This tribute will be different

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By The Barman

The Barman

24 March 2023

Hits: 2236

Things Will Be Different: A Tribute To Little Murders – Various Artists (Twist Records)

Tribute records? They used to be all the rage but are they now just a bit naff? It depends on who they’re lauding.

Little Murders are Australian rock and roll’s – no! don’t say it! – Best Kept Secret. It’s a cliché, for sure, but don’t be afraid. It just means that cloth-eared and gormless cretins don’t know who they are. If you’re one of them, consider yourself admonished and start paying attention.

• dollsquad
• little murders
• the green circles
• things will be different
• the fadeaways
• the wimpy's
• barb waters
• kate stalker
• the kill-joys

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Died Pretty announce theatre dates

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By The Barman

The Barman

24 March 2023

Hits: 3678

• tour
• died pretty
• 2023

Live album a fitting look back on a classic Died Pretty performance

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By The Barman & Steve Lorkin

The Barman & Steve Lorkin

23 March 2023

Hits: 3217

Died Pretty Live – Died Pretty (Citadel)

Live albums were things a band pulled out of its collective arse when members were short on ideas and had “contractual obligations” to a label. These days, they’re a  quaint anachronism in a market that treats digital singles as a currency.

The only contractual obligation Died Pretty has these days is keeping their record label boss and manager, John Needham, in the lifestyle to which he is accustomed (that's a joke, John), so a live recording of a February 2008 performance of the cross-over album “Doughboy Hollow” at Melbourne’s Forum Theatre is probably of interest only to diehard fans.

Guilty as charged but thousands of others will take the same plea.

• died pretty
• ron peno
• brett myers
• john hoey
• steve clark
• died pretty live
• forum
• doughboy hollow

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Smash it up! The Damned get back down under

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By The Barman

The Barman

20 March 2023

Hits: 2159

Iconic punks The Damned are returning to Australia and New Zealand for a series of highly anticipated shows in June.

Forged in the hot fire of first wave, The Damned are the greatest surviving British punk band, still firing on all cylinders. They are often regarded alongside The Clash and Sex Pistols as a seminal force in driving the genre’s popularity.

• tour
• australian
• new zealand
• the damned
• 2023

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Record label sharks be damned. Barracudas re-issue is a revelation

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By Bob Short

Bob Short

17 March 2023

Hits: 2257

Drop Out With The Barracudas Deluxe Edition – Barracudas (Lemon Records)

Increasingly, the recording companies attempt to milk the last of the boomer dollars before retirement homes steal the last of our bank accounts.  They’ve already worked out that there's bugger all money in new recordings.  Even dependable old cash cows like KISS and The Who have made public statements to that end.

So record companies have learnt to spew out deluxe editions of the familiar, the obscure and the criminally ignored.  And, if someone is going to put out a multi disc collection of every taped concert on Sunset Strip, well oops.  My finger slipped on the buy button before I read about the goddamn postage.

• deluxe
• the barracudas
• drop out with the barracudas
• robin willis
• lemon records

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Is Flowers For Jayne's new single what you're looking for?

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

17 March 2023

Hits: 2463

You're Not What I'm Looking For - Flowers for Jayne (Glowing Ember Records)

So what is it? "You're Not What I'm Looking For" is classic tough power pop with a dead-set groove you can light a fire with.

So. I know nothing about Flowers from Jayne except the name and the members have "form", as The Truth newspaper used to say of "colourful racing identities". Lead guitarist Jayne Murphy played in the Lime Spiders (presumably there are one or two similarly "colourful" stories to be told there), bass player Bill Gibson is a familiar figure from The Eastern Dark, and drummer Jess Ciampa can boast being in the Jeff Duff Band and Monsieur Camembert. 

These folks know what they're doing.

• skyhooks
• lime spiders
• bob spencer
• flowers for jayne
• You're Not What I'm Looking For

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John Kennedy signs off for now with a gem

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By The Barman

The Barman

13 March 2023

Hits: 2568

John Kennedy and the New Originals - John Kennedy and the New Originals (Foghorn/MGM)

Brisbane-raised English expatriate John Kennedy patented the Urban and Western genre after he transplanted himself to Sydney 40-something years ago and found underground success. It’s been a long (and winding) road since.

There’s been a decade living overseas in Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Holland and Hong Kong. Kennedy on paper’s had what appears to be a revolving cast of backing bands - J.F.K. And The Cuban Crisis, John Kennedy And The Honeymooners, John Kennedy's '68 Comeback Special and John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong.

Reality is that there’s been an intermingling of players in those bands and the line-up’s been stable in recent years, but perseverance has been a by-word.

• matt galvin
• murray cook
• peter timmerman
• phil hall
• John Kennedy and the New Originals
• Urban and Western
• J.F.K. And The Cuban Crisis

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Josh and Hugo's sensory overload

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

12 March 2023

Hits: 2485

Memento Mori - Hugo Race and Josh Lord (independent)

You shouldn't put “Memento Mori” on as background music while you do the dusting or writing funny memes. I mean, you can, of course. But it's a lovely slow-paced creature, and it will snare you.

You'll find yourself slouched on the couch, wanting sleep and comfort but ... despite all the gorgeous sounds, it's damned unsettling. You'll wake with a stiff neck and your limbs out of joint, I promise. No, skip to the end for how to fully appreciate this.

But first, I must apologise unreservedly to both Josh Lord and Hugo Race. I was unable to do this review quickly enough. 

• hugo race
• bandcamp
• john lord
• memento mori
• neotribalism

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Are you ready for Ready? Plastic Section keeps it real

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By The Barman

The Barman

11 March 2023

Hits: 1980

Ready! – Plastic Section (Outtaspace)

Self-consciously retro rock and roll bands can be a real problem. There are ones that overplay their hand and fall back on gimmicks. They almost always have a name with “Thee” appended to the front. And then there are those that apply their three chords with genuine regard for where the music emanated.

Plastic Section is part of a loose Melbourne aggregation of bands in the latter category; their peers are The Breadmakers, The Vibrajets and The Cha Cha Chas. Each faithfully plunders the past while applying their own take.

• garage
• plastic section
• outtspace records

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