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Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits

Merge, 2012 [rating:8.5/10] The concept of the ‘supergroup’ is relative and often abused. The formation itself is prone to suspicion, akin to selling out your bandmates in favour of some fresh thrills. Often it's the point in a band's career when the chief songwriter hits a stalemate or a stale state -- ie: the last

By |2018-07-16T12:10:55+01:00October 16th, 2012|Categories: Album Reviews|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

Bob Mould – Silver Age

Merge, 2012 [rating:8/10] Alterna-rock statesman hot from bringing a little 90's Sugar to the 10's masses returns with shit-hot album. If that's all the convincing you need, you might as well stop reading now and give the man your money. But if you need a little more, here goes...  Given that Mould has spent the

By |2018-07-16T10:43:05+01:00September 18th, 2012|Categories: Album Reviews|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Times New Viking – Australian Interview with Jared and Adam (2011)

Was there really once a musical sub-genre called 'Shitgaze'? I mean, somebody actually sat around, coined that term and then hoisted it on a few unsuspecting bands who by fate or ill-fortune found themselves trapped under its audiophile repelling umbrella? Think about it, shitgaze. Would you buy into that? Thankfully it's only a memory, but some of those bands still remain, including Columbus, Ohio's Times New Viking. On the eve of their first Australian tour Chris Berkley of Static spoke to Jared and Adam of Times New Viking, fresh off the plane to promote their most recent album, the discordant but progressively tuneful, Dancer Equired.

By |2021-02-22T02:38:12+00:00August 31st, 2011|Categories: Interviews|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

Destroyer – Dan Bejar talking about Kaputt (2011)

It's been said by Webcuts in the past that Destroyer's Dan Bejar is the Woody Allen of pop music. His idiosyncratic, poetic touch is less that of a lyricist but a storyteller with a revolving cast of characters (mostly women), and picking up on the ripples and waves they create to make them a part of his own interior monologue. An essential eighth of the mighty New Pornographers, Bejar has been recording as Destroyer since the 90's. Kaputt, his ninth album is a sumptious, rhapsodic slice of 80's melodrama, immersing itself entirely in the era from the vintage instrumentation to Bejar's own penchance for seeking the sublime out of what some might find the ridiculous.

By |2018-08-12T03:04:16+01:00April 23rd, 2011|Categories: Interviews|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Various Artists – SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers

A star-studded cast pay tribute on this anniversary compilation, but who invited Times New Viking?

Spoon – Atlanta – 14 April 2008

Spoon Centre Stage, Atlanta, GA 14th April 2008 It's Britt Daniel's birthday but you wouldn't know it. There's no cake and candles, no rambunctious behaviour or jokes. You'd be expecting the band to be soused and swaying, playing covers and celebrating the occasion, using the opportunity to cut loose. In fact Daniel looks embarrassed as

By |2021-01-31T23:40:37+00:00June 4th, 2008|Categories: Live Reviews|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Shout Out Louds – Interview (2007)

Just call it the comeback. While the Shout Out Loud's debut album Howl Howl Gaff Gaff showed promise few could have predicated the seismic improvement for follow-up Our Ill Wills -- a veritable treasure chest of '80s and '90s influenced alternative pop and rock with strings, layered percussion and crisp production. We sit down with

By |2021-01-03T02:08:25+00:00November 19th, 2007|Categories: Interviews|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Merge, 2007 [rating:9.5/10] It's almost an established fact that once a band hits album number 4 or 5 they're practically running on empty. Creative juices have all but dried up, different directions are attempted, band friction comes to the fore and as the years go by each new release just isn't a patch on former

By |2021-01-01T07:22:35+00:00November 18th, 2007|Categories: Album Reviews|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments