Hazards of Swimming Naked, Lion Island, Mr. Maps, Hunz – Brisbane – 21 August 2010
A Brisbane bounty with trippy post-rockers The Hazards of Swimming Naked joined by Lofly math-rock legends Mr. Maps, plus the baroque charms of Lion Island and electronic wunderkind Hunz.
Drop Nineteens – Delaware
Welcome reissue of Boston shoegazers debut effort from 1992 complete with bonus tracks. It's wicked pissa!
She & Him – Volume Two
Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, a perfect pop couple if there ever were one, are back for a second helping of doo-wop and pop.
Webcuts Top 11 Of 2011
It hasn’t been an amazing year for music, but surely an entertaining one. Lots of new acts jockeying for position amongst the wily veterans, and plenty of debate even as early as June over love ‘em-or hate ‘em titles such as King of Limbs and James Blake’s eponymous debut and where they belong in the year’s final canonization of greats. Honestly, I can’t remember a year in recent memory when I’ve found so many hyped records I’ve disliked or been entirely disinterested in. Cults? Pass. Tyler, The Creator? Garbage. The saviors from musical banality have consistently been experienced groups who know what they’re doing and get praised for their music and not being arrested in LA and starting riots.
Luke Haines – Bad Vibes
A timely assault on the looming spectre of the Britpop revival, Luke Haines unleashes his arsenal and takes aim. Camden, look out.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Ex-New Zealander's Unnecessarily Long Band Name evoke retro 60's thrills on their self-titled debut.
Destroyer – Trouble In Dreams
Rough Trade, 2008 [8/10] Daniel Bejar is the Woody Allen of pop music. His idiosyncratic, poetic touch opens up another world, planting himself square in the middle around a revolving cast of characters (mostly women),
The Drums – Interview with Johnny Pierce, Jacob Graham, Connor Hanwick (Static, 2010)
The cross overs. Every year has them; bands that get touched by the hand of hype and go from being blogged about to actually selling significant quantities of records/MP3s along with world wide tour schedules and high billed festival slots. This year one of those bands is Brooklyn’s The Drums who have certainly enjoyed a lot of column pixels and radio play on the strength of their back to basics c86 indie-pop as imagined by Phil Spector self titled debut album and its omnipresent lead single “Let’s Go Surfing”. Static’s Chris Berkley has a drink with three quarters of the band for a lesson in how to avoid being drowned by the waves of success.
St. Vincent – Actor
The honeymoon of Marry Me is over for Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, as she sets her gaze on the big stage in Actor.
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?
All Tomorrow’s Parties – Brisbane – 2009
The much lauded ATP festival reaches Australia and we give you the rundown on the Brisbane leg including reviews of Robert Forster, Spiritualized, The Saints and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Lick – A Bitter Taste of Britpop – Interview with Gary Cosby (2007)
Lick were one of Britpop's great forgotten bands. Forming in Camden in 1994 they made a splash with glam anthems, penchant for eyeliner and sexually charged lyrics. But the dream was all over two years later on the cusp of releasing their debut album. We feature an in-depth Q&A with lead singer Gary Cosby about the band and the their unreleased album Turbulence.
Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart
Brooding psychedelic rock with some Zeppelin-esque undertones, Canada's Black Mountain let loose on their third.
Peter Murphy – Ninth
Ex-Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy returns with his first new solo album in 7 years, proving that there's still life in the old goth.
Grizzly Bear – Interview with Ed Droste (Static, 2010)
We hunt down Ed Droste from Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear and get our claws into their move from a studio to live band, how they keep songs fresh, and how they came to record with Yacht rock legend Michael McDonald: "Michael McDonald is one of the coolest Yacht rockers around. We let him know we were fans and he ended up coming to a show and we really liked him and approached him with the idea and he was totally excited to do it."
Release The Sunbird – Come Back To Us
First solo release from Rogue Wave's Zach Rogue under his new moniker, Release The Sunbird. For those who like their rock wimpy.