It's rare that you find a disc with which you can't find even insubstantial fault. The Dictators, live and amped-up, are simply one of the best things on this musical planet. If you had to come up with something to balance the lavish praise we and fellow Tators fan-atics are spouting about this, it might be that the contemporary tunes on "Viva" manage to sound exactly like their studio cousins. And that's supposed to be a bad thing?
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 5767
Okay. True story; this. I’m in Red Eye Records, Sydney, cruising the racks. Trying to find that new audio kick. I chance upon this item. Surely, I have every damn thing the Dictators ever released. What is this thing? A cursory glance at the back cover says it came out in 2008. I reach for my mobile phone and jump to the I-94 Bar for the good word and there isn’t one to be had. There is no frigging review. Clearly, I had better rectify this situation.
- Details
- By Bob Short
- Hits: 6239
The more I hear of Keith Urban and Kasey Chambers, the more it's apparent that they have nothing to do with what anyone should consider to be country music. They arei hospital strength disinfectant-treated confections, aberrations so far removed from the original form so as to be irrelevant. Their records are turds polished within an inch of their sorry lives for moronic masses wearing shit-eating grins. A snob's view? People like Dave Favours come along and you know your opinion counts.
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 5045
Fucking brilliant. Primitive. Slightly awkward. Like bad early Nirvana, but with decent lyrics. Ugly, nasty stuff. But brilliant. Brave - particularly since this is an EP and no-one in Australia is buying fucking them now. So who are these idiots?
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 6108
If I was Karen O, I’d worry about my Australian label publicist. An e-mail went around with a YouTube link to the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ single in a media release which basically told you there was a new album coming out and - most bizzarely - if you wanted to review it, you could listen to it streaming on national youth network Triple J's website.
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 4159
Although the singer in the more famous band's favourite tipple doesn't extend much further than a glass of fine wine these days, there's something irresistible about the line describing Melbourne six-piece Mesa Cosa as "the Stooges walking into a tequila bar". Revelling in a critic's assessment that you're very good at losing your shit, sonically speaking, is one thing but on "Infernal Cakewalk" Mesa Cosa do a good job of proving the tag right.
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 5395
Gothenburg isn't snowed-in for 11 months of the year but I have it on good authority that it gets pretty grey and grim for long chunks of time. It's a nice place but it's no Costa Rica, meteorologically speaking. Plus, beer is expensive. So what can a poor boy do but play in a (punk) rock and roll band? Apa State Mental obviously subscribe to that view - and play their music with enough energy to melt a medium-sized glacier.
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 5144
The genius of this Malmo, Sweden, band is in their artfully sly dumbness. They might want you to think they have the collective I.Q. of a Miss Universe entrant dealing with 'open other end' on both extremities of a bottle, but their brief and weirdly bent tunes (average duration: under two minutes) hide knowing smiles that only strong anti-depressants and regular cognitive therapy from highly-trained medical professionals can bring.
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 4229
Let's be blunt: The problem with being simplistic and sticking to a formula is that you can disappear up your own arse after a while. Sweden's Apa State Mental know this only too well and deftly manage to sidestep that problem by never sitting still and, er, probing new areas.
- Details
- By The Barman
- Hits: 5059
More Articles …
Subcategories
Behind the fridge
Artifacts and reviews from days gone by.
Page 125 of 178
Gig Ads
The Living Eye
The Stems
Australian East Coast Tour
*with special guests, Rinehearts
APR
23 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC*
24 – Crowbar Sydney, NSW*
25 – Gum Ball Festival, Hunter Valley, NSW
26 – Old Museum, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets
I-94 Bar Records and Promotions presents
The Johnnys
"Live in Lyon" CD launches
MAY
+ Van Ruin
Old Manly Boatshed, NSW
-24
Tickets
+ Van Ruin
+ Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes
+ Australian Beefweek
(public bar)
Sydney Crowbar, Leichhardt, NSW
- 25 (5pm)
Tickets
+ Murray’s Bay Country Club
+ Traumaboys
St Kilda Bowls Club, VIC
- 30
Tickets
+ Penny Ikinger’s Marbles
+ The Vibrajets
- 31 The Tote, VIC
Tickets
Nursery Crimes
+ The Herbal Lunatics
+ fun again!
+ The Darrans
+ Bugg Music
Marrickville Bowling Club
- Apr 26
Tickets
I-94 Bar Records and Promotions presents
“May Mayhem”
The Jane Does
+ Jupiter 5
+ Moot
+ The Strike-Outs
(playing order TBD on the night)
Marrickville Bowling Club
- May 3
Tickets
Missing Link # 5
The Bluebottles
+ The Wraylettes
+ Honk
+ The Missing Link Band
Shotkickers, Thornbury, VIC
- May 3
Mike Rudd + Tim Gaze
MAY
2 - The Citadel, Murwillumbah, NSW
Tickets
3 - The Junk Bar, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets
4 - Banshees Bar, Ipswich, QLD
Tickets
The Mick Medew & Ursula 4
w/ Painters & Dockers
+ Sunny Coast Rude Boys
The Triffid, Brisbane
- May 24
The Blowers
MAY
AUS
9 - Adelaide - Grace Emily Hotel
w/ HAGO +
Juliette Seizure & The Tremor-Dolls
10 - Adelaide - TBC
w/ Street Legal
+ TGRX
EU
21 - GER – Leipzig, Zwille, Germany
22 - GER – Dortmund, Maschinerie, Germany
23 - BE – Liège, La Zone, Belgium
24 - NL – Den Haag, Sniester Festival, Netherlands
25 - BE – Menen, Boegie Woegie, Belgium
27 - GER – Karlsruhe, Alte Hackerei, Germany
28 - CH – Basel, Quarterdeck, Switzeland
29 - GER – Köln, Bumann & Sohn, Germany
30 - GER – Hamburg, Hafenklang, Germany
31 - GER – Berlin, Loge, Germany
JUN
AUS
20 - Shotkickers, Melb
21 - Trash Cult, Bendigo
09 - Grace Emily, Adelaide
10 - The Cumby, Port Adellaide
The Cruel Sea
"Straight Into The Sun Tour"
MAY
1 - Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide SA
2 - Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne VIC
3 - Canberra Theatre, Canberra
16 - Anita’s Theatre, Wollongong NSW
18 - The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley QLD
31 - City Recital Hall, Sydney NSW
JUN
5 - The Regal Theatre, Perth WA
7 - Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Mandurah WA.
Tickets
Cherie Currie
Australian Tour
with Hot Machine
SEP
5 - Rosemount, Perth
6 - Crown and Anchor, Adelaide
11 - The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
12 – Sydney Crowbar
13 – Brisbane Crowbar
Tickets
Dead Kennedys
Australia and NZ
SEP
16 - Auckland, Powerstation
17 - Wellington, Meow Nui
19 – Melbourne, Northcote Theatre
20 - Brisbane, Tivoli
24 - Perth, Astor Theatre
26 - Adelaide, The Gov
27 - Sydney, Metro Theatre
Tickets
Send us stuff to review
PO Box 334
Oatley NSW
2223 Australia
Get in touch: barman@i94bar.com
Fresh Reviews
-
Post-punk revelation: The Institutionalist is Real (Ernie) O Mind
27 April 2025
-
Killer collection does justice to the Motor City's heyday
21 April 2025
-
Buckle up and enjoy the ride with Broham
20 April 2025
-
Mazinga brings a dose of cosmic cool with their comeback record
18 April 2025
-
Where have all the good times gone? Peter Simpson's album answers the question
05 April 2025