By Stewart
This year, as is the case every year, many talented and irreplaceable people from the world of music left this mortal coil. This is my tribute to those who passed. Read more…
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Brutal Ben’s Top Gigs of 2013
Time, place and circumstance…
I cannot deny the influence of these factors on how I rate a live show. My opinions on music are unapologetically subjective because for me music is about emotion. I’m exponentially more punter than producer so I’m not necessarily seeking a note perfect performance. I crave that rare and hard to define ‘something’ that makes the experience resonate more deeply and connect more emotionally.
To me sometimes the back story can be as important as the band, the vibe as influential as the venue. My expectation for a band’s live show is directly proportional my experiences with them. These points became very evident when I sat down to review my year in gigs, this list is completely influenced by bias and factors beyond how well the band played. This assessment criteria is possibly a tad unfair, but that is live music to me. Read more…
Zakytuss- Don’t Forget The Days
By Stewart
Having released a debut album entitled ‘Bridges’ some years back under his own name, Melbourne singer/songwriter Michael Rinaldi has resurrected the name of the garage band he fronted over a decade ago. Read more…
Interview- Carl Whitbread (Lo!)
By Ben
Lo! are rising.
By the time this Sydney quartet came to public awareness they had already honed a professional sound and style that is as slick as it is stimulating.
They are a group of experienced and likeminded musicians who have focussed their combined powers into a fearsome musical alliance.
Guitarist and go-getter Carl Whitbread made time in his schedule to answer a few questions and here are the results for your reading pleasure. Read more…
Far East Movement – Grzzly
By Andrew
Mixtapes come and go and in a lot of ways, it’s a way for hip-hop artists to remind the fans and pundits they are still out there, and still relevant. Far East Movement, as one of the more underground offerings coming out of the US these days, are no exception. But Grzzly is something different. I tried my hardest to listen to and review the first offering from A$ap Ferg, highly touted as one of the best and brightest in the neo-rap Trap scene; but found myself just wanting to turn it off. But Grzzly, despite primarily being a collection of remixes and unreleased tracks, is pure Trap gold…Interested?…
Reader submission- Dave’s Potted History of Punk Mixtape!
Recently I made a compilation CD that I want to tell you about.
For this one, I gave myself the brief that I wanted to give the uninitiated (or a little bit less initiated) a musical history lesson. In this case, a potted history of punk music… from whence it came, to when it initially rose to prominence, to when it ended, and then to where it was headed. Read more
Childish Gambino – Because The Internet
By Andrew
Childish Gambino, or Donald Glover, is an interesting artist and seems to be the talk of
the entertainment industry but not really that well-known in the real world.
Gambino is probably more well-known for his role in the hit tv show ‘Community’
or for his writing credits on the stunning ‘30 Rock’. As part of the comedy
troupe Derrick Comedy he is also responsible for the awesome film ‘Mystery Team’.
All this might seem like gibberish for those outside the loop, and believe me,
I was well outside this incestuous loop for quite a while until I heard the
Flux Pavillion track ‘Do or Die’ and thought, I should probably check this dude
out. Well, I’m here to say, you should too…Read on…
Slanted & Enchanted Festival @ The Astor Theatre, Perth 7/12/13
By Ben
Slanted & Enchanted is a new & novel concept on the Perth music front: an indie rock festival carried out concurrently over two completely separate venues –The Astor Theatre & The Bakery. It’s fair to say that it is not the type of event I would normally frequent based on the majority of the lineup, but the inclusion of Canadian noise merchants METZ got me out of the house and off to the theatre. Read more...
Brutal Ben’s Top Albums of 2013
In a barely acceptable act of self-indulgence I get to bang on about the albums I rated highest in 2013. Not a bad gig for a verbose music lover like me!
I was lucky enough to have some of my favourite acts put out new material in 2013, and none disappointed. Ranking them in any kind of order is a difficult task akin to choosing my favourite cut of steak or deciding which colour Clinker tastes best.
So I have compiled a list of the albums that most moved me in the past 12 months despite the order being a fluid concept. Read more…
Abrasive Andy’s Top Ten Albums on High Rotation – 2013
By Andrew
Want to know what’s been floating Andy’s boat this year? Check out the top ten albums they never left the rotation in the Abrasive household here…
Audiocracy 