New music from Masuak and Los Revelators: "Dotted Line"

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By The Barman

The Barman

22 September 2025

Hits: 2182

As preparations wind up for his first Australian shows in a couple of years and the release of his new album "Chris Masuak's Dog Soldier" imminent on our own I-94 Bar Records label, ex-Radio Birdman guitarist Chris Klondike Masuak is busy with his Spanish band Los Revelators. This is their newest song, "Dotted Line", with the filmclip shot in the wilds of Galicia. 

• i-94 bar records
• chris masuak
• dog soldier
• los revelators
• dotted line

Veterans bring some magic on "Trauma Magnet"

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By Ed Garland & The Barman

Ed Garland & The Barman

07 September 2025

Hits: 9139

Trauma Magnet – Van Ruin (Crankinhaus Records)

It has been an explosive 12 months for Van Ruin, a band formed in Sydney only a year ago that almost immediately began recording their first mini album. Band leader Phil Van Rooyen had a batch of deeply personal songs he had written about his years of counselling substance abuse in the underbelly of the city's Northern Beaches.

Phil threw himself into a flurry of  writing and recording, working with his decades-long mate and Al Creed, of local legendary bands like Dr Fruitworld and Panadolls, as well as the New Christs.

Enter Stuart Wilson (Lime Spiders, New Christs, Chris Masuak’s Dog Soldier and The Crisps) on drums. There were a couple of the raggedy, under-rehearsed gigs that were hanging by a thread at times, and as thrilling as they were they did not capture the brutal darkness and brilliance of what would the debut EP,  “Jails, Death and Institutions”.

• new christs
• the visitors
• stuart wilson
• crankinhaus records
• big al creed
• van ruin
• phil van rooyen
• trauma magnet

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Pillbox's letter from Nowhereland

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By The Barman

The Barman

18 September 2025

Hits: 5236

Calling From Nowhere Land: Live in Vancouver 1994 – Pillbox (Vicious Kitten)

Pillbox wasn’t a household name in the 1990s – unless you lived in what was left of New York City’s Lower East Side tenements and had a big jones for swaggering sleaze rock.

The band’s solitary long-player, “Jimbo’s Clown Room”, came out on CD way back in ’93 and despite being re-released on vinyl, their output remains so far from the mainstream of modern popular music to qualify Pillbox for lifetime outsider status. Just like you.

• new york city
• vicious kitten
• mr ratboy
• pillbox
• jimbo's clown room
• joe rizzo
• motorcycle boy
• Calling From Nowhere Land

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Cosmic Psychos Really LIke Beer. Tell us something we don't already know

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By The Barman

The Barman

10 September 2025

Hits: 5892

_{Knighty and Mad Macka: They Really Like Beer.}

Australia’s favourite beer-fuelled legends Cosmic Psychos are back with their twelfth studio album “I Really Like Beer” on Friday November 7, and they’re hitting the road the very same day. No mucking around. Tickets for all shows are on sale now via cosmicpsychos.com.au

Recorded to tape with Paul Maybury at Secret Location Studios between Knighty's vineyard duties and Country Fire  callouts, the new record is classic Psychos. As raw, loud and gloriously dumb as ever - with the occasional life lesson hidden under a pile of riffs. 

The first sip comes in the form of "I Like Beer", a touching love letter from Ross to his true love. This one comes to life with an absolutely bonkers video (we’d expect nothing less).  You can watch it after the fold. 

• cosmic psychos
• australian tour
• i really like beer

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Happy landing for world-class East Coast Low on their new album

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By The Barman

The Barman

08 September 2025

Hits: 8046

Badlanding – East Coast Low (Crankinhaus Records)

It’s been a decade since they formed and four years since East Coast Low hit their straps on the “Seas on Fire” album, and “Badlanding” shows a band that’s even more self-assured and in control. 

Is it coincidence that some of the best Australian albums of the last few years have come from satellite cities of Sydney? “Badlanding” proves that East Coast Low are as good as anything to have emerged from the grit-flecked city of Newcastle in the last 30 years.

“Badlanding” rocks hard but has an unmistakable swagger. With Rob Younger at the production helm, its varied collection of songs sounds powerful and coherent and there’s an array of sonic exclamation points apparent. Rick O’Neill’s mastering widens the soundscape nicely with no loss of edge.

• crankinhaus records
• east coast low
• badlanding

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Phoenix rising at Lazy Thinking and guess who's the Belle of the ball

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By Ed Garland

Ed Garland

07 September 2025

Hits: 6906

Belle Phoenix with Jeffery Wegener and Ken Gormly
+ Fabels
Thursday, 4 September 2025
Lazy Thinking, Dulwich Hill, NSW

WORDS: Ed Garland
PICTURES: Keith Claringbold

With her elfin appearance and cat’s eyes, Belle Phoenix, is part musical performer and part Factory girl, and surely would fitted into Andy Warhol’s Bohemian scene of 1966. Her sweet vocal has held her in good stead as a backing singer on other people’s albums, but she’s steadily built an impressive body of work with her own material.

Belle Phoenix’s music would work as a soundtracks to European movies (indeed, she did live in Europe for a time with Finland a home base.) It has hints of the spoken word spirit that pervaded the San Francisco of 1958 when alcohol-fuelled beat poetry nights were all the rage, long before anyone had an inkling of the Summer of Love that was lay ahead.  Yet, Belle can also sing like the angels and produce pure soprano bliss amidst her swamp darkness.

• ken gormly
• belle phoenix
• fabels
• lazy thinking
• jeffrey wegener

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The Fadeaways return for lightning five-day Australia and New Zealand tour

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By The Barman

The Barman

05 September 2025

Hits: 8911

Tokyo’s wildest garage punk trio, The Fadeaways, are returning to Australia this November - and are heading to New Zealand for the first time.

It’s six shows in five days covering both countries by The Fadeaways who are marking their 20^th anniversary.

The band had a scare recently when guitarist Assman was invovled in a work accident that resulted in a broken ankle but he will be fighting fit for the tour.

Supports are to be announced but all gigs are expected to sell-out based on the reaction to The Fadeaways’ last Australian visit in 2024.

The Fadeaways
Australia and New Zealand
NOV
13 – Marrickville Bowlo, Sydney
14 - PFR Lounge, Brisbane
15 – River Rocks Festival, Geelong (5pm)
      - Half Baked Festival, The Gem Bar, Melbourne (10pm)
16 - Space Academy, Christchuirch, NZ
17 – Whammy Bar, Auckland, NZ
Australian tickets
NZ tickets

Four against the world: 20 years of RUST

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By Ed Garland

Ed Garland

01 September 2025

Hits: 10552

 Garry Campbell in full flight. 

WORDS: Ed Garland
PHOTOS: Jules

I am the first to admit I got it wrong about Sydney band RUST.  

You these hear stupid comments around the scene (by those who claim to be “in the know“) that RUST is a right-wing Oi band.  As time’s gone on, the penny has slowly dropped.

First,  I watched the band put in a blistering set at The Metro in Sydney support of Stiff Little Fingers and they impressed me .

A couple of years later, pre-Covid, I caught them at Time and Tide in Dee Why in one wild punk night. They struck me as a solid Oi cross-over punk band, but maybe but not my thing.  

• sydney
• lobby loyde
• midnight oil
• the ozskas
• the clash
• northern beaches
• rust
• Garry Campbell
• wings and tins
• rebellion

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Can't control youself? Grab this classic re-issue

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By The Barman

The Barman

31 August 2025

Hits: 6762

Legendary Australian drummer James Baker is gone but won’t be forgotten. The debut single by the co-founder of The Victims, The Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon and Dubrovniks is being posthumously honoured by a re-issue of his debut single. 

Cheersquad Records & Tapes is re-pressing the James Baker Experience’s  "I Can't Control Myself" b/w "Born To Be Punched" 45 in all its shambolic glory on its 40th anniversary.

It features a pounding cover of The Troggs' "I Can't Control Myself" because James was the world's biggest Troggs fan, and would occasionally venture out from behind his drums (handing his sticks to Brad Shepherd) to sing it for an encore in his Hoodoo Gurus days.

The B side is the New York Dolls-inspired original "Born To Be Punched" which was recorded not long after James and the Gurus parted ways. It features a young Tex Perkins on bass and James' mate from the Scientists and later the Dubrovniks, Rod Radalj, as well as Tex's mate Stu Spasm on guitars.

The first ever release on Red Eye Records, it features brilliant cover art from label founder John Foy. Cheersquad's edition will be released on October 7 in five coloured variants - 100 of copies of each – and you can find the full details and place a pre-order here.

• james baker
• cheersquad records
• john foy
• redeye
• i can't control myself