Are The Drones the best live band in the world?

The Supporters

Some bands never get the respect nor the notoriety they deserve. Last year, The Supporters released a full-length album and, very quietly, it collected a swag of rave reviews. Then whenever they played gigs, they blew away whoever had the good sense to show up. Today they still play criminally small venues, and they are still totally under-appreciated. If fast, uncompromising Aussie rock is your thing, The Supporters are your band. It doesn’t come any grittier and satisfying than this.

Fiasco Burning

Australian rock band, Fiasco Burning, play melodic, soulful music infused with off beat lyrical hooks and bursting with singalong choruses. Their debut album, Place, is a feisty, summery sound, described by their engineer as ‘chocolate rock’. We checked in with drummer Anthony Brookman and asked him what the hell that refers to: ‘It’s flavoursome, smooth, fruity, occasionally funky and occasionally sexy. At the end of the day, it rocks, but its not one-dimensional; it has colour and groove. The term evolved from a moment we were all listening to a particular take of a song, and Russ, the engineer, said, “Aah, there it is, there’s the sexual chocolate”. We all cracked up. It kinda went from there’.

Children Collide interview

It’s hard to find a misstep on the full-length debut from Melbourne band, Children Collide. The Long Now doesn’t sound like a first album: its mature, yet completely varied sound and lyrical concept makes it feel like something you’d expect from a band on their third or fourth album (you know, after the ‘cursed’ second album). Children Collide are most definitely in control, something that could have been lost while working with big-name producer, Dave Sardy. It’s rare that you pick up a CD and feel like the band has decided on everything, right down to the artwork that encases their killer album. We threw guitarist-singer Johnny Mackay a few questions about how they managed to wrap everything up in such a … errr … tight little package. Read more

Valentino: The Last Emperor — Fashion documentary

A documentary about one of the world’s most famous fashion designers? Hmm. Not a film I’d ever choose to see, but sometimes we do what we don’t want to in order to make friends happy. It’s called compromise apparently, and the experience reminded me that any material, if well structured and presented, can make a decent film. The filmmakers follow the over-tanned Valentino Garavani and his long-term lover and business partner Giancarlo Giammetti. Read more

Woody Allen’s Whatever Works

Larry David plays a slight variation on his Curb Your Enthusiasm incarnation, spouting some of the most articulate rants on humanity in Woody Allen’s new comedy. I enjoyed last year’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but this is definitely better. It’s a spectacularly executed comedy farce, with the action constantly escalating along the way, adhering to the old comedy formula of putting the characters through hell for big laughs. Read more

Black Dynamite blaxploitation movie trailer

One very angry and unstoppable man wages war against drugs and malt liquor. A take-off of the old blaxploitation films, this is parody at its best, with many knowing nods to camera and hilarious moments involving clichés taken to their extremes. There’s the Asian kung-fu master, pimps and orphans hooked on heroin. It all begins with Black Dynamite being spurned on his quest for blood after his brother’s brutal murder, and then pushed further for the love of a good woman. There are hoes and guns, along with catchphrases and great one-liners. See it.