In times past your author would have expressed a positive indifference to most of the bands of these broad British genres of the early 90s, and that opinion largely still holds.
Read MoreAuthor: Lev Lafayette
Pop Will Eat Itself, Sept 10 Corner Hotel
It made perfect sense of course, that a thirtieth-anniversary tour would perform.
Read MoreMaybeshewill: No Feeling is Final (2021).
Always great, they have even gained in skill, orchestration, and passion with their latest album.
Read MoreValedictions, Vangelis
It seems to be all a little bit disturbing to write shortly after the death of Klaus Schulze, that one must also put finger to keyboard to comment on the loss of Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, better known as “Vangelis” on May 17th.
Read MoreValedictions, Klaus Schulze
We should reasonably expect that sizeable books will be released in the near future which in themselves will only provide a summary.
Read MoreDaniel Sloss, Hamer Hall, Melbourne, May 4th, 2021
Daniel Sloss is certainly deserving of the credits that are lauded in his direction.
Read MoreThe War of the Worlds: The Book, The Drama, The Musical, the Film
Is it not the most appropriate time to consider the great disaster story The War of the Worlds, as a pandemic continues to sweep the globe, with no end in sight?
Read MoreArt Damage through Self-Referentialty
In the early 90s I was introduced to the notion of “art damage”, appearing as an editorial rant in the glorious glossy cyberpunk magazine, Mondo 2000, now sadly forgotten by most.
Read MoreMark Burgess: View From A Hill (2007).
Sitting on my “to do” list since 2011, and already at that stage four years old, View from a Hill provides the autobiography of Mark Burgess, frontman of The Chameleons and associated acts.
Read More65daysofstatic: replicr (2019).
Dark and morose, ambient and industrial, with occasional contrasts, replicr is an album for particular moods.
Read MoreGrum: Deep State (2019).
Experientially and holistically, this is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of work of which Grum can be pretty proud of.
Read MoreValedictions, Andy Gill
Elder statesman, co-founder, and guitarist and vocalist of post-punk legends Gang of Four, Andy Gill, died on 1 February, aged 64.
Read MoreWe Lost The Sea, Howler Bar, Melbourne, 30 November 2019.
The Howler Bar in Brunswick initially looks like a large open-plan bar but has an enclosed back-room which is just the right size for bands with a moderate following, and a brilliant second bar which provides a windowed view to the stage.
Read MoreWe Lost The Sea: Triumph & Disaster (2019).
The band started off pretty firmly in the metal genre, but transmogrified into something that is a cross between math rock and metal, like a love-child of 65daysofstatic and Dream Theater.
Read MoreGang of Four, Croxton Bandroom, November 2019
After being a music reviewer for over 30 years, and being a Gang of Four fan for a similar period, it is about time I owned an electric guitar.
So I picked up Andy Gill’s from the Gang of Four concert last night.
Read MoreTears for Fears, Rule The World: Greatest Hits (2017)
This eighteen-month late review of Tears for Fears latest compilation, released in November 2017, absolutely has to be done, for reasons of aesthetic duty if nothing else.
Read MoreThe Cure, Disintegration 30 Years Anniversary, Sydney Opera House, May 2019
Disintegration’s popularity is absolutely deserving of a 30th anniversary and real credit is given to the band for having the courage and principle to have the entire show live-streamed and added to YouTube.
Read MoreUnderworld, June 1st, 2019 Sydney Opera House
Possibly one of the most iconic progressive house bands of the 1990s, Underworld’s appearance at Sydney’s Vivid light and sound festival was exceptionally appropriate.
Read MoreGary Numan: Savage (Songs from A Broken World) (2017).
For those most familiar with the classic synth-pop Gary Numan, this will be quite different. For those who have followed Numan in the past thirty years this is not a surprise.
Read MoreThe The, October 5 2018, Melbourne
A long concert, though more amiable than epic.
Read MoreBlue Man Group, 20 July 2018, Berlin.
The BMG themselves in this particular incarnation are Martin Marion, Kuba Piezchalksia, and Stefan Ruh, supported by the band of Jan Burkamp, Tim Neuhaus, and Nils Westermann.
Read MoreThe Chameleons, Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 2018-01-12
It was a good-sized crowd on the night with a surprising and pleasingly diverse audience, ranging from young post-punk revivalists who were born around the start of this century to those elder folk who had been there from the original days, now more than thirty-five years in the past.
Read MoreSnog and Severed Heads — Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 5 November 2017
Severed Heads, Snog, frogs and Ikea rats.
Read MoreHans Zimmer, Benajmin Wallfisch: Blade Runner 2049 Soundtrack (2017).
The soundtrack is deserving of a short review in its own right, not the least for its own curious development.
Read MoreThose Crazy Socialist Juggalos
On the most unexpected political alliance of the year: the Juggalo youth subculture and organised socialism.
Read MorePeter Hook & The Light — The Corner, Melbourne, Sat 14 Oct 2017.
The last of a series of concerts, this one performing Unknown Pleasures and Closer.
Read MoreThe Residents, Croxton Hotel, March 2016
Certain bands make an initial mark on the world with icons.
Read MoreMogwai: Central Belters (2015).
As the year comes to an end there is the realisation that a half-complete text file has been languishing for a triple compilation released in October 2015. What a difference a day makes to being “somewhat late” to being “so old it’s a retrospective”.
Read More65daysofstatic, Barcelona, October 24, 2016
It was pure serendipity that I found myself on the other side of the planet from my usual home at the same time that 65daysofstatic graced Barcelona to promote their new soundtrack album, No Man’s Sky. The venue, Razzmatazz, has a good reputation and deservedly so. It’s rough and ready, but sensibly designed allowing for generous audio and viewing spaces, good ventilation, and even reasonable drink prices.
Read More65daysofstatic: No Man’s Sky (2016).
Averaging one studio album every three years, the classic math rockers, 65daysofstatic are right on time with their latest release, the official soundtrack to the video game No Man’s Sky.
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