Underground Lovers – Ascending for Now

Having been on the receiving end of widespread dancefloor hugging and acclaim for each of their last few albums, Underground Lovers’ lead singer Vince Giarrusso tells ADAM CONNORS how they pulled out of the record company apparatus for their new album to keep their sound as pure as their swirling, sweeping sounds.

The Spinanes’ Rebecca Gates

Warm, generous in mirth, ensconced in simple riffery … Rebecca Gates, the once fanzine editor, record store clerk and college radio gun from Portland, Oregon, is certainly ‘chuffed’ about the peculiar rise of her now-jetsetting outfit, The Spinanes. “Chuffed? Yeah, chuffed is a great word for what has happened!”

Dead Can Dance, Capturing the Spiritchaser

Interview with Lisa Gerrard I was dressed in pyjamas when I first confronted Dead Can Dance – the imagescape of 1993’s Baraka was flowing over me with The Host of Seraphim, from Dead Can Dance’s 1988 tome, The Serpent’s Egg, invading my soul. The theatre was full, but I think I had been standing throughout … Continue reading “Dead Can Dance, Capturing the Spiritchaser”

Jebediah; Bluebottle Kiss; Something For Kate, Shenton Park Hotel, September 14, 1996

The “Unipalosers” may have only played to about twelve people in Canberra, home of our national treasures but little more besides, so finding a wealth of punters at the Shenton Park Hotel could have been quite a surprise for the tired gaggle of Murmur stablemates. And “yip”, they burped, for this was the last gig … Continue reading “Jebediah; Bluebottle Kiss; Something For Kate, Shenton Park Hotel, September 14, 1996”

Tyranny of Distance? Save your Pity For Yourselves

Article for The Australian – Western Australia feature (Sept, 1996): WA music industry It was during a small, suburban park cricket match in late 1995 that many of us finally realised that Western Australia’s largely unheralded music ‘renaissance’ had finally broken through. Halfway through the Treadmill Eleven’s dashing batting effort on a slow but true … Continue reading “Tyranny of Distance? Save your Pity For Yourselves”

Weathervane; Burnside, Rosemount Hotel, August 17, 1996

It was only a few weeks earlier, when Flashing Tablet broke the sound barrier at a party in the Rosemount, that I realised what a great room it could become. Being just down the road from Perth’s gig and indie club epicentre at Planet and encapsulating all the goodness of the olde pub environment, sweet … Continue reading “Weathervane; Burnside, Rosemount Hotel, August 17, 1996”

Eos, Swanbourne Hotel, August 9, 1996

When a local band puts in the effort, it’s quite amazing how their organisational energies, lighting rig and fervent sticker distribution can turn a beer barn shindig into a sweltering mass of pogoing punters. Allow the band a little more room to act like rock stars – as in keeping the audience waiting in near … Continue reading “Eos, Swanbourne Hotel, August 9, 1996”

The NAD Campus Band WA State Final, Planet, August 7, 1996

A dash of guitar grunt, a sprinkle of exquisite harmony, a few deft lines of lolling bass, all topped with some hit-squad homey humour … this year’s campus band competition ran the full gauntlet. And after experiencing simply a smidgin of the WA contingient, I’ll wager a barrel of pickled fish on each and all … Continue reading “The NAD Campus Band WA State Final, Planet, August 7, 1996”