Category Archives: Music

Transvaal Diamond Syndicate – Devil on My Shoulder [Single and Tour News]

  Brisbane blues-rock/foot-stomp band Transvaal Diamond Syndicate have a Devil on their shoulder. That whisper in their ear that guides their musical career, telling them to work harder, play harder and show the world what they have. It’s come up aces for the fiery, foot-stompin’ crew, scoring two shows at Byron Bay Bluesfest (Thursday and Friday – April 21/22), alongside national and international acts, such as Xavier Rudd, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bob Dylan and ZZ Top.

They have listened to that little devil and he has told them to put out their new single, “Devil on My Shoulder” – it’s all about those dirty little secrets, those things that you can’t speak about in “polite” company. It’s out April 1 on iTunes and they are playing gigs in Queensland and New South Wales all through April to celebrate.
Devil On My Shoulder by Transvaal Diamond Syndicate
Continue reading Transvaal Diamond Syndicate – Devil on My Shoulder [Single and Tour News]

Femi Kuti – Africa For Africa [LP Review]

Review by: Ben Connolly


Buy the CD here
  I’ve always been fascinated by the anthropology of musical styles – the evolution of a distinctive style and sound based on many factors, but often described easiest by geographic boundaries. Take, for example, Memphis blues with its jug-band country feel, as opposed to the Detroit blues and it’s altogether grubby and gritty undertones. While both evolved from the same musical stirrings (and both served as underpinning styles of modern blues and rock n roll), their sounds are geographically distinct and unmistakable. You can hear the swamps and sandflies in Memphis blues, and you can almost sense the grease under the fingernails plucking the Detroit blues guitars.

Heck, there’s no musical style so underpinned by geography than slow, languid, feisty and hot reggae which, no matter where it’s played, evokes the Jamaican countryside to a tee.
Continue reading Femi Kuti – Africa For Africa [LP Review]

The Belligerents @ Woodland Bar, Brisbane – 26 March 2011 w/ Young Men Dead, Millions [Photo Gallery]

Photographer: Chris Dornan Photography

Photographer: Chris Dornan Photography
Continue reading The Belligerents @ Woodland Bar, Brisbane – 26 March 2011 w/ Young Men Dead, Millions [Photo Gallery]

Radio Star – A Common Tale [Video Clip]

  Check out RADIO STAR at http://www.myspace.com/theradiostarband

April 2011 Tour Dates:
Sounds Loud Festival Sat, 9 Apr Moonee Ponds, VIC, AUSTRALIA
Producers Bar Sat, 16 Apr Adelaide, SA, AUSTRALIA
The Evelyn Thu, 21 Apr Fitzroy, Victoria, AU


Continue reading Radio Star – A Common Tale [Video Clip]

The Go! Team – Rolling Blackouts [Album Review]

Review By Helen Brown


Rolling Blackouts (Bonus Track Version) - The Go! TeamRolling Blackouts (Bonus Track Version)
  Rolling Blackouts, the third release from British band The Go! Team, can be best described as a breath of fresh, salty sea air. The tracks are energetic and empowering, the kind of album you would take with you on a short road trip adventure. The Go! Team exhibit undertones of Regurgitator’s electronica phase, circa 1997 to 1999.

Their first song, ‘T.O.R.N.A.D.O.,’ is a hip hop-laced number about moving your body to the beat. It is punchy right from the start with no soft introduction to ease you in. The tracks ‘Secretary Song’ and ‘Bust-Out-Brigade’, sound very much like theme songs from sitcoms and crime shows with the use of cheerful clap-along beats and synthesised siren sounds respectively.

The vibe throughout the album is generally to be happy within yourself, enjoy life and have fun with the people around you.
Continue reading The Go! Team – Rolling Blackouts [Album Review]

Interview: Stonefield – Young, Inspiring and Glastonbury bound!

Interview: Lauren Sherritt
Stonefield have been turning heads since performing late last year at Perth’s One Movement Festival and taking out triple j’s Unearthed High competition.

Currently playing a string of special shows throughout Australia – Lauren Sherritt (LS) caught up with Stonefield’s Lead Vocalist & Drummer Amy Findlay (AF) before the band travels to the UK to rock the Glastonbury and Great Escape Festivals.
Continue reading Interview: Stonefield – Young, Inspiring and Glastonbury bound!

Drawcard, Heroes For Hire @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 19 March 2011 [Photo Gallery]

Photographer: Stuart Blythe

Photographer: Stuart Blythe
Continue reading Drawcard, Heroes For Hire @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 19 March 2011 [Photo Gallery]

DISTURBED return to annihilate stages in Australian – April 2011 w/ Trivium & As I Lay Dying

THE FRONTIER TOURING COMPANY PRESENTS
DISTURBED
MUSIC AS A WEAPON 2011 TOUR!

With Special Guests
TRIVIUM
AS I LAY DYING

Highly acclaimed heavy metal icons Disturbed will be returning for their massive ‘Music As A Weapon 2011’ tour and are ready to annihilate arena stages in Australia and New Zealand this April, much to the satisfaction of their legions of fans.

Arguably one of the most successful heavy metal bands around today, Disturbed have sold over 11 million albums globally and are one of only three bands in music history to have four consecutive releases debut at #1 on the US Billboard Top 200 album chart.

Since the band’s formation fifteen years ago, Disturbed have had three Platinum albums in Australia and a strong fourth contender in their latest offering Asylum which debuted at #2 on the ARIA Album Chart and #1 on New Zealand’s RIANZ Album Chart upon its release in August.
Continue reading DISTURBED return to annihilate stages in Australian – April 2011 w/ Trivium & As I Lay Dying

Album Review | Ben Ottewell – Shapes and Shadows

Review by Bianca Martin
It has apparently been five years in the making, but Gomez frontman Ben Ottewell has finally released his debut solo album Shapes and Shadows. Gomez fans need not worry though, this release shouldn’t be seen as a departure from Ottewell’s main project but instead as an expansion on it. Easily the most recognizable vocalist from the English indie rockers, his unique voice remains the focus here. Ottewell’s vocals are perfect for this classic acoustic soft rock, bordering on folk at times, style. Distinctive and naturally emotional, his voice is a little gritty and rough around the edges but mournful and somber at just the right moments.
Continue reading Album Review | Ben Ottewell – Shapes and Shadows

Buddy Miller- Majestic Silver Strings [Album Review]

Review: Victoria Nugent

  American country singer Buddy Miller’s latest offering Majestic Silver String feels like less of an album than a country music compilation with an extensive roster of guest vocalists filling out the tracks.

There’s a bit of a throwback to 70s style country, with the whole album coming across as mellow and somewhat prairie sounding in places. This is country music that is undeniably American, with strains of bluegrass and yodelling permeating the album.

Buddy Miller has teamed up with other country guitarists Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot and Greg Leisz to create the solid, if occasionally tired instrumentals that form the backbone of most of the tracks.

“Cattle Call” starts off with an extended instrumental that is pure bluegrass, lonesome and twangy, with the eventual addition of Miller’s mellifluous vocals and a tinge of yodelling.

In “No Good Lover”, Miller teams up with Ann McCrary for a duet with bite, focusing on the demise of a relationship, with McCrary’s bold vocals the true focal point for the song.

“Meds” is a melancholy lament founded on sweet but slightly bland vocals from Lee Ann Womack. Chocolate Genius’ cover of “Dang Me” has a distinctly soul edge which seems slightly incongruous.

“Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie” with deep vocals from Marc Ribot is dark, edgy and a little on the raw side. “That’s The Way Love Goes” is sweet and tender with finely honed vocals from Shawn Colvin.The instrumental version of “Freight Train” comes across as light and charming, yet thoroughly accomplished.

Ultimately, this is a very mild album, and I couldn’t help but wish that things would spice up occasionally. All the same, the tracks are fairly easy to listen, with nothing too unpleasant in the way of instrumentals or vocals, apart from a slight want of pizzazz.

Album Track List:
1. Cattle Call (Buddy Miller sings)
2. No Good Lover (Buddy Miller & Ann McCrary sing)
3. I Want To Be With You Always (Buddy Miller & Patty Griffin sing)
4. Barres De La Prison (Marc Ribot sings)
5. Meds (Lee Ann Womack sings)
6. Dang Me (Chocolate Genius sings)
7. Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie (Marc Ribot sings)
8. That’s The Way Love Goes (Shawn Colvin sings)
9. Freight Train (Instrumental)
10. Why I’m Walkin’ (Emmylou Harris sings)
11. Why Baby Why (Buddy Miller & Marc Ribot sing)
12. Return To Me (Lee Ann Womack sings)
13. God’s Wing’ed Horse (Buddy & Julie Miller sing)

Review: Victoria Nugent


More articles by Victoria Nugent:
* Rocketsmiths “The Bones” – Album Review
* Angus and Julia Stone @ The Tivoli, Brisbane – 25 September 2010 with Luluc – Live Review
* Bonfire Nights “Bonfire Nights” EP Review
* Bec Plath “At The End of the Night” – Single Review
* More article by Victoria Nugent

House Of Pain Announce Australian Tour April | May 2011 [Tour News & Tickets]

  This April and May, HOUSE OF PAIN – the rowdy Irish-American Hip-Hop group from Boston, Massachusetts – will bring their fiery live show to Australia as a part of their 20th anniversary world tour.

It was the turn of a new decade when HOUSE OF PAIN changed the face of hip-hop with the release of their multi-platinum selling, self-titled, debut album which featured one of the most memorable songs in hip-hop history, ‘Jump Around’.

Now it’s the start of another new decade and HOUSE OF PAIN is ready to do it all over again. On the heels of their widely heralded reunion show at KROQ’s ‘Epicenter 2010’, EVERLAST and DANNY BOY have decided to get the band back together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the groups’ formation.
Continue reading House Of Pain Announce Australian Tour April | May 2011 [Tour News & Tickets]

Ash Grunwald @ Kings Beach Tavern, QLD – 5th March 2011 [Photo Gallery]

Photographer: Chris Dornan Photography

Photographer: Chris Dornan Photography
Continue reading Ash Grunwald @ Kings Beach Tavern, QLD – 5th March 2011 [Photo Gallery]

HEARTBREAK CLUB – TOUR NEW SINGLE ‘CHIN UP’ [MP3 Stream]

Chin Up

  Heartbreak Club are rapidly becoming Australia’s beacon of hope for Geek Rock; spearheading a new wave of 1990’s inspired intelligent, ironic and self-deprecating punk-infused tunes.

The band recorded their 2010 debut album ‘Our Horse Is Dead’ at Sing Sing Studios with US producer Ed Rose (Motion City Soundtrack, The Get Up Kids) and local engineer Matt Voigt (The Killers, Midnight Oil, The Living End).

Continue reading HEARTBREAK CLUB – TOUR NEW SINGLE ‘CHIN UP’ [MP3 Stream]

FINAL artist announcement for Bluesfest 2011’s outstanding lineup of star performers!

March 16th 2011 – Here it is folks, the final artist announcement for Bluesfest 2011. As you can see, we’ve definitely saved some of the best till last with these stellar talented musicians, so if you weren’t excited before, you will be now! Tickets for Thursday 21 and Tuesday 26 April are still available – don’t miss out, the clock is ticking and it’s only a bit over a month until Bluesfest finally kicks off!

The whole lineup has become picture perfectly clear with the official downloadable Bluesfest Playing Schedule now online at www.bluesfest.com.au .

That means you can now make all those big decisions and plan your complete Bluesfest itinerary. Check it out for all artist times and stages – download it, print it out, circle your options – whatever you need to do to make sure your Bluesfest 2011 experience is all set to go in glorious fashion!

Please note that on Tuesday April 26 Bluesfest will open its doors at 11am, music starts at 2pm and finishes at 10pm, allowing everyone to get home in plenty of time for work the next day.
Continue reading FINAL artist announcement for Bluesfest 2011’s outstanding lineup of star performers!