Melbourne band The Baudelaires take their name from Charles Baudelaire, a talented, troubled, decadent and ultimately doomed 19th century French poet and essayist whose writing is said to be the vanguard of the Modernist Movement.
The Baudelaires, in contrast, evoke the spirit of psychedelic exploration, a trippy triangulation of bent Texas psychedelia, Krautrock discipline and the dearly departed elastic brilliance of Yura Yura Teikoku. Six years after releasing their debut album, “Musk Hill”, The Baudelaires have returned with a new album, “TiLT” on Wally Kempton’s effervescent Cheersquad Records.
The I-94 Bar TV show "Monday Evening Gunk" returns this week as "Thursday Evening Gunk" - on Thursday nights (there's a surprise) for an eight-week series, courtesy of Sydney's MoshPit Bar and City of Sydney Council. Episode 1 will stream from the MoshPit Facebook pageat 8pm (AEDST) and you can sign-up for a reminder by joining the Facebook event here. It will be available to watch on the I-94 Bar soon after.
The series launches with "Ground Zero For Sydney Punk", an episode focussing on the post-Oxford Funhouse high energy scene that grew around the Grand Hotel, hosted by Steve Lorkin and Bob Short and featuring guests PeterDavie (Rocks) and Bruce Warner (Thought Criminals).
There’s some audio of The Johnnys live at Le Tote sometime in 1983, couple of years after the Doherty family had decided to host bands in the band room of The Ivanhoe Hotel in an attempt to address the pub’s precarious financial future.
The set is good ol’ sloppy cowpunk fun, replete with lyrical signposts to The Johnnys’ inebriated schitck and irreverent celebration of country music. “You know why we’re having fun?’, guitarist-singer Roddy Radalj calls out rhetorically. “Because we’re drunk!”
“Trashin’” is the latest video single from Dez Dare, the alter ego of expat Geelong boy Darren Smallman (ex-Warped among others), now living in the UK. It’s taken from the album “Ulysses Trash” and you can procure it here.
Iconic British punk and new wave rockers, The Stranglers, have announced they’ll be touring Australia, playing shows across five cities in April 2023.
First forming in 1974, the band's no bullshit attitude saw the band blaze an experimental trail, from Art Rock to Goth to New Wave Pop, inspiring a wave of prog rock guitar players and confrontational vocalists to find their roots in The Stranglers’ unabashed confidence.
Around these parts, Kevin K records are like a comfortable pair of slippers: You slide in and feel at home with his slashing or chugging guitar and mewling vocal drawl. This record is sized extra-large with 26 songs putting it in the realm of what used to be called a double album.
For the uninitiated (and shamefully there still are some), Kevin K is a Buffalo, New York State raised, New York City-tempered veteran of the Lower East Side-CBGB scene, who remains musically true to that long-gone playground. This is his 33rd album of gritty, street-level rock and roll, and it’s more of the same.
I'm gonna be as objective as I can. I loved the Buzzcocks. I mean, I'm not alone. Everyone loved them, didn't they?
Okay. I came in at the beginning, heard their journey, was delighted by their first two LPs, their singles, then ... that third LP which initially bewildered me, but I grew to love better than the other two. Except, of course, the compilation, “Singles Going Steady”.
Then, 42 years ago and five years after it all started (particularly with the “Spiral Scratch” EP, which unleashed the DIY independent music scene in the UK), came those three singles which sort of worked, but didn't quite. Something had changed. Because, you know, change happens.
The I-94 Bar and MoshPit Bar celebration of the salad days of underground Australian rock and roll returns for a sec ond season on October 10. "Monday Evening Gunk" has been replaced by "Thursday Evening Gunk" and will stream via the MoshPit Facebook page from 8pm (AEDST) on Thursdays. If the timeslot doesn't work for you, you can watch catch-up episodes right here.
The 1982 Capitol Theatre run of shows in Sydney was a crossroads for Midnight Oil. They were broke and had already notched 500 gigs since September 1977, which was the date that they decided to go full-time after a Bondi Lifesaver show.
Midnight Oil was equally the largest drawcard on the Australian live circuit but it was not reflected in record sales. It had cost a lot to record their third album, “Place Without a Postcard’ overseas with legendary producer Glyn Johns (Rolling Stones and The Who). “Place” was a rocking, earthy and colloquial album. The production was warm - yet it was of the past and sounded like it had been recorded it in 1970.
Liz Pommer photo
Cadallac Man – Kevin K 
Sonics in the Soul - Buzzcocks (Cherry Red)
