Ramona – London – 17 April 2011
It's easy to love Ramona, even though everything about them is so flawless and en pointe, unheard for a scruffy bunch of Brighton by-way-of-New-York rockers. Picks in hand, they transform a handful of chords into polished punk perfection, fronted by the coquettish bleach-blonde tomboy Karen Anne, a second generation Edie and Debbie who knows how to hang from a mic stand like she was hanging from your shoulder. Absent from the stage this year so far, they cycle through their set in a brisk half hour, including encore, and you're crying out for a flubbed note, an unrehearsed run through a song they just wrote in the van, or general indifference to whether anybody is listening.
Dappled Cities – Interview with Dave Rennick (Static, 2009)
Sydney art-pop quintet Dappled Cities have steadily grown in status in the last ten years with 2006’s Granddance and their most recent psyche-pop opus Zounds. Last year, we spoke to Dave Rennick, guitarist and vocalist of Dappled Cities about birthing and touring the album.
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
In an era dominated by unexpected musical collaborations, Broken Bells (James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse) triumphs.
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Melbourne Modular boys gone global return for their third album with mixed results. Just what the hell is a Zonoscope anyway?
Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago
Shearwater seem to have run aground on The Golden Archipelago. Not quite paradise, nor a place you'll likely return to soon.
The Clean – Mister Pop
New Zealand indie legends The Clean are still going, well maybe strong is too kind a word, for their new release Mister Flop, er Pop.
The Breeders – London – 3 September 2008
The Breeders Shepherd's Bush Empire London 3rd September 2008 For a long time The Breeders seemed to go the way of the Pixies. As both Deal sisters battled their demons, Kim with liquor and Kelley
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
Who The Hell Is… Jonneine Zapata?
Interview with LA-based chanteuse Jonneine Zapata around the time of her debut album Cast the Demons Out.
Paul Dempsey – Everything Is True
First there was Something for Kate now singer Paul Dempsey has gone it alone and produced something for everyone.
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.
The Whitest Boy Alive – Rules
Erlend Øye and company break some rules but also unwittingly create them on their second album entitled, you guessed it, Rules.
The Church – Untitled #23
Moving on from Uninvited, Like The Clouds to Untitled #23, The Church near the end of the alphabet but not the end of their career.
Plants and Animals – La La Land
For a band who call their music "post-classic rock", Canada's Plants and Rags have at least one thing going for them.
The Horrors – Australian Interview (Static, 2010)
We chew the fat with The Horrors on their recent Australian tour about last year's remarkable second album Primary Colours, and their thoughts on cover versions: "I think it’s a funny idea that this is a conversation you’re more likely to have now than at any other time in the history of rock ’n’ roll, considering most bands really started playing cover versions, being The Beatles or The Stones or even the Sex Pistols. It was something that was just kind of part and parcel of being in a group and part of a live repertoire."
The Honeys – Interview with Bruce Begley about Star Baby (2008)
All my favourite bands break up too soon. Some dissolve and leave no trace they ever existed, others leave behind a body of work, be it that beguiling debut or just one crucial single that