Category Archives: Review

Train @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney Monday June 21, 2010 [Live Review]

Words and Pics: Ben Hosking – www.hoskingindustries.com.au
TrainHaving missed all but the closing bars of opening act, Victoria’s Ryan Meeking & The Few thanks to the perpetual and chronic lack of parking in Sydney’s Newtown and Enmore areas; I got into the warm and cosy confines of the iconic Enmore Theatre just before San Francisco chart botherers Train took to the stage.

Formed in 1994, the group shot to fame with their smash ‘Drops of Jupiter’ – a track that won them two Grammy awards and made the album double platinum in the US. After a three-year hiatus, the band returned with its latest album, ‘Save Me San Francisco’ in 2009 and is currently owning the Aussie charts with the single ‘Hey, Soul Sister’. Now that we all know who they are, it was a surprise to see the Enmore at less than capacity, considering that it isn’t the biggest venue in the city. Regardless, it was a pretty busy evening, with the audience full of well-dressed folk of wildly disparate ages- mainly female and in very fine voice each time vocalist Patrick Monahan pulled a rock move or hit a high note.
Continue reading Train @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney Monday June 21, 2010 [Live Review] →

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Cassette Kids @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney June 18, 2010 – with Howl and Kids of 88 [Live Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

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Cassette Kids
[Photo: Ben Hosking]		   It’s 8pm on a Friday night in busy inner-city Darlinghurst. Yet here we are, presented with an awesome parking space right next to the Oxford Art Factory (OAF) where Sydney darlings Cassette Kids are due to take to the stage in just a couple of hours. Supported by New Zealand’s Kids of 88 and Victoria’s Howl; it was to be an interesting night of music, full of pop, and at times dance-infused rock.

First up was NZ’s Kids of 88 who tonight were boasting a full band line-up including a live drummer and guitarist. This more organic delivery of well known electro tunes such as ‘Ribbons of Light’ and ‘Just a Little Bit’ had the rapidly growing crowd moving. The group provided a lively and entertaining performance that will no doubt win them some new fans this side of the Pacific.

Continue reading Cassette Kids @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney June 18, 2010 – with Howl and Kids of 88 [Live Review] →

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Blame Ringo – “At The In-Between” [Single Review]

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Review by: Victoria Nugent

  Blame Ringo’s new single At The In-Between is one of those songs that sneaks into your head, and has you singing along before you know it. The energetic track is a tantalising glimpse of things to come on the band’s second album, due out later this year.

At The In-Between is an upbeat slice of indie rock with harmonious, yet catchy lyrics and a sound almost reminiscent of the sixties. The guitar riffs are impressive, and the drumming strong, resulting in the kind of song that makes you want to stop and listen.

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Review: So Frenchy So Chic: Nouvelle Vague, Berry @ The Powerhouse, Brisbane June 14, 2010

By Denis Semchenko

  If indulging in French chic ever seemed like a good idea, The Powerhouse on the last day of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend certainly has a solution: the two-part musical program called So Frenchy So Chic and designed to bring the spirit of Montmartre to the River City. And so, as the French say, bienvenue – we’ve arrived to get our dose of Parisian charm.

At the Turbine Platform, the amount of hipsters in the crowd initially makes me think I’m on the set for The Bedroom Philosopher’s video – perhaps a similarly-themed follow-up to the notorious Northcote (So Hungover) – but we’re here to watch music rather that mingle with the trend-followers. For the first part of the evening, our host is the diminutive chanteuse Berry. Backed by two leather jacket-wearing, colourful-looking guitarists – one with long dreadlocks,

another in shades (making him look like a cross between an old-time gangster and a French cabbie), she sways and smiles as she sings the chansons from her French hit album Mademoiselle. Continue reading Review: So Frenchy So Chic: Nouvelle Vague, Berry @ The Powerhouse, Brisbane June 14, 2010 →

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Album Review : Anathema – “We’re Here Because We’re Here”

Review: Ben Hosking

Listening to UK band Anathema these days, it’s hard to believe that they once toured alongside groups such as Paradise Lost, Cathedral and Cannibal Corpse. Formed in 1990 under the moniker of Pagan Angel, the group signed to Peaceville Records – the same group that was home to other legendary doom metal bands of the time.
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Jez Mead “Beard of Bees” [LP Review]

Review: Lana Harris

  What deal did Jez Mead make with the devil to get that voice? He certainly didn’t trade his finger picking abilities (his mastery of the guitar is evident in this diverse mix of tracks), but the man surely gave up something for a voice that soars across octaves, that swings from gravel to whisper to a full blown resonance that seems to take up real, tangible space in the room. Beard of Bees is Jez Mead’s fourth recorded offering to the world, and a record that uses his vocal gift (no matter how it was acquired) to deliver a striking set of songs.

Let’s begin at the end: the last song on this album

was the best. A gorgeous, chilled out track called ‘Crooked’ was a resplendent way to finish, with slow chords and soulful crooning and Jez humming low and full, a honey coated vibration that left goose bumps in its wake (and was not the only track to do so). ‘Devil’ (featuring Julia Stone as Mead’s duet partner) is similarly slow and haunting, a love song which includes such lyrical blues gems as ‘Devil wants my blood for making whisky’. Continue reading Jez Mead “Beard of Bees” [LP Review] →

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Annihilator – “Annihilator” [CD Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

  With the seemingly never-ending list of 1980’s bands reuniting over the last 10 years or so, all trying to recapture some of their former glory; it’d be easy to dismiss Canadian thrash legends Annihilator as just another in the line. However, founder member Jeff Waters and company never actually left and have been producing quality metal the entire time; unlike many of their fallen brethren.

That said, this – their 13th studio album to date – easily qualifies as their finest effort in the last 20 years or so. A self-titled album, ‘Annihilator’ is brimming with speedy, precise riffage that

effortlessly melds old-school thrash with more modern technical metal that will surely have you damaging neck muscles in the bedroom, car or public transport.
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The Holidays, Ernest Ellis, The Honey Month @ The Cubbyhole, Brisbane June 4, 2010 [Live Review]

Review: Stephen Goodwin

The Holidays   Winter has arrived. In name if not entirely in earnest. Tonight, though, The Holidays are doing their utmost to defy the chill in the air, raising both temperature and spirits with a strong showing of their summery party tunes.

But first.

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Black Dahlia Murder, Unearth, State of Integrity @ The Hi-Fi Brisbane 2nd June 2010 [Live Review]

Review: Hannah Collins

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
[Photo: Stuart Blythe]		   Over the isle of aggressive emo’s I trek, an uphill struggle lasting only 20 metres. Past a few youngins’, already heavily intoxicated before the headliners even arrive at the scene. It’s about 8.45PM, and a fight breaks out at the venue entrance… Black Dahlia Murder, have certainly attracted some eccentric hoodlums.

There are 5 bands on the bill in total, which may make for long night. Arriving too late to catch Gold Coast born; deathly brutal “Widow the Sea” (debut album coming soon) and most of the next set by Newcastle’s “The Storm Picturesque”, currently on a small Victorian tour. Both groups are relatively adolescent in relation to the depth of both their musical compilations and touring experience, but with a little time, they may just be a couple of names to watch out for…

Continue reading Black Dahlia Murder, Unearth, State of Integrity @ The Hi-Fi Brisbane 2nd June 2010 [Live Review] →

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The Break – “Church of the Open Sky” [CD Review]

Review: Lana Harris

  Ah, the beach. Golden sands, blistering sunshine and pounding waves are all an integral part of Australian culture, so it’s perhaps surprising that we haven’t heard more surf rock acts spring up locally. Instead, the genre is much more heavily associated with American waves, Hawaiian surf shacks or perhaps the laid back vibes of San Francisco.

Well, The Break are out to change that. They’ve taken rockers who are a part of Australian culture (drummer Rob Hirst, guitarists Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, from Midnight Oil) added in

an American who recently moved to Hobart (ex Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie) and created a surf rock record that should see Australia in general, and The Break in particular, usher in a resurgence of this laid back style of music. Continue reading The Break – “Church of the Open Sky” [CD Review] →

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Live Review : Rickie Lee Jones @ The Tivoli, Brisbane 31st May 2010

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Review by Hannah Collins
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones… um… who? She’s not on the regular radio rotation, nor is a household name, yet she’s been filling the air with her amicable sounds for the last 30 years. Her initial self titled album debuted at #3 on the US Billboard top 200; she’s received over 5 Grammy nominations and has featured on the cover of Rolling Stone.
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Delerium – “Remixed: The Definitive Collection” [CD Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

  It has always been equally intriguing and amusing to this reviewer that a pair of individuals as intense and creative as Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb should be most widely known for a dance/pop project. However, this is exactly the case for the Canadian pair long known in metal and industrial circles for their work with projects like Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly and Rhys’ regular contributions to groups such as Fear Factory.

Despite – or perhaps because of – this, Delerium has always been an infinitely listenable experience that has pushed the boundaries of the genre; often

encompassing a wonderful darkness. Hopefully they’ve helped regular fans of mindless commercial dance to open their minds to something more creative, layered and ultimately – respectable. Continue reading Delerium – “Remixed: The Definitive Collection” [CD Review] →

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Mike Patton – “Mondo Cane” [CD Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

  The prolific Mike Patton returns with a project unlike any that have come before it. Sung entirely in Italian, the album ‘Mondo Cane’ features a 40-piece orchestra, choir and band.

Listeners have had hints of Patton’s multi-lingual abilities in the last, such as tunes found on earlier Faith No More releases. However, ‘Mondo Cane’ sees the twisted genius using his talents to pay homage to other songwriters, including his beloved Morricone, who penned the track ‘Deep Down’.

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Danko Jones – “Below the Belt” [LP Review]

Review: Lana Harris

  Danko Jones is a man born to wear leather, and if listening to this album doesn’t convince you, the shiny black outfit he sports on the cover of his band’s latest LP Below the Belt will. This is BIG rock, stadia rock, another-word-that-rhymes-with-rock rock – what else would be expected from a man who names his band after himself? Proving that he’s more than just a leather clad front man, Jones also plays lead guitar, is responsible for writing columns in rock magazines, hosts radio shows and has completed solo spoken word tours.

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The Black Keys – “Brothers” [CD Review]

Review: Natalie Salvo
This is a record review about The Black Keys. But you already knew that didn’t you? So while we’re giving you ‘helpful’ but unnecessary statements, “Brothers” is the sixth studio album from the Ohio-based blues-rock duo.

The pair has been rather busy as of late with guitarist, Dan Auerbach dropping a solo album while Patrick Carney produced the aptly titled side project, Drummer. The boys then collaborated with a bunch of rappers for the hip-hop record, Blakroc.
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