album
Album Review: The Institutes deliver a magnificent indie pop debut in ‘Colosseum’: an edifice of pure gold.
It’s hard not to resort to hyperbole when you come across a debut like ‘Colosseum’ from Coventry band The Institutes. You cannot help but hear in the DNA of this album the freakish brilliance of outrageous debuts from giants in the past: The Las, Stone Roses and The Smiths to name a few outstanding examples. …
Album Review: Australian punk legends The Hard Ons release thunderous new album ‘I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken’ and announce national tour.
The Hard-Ons have remained one of the most influential Australian punk bands for decades on end. Following the recruitment of beloved rock ‘n’ roll singer Tim Rogers the group have just released their thirteenth studio album, ‘I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken’. The record kickstarts with ‘Hold Tight’, an exultant number that seems to …
Album Review: Sydney’s Dominic Breen sets the controls for intergalactic with the glorious shimmering ‘Blue Volume’
Dominic Breen‘s new album ‘Blue Volume’, out today through Double Drummer, is certainly a cinematic experience – both in the sounds it creates and the visions it brings forth. And by cinematic, I’m talking widescreen with ultra vivid colours and an immersive surround sound sparkle that shimmers like stars in the firmament. At the very …
Album review: ‘Ten Songs’ from T. Wilds is a soft and delicate wonderland.
Tania Bowers, operating under the nom de plume T. Wilds, has just released the album ‘Ten Songs’: a deceptively simple and unadorned collection of the sweetest sounds imaginable. This is an album that sparkles with life and vitality and shimmers with an innate glow. Bowers has the most distinctive vocal style: a relatively low register, …
Album Review: Nik Brinkman’s debut ‘Secret Stairs’ is an elegant showcase of glittering dreamy dream pop exhibits.
Opening with an instrumental with a spoken dialogue in the track ‘Silent Cities’, the crystalline beauty of New Zealander Nik Brinkman‘s new album ‘Secret Stairs’ become instantly evident. With the shimmering elegance of M83, ‘Silent Cities’ is evocative: bringing to life those late night long distance calls that are filled with yearning and isolation across …
Album Review: Youth Group’s Toby Martin’s solo album ‘I Felt the Valley Lifting’ is an uplifting amalgam of mystical realism and the minutiae of everyday life.
Toby Martin (Youth Group) has a distinctive angelic voice and astute ear for indelible melodies, but more than anything his new solo album ‘I Felt The Valley Lifting’ reveals in greater focus on his ability to weave vivid and fascinating tales: reaped from the ennui of everyday existence as well as drawing on folklore and …
Album Review: Brigitte Bardini releases stunning debut album ‘Stellar Lights’: a collection of magnificent sparkling jewels.
On the strength of two shimmering singles released earlier this year, Melbourne resident and multi-instrumentalist Brigitte Bardini announced herself as a prodigious talent in the independent music scene in Australia, a fact confirmed by the release of her debut album ‘Stellar Lights’. This is a sparkling collection of exquisite dream pop finery: spread across 14 …
Premiere: On the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Pia Fraus give us a sneak listen to their new recording ‘Now You Know, It Still Feels The Same’: fresh interpretations of youthful brilliance.
Hailing from Tallinn, Estonia, Pia Fraus have proven to be one of the most fascinating and enduring shoegaze bands of the past twenty years, made all the more unusual by the fact that they emerged from Eastern Europe, an area not known for this genre. Their debut album, ‘Wonder What it’s Like’, was released in …
Album Review: Children Collide’s ‘Time Itself’ is a cathartic, thundering, heavy metal psychedelic trip, plus tour details announced.
Melbourne’s Children Collide have been a vital beating heart of the Australian indie music scene, and after a nine year break are back with swagger and style with their new album ‘Time Itself’, out now through Spinning Top Records. With a deceptively tamed jangling start, ‘Man of the People’ erupts into a mountainous riff-laden fuzzy …
Album Review: Holy Holy say ‘Hello My Beautiful World’ with an elegant and sparkling collection of jewels, plus tour news.
It is an unusual situation to find myself lauding an album that just debuted at number 4 on the Australian music charts in the company of what could be loosely described as commercial pop artists (not the kind of milieu I generally write about). But then that just about sums up Holy Holy‘s universal appeal. …