British musician Mike Oldfield was still in his teens when he recorded his first studio album, the iconic number one chart topper Tubular Bells. It was the first release on Richard Branson’s fledgling label Virgin Records and went on to sell tens of millions of copies. Sales surged when Tubular Bells’ opening theme was used in the…
A heady novel of love, intrigue and taking chances, Fiona McIntosh’s The Last Dance is a book made for reading in bed all night long. I’ve had this on my shelf for a while, but as I do sometimes, I left it for a while, wanting it for the right moment (I do that with…
Well crafted, well researched and sharply edited, Descent into the Maelstrom serves up a warts-and-all look at the rise and turbulent times of seminal Australian rock band Radio Birdman. Formed in 1974, the band was at the forefront of the punk new wave scene in the 70s. They came about when American-born medical student Deniz…
Folk/pop singer Feist first came to international attention with the breakthrough success of her songs “1234” and “I Feel It All,” from the breakthrough album, 2007’s The Reminder. Although it was her third solo album, she was nominated for a Grammy as Best New Artist, and in her native country Canada she won Juno Awards…
Epistolary novels are always a bit of a tightrope. How do you explain, particularly in this day and age, why people are writing lengthy letters to each other with pen and paper. In her latest novel The Sleepwalkers, Scarlett Thomas walks this tightrope, mostly successfully, to deliver an unsettling, gothic mystery that holds its secrets…
– Up for Love – Only in cinemas from 1 December 2016 We have 3 double in-season passes thanks to Icon Film Distribution. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE When successful lawyer, Diane (Virginie Efira) gets a call from the man who has found her mobile phone, she is immediately intrigued and…
Celebrity – it’s the dream of many and the nightmare of some. Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (in his English-language debut) takes a quirky but deep dive into the nature of celebrity in the current cultural moment with Dream Scenario. The result, while a little uneven, is nonetheless intriguing. Depicting dreams in cinema – or any…
Damien Chazelle shows why he’s regarded as one of the most promising directors of his generation with First Man. After Whiplash and La La Land, this is his third knockout movie in a row – and one that will likely put him in the Oscars frame once again. This is Chazelle’s most mature film to…
A searing feminist work about a woman far ahead of her time, British playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm was inspired by the life of 16th and 17th century poet Emilia Bassano. Feisty and fiery, Emilia stood up for women’s rights and couldn’t see why they should subjugate themselves to men. By various accounts, she was Shakespeare’s muse and…
Virtuoso bassist and singer-songwriter Stephen Bruner aka Thundercat returns with his first solo material in two years, The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam. Having already made outstanding contributions to not one, but two, of the greatest albums of 2015 – To Pimp a Butterfly and The Epic – by fellow Los Angelians Kendrick Lamar…
