Archive for 'CD Reviews'
CD Review : The Love Junkies – ‘Louise’ Single
Review by Keaton McSweeney Dialling the fuzz way back, THE LOVE JUNKIES’ new single ‘Louise’ is as good a mid-tempo rocker as you’re going to hear all summer. Vocalist/guitarist Mitch McDonald’s voice sits perfectly above a...
CD Review : The Voltaire Twins – Romulus EP
Review By Aiden Stingemore Think Passion Pit after a hit of happy gas, a spin of a Depeche Mode record and then receiving excellent news and you’re not even close. Perth-based new wave foursome, The VOLTAIRE...
CD Review : Rachel & Henry Climb A Hill – The Little Things
Review by Declan Luketina On the grand spectrum of one to twee, RACHEL AND HENRY CLIMB A HILL fall into the latter category. Full of sweetened vocals, happy-go-lucky melodies and an atmosphere of smiles, their debut...
CD Review : Cavefire Cinema – Party Starship
Review by Declan Luketina CAVEFIRE CINEMA evidently has an ability to keep everything moving at a pace that they demand. And it is light speed nonetheless. The single titled ‘Party Starship’ is from their debut album...
CD Review : Rainy Day Women – ‘If’ Single
Review by Declan Luketina Another band name taken from Bob Dylan songs, from the Blonde on Blonde opener (minus the ‘…#12 & 35’) RAINY DAY WOMEN create a rather sweetened atmosphere of mediocre pop induced harmonies....
CD Review : Blazin’ Entrails – Los Barstos
Review by Joel Hargreaves Sometimes before hearing a band play for the first time their name can offer you some insight into what they might sound like. One such band that has name surrounded with intrigue...
CD Review : Harlequin League
Review by Joel Hargraves Chances are if you don’t live in Western Australia or its capital, Perth, you would have never heard the likes of Harlequin League. But after countless tours, two highly acclaimed EP’s and...
CD Review : Hostile Little Face – The Architect
Review by Joel Hargreaves Architects are people who design beautiful buildings. Fuelled by their imaginations and emotions, they capture people’s attention and their designs often stand the test of time. Such a feat of creativity requires...
CD Review : Russian Winters – Last Battle
When it comes to listening and writing about music, I usually don’t stray too far from my genre of choice, (hard rock). My tastes do extend further – reaching out into other genres, but to be...
CD Review : Jonny Taylor – Insights
Review by Alanna Eileen ‘Insights’ is the debut album of WA singer-songwriter, JONNY TAYLOR. It’s a mixture of rock and roots delivered in the form of eleven original songs that swing expertly from soulful ballads, to...
CD Review : Steve Parkin – Mighty Big Light
Review by Alanna Eileen STEVE PARKIN is an APRA-award winning local singer-songwriter formerly of the band AUTOPILOT and super group BASEMENT BIRDS. He has been performing for many years under different guises and has numerous achievements under...
CD Review : TV Snow – EP
Review by Aiden Stingemore You don’t hear this kind of thing on an EP. You don’t usually hear cohesion when bands test the waters, you hear blossoming immaturity and traces of what we can expect when...
CD Review : Burgerkill – Venomous
Review By Aiden Stingemore I’ll be honest. I picked this one up simply based on the inanity of the name. BURGERKILL? I mean come on. I was a little sceptical if the name, album title and...
CD Review : Simon Kelly and the Lonely Wives – Eye of the Storm
Review by Alanna Eileen SIMON KELLY & THE LONELY WIVES combine a variety of genres on ‘Eye of the Storm’. The four songs on the EP are a daring composite of reggae, country, blues and pop. ...
CD Review : Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving – Deaden the Fields
Review By Aiden Stingemore Cathartic and soothing. Dark and unnerving. Sweeping and grand. A post-rock behemoth with more atmosphere and nuance than any active listener can imagine. TANGLED THOUGHTS OF LEAVING emerge from a series of...
CD Review: Timothy Nelson & The Infidels – I Know This Now
Review By Aiden Stingemore Drawing unashamedly from a slew of acoustic artists like: The Whitlams, Ben Lee and Alex Lloyd, comes TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS release, ‘I Know This Now’. Filled with 12 honest tracks,...
CD Review : Ermine Coat – ‘LP’
Review by Keaton McSweeney Alex Griffin, aka ERMINE COAT, aka The Milky Magnets, has been bashing out lo-fi bedsit jams for a little while now – with most of them being released for free online through...
CD Review : Like Junk – The Snyth and Agabago EP
Review by Keaton McSweeney Local lords of darkness Like Junk are proving harder and harder to categorise with every new release. One minute its lo fi piano pop, the next its droning guitarscapes and post-punk and...
CD Review : Jeff Martin 777 – The Ground Cries Out
Review by LEVI DOBBIE Fans of multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, JEFF MARTIN will be pleased to know the man is back once more with a new project. Canadian born Martin has based himself out of Fremantle since...
CD Review : Vespers Descent – Fragments of the Forgotten
Review By James Anthony Long time local favourites, VESPERS DESCENT‘s latest full-length, ‘Fragments of the Forgotten’, is a blistering slab of melodic death metal – European in style but filtered through a distinctly Australian lens. Eerie,...
CD Review : Reaper’s Riddle – A Touch of Death EP
Review By James Anthony Lock up your daughters and don your zombie-proof hardhat – it’s REAPER’S RIDDLE! After releasing a demo back in ’09 and making a name for themselves on the live circuit, Perth’s own...
CD Review : Mezzanine – Novella
Review by Joel Hargreaves A debut EP is the starting point for most artists in the music business and it has to be unique enough to draw its own audience. Perth band Mezzanine has shown their...
CD Review : Carus Thompson – Caravan
Review by Alanna Eileen ‘Caravan’ is an apt title for CARUS THOMPSON’s latest release. The Fremantle ex-pat recorded the album in both England and Australia and the theme of travel pervades its thirteen tracks. It is an immaculately...
CD Review : The Ghost Hotel – Juliette Single
Review by Alanna Eileen THE GHOST HOTEL’s stylish brand of alternative country sounds better than ever on ‘Juliette’. The latest single from this five-piece is a three and a half minute display of great song-writing and musicianship...
CD Review: Darren Guthrie – Not a Minute Too Late
Review by Alanna Eileen ‘Not a Minute Too Late’ is the latest EP from local talent DARREN GUTHRIE. Consisting of four tracks, this enjoyable release showcases Guthrie’s accomplished guitar playing and highlights his skill as a...
CD Review : The Silent World – An Eye For An Ear EP
Review by LEVI DOBBIE Mandurah based instrumental outfit, THE SILENT WORLD penetrated the Perth music scene last year with their hypnotizing sound and prolific touring, rounding out 2010 with the release of their second EP ‘An...
CD Review : Caprycon – Dark Earth
Review by Chris Martin CAPRYCON are a fairly new band to the metal scene. The band strikes a delicate balance between the gothic metal of, Nightwish and the progressive tendencies of Rush. The latter tendencies are...
CD Review : Prisoners of Faith – Resistance is Useless
Review by James Anthony ‘Resistance is Useless’, the debut EP from local sword-bearers PRISONERS OF FAITH, is an entertaining affair that ultimately falters under the weight of its own ambition. Despite the obvious effort that has...
CD Review : Make Them Suffer – Lord of Woe
Review By Aiden Stingemore Piano addled deathcore has been a fairly stale offshoot of the contemporary metal tree. Whilst it proclaims texture and interest, it seems to be simply cashing in the gravy train that is...
CD Review : The Siren Tower – Floods Single
Review By Aiden Stingemore There’s something so unequivocally Australian about THE SIREN TOWER’S latest single, ‘Floods’. Not filtered through auto-tune and absolved of personality, a real Australian twang is pronounced in Amish lookalike Grant McCullochs’ vocals...
CD Review : The Joe Kings – Leave My Mind Behind/Fool For Love
Review By DAVID SAYERS THE JOE KINGS have brought the blues to the table with their latest releases, the singles ‘Fool For Love’ and ‘Leave My Mind Behind’. ‘Leave My Mind Behind’ quickly demonstrates the group’s...
CD Review : Kill Teen Angst – No Walls In The Sky
Review by Josh Hoffman ‘No Walls In The Sky’ is KILL TEEN ANGST’S debut LP. Quickly imagine the vocals of Powerman 5000, the for-front bass of Joy Division and sentimentality of STARS – If you’re still interested,...
CD Review : Chaos Divine – The Human Connection
Review by James Anthony And so it was, immerging out of the local quagmire, a new hope should arise – carrying with it the future of Australian metal – and lo, it was called ‘The Human...
CD Review : Dam Few – The Bitter Beginning
Review by Joel Hargreaves The first attempt at any project is a tough ask, with many chances to fail. It’s especially hard to create your debut EP in the music industry and to be able to...
CD Review : Michael Strong and the Ghost Anyway – Black Room White Room
Review By Joel Hargreaves Although, MICHAEL STRONG AND THE GHOST ANYWAY may have only had a short career thus far, it’s been a career that has definitely turned plenty of heads. The band released their debut...
CD Review : Jebediah – Kosciuszko
Review by DAVID SAYERS After seven years of long service leave, JEBEDIAH has returned with ‘Kosciuszko’, the eleven track lovechild of sugary pop and alternative rock. Here, the band sounds revitalized, with engaging tunes that are...
CD Review: The Joe Kings – Calls In The Night
Review By Jack Davidson Listening to THE JOE KINGS never gets tedious because loop-playing instantly reminds you of their amazing talent. The young Perth group is like a blues rock version of Gypsy & The Cat,...
CD Review : Heytesburg – From The River I Come To The Desert I Go
HEYTESBURG are a band unlike anything you’ve ever heard before, and their debut EP From ‘The River I Come To The Desert I Go’ is conclusive proof of this. Their music is atmospheric and ethereal with...
CD Review : Dylan Ollivierre and The TNs: Lighthouse
Review by SOPHIE YEOMANS DYLAN OLLIVIERRE & THE TNs’ debut release ‘Lighthouse’ is that little gem you find and store in your music collection for summer Sundays. It’s the album you’ll pat yourself on the back...
CD Review: The Love Junkies EP
Review by DAVID SAYERS Perth fans of the rock n’ roll revival will be dancing in the streets. Why? Because local outfit THE LOVE JUNKIES have released a blistering self titled EP. An unrelenting onslaught of...
CD Review : Place Of Indigo EP
Review by Joel Hargreaves Rarely do I come across a band that captivates my imagination to a point where their uniqueness grabs a hold on to me and doesn’t let go. But when I manage to...
CD Review: The Novocaines – Courtesy Eventually
Review By Katie Rolston You know that crease between the back and the bum of the lounge chair? Listening to THE NOVOCAINES‘ new EP ‘Courtesy Eventually’ makes you sink through the old leather into an abyss...
CD Review: Further Earth – Kingdom
Review by Jeremy Stevens FURTHER EARTH have leapt out of the far western city of Perth and they’ve certainly leapt with more force and confidence than you’d expect! Considering they’re such a young band, their balanced...
CD Review : The Sun Orchestra EP
Review by Alex Griffin The Sun Orchestra bleed ambition; everything from their band name, to their bold, confident songwriting and the cover art of this, their first EP, suggests they have their eyes set on conquering...
CD Review : Lacrymae – The Hallowed Design
Review by MICHAEL WILLIS You may have heard a lot of bands like LACRYMAE before, so why should you bother listening to ‘The Hallowed Design’? Because it’s a pretty damn good CD, that’s why. While they...
CD Review: The Bullet Holes – Destroy The Fables
Review By KATIE ROLSTON THE BULLET HOLES have well and truly experimented on their new album ‘Destroy The Fables’. The Perth-based alternative rock band has brewed catchy songs, enhanced by a vocal quality typical of new punk:...
CD Review: Endora : Beginning EP
Review by SOPHIE YEOMANS Hailing from Western Australia’s south, five-man group ENDORA has echoed its debut EP with a more upbeat sophomore in ‘Beginning’. The two disc release fits snugly with Endora’s breed of indie pop but includes a...
CD Review : Sleepwalker – Living Dead
Review by Joel Hargreaves From the moment you place SLEEPWALKER’s debut release ‘Living Dead’ into your CD player, you know these guys mean business. The EP kicks off with the title track ‘Living Dead’ which incorporates...
CD Review: Under The Influence – The Brutal Harsh Honest Truth
Review by Chris Martin If there were prizes for album titles, The Brutal Harsh Honest Truth from UNDER THE INFLUENCE would win a gold medal. It’s exactly what it sounds like; tough, manly, belligerent yet complex...
CD Review : Control Control – Satellites And The Sea
Reviewed by LUKE TROLLOPE Control – Control’s EP Satellites And The Sea is a fantastic acoustic indie rock offering from the Fremantle trio. Control- Control, who recently appeared on Triple J’s unearthed have a great unique...
Interview: Closure In Moscow
Thanks for your write-up. I have usually observed that a majority of p