LCD Soundsystem – Interview with James Murphy (Static, 2010)
During their recent visit to Australia for Splendour in the Grass we caught up with LCD Soundsystem's main man James Murphy who gave us reason to put away the hankies for LCD's much reported demise - "It’s not necessarily the last record. I would make another record. It’s more the end of this part – three records that go together, an arc. We became a bigger band than I ever expected. Something needs to stop, for me, for us all to be happy." He also waxes lyrical about making the record in the LA of his imagination, growing up and wanting kids, his Greenburg soundtrack experience and his many and varied future projects.
Hoodoo Gurus – Interview with Dave Faulkner (2008)
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
Mr. Maps – Brisbane – 12 Feb 2011
Photos of Mr. Maps' launch for Wire Empire their debut (and so far only) album. Brisbane, February 12, 2011.
Mercury Rev – Australian Interview (Static, 2009)
Touring Australia on the bequest of the all-conquering Coldplay, Mercury Rev stopped into visit Static's Chris Berkley to talk about their latest album Snowflake Midnight and an impressive career that cannot be reigned in by simple film analogies.
Warpaint – London – 26 August 2010
It’s shows like this which give birth to the very nature of rock and roll. The hip-swaying sounds of a band as they rock back and forth, eyes closed, mouths pressed against the microphone with their feet marking the beat. It’s an undeniably sexual thing. This isn't news. It’s why they tried to ban Elvis in the 50’s. He turned young girls on, and it wasn’t so much the man, but the music, the stage, the sweat, the motion -- the rock and roll of it all. Wedged together in this barely ventilated Old Street basement, Los Angeles' Warpaint are presiding over something that had this been the 50's, would've gotten them banned too.
Twin Shadow – London – 11 May 2011
Having to write a live review on the fly, almost two weeks after it happened, from notes hastily scribbled, while packing to go to a festival will show us this is not the way to be. There's no time to go into great detail, to labour the point, to draw comparisons between George Lewis Jr's physical appearance (a little bit Prince, a little bit Morrissey), or the sound (a little bit Prince, a little bit Morrissey, albeit on a synth-sprung landscape). Twin Shadow, at least from this writer's perspective, has adequately filled the gap that LCD Soundsystem left by their absence, in making music that moves and is moving, that is confident without being arrogant, and is just too perfect for words.
Centro-Matic / South San Gabriel – Dual Hawks
Cooking Vinyl, 2008 [5/10] (Centro-Matic) [7/10] (South San Gabriel) Will Johnson can seemingly do anything. A prolific songwriter, Johnson has spent over a decade playing indie rock in Denton, Texas' Centro-Matic, putting out a succession
Gemma Ray – We’ve Got a Crush on You (2010)
In the cockney rhyming slang lexicon there really should be an entry marked "Gemma Ray" that translates to "The Hard Way" for the sultry Essex singer's career is one filled with false starts, battles with illness and sheer bloody mindedness. Barely finished from touring her last album Ray has just released an album of covers It's a Shame About Ray which draws its song pool from the likes of Buddy Holly, Lee Hazelwood, Etta Fitzgerald, Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Gallon Drunk and The Gun Club. Webcuts catches up with the brunette with the beehive during a tour in South Africa to talk knives, the new album, Rosemary's Baby, illness affecting songwriting and the recording of new material.
James Yorkston – Folk Songs
There's no sitting on the fence about Scottish troubadour James Yorkston's ninth album, which consists of traditional folk songs featuring the likes of "Mary Connaught and James O'Donnel" and "Little Musgrave".
Top Ten – Soundtracks
Some of these selections are pretty obvious. Some are from movies you've probably never seen nor have a desire to ever see.
Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band
Eric D. Johnson’s Fruit Bats sink their teeth in a third album of sweet pop with The Ruminant Band.
Pete Fijalkowski – Interview about Adorable & Polak (1998)
Interview conducted via email with Pete Fijalkowski from 1998 when the dust had settled from Adorable and his then new band Polak had just released their first single "2 Minutes 45".
Cold Cave – Cherish the Light Years
Can goth new-wavers Cold Cave come close to the lo-fi synth-brilliance of their debut Love Comes Close? Now, that's the question.
Amanda Palmer – Australian Interview (2010)
From the Dresden Dolls to her solo album, Amanda Palmer has never been less than a bold and intriguing character in American rock music. In Australia for a slew of live dates we talk to the force of nature herself about her engagement to Neil Gaiman, her Golden Globes outfit switch-a-roo, the controversy surrounding her new Evelyn Evelyn project, what's on her bed side table and a dream involving Anna Pavlova wearing a spacesuit... and God.
Rowland S. Howard – The Final Interview (Static, 2009)
Forever known as Nick Cave's red right hand in the Birthday Party, Rowland was the purveyor of that skeletal, metallic guitar style that along with the bass growl of Tracey Pew, defined the sound of the band. Speaking to Static's Chris Berkley, only a few weeks before his passing, Rowland S. Howard recounts his extensive career and his brief return to music with Pop Crimes.
Stephin Merritt – Obscurities
Obscurities he called it, but more like a forgotten treasure trove from all chapters of the Stephin Merritt songbook.