Photographer: Ben Hosking
Continue reading Exodus @ Manning Bar, Sydney – 2nd October 2010 with Switchblade & Subtract (NZ) – Photo Gallery
Category Archives: Music
Nicholas Roy “In A Shoebox Under The Bed” – LP Review
Review: Ben Connolly
  – Nicholas Roy |
It’s a great romantic ideal, isn’t it? A fresh-faced boy with a heart of gold, a far-away stare and a modicum of musical ability notches up a home recording completed in his dreary Melbourne abode. Everything about it screams eyes-rolling type cliche, that we’ve read the story a million times to know it backwards and that nothing new or exciting can ever come out of that set up again. But that’s exactly what Melbourne lad Nicholas Roy has attempted in his first long player Nicholas Roy, released in August through indie label Little Tribe. And it’s a solid effort which manages to take a slightly different route than the troubled singer-songwriter path, but has it worked? |
Continue reading Nicholas Roy “In A Shoebox Under The Bed” – LP Review
HELLFEST 2011 First Announcement
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Summer 2010, which was more than ever filled with extreme music, is over and we’re all back at work getting ready for a new season! We hope that you all found the time and energy to visit lots of festivals and get your dose of decibels to go back to work feeling good and revitalized! |
After a great edition in 2010, all the Hellfest team is back in business and working hard on the next festival. We would like to remind you that Hellfest 2011, which will be held on the 17th, 18th and 19th of June, will be the last on these grounds. In 2012, Hellfest will move to a new place… We will not say anything else today but you can expect some great surprises…
Continue reading HELLFEST 2011 First Announcement
Blame Ringo “In A Hurricane” – Single Review
Review: Ben Connolly
Brisbane band Blame Ringo is a band steeped in its own curio past, to the point of it almost being written off as a comic band. The name itself, and the mileage the group got over the official rebuke from Ringo Starr over its previous name, set it up early on as a tongue-in-cheek piss-take. They followed that through with curious film clip for single “Garble Arch” off its first long player – which became a bona fide Youtube viral phenomena – and then a cute tour concept of playing in laundromats; an audience would be forgiven for thinking this band’s interest was firmly in taking the mickey, rather than solid songwriting. And there would be nothing wrong with that; there are plenty of decent and long-lived acts in this land and abroad who could stake their claim firmly in piss-takery, whilst still holding credible assertions of musicianship (think The Fauves, TISM or, further afield, The Duckworth Lewis Method).
Continue reading Blame Ringo “In A Hurricane” – Single Review
THE FUMES – East Coast Tour – October 2010 w/ Elliot Brood
The Fumes arrive home to OZ and announce their very first headline tour of the year with special guest Elliot Brood from Canada.
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Sure, they toured with Clutch, Calexico and the Hoodoo Gurus this year all before they shook down venues the US again with their signature gritty performances, but true to form The Fumes are eager to be back in front of local fans this time with Elliot Brood who owns his own set of accolades and stays close to the road, touring relentlessly. The Brood will be on tour to support their debut album release. |
Continue reading THE FUMES – East Coast Tour – October 2010 w/ Elliot Brood
The New Pornographers – “Together” Australian Tour November 2010 [Tour News]
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In celebration of their fifth album, “Together”, Canadian-US super-collective The New Pornographers are primed to make their return to Australia this November. As perfect a pop outfit as you’re ever likely to find, The New Pornographers have always dreamed of finding a middle ground between Led Zeppelin and The 5th Dimension, which as it turns out is actually quite a good way of describing their mix of deceptively complex songwriting combined with glimmering hooks and arena-like power. |
And as Australian punters are more than aware the bright yet often bittersweet nature of what they do, including all those wonderful vocal harmonies, is an even better experience in the live setting.
Continue reading The New Pornographers – “Together” Australian Tour November 2010 [Tour News]
Interpol Melbourne & Sydney Sideshows Announced!
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Interpol – Australian Tour December 2010 / January 2011 Having been announced as headliner of Falls Festival, Sunset Sounds and Southbound this Summer, Handsome Tours are very pleased to announce that Interpol will be performing two exclusive sideshows in support of their highly-acclaimed, self-titled fourth record. |
Continue reading Interpol Melbourne & Sydney Sideshows Announced!
Philadelphia Grand Jury ‘Save Our Town’ Australian Tour – Nov/Dec 2010
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By the time Philadelphia Grand Jury come back to Australia in November for the ‘Save Our Town’ tour they will have spent the 6 months prior to that doing the following: living and recording in London; setting up a studio; they will have crossed the USA no less than 3 times; played over 50 dates in the UK; toured South Africa; and even ducked back to Australia to play the main stage at Splendour in the Grass. |
Now the Philly Jays are set to release their newly recorded single ‘Save our Town’. The track will be side A on a limited edition seven inch vinyl release, which will also feature as a B side the newly recorded version of a live crowd favourite – the punk cover version of Jay-Z’s ’99 Problems’.
Continue reading Philadelphia Grand Jury ‘Save Our Town’ Australian Tour – Nov/Dec 2010
Parklife 2010 – Brisbane – Groove Armada and New Young Pony Club – Photo Gallery
Photographer: Matt Palmer
Continue reading Parklife 2010 – Brisbane – Groove Armada and New Young Pony Club – Photo Gallery
Angus and Julia Stone @ The Tivoli, Brisbane – 25 September 2010 with Luluc – Live Review
Review: Victoria Nugent
 [Photo: Naomi Rahim] |
Captivating. Atmospheric. Amazing. All of these are words that describe Angus & Julia Stone’s performance at The Tivoli on the weekend. The night started off with another talented boy girl duo, with support act Luluc taking to the stage with a series of folky acoustic songs. Zoe Randall and Steve Hassett played songs that soared with Randall’s full sounding vocals taking centre stage. |
Filter “The Trouble with Angels” – CD Review
Review: Ben Hosking
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At least in this country, Filter has never attained the level of success that they deserve. Besides a couple of chart-bothering flirtations with tracks like ‘Hey Man, Nice Shot’ and ‘Take a Picture’ way back in the mid-to-late 1990s, Richard Patrick and company have travelled unfairly under the radar. Hopefully the Cleveland, Ohio group’s luck will change with the release of their fifth studio album, ‘The Trouble with Angels’.
For those not familiar with Richard Patrick’s talent, take note: he began his professional career with industrial genius Trent Reznor as a touring guitarist |
with Nine inch Nails between 1989 and 1993. After this he started Filter in 1995; Patrick’s bread and butter ever since – although certainly not his only musical preoccupation.
Continue reading Filter “The Trouble with Angels” – CD Review
Parklife 2010 – Brisbane – The Dandy Warhols, Soulwax, The Wombats, Wolf gang, Dan Black – Photo Gallery
Parklife 2010, Brisbane – Kele, Midnight Juggernauts, Dan Black, Wolf Gang, AC SLATER – Photo Gallery
Soilwork “The Panic Broadcast” – LP Review
Review: Lana Harris
  – Soilwork |
Helsingborg? Where the Helsingborg is that? Turns out this Swedish town is the fertile ground where Soilwork first plied their craft. Soilwork (both the name and the band’s philosophy) represents commitment and determination. Building from the roots of things and seeing them through to fruition via a lot of hard work. More of a biologically based metaphor than the grave digging that initially came to mind when the name ‘Soilwork’ is heard in connection with the words ‘death metal’.
The Panic Broadcast represents Soilwork’s eighth album and is a lesson to others in how to keep the momentum up after several releases. The energy presented could have it confused with an early career offering but the song structure and quality belies the truth: this is a band with extensive |
experience in song craft, especially from singer and founding member Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid.
Continue reading Soilwork “The Panic Broadcast” – LP Review
Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele – EP Review
Review: Natalie Salvo
 There are some people out there who’d readily agree that the words “Radiohead” and ukulele should never be uttered in the same sentence. Not so if you’re Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls and Evelyn Evelyn fame. There was the potential for Palmer’s covers EP to be career suicide or simply oh-so-bad as diehard purists murmur things about sacred cows and masterpieces best left untouched but in her hands it is simply a collection reflecting her own effervescent personality – it’s full of theatrics, a DIY attitude and is brimming with creativity.
It is fitting that this is also Palmer’s first release after a less than amicable split with her record label. She adopted a Radiohead-esque user-pays-what-they-like system (save the 84 cent donation to cover administrative costs like filling Radiohead and PayPal’s coffers). But ultimately Palmer is the one that’s laughing after selling $15,000 worth of merchandise in the first three minutes of sale, in what was a perfect way to stick it to the former label and celebrate her newfound freedom and independence. |