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Chloe Parché —Live @ UC Refrectory 21/3/26 - A Charismatic Indie‑Pop Spark on the Rise

  Chloe Parché — A Charismatic Indie‑Pop Spark on the Rise Chloe Parché is one of those young up‑and‑comers you can spot from a mile away — the kind who steps on stage and instantly makes you think, yep, she’s going places. Her brand of catchy indie pop is built for live rooms, and tonight she proved just how naturally she owns them. From the moment she walked out, she was charismatic and completely at ease, the kind of performer who doesn’t need to force anything. The songs did the heavy lifting anyway: bright, bouncy hooks that get you moving without even realising it. There’s a freshness to her writing that keeps you engaged, and you can already tell these tracks will only grow as her audience does. The sound was spot‑on too — clean mix, warm instrumentation, and a voice that cut through beautifully. She has that tone that feels effortless but still full of character, the sort that makes you lean in a little closer. If you're new to Chloe, here are a few tracks to get you sta...
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The Rions - Live @ UC Refrectory 21/3/26 : polished, powerful, and just getting started

There’s something disarming about The Rions when they first walk out. Four young blokes, each with their own vibe, their own posture, their own little pocket of stage energy. At first glance, the dynamic feels almost mismatched — like four different genres wandered onstage together. What looks unusual becomes the charm: a band that doesn’t need to match to mesh. And mesh they do. For an hour and a half, The Rions delivered a set so clean it bordered on surreal. Noah Blockley’s vocals were the standout from the first note — crisp, powerful, and almost studio perfect. Usually in a live setting you expect a few rough edges, a crack here or there, something human. But Noah sounded like he’d swallowed the record whole. The only tiny gripe of the night was that Harley Wilson’s backing vocals occasionally got swallowed in the mix, especially during their Beatles cover — but honestly, that’s nitpicking on our part. What really lands is Noah’s emotional delivery. He sings like he’s trying to...

Pop Punk Full Blast - Good Charlotte, Yellowcard & Kisschasy Live @ Qudos bank Arena 25/2/26

  Good Charlotte — A Bucket‑List Blast of Pop Punk. Good Charlotte were my favourite band when I was 11. I absolutely loved their first two albums, so naturally they were on my list to see. They came out with some good energy, the stage props and visuals were exceptional, and they started off with a bang!! They hit the stage with real spark — big grins, big energy, and stage visuals that felt straight out of a scrappy, sweat‑soaked punk club blown up to arena size. The opening run was a proper jolt. I always knew Good Charlotte songs were catchy, but hearing those choruses explode live for the first time, with a few thousand people belting them out in unison, was something else. The twins work well together and the bass guitarist is a shredding machine. I did find there was a bit of a lull in the middle, I think due to playing back‑to‑back new tracks — which I thoroughly enjoyed and think will be growers in time for the die‑hard Good Charlottens. The girls around me were also e...

Album Review: Good Neighbours – Blue Sky Mentality - No Complaints From These Neighbours — Just Pure Indie Joy

 Good Neighbours – Blue Sky Mentality Tracklist: Keep It up Skipping Stones Ripple found u/me Walk Walk Walk Kids Can't Sleep Home Small Town Starry Eyed People Need People Left Hand Man Suburbs Wonderful Life The Buzz The unsuspecting London duo of Oli Fox and Scott Verrill might have started as two solo artists sharing a recording studio, but in 2024 they found something bigger: meaning, momentum, and a shared creative spark. That spark became Good Neighbours — a brilliantly simple band name for a project built on connection. Since forming, they’ve been on a tear, releasing music at a rapid pace and now delivering their debut album, the 14‑track Blue Sky Mentality. A Bright, Immediate Start The album opens with “Keep It Up”, a pop‑leaning indie‑rock burst that instantly lifts your mood. It’s catchy, energetic, and impossible not to sing along to — the kind of opener that tells you exactly what kind of ride you’re in for. That upbeat, feel‑good energy runs through the whole reco...

Album Review: DZ Deathrays - Easing Out of Control - An album that refuses to sit still, and gets better the longer you live with it

DZ Deathrays - Easing Out of Control Track listing: 1. Easing Out Of Control 2. Sideways 3. Pissing In The Breeze 4. Real Love 5. Skyline 6. Like No Other 7. First Night Fever 8. Ordinary Life 9. Demolition 10. Warped DZ Deathrays, a trio from Brisbane, Queensland, are made up of Shane Parsons (vocals/guitar), Lachlan Ewbank (lead guitar/vocals) and Simon Ridley (drums). They’re often described as an Australian dance‑punk band — a genre label intriguing enough that I had to look it up the first time I heard it. They first grabbed my attention, along with plenty of others, with Like People back in 2018, and I’ve kept an eye on them ever since. So when this album dropped on 16 January 2016, I dove in immediately. After giving it real time to sink in, here’s what stood out. The album moves through a genuinely eclectic mix of styles. There are pop‑punk‑leaning anthems like “Ou...

Cloud Control Live @ Taronga Zoo, Sydney 7/2/26 - The Clouds Have Lifted — They’re Back

  We had to give away our Cloud Control tickets for their 2025 Enmore return show when one of the kids got sick. So when we saw they were playing at Taronga — and we could bring the kids along — that was an instant yes. Honestly, what’s better than sharing Cloud Control with your kids, dancing together, and watching them experience the magic for the first time. Cloud Control returned to the stage with the kind of energy that reminds you why they mattered so much in the first place. The full lineup — Heidi Lenffer (keyboard), Alistair Wright (guitar), Jeremy Kelshaw (bass), and Ulrich Lenffer (percussion) — slipped back into their old chemistry like no time had passed at all. Heidi was mesmerising: tambourine in hand, moving with that floating, swaying style that feels almost weightless, and vocals that glide right alongside it. Alistair seemed a touch more nervous than the performances I remember from ten years ago, but that vulnerability made sense. After seven years apart, st...

The Preatures Live @ Taronga Zoo, Sydney 7/2/26 - Don’t Sleep on The Preatures’ Return

  By pure chance, the two gigs we were hanging out for in 2025 — The Preatures in Canberra and Cloud Control in Sydney — ended up being the two we had to cancel. So when we spotted them joining forces for a double bill for Twilight @ Taronga, it felt like the universe teeing up a do‑over. Even better, it was all‑ages, which meant we could bring our three kids along and let them in on the bands we grew up with. Two acts returning from hiatus. Two soundtracks to our younger years. One perfect summer night to share it all with the next generation. The Preatures are one of those Australian rock bands whose music feels stitched into a particular era — warm summers, 2013, windows down, everything golden. Hearing Isabella Manfredi’s voice again reminded me how timeless it is: nostalgic without ageing, familiar without ever feeling stale. It actually made this review harder to write, because how do you critique something that’s lived in your memory for a decade? The set was exactly wh...