Features Sniffer dogs, cats and other suggestions to hasten our pursuit of modern utopia by Alastair Cairns Recent reports that festival-goers were denied entry to Above & Beyond by NSW Police, despite testing negative for carrying drugs, has sent the media and general populace into a frenzy….
Music A review of Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino for those that have listened to it at least once by Alastair Cairns So here we are in the second decade of the 21st century. The future, or at least that of yesteryear, is now. You’ve been lounging through cyberspace looking for a…
Music Raw, deft, and vulnerable, Sarah Mary Chadwick’s Sugar Still Melts In The Rain is an artistic triumph by Alastair Cairns I’m going to be straight up here and admit, with a decent degree of embarrassment, that this is my first foray into the music of Sarah Mary Chadwick. But the first…
Music Ryan Downey plays by his own rules on Running, a completely compelling debut by Alastair Cairns Ryan Downey has one hell of a voice on him. The obvious comparisons, of which I’m sure he will grow increasingly tired of, are Leonard Cohen, Bill Callahan and Nick…
Music Frankie Cosmos waste no space on Vessel, an exercise in measured perfection by Alastair Cairns “But as god said crossing his legs, “I see where I have made plenty of poets but not so very much poetry”” -Charles Bukowski This quote plagued my mind after…
Music Flowertruck shine on infectious, hook laden and wonderfully lush debut Mostly Sunny by Alastair Cairns Flowertruck are the easy, breezy, beautiful sweethearts of Sydney’s Inner West. They play a catchy brand of indie pop that leans into the hooks hard and dials the sunshine up…
Music Ball Park Music’s GOOD MOOD is an album you’ll never want to leave by Alastair Cairns GOOD MOOD, the new album by Ball Park Music, starts with the momentum of a rocket. The first five songs are shot at you with such velocity and purpose that…
Features Full Collapse and nostalgia: reflecting on Thursday’s agitated masterpiece by Alastair Cairns Full Collapse by Thursday is an album that has an unquantifiable energy about it; under the right circumstances it can change people. Moments of clarity are so important. The last…
Music Could the debut EP from Slowcoaching be too perfect? by Alastair Cairns There is something instantly familiar about Slowcoaching that I just can’t quite put my finger on. I am tempted to suggest it’s that they wear their influences on their sleeve…
Features Magazine News Success and Apocalypse in The Music Industry: Moving the Goalposts by Alastair Cairns In an age where the music industry is characterised as a scattered landscape of disintegrating relics and the arthritic hands that once built them, it may be worthwhile to examine…
Features Love and loss on the Wide Open Road: the desperate case of The Triffids and Calenture by Alastair Cairns The Triffids were an Australian rock band whose career now occupies a fascinating place in our country’s shared consciousness. Their music was imbued with a powerful, rugged character that captured…
Music Immediacy, vibe and intangibility: Barnett and Vile form a surprisingly charming whole on Lotta Sea Lice by Alastair Cairns What does one expect from an album? More importantly, what does one actually want from an album? A brave artistic statement? A snap shot of the world from a particular…
Interviews Music Adrianne Lenker on education, vulnerability and why Big Thief’s albums couldn’t be more different by Alastair Cairns Big Thief are a band on the rise. Capacity, released in June this year, demonstrated that their critically acclaimed debut Masterpiece was far from a one off. Building on the…
