(Cooking Vinyl, 2008)

For those unaware, Heaven 17 existed on the periphery of the pioneering electronic new wave scene. They didn’t have the pop flair of the Human League or the sequined glitz of ABC. Releasing a handful of albums sporadically throughout the 80s they never had the repeated chart success of their peers. Now as the 80s has become the decade that refuses to go away, they’re back with a live album recorded in front of someone else’s audience (Erasure, no less!) in 1999.

From the 7th to 9th of August 2008 the lush 137 hectare grounds of Slottskogen (The Castle’s Forest) in central Gothenburg, Sweden, once again plays host to the Way Out West music festival. Webcuts gives you the lowdown on this year’s bill -- who to see, and what to expect.

(Cooking Vinyl, 2008)

Having scored a Golden Globe nominated film soundtrack with Eddie Vedder, appeared on recent albums for Tegan and Sara and the Foo Fighters, and being named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the new gods of guitar, you’d think that everything is coming up roses for Kaki King, the 28 year old Georgia-born songstress, but as her fourth album Dreaming of Revenge shows, this is just the beginning.

"I can still recall the time" began Dave Faulkner, as he stood in front of 1500 Australians (and some locals) at London's Forum last Friday night. This time those words held a little more poignancy, playing in the same venue Hoodoo Gurus once played a little over twenty years ago. Powering through with a set packed with songs from their classic debut Stoneage Romeos, Hoodoo Gurus turned back the clock and let the good times roll. Webcuts was on duty to take stock of the action and record it for posterity. Enjoy!

Photos

Dev Hynes was once a teenage Test Icicle but now goes it alone under the name Lightspeed Champion. This year's Falling off the Lavender Bridge surprised many, especially Test Icicles fans, as its charming mix of Britpop, folk and alt.country was a significant departure from the indie meets hardcore of his former band. Static's Chris Berkley spoke to the bespeckled one during his first ever Australian tour about his passion for a good tune, cover versions, dressing up and the next album.

(Virgin, 2008)

I have a very vivid memory of M83’s previous album Before the Dawn Heals Us being played at a thunderous volume while sleeping at a friend’s house early one morning, and it shook through the drunken spillover of the night before as if the ceiling inside my head was about to cave in. With Saturdays = Youth, Anthony Gonazalez poises himself to revisit his own adolescence, as if he were Bender, fist in air in the final scene of the Breakfast Club, making a soundtrack to his own eighties film.

Living proof that great bands and great songs endure all, Sydney’s Hoodoo Gurus are the epitome of the walking jukebox, with a back catalogue of classic singles and albums that have become as much part of the Australian consciousness as any other. From their conception in 1981 they have been captivating audiences the world over with their inspired blend of garage rock and power pop.

Thanks to the good folks at Inertia Records we have three fantastic songs for you to download in MP3 format. Santagold's genre bending dub rock of "Say Aha", Malcolm Middleton's paen to take home booze "Blue Plastic Bags"and the spaced out country rock of Husky Rescue's "Nightless Nights". Get clicking!