Month: June 2017

‘Meet Me At The Cross’ set times now released ahead of Saturday’s huge Kings Cross festival

Tomorrow, the Sydney music community will be coming together for one helluva party in Kings Cross – another mark of solidarity felt within the scene against the well-publicised and still-damning lock out laws that have ruined many facets of Sydney’s nightlife and live music culture. Meet Me In The Cross, the joint initiative between the Keep…

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Single of the Day: Semaphore “Destroying The Evidence” (2017)

With their new single “Destroying the Evidence”, Brooklyn four piece Sempahore have doled out a hit of indie that takes me right back to the days I was obsessed with the likes of Animal Collective, Beach House and Bloc Party. The first single to be taken from the band’s debut album All Too Robot (due out in September), “Destroying…

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Opinion: Why it’s never been a better time to watch the changing face of Australian hip hop

The national ‘Fire Sign’ tour that has seen Remi, Sensible J and Sampa The Great collaborate on continues to Hobart this weekend before finishing up north in Darwin come July 8th. The reviews and chatter that have emerged in the wake of completed shows around the country so far have been positive and driven by enthusiasm – these…

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Album Review: Washed Out – Mister Mellow (2017 LP)

It’s been four years since Washed Out‘s (Ernest Greene), last album; and boy has a lot changed. 2013’s Paracosm was a tuneful record of utter warmth and bliss whereas new album, Mister Mellow, is a 13-track thickly woven psychedelic tapestry of samples and arrangements with a full length visual counterpart. Whilst this is keeping with…

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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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Actors Stephen Yuen and Daniel Henshall talk about Okja and working with Bong Joon Ho

While in Australia for the red carpet premiere of Okja – which also closed the Sydney Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix – we caught up with two of its actors, Stephen Yuen (The Walking Dead) and Australia’s own Daniel Henshall. We learn more about their roles, the film and working with the film’s…

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Here are all the new PlayStation VR titles available for download today

The PlayStation VR lineup has been bolstered significantly this week, with the release of several new titles, including the Spider-Man: Homecoming VR Experience, as well as DLC for brilliant Farpoint. The Farpoint Cryo Pack expansion is the title’s first DLC, and is available for free. The pack includes two new planetary regions covered in snow and ice, as well…

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An American in Europe (at 30): Part Two – In UK and Ireland, friends make the world go round

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light,” – Helen Keller Friends are a great thing to have. A good friend can give you so many things: Advice, Confidence, Wisdom. But the best friends are the ones who are just there. It took me seven days, four countries…

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Meet the 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award Shortlist (Part 1): Emily Maguire & Mark O’Flynn

On the 18th June the shortlist for the 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award – an award now in it’s 60th year – was unveiled to the public. And what an exciting shortlist it was, with all five of this nominated authors shortlisted for the very first time! It was also great to see many of…

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Exclusive Album Premiere: Taryn La Fauci – Cycling (2017 LP)

For Sydney-based singer songwriter Taryn La Fauci – and no doubt, her fans – the release of her debut album Cycling has a been a highly anticipated one. With her debut EP UNVEIL being released to a positive reception back in 2014, La Fauci has been absolutely thriving as a live performer, locking down impressive live shows and…

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Our top 10 picks for Splendour in the Grass 2017!

Festivals are, of course, the perfect opportunity to see some of the world’s biggest artists perform live, and this year’s Splendour in the Grass is no exception, with some of our favourite headline acts performing. However, there’s nothing better than discovering an act that you haven’t heard of before, so here are a few of our…

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Single of the Day: Curtis Harding “On & On” (2017)

It’s been a little bit since Curtis Harding set hearts a-flutter with new music but with “On & On” now out and circulating, no doubt heart rates are beginning to accelerate again. Rich in soul and evocative drive, “On & On” wastes no time in honing in on the listener and hooking them in. Each inch of…

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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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Album Review: Kasabian – For Crying Out Loud (2017 LP)

Easy to grasp, unrelenting in its palatableness – the Brit-rock indie quintet has served up a safe sixth album. Delivering on their typically loud choruses and drum breaks once more – For Crying Out Loud is what we expect from Kasabian. It’s music you could either jump a skipping rope to or down a lager…

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Win a double pass to see Hey Geronimo in Sydney

Hey Geronimo have just released their new single ‘Bad Citizen’ via Chugg Music. Mixed by local legend Magoo, the hook-heavy, high-energy track, shouts a frantic message of warning over distorted guitars, bombastic drums and paranoid synths. Front-man Pete Kilroy reflects on the cause for alarm in the current politically charged climate, where digital platforms create…

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Seven things we learned from Director Sofia Coppola at a special The Beguiled Q & A in Sydney

Writer and director Sofia Coppola recently became the second woman to win the best director award at Cannes. She won the gong for her latest film, The Beguiled, a gothic story about a group of isolated, Southern girls who take in a wounded solider during the American Civil War. It’s a remake of the 1971 drama/thriller…

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Hugh Jackman is P.T. Barnum in first trailer for The Greatest Showman

With the immense success of La La Land, Hollywood appears primed to revel in the renewed popularity of the musical, and one can look no further than with The Greatest Showman. The long-gestating biopic-turned-musical has released its debut trailer and it comes stacked with an avalanche of talent and a likely aim for the award…

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Film Review: Monsieur Chocolat (France, 2016) (France, 2016) is the less colourful counterpart to Moulin Rouge!

Breathtaking and magical, Monsieur Chocolat (directed by Roschdy Zem) is one to watch if you want to experience a Parisian night. Immerse yourself in the world of 19th-century French circus and follow the biopic story of Chocolat (Omar Sy). He journeys from a performer acting as the “cannibal” to a more respected position as a…

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July’s PlayStation Plus titles to include Until Dawn and new PlayLink title That’s You!

Sony has just announced the PlayStation Plus line up for July, including the critically acclaimed horror title Until Dawn, and the newest game in the recently announced PlayLink range – That’s You! The PlayLink game series is designed to be a fun multiplayer experience that can be enjoyed across PS4, smartphone or tablet. That’s You! is a party quiz game…

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Win a double pass to see Moulin Rouge at Le Cinema at Circular Quay

Following a stellar 2016 event with over 500,000 attendees, the much-loved BBR Festival will return for its fifth year with its biggest program to date and a brand new name, Bastille Festival: The Food Wine Art Revolution. Uniting individuals and countries in the spirit of Bastille Day, the free street celebration will take place at…

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The Rock and Roll Cinema Festival kicks off at Golden Age Cinema & Bar

Kicking off last night with a screening of the seminal Rock’N’Roll High School, Golden Age Cinema & Bar in Sydney is featuring rock stars on screen – from triumphant concert films to tragic turns, turned up to eleven. From the new Whitney Huston documentary, Talking Heads live in concert, to cult classic Dogs In Space, there…

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Heart of Mist author Helen Scheuerer talks YA fiction, fantasy worldbuilding, and ballsy female heroines

Heart of Mist, the first in new fantasy series The Oremere Chronicles, hits bookshelves later this year. Ahead of the book’s release, AU Reviewer Jodie B. Sloan chatted to author Helen Scheuerer, to get the lowdown on the upcoming series and her new fantasy publishing house Talem Press. Can you tell us a little about…

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Music Video of the Day: Cornelius “Sometime/Someplace” (2017)

Releasing his first collection of music in over a decade, Japanese multi-instrumentalist Cornelius has recently given fans a little gift in the music video for “Sometime/Someplace”. Taken from the new album Mellow Waves, the song is effortlessly clean and edgy – progressions make the futuristic nature of the song almost hypnotic, while the off-beat percussion and guitar…

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Interview: Bernard Fanning embraces the ‘non-trendy’ nature of Civil Dusk & Brutal Dawn

Bernard Fanning speaks to me with a weathered cynicism and humour of a musician who has most certainly done this all before. By ‘this’, I mean the usual press junket that accompanies an album release or a tour announcement. Thankfully, the ice between us had already been broken back in 2016, when I interviewed him…

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Album Review: Clea – Fairweather (2017 EP)

Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Clea recorded her debut EP Fairweather between a mix of coastal, rural and inner city studios and that transient nature has injected itself into her dreamy debut. A mix of urban-esque yet freeing electronic beats lie on a wave beneath Clea’s folk-like, airy vocals as the EP progresses between primary use of synths to…

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Win a double pass to preview screenings of Obsession starring Jude Law in Sydney and Melbourne

Jude Law (The Young Pope, Closer, The Talented Mr Ripley) stars in the stage production of Obsession, captured live from the Barbican Theatre in London. Ivo van Hove (NT Live: A View from the Bridge, Hedda Gabler) directs this new stage adaptation of Luchino Visconti’s 1943 film. Gino is a drifter, down-at-heel and magnetically handsome….

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Win a double pass to Oz Comic-Con presents Christopher Lambert – Q&A session and a screening of Highlander in Melbourne

In a special event in Melbourne presented by Oz Comic-Con, Connor MacLeod himself, Christopher Lambert, will appear live to introduce the classic Highlander and participate in a pre-film Q&A at the Astor Theatre in St Kilda. The freewheeling, time-travelling epic, directed by Australian filmmaker Russell Mulcahy, was a modest success on its initial release but…

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Win a double pass to see Eleanor Coppola’s Paris Can Wait in Australian cinemas

Fresh from the Sydney Film Festival Eleanor Coppola’s narrative directorial debut Paris Can Wait stars Academy Award nominee Diane Lane as a Hollywood producer’s wife who unexpectedly takes a trip through France, which reawakens her sense of self and her joie de vivre. Anne (Lane) is at a crossroads in her life. Long married to…

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Find all the important details and dates for SXSW 2018 here

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival has launched its 2018 season with the opening of PanelPicker programming proposals, Film Festival submissions, and Music Showcasing Artist applications for next year’s event. PanelPicker, an online tool that allows the SXSW community to have a significant voice in programming conference activities through an open proposal and…

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The run down on the new Netflix tax, and how it will impact your streaming

In case you haven’t heard, our Netflix prices are on the rise this week as the new “Netflix Tax” comes into effect on Saturday. But before you go ahead and cancel your subscription (or ask your parent/SO/friend whose Netflix account you’ve been leeching off the whole time to do so), here is everything you need…

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