrella? Think about it, shitgaze. Would you buy into that? Thankfully it's only a memory, but some of those bands still remain, including Columbus, Ohio's Times New Viking. On the eve of their first Australian tour Chris Berkley of Static spoke to Jared and Adam of Times New Viking, fresh off the plane to promote their most recent album, the discordant but progressively tuneful, Dancer Equired.
The Gun Club – Miami / Death Party / The Las Vegas Story
Load the chamber and light a candle for Jeffrey Lee Pierce, it's rockabilly blues-a-go-go with The Gun Club.