The Drums – Interview with Johnny Pierce, Jacob Graham, Connor Hanwick (Static, 2010)
The cross overs. Every year has them; bands that get touched by the hand of hype and go from being blogged about to actually selling significant quantities of records/MP3s along with world wide tour schedules and high billed festival slots. This year one of those bands is Brooklyn’s The Drums who have certainly enjoyed a lot of column pixels and radio play on the strength of their back to basics c86 indie-pop as imagined by Phil Spector self titled debut album and its omnipresent lead single “Let’s Go Surfing”. Static’s Chris Berkley has a drink with three quarters of the band for a lesson in how to avoid being drowned by the waves of success.
Constantines – Kensington Heights
Arts & Crafts, 2008 [8/10] Toronto's Constantines have tirelessly flown under the radar for many years now. Fiercely independent and untied to any particular scene or movement, their sound is punishing blend of brittle punk
Exlovers – Moth
Young & Lost Club, 2012 [rating:6.5/10] When it came to making the kind of sweet and effervescent guitar pop that would chime and ring at your feet, London’s Exlovers were one of a handful of bands
Castanets – Texas Rose Thaw & The Beasts
Every rose has a thorn and so too does the fifth album by Raymond Raposa's folk-beat one man band Castanets.
The xx – xx
XX marks the spot for mixed treasures on the much lauded London foursome's debut LP, an album for the post-sunset hours.
Top 10 – Australian Music Videos
The early days of music video in Australia bore some shoddy, shoddy home-produced efforts. Essentially labours of love from minimal means designed to get the message across. The big budget video clip was not the