
Circle Just Keep Swimming
Sydney band Circle have just released their debut album Just Keep Swimming and boy does it make me smile. It’s an album that works hard to take your mind elsewhere — and succeeds. Driven by piano, the album is a layered sing-a-long pop fiesta with a good dose of guitar stroking, hand clapping shout-out-loud anthems. It will remind you of Ben Folds, Ben Lee and the Beatles, all in one song, and then in the next, Tim Freedman and your family gatherings. It’s definitely an album for those lazy Saturday afternoons. Look out for their song The Chicken and the Troll.
Tagged: , Sydney, Sydney bands
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My music reading has been inundated with Pitchfork, Stereogum and others’ Top 100 songs of the Year lists lately. Which got me thinking: there should be a Top 100 Unsigned Song List for 2009. If such a thing existed then unsigned Sydney indie band Bearhug would be included on my list. These melodious music-makers sound just as great live as they do when recording in the studio. You can download their Cartoon Islands demo EP for free. And check out their song Candy Avalanche below.
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The Presets are a Sydney-based electronic duo, consisting of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. In September 2005 they released their debut album, Beams, to positive critical response. That same year Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes also toured with The Dissociatives, which is co-fronted by Daniel Johns of Silverchair and Australian dance producer Paul Mac. Johns also played guitar on Presets single Cookie. Hamilton and Moyes are also members of Sydney instrumental group Prop.
Listen to The Presets song, My People.
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Having called it a day back in 2001 and with no back catalogue available anymore, this fine underrated Aussie band is very quickly being forgotten about and it is high time something is done to fix that. How can we live in a world that can stock Peter Andre albums and nothing from Skunkhour?
Also by KATE SUTERS

Bespoke fashion handmade to suit your actual shape
Sydney-based designer, illustrator, and artist, Lalita Lu, has many creative feathers pinned to her cap, and now, we can officially add kick-arse seamstress, too. Under the guidance of a menagerie of creatures, shoppers can choose a me and oli print, match it with their favourite garment shape, punch in their size specs then hit send. Bespoke designs handmade to suit your actual shape. This is how shopping should be. Read more

From the dusty depths of Western Australia comes the making of another great Aussie band. Tame Impala have just released their self-titled EP and it’s already seducing ears across the airwaves. With a psychedelic sound akin to the rollicking groove of Led Zeppelin mixed up and delicately caressed with the sound of modern day hope and desire, this is an EP that absolutely deserves your attention.
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David Holmes’ The Holy Pictures
David Holmes’ fourth solo album has been a long time in the making. The man who is best known for his scoring of films such as Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13, and remixing for bands like U2 and The Manic Street Preachers, took just over ten years to make his latest album. Read more
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Artist/illustrator Payton Turner does amazing hand-drawn wallpaper as well as this amazing installation he did with Brian Kaspr where he used thousands of stickers to create a wallpaper pattern. Read more
People tend to think we illustrators carry around our sketchbooks everywhere. A confession: I don’t. That is one of the reason why I love looking at other illustrator’s sketchbooks. Virginia-based Tin Salamunic’s sketchbook tells me a bit about an everyday life in Richmond. And his obsession for cars. Read more
Welcome to the street where originality lives: the adidas Originals neighborhood. This is where athletes, musicians, skaters, artists, entertainers and more all come together to show their colors, their style and their originality. Join Snoop Dogg, Agnes Deyn, Jeremy Scott and more at the adidas Originals street party to end all street parties. Celebrate Originality.
Here’s a sweet, angular house that simultaneously stands out and blends in with the old neighborhood in Tokyo where it is located. It’s designed by Jun Igarashi Architects, and was commissioned for a two-generation family as their private home. Read more
Karol Grygoruk, acting as the Pepper Pirate, takes pictures of hipsters and strangers amidst the coolest spots in Warszawa. He catches the dark side of the city and the colorful people who sin there. Read more
I’ve just come across the music of Minneapolis band Cloud Cult, and their song Chemicals Collide in particular. Their sound is a mix of scratchy acoustic guitar riffs mixed in with staccato beats and airy harmonies, all infused with a beautiful sense of lyrical melancholy. Read more
Sydney-based designer, illustrator, and artist, Lalita Lu, has many creative feathers pinned to her cap, and now, we can officially add kick-arse seamstress, too. Under the guidance of a menagerie of creatures, shoppers can choose a me and oli print, match it with their favourite garment shape, punch in their size specs then hit send. Bespoke designs handmade to suit your actual shape. This is how shopping should be. Read more
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It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more

A little infectious lollipop rock anyone? Feel free to embarrass yourself singing along at the stoplight. If the other drivers give you that look, roll down the windows and spread the love.
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Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more

Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.

Mathematics? Leave me out. Fashematics? Now you’re talking! This gem of a site is a runway equation that adds up to a whole lot of wonderful.
On this Virgin Mary HaloTech watch, the dial is a modern version of the nineteenth century art form of lithophanes, carved porcelain sheets that, when lit, deliver astoundingly detailed images. When the pusher is activated, the dial springs to life in 3D. The watch features a light-up dial, LED light, and afterglo effect. Read more
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Bob Log said | 4 June, 2008
This is the best album I have ever heard! Amazing.