Mach Pelican to release first new song in 20 years
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 253
Legendary Japanese–Australian punk trio Mach Pelican are returning with their first new release in nearly two decades in January. Local label Cheersquad is releasing a vinyl single, “Remember It?” b/w “Summer Sun”.
Recorded by Paul Maybury (Rocket Science) at the renowned Secret Location Sound Recorders in Melbourne, the tracks are said to capture everything fans love about Mach Pelican: high-speed energy, pop-soaked melodies, and those unmistakably catchy hooks.
The single will be released on January 30 in three limited vinyl variants — translucent red, translucent blue and classic black — in runs of 100 copies each, plus a worldwide digital release.
Pre-orders are open here.
Mach Pelican have been gigging, mostly in and around Melbourne, and will host a single launch party on Saturday, January 31 at The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar in their adopted home city, Special guests will be Loose Lips and Elvis II.
Swiss garage-punk royalty The Jackets announce Aussie shows
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 312
Swiss psych-garage punk trio The Jackets are finally bringing their long-awaited Australian tour to life in February and March..
Hailing from Bern, Switzerland, The Jackets are known for their ferocious blend of fuzz-soaked garage rock, raw punk energy and warped psychedelia. Frontwoman Jackie Brutsche commands the stage with a fearless, high-voltage live performance, while the band’s no-frills approach has earned them cult status across Europe, the UK, Japan and the USA
The Jackets have released five full-length albums and three vinyl singles, collaborating with labels such as Voodoo Rhythm Records (Switzerland), Chaputa! Records (Portugal), and Soundflat Records (Germany). Along the way, they’ve worked with influential musicians and producers like Reverend Beat-Man (The Monsters), King Khan (The Shrines/KK & BBQ), and Jim Diamond (White Stripes/Dirtbombs).
Genre-defying all-girl band TsuShiMaMiRe are heading to Oz
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 443
Another Japanese rock band is landing in Australia. This time it’s TsuShiMaMiRe making their Down Under debut, hitting Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney in February.
Known worldwide for their explosive live performances, razor-sharp musicianship and fearless genre-blending sound, TsuShiMaMiRe have spent more than two decades carving out a fiercely loyal cult following across Japan, North America and Europe.
2025 Top Tens: Sean The Bastard from Wollongong's The Owen Guns
- Details
- By Sean The Bastard
- Hits: 675
In no particular order heres my Top Ten highlights of 2025
Hard-Ons
There’s just no stopping the Hard-Ons. I was fortunate enough to play three gigs in three days with them recently and they just don’t stop. A band who’s been around this long could be excused for dialing it in from time to time but they never do. They’re still putting out music of a consistently high standard (their collab with Jerry A recently being up with their best) and their live shows never disappoint. And they still manage to be top blokes.
Chow down on "Service Station Chicken" and taste the Aussie pub difference
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 917
Service Station Chicken - Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes (Stanley Records)
Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes make country music for people who don’t like country music. That’s a truism, not a slur.
The point is that the players’ background in underground Oz rock and roll, circa late 1980s rolling into the ‘90s, is apparent in their playing. You play enough sticky carpet dives where patrons demand to be impressed and you become a harder player. At least that's how it was before streaming. These Roadside Ashes have a work ethic honed over some years.
Chris Masuak talks about a 2026 return to Australia
- Details
- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 400
Spain-based, Canadian-born, Australian-raised guitar legend Chris Masuak (Radio Birdman, The Hitmen, Screaming Tribesmen, New Christs) was going to be promoting his new album “Chris Masuak’s Dog Soldier” with a tour Down Under in November, but a recurring illness required an emergency operation.
What illness? It's referred to in Chris' book, “Faith and Practice in Bedlam” (High Voltage Publishing – edited by this writer). I'm not going to explain it: find the reference and read up. Fucking horrible, is all I'm gonna say. Makes me squirm to even think of having an operation there.
Anyway. I listened to the album, thought it was damn good, and fired off some questions to Chris.
Sacred Cowboys announce new album "In The Manifesto"
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 330
Now comprising co-founders Garry Gray and Mark Ferrie with Timothy Deane, Anthony Paine and Damian Fitzgerald, they will launch the album at the Tote in Melbourne on February 14. Supports are Roller One and DJ Mike Mulholland. Dress code is Valentines Day" “funky but chic”.
Garry Gray says of the singte: "Our heroes are cosmic circus escapees shunted through time and space from the dead desert sands of 1980s Texas and dispatched into the gritty city scape of an alien world – or are they just returning home to a dystopian future?"
‘In the Manifesto’ was mastered by Mikey Young, who worked on the last six Mark Lanegan records and plays in Eddie Current Suppression Ring. All new songs are written by Garry and the band. "In the Manifesto" is said to be "a complex, atmospheric soundtrack with Gray’s uber cool delivery over sometimes sparse, sometimes weaving guitars and rich harmonies. Think a Sonic Youth ethos and grinding the gears in the engine room of the Cosmos Factory".
Dom's new country-inflected gem has pop at its core
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 569
Apple of Life - Dom Mariani (Alive Naturalsound)
From the tumbling drums and Spector-lite touches of opener “Breakaway” to the keening country pop of single “Jangleland”, this album is classic Dom Mariani.
In a long career spanning The Stems, Majestic Kelp, the Someloves, Datura 4 and DM3, the man has never stumbled. “Apple of Life” adds another sparkling gem to the back catalogue.
Mariani’s travels have taken myriad twists and turns but strong songwriting has always been the axis on which his journey turns. So it is with “Apple of Life”, which mines the usual seams of powerpop and rock but this time adding strong country touches. Glimpses of ‘70s pop and New Wave peek through and gives the record its own distinctive edge.
Ex-Trash Brat Brian McCarty's soulful letter from the Motor City
- Details
- By JD Monroe
- Hits: 554
Faith & Fumes – Brian McCarty (Electric Lab Recordings)
So there I was at some Indiana Sunday night punk rock juice bar, circa ‘87-ish, half blinded by strobe lights and taking liberal pulls from my handy flask. I was probably wearing some kinda gloomy trench coat, a NY Dolls T-shirt from High Street in Columbus (either from Mothra or Magnolia Thunderpussy), ripped jeans with band logos sharpied on them, combat boots, lots of hair spray and bad Cure kid makeup.
I'd just gotten outta juvie, where they'd stuck me in solitary for a month, for lippin' off to the kind of creep who thought that juvenile corrections seemed like a worthy calling, and that month alone made me even weirder and more stubbornly determined to escape the never ending abuse and behavior modification bootcamping of those plantation states.
The band on stage were doing some kinda crazy, confetti colored, frenzied clash between Hanoi Rocks and the NY Dolls with bubble gummy Ramones choruses and atomic energy. The songs I think I remember from back then were about defending free speech, freedom of the press, choosing one's own preferred lifestyle, and fighting the P.M.R.C. and Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority ("Smut") and struggling to find a redemptive romance while being stuck working low wage blue collar jobs ("Gasboy"). I think they were already playing "Downtown Nowhere" that night, too, which became a big favorite among our small group of peers. Always adored, "You Threw Me Away", as well. I could instantly relate to everything they were doing.
- 2025 Top Tens: Mark Roxburgh of Joeys Coop, The Decline of The Reptiles and ME-262
- 2025 Top Tens: Ursula Collie Medew of The Mick Medew and Ursula 4 from Brisbane
- Woolworths Flu Shot is just what the doctor ordered for you jaded Boomers
- The Beasts' "Black Milk" show is a Sydney triumph
- 2025 Top Tens: Colin Gray of Vicious Kitten Records
- 2025 Top Tens: Simon Vines of The Strike-Outs
Page 1 of 303
Gig Ads
The Living Eye
TsuShiMaMiRe (JP)
Australian Tour
FEB
19 - Shotkickers, Melbourne, VIC
20 – Trash Cult, Bendigo, VIC
22– Young St Tavern, Frankston, VIC
27 - Shadows, Canberra, ACT
28 – Moshpit, Sydney, NSW
The Jackets (CH)
Australian Tour
FEB
25 – Shotkickers, Thornbury, VIC
26 - Vineyard, St Kilda, VIC
27 – Marrickville Bowlo, Sydney, NSW
28 - The Bendi, Collingwood, VIC
MAR
1 -– Trash Cult, Bendigo, VIC
2 – The Last Chance, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets
Cosmic Psychos
"I Really Like Beer Tour"
JAN
1 — Edge Hill Tavern, Cairns, QLD
2 — Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville, QLD
3 — Magnums, Airlie Beach, QLD
4 — Metropolitan Hotel, Mackay, QLD
7 — Harvey Road Tavern, Gladstone, QLD
8 — Grand Hotel, Childers, QLD
9 — Mo’s Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast, QLD
10 — Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga, NSW
11 — Bellingen Brewery, Bellingen, NSW
14 — Moonshiners Honky Tonk Bar, Tamworth, NSW
15 — Finnian's Tavern, Port Macquarie, NSW
16 — Avalon RSL, Avalon, NSW
17 — The Marlin, Ulladulla, NSW
18 — Beer Deluxe, Albury NSW
22 — Tanswells Hotel, Beechworth, VIC
23 — Sooki Lounge, Belgrave, VIC
24 — Westonport Hotel, San Remo, VIC
25 — Social Club, Balnarring, VIC
26 — Volta, Ballarat, VIC
29 — Whalers Hotel, Warrnambool, VIC
30 — Torquay Hotel, Torquay, VIC
31 — Riverview Hotel, Tarwin Lower, VIC
FEB
12 — Royal Oak, Launceston, TAS
13 — Forth Pub, Devonport, TAS
14 — Altar, Hobart, TAS
Send us stuff to review
PO Box 334
Oatley NSW
2223 Australia
Get in touch: barman@i94bar.com
Fresh Reviews
-
Chow down on "Service Station Chicken" and taste the Aussie pub difference
21 December 2025
-
Dom's new country-inflected gem has pop at its core
20 December 2025
-
Ex-Trash Brat Brian McCarty's soulful letter from the Motor City
18 December 2025
-
Woolworths Flu Shot is just what the doctor ordered for you jaded Boomers
16 December 2025
-
Do you like FÄHM? Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do
06 December 2025