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
Austra – London – 6 September 2011
Having changed careers mid-stream from a piano-based singer-songwriter with a touch of the Regina Spectors to a Nico-esque bleach-blonde gothic siren, in Austra Katie Stelmanis has found the form to match the function. With a handful of impressive singles released either side of their Kate Bush meets Nine Inch Nails debut album Feel It Break, Stelmanis may have found her creative niche but she still has much to prove. On record, Austra cloak themselves in a throbbing monochrome blanket, but on stage their live show is more telling, more vibrant and commanding, as Stelmanis, flanked by a pair of interpretive dancers/backing vocalists, add any absent colour.
M83 – Interview with Anthony Gonzalez (Static, 2008)
Anthony Gonzalez is the driving force behind French band M83. Since 2001 M83 have released several albums of hypnotic electronica combined with effects laden guitars, and softly sung vocals. Static's Chris Berkley managed to track down Anthony
Owen Pallett – Heartland
From Final Fantasy to something more pallettable Canada's Owen Pallett continues to enthrall with his third album which gets to right to the heart.
Jacob Golden – Interview circa Revenge Songs (2008)
If success was awarded by the amount of struggle and heartbreak an artist had endured, and took into account the innate talent the artist had, Jacob Golden would be multi-platinum and headlining London's Royal
The Boxer Rebellion – Union
When the dark forces are everywhere who are you gonna call? England's staunchly independent epic rock band The Boxer Rebellion? Maybe not after this disappointing second effort.
Bauhaus – In The Flat Field/Mask
A powerhouse debut and its cathartic, brooding follow-up, Bauhaus' back catalogue is remastered and revived for the masses.
The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Oh my god! The third album from this Rhode Island folk trio proves to be a natural selection.
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
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?
The Scare – The Final Interview, Sydney (2010)
Is there anything more cliched than the rock and roll break-up? Secret meetings in dark alleys. The guitarist that suddenly pops up on other people's records. The singer who doesn't return their calls. You either see it coming a mile away, or it creeps up on you like old age. It happens to the best and it happens to the worst, and eventually it will happen to them all. Piss and moan about it all you like, but what's done is done. The latest induction to the rock and roll hall of "fuck this shit for a laugh" are Webcuts' favourite punk sons, The Scare.
Laetitia Sadier – The One Million Year Trip (2011)
Quietly released last year was the first proper solo album by Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier. A touching tribute to her sister, who in Sadier's words "went on a million year trip/and left everthing behind", The Trip saw Sadier step out from the shadow of Stereolab to make a very revealing album, not only in the way she dealt with her loss, but in how she paid tribute to artists that influenced and inspired her. An album that sparkled in its minimalist approach, The Trip showed a side of Sadier unseen, one that was filled with warmth and emotion, and those little philosophical quirks that you've come to expect.
The Veils – Interview with Finn Andrews about Sun Gangs (Static, 2009)
Chris Berkley from Static talks to the rather talented Veiled one about the new album, the band's love for The Wire and possible antipodean tours.
A Hawk and a Hacksaw – Délivrance
Business as usual for New Mexico's A Hawk And A Hacksaw? Just ask "The Man Who Sold His Beard".
Jacob Golden – Revenge Songs
Echo, 2007 [rating:9/10] Those lucky enough to catch Jacob Golden's live know just how extraordinary he can be armed with only an acoustic guitar and his angelic voice. His self titled debut EP in 2001
Doves – Kingdom of Rust
Fourth album in from these Mancunian maestros, offering a slight return to their electro/house days as Sub Sub.