Category Archives: Reviews

Review: The Tallest Man On Earth — “There’s No Leaving Now”

The Tallest Man on Earth
There’s No Leaving Now
Dead Oceans

True to style, The Tallest Man On Earth’s third LP There’s No Leaving Now, is largely just Kristian Matsson’s ragged to crooning vocal range and intricate finger-picked guitar melodies.… Read More

Review: Daniel Rossen — “Silent Hour/Golden Mile”

Daniel Rossen
Silent Hour/Golden Mile
Warp

Johnny Greenwood announced them one of his favorite bands. As for myself? Well I’m one of the huge fans that regretfully never made the effort to drive down south to attend their set at… Read More

Review: The Bombay Royale — “You Me Bullets Love”

I hate to be the guy that quotes directly from press releases in a review, but The Bombay Royale’s “You Me Bullets Love” is indeed practically the soundtrack for an as-yet-unwritten Tarantino film. It says a lot about the influence and ubiquity of his films that a pastiche of surf-guitar and non-western scales make everybody think this, but, well, here we are. Read More

Singles Bar #5: Pop Pain

Well, here we are, and JET aren’t. We made it, baby.

kučka– kučka [EP]

To be straight down the line and all that, the debut EP by kučka might well be one of the most intriguing and ambitious releases by a… Read More

Review: Nazi Dust — “Wretched Hour”

I’ve been following this band for the last few months, and quietly hoping they will persevere, rather than vanish into the ether as too many bands with names this cool do. After the release of their self-titled 7”, they have… Read More

Singles Bar #2: Lot’s Wife

There’s a new Odd Future EP out this week! I don’t care!

Review: Coke Bust — Degradation 7″

Coke Bust
Degradation 7”
Refuse Records

Six songs, five minutes, no time to wind down. That’s the only way to describe this ferocious 7”. After compiling some of their earlier releases as well as some new tracks into… Read More

Singles Bar #1: What’s Eating Jack White?

In this new, pretty-regular column, I will pick through recently released singles and EPs. Today, like every other day of this decade, there’s some braindead beach pop.

Scraps– 7″

Brisbane is producing sum gr8 stff at the… Read More

Review: Puta Madre Brothers — “It’s a Long Long Way To Meximotown”

As soon as you hit play on Puta Madre Brothers’ It’s A Long Long Way To Meximotown you feel as if you have entered some bizarre party situated in an alternate universe or, at the very least, another country. Three one-man-bands from Melbourne join together to develop a faux Mexican trio, complete with bad Spanish and almost believable personas. Read More

Review: Frozen Ocean -‘Snoises

Frozen Ocean
’Snoises
Self-released

Pete Bibby is a busy guy, and maybe the closest thing Perth has to a John Dwyer kind of figure; ‘Snoises is the fifth Frozen Ocean release for the year, and he’s also found… Read More

Review: Vinyl Williams — ‘Lemniscate’

Vinyl Williams
Lemniscate
Self-released

Alright; I finish up an exam period today. Amongst the three things that got me through the last few weeks w/out any significant self-trepenatin’ bizness was the debut record from LA resident Vinyl… Read More

Review: CANT — ‘Dreams Come True’

Dreams Come True
CANT
Terrible Records

CANT: the prettiest boy/girl at the party, but so what? We already know this record is going to sound good. Chris Taylor (TV on the Radio) and George Lewis Jr. (Twin Shadow) have built… Read More

Review: Dusk Warrior– “Overdrive Sunrise”

Overdrive Sunrise
Dusk Warrior
Self-released
(on bandcamp here.)

Library music is, accurately or not, regarded as something generally kind of antiquated, especially since the DIY revolution elevated sloppiness amongst the Virtues. Obscure by nature, and often associated solely… Read More

Review: Girls — Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Girls
Father, Son, Holy Ghost
True Panther Sounds

The first time I listened to “Honey Bunny”, the rollickin’ vanilla-hued opener to Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I was a skeptic. Replete with a half-tempo midsection and an outro ripped… Read More

Review: Cut Off Your Hands — “Hollow”

When bands produce a second album, most reviews generally compare it to their debut — they look for improvements, differences and so on. So, I’ll be honest, before this I’d never heard anything by Cut Off Your Hands.

I could have… Read More

Review: Diger Rokwell — “Sri Diger”

Diger Rokwell
Sri Diger
The Community

Diger Rokwell, he of the ostentatious headdress, and kingpin of  The Community, doesn’t sit still; even his holidays necessitate makin’ a record. Following the same plan as last year’s Cambodia-inspired Digerbodia, Sri DigerRead More

Review: Montero– Rainman b/w Mumbai

Montero
Rainman b/w Mumbai

Mistletone

Ben Montero, animator and member of the Treetops, has stuck out his head with a semi-solo project appropriately titled Montero. Though his chosen moniker might suggest some kind of insular ego-trippin’, Montero is a dude… Read More

Review: Deafheaven – “Roads to Judah”

Every record label likes to stand out with its releases, their packaging and content. Many labels try, but most fail, whether due to complications or simply because they have completely misjudged their audience. In the case of Deathwish Inc.’s decision to release Deafheaven’s full-length, it seems they’ve truly outdone the failure category, despite all the odds. Read More

Review: Jack Ladder — “Hurtsville”

Jack Ladder’s third studio album and first with backing band The Dreamlanders is a huge step away from the 2008 Australian Music Prize nominated Love is Gone. Where Love is Gone relied primarily on its alt country leanings, Hurtsville carries… Read More

Review: Memory Tapes– Player Piano

Memory Tapes
Player Piano
Carpark

It’s winter here in Perth, so one can maybe get away with not showering for a few days at a time without tipping anyone off, barring extreme issues internalising mild levels of shame. Giving… Read More