The Joe Kings – Calls in the Night

When gutsy blues riffs open the debut EP for this young Perth duo-turned-full band, it’s easy to see why they were invited to play the West Coast Blues and Roots Festival earlier this year.

Hole – Nobody’s Daughter

Considering that Courtney Love’s first solo album, the 2004 America’s Sweetheart was a complete and utter flop, it was with some trepidation that I braved Hole’s new release Nobody’s Daughter. Love is, after all, a loose cannon. She released this album under the Hole name, despite legal objections from former Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson and announced that bassist Melissa Auf der Maur was in on the project, before Auf de Maur even knew about the reunion. But, whatever. It’s pretty kick arse, all things considered.

Matisyahu

Matisyahu’s voice crackles through the phone. “I was going over the Brooklyn Bridge, sorry. Any bridge going from Manhattan to Brooklyn breaks up reception,” he says. He is surprisingly soft spoken for such a powerful reggae-rock musician and someone who has a singing voice that soars.

The Drums – Summertime

Not since the Beach Boys has surf pop actually enticed me to try and surf (which isn’t a bad thing – I’m a terrible surfer). But, aptly named Summertime, the debut album for Californian duo The Drums has me waxing down my board, so to speak.

Whitley – supporting Sarah Blasko

Amongst the scattering of austere, old buildings at The Abbotsford Convent, a tangle of fairy lights hang from one of the trees. The lights draw people towards them. Soon, a large group of people are milling around beneath the tree, some smoking and some waiting in line at the makeshift bar, a table behind which servers pick drinks out of great big ice buckets. No one wants to venture inside the church-like building nearby. We are all content to remain outdoors on one of the first balmy spring evenings Melbourne has seen all year. My bare arms haven’t felt twilight air for a long time.