Sydney’s Gaelic Club held the first leg of Ernest Ellis & The Panamas’ national tour in support of their sophomore LP ‘King Canyon’, after Sydney band Nantes opened with a solid 45 minute set.

I don’t know what it is with Aussie gigs, but we are more than content with standing shoulder-to-shoulder, arse to frontage, than filling up the space directly in front of the stage. It’s as if we don’t want to look too enthusiastic, and much rather slip under the guise of... read more

Laura Marling’s third full length album, ‘A Creature I Don’t Know’ is her most upbeat, varied, and cathartic album to date. If you have previously shoved her in the depressive, muted, boring folk bin, we suggest you might want to fish her back out.

Banging out two albums by the age of twenty, embarking on two relationships with likeminded folkies (Charlie Fink and Marcus Mumford), snagging a surprise Grammy, and releasing a third album, ‘A Creature I Don’t Know’, Marling has... read more

Chili Peppers fans rejoice – ‘I’m With You’ is not terrible.

For all the hyperbole, criticism and poo-pooing of first single ‘The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie,’ the album is a reassuringly solid, well-crafted and polished affair. With five years and a significant lineup change since last album ‘Stadium Arcadium,’ the Red Hot Chili Peppers could almost be forgiven for turning out a weak, bland or poor product with ‘I’m With You’ – indeed, to replace guitarist John... read more

Changing Lanes festival, FBI radio’s annual fundraiser event, moved east in 2011, from the 2010 location of Newtown to the heart of Surry Hills, to host an eclectic lineup of art, culture and – of course – music.

Residents of homes surrounding Devonshire Street would have been less than stoked to have an all-day, multi-stage, outdoor festival on their doorstep, with the booming sounds from the main stage – conveniently situated right outside Subway – able to be clearly heard from... read more

Have you ever tried to combine chocolate, chicken, potato chips and Coca-cola? You think “I like all of these things; if I put them together, surely it’ll be a million times better!” Then you end up with a somewhat unappealing final product?

That’s Grouplove’s debut album, ‘Never Trust A Happy Song.’

It has everything that is popular, appealing and fun about indie music today; handclaps, male-female vocal harmonies, sunny jangly guitars, tales of young love, fuzzy high-distortion... read more

“I dreamt of a doorway that opened to everything,” Wally de Backer croons in the echoing, spacey opener ‘Making Mirrors,’ the title track from his (aka Gotye)’s third album. From the sonic chameleon de Backer, who seemingly revels in continually confounding expectations about his music, you’re almost forgiven for thinking that the album itself could be somewhat of a magical doorway; you have no idea where it’s going to lead.

Case in point; barely as you adjust your... read more

Whether for the fact that they realised they’d have to go home tomorrow, or whether they were nursing a monster hangover, many would have woken up on the final day of Splendour 2011 feeling a little sad. Luckily, then, that Melbourne’s poppy, upbeat Alpine were opening the main stage this morning.

Their two female vocalists bounced off each other, trading parts in a constant, almost haunting... read more

In what they said was their first show together in six months, Sydney four-piece Ghoul put in a powerful and polished performance to open the Mix Up Tent on Saturday morning. An almost dreamy electronic sound built on samples and looped synth effects, the young quartet showed why they’re feted as one of Sydney’s brightest electronic prospects, getting SITG day 2 started with a shoegaze-y yet immensely enjoyable set.

After their last Splendour visit in 2009 ended in a horribly broken... read more

‘The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion,’ the debut album from Wisconsin brothers Robert and David Perlick-Molinari is – without doubt – one of the most puzzling, confusing, sonically diverse and interesting records you will hear in 2011.

Drawing from a dizzying array of sounds – bleepy Nintendo-esque 8-bit; driving, pounding club-style electro; vaudeville-style brass arrangements; lush, popping, summery electronica – it comes together less as a cohesive ‘album’... read more

Australia’s community of epic, atmospheric rock acts has never been stronger, with Karnivool, Floating Me, and Sleep Parade all flying the flag high for Aussie progressive rock. Add to that list Melbourne’s [ME]; their soon-to-be-released EP, ‘Naked’ is sure to establish the band as a real force in the Australian rock community.

The title track opens the EP, with an almost folk-like vocal quality and stuttering drums playing over a sliding keyboard element; before the track suddenly... read more