Review: Queensland Theatre's L’Appartement

Submitted by joannal on Mon, 12/08/2019 - 20:33

L’Appartement presented by the Queensland Theatre

Written and Directed by Joanna-Murray Smith

 

Visually entertaining and humorous with a French twist

 

Playwright Joanna-Murray Smith claimed she wanted to stick pins in a doll of Sam Strong, the Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre, when he coerced her into also directing her play L’Appartement. Although initially unwilling, she successfully helped incarnate the play with the four experienced actors from words on paper to the stage. 

 

Purple Pilgrims: Perfumed Earth

Submitted by chrisc on Mon, 12/08/2019 - 14:58

- Purple Pilgrims are a mysterious quantity. They’ve been drifting around the world -from New Zealand to Hong Kong to the US and back again- in a hazy cloud of echoes, donning vaguely cultish trappings and gently spinning out the jams. That’s been happening for the best part of a decade and yet their soft, fey presence has largely passed unnoticed here in Australia. That may be about to change with their new record, Perfumed Earth; we may get to find out exactly how weird the Purple Pilgrims are.

Ainslie Wills: All You Have Is All You Need

Submitted by chrisc on Mon, 12/08/2019 - 14:02

- Ainslie Wills is one of Australia’s real musical treasures and still, after all these years, a bit of a hidden one. As I’ve said before, this small town girl is a musician’s musician, completely focused on pursuing music-making before all else. Actually, that may not be quite accurate, Ainslie’s new record, is a personal document, suffused with dissatisfaction.

Heart and Rockets - 'Power'

Submitted by charlottec on Mon, 12/08/2019 - 12:34
Melbourne-based, feminist brat-wave band Hearts and Rockets are running high, and they have another album on its way. With videos on Rage, album of the week on 3PBS FM, single of the week in Beat Magazine, and countless live shows with the likes of Screaming Females (USA), Dream Can (China), HEX (NZ), A. Swayze and the Ghosts, Hexdebt, MOD CON, Cry Club, and many more - plus spots at Sydney's King Street Crawl and Melbourne's Bush Festival - Hearts and Rockets have stayed locked on a focussed path, culminating in recording a brand new set of songs. Hearts and Rockets’ forthcoming second LP, the 14 track dude smasher, Power, is still anchored by the trademark driving bass lines and clattering 808 drum machine beats that have become synonymous with the band, and glimpses of their buzzing analogue synth are sure to catch you unaware. But it’s the addition of Kalindy on guitar that sets this new collection apart. On Power, the duo reinvent the very sound they created only 2 years ago, all mixed and mastered by their career-long collaborator Mikey Young. Hearts and Rockets have pushed themselves beyond the hazy Heat Wave days, taking the fun and energy of their debut album Dead Beats and adding some serious pop smarts. They’re set to take it on the road for an East-Coast tour in September 2019. Power features the single Dance Off; the party tune with a middle finger to the dudes at the front, which featured on a split 7” with garage-punk legends Shrimpwitch in late 2018 and had an incredible self-produced video that’s got to be seen to be believed (their 5th official video). Kurt and Kalindy have plans for a string of singles and video clips throughout 2019, and there is no shortage of options amongst these 14 earworms. Power’s effect is in its simplicity: Hearts and Rockets don’t mince words, and they don’t waste time. Their short-sharp and catchy tracks are fun, without being vapid. They’ll make you want to dance, and definitely sing along, but heads up - you might elbow a few bigots along the way.

4ZZZ Top 20

1. Thelma Plum - Better In Blak

2. Dumb Things - Today Tonight (Single)

3. Tactics - Early Shift At Charles de Gaulle (Album Of The Week)

4. The Chats - Identity Theft (Single)

5. Parsnip - When The Tree Bears Fruit

6. Amyl And The Sniffers - Amyl And The Sniffers

7. Start Together - Az Nem Várhat (Single)

8. Tia Gostelow - Get To It (Single)

9. Hatchie - Keepsake

10. Jade Imagine - Basic Love

11. Karamilk - Living (Single)

12. Faux Bandit - Rock 'N' Roll Simulator 2019 EP

Dead For Ages: In Defence Of An Ordinary Life

Submitted by chrisc on Fri, 09/08/2019 - 17:31

- Despite the seeming hopelessness boasted by their name, Dead For Ages exude a sense of urgency that is always palpable. Part of it’s the simple speed they move at: never stopping for breath as they kick on with the pummelling power of Anthrax or Slayer. It’s more than that though, all of their debut record, In Defence Of An Ordinary Life, is suffused with a sense of impending doom, like all of that energy is just what it takes to stay ahead of the reaper.

MD Cook: NWXT

Submitted by chrisc on Fri, 09/08/2019 - 17:09

- Matt Cook, previously recording under White Palms and now simply MD Cook, has released an EP under this new moniker. Released via his label While You Were Sleeping, it’s one of his most accomplished pieces to date, retaining experimental elements and providing accessible, catchy grooves.

Safia: Story's Start Or End

Submitted by chrisc on Fri, 09/08/2019 - 16:49

- 2019 has seen a ravishing collection of albums released that all cover the territory of beautifully produced, emotions getting worked over, popular music. To wit: Chaka Khan, Chelsea Wilson, Hot Chip, Brendan Maclean, Death Club 7, Hatchie – even sections of Madonna’s “Madame X” fit the bill. Now comes Canberra’s ethereal (with a beat) trio Safia and their second album, Story’s Start Or End.

Subscribe to