Author: Margy Noble

A love note to Melbourne Music: How the Age Music Victoria Awards affirms strength in community

Once again, Melbourne has hurtled through its famed Melbourne Music Week, seeing even more music injected into the already thriving music scene. The Age Music Victoria Awards are an integral part of the festivities, celebrating and showcasing that Victoria really is Australia’s music capital. The awards were co-presented this year by community radio favourites Chris…

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Live Review: The final round of the Poison City Weekender sees Horror My Friend, Jess Locke & Deafcult impress

By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, it’s suffice to say that everyone was a little worse for wear. Despite some questionable decisions over the past few days, the crowd was buzzing with positivity; lashings of glitter on everyone’s faces, and The Rev’s Bloody Marys to make everything a little less painful. Easing us into…

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Live Review: Screamfeeder, Siamese & Clowns strike out as highlights of the Poison City Weekender’s second night

Following an immense evening at The Corner, Weekender Fest round two eased itself in, solo sets from Hanny J and Bec Stevens serenading the hangover away at The Old Bar. Loobs and Paper Thin started to pick up the pace, as the crowd dispersed between The Old Bar and The Evelyn Hotel. Again, the Weekender…

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Live Review: Camp Cope headlines a huge line up at the Corner for Night One of 2017’s Poison City Weekender

Poison City Weekender surfaces each year in the wake of BIGSOUND – Melbourne nonchalantly shrugging its shoulders and reminding Australia of why it’s the music capital. The first night of this year’s PCW was exactly that; an evening of some of Melbourne’s finest coolly sharing the stage with international acts, shrugging their shoulders and showing…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: First Beige “Rumours” (2017)

Brisbane breeds great music. First Beige are no exception, the psych-soul outfit slowly making their transition from bedroom project to the real world. Today, we’ve got an exclusive taste of their lead single from upcoming debut EP Press!, “Rumours”. It’s a taste of some very colourful sounds to come. Ignore the whole ‘Beige’ thing. There’s jazz flute, disco-influence,…

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Live Review: The Courtneys bring effortless show to The Curtin in Melbourne

Probably the best thing about this evening (excluding the outrageously talented The Courtneys) was the gender balance. It didn’t feel strained, it was just balanced. Let’s keep this up, support line ups like this. Bitch Diesel opened the evening, the four-piece punk outfit a whirlwind of on-stage confidence and sass. From a sequinned dress to…

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Exclusive Album Premiere: White Vans Economic Trends (2017 EP)

Melbourne’s punk scene is revered, and with good reason. There’s a certain something to the punk bands that it breeds – it’s not quite a particular sound, look,  message nor attitude, but a kind of amalgamation. White Vans fall into that quintessentially Melbourne sound, and today we’re bringing you an exclusive listen of their debut EP, Economic Trends….

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Horace Bones “The Rats” (2017)

Horace Bones are fast gaining a reputation for their live shows; vocalist Oisin Kelly emanates a kind of fascinating instability, the band at once formidable and so, so enjoyable. Today, we bring you Horace Bones contained in a recording, an exclusive premiere of their third single for 2017, “The Rats”. Danny Cockburn‘s grinding and gritty bass riffs underlie…

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Exclusive Music Video Premiere: The Weary “Patti Smith” (2017)

The Weary are not wearisome at all, rather a dreamy bunch of Melbourne musicians making some equally dreamy guitar pop. Their music is slinky and guitar fuelled, inspiration drawn from Bruce Springsteen to Beach House. Their latest single, “Patti Smith”, is accompanied by a musing, voyeuristic film clip, directed by guitarist Josh Van Cuylenburg. It follows two young Melbourne…

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Live Review: Gold Class, RVG and Millú shake down the Melbourne Museum on Friday night

Do you remember when you were still a little primary school cherub, and for whatever reason you got to go to school after hours – maybe a parent teacher interview night, a sleep-over at school, a school disco. There was kind of a feeling of being up to something bad, and you act a little…

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Interview: Stevie Scott of Brisbane’s Deafcult on their debut album, Auras

Brisbane’s Deafcult have recently dropped debut album Auras, a shoegazy, reverb-drenched foray into the unknown. It’s euphoric yet morose, gregarious yet restrained, and might be one of the best albums released this year. I caught up with guitarist/vocalist Stevie Scott to chat about what the release means to him, ahead of their national (not Perth…

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Live Review: Touché Amore + Turnover + Endless Heights + Better Half – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (09.07.17)

Melbourne’s Better Half were lucky (?) enough to receive the tough task of warming up The Corner Hotel’s stage for international acts Touché Amore and Turnover. No biggie, that wouldn’t have been terrifying at all. A subdued stage presence matched the mellow crowd, which is understandable, considering vocalist Christopher Vernon was fresh off the back…

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Exclusive Music Video Premiere: Gumboot “Holiday” (2017)

Not-quite from Melbourne band Gumboot are self described as “post surf idiosyncratic goth rock”. I don’t know if I entirely agree with this sentiment, but they are indeed something unique. It’s not often you see lead riffs being hammered out, rag-style, on keys, while the rest of the group explores slacker-punk territory. Gumboot’s second EP, Holiday, dropped on…

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Live Review: Mere Women + Terrible Truths + SPIT – The Curtin Hotel, Melbourne (30.06.17)

Relative newcomers SPIT opened the evening, their saccharine garage-punk even more evolved than when I saw them play last. With a triple mustang combo, they were a wall of sound, held together by the razor sharp drumming of Jonnine Nokes. One of their hallmark features is the alternating, dynamic vocals, shared between guitarists Chloe Turner…

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Music Video of the Day: WAAX “Wild & Weak” (2017)

Brisbane five-piece WAAX should need no introduction. They’re one of the country’s best independent acts, both their album releases and live performances receiving glowing praise from all directions. They dropped their second EP, Wild & Weak, on June 2nd, which showed a mature direction for the band – tighter riffs, effortless breakdowns, and tackling deeper lyrical content. They’ve…

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Music Video of the Day: Mesa Cosa “Church of the Snake” (2017)

Melbourne’s five-(sometimes six-sometimes seven)-piece Mesa Cosa return with a call to their snake worshipping cult of destruction, the ‘Church of the Snake’. The inimitable group descend into darkness and explore an underworld full of occult rituals in their latest offering, obliterating the listener with their trademark psych-punk. Don’t worry, there’s no *actual* footage of them in the…

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Music Video of the Day: Sail On! Sail On! “Hobart” (2017)

Even though they’re hidden away in Perth, Sail On! Sail On! have been making waves as one of Australia’s best up and coming heavy acts. Leering between influences, anything and everything from Title Fight to At The Drive In, they deliver driving and emotive post-hardcore. Their latest music video, although lacking the calibre of cinematography we’ve seen in their…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Have/Hold “The Bells” (2017)

How do you begin to describe the sound of Melbourne’s Have/Hold? They’re transient, seemingly in this state of emotion-driven flux, that oscillates between post rock and nearly melodic hardcore moments, between stadium rock and indie pop. The four-piece have teased with tastes of their upcoming sophomore record (a follow up from 2015’s King Salt) with single “Stoic”….

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Exclusive Single Premiere: D’Opus & Roshambo “Paradise (ft. Breana Marin)” (2017)

Canberra duo Dopus & Roshambo have dropped their first single of 2017, “Paradise”, featuring the smooth vocals of Breana Marin, and we’re stoked to be able to give you the online premiere of the track. The pair have taken Aussie hip-hop and reinvented it, viewing it through a mature and modern lens. The end result is an…

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Music Video of the Day: Sløtface “Nancy Drew” (2017)

Norway’s feminist fury Sløtface are back with single “Nancy Drew”, ahead of the release of their debut album Try Not To Freak Out. The accompanying visuals are somewhere between lyric video and film clip, the animation by Norwegian illustrator jellyvamps exploring “all of the tinder cliches you come across online… and illustrating them all in cool clever ways.” The…

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Live Review: Joyce Manor demonstrate raw and emotion-wrenching set at The Rev in Melbourne

Full disclosure. I’m not the world’s biggest pop punk fan. Hell, until I found Modern Baseball and Basement, I avoided the overtly emotional genre like carpet cleaners avoid The Tote. Joyce Manor are one of the select acts on the pop punk spectrum I can’t get enough of – something in the combination of their…

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Live Review: Melbourne punk throttles as Horace Bones headline The Tote Upstairs

Don’t think that because The Tote “Upstairs” had a renovation, it’s lost any of its degenerate charm. If anything, the red-lighted, red-walled room has increased its appeal for debauchery, with Horace Bones’ single launch on Saturday night being no exception. The line-up featured some of the loudest and filthiest in Melbourne punk; a standard Saturday…

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Live Review: Donny Benét + Broadway Sounds + Silver Linings – The Gasometer Hotel, Melbourne (25.05.17)

Something magical happened at The Gasometer Hotel on Thursday night. The lighting was dimmed to sultry, red stage lights catching the smoke in the air, the oversized disco ball looming overhead, and Donny Benét (the sexiest man in music), was set to take the stage. Silver Linings took to the stage first, to warm the…

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Music Video of the Day: Baby Blue “New Girlfriend” (2017)

We give Melbourne’s Baby Blue a lot of love, and for good reason. The four-piece, fronted by Rhea Caldwell, are a genre-spanning group, spinning through grooving 60’s rock, indie pop melodies, and solid guitar riffs. What’s better than just Baby Blue? How about Baby Blue’s single “New Girlfriend”, taken from their debut EP In My Mind, and dogs? Rhea reached out…

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Single of the Day: Trü “Take A Peek” (2017)

The resurgence of 90s indie and/or grunge inspired rock has seen both melancholy and massive bands on the scene, some taking the genre in modern and inspired directions. New Jersey’s Trü are definitely in the latter category, their rhythmic guitars work injected with a certain shoegaze feel. “Take A Peek” is the opening track from their upcoming…

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Music Video of the Day: Kamikaze Girls “Deathcap” (2017)

One of our top acts to watch at this years Great Escape Festival, Kamikaze Girls have dropped the music video for their single “Deathcap”, and have cemented why they were one of our picks. The UK two piece bring their unique post riot grrrl sound and fuzz-soaked rock stronger than ever in the clip, filmed by Katie McMillan, and edited…

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We attend Tune Out 2017 ft. Horace Bones, Black Bats and more at The Bendigo Hotel

One in four performing artists have attempted or considered suicide. More than one in three performing artists, and one in four industry support workers, report mental health problems (Entertainment Assist, 2014). Think about the last band you listened to, or the last gig you went to. A four person band? At least one person from…

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Single of the Day: The Districts “If Before I Wake” (2017)

Indie rockers The Districts are back, dropping their second single from their upcoming LP, Popular Manipulations. “If Before I Wake” is heavy on the drone, citing influences from shoegaze to  The Velvet Underground. There’s a distinct sound to these guys, touching on that 00’s indie rock vibe, with some modern finesse, all moulded by vocalist Rob Grote‘s distinctive and soaring voice. Of…

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Exclusive Music Video Premiere: Splendidid “coco.sexbreath”

Melbourne’s Splendidid (not a typo) have been crafting a niche for themselves in the inner North’s music scene over the last eight months. Voracious gigging has allowed the group to jam out riffs and melodies live, and flesh out their psych-soaked songs based on what the audience digs. Dom Alessio (triple j) describes their sound as “sunshine…

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Music Video of the Day: Dear Seattle “Afterthought” (2017)

Sydney’s Dear Seattle started turning heads after uploading some pretty amazing tracks to triple j unearthed, particularly with release of breakthrough single ‘Meadows’. The group deliver their gritty indie-rock and heartfelt, raw vocals in ‘Afterthought’, the video continuing from the video for ‘Meadows’. It’s an exploration of the morning after a big one, dealing with the…

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