Apr 19, 2022 By Celine Teo-Blockey Web Exclusive

When COVID-19 took hold in 2020, the work of Albert Camus took on special meaning for Jake Webb—frontman and songwriter for Perth, Australia-based band, Methyl Ethel. At the time he happened to be reading the French philosopher and novelist’s most famed work, The Plague. “Come to terms with death. Thereafter, anything is possible,” wrote Camus, whose essays, plays and novels rooted largely in Existential and Absurdist modes of thought, often explored the right and wrong ways to live. More

Apr 18, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Web Exclusive

Two years ago, indie rock singer/songwriter Oceanator (aka Elise Okusami) found herself predicting the end of the world. On her debut, Things I Never Said, her grunge ’90s alt rock inspirations became the site of cracks in the world and towering apocalypses, a perfect encapsulation of the prevailing feelings of the year 2020. Unfortunately, it is two years later and the world feels no less volatile and disaster often feels just as imminent. Perhaps, then, it shouldn’t come as a surprise how closely Okusami hews to these themes in her latest effort, Nothing’s Ever Fine. More

Apr 15, 2022 By Celine Teo-Blockey Issue #69 - 20th Anniversary Issue

Given the benefit of hindsight, Courtney Barnett can now see how guarded she was when she wrote her last solo album, 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel. Against a backdrop of cultural strife at home (the vote on same-sex marriage saw a rise in violence and hate speech) and overseas (peak Trump years), plus the ever encroaching tentacles of social media’s uglier side, Barnett seemed to lash out. More

Apr 14, 2022 By Mark Moody Web Exclusive

On the eve of releasing his eighth solo studio album, (watch my moves), Kurt Vile has certainly established himself as a solo artist of renown. Following a short stint with The War on Drugs and a handful of early albums, Vile released five solo albums and a collaboration with Courtney Barnett (Lotta Sea Lice) on venerable indie label Matador. As he shares below, Vile jumped to Verve recently due to the label’s iconic reputation and the lure of a legendary list of artists that preceded him there. Clearly, creating room for Vile to release his longest album to date evidenced the label’s comfort in bringing him on board. More

Apr 07, 2022 By Jasper Willems Web Exclusive

Orville Peck’s Pony explored queerdom in country music in a fashion that inspired many to highlight the genre’s silenced chapters and marginalized voices. The masked wonder himself is also a walking paradox: his frilled guise actually allows him to sing songs as his truest, most candid self. Now signed to Sony Music, Peck’s three-chapter followup Bronco gives him means to carry out his artistic vision without restraint. More

Mar 31, 2022 By Nicholas Russell Web Exclusive

There are bands that, once you find your way into the music, feel like rabbit holes to tumble down. Artistry, technical proficiency, lyrical and/or sonic innovation, happenstance, and talent that meshes to form the alchemical elements of myth, or a well-trod cliche. When talking about Destroyer, a few words and phrases tend to pop up. “Confusing,” “nonsensical,” “cryptic,” or my favorite, “a bit of gibberish.” More

Mar 30, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Web Exclusive

PUP are ready to sell out. Or, perhaps more accurately, they’re acutely aware that they’ve already sold out and are making no secret of it. While the idea of making money off of your music is not as controversial in DIY scenes as it was in the ’90s, for many bands there still is a cultivated distance between the band’s music and the band as a business. After all, nobody wants to think of their art as a product. More

Mar 29, 2022 By Mark Redfern and Joey Arnone Issue #69 - 20th Anniversary Issue

My Firsts is our email interview series where we ask musicians to tell us about their first life experiences, be it early childhood ones (first word, first concert, etc.) or their first tastes of being a musician (first band, first tour, etc.). For this My Firsts we talk to Kevin Whelan of Aeon Station (and formerly of The Wrens). More

Mar 28, 2022 By Ben Jardine Issue #69 - 20th Anniversary Issue

The underlying thread of Parquet Courts’ latest studio album, Sympathy for Life, is a sense of unfettered community, of collaboration with those around you. “Sympathy for Life is about caring for your community,” says guitarist and co-vocalist, Austin Brown. “It’s about fostering a loving connection with this community and using that as a way to bring influence and to fight oppressive aspects of our society.” More