This City - Hear
HEAR is the enema your iTunes needs. Bringing you the most thought-provoking and up-to-date music reviews this side of Lester Bangs, HEAR sifts through the ever growing mountain of press releases and promos to only feature albums, EPs, LPs and mixes that we want to, not that we have to. Also, we try and make things make sense in 200 words or less so that you can just listen to the music.
Monotonix, Where Were You When It Happened?
If you were sloshing around Golden Plains last weekend, you're probably listening to this album right now. Israeli threesome Monotonix were a memorable highlight of the weekend, outshining bigger names on the line-up with their unabashed enthusiasm, huge hairdos and tiny shorts.
These guys sure made the most of their stage-time, performing their entire set from the muddy mosh pit and crowd surfing while playing their guitar and drums.
Best/Worst Band In Sydney 7"
There is no grand mystery to rock music. It's dumb. And it's great. And those two things can sit together, side-by-side, just fine. There's no need to intellectualise it any more than that. Doing so may lead you to miss exactly what makes this music so great. And so dumb.
Bed Wettin' Bad Boys function within these polarities by self-proclaiming to be the best/worst band in Sydney on their debut 7".
Gil Scott-Heron, I'm New Here
Thirteen years is a long time to go without releasing an album. Thirteen years ago I had just discovered the joy of self-love. I had just stopped being afraid of the dark. I had just learned how to take those massive bong hits like Ghostface Killah. Back then, flute solos were a serious and beautiful component of a song.
Difficult Music Festival
While Sydney's small bars and tiny cafes proliferate (yay!), live music venues and strange shops are closing (yikes!).
Sedition barbershop has resisted the gentri-fabulous-cation of its surroundings in Darlo for years, stocking weird shit and just generally not giving a damn. Several small spaces around town have started/continued showcasing experimental noise artists (places like Hellen Rose Labrotorium, Red Rattler and Locksmith Project Space).
Real Estate
You want sunny. You want relaxed. You want proof that someone, anywhere, is struggling through the summer just like you are. You also want a killer pop record. Doesn't matter where it's from - this sound is universal. You want Real Estate.
As it stands, these kids hail from New Jersey. A small detail normally, sure, but this fact oozes through every pore of their sun-drenched sound.
The Oh Sees, Help
Coming in various incarnations such as The Ohsees, OCS, or Orange County Sound - Thee Oh Sees bring the underground of the 60s - tinged with 50s rockabilly - and venture on occasional excursions into a little country called 'spazzed out noise land'.
The aesthetic is visceral garage rock and roll. It's fun and dirty at the same time, without any semblance of bullshit or pretension of profundity.
Exquisite Corpse, Warpaint
Now it's only an EP, so let's not shit ourselves just yet, but Warpaint are pretty f*cking awesome. Coming from the star-studded and smog-misted hills of Los Angeles, this trio of babes is making music that walks that fine line we never knew existed between Beach House's dreaminess and Lindstrøm's beatiness.
Random Entries:
Subscribe to our e-newsletter for weekly updates and exclusive stuff:
Browse our guide to Sydney by interest
Sydney Events Calendar
Select a date to see what's on in Sydney
Browse our guide to Sydney by keyword
Browse our guide to Sydney by weekly issue
Working