Album reviews

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Fuzz garage trash rock's best-kept secret is a multi-headed, twin-drummer-driven thing that eats the frail and aged and comes from Switzerland. The aptly-named Monsters have three albums ("Birds Eat Martians", "I See Dead People" and "Youth Against Nature") to their credit, and this compilation on Australia's busiest underground label compiles their best, adding a couple of exclusive bonus recordings.

Details: By The Barman; 04 January 2014; Hits: 4997

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4.9k views

monsters garagepunk Psssssst…..don’t tell anyone but The Monsters may just be the wildest, most uncompromising manic high priests of unhinged and trashy garage rock in the world, or at the least Switzerland. There are a lot of names you can throw up in opposition (Guitar Wolf the most prominent) but I simply won’t believe it until my own abused and bleeding ears tell me so.

Details: By The Barman; 04 January 2014; Hits: 5339

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5.3k views

mick medew mesmerisers This is a return to the record store racks (those that are left) for Mick Medew and one that's well overdue. His regular band The Rumours are still a going concern and this was conceived as a solo side project, but grew into a full-blown, plugged-in album with a new band. "The Mesmerisers" is a superbly rounded record.

Details: By The Barman; 04 January 2014; Hits: 6950

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6.9k views

smellmyfingerjpg Not the original EP but a collection comprising it, the bits-and-pieces LP "Hot For Your Love Baby", early singles and live and rare cuts, this is the first of a series of re-issues putting the first 10 years of the Hard-Ons' recordings in one place. We're talking a feast here with this 1984-87 package containing 61 songs and spanning 150 minutes.

Details: By The Barman; 03 January 2014; Hits: 5780

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5.7k views

Fessin' up first: I didn't much like "Dickcheese" when it originally came out in 1988. You didn't need liner notes to hear the overt heavy metal influences. The album swung from catchy punk-pop with buried melodies to bottom-heavy stoner riffing. There was no lack of energy but the mix sounded muddy and bore little resemblance to the sound of the Hard-Ons live. Many years down the track and all that stylistic bouncing around makes much more sense.

Details: By The Barman; 03 January 2014; Hits: 6881

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6.8k views

love-battlefield Here's where the affair ended, for a time - I never got into the sound of "Love Is a Battlefield…" There were some great songs (or singles) here, for sure ("Missing Me, Missing You", "Don't Wanna See You Cry", "Just Being With You") that were among the band's best, but there was something about the shiny, semi-polished metallic sheen (coming after the confusing "Dickcheese") that pushed this album to the back of the collection.

Details: By The Barman; 03 January 2014; Hits: 5746

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5.7k views

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The Living Eye

Right eye Pocketwatch
+ Starcrazy
Factory Theatre forecourt,
Marrickville, NSW
- Jan 11 (1.30pm)
free

John Kennedy & The New Originals
Live at the Marrickville Bowl Tour
JAN
11 – Cave In, Woolloongabba, QLD
(with Murray Cook)
Tickets
17 – Smiths Alternative, Canberra, ACT
Tickets
18 – Marrickville Bowlo, NSW
Tickets
25 - Side B Vinyl Bar, Blackheath, NSW

Chimers Australian Tour
JAN
31 - La La La’s, Wollongong
+ special guests

“Hotter Than Donut Grease Tour”
Grand Pricks
+ Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes
+ The Tall Stories
JAN
21 - Tamworth Hotel, Tamworth

Joeys Coop
+ The Finalists (single launch)
The Union, Newtown
- March 9
(5pm, free)

The Stranglers
50 Years In Black
2025 Australasian Tour
MAR
13 - Powerstation, Auckland. NZ
15 - Meow Nui, Wellington, NZ
16 - Christchurch Town Hall, Christchurch, NZ
19 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
20 - The Tivoli, Brisbane
22- Forum, Melbourne
23 - The Gov, Adelaide
25 - Astor Theatre, Perth
Tickets

I-94 Bar Records and Promotions presents
Grooveyard
+ Il Bruto
Smiths Alternative, Canberra
Tickets
- Feb 7
+ The On and Ons
+ Van Ruin
(city debut)
- Feb 8
Tickets

I-94 Bar Records and Promotions presents
The Mick Medew & Ursula 4
"In The Zone"
NSW Album Launches
+ East Coast Low
+ Jupiter 5
Stag & Hunter, Mayfield
- Feb 14
Tickets
+ The Dark Clouds
+ Jupiter 5
Marrickville Bowling Club
- Feb 15
Tickets