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1 day ago

Track: Zipper reveals stunning post punk new single ‘Hiko’ Originally from Eora/Sydney, Zipper first appeared back in 2019, releasing their debut EP 'Dreamer’s Gate' the following year. It was something I sadly missed at the time but on the strength of their new single, I'm definitely going back in time. As happens in life, the various members subsequently scattered around the globe and life moved on. But Zipper are back, now in Melbourne, with new single 'Hiko', and it is a brilliant blast of post punk, delivered with an arched brow and a cool swagger. A louche and insouciant delivery from singer Haruka Sato is carried on a scything cut glass guitars and a driving insistent beat.

Track: Zipper reveals stunning post punk new single 'Hiko'
@zipper.unzipped @spoilsportrecords
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2 days ago

Track: Cam Butler (Ron S Peno & the Superstitions) unveils new track ‘The Warning’ from forthcoming album ‘World Forever’ Iconic guitarist, producer and composer Cam Butler (Ron S Peno & the Superstitions) follows up from his recent single ‘Clear Infinity’ (reviewed by me here) with the haunting atmospheric 'The Warning'. In contrast to the previous single, 'The Warning' is sombre, dramatic, like a soundtrack to either a horror movie or a New Zealand-based fantasy epic. Strings haunt the ether and soaring organs provide a swirling backdrop. Then there's an ominous thrum like thunderclouds in the distance, all dramatic landscapes, mountains and wilderness. It is a track with two moods - a haunting sombre opening which transforms to something gothic and dark.

Track: Cam Butler (Ron S Peno & the Superstitions) unveils new track 'The Warning' from forthcoming album ‘World Forever’
@cambutlermusic @heavymachineryrecords
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2 days ago

News: Melbourne-based supergroup Fancy Weapon announce debut album and release the blistering ‘Squid’ Melbourne-based band Fancy Weapon are one of those once in a lifetime gatherings of some legendary antipodean indie musicians who have come together like metal filings on a magnet and create something whole and truly magnificent. They have been playing together over the past few years and the membership is a who's who of the industry. There's the legendary Mick Turner from Dirty Three, who has also played with Moodists (alongside Dave Graney and Clare Moore) and more recently Backseat Mafia favourites Mess Esque and Bleak Squad). He's not just a pillar of the local antipodean musical scene, he's part of the very foundations.

News: Melbourne-based supergroup Fancy Weapon announce debut album and release the blistering 'Squid'
@fancyweapon @poisoncity
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3 days ago

Album Review: Truly great – The Great Emu War Casualties unveil their soaring debut album ‘Public Sweetheart No. 1’ The brilliantly, if rather enigmatically, named band The Great Emu War Casualties have just released their debut entitled ‘Public Sweetheart No. 1’ after a series of EPs and singles released since the early 2020s, and it's well worth the wait. It's a sparkling collection of jewels that combine humour, raw expression and anthemic choruses with delicate instrumentation and angelic harmonies. Joe Jackson says of the album, with his trademark self-deprecatory humour: ‘Public Sweetheart No.1’ is a blunt, honest self-assessment of my own behaviour over an extended period of time and the various ways in which I have affected the people closest to me, so I’ve at least tried to make it catchy in order to better live with myself.

Album Review: Truly great - The Great Emu War Casualties unveil their soaring debut album 'Public Sweetheart No. 1'
@thegreatemuwarcasualties
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3 days ago

Live Gallery: DMA’s Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Debut at Metro Theatre – 27.03.26, Eora Land/Sydney A one-off, completely sold out, hometown show celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut album ‘Hills End’, performing it front to back (including tracks that had never been played live) plus a run through fan favourites from across their whole catalogue. That’s what DMA’s were up to on Friday night. If you don't know the DMA's story, here's the short version: three friends from Sydney. Johnny Took, Tommy O'Dell and Matt Mason. Took had been playing in a psych band with O’Dell, and the origin of the whole thing is almost unoriginal.

@DMAsmusic celebrated the 10th anniversary of debut album 'Hills End' on friday night, returning to hometown venue @metrotheatre for a one off show!

#backseatdownunder #DMAs

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6 days ago

News: Dark Mofo Festival unveils the eclectic 2026 musical lineup as well as the usual spectacular arts and performance events Every year the world waits with great anticipation and bated breath for the details of the Dark Mofo Festival menu, and we can bring them to you today. It's a tough year for any musical event - witness the late cancellation of Bluesfest this year with the added uncertainties of world events, petrol prices inflation and a general stench and plague on democracy emanating from a certain area of the world. At least we have Dark Mofo to provide another deliciously impertinent beacon of naughty fun between 11 and 22 June 2026, mostly centered around Hobart, the capital at the edge of the world.

News: Dark Mofo Festival unveils the eclectic 2026 musical lineup as well as the usual spectacular arts and performance events
@dark_mofo
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6 days ago

EP Review: Big League unveil the anthemic swagger of ‘Windanswagger’ ahead of Australian/New Zealand tour We had the privilege of premiering Big League's single 'Neverlandfill' towards the end of last year and the band has now delivered an EP entitled 'Windanswagger', filled with the pulse quickening delivery we have come to expect. The EP sees new guitarist Yonatan Rotem join the band, adding a nuanced texture to the sound. The amusingly titled opening track 'Why Don't Birds Suddenly Appear?' references of course the old Burt Bacharach and Hal David classic 'Close To You' (perfected in delivery by Dusty Springfield not The Carpenters in my opinion).

EP Review: Big League unveil the anthemic swagger of 'Windanswagger'
@bigleagueband
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6 days ago

EP Review: The Night Packers’ ‘Invisible Ink’ shines with a pop sensibility and a wry humour. The Night Packers are literally one of those The Marrickville Sound bands I always go on about - based around the very same inner city suburb of Sydney and still creating an enormously satisfying brand of jingle jangle indie pop after a few years in the industry. They have today released their new EP 'Invisible Ink', a little over two years since 'Loose Carry' (see my review here) and it's business as usual for this creative unit. Opening track 'Death Spiral' is a sprightly punk pop sonic missile with charging guitars and singer David Wilks urgent yelping voice.

EP Review: The Night Packers' 'Invisible Ink' shines with a pop sensibility and a wry humour.
@thenightpackers
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1 week ago

Track: ‘Mother Please Forgive Me’ – Electro goth maestros Caligula reign supreme with their new emotional anthem. It's playtime again for the magnificent Caligula they follow up last year's live gigs celebrating thirty years of sonic success and their comeback single last year (see my review here), with their powerful new single 'Mother Please forgive Me'. 'Mother Please Forgive Me' is a thrilling magnum opus beginning with a dreamy electronic thrum before the pulse enters - a throbbing undercurrent carrying singer Ash Rothschild's yearning expressive vocals and an inherent pop sensibility. A DNA test would see trace elements of Depeche Mode and Linkin Park along with an electric thrum that would make Cabaret Voltaire proud.

Track: 'Mother Please Forgive Me' - Electro goth maestros Caligula reign supreme with their new emotional anthem.
@caligulaaustralia
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1 week ago

Track: Warmer (solo project of Sydney singer-songwriter John Encarnação) goes on a ‘Pitchfork Barndance (feat Dave Carter)’ Sydney singer-songwriter John Encarnação is a pillar of the indie music scene in Australia, known for his involvement in one of our favorite institutions The Nature Strip. Under the guise of Warmer, he has just released the hoedown jollity of 'Pitchfork Barndance': a boogie-woogie toe tapping slice of melodic chaos that exudes joy with an arched brow. Encarnação admits the track is about as country as Warmer ever has, or is likely to (be) and features New Zealand producer Dave Carter with whom he has recorded five tracks in anticipation of a later release.

Track: Warmer (solo project of Sydney singer-songwriter John Encarnação) goes on a 'Pitchfork Barndance (feat Dave Carter)'
@halfacowrecords
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1 week ago

News: The Legendary The Bats are alighting in Australia. Good news as the legendary The Bats are touring Australia - well, Sydney and Melbourne at this stage. Although do I note it's around the time of Dark Mofo in Hobart so hope springs eternal. Presented by the inimitable Mistletone, the tour follows on from their magnificent release last year of 'the album 'Corner Coming Up' through Flying Nun Records after a some seriously damned good singles ('Lucky Day', 'Loline' and 'The Gown'). Fresh from a triumphant, NZ tour, The Bats will deliver the live accompaniment to their much-loved 2025 album, 'Corner Coming Up', alongside treasured picks from their four-decades-deep knockout catalogue. 

News: The Legendary The Bats are alighting in Australia.
@mistletone @thebatsnz
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1 week ago

Premiere: Kathleen Halloran unveils enigmatic video for the sultry track ‘Wolves Like You’ ahead of new album and live dates. We are very honoured to provide you with an exclusive look at the stunning new video for the über cool single 'Wolves Like You' from guitarist Kathleen Halloran. The release arrives alongside the announcement of her long-awaited debut album Nobody’s Baby, set for release on Friday, 8 May, produced by Roscoe James Irwin (The Cat Empire, The Bamboos, Paul Kelly) and engineered/mixed by Ben Edgar (Gotye, Angus and Julia Stone). The track is an insouciant piece of thundering rock that has elements of Sharon van Etten and P.J Harvey: a slinky slice of attitude that swaggers and rolls like a galleon in a storm, framed by exuberant woo-hoos and a scaling chorus.

Premiere: Kathleen Halloran unveils enigmatic video for the sultry track 'Wolves Like You' ahead of new album and live dates.
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1 week ago

Album Review: Matthew Sigley’s The Daytime Frequency releases ‘Colorgravure’: a glittering and euphoric sonic journey. Matthew Sigley is constant star in the antipodean indie musical firmament, providing a range of musical talents from bass to keyboards to a number of iconic bands ranging from The Lovetones, Drop City and Belles Will Ring to the Underground Lovers' electronic off-shoot Moda Discoteca. The Daytime Frequency is his solo project and evidence that he is not just a respected musician. Sigley describes the genesis of this project: 20 years ago today I released my one and only solo album under the name The Daytime Frequency. I started writing some of the songs on the album when I moved to London in 1999.

Album Review: Matthew Sigley's The Daytime Frequency releases 'Colorgravure': a glittering and euphoric sonic journey.
@thedaytimefrequency @matthewsigley
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1 week ago

Album Review: Fabels create a mystical sonic storm in their new album ‘Ophera’. The sounds of Fabels have always been wrapped up in a sort mystical pagan fugue, mysterious, raw and, incongruous given the electronic delivery, organic. Fabels are Hiske Weijers from Berlin and Ben Aylward from Sydney and together they produce dreamy, hazy vignettes, heightened by an air of mystery and a chemically-induced fugue in their music: transformative and ambulant. The duo has an uncanny knack of producing the most ethereal and at times psychedelic music, the sort that creates those feelings you get after waking from a particularly lucid dream, when you try and relive it endlessly to recapture that beautiful essence.

Album Review: Fabels create a mystical sonic storm in their new album 'Ophera'.
@fabels_music
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1 week ago

News: Indie aficionados everywhere rejoice as the legendary Crow announce new album ‘Hold Sway’ and tempt us with the single ‘You Can’t Turn Away’. It's off their forthcoming first album in 15 years, but on the strength of the new single 'You Can't Turn Away' from the legendary Crow, it's clearly business as usual. And a jolly good business it is too. 'You Can't Turn Away' blasts off with jagged buzzsaw guitars, trembling and shuddering, before Peter J Fenton's urgent vocals enter, swaggering and assured like a pirate on a rollicking ship in a thunder storm. The vocals are furnished with delicate harmonies as an anthemic thrum takes over in the chorus. It's an ambulatory sonic hurricane that is thoroughly satisfying and ultimately so very cathartic.

News: Indie aficionados everywhere rejoice as the legendary Crow announce new album 'Hold Sway' and tempt us with the single 'You Can't Turn Away'.
@crow_australis @cheersquadrecords
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1 week ago

Album Review: ‘Men Are A Luxury Item’ but The Petrov Affair prove their immeasurable worth with their debut album. We've been closely following the magnificent The Petrov Affair for a few years, enticed by their brand of jingle jangle shimmering pop. It is a great pleasure therefore to listen to their debut album, 'Men Are A Luxury item', which collects a few past singles and some fresh new tracks to create something very satisfying. Singer/Keyboard player Murray Lee says of the album: The album unfolds as a loose song cycle exploring romantic and intimate relationships—and the insecurities that often accompany them. At its core, it’s a reflection on human flaws—a half-serious, half-playful commentary on the human condition…

Album Review: 'Men Are A Luxury Item' but The Petrov Affair prove their immeasurable worth with their debut album.
@thepetrovaffairband
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2 weeks ago

Track: Perth-based New Zealander Damien Binder makes a spectacular return with new track ‘Winterlude’ We've long been fans of the atmospheric musings of Perth-based singer songwriter Damien Binder, and after what seems a millennium, he is back with his new single 'Winterlude', and all is well (as it could be) with the universe. 'Winterlude' has a more electronic thrum about it, still burnished with the delicate shimmering guitars and Binder's exquisite yearning vocals, all combining to evoke the bright blue skies of his adopted home in Western Australia. He says of the trackL Last year I spent some time away down in the forests of Southern WA near Pemberton.

Track: Perth-based New Zealander Damien Binder makes a spectacular return with new track 'Winterlude'
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3 weeks ago

Live Review: Pulp bedazzle at the Sydney Opera House forecourt, 6 March 2026 There are certain places in the world where pop music feels faintly mischievous. The Sydney Opera House forecourt is one of them. With the harbour glittering behind the stage and the Opera House sails looming overhead like giant architectural handkerchiefs, it’s a setting more accustomed to refined cultural pursuits than songs about awkward sex, chemical misadventures and the sociology of British class resentment Which, naturally, makes it the perfect place for Pulp. Cocker and company arrived on stage to a roar from a crowd that looked like a multi-generational gathering of indie disciples.

Live Review: Pulp bedazzle at the Sydney Opera House forecourt, 6 March 2026
@welovepulp @sydneyoperahouse
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4 weeks ago

News: The legendary Kim Salmon and band Smoked Salmon releases the wild and abandoned single ‘Freudian Slippers’ and news of solo mini tour, ahead of new album ‘Totally Sick’. As grim as the current state of the world is, any such pain is alleviated by news of a Kim Salmon and Smoked Salmon album on the way to shine a little light when all else is dark. 'Totally Sick' is set for release later this year (no exact date yet) but to assuage any intermediate anxiety, a single amusingly entitled 'Freudian Slippers' has been released today with news of a mini solo tour on the way too. 'Freudian Slippers' blasts off with a percussive blast before Salmon's sardonic delivery enters above wildly oscillating guitars and an underlying drone and fuzz.

News: The legendary Kim Salmon and band Smoked Salmon releases the wild and abandoned single 'Freudian Slippers' and news of solo mini tour, ahead of new album 'Totally Sick'.
@mrkimsalmon @cheersquadrecords
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4 weeks ago

Premiere: ‘Melt’ – Townsville-based Poison Oak exclusively unveil their soaring single ahead of launch date. We are very honoured to bring you an exclusive early listen to the radiant new single 'Melt' from Townsville-based band Poison Oak. 'Melt' is a shimmering indie pop delight delivered over jangling guitars and soaring choruses, with just a touch of punk. There is a sixties-inflection to the infectious pop and lyrics that have an antipodean larrikin expressiveness. The band says of the track: 'Melt' is a satirical take on how conspiracy culture and online extremism have seeped intoeveryday life. It plays with the absurdity of tin foil hats, 5G paranoia and fluoride panic, using…

Premiere: 'Melt' - Townsville-based Poison Oak exclusively unveil their soaring single ahead of launch date.
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4 weeks ago

News: Aotearoa/New Zealand magical chanteuse Aldous Harding announces new album ‘Train On The Island’ and leads off with stunning single ‘One Stop’. Aldous Harding has just come off an amazing support slot with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in Australia where she shone with her intense, immersive delivery and soaring vocals (see my review here). Today, she announces a new album entitled 'Train On The Island' via Flying Nun Records and 4AD, and provides a very tasty amuse bouche by way of the single 'One Stop'. Delivered over an ambulatory rolling sparse riff that becomes transfixing and hypnotising, Harding's vocals are yearning and expressive, augmented by delicate harmonies. Acoustic guitars arise majestically as they jingle jangle in the background.

News: Aotearoa/New Zealand magical chanteuse Aldous Harding announces new album 'Train On The Island' and leads off with stunning single 'One Stop'.
@aldousharding @flyingnun @4ad
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4 weeks ago

Premiere: Sunshine Coast punk rockers The Wolston Butchers exclusively serve up a frenetic blast with their ‘Last Dance’. We are very pleased to provide you with an exclusive listen to the new single 'Last Dance' from Sunshine Coast punk rockers The Wolston Butchers, and it's a veritable blast of pulse-quickening skate punk that dares you not to pogo on the spot. There are elements of iconic nineties bands like NOFX, Green Day or The Offspring with a thumping delivery and augmented by scaling choruses and an anthemic radiance. Despite the joyous thump, the song deals with the pains of heartbreak. The band says of the track: 'Last Dance' is a break up song.

Premiere: Sunshine Coast punk rockers The Wolston Butchers exclusively serve up a frenetic blast with their 'Last Dance'.
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1 month ago

Live Gallery: Australian Music Celebrated as Hilltop Hoods Fill Arenas Decades After Debut – Qudos Bank Arena, Eora Land/Sydney, 28.02.26 Hilltop Hoods reached international success years ago, but it's their homegrown roots and proud Australian fans that fill arenas over and over. The Adelaide trio from Kaurna land have been making music since the mid-90’s. Still, I was introduced to them when I used my annual Christmas iTunes card to buy ‘Drinking from the Sun’ in 2012. Consequently, like a butterfly wing to a tornado yada-yada, it led me down a path of appreciation of Australian music and the influence it has on our culture. So it was such a pleasure to catch them live a decade later in Qudos Bank Arena - an all-ages show (a million times yes), with TWO fantastic openers and enigmatic live…

It was barely 30 seconds into @hilltophoods when the crowd was drenched in confetti - a true welcome. Couple all of this with a career-spanning setlist and multiple surprises - it was truly, truly a welcome celebration of Australian music. @juiceboxedjess

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1 month ago

Live Gallery: The Darkness Bring ‘Dreams On Toast’ to Australia – Eora Land/Sydney, Enmore Theatre 27.02.26 Opening the night was Sydney's own Rageflower and if you weren't already a fan, you left one. All parts ethereal, gut-punch and bug-eyed sunnies, she slid between tender and absolutely ferocious with sublime skill and style. Coming off the back of the release of their eighth studio album ‘Dreams On Toast' and making their triumphant return to Australia, UK glam rock icons, The Darkness, hit the Enmore Theatre like the elastic on a spandex catsuit. Justin Hawkins, being a force of nature, climbed up onto the barrier and (before launching himself into the crowd) stopped. Took a moment. Signed someone's record. Then proceeded to crowdsurf while checking his figurative watch. Brilliant.

@thedarkness brought their 'Dreams On Toast' tour to Sydney this week!

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1 month ago

News: Legendary duo Dave Graney and Clare Moore announce new album ‘Laburnum Of The Mind’ for 30 April, and lead off with louche single ‘Hits Are The Worst’. The sun always shines brighter when we are blessed with the languid, louche sounds of Dave Graney and Clare Moore, and full strength polaroid shades are required for the new single 'Hits Are The Worst' as the dynamic duo announce a new album on the way. 'Hits Are The Worst' is delivered with Graney's trademark dulcet tones that transport you, as always, to some dark velvet-lined smoke-filled cabaret lounge with Absynthe-filled shot glasses spilling over with regret and romance. Graney's delivery is as always burnished with an arched brow and a sardonic grin: incredibly cathartic and amusingly theatrical.

News: Legendary duo Dave Graney and Clare Moore announce new album 'Laburnum Of The Mind' for 30 April and lead off with louche single 'Hits Are The Worst'.
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1 month ago

Premiere: BB Sabina exclusively unveil haunting, shimmering new single ‘In between’ ahead of launch date. Naarm/Melbourne shoegaze band BB Sabina came onto our radar last year with their single 'Multitude' (see our review here) and we are very honored to bring you an exclusive listen to their new single 'In between'. A haunting opening coasts on a drone of synths with crystal guitar shards with an ominous percussive beat and the enigmatic vocals of Beth Uhe - powerful and yearning. The result is something atmospheric and shimmering like a mirage in the desert. According to Uhe, the idea for the song was conceived during a road trip from Mparntwe/Alice Springs to Garramilla/Darwin, when she was living in the Northern Territory.

Premiere: BB Sabina exclusively unveil haunting, shimmering new single 'In between' ahead of launch date.
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1 month ago

Premiere: ‘Ready For It’ – after 28 years, The Remotes exclusively unveil their dreamy, evocative new single. Some things age like a fine wine. Originally a duo comprised of Ollie Browne (Art of Fighting/The Hoodangers) and Kristian Brenchley (S:Bahn, Degreaser), The Remotes released their debut album, 'Lonely Tremor', back in 1998, and they are now back with a fantastic new track 'Ready for It' that we are honoured to premiere here today. Now a trio with the addition of Laura MacFarlane (Ninetynine/Sleater-Kinney), the new track sparkles with a gentle acoustic blush and yearning vocals, elements of fellow Antipodeans like The Apartments or The Go-Betweens seeping through every shimmering note.

Premiere: 'Ready For It' - after 28 years, The Remotes exclusively unveil their dreamy, evocative new single.
@theremotesbandsounds
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1 month ago

Premiere: After a lifetime away, psychedelic pop icons The Crystal Set exclusively reveal their stunning new single ‘Critical Mass’. The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite movies (Blade Runner) - is an apt description for late eighties/early nineties Eora/Sydney band The Crystal Set. Disbanding almost immediately after the release of their epic second album 'Almost Pure' - an album that is still on my regular play list - The Crystal Set produced melodic jingle jangle psych pop of the highest order: enigmatic, anthemic and very cool. Signs of a pulse emerged when the band reformed in 2024 supporting The Ups & Downs, and they later headlined last year on a tour down the the East Coast of Australia to sell out venues.

Premiere: After a lifetime away, psychedelic pop icons The Crystal Set exclusively reveal their stunning new single 'Critical Mass'.
@crystal_set_band
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1 month ago

News: Cam Butler (Ron S Peno & the Superstitions) announces new solo album ‘World Forever’ and tempts us with the thunderous single ‘Clear Infinity’. Last year's album release 'Spirits Flying Home' (reviewed by me here) from iconic guitarist, producer and composer Cam Butler was described by me as a beautiful elegiac album, sparse and open, consisting entirely of sparkling guitars interspersed with ambient movements borne on a shimmering drone. Butler has now announced a follow-up album entitled 'World Forever' due for release on 1 May 2026 and has graced us with the first track off the album, 'Clear Infinity'. 'Clear Infinity' is dramatic, anthemic and bold - a 28-piece string section stabbing in the ether with storms of feedback and percussion, underpinned by a grand organ and a filigree of scything guitars.

News: Cam Butler (Ron S Peno & the Superstitions) announces new solo album 'World Forever' and tempts us with the thunderous single 'Clear Infinity'.
@cambutlermusic
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1 month ago

Live Gallery: Nilüfer Yanya Returns to Australia for the First Time Since 2019 – Eora Land/Sydney, 17.02.26 Seven years is a long time to wait but for fans of Nilüfer Yanya, Tuesday night at Liberty Hall was worth every second. The London-born singer-songwriter and guitarist made her long-awaited return to Australian shores this week, touching down for a three-city run, her first visit since her debut shows in 2019, when she was still riding the wave of her breakout album ‘Miss Universe’. A lot has changed since then. Yanya has gone from cult favourite to one of Britain's most acclaimed alt-indie artists, releasing two more albums ‘PAINLESS’ and last year's critically acclaimed ‘My Method Actor’.

Seven years is a long time to wait but for fans of @niluferyanyaaaaa, Tuesday night at Liberty Hall was worth every second. The London-born singer-songwriter and guitarist made her long-awaited return to Aus shores this week, her first visit since her debut shows in 2019.

#backseatdownunder