Tag Archives: 2012

Album Review: thenewno2 – thefearofmissingout

By Natalie Salvo
thenewno2’s debut album sounded more like Beck than the output of Beatle progeny. The comparison to the Fab Four was inevitable as the project is the brainchild of Dhani Harrison (son of George Harrison). And while Dhani looks and sounds like his famous father, the music actually falls on the opposite end of the musical spectrum. Again, Harrison has teamed up with his friend and famed engineer, Paul Hicks (son of The Hollies’ Tony Hicks) and it’s clear the two share their tastes in modern music.

Their sophomore effort, thefearofmissingout is generation Y to a tee. The concept is a contemporary problem used to describe an individual’s restlessness at wanting to do it all (no doubt a product of seeing their friends on Instagram and Facebook at exotic locations and doing all sorts of exciting things). It means you don’t want to miss a thing, whether it’s going to the next party or meeting the next guy or gal and this often manifests itself as an awful lot of indecision.
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Album Review: Chance Waters – Infinity

review by Helen Brown
The art of blending hip hop with a multitude of genres is on the rise and has recently been done by Bliss & Eso and East Londoner Plan B. The latest to be inducted into the fold is Chance Waters, a Sydney hip hop artist with a social conscience.

From crumbling societies and the end of the world, to the joys of young love, Chance Waters has collaborated with the likes of Kate Martin, Lilian Blue and Bertie Blackman among many others to produce Infinity, an album peppered with indie folk, bluesy guitars, piano organs and catchy heartfelt lyrics that fluctuate between bleak and hopeful.

‘Conjure Up A Fire’ is a stand out track reminding us that we have the power to make a difference, that we should never follow the masses and never be afraid to find our voice.
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Album Review: Heroes For Hire – “No Apologies”

Review by Sibel Kutlucan
Heroes For Hire have delivered again with a third full length album, No Apologies, which holds its ground as a great pop punk album.

No Apologies is enthralling and contagious, and is bound to appeal to many. Though a little bias, having liked most of Heroes For Hire’s music previously, it’s great to have a fantastic pop punk band representing Australia, and No Apologies has delivered such a fantastic pop punk album to make us proud.
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Album Review: NOFX – Self Entitled

Review By Lana Hall
NOFX are like that top quality hoodie you bought many, many years ago. Twenty nine years ago actually. Familiar and dependable, the years and washes haven’t changed it much at all and it’s easy to put on again and again. Self Entitled is the twelfth studio album from NOFX and it brings more of the classic NOFX sound – another album of short, fast, funny, sometimes political and sometimes personal songs. These themes have served the band well and continue to do so.

Musically, the songs on Self Entitled feel more pressured than other albums, particularly the tempos of ‘I believe in Goddess’ , ‘Ronnie and Mags’ and ‘Cell Out’ where riffs are super fast and words shout over each other to be heard. Remaining true to punk rock, there are no guitar solos or technical displays of prowess, just good solid chord progressions at a pace that crams eleven songs inside thirty minutes.
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Interview with Joe Robinson

Interview by Stuart Blythe
Guitar genius Joe Robinson has a list of credentials that would make most musicians three times his senior envious. Playing stages at prestigious gatherings like Bonnaroo Music Festival; being named Best New Talent in Guitar Player Magazine’s Readers Poll and making the Top 50 Best Guitarists list in Australian Guitar to name a few.

Life Music Media caught up with Joe for a chat.


LMM: Hi Joe, what first made you decide to pick up a guitar?

Joe: I think it was hearing Eric Clapton’s music. My parents used to always play tapes of Cream and other Clapton stuff from back in the day. I was pretty good at air guitaring the Layla solo.
 
 
LMM: Did your parents influence your musical talents?
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Interview with Stacey Piggott – (Author) “Blow Your Own Trumpet – A Musician’s Guide to Publicity & Airplay”

Interview by Stuart Blythe
“Blow Your Own Trumpet – A Musician’s Guide to Publicity & Airplay” is a book for self-managed artists, budding music managers and music industry students, written by Stacey Piggott; publicist and director of Two Fish Out Of Water. Life Music Media caught up with Stacey for a chat…

LMM: Hi Stacey, you’ve been in the music industry for quite a number of years… how did you get your start in the industry?

Stacey: I was working as a freelance journalist and also in a Mexican Resturant in Bondi on the weekends, and I met Donna Simpson from The Waifs. They were self-managed, self-distributed, self-booked and self-publicized. They had a tour and a new album coming and I started doing their PR as a bit of a joke. I went and sat on the floor of the newsagency and started to make a list of names and numbers from the magazines and papers and then started calling people. Donna and I used to muse over how funny it would be if I ever got them in Rolling Stone or on JJJ, and then a couple of years later we were at the ARIA’s laughing about those conversations because JJJ and Rolling Stone had become such a regular part of their promo schedule. A few bands they were friends with asked me to work with them and things just steam rolled from there, with more and more clients coming from all over the place, labels, different genres, festivals etc.
 
 
LMM: Over the years you’ve worked with, nurtured and help build the careers of some very successful bands. Can you name a few that stand outs and your involvement in their success?
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Interview with David Rogers – Nantes

Interview by Stuart Blythe
It’s been a busy year for Sydney duo Nantes and with their debut album on its way, they look set to be even busier. Life Music Media caught up with vocalist/bassist David Rogers for a chat…

LMM: You’ve been in the studio working on your debut album. How was the recording process and working with producer Simon Todkill?

David: It was a really relaxed process getting this album together, we weren’t stressing on making sure everything was perfect, we were trying to record as purely as possible, we were trying to capture the essence of how the songs were written. Working with Simon is great because he’s a good friend of mine so there are no awkward moments; he usually molests me at some point.
 
 
LMM: Singles ‘Fly’ and ‘Unsatisfy’ have been well received and been on high-rotation. For the uninitiated, how do you describe your sound?
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CD Review: Twelve Foot Ninja – “Silent Machine”

Review by Billy Geary
Just about every time you think music is becoming stale, over-saturated or downright boring, there’s always a band ready and waiting to put your faith back in music. Twelve Foot Ninja are one of those bands. Forming in 2007, Twelve Foot Ninja quickly rose to prominence, releasing two EPs packed with genre bending moments of reggae, metal, funk, dub and hardcore, sometimes within the same song. Their debut album, Silent Machine shows the same tendency, with added heaviness and polish.

After the first few verses of opener ‘Coming For You,’ for those new to the band one thing is immediately obvious, Twelve Foot Ninja aren’t afraid to mix contrasting genres mid-song. In fact, they thrive on it. ‘Coming For You’ is vintage Twelve Foot Ninja, blending reggae and metal, with a smattering of electronics evoking thoughts of Mr Bungle and Tomahawk. Throughout the record, the comparisons with various Mike Patton projects will inevitably continue, however to pigeonhole Silent Machine in such a way would be unfair to the band.
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Live Review: Cannibal Corpse, Psycroptic, Disentomb, Entrails Eradicated @ Metro Theatre, Sydney – 6 October 2012

Words and Pics: www.hoskingindustries.com.au
Australian death metal fans generally aren’t quite as lucky when it comes to high-profile gigs like their brethren who enjoy less-heavy strains of metal. You could probably blame the state of the music industry for the lack of international death artists all the way over here to our little patch of dirt in the middle of nowhere.

Therefore it’s a testament to the talent, determination and endless road miles put in by death metal legends Cannibal Corpse that Aussie fans have had the luxury of seeing the band live on our shores no less than three times in the last 10 years. However, despite the surprising regularity with which we have been able to enjoy Cannibal Corpse’s punishing live show, tonight’s gig at Sydney’s iconic Metro Theatre is no less special for it. The fact that the band is being supported by three Australian death metal acts tonight just adds to the impact.
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Live Review: The Amity Affliction, The Ghost Inside, Architects, Buried in Verona @ The Big Top, Luna Park – 29 September 2012

Words and Pics: www.hoskingindustries.com.au

Tonight’s all-ages gig meant it was an early start for punters hoping to check out all four bands playing The Big Top at Sydney’s Luna Park. While the eager crowd wrapped its way around the Luna Park grounds in serpentine fashion, patiently waiting for the doors to open, it seems as though most of the other press outlets missed the memo on playing times, with the photo pit looking rather barren for opening act, Buried in Verona.

Playing to a half-full venue, the Sydney sextet appeared a more polished, confident band than when this reviewer last caught them supporting Sweden’s Soilwork at the Manning Bar at the tail end of 2010. They’re plagued by the usual opening-act muddy mix, which is exacerbated by the three-guitar attack that’s the fashion these days. And while the clean vocals (courtesy guitarist Richie Newman) have improved a lot, every time singer Brett Anderson tries to sing along it all falls apart.
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Live Review: Ingrid Michaelson at Metro Theatre, Sydney – 14th September 2012

Words and photos by Ant Ritz
On a darkened stage and with little fanfare, a pretty and bespectacled Ingrid Michaelson walked to the mic and proceeded to set the Metro Theatre in Sydney alight with a brilliantly entertaining performance. She did much more than just sing well crafted pop songs, – she entertained and she had the crowd enthralled not just with her wonderful music and sweet voice, but also with her wit, humour and quirky storytelling.

Sometimes singers struggle with attempts to engage the audience with dialogue and hence so many just avoid banter like the plague. Many concert goers would actually prefer to just hear the music. However, at Ingrid’s concert she really captured and held the audiences attention with her story telling – they appeared to follow her every word and were moved by the ebb and flow of her stories. There was a lot of laughter from the audience as a whole throughout the show and yet on other occasions they were quiet when she was more serious, albeit rare. She’s a great communicator and that communication comes across in her songs too.
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Interview with Mark Lowndes

Interview by Stuart Blythe
It’s been a busy year for singer/songwriter Mark Lowndes. Performing *and reaching the finals* on Australia’s Got Talent, recording his latest EP “Present”, running workshops for younger musicians and recently kicking off on an extensive tour. Life Music Media caught up with Mark for a chat.
 
 
 
 
 
LMM: Hi Mark, it was great to see you performing and reaching the finals on Australia’s Got Talent.
It must have been a great experience?

Mark: It was an experience that I will never forget. 
So many things I learnt behind the scenes about the commercial world, things I’ll never forget. 

 
 
LMM: Your song “Afternoon” received rave reviews from the judges. How did you feel about that and how much do you take on board from their comments?
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