During The Smiths’ short brilliant career they released 4 albums in as many years in the mid-80’s, guitarist Johnny Marr became the most influential guitarists of the British indie-rock, post-punk scene. At a time when Brit-pop had embraced synthesizers and were leaning into disco more and more, Marr’s jangle-pop approach echoed early rockers like Roger…
Perth’s Rabbit Island (a.k.a. Amber Fresh) is releasing her new album, Deep in The Big on 17 August. Ahead of that release, Rabbit Island will be appearing at five live shows in Melbourne over the next few weeks. Rabbit Island intend to take listeners somewhere beautiful and new with Deep in The Big. It’s the…
Twenty new shows feature in the 9th annual Melbourne Cabaret Festival. Under the artistic direction of Dolly Diamond (for the second consecutive year), the festival is on right now at Chapel off Chapel, and runs until 1 July. Note that each show has only a small number of performances. The festival includes musical acts straddling…
When a band puts out a “best of” album it is often the sign of a big change: they’re breaking up; looking for a quick way to fulfill their contract with a label so they can sign a better contract somewhere else; or maybe just cashing in. When Snow Patrol released their Greatest Hits in…
It’s been five years since Neko Case’s last album, but it’s not as if she’s been silent since the release of The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, The More I Love You. In 2016 she collaborated with k.d. lang and Laura Veirs on their fine trio album Case/Lang/Veirs, and…
The Bonnevilles, the guitar/drum duo of Andre McGibbon, Jr., and Chris McMullan of Northern Ireland, have made a career out of their commitment to “garage punk blues.” But with just two players, they approach the with a minimalist’s conviction that less is more, and then play with enough aggression, energy and bring enough variation to…
There is a reason that you should always listen to a record more than once before putting it aside. I have been a big fan of La Luz since their 2013 debut It’s Alive but after one spin through Floating Features I thought the band might have regressed some instead of taking all the momentum…
You might not have heard of Charlotte Mclean, but chances are you soon will. The Brisbane-based jazz singer is emerging as one of Australia’s most captivating and original young vocalists. Having completed her Bachelor of Jazz Music in Voice at Brisbane’s renowned Jazz Music Institute, (affiliated with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center…
On the 12th Eels album in 22 years, principal singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, known as E, continues a long and lengthy practice of deconstructing the major myths of the American Dream, and the myths and fables of romance, capitalism and the pursuit of personal meaning. Deconstruction, according to Merriam-Webster, is “a philosophical or critical method…
Amen Dunes is the project of New York-based Damon McMahon. Amen Dunes’ fifth record, Freedom, is exactly why you stick with an artist. Every record in Amen Dunes discography has been stronger than the one before and Freedom keeps the trend going as it is Damon McMahon’s finest work to date. McMahon brings a high…
