The Underground Stage
“It’s been an indecently long shift between releases, but when a comeback is this confident and strutting, it’s like no time has passed at all. Twitching itself into knots while high art cascades into early-hours psychosis, it’s an attention-grabbing return to the fray, a high-voltage reminder of what they’re capable of ⚡️”
“ISHAN has quietly been building up pressure recently but this most recent release sounds a lot like the sort of sunny blast to crack it all wide open. A lost-boy cute vocal, a soaringly positive message in the lyrics, a group-singalong chorus – it’s almost lab-grown to feed a broken heart, patch up a wounded ego, or just soundtrack one hell of a night out 💣”
“Battlesnake go full concept on Alpha & Omega, veering to within touching distance of the lunacy levels of a Tenacious D or a Spinal Tap. As close to parody as it gets though, it never once lets go of a deep, obvious love of the source material that gives you permission to join right in. Epically mad, madly epic 🤘”
“Salarymen’s usual 60s-authentic psychedelia takes a bump of 70s speed on their latest, ratcheting up the tempo a bit to form up around a deliciously thumping slice of ankle-twitching fun. It’s all as bright and clear as ever but the extra pace adds a note of urgency and it ends a little out of breath, a little red in the cheeks, all dead giveaways that announce the fun its been having 😊”
“RINSE’s generally-90s but specifically-Manchester sound is riddled with an existential-level dread and paranoia that brings it bang up to date without losing a single step of groove. Peter Hook would approve of the bubbling and the thud, but it still belongs nowhere else than right here and right now.” Gallery Learn More Instagram
“Ultracrush gently clop through their songs, delicate and charming, a jangly delight. Twangs spark like fireflies, crackles break like a twig in the fire, and it all brushes past you like an old friend. What a lovely set.” Gallery Learn More Instagram
“Dial Tone swirl around the room with shoegaze veering from the dreamlike to more Swervedriver-ish oomph. Blurred and fuzzy, with all the colours melding into each other, it’s a noisy trip.” Gallery Learn More Instagram
In one of the more fascinating examples I’ve seen, Vinnie Barbaro’s DIVEBAR YOUTH project has not only hit the mark with a broad spread of tastemakers, not only grown audience at a strong rate, but also done it using a core principle of marketing – one which most artists either don’t know or don’t realise […]
It’s been twenty years since Parkway Drive released their first (solo) EP, and to mark the milestone they’re taking their legendary racket on the road across Australia, with a tour stop in Sydney on 21st Sep at the Qudos Bank Arena. After seven studio albums (the last three of which went to #1 in Australia), […]