album review
Album review: Dusted – ‘III’: A cross-country relocation blows the dust off an intimate, autumnal beauty
THERE’S a very strong argument to be made, in the sphere of the more introverted singer-songwriter and that of Americana, that the best music is the living music, the real music, captured in the moment, not fussed with in any way – far removed from the sheen and multi-tracking and the endless possibility of the …
Album Review: Tunnel Traffic’s elegiac ‘Take my Power’ is a shimmering and immersive work of art
Adam Hachey is a brilliant and underappreciated song writer whose talent has been lauded by Backseat Mafia since almost our inception when he emerged with the band Meesh, creating a genre of what he termed anti-folk. His songwriting is in fact folkish, but with an indie pop sensibility and a more layered and rich approach. …
Album Review: Sunshine Coast’s Swimsuit Issue reveal their true magnificence with their sterling debut ‘Burn for the Buzz’
It was only back in March that I was first introduced to Swimsuit Issue through their atomic blast of a debut single ‘Addict’. However impressive this debut was, it didn’t portend the incredible sonic versatility this band has within its canon. Indeed, there was much more to come over a series of singles that have …
Album Review: The Mountain Goats – ‘Dark in Here’
If there was a way in which one could imagine themselves frozen in time, Dark in Here would be the soundtrack for that moment. Sincere, grounded, beaming with analogue sound complete with stellar bandmates and an impressive storyteller, indie folk band The Mountain Goats have delivered a narrative of old school blues, jazz, Western and …
Album Review: The Goon Sax illuminate the firmament with spectacular album ‘Mirror II’
The Goon Sax have released their third album ‘Mirror II’ and it confirms their special place amongst Australian indie royalty. The album is essentially one of two parts – there is a softer pop element to the tracks released as singles with their glittery sheen and there is a more angular side that is brittle …
Album Review: Supermilk – ‘Four By Three’
Born from an abundance of writing amid the restrictions placed on individuals by the coronavirus pandemic, Jake Popyura, AKA Supermilk, started writing and demoing songs on a regular basis as part of a studio-only product. Soon enough, he had accumulated enough material for a new record following the release of two EPs in 2017 and …
Album review: Snapped Ankles – ‘Forest Of Your Problems’: a terrifically twisted tonal masterclass
FROM introductory single “I Want My Minutes Back”, the elusively enigmatic Snapped Ankles have spliced musically immediate tracks with impossibly danceworthy drumbeats and equally provocative synth work alongside sprawling, often Krautrock-eking, delightful structures of wild, spontaneous abandon. Their third album, Forest Of Your Problems, expands their ever-growing sonic boundaries into abundantly fertile territory. As with …
Album Review: Billy F Gibbons – Hardware
What to say about the Reverend Billy F Gibbons, one third of boogie-rock legends ZZ Top and with a career at the forefront of Texas Blues for over fifty years? With a vocal growl as distinctive as the tone of Pearly Gates, his legendary ’59 Les Paul, and an otherworldly feel for the Texas shuffle, …
Album Review: John Myrtle’s debut ‘Myrtle Soup’ brings the sunshine even when it rains.
In the week that John Myrtle’s debut album Myrtle Soup has released, the weather has shifted from blistering sun to pouring rain. There are drops tapping on my window as I hear Myrtle’s soft voice, promising me better days in his glittering ‘Ballad of the Rain’. After playing it a few more times, I can …
Album review: Birds of Maya – ‘Valdez’: Philly stoners come back for your greasy, sexy soul after eight long years
PHILADELPHIA is a city that knows how to properly rock, dirt under its nails, filthy fuckin’ fuzz in its heart. With the news that Philly headz Bardo Pond are getting a silver jubilee expanded repress for their ’96 psychotropic masterpiece Amanita, comes news from more of the city’s favourite prodigally noisy sons, Birds of Maya; …