They Might Be Giants – Join Us
Join Us finds They Might Be Giants at their "quirkiest, catchiest and most clever", which is simply music to our old-school fan ears.
Pony Up – Stay Gold
Give it up, or rather give up your gold, for one of Montreal's premiere exponents of indie-pop Pony Up, and their sophomore album.
Suckers – Wild Smile
Brooklyn's Suckers channel a little ADHD indie rock throughout their debut album, defying hype and maintaining interest.
M.I.A. – MAYA
Send out the search parties -- Missing in action on the latest album from M.I.A. -- "melody, listenability, and some semblance of a point".
Fucked Up – David Comes To Life
Concept albums, rock operas, the artistic chasm of failure widens as Fucked Up take the challenge and make the album of their career.
Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward
XL, 2008 [6/10] Junior Nashville punk rockers, Be Your Own Pet caused something of a stir at a show in London recently. Previewing tracks from their follow-up to 2006's self-titled debut, the band engaged in
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Australian Interview (Static, 2010)
A firm favourite last year with those of a pop persuasion was the debut album of Brooklyn four-piece, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. An example of youthful exuberance and melodic indulgences, The Pains (is it ok to call them that?) were as easy to swallow as a chocolate sundae with all the toppings -- and just as addictive and in no way fattening. Recently on tour in Australia, we spoke with guitarist Kip Berman.
Detektivbyrån – Hemvägen
Danarkia, 2006 [8/10] With glockenspiel, accordion and toy-piano Detektivbyrån (Dee-tek-teeve-bu-ron, "The Detective Agency") take their audience on an imaginative musical journey through the urban streets of Paris and the forests of Värmland, the Swedish province
Splendour in the Grass 2009 (Day 1)
We give an in-depth rundown on 2009's Splendour in the Grass festival including the good - The Flaming Lips, Happy Mondays, Bloc Party, Doves, Sarah Blasko, Specials, You Am I, MGMT and the frankly rather appalling - Kram, Grinspoon.
M.Ward – Hold Time
As Conor Oberst once proclaimed, "M. Ward for President". As far-fetched as it sounds, Oberst may have a point.
Amanda Blank – I Love You
Welcome to the Blank generation - potty mouthed, vacuous, and promiscuous - with the music to match.
Hoodoo Gurus – My Girl
In our never-ending attempt to immortalise those classic Australian singles that touched our collective hearts, Webcuts shines a light on the Hoodoo Gurus and their tear-jerking ode to love gone astray "My Girl". Australian
R.E.M. – Retracing The Maps & Legends
Could it be true that the end of a beloved and highly regarded band came down to a simple “a funny thing happened while putting together our career retrospective”? How many bands, when faced with
Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Many a rock band have experimented with electronica but can Scotland's most successful export since kilts and haggis pull it off?
Wire – Red Barked Tree / Gang of Four – Content
Wire and Gang of Four wrote the book for post-punk, kind of. Are they still innovators or merely curators with Red Barked Tree and Content?
Destroyer – Kaputt
Lyrically and musically, simply one of the best records you'll hear all year. Dan Bejar -- Genius. Kaputt -- Divine.