It's Alive! Canadian rocker Rich Hope and his red hot band hit the mark

Live At The ANZA Club - Rich Hope (Planned Obsolescence Recording & Novelty Inc)

There was a time when you could walk into a designated rock and roll club in most sizeable North American  cities and try your luck, knowing that you might just stumble on a band that would make it the best night of your month.

It may still be the case in musical hotbeds like Austin and Nashville. No idea because it’s been such a loooong time between long-haul trans-Pacific flights. But that's the scenario that Canadian rocker Rich Hope tried to replicate on “Live At The ANZA Club”.

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• rich hope
• Planned Obsolescence Recording & Novelty Inc
• kive at the anza club

Punk pioneer Brian James bids us ciao

Kicks and Diabolik Licks – Brian James (Easy Action)

As his last will and testament, “Kicks and Diabolik Licks” is Brian James as most fans of The Damned have never heard him.

It’s rock and roll, mostly, stripped right back in places with a dollop of jazz, and most of it is a few steps removed from the punk rock foundation that he helped build and the dark storm that was The Lords of The New Church.

Brian James passed in March 2025 after protracted health issues. Not before he’d re-joined Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian and Rat Scabies for Damned shows and a one-off with a reconstituted Lords with Michael Monroe subbing for the long departed Stiv Bators.

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• the damned
• lords of the new church
• brian james
• Kicks and Diabolik Licks

Ex-Barracuda Jeremy Gluck and The Ontological Glitch

ARTVO1D
By Jeremy Gluck
(Lulu)

Ah, marvellous. Just what the world needed in its hour (well, decade, really) of self-inflicted demagogues, disgusting abuse of power, torture, wars-that-aren't-apparently-wars-though-that's-not-what-the-poor-bastards-beneath-the-bombs-think, and misery: a six-track EP of new songs by those finger-wagging irrelevancies, U2. Boys? Guys? Your time is OVER. Back to the 1980s with you! 

Not naming any names, but it's a pity more bands formed in the late ‘70s couldn't break up a few decades earlier, perhaps with the lead singer going on to, I don't know, open a bongo shop, somewhere where he wouldn't be recognised. Perhaps ... Bear Island?

Right, well then, if we can just shove through the throng of lemmings-like U2 fans heading for the cliff, I'd like to remind you that the apparently endlessly prolific Jeremy Gluck once fronted The Barracudas, is the last man standing from the “I Knew Buffalo Bill” supergroup LP, and he's got a new art/picture book out: "ArtV01d".

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• the barracudas
• lulu
• artvoid

2025 Top Tens: Melbourne solo and band artist Penny Ikinger

_{Heather McDonald photo}

Joseph Keckler – Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne 
He made my Top Ten last year, and his return only confirms why. Joseph Keckler remains one of the most distinctive voices working today: brilliant, entertaining, and unlike anyone else.

An American singer, musician, performing artist, and writer, Keckler moves effortlessly between absurdist operatic monologues and eerie, emotionally charged ballads. His work is steeped in the unorthodox and the uncanny, balancing dark humour whilst showcasing the breadth of his musical talents—something beyond the ordinary. 

Melbourne musician Rosie Westbrook opened the show with a mesmerising solo guitar set. 

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• new christs
• bob dylan
• tex perkins
• the johnnys
• rob younger
• the beasts
• penny ikinger's marbles
• run run run
• joseph keckler
• rosie westbrook

Black leather shamen Guitar Wolf' cleared for Australian landing

 _{Aaron Rubin photo}

The first time I saw Guitar Wolf, the band arrived at a beloved Adelaide venue on Hindley Street on a stinking hot day, straight from the airport, heavily clad in black leather, black T-shirts and dark glasses.

The audience they drew pretty much all knew each other - Guitar Wolf is a delightful gift from Japan shared by word-of-mouth. They gave us all the finger while arriving and immediately went to the stage ... and rocked like you always wanted to when you were an impressionable little kid.

There were only two pauses during the two-and-a-half hour set: one, when main man Seiji pulled up members of the audience and made them form a human pyramid (it collapsed, frequently), and the second when Seiji took his guitar off and demanded a guitar player from the audience. Numerous local musicians scrambled frantically toward the stage, only to be told, “No. That guy!”

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• australian tour
• guitar wolf
• seiji
• 2026

Charlie Owen brings his re-vamped "Searching..." show back to Sydney

Charlie Owen’s music and spoken word show, "Searching Fron Charlie Owen, has become one of the must see events on the Australian touring calendar.

The gigs retracing his storied career have attracted full houses and warm reviews up and down the Australian East Coast.

The latest New South Wales run - with a bunch of "new" old material - lands at The Brass Monkey in Cronulla on Saturday, March 7 and 185 Bar in Marrickville on Sunday, March 8.

Cronulla tickets are here and Marrickville here.  

Cronulla supports are Looch Lewis and Mark Horne. Looch Lewis backs up for Marrickville but Paul Berwick (ex-Happy Hate Me Nots)  in solo mode is the main support, launching a new CD.

From his work with Tex, Don and Charlie, Beasts of Bourbon, the New Christs and Divynils to collaborations with Louis Tillett, Paul Kelly, Tex Perkins, and the Working Class Ringos, Charlie has consistently pushed the boundaries of his craft whilst captivating audiences with his ferocious and at times tender performances.

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• marrickville
• charlie owen
• searching for Charlie owen
• brass monkey
• 185 bar
• cronulla

Hellacopters release new album and rarities collection

They were everywhere in the febrile underground rock and roll scene of the 1990s and the revived Hellacopters continue to make a mark with another new album.

“Overdriver” has landed less than three years after the ‘Copters’  European chart-storming comeback record, “Eyes Of Oblivion”, which entered the Swedish charts at number-one and at number-six in Germany.

It is their ninth full-length and the first fully produced by band leader Nicke Andersson.  

Today marks the release of “Cream Of The Crap! Collected Non-Album Works Volume 3”, the latest rarities collection by the high energy rockers. It includes 24 tracks originally released between 1998 and 2005, most of them only found on vinyl and out-of-print CDs.

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• hellacopters
• overdriver
• cream of the crap

Crossing many seas with TV Smith

_{John Greenwood photo.}

The Damned, The Adverts and Generation X. What do they have in common? The UK music media savaged their second albums.

The Damned broke up, then got back together and they're the Johnny Walkers (or the Undead) of the punk movement. Generation X broke up while their lead singer took their last single and turned it into a huge hit. Billy Idol is the blonde undead of the punk movement.

The Adverts ... well, they broke up. The singer, TV Smith, was prevented from continuing using the name (even though it was his name and the band was essentially him and the bass player, FFS) ... and cue an incredible self-determinism.

On later listens, the second LPs by all of the above deserve far better than the “it's different” kicking they received.  And to this day, TV Smith still can't let go of his creative imperative.

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• australian tour
• tv smith
• adverts
• 2026

The Dahlmanns kick back into gear with "LIfe In Reverse"

Life in Reverse – The Dahlmanns (Fabcom Records/Waterslide Records)

Two full-length albums in 16 years doesn’t sound like the hallmark of a productive band, but appearances are deceptive and The Dahlmanns aren’t typical.

Revolving around the axis of husband-and-wife founders Andre (guitar) and Line Dahlmann (vocals), this Norwegian outfit is best described as a “singles band”, with no less than 16 releases in that format or as extended plays (that’s EPs for the dummies). 

The Dahlmanns aren’t exactly unknown among discerning music fans. They’ve featured on TV and movie soundtracks in their homeland, and have collaborated with the likes of Andy Shernoff (The Dictators), Chips Kiesbye (Sator), Francis McDonald (Teenage Fanclub) and Amy Rigby. Much of trhe back catalogue is here.

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• the dahlmanns
• life in reverse
• the yum yums
• andre dahlmann
• line dahlmann