The ocean, the family, the lover – 20 years on a man returns to his childhood home and revives memories of his past. I speak of a small coastal town in El Salvador, a place he swore he would never return. So, why did he feel the need to leave and now why go back on his…
You get the sense listening to the fifth album from Perfume Genius, aka Mike Hadreas, that at heart he’s a torch singer. Whatever the musical direction or production style an individual track takes – and he does just about everything here, from dirge-y electronica to buoyant faux-50’s dancefloor pop, maudlin grungy rock, and of course…
Brendan Benson has the enviable position of being the other front man in the Raconteurs who shares the stage with Jack White, and the rhythm section of Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler. He shares half the vocals, plays guitar and somehow fades into the shadows every-time White steps to the microphone, or leans into one…
I’ve been wracking my mind trying to think of another married couple that have recorded together with the same sympatico and creativity that I hear when ace Americana guitarist and sideman Buddy Miller records with his songwriter wife Julie Miller. Of course, there was Richard and Linda Thompson, but we all know that didn’t end…
One of the best bits of news early in 2017, was that Midnight Oil had reformed, and was planning a global tour, including 13 dates in the U.S. Although Midnight Oil had made a strong impression on alternative music fans internationally in the early 80’s with albums like 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,…
On their fourth full-length album, the often-labeled psychedelic pop/rock quartet Temples, have chosen a title that comes close to describing both the breadth of their compositions and the lush musical textures they created with producer Sean Ono Lennon. With their 2019 release, Hot Motion, the quartet displayed their dexterity with a broad spectrum of rock…
I thoroughly enjoyed Winnie-the-Pooh as a child, and the movie behind the creation of the characters is equally satisfying. Goodbye Christopher Robin provides a rare glimpse into the relationship between beloved children’s author Alan Alexander Milne (played here by Domhnall Gleeson) and his son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston). After returning from the First World War, Milne was left…
Hollywood has a nasty habit of trampling on the memories of our youth by remaking some of the classics of yesteryear, and in most cases stuffing them up beyond belief. They may justify this by saying that the remake opens an otherwise forgotten film up to a brand new audience. The latest classic to get…
Just in time for the school holidays, Cinderella has arrived, beautifully presented by Queensland Ballet as part of their My First Ballet series. A charming, all-ages adaptation by Matthew Lawrence, Cinderella was first performed in Brisbane in 2013 and has been adapted with permission by Ben Stevenson OBE. As one of the world’s most beloved…
After over a decade and 4 full-length studio albums with Best Coast – her band with multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno – Bethany Cosentino has stepped away to create her solo debut, Natural Disaster. Given her previous ventures in power pop/alt rock with excursions into surf rock and country, her solo work here, supported by Nashville producer…
