I didn’t write about music all that much in 2013, but I did set aside a bit of time to listen to music, so I thought I’d share the albums that I most enjoyed last year. Honourable mentions go to Future of the Left – How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident, which just…
There was something volcanic about Future of the Left’s show last night. The sweltering heat in a tightly packed crowd and the smell of bushfire smoke in the air contributed, but the fierce, white-hot rock that erupted from the stage was the main factor. The band channelled something primitive, Andy Falkous straddling the stage like…
I may not have written all that much about music here this year (in case you haven’t noticed, the focus of ccpopculture has been shifting gradually towards film at the expense of other media), but that doesn’t mean I’m not listening and, uh, listing. Here are my 10 favourite songs of the year: and the…
It’s very easy to slip into cliché and hyperbole when describing an extraordinary live music performance, tossing around “transcendental” and “a religious experience” like you’re the first idiot with a word processor to connect a crowd of people singing in unison to a church gathering belting out a hymn or two. But, dammit, clichés are…
I guess I’m just going to have to get used to being an Arcade Fire contrarian. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guys. I have a beard and wide-rimmed glasses and I wear skinny jeans, what did you expect? But I always found the smoky neo-Springsteen stylings of Neon Bible just that little bit…
Originality is a lauded characteristic of modern music, but there’s something to be said for executing a time-honoured formula with enthusiasm and talent. CHVRCHES’ debut record, The Bones of What You Believe, is hardly original, but if, like me, your ‘80s childhood has left you with soft spot for synth pop, you won’t have any…
Trent Reznor has always thrived on the uneasy border between pop and industrial music, his best work demonstrating his commingled talents for evoking sinister atmosphere and writing taut, catchy tunes. The former felt increasingly left by the wayside prior to Nine Inch Nails’ recently-aborted hiatus; both Year Zero and With Teeth hewed closer to pop…
Japandroids’ gig at The Zoo formed a well-articulated argument for seeing your favourite bands at their own shows, rather than festivals. I found Japandroids enjoyable but unexceptional at Laneway earlier in the year, but their ninety minute set (at their last Australian show) last night exceeded all expectations. After a loose Velociraptor set (which was…
My thought process upon hearing the BDO lineup announcement: 1) Blur! Blur! Ever since their reunion in 2008, I’ve been desperately hoping for these guys to come to our shores. Their name alone has me buying a ticket. 2) The Herald Sun “leak” that wasn’t …actually was! Arcade Fire, Pearl Jam and Snoop Dogg/Lion all…
There’s a certain smell to Splendour in the Grass. There’s that earthy bush smell – part grass, part manure, a distant hint of the sea, the scent of fresh mud baking in the late afternoon sun. There’s that people smell – that warm sweat pong that’s so overwhelming it’s almost pleasant, the shared burden of…
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