Emily Wurramara had the world at her feet. The Indigenous singer-songwriter, then based in Brisbane, had recently released her debut album Milyakburra, named after her community on Bickerton Island in the Northern Territory. It had been received with warm reviews and escalating interest. Then, one night in 2019, her life came crashing down around her. […]
Emily Wurramara: Nothing to Everything Read More »
Let’s say you were a fan of Powderfinger and/or Something for Kate, two of the most successful groups from the post-grunge 1990s Australian music scene. What would you expect an album made by their respective frontmen, Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey, to sound like? Acoustic ballads? Mid-paced, fire-up-the-lighters arena-rock anthems? Well, it’s happened. And Fanning Dempsey
Fanning/Dempsey: The Drought and the Deluge Read More »
It is one of the great opening lines, by anyone: “Each evening the sun sets in five billion places, seen by 10 billion eyes, set in five billion faces.” The words are from Heavenly Pop Hit by the Chills, a band from Dunedin, New Zealand. There’s a good chance you know it, but there’s also
Martin Phillipps 1963-2024 Read More »
For some artists, a hit single can be a monkey on their back – especially if it’s a cover of another artist’s song. This is not the case for Christine Anu, who will almost certainly always be best known for her version of My Island Home, the 1987 Warumpi Band classic originally written for the group’s
Christine Anu: Tying threads together Read More »
I am about midway through my interview with the Church’s Steve Kilbey when, without warning, he morphs into AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. “She was a mean machine, she loves me, aargh!” Kilbey squeals. He might be misremembering the opening line of You Shook Me All Night Long, but otherwise, it’s a convincing impersonation of Johnson’s sandpaper
The Church’s Steve Kilbey: an unguarded moment Read More »
The Saints – the Brisbane band who jump-started the punk movement in Australia with their hot-wired debut single (I’m) Stranded – have announced a national tour in November with a new five-piece lineup, more than 50 years after their rough beginnings. Joining founding guitarist Ed Kuepper and drummer Ivor Hay will be singer Mark Arm, from the Seattle band
The Saints return to reclaim their dues Read More »