What do you look for in a New York punk rock band? A dirt-under-the-nails grit-rock aesthetic? Rambling feedback-drenched guitar odysseys that stretch well past the point of aural comfort? Whip-sharp lyrics that poke the sardonic stick at everything from success to the tanking job market, Parquet Courts have got it all in spades. They’ve picked up the squalid brand of rock’n’roll that the Velvet Underground dragged out of […]
Oliver Tank played at the Metro last weekend. I was pretty excited because I’ve been following his progress for a couple years now, and this was his first headline tour. It was…. Okay. I’ve seen the bushy-hair Sydneysider a few times before – OutisdeIn Festival 2012, FBi Turns 10! 2013 and Falls Festival Byron Bay, […]
Youth Lagoon AKA Trevor Powers is in town for Laneway Festival, and made a special stopover at Oxford Art Factory last Thursday. The weather was balmy, the drinks were flowing, the crowd was buzzing. The room was practically vibrating by the time Powers got on stage. The guy certainly has an aura of quirkiness around […]
I admit, until recent months I wasn’t familiar with the man, the myth or the legend that is James Vincent McMorrow. Traditionally, I’ve not been a big fan of singer-songwriters. They bore me. The music puts me to sleep. But I couldn’t look past McMorrow’s unique and utterly angelic voice, nor his talent for creating interesting […]
Every band starts somewhere. The first time Lennon and gang played as The Beatles, they were reportedly paid only five pounds. Radiohead’s lead guitarist, Johnny Greenwood, started on the harmonica. Daft Punk took their name from a negative reviewer who described the duo’s previous band’s efforts as “a daft punky thrash”. And I’m assuming One […]
OutsideIn Festival happened last Saturday at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville. It happened with serious style. It was a boutique, hipster-but-not-actually-annoying day with incredible music, lovely weather and surprisingly small bathroom queues. Astral People and Yes Please brought us a really, really well-picked mix of producers and artists from all corners of the (mostly) underground […]
BIGSOUND Live 2013 was a whirlwind. Once again, the culmination of the greatest up and coming young acts from all across Australia and some overseas, provided for a men’al two nights of gigs, pre-parties, after-parties, and pre-after-post-BIGSOUND-parties. Thank you so much to SGC Media for running a flawless couple of days, I’m sure they’re only […]
Blue Mountains four-piece Cloud Control are easily one of my favourite Aussie bands at the moment. Their show at The Metro on Thursday was the final night on their national tour for new album Dream Cave, the highly acclaimed and seriously good follow up to 2011’s Bliss Release. We missed the first opening act Gang […]
Sydney’s best independent music radio station FBi turned ten last week, and celebrated in style this Sunday at Carriageworks. There was a fantastic crowd, incredible homegrown talent, delicious food and more. There was smiles all around and it was a testament to just how much support, love and respect FBi has garnered over the past […]
I first heard Nine Inch Nails at the exact time that you’re supposed to discover them. 13 or 14 years old, moody, black-clad, hating life and trying to figure out who I was. Downward Spiral, Pretty Hate Machine and their (at the time) recently released Fragile very quickly became favourites. I wore my NIN […]