Laneway Festival – Brisbane – 2009
We brave the laneways of Brisbane to report on No Age, Jay Reatard, The Hold Steady, Cut Off Your Hands, The Drones, Stereolab, Spiral Stairs, Augie March and more.
Who The Hell Are… The Rifle Volunteer?
It's an audacious pronouncement to commit to releasing 12 singles in 12 months. The Wedding Present set the benchmark in the 90's. Ash tried the same thing recently, in a mixture of desperation and overkill in numbers too large to comprehend and tarnishing the very idea of a single. It's not just two songs on a slab of vinyl (or cd, or one of those less satisfying digital w/artwork jobs). It's a living, breathing statement. A trojan horse in disguise. A rallying cry to fall behind. A rallying cry... See, The Rifle Volunteer comprehend this. "I'll Sleep When That Damned Sun Is Dead", the first single in their year long campaign, is what we're talking about. Here is a band that means business.
Castanets – Texas Rose Thaw & The Beasts
Every rose has a thorn and so too does the fifth album by Raymond Raposa's folk-beat one man band Castanets.
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
Sounding more like a theme park ride than a band, Ariel Pink pulls off both with a little 70's funk and 80's new wave self-exploration.
The Besnard Lakes – On the Sydney Shores (2011)
The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horses. A fitting album title for these Montreal, Quebec, Canadians, as much as it was a challenge for a band who've skirted success but in turn garnered acclaim for their lush and psychedelic sound. Their most recent album The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night appeared in early 2010, and once again it was that intimate and expansive sound, coupled with vocalist/guitarist Jace Lacek's Beach Boys-like falsetto that saw the band release their most definitive collection of songs yet. Touring Australia for the very first time, Chris Berkley of Static caught up with Lacek and drummer Kevin Laing of The Besnard Lakes to talk about the slow rise of the band and their move into film scores.
Windsor for the Derby – How We Lost
How did we lose this CD? Never mind, we finally give Austin's other post-rock band's eighth album a run through.
Weezer – Death To False Metal
Just how many albums are Weezer going to release (or re-release) this year? What's one more for Christmas?
Blur – Midlife: A Beginner’s Guide To Blur
The predictable commercial foibles of a greatest hits compilation are largely avoided here; each of the tracks have been carefully selected by the band and many of them are touched-up or alternative versions.
The Thermals – Now We Can See
Portland's The Thermals return with warm power-pop, tempered by decidedly cooler lyrical themes on Now We Can See.
Grouplove – Never Trust A Happy Song
Energetic indie-rock from LA's Grouplove but watch out for "the boring half of the record". Whoops.
Bauhaus – Go Away White
Cooking Vinyl, 2008 [rating:1/10] Bauhaus' original swansong, released almost 25 years ago now, was a recording halted and hindered by singer Peter Murphy catching pneumonia and being hospitalised, meaning the finished product, entitled Burning From
Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer
One half of the hyper-productive quirk-pop outfit Fiery Furnaces takes her first solo steps on Last Summer.
Otouto – Pip
Melbourne four piece Otouto prove that art pop is not a dirty word on their impressive debut album Pip.
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.
They Might Be Giants – Cleveland – 16 September 2011
On the surface, it’s a normal, sold-out show on a Friday night just north of downtown Cleveland. The fans stretch around the corner from the front door; ticket holders excited for the They Might Be Giants concert they’re about to see, and those without tickets hoping to catch a break when they get to the box office. But this is not a normal show, and this is not a normal audience. These are the geeks. The nerds. Die hard rock fans of a different shade of crazy, waiting for their musical heroes to serenade them with catchy pop songs tinged with dark humor and insightful counter-culture references.
Robert Forster – The Evangelist
EMI, 2008 [8/10] Robert Forster and Grant McLennan were two months into writing the next Go-Betweens album when on May 6th 2006, Grant McLennan died suddenly of a heart attack at age 48. An indescribable