Tag Archives: itunes

CD Review: Escape The Fate – “This War Is Ours”

Review: Ben Hosking

  Escape the Fate (ETF) just doesn’t know what they want to be. The Las Vegas quartet plays a very American, largely accessible rock/metal blend for the most part. Their tunes switch back and forth between swaggering mid-tempo rockers, unconvincing ballads and even more surprising and bewildering blasts of deep growled passages over menacing riffage.

So just what is it that ETF are trying to achieve? Their vocalist Craig Mabbitt is reminiscent of most of the emasculated faux-metal front men currently in circulation.

You know the kind: a little nasal and still awaiting puberty. This means that they’ll never be fully accepted by the metal or hardcore scenes. Their big choruses and pop sensibilities have helped them to win over 20 million MySpace page views and 400,000 friends; yet they’re far beyond the realms of Australian radio. Continue reading CD Review: Escape The Fate – “This War Is Ours” →

cd, cd review, Music, Review

Interview with Nik Kaloper of The Jezabels

2nd May 2010: Nik Kaloper (NK) of The Jezabels tells Stuart Blythe (LMM) about band life, touring and lessons learnt along the way.

The JezabelsLMM: You’ll be touring with Tegan and Sara on their Australian visit throughout May. Tell us about the tour and how it came about.

NK: Well, we were lucky enough to tour with Tegan & Sara January 2009 and we seemed to be a good fit for the bill. We really enjoyed what they were doing, and apparently vice versa – we were able to keep in touch and jump back on the bill this time around. It’s even better this time though, because we get to go all the way out to Adelaide and Perth with them – even playing Groovin the Moo festival together, very exciting times. Despite the tour being longer than the last one – we’re looking forward to relaxing in some of the cities. Because there are two shows in Brisbane and Melbourne, we’ll have an afternoon that doesn’t involve driving (something to be cherished when you’re on tour).
Continue reading Interview with Nik Kaloper of The Jezabels →

Artist, Interview, Music, Stuart Blythe

CD Review: John Butler Trio – April Uprising

Review: Lana Harris

John Butler Trio - photo credit Polly Armstrong
John Butler Trio – Click here for John Butler Trio at iTunes		   John Butler and his newly revised trio (bringing Nicky Bomba to drums/ percussion and Byron Luiters to bass) have made every effort to make April Uprising an accessible folk rock record. Single ‘One Way Road’ was available for free download from several media outlets last year, on top of being the summer promo track on a certain digital sports channel, which guaranteed the single reached new ears. The Trio have also value added the LP by including a poster, environmentally friendly sized lyrics booklet and free trucker’s hat to those who buy the physical CD rather than download.

Continue reading CD Review: John Butler Trio – April Uprising →

Artist, cd, cd review, Music, Review

CD Review: Angus and Julia Stone – Down The Way

Review: Elena Gomez
Down The Way, second album from beloved folksy duo Angus & Julia Stone, sees the siblings put on their Producer hats and travel the globe, touring and recording with the likes of Martha Wainwright and Brad Albetta. They’ve sacrificed their memorable melodies and the arc that seemed to form their debut album, A Book Like This. But what they lose in melodious offerings, they make up in having a much more polished sound. Where A Book Like This was a home movie filmed in sepia, filled with character-forming crackles and perfect imperfections, Down The Way has been steered more professionally. Its homey elements are still present but they have been muted.
Angus & Julia Stone – Angus & Julia Stone available at iTunes

The album opens with “Hold On”, in Julia’s fragile voice, and it’s clear from this point that the energy has been amplified, possibly a result of having a three year gap to progress and grow in their sound. There are lulls and swells in Down The Way that make for less passive listening. A little less of ‘round the campfire with last pair of clean undies’ and a bit more of ‘coasty road trip in a car with air-con and an icy-pole’.
Continue reading CD Review: Angus and Julia Stone – Down The Way →

cd, cd review, Music, Review

Live Review: Porcupine Tree, Sleep Parade @ The Tivoli, 5 Feb 2010

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By Denis Semchenko
Porcupine TreeAs Neil Young once sang, tonight’s the night – the big music has arrived in town. Along with fellow prog-rock fans, young and old, I walk to The Tivoli with a sense of excitement that only those who have a copy of Arriving Somewhere DVD can truly understand. Only two months ago, I was privy to witnessing Japan’s divine noise makers Mono, whose performance proved to be one of the most singularly powerful live experiences in my entire life, and just before that another crushing live unit –
Steven Wilson’s Swedish collaborators/protégés Opeth – yet this balmy evening also stores a whole array of spine-tingling moments for us.

The diverse crowd is still busy converging at the venue by the time newly-revamped Sleep Parade – who had earlier opened for tonight’s heroes during their inaugural Australian tour two ears ago – plug in and take all and sundry into a wide open sonic space. Oz-progsters to the core, the quartet unveil out one sprawling epic after another; Oxygen’s doomy arpeggio figure gives way to chunky riffing, while on the latest single Every Day and the propulsive drums-led Seconds Away the Melbournians very nearly better Karnivool at their own game. Frequently guitar-switching vocalist Leigh Davies is occasionally submerged in the dense instrumental mix, but nevertheless hits the requisite highs – in all, a strong performance in front of a healthy gathering that gives the band a warm Queensland welcome.
Continue reading Live Review: Porcupine Tree, Sleep Parade @ The Tivoli, 5 Feb 2010 →

Brisbane, Concert, Music, Review

Tour: Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele – January 2010

Dent May   Dent May was discovered last year by Animal Collective when they were recording Merriweather Post Pavilion in nearby Oxford. Dent’s ebullient debut, The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele – released on Animal Collective’s label Paw Tracks and locally through Mistletone – was one of the most feel-good indie-pop delights of 2009.

Continue reading Tour: Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele – January 2010 →

Brisbane, Concert, Melbourne, Music, Sydney, tour

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Bio

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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds available at Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Arguably Australia’s most successful cultural export of the last twenty years, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – both collectively and individually – are also the most prolific. In the last eighteen months alone, Nick Cave, alongside fellow Bad Seeds; Warren Ellis (violin, mandocaster) Martyn Casey (bass) and Jim Sclavunus (drums), have released an album and toured under the name Grinderman – a bump and grind exaggeration of the Bad Seeds groove. Warren Ellis and Nick Cave have also written and released the soundtrack to the Brad Pitt produced movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; bassist Martyn Casey has revived his former role in the reunited Triffids performing at last year’s Sydney Festival; and the longest serving Bad Seed, Mick Harvey (guitar and organ), has released a solo album (his fourth) entitled Two of Diamonds. Harvey has also performed as guest musician at The Triffids reunion shows and most recently has been remixing the entire Bad Seeds back catalogue in 5.1 surround sound.

Continue reading Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Bio →

Artist, Bio, Music