Album Reviews
Album Review: Party Crashers’ self titled debut album is a glorious indie pop delight.
Party Crashers features singer songwriter Robert F. Cranny who has a long history in the industry as one of the main architects of Sarah Blasko’s debut album ‘The Overture And The Underscore’, and its follow-up ‘What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have’. Cranny co-wrote and co-produced both albums, the latter winning the ARIA award …
Album Review: Cam Butler (Ron S Peno and the Superstitions) releases new solo album, the ethereal ‘Spirits Flying Home’, ahead of launch gig.
Cam Butler is a multi instrumentalist and producer who was also the co-writer of songs with the late and legendary Ron S Peno (Died Pretty) in the fabulous Ron S Peno and the Superstitions which he co-founded. Their album ‘Do The Understanding’ was one of my albums of the year in 2023. In addition, Butler is also a rather …
Album Review: Lutruwita’s Meres unveil the excoriating and blistering sonic tornado of debut ‘WORRIED SICK’
Meres, fronted by the enigmatic and creative force of Mary Shannon (also in the magnificent Dvrkworld) have just released their debut album ‘WORRIED SICK’ and it has the sonic effect of a tornado with its scything guitars and explosive delivery. It is a far stretch from the more languid shoegaze approach of Dvrkworld, filled with …
Album Review: ‘I Love What We Do’ – It’s Geoffrey O’Connor’s world and we are delighted to be immersed in his luscious sonic romanticism.
Geoffrey O’Connor creates a world of breathlessly beautiful chamber pop, rich and luscious with an infectious sensibility that takes its genesis from the sixties – a sort of Burt Bacharach/Max Bygraves/Frank Sinatra world, mixed with a contemporary Pulp/Lightning Seeds theatricality via ABC. ‘I Love What We Do’ is like a theme park filled with love …
Album Review: Mess Esque’s ‘Jay Marie, Comfort Me’ is an epically beautiful and assured album, released ahead of Australian and European dates.
Mess Esque, the collaboration between Helen Franzmann (McKisko) and Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Tren Brothers), follow up on their self-titled debut 2021 album (reviewed by me here) with the astronomically beautiful ‘Jay Marie, Comfort Me’. Released through Drag City Records and Remote Control Records, it’s a stunning collection of dreamy shimmering tracks that glow in the firmament. From …
Album Review: REA-‘Garden Shed’ EP: Fresh folky weave and natural flow from a distinctive new indie-folk voice.
Well Bon Iver had his snowbound cabin in deepest Wisconsin and Brighton based singer songwriter REA had her Dad’s garden shed in rural England. That may not seem quite so cinematic but the peaceful isolation, contemplative space and earthy connectivity of her own creative shelter has shaped a similar resonance in her music. Yes, REA’s …
EP Review: Fever Rouge – Feed The Villain
Brighton’s Fever Rouge return with Feed The Villain, a snarling, sprawling EP that showcases an evocative blend of post-punk, shoegaze and indie-rock. Opening with the boxing drums and melancholic yet angular riff of the playfully named ‘Shplang’, the opener soon introduces the cool, unaffected yet yearning and pointed lead vocals. Building throughout, the track brings an …
Album Review: Be Kind Cadaver –‘The World’s Greatest Mind’ : Epic electronic noise-rock exposes a deeper malaise.
Welcome once again to a rare encounter with the illusive Brighton art-punk duo Be Kind Cadaver. First sighted back in the post-Covid energy surge of 2022 with their debut EP ‘Post Partum’, Daniel Hignell-Tully and Leroy Brown released a venomous probe into the personal and political with a quartet of shell-shocked anti-pop songs. BSM dubbed …
Album Review: Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE; A love story in two halves.
After six long years, Bon Iver returns with SABLE, fABLE, a two-part odyssey that explores love, longing, and transformation with his trademark emotional depth and sonic inventiveness. More than just an album, it feels like a narrative split across two discs—SABLE, a prologue of hushed reflection and sadness, and fABLE, a blossoming, kaleidoscopic response full …
Album Review: Naarm/Melbourne’s USER release the delicious electronic late night thrum of ‘Mira Imposta’ ahead of launch dates.
USER have been together around six years and ‘Mira Imposta’ is their third album. Their oeuvre is a fascinating mix of throbbing Euro disco with pure pop sensibilities and an electronic snakiness that shimmers and slithers through the ears like a delicious unguent. And in this album, there is a heart of brooding gothic darkness …