Author: Dylan Marshall

Album of the Week: The Beths take the plunge on Jump Rope Gazers (2020 LP)

  When The Beths released their debut album Future Me Hates Me in 2018, I thought they were one of the more refreshing and interesting bands of the past couple years. With harmonies aplenty, soaring guitars and ever-so-wordy and clever lyrics, the New Zealand four piece were seemingly bound to become everyone’s second favourite band…

Read More

Album of the Week: DMA’S shine bright on THE GLOW (2020 LP)

More than two years after their dance tinged second album, DMA’S return in 2020 with another mixed bag of treats and hits as they embrace all things old and new on THE GLOW. Much like their progression from their Hills End to For Now albums, THE GLOW has elements of what you’ve come to expect from…

Read More

Album of the Week: Gordi is comfortable in Our Two Skins (2020 LP)

I’m sure someone famous and philosophical once said that your 20’s are a time for self discovery, growth and acceptance. Irrespective of your own self confidence, you spend a lot of this period working out who you are and what you want to be. It’s a time for learning, love, adventure and discovery. For Gordi,…

Read More

Album of the Week: Jack Garratt brings tenderness and acceptance to Love, Death & Dancing (2020 LP)

It’s been four years since Jack Garratt released his debut album to mass love and the weight of expectation that could well ruin the best of artists. And, almost unsurprisingly, this is exactly what happened to him. Touted as the one-stop shop set to change the face of alternative pop, Garratt toured relentlessly for his…

Read More
Deep Down Happy

Album of the Week: Sports Team deliver on the hype on their debut Deep Down Happy (2020 LP)

There’s an immediate punch to Sports Team‘s sound that intrigues you from their opening notes. A certain level of brashness, and a fast-and-loose approach to their debut album Deep Down Happy that sets you in step to instantly love the release. The English six-piece have built a loyal and passionate following on UK shores. That has allowed them…

Read More
Sports Team

Interview: Sports Team (UK) discuss their debut album and what it’s like to be Deep Down Happy

English band Sports Team are on the verge of releasing their debut album, Deep Down Happy, in June. Having postponed its release and all tours on the back of COVID-19, we asked lead singer Alex Rice a few questions about the album, what growing up in England was like, how his lockdown experience has been,…

Read More

Album Review: Car Seat Headrest – Making a Door Less Open (2020 LP)

Will Toledo, frontman of Car Seat Headrest, is surely one of the most prodigiously busy artists in music. While slowing down from his rate of releasing more than two albums a year, the American artist continually pumps out new music and reinvents his sound with every release. Returning in 2020 with Making a Door Less…

Read More

Album of the Week: Laura Marling delivers comfort and hope with Song For Our Daughter (2020 LP)

In such strange times, there are certain things in life that are bound to bring some kind of familiarity to what, at times, feels completely foreign. One of these things is Laura Marling, her songwriting, and the re-assuring nature of her stories. Returning with her seventh studio album, Song For Our Daughter is Laura Marling…

Read More

Album Review: Grouplove – Healer (2020 LP)

Returning to our ears after a few near traumatic years, Grouplove are back in 2020 with a revitalised sound and lust for music. Always capable of writing a bonafide pop song in the past, the Californian five-piece are back with Healer, an album as up and down as a pushup. Since forming in 2009, there’s…

Read More
Ben Folds

Live Review: Ben Folds brings his catalogue to life with help from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Touring in a country you’ve had a unique connection to will always be different to other shows and tours. Coming back to the country you lived in and married into, will always give you reason to perform at a level that goes beyond what could be expected from a touring act. For Ben Folds, playing…

Read More

Album of the Week: Northeast Party House’s Shelf Life is a turning point for the Melbourne band

Northeast Party House have awoken. While their first two albums (Any Given Weekend and DARE) were both great releases in their own right, it felt like both were building to something bigger. And now, four years on from DARE, the band has fully metamorphosed into what they’ve always shown signs of becoming. Shelf Life is…

Read More

8 Ben Folds classics we want to hear on The Symphonic Tour

Throughout the many incarnations of his career, Ben Folds has continuously proven to be a class musician. From his Ben Folds Five era, to his solo records and collaborative releases furthermore, the North Carolina native is a songwriter and artist that his peers have for time after time wanted to always work with. Not afraid…

Read More

EP Review: Jack River – Stranger Heart (2020 EP)

The evolution of an artist is imperative to their continued success. Sure, you could release a really great debut album and have everyone love it across the musical spectrum, and then proceed to release the same ten songs every two years for the next decade before you seemingly grow out of your target audience, or…

Read More

Album of the Week: Hayley Mary – The Piss, The Perfume (2020 EP)

It’s not uncommon for artists to try re-invent themselves. Whether it’s as solo artists or within the band they’re in, quite often it’s done to try and break the mould that they’ve become to be known for. Some do it well; others not so much. As for Hayley Mary, her debut EP is distinct and…

Read More

All aboard as Paul Kelly’s Making Gravy train pulls into Sydney

It’s a pretty amazing thing to see an artist who’s been around for 35 years continually reinvent themselves while managing to engage both the newest and oldest of fans. Returning for the third year of his Making Gravy tour, Paul Kelly brought along a heap of musical friends to well and truly welcome in the…

Read More

Live Review: The Teskey Brothers + Harmony Byrne – Metro Theatre, Sydney (03.11.19)

There’s a strange level of community in country and blues music. It’s not the genre of music I’d listen to the most. But, every time I head along to a gig by a band playing this type of music, I’m bound to walk away after ninety minutes with a big dumb smile on my face…

Read More

Live Review: Seeker Lover Keeper + June Jones – Factory Theatre, Marrickville (17.10.19)

The last time I saw Seeker Lover Keeper it was in a dinky little restaurant venue just down the road from the Enmore Theatre. This was was during the initial run of the act back in 2011. It was a showcase of sorts, as the act made up of Holly Throsby, Sarah Blasko, and Sally Seltmann…

Read More

Hey Australia: BWS is giving away rare 6-packs for free this Friday

Coming into the warmer parts of the year, there’s sure to be an increased intake in the nectar of the gods. With a massive push in the past decade towards micro and craft breweries, the domestic and international beer scene has seen astronomical growth, with seemingly every man and his dog now brewing their own…

Read More

Making Gravy is back again and the recipe is just as strong in 2019

As we head into the final quarter of 2019, people are quickly turning their attention to what they’ll be doing in the weeks leading up to the Christmas and New Years period. Days will be longer, diets will go out the window and a lot of people will spend the period catching some killer live…

Read More

Album Review: Seeker Lover Keeper – Wild Seeds (2019 LP)

You can tell a lot about the quality of an act based on how contemporary and current their music sounds even when listening to it eight years after it was first released. “Even Though I’m A Woman” is still one of my favourite and timely tracks, while “We Will Know What It Is” will always…

Read More

Album of the Week: Angie McMahon’s Salt (2019 LP) is the sound of an artist demanding to be listened to and heard

When I first saw Angie McMahon about this time in 2017, you sensed there was something special about this unassuming artist standing behind her guitar and microphone. In support of The Jezabels at Sydney’s Lansdowne Hotel, Angie was fresh off the back of being crowned that year’s winner of the Josh Pyke Partnership for up…

Read More

Live Review: Washington + Lovesongs – The Lansdowne, Sydney (28.06.19)

I was still in High School when Washington first started making a name for herself with the singles “Clementine” and “How To Tame Lions”. A lot has changed in the decade since those singles put her at the pinnacle of Australian pop. One variable that hasn’t changed in that time is her ability to not…

Read More

Live Review: Methyl Ethel + Broncho + Ada Lea – Enmore Theatre, Sydney (22.06.19)

Heading out on a national tour is always a big deal for bands, irrespective of whether it’s their first or thousandth. Selling out said tours is probably always the goal. Touring in support of their third album, Methyl Ethel not only managed to sell out their Enmore Theatre show in Sydney, but sold out the…

Read More

Live Review: Polish Club + Dulcie + Approachable Members of Your Local Community – Manning Bar, Sydney (15.06.19)

There’d almost be nothing as satisfying for a band than releasing one of the year’s best releases to only follow it up with a sold out home town show just weeks later. For Sydney two piece Polish Club, this is exactly what they’ve managed to do in the past month. Playing to a loyal and…

Read More

Album Review: Polish Club – Iguana (2019 LP)

Here’s a fun fact: despite the commonly held belief that they can do it whenever they please, Iguana’s can only change colour when placed under stress or basking in the sun. Now that I’ve dazzled you with my Year Seven standard understanding of the animal kingdom, you must know that just like Iguana’s, Polish Club…

Read More

Vivid Live Review: Maggie Rogers – Sydney Opera House (29.05.19)

Normally when I write an article about a gig I’ve seen, a lot of what I talk about is very subjective to my own experience. I’m sure there’s been times where I’ve written things that others haven’t agreed with. This article isn’t going to be one of them. What follows is totalling and utterly objective:…

Read More

Vivid Live Review: Spunk Records 20th Anniversary ft. The Middle East – Sydney Opera House (24.05.19)

Vivid Live has always had the ability to pull off some major coups when curating their line ups. Their 2019 edition was no different. In celebration of Spunk Records’ 20th Anniversary, enigmatic Townsville act The Middle East made their return to the stage after an eight-year absence. While there were some magic moments in the…

Read More

Live Review: Nick Murphy – Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Identity in music is something all artists must have. Having people know who they are is a massive positive, but for a lot of acts, it isn’t the be all and end all. For most artists though, knowing who they are is intrinsic to their success and self-satisfaction in their work. For Nick Murphy his…

Read More

Album of the Week: Alex Lahey – The Best Of Luck Club (2019 LP)

You know the old American show ‘Cheers’? The one set in the aptly named ‘Cheers’ bar, featuring Ted Danson, Kirstie Alley, Woody Harrelson and everyone’s favourite radio show hosting psychologist (well before he couldn’t work out what to do with those tossed salads and scrambled eggs). Anyway, the bar that is Cheers is the place you…

Read More

Live Review: MØ + Duckwrth – Metro Theatre, Sydney (08.05.19)

Coming to the end of her tour as part of the 2019 iteration of Groovin’ The Moo, Danish act MØ swept through Sydney’s Metro Theatre, thoroughly dominated her set and treating her fans to a couple of surprises and more than a few sing-a-long moments. Opening up the night was L.A rapper Duckwrth. Also finding himself in the country as part…

Read More