Sleater-Kinney’s album Little Rope is one of the most delicately layered records in the band’s nearly 30-year career. It explores themes of grief, loss, and navigating a world in perpetual crisis. The album’s emotional depth is evident in its complex arrangements and a lyrical focus. It is the second album without longtime drummer Janet Weiss…
Electrifying rhythm, dance, drums and more, Argentina’s Malevo is mesmerising machismo. 13 artistes extraordinaire and a four-piece band hold the audience in the palms of their hands for 80 minutes. Created by director, choreographer and dancer Matias Jaime in 2015, the all-male group specialises in what is known as Malambo. That is a traditional Argentinian folk dance…
British author Francis Spufford travels to America in 1922 for his latest novel, Cahokia Jazz, but it is not an America that readers will know. The alternative world of Cahokia Jazz is one in which smallpox did not decimate the indigenous population of the North America. As a result, when European settlers started to arrive…
It’s a case of feathers meeting fluro when performers in Polytoxic’s new work, Dangerous Goods, initially ensemble in movement of feathered fans to ‘light our fire’. Continuing with theme of the collective’s 2021 Brisfest show, Demolition, the fluro comes from the hi-vis tradie uniform costumes… and also the more revealing hints from beneath them. It’s…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 19 January 2024. Madeline Link, who makes music under the moniker PACKS, has always found inspiration in her surroundings. When it came to her newest effort Melt the Honey, she wanted to look beyond the mundane spaces that had…
For those who like the unconventional, Sophia = (Wisdom): The Cliffs is heaven-sent. Promoted as “Part dada, slapstick comedy, part philosophical vaudeville interrogation into the human psyche and fully a production of the true avant-garde”. I couldn’t have put together a better word-salad myself. Written by American playwright Richard Foreman, the play falls into a…
Do you remember what your last day of school was like? You’d just finished your final exams and freedom was there for the taking. The future was uncertain, but it was one of possibilities. Regardless, now was party time. These are the thoughts in the minds of the 17-year-olds at the centre of Matthew Whittet’s heartfelt play. The twist is…
It’s been a boom time for new films from some of cinema’s great stylists. In the past 12 months, we’ve had new movies from the likes of Wes Anderson, Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese. Now we have a new release from Sofia Coppola in Priscilla; a layered, impressionistic portrait of the relationship between Priscilla Presley…
The sensitive fantasy-romance All of Us Strangers concerns two lost souls. Based on a novel by Taichi Yamada, the film is written and directed by Andrew Haigh (Lean on Pete). It’s a reflective, slow-burning and mysterious work. One night a triggered fire alarm sees screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) evacuate his apartment building temporarily. Staring up,…
Wurld Series hails from Christchurch, New Zealand, and The Giant’s Lawn is the group’s third LP. The history of that region is indie lore, with bands such as The Clean, The Chills, and other associated groups with the Flying Nun record label creating a musical scene characterized by jangly guitars, DIY recording techniques, and a…
