They reign in Spain and now Adelaide says Yes to Senor No

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

19 November 2018

Hits: 6113

God bless those wonderful creative people who say: "Screw this boring world, I'm gonna do what I want to do". Because, when all is said and done, we won't be here forever, and if what you fancy makes other people dance and leap about like they've got uncool illnesses, so much the better.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Everyone who claims to love rock'n'roll has their own idea of what rock'n'roll is.

And, it's a suspicion of mine that a hell of a lot of rock'n'roll bands exist because no-one is playing the kind of rock'n'roll they want to hear (this may have been one of Kim Salmon's reasons for re-emerging with another Scientists in 1982).

Last week we saw The Animals, sharp and bright as a new nail, rejoicing in the simple power and beauty of the r'n'b explosion, and the determination to stay stable in a troubled world. 

• live
• australia
• rock and roll
• 2018
• senor no
• basque country

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Thrills and spills with The Animals of 2018

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

16 November 2018

Hits: 5185

_{Original and current Animals drummer John Steel.  Mandy Tzaras photo.}

Can't take her anywhere. This writer's photographer pissed and moaned about the walk from the car to the venue in the usual female preposterous high heels, wibbling and wobbling all over the shop. That'll larn me, in future I'll drop her off outside before parking the car.

Anyway, Jello-On-Springs tipped most of her first glass of white all over me while we were chatting with a friend (I'm sure I deserved it) in The Gov's rather lovely Front Bar (they always have a band on there, so the locals and regulars have some live music if they're not interested in, say, Tweefolkies, The Smythes or Iggy and the Squeezevomits). 

• australia
• the animals
• john steel
• micky gallagher
• 2018

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Yeah Yeah Yeah - Wrong Turn (Cobra Snake Neck-Tie Records)

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By Ron Brown

Ron Brown

16 November 2018

Hits: 3779

Hello I-94 Bar abusers and users. Well, it's Friday afternoon and the Farmhouse has been rocking to the new EP by Melbourne band Wrong Turn. This rockabilly-garage rock three-piece have just released their wonderful record on Cobra Snake Neck-Tie Records.

Kicking off this mini masterpiece is the title track, a rolling, stomping, rocker that, well, just fucking rocks. Ian Wettenhall (guitar and vocals_ sounds like he is having one hell of a good time. Myles Gallagher pounds those skins (he’s one hard hitter) while Pipon (aka Duane Pipe) on bass keeps the tempo with coolness to burn. Great opening track.

Track two is my personal favorite; “Gimme More” is where Myles’s drumming really stands out. Thumping bass with a stand-out guitar riff. It don't get any better. Oh, and it features an awesome lead break. “Gimme More”? Yes please, gentlemen.

• yeah yeah yeahs
• ian wettenhall
• wrong turn
• myles gallagher
• duane pip
• cobra neck-tie records

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Australia: Just say Yes to Senor No

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By The Barman

The Barman

04 November 2018

Hits: 5494

High-energy veterans Senor No from Basque Country (don't call it Spain) are embarking on their first Australian tour this month but their Anipoddean connection already runs deep.

Senor No was born in Donostia/San Sebastian, Basque Country in 1993, after the dissolution of the seminal Spanish group La Perrera. The band released their first LP with No Tomorrow Records in 1994 and toured Spain and surrounding areas relentlessly while recording five more albums and more than a dozen singles.

Senor No was the very first release for the seminal Spanish label Bang! Records which is a label responsible of releasing some of Australian best bands overseas.

• spain
• bang! records
• australian tour
• senor no
• basque

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LIke Shifting Sands through the hourglass, these are the days of their lives

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By The Barman

The Barman

01 November 2018

Hits: 8050

_{Izzy Mellor and Geoff Corbett. Cyrille Bellec photo.}  

Sydney rock and roll fans are in for a special treat on November 17 when a roadshow of diverse but related Brisbane acts rolls into town. Marrickville Bowling Club will bear witness to the spectacular, self-destructing antics of Six Ft Hick, fronted by Geoff and Ben Corbett. The undercard is full of quieter moments, with Gentle Ben & his Shimmering Hands - a vehicle for Ben - and Shifting Sands, led by Geoff.

• beach coma
• shifting sands
• gentle ben
• marrickville bowling club
• geoff corbett
• isabella mellor
• siz ft hick

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A Whole Wide World of love for Rocket Man

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By Patrick Emery

Patrick Emery

01 November 2018

Hits: 5717

_{Wreckless Eric. Zac Bonnell photo.} 

“I will never have anything said against that man!” Eric Goulden, aka Wreckless Eric, is waxing lyrical about a fellow traveller in the English rock’n’roll and pop scene.

You’d be forgiven for thinking Eric might be talking about the late Ian Dury, the iconoclastic poet-cum-musician who provided a rough template for Eric’s own career, or maybe one of the sundry punk rockers who attached themselves to Stiff Records around the same time Eric bounced into popular consciousness with the now classic "Whole World World". Maybe even Joe Strummer? Pete Shelley?

• pretty things
• tour
• australian
• new zealand
• wreckless eric
• whole wide world
• stiff records
• eric goulden
• elvis costello
• elton john

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Rotting Out - Black Heart Breakers (self released)

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By The Barman

The Barman

28 October 2018

Hits: 4580

Only an old fart would start a review with the statement: "Everything old is new again."

But it is really just to say that way back in the early ‘90s - when big festivals like the Big Day Out involved more people playing musical instruments than laptops - there was a rash of Californian bands pushing a brand of punk rock crossed with powerpop and ska that dominated stages and airwaves.

The Offspring were inspired by seeing Social Distortion at a school dance, The Bay Area’s 624 Gillman Street scene spat out Green Day and Rancid occurred after someone from Operation Ivy watched too many Clash videos. You know the rest.

• powerpop
• punk rock
• marky ramone
• black heart breakers
• rotting out
• ruts dc

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Cabaret of Daggers - Tav Falco (ORG Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

28 October 2018

Hits: 4701

Tav Falco is one of rock and roll’s outliers who sits in a unique musical space and time of his own creation. “Cabaret of Daggers” is a mix of traditional American, lounge, jazz and rootsy blues-rock songs that nobody else on the planet could have made.   

Tav continually dips back in time and cherrypicks music to place into his own setting. That setting being his Italian version of Panther Burns. “Cabaret of Daggers” was recorded in Rome with vocals tracked at Sun Studios. It will be a LP run of 750 copies released on Record Store Day on November 23. 

• tav falco
• alex chilton
• panther burns
• cabaret of daggers
• org records

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Trade Winds – Johnny Casino (Citadel/La Villa Nova)

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By The Barman

The Barman

28 October 2018

Hits: 5323

Johnny Casino albums are a treat for the converted and a revelation for those less fortunate. If you’re one of the latter, “Trade Winds” is as good a place as any to start.

It’s been way too long between records for Johnny - both this album and its predecessor "Time and Time Again" are old recordings woodshedded for later release - but well worth the wait. The big fella from Sydney’s Northern Beaches makes Spain his home these days, where he plies his dual trades of tattooing and playing music.

“Trade Winds” was recorded before he emigrated a couple of years ago with a crack band in North Fremantle, Western Australia. Drummer Warren Hall (The Volcanics, Datura 4, The Drones), a longtime Casino sideman, joined with Martyn P Casey (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds /The Triffids/Grinderman) played bass. That’s as fine an engine room as you’ll find. 



• stems
• carrie phillis
• johnny casino
• booby traps
• jim diamond
• asteroid b612
• datura4
• citadel records
• greg hitchcock
• warren hall
• time and time again
• triffids
• richard lane
• trade winds
• martyn p casey
• jodi phillis
• kenny watt
• la villa nova

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