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Published writings
"Although notorious for its flawlessly polished and overtly clean cut pop artists as its biggest export, when one searches for long enough in the right places there exists a bountiful treasure trove of talented indie artists in South Korea.
somewhere deep within the winding alleyways of Seoul’s premier artistic hub Hongdae, there exists a tiny independent record shop called Gimbap Records. Far from selling the Korean version of sushi that the name might suggest, this small haven is a mecca for the discerning vinyl collector and hip hop lover."
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"Progressive, innovative, cohesive, definitive, informative, expansive … all these words fit the new album by Thundamentals. Add experimental, honest and evocative and you’ve got more than enough reasons to take time out to vibe on So We Can Remember."
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"Armed with only a Fender Tele, a basic stage mic and a stack amp, Sultan filled every corner of the room with his presence and sound. And what an intimate, special gig it was – there was probably no more than 50 people squashed into the tiny bookshop amongst shelves crowded with vinyls and childrens’ books.
Sultan’s voice has a knack for finding and holding onto colourful tones; tones that wrench on the listener’s heartstrings as he wails with unbridled emotion. It’s amazing in this day and age to see a performer who still engages with the crowd; tries to make them at ease, even cracks a few bad Dad jokes.
...With Sultan's style firmly rooted in the blues, the songs off Blackbird are from a personal perspective on life, love and country."
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"The combination of unashamedly brazen Australian pub rock singer Tim Rogers and the smooth, retro soul vibes of The Bamboos may seem to be an unlikely partnership to some, but there just may be something about The Rules Of Attraction that works.
...It’s almost as if The Bamboos enlisted their drunk uncle to join them as a sympathetic gesture after he’s downed a bottle of room temperature Jameson’s whiskey. The result sounds like a wailing karaoke performance from said drunk uncle performing to a room of geriatric pokie-pushers."
Toby, Mathias and Dougal from Breve braved the cold winter air down at The Abbotsford Convent for Citizens of the Streets to reveal some of their favourite foods to eat while recording new material, and what instruments they would take with them to desert island if there was an apocalypse.
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"Fresh New Bites brings you the latest organic offerings hailing from the sandy, isolated shores of Australia. It’s the reason we raise the purest original stock – lovingly and tenderly nurtured from the womb to the plate, and it’s all for your culinary and auditory enjoyment. Welcome to your one-stop shop for the tastiest new tracks that will ensure you are the envy of all your music snob friends."
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"Textural sonic pleasure... reverb-soaked intermittent clicks, drops and taps. Imagine the tongue clicks from Drop It Like It’s Hot combined with gacked-out trap beat-type and you may start to get the picture. The production and vocals are shrouded in a cloudy haze that take pitched-down, stretched-out, f***ked-up beats level up..."
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Concha Buika - Mallorcan Queen and Disruptor of Flamencan Tradition
"Where to start with La Noche Más Larga? Hearing this album for the first time was one of those rare moments in which you hear new music so engrossing that you lapse out of reality and get taken away for a few moments (or in this case, all 12 songs). I don’t need to know a word of Spanish to understand what Buika is singing about – all is conveyed perfectly through the power and dynamic emotion in the tone of her voice."
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"...Our opening scene feels grimy, and dark... with a sprinkling of enticing hypnotic eastern scales tilted over a slow, grooving beat. El-P lags lazily over the beat for his verses; think -- waves lapping gently at the edge of a coastal shoreline at dusk...
...enter stage left, Killer Mike positively spitting - a fiery stream-of-conscious style lyrics all over the bar and El-P’s production skills. It’s honest work.
...[this] is millennials' choice of the minute: shiny, but suppressed and compressed to fit into the commercial hip hop mould.
As usual, El-P is at the forefront of the movement."
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Public Opinion Afro Orchestra - Shake / The System
__wordistheherb for Hope Street Recordings
"This seventeen-piece powerhouse, cut with an an unashamed cry; a critical justice-charged conscious funk/hip hop edge. The influence of the father of Nigerian Afrobeat (Fela Kuti) is clear – from baritone sax to jazzy muted Wurlitzer organ, POAO brings the best parts of 70's funk, then twists this seamlessly with traditional Nigerian rhythms and melodies.
...everything has its place within Public Opinion Afro Orchestra – the result is a unique and distinctive sound that pays homage to its musical ancestry whilst simultaneously breaking new foreground, rightfully claiming their place as music royalty, to both local and international acclaim."
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7″ review: The Putbacks ft Nai Palm – Spanish Harlem / The Worm
wordistheherb for Hope Street Recordings
"You may know her as the Headchief of future soul band Hiatus Kaiyote, but in this release of The Putbacks‘ new 7″, ‘Spanish Harlem‘, we see a different side of Melbourne’s hottest neo-soul voice NaiPalm.
...the slightly more funk-oriented ‘The Worm’ is a salute to the 1970s, with screaming Hammond organs, garage-tinged drums and relentless pentatonic polyphony. The climatic highlight of the record is upon you now – if you aren’t getting down and groovy by this point in the record you’re clearly subject to severe emotional capacity deficits..."
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"Every day, over 35,000 Australians face social persecution and are denied acceptance in the eyes of the law as legitimate marital unions akin to their hetero-normative counterparts. Elizabeth Rose’s 'Division' video provides a moving reflection of the struggles same sex couples face in order to gain acceptance socially, as well as by their loved ones.
... it's a welcome contribution towards exposing and normalising same sex relationships, which seems to be far too infrequent on commercial Australian music and media platforms. It’s good to make the average pop listener stop in their tracks and think, sometimes."
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