The Music (Brisbane) June 2019 Issue by TheMusic.com.au

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB Knocking the rock’n’roll lifestyle on the head From superfans to reality trolls — how social media is expanding toxic fandom

Catfish & The Bottlemen are just havin’ a laugh.

Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt’s “confusing and intriguing” dynamic with Nancy & Beth

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Credits Publisher Handshake Media Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Senior Editor Sam Wall

In celebration of the suburbs

Editors Daniel Cribb, Neil Griffiths

ecently watching Elton John biopic Rocketman and reading Tracey Thorn’s Another Planet has been an education in English suburbia’s influence on the past few decades of pop music. While I don’t know enough about John’s story to know whether or not it played as loose with the truth as Bohemian Rhapsody did, it is at least a relief to see that it is not as straight-washed as the Queen biopic (it acknowledges John’s relationship with John Reid in detail — SPOILER ALERT: Robb Stark makes out with Eddie The Eagle). There were definitely some elements of John’s life that were omitted — where was his friendship with Rod Stewart? Where was the boyfriend who watched on as John married female engineer Renate Blauel (a lynchpin event in the film)? But given the fantasy jukebox musical style adopted by director Dexter Fletcher (the old Press Gang actor who was also brought in to finish Bohemian Rhapsody after the initial director was sacked), Rocketman is mostly concerned about big choreography and even bigger costumes. It is also concerned with portraying how a stifling childhood in the northwest suburbs of London led to a life of repressed anger and pop hits. Fletcher captures the suffocating brown-ness of ‘50s/‘60s British interiors and juxtaposes this with the explosion of colour and joy John revelled in to break free from his past. Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn takes a more nostalgic look at how the suburbs influenced her art and outlook. In Another Planet (also available to stream as an audiobook on Spotify), Thorn returns to the scene of her childhood. She explores the locale of her upbringing in Brookmans Park as an adult reflecting on whether the idyllic village she was raised in was actually suburbia. It’s Thorn’s third book and she is without doubt as accomplished a writer as she is a musician. In Another Planet she digs back through her teenage diaries full of what she herself now describes as “banal” recollections that were more often than not about things she didn’t get to do: “tried to get some black trousers but couldn’t find any nice ones”, “tried to go to the library but it was shut”. Thorn’s commentary about her diaries is incisive and often hilarious. She builds a picture of teenage ennui that would eventually lead to her punk rebellion and talent for writing songs that found a beauty in the bland minutiae of suburban life. The two stories are a contrast between flamboyance and quiet introspection. But both are articulate records of the influence of the often sneeredupon role of suburbia in art. In this month’s issue of The Music we celebrate local art in the form of new releases from two bands on an upward trajectory, Polish Club and Clowns. Both outfits have built up loyal live followings and we talk to them as they drop albums set to take them to the next level of success. Elsewhere Maxim Boon explores the cesspool of toxic fandom on social media while Joel Burrows looks into the revived interest in Dungeons & Dragons, which now seems bigger than ever. And, we also prepare you for the Winter Solstice and offer up hints for how you can celebrate it without leaving your own backyard — in the city, in the country or… in the suburbs.

Assistant Editor/Social Media Co-Ordinator Jessica Dale Editorial Assistant Lauren Baxter Arts Editor Hannah Story Gig Guide Henry Gibson gigs@themusic.com.au Senior Contributors Steve Bell, Maxim Boon, Bryget Chrisfield, Cyclone, Jeff Jenkins Contributors Nic Addenbrooke, Emily Blackburn, Melissa Borg, Anthony Carew, Uppy Chatterjee, Roshan Clerke, Shaun Colnan, Brendan Crabb, Guy Davis, Joe Dolan, Joseph Earp, Chris Familton, Guido Farnell, Donald Finlayson, Liz Giuffre, Carley Hall, Tobias Handke, Tom Hawking, Mark Hebblewhite, Samuel Leighton Dore, Keira Leonard, Joel Lohman, Alannah Maher, Taylor Marshall, Anne Marie Peard, Michael Prebeg, Mick Radojkovic, Stephen A Russell, Rod Whitfield Senior Photographers Cole Bennetts, Kane Hibberd Photographers Rohan Anderson, Andrew Briscoe, Stephen Booth, Pete Dovgan, Simone Fisher, Lucinda Goodwin, Josh Groom, Clare Hawley, Bianca Holderness, Jay Hynes, Dave Kan, Hayden Nixon, Angela Padovan, Markus Ravik, Bobby Rein, Barry Shipplock, Terry Soo Advertising Leigh Treweek, Antony Attridge, Brad Edwards, Jacob Bourke sales@themusic.com.au Art Dept Felicity Case-Mejia print@themusic.com.au Admin & Accounts accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store.themusic.com.au Contact Us Mailing address PO Box 87 Surry Hills NSW 2010 Melbourne Ph: 03 9081 9600 26 Napoleon Street Collingwood Vic 3066 Sydney Ph: 02 9331 7077 Level 2, 230 Crown St Darlinghurst NSW 2010

Happy reading.

Brisbane Ph: 07 3252 9666 info@themusic.com.au www.theMusic.com.au

Andrew Mast Managing Editor

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Our contributors

This month 8

Editor’s Letter

This month’s best binge watching Guest editorial: Comics Bec Charlwood and Alex Jae, hosts of The Ladies Guide To Dude Cinema podcast

Toxic fandom A detached realm of zeroconsequence

Catfish & The Bottlemen

Demetri Martin

Alex Jae

Alex Jae is a stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in Sydney. She is a writer and cast member of Channel 10’s upcoming Saturday Night series with Rove McManus,

14 16

Two Door Cinema Club

Polish Club It’s easier when you write songs for fun

and is also a huge non-ironic fan of 1990s teen-pop sensations Hanson.

Album reviews

The Arts The best arts of the month

Melt Festival

City Of Gold

Bec Charlwood Bec Charlwood has established herself as one of the most exciting new voices on the Australian comedy scene and is a favourite at

Pic:

Ryan Pfluge

comedy clubs across the country, perform-

Sharon Van Etten Ditching the negative and focusing on the positive

Ladies Guide To Dude Cinema podcast.

Your Town Winter solstice The longest night = an excuse to party

Lucy Rose

an Laidla

Fringe World. She is also the co-host of The

Tammi Savoy

Pic: I

ing at MICF, Sydney Comedy Festival and

Clowns Scratch below the surface to find genuine substance

This month’s local highlights

Your gigs

44 46

The end Dungeons & Dragons From out of the basement to the wider world

Nancy & Beth

Anna Rose After Anna Rose met the devil in her teens, she pledged her soul to rock‘n’roll. She writes on all things rock and metal for publications across Australia. A Diet Coke connoisseur, she harbours a not-so-secret crush on Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy.

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BOOK AT: BRISBANEPOWERHOUSE.ORG

Australia’s Newest Podcast Network Listen On

? more podcasts coming soon

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Toy Story 4

Minor Adventures With Topher Grace

Podcast of the month: Minor Adventures With Topher Grace Ever wondered where Chelsea Peretti sits in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? Or how Paul Scheer would go as a telemarketer? So has Topher Grace, a man with clearly too much time on his hands. Each episode he takes a new guest out of their comfort zone and on a, well, minor adventure.

Barking up the wrong Sentry Seth Sentry will be heading out on tour this month on the back of his first new music since 2017. The Wrong One tour kicks off at The Valley Drive In in QLD on 7 Jun before stopping in VIC, NSW, WA and SA.

Seth Sentry. Pic: Michelle Grace Hunder

Thandi Phoenix. Pic: Cybele Malinowski

Whozits and whatzits Fresh from dropping their third studio album, And Now For The Whatchamacallit, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are hitting the road for a five-date tour starting this 12 Jun. The kaleidoscopic outfit are also bringing RAAVE TAPES along to support.

Thand-tastic

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets

Sydney-based singer-songwriter Thandi Phoenix is going out on her first-ever national headline tour. Catch the artist and her pop electronica in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne from 7 Jun.

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Toy with my heart

Stream dreams

The tiny toys with the big problems are back again to break and warm our hearts in equal measure. Toy Story 4 sees the gang take a road trip, suffer deep existential crises and make friends with a spork. In cinemas from 20 Jun.

This month’s best binge watching

I’s on the prize Tales Of The City, Season 1

Pic: Nino Munoz

Directed by Artistic Director Richard Tognetti and playing around the country from 14 Jun, ACO’s Indies & Idols concerts take the music of Jonny Greenwood, Bryce Dessner, and Sufjan Stevens and present it alongside their shared inspiration, Polish composers Karol Szymanowski and Witold Lutosławski.

First adapted back in 1993, Armistead Maupin’s beloved Tales Of The City series is being revived for a mini-series revolving around central character Anna Madrigal’s 90th birthday. Cast members Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis will return in their original roles alongside Ellen Page, Charlie Barnett and more.

Richard Tognetti

Streams from 7 Jun on Netflix

City On A Hill, Season 1

Built to Last Electronic duo Lastlings are backing up their US/Australian run supporting RÜFÜS DU SOL with a headline tour for recent single I’ve Got You. The siblings, who also have a debut LP in the works, hit the road 22 Jun.

It’s 1992 and Assistant District Attorney Decourcy Ward (Aldis Hodge) has just arrived in the Massachusetts capital via Brooklyn. One look at the city, rife with violence and police corruption, and he wants to “rip out the machinery”. To do so however, he needs the help of crooked FBI veteran Jackie Rhodes (Kevin Bacon)..

Lastlings. Pic: James Simpson

Streams from 17 Jun on Stan

Perpetual Grace LTD, Season 1

James (Jimmi Simpson) is looking for a way to

The G

get his life on track, and thinks he’s found it in a safe owned by Pastor Byron Brown and his wife Lillian (Ben Kingsley and Jacki Weaver). It imbi the girl

Ascendant Sydney R&B poet imbi the girl is taking their SUPEREGO-featuring single I Used To on tour this month. They’ll play three dates from 20 Jun with Brisbane-based electronic producer Azura on support duties.

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doesn’t take long though for the young grifter to realise he’s set his sights on much more dangerous marks than he had anticipated.. Streams from 3 Jun on Stan

What is Dude Cinema? And why won’t some men stop talking at us about it? Sydney comics Bec Charlwood and Alex Jae, hosts of The Ladies Guide To Dude Cinema, teach us about the never-forgotten genre.

the way down to niche crowdfunded Swedish martial arts action comedy shorts like Kung Fury, the dudes of the world just absolutely can’t believe we haven’t seen their favourite movies. In late 2018, over a glass or two of white wine, we stumbled across this phenomenon and realised that not unlike the #MeToo movement, it is a shared experience among many women and also super yucko. We mused, “Wouldn’t it be great if someone had a podcast watching all these movies for us so we don’t have to?” We then realised, WE are two comedians who somehow don’t have a podcast of our own, why don’t WE do that podcast? Then we forgot about it for several weeks until we were approached by friend, podcaster (Mike Check, Total Reboot and ABC’s Finding Drago) and known cinephile Alexei Toliopoulos who offered to produce the podcast for us, and The Ladies Guide To Dude Cinema was born. Each week - episodes drop Thursdays - we review the movies that we have been shamed for not seeing or have been aggressively recommended to us by dudes, along with the movies our listeners request for these same reasons. (A note for the dudes: we do NOT take recommendations in list form of your favourite movies. Take your hands off the keyboard - you’ve missed the point of this entirely and your submission will be thrown in the bin and reported to ASIO). So why is it that dudes are always shocked to find out we haven’t seen movies like Psycho, a film about a man who murders women and has severe mummy issues? Why do dudes always feel compelled to aggressively recommend movies to women regardless of our disinterest or objections? Why is it that we’ve all met a man who considers himself a movie expert despite a complete lack of qualification or training? Could it be that 99% of cinema is made from the male perspective? That historically most movies have been written by dudes for dudes? Maybe. Honestly, we don’t know, but we vow to find out. This podcast is a journey to discover what emotionally ties dudes to these movies, and to provide the service of watching them so YOU don’t have to. So next time Joel can’t BELIEVE you haven’t seen Pulp Fiction, you can tell him exactly why you haven’t and why he should stop talking about it and just for God’s sake go down on you already. Apart from being your new favourite podcast, our goal for this project is to give women like us the confidence to talk about and have opinions on these movies, and assert ourselves in conversations about them that have historically largely been dominated by men. Above all, however, this is a comedy podcast, and more than anything it’s going to make you laugh and bring you one step closer to receiving the best-ever cunnilingus. That is our mission statement, and we vow to succeed or die trying.

t’s Friday night, you’ve had a long week and the couch is calling your name, but you’ve been texting with Joel for several days and tonight your schedules have finally lined up and you can meet for the first time. He hasn’t been the best at conversation, but he’s responded to every message you’ve sent, and you can see most of his face in his profile photos. You meet at a bar at 8pm. Conversation flows. He’s fun, he’s charming and he even agrees to split the bill with you. You’ve got a bit of a buzz and the night is coming to a close when he asks if you’d like to go back to his place for a nightcap. You excitedly agree but also text two of your closest friends his address, because you’re 60% sure he’s not a murderer. You get to his apartment. It’s a mix of IKEA and hand-me-down furniture with a clearly new 80-inch Smart TV taking up most of the living space. You like Joel. You want to have sex with Joel, because Joel is attractive and not the worst guy you’ve ever met. After some hot’n’heavy making out on the IKEA couch, the night proceeds to the bedroom. As he prepares for the cunnilingus he earlier promised he was “the best at”, you look up and notice a large framed poster of Pulp Fiction. He follows your gaze. He chuckles and says “Royale with cheese”. You’re confused because you assumed the only thing on the menu tonight was your pussy. You pause and he asks, “You’ve seen Pulp Fiction, right?” You dread the words about to escape from your mouth, but you know you have to say it: “No, I haven’t seen it.” He’s horrified and responds, “You haven’t seen Pulp Fiction?!” It’s at this exact moment your pussy is taken off the menu and a copy of Pulp Fiction: Anniversary Edition is put into the DVD player instead. Yes of course Joel still owns a DVD player, but it’s actually a Blu-ray if you were wondering. Which you weren’t. The 10/10 sexy time Joel promised earlier will have to wait. For the next two hours and 58 minutes you watch Pulp Fiction, while Joel watches you watch Pulp Fiction. You leave his house at 2am, tired, unsatisfied and blaming Quentin Tarantino for everything that sucks in your life. This is Dude Cinema. Dude Cinema is any movie a dude has a heavy emotional connection to, is personally offended when you haven’t seen it, and feels no shame in making you feel bad about that. And it has to be stopped. Who are we? We are two comedians who don’t know anything about cinema outside of just watching it. Bec has Actor Face Blindness (AFB), and Alex has seen Dumb And Dumber 21 times. For as long as we can remember, we have been shamed for not watching the movies that dudes have unhealthy obsessions with. From big blockbusters like Die Hard all

“You’ve seen Pulp Fiction, right?”

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B a c k i n b u s i n e s s From wagging school and travelling to Scotland to see The Mars Volta, to surviving a hiatus brought on by succumbing to “the rock’n’roll cliches”, Two Door Cinema Club do life together, Alex Trimble tells Bryget Chrisfield. Cover and feature picture by Aleksandra Kingo.

Trimble and his bandmates — Sam Halliday (lead guitar,

didn’t! We didn’t talk for probably close to a year and it took

backing vocals), and Kevin Baird (bass, synths, backing vocals)

maybe even two [years for us] to start making music again,

— have been playing music together since they were about 14,

but we needed that. We had to put the brakes on and step

but it wasn’t until they formed Two Door Cinema Club in 2007

back, and we’re a lot better for it now; we kind of know what’s

that things started to happen for the trio. “We had to move to

up and to pay attention and we look after ourselves, we look

London, because that’s where the action was,” Trimble recalls.

after our relationships. And I would like to hope we’d see the

“We lived in a tiny flat together for a year, and it was horrible,

signs if anything like that was happening again, but it’s such

but we were never there and after that year we gave up our

an easy trap to fall into.”

flat and didn’t live anywhere for another two years; we put

Is it hard to identify when one of your bandmates is strug-

all of our belongings in storage and we just lived on the road.

gling, because if they’re quiet you just presume they’re knack-

And when we came home — well, I said ‘home’, but when we

ered? “Yeah, do you know I had the exact same conversation

came back, or if we had a few days off, we’d just be staying

with the other two guys? I’d been depressed for a few years —

with friends. Or if we were lucky enough and we could afford

like, after we were on the road — and I didn’t even know what it

the plane ticket we could always visit our parents or see family

was at first and then, you know, I started finding that out. And I

or something like that. But there was no concept of home for

spoke to the guys and I said, ‘This is what I’m dealing with,’ and

a very long time.”

they said the exact same thing, they just said, ‘Oh, I thought

ow good is Two Door Cinema Club’s current aesthet-

Living in each other’s pockets eventually took its toll on

you were just tired all the time,’ or, ‘I thought you were just in

ic!? Skivvies, matching duds and that Lego man hair!

the band. “Especially doing that from such a young age,” Trim-

a bad mood,’ or whatever. And it’s so easy [to do], because you

Who came up with this new look for the band? “That

ble stresses. “When you’re at school, everybody’s kind of in the

don’t wanna accept that it’s happening to you.

was my idea,” lead singer/multi-instrumentalist Alex Trimble

same boat and you bond over the same interests, but then

“’Cause that’s the other thing, you’re always told what a

enthuses. “I’m a huge fan of Kraftwerk and I loved how they

you leave that and you go out into the world and you develop

privileged position you’re in and you have no right to complain

always presented themselves not as themselves; they were

as a person, you evolve; you find out what you’re really inter-

— or to not enjoy what you’re doing — and for years there’s

these robot versions of themselves. And I wanted to do a

ested in. And we were never given that opportunity to do that,

always been that perception of being a rockstar, whatever it

similar thing, with this record, where we presented ourselves

because we were always doing the same thing and it was like

is: you’re living the life and everything’s great so how could you

as these clean-cut [laughs], more perfected versions of our-

we had to always be the same; because we were in a band

possibly be sad? But the truth is that a lot of it is hard work, a

selves; I wanted the perfect hair and the make-up and the

together, we were always together and nothing new happens.

lot of it is lazing ‘round just doing nothing, a lot of it is having

[clothes] with not a crease or not a wrinkle. But Kraftwerk

You never have exciting conversations and eventually you stop

to do things that you don’t really wanna do and it takes its toll,

was, like, the original inspiration for the hair, for sure.”

talking. And it’s dangerous — no matter how much you can

it really does.”

When Devo is put forward as another example of a band

love somebody, you need time apart to appreciate it.”

Once Two Door Cinema Club regrouped and released

who absolutely nail the uniform look, Trimble acknowledg-

It wasn’t until Trimble collapsed at Seattle Airport in 2014,

Gameshow, Trimble says they “unashamedly talked about

es, “Yeah, Devo’s another big influence on this record... The

just before boarding a flight, and wound up in hospital that

everything that [they] had been through”. “One of the most

closest we’ve ever gotten to Devo was they did a remix [Bad

the band realised they urgently needed to take some time out.

important things that you can discover if you are going

Decisions] on our last album [Gameshow], which was so

“We were very lucky, in fact, that we kind of caught it before it

through something like that is the simple fact that you’re not

exciting; we were just thrilled to have someone from Devo

was too late,” Trimble reveals. “I mean, things were going so

alone in it and that so many people are there with you. And

put their touch on our music — that was amazing. But I’m still

bad that there was a chance that some of us could’ve ended

that could be the first step: talking about it and eventually get-

yet to see them live.”

up dead if we had kept going, because it’s all the rock’n’roll

ting out of it, you know?

Growing up in Northern Ireland, Trimble remembers

cliches, you know: you get involved with the booze and the

“Like, when we were kids and we started doing this we

having to travel far and wide to see his favourite bands live.

drugs and it turns into addiction and you’re kind of numb to

got warned from other people in bands, or other people who

“I went to Scotland a few times to see shows. I remember

everything that’s going on around you, because everything’s

were in our crew, who had experienced all of this stuff and

skipping school — actually, it was the three of us in the band,

moving so fast and you’re having success. And you’re afraid to

they just said, ‘Watch out, because it’s gonna happen.’ But

we were maybe 15 or 16 and we’d convinced our parents to

say no to all of these offers that are coming in next for you,

when we were 20 years old, we said, ‘Nah, it’s never gonna

write fake sick notes for the school, and we took a plane to

because you don’t wanna lose people’s attention, right?

happen to us; we’re too smart for that, we’re above that,’ and

Glasgow and we watched The Mars Volta... We were huge

“But I think it was in 2013 and we did this horrible, hor-

fans. One of the bands that we bonded over when we first

rible tour of North America — we were hating every second of

started hanging out with each other was At The Drive-In. The

it and everybody was fucked up in some way or another, and

record that really brought us together was Relationship Of

nobody was talking to each other. We’d finished the tour and

Command and that was the soundtrack to a lot of our first

we all went home and I sent an email to the guys and I just

tours as well.”

said: ‘I can’t do this for a while,’ like, we needed to talk. And we

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then, BAM! There you are!”

False Alarm (Prolifica Inc/[PIAS]) is out this month. Two Door Cinema Club tour from 23 Nov.

“Things were going so bad that there was a chance that some of us could’ve ended up dead if we had kept going.”

Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.

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Behind enemy lines: the toxic side of fandoms

The increased power and prevalence of social media has taken mob mentality global. Maxim Boon looks at different ways toxic fandoms have mushroomed online. Illustration by Felicity Case-Mejia.

andom can toe a fine line. On the one hand, it can be a glorious expression of admiration and joy: getting a Pickle Rick tattoo; being able to recite word for word the entire script of Withnail And I; devoting hours to learning fluent Klingon; owning every item of merch from T-shirts to coffee mugs to straight-to-DVD movies featuring Grumpy Cat (RIP). But that pure-hearted enthusiasm can all too easily reach a tipping point and curdle into a big steaming pile of unhealthy obsession. And as has predictably proven the case all too often in the digital age, social media has enabled this toxic fandom to wreak uncontrollable levels of damage. In fact, it seems to be the fate of anything that reaches a critical mass of popularity, through the sheer numbers of aficionados engaging with it, that an element of toxicity will find a foothold. In decades past, before digital interfaces severed our face-to-face humanity from our opinions, the ardent commitment of superfans might have manifested itself as heated debate among kindred enthusiasts. In fact, sharing the nerdtastic scale of their fandom in everyday life would have largely been met by ridi-

cule or judgement, making even the most hardcore of fans self-conscious about their geekery. But social media has since allowed a strange cross-breeding of online behaviours to occur, splicing diehard zeal with red-hot trolling in a dehumanised, detached realm of zero-consequence. Dissenting opinions are all too often met by breathtaking levels of abuse, and can be escalated exponentially as mob mentality emboldens likeminded fans to get stuck in. Ironically, the embarrassment felt by the superfans of old might well have been the X-factor that kept their emotions in check. Online, it seems, those flood gates are wide open. But not all toxic fandoms were created equal. Several subsets of the phenomena have emerged from this grim sludge of human behaviour, each with its own psychological profile. Here, we’ll take a look at three of the most prevalent forms splurging their way around the internet.

Star Trek for example — boast the greatest numbers. Investing the hours of dedication needed to cement a truly encyclopaedic knowledge of something doesn’t necessarily make someone this type of toxic fan. Where the toxicity infiltrates tends to be in the degree of possessive entitlement at the heart of this fan culture. This can even extend to the creative talents behind the object of the biggest fan’s true love, going so far as to challenge additions or developments to existing canons, such as the backlash experienced by JK Rowling after revealing Dumbledore was gay. Sorry Potterheads, if it’s said by JK, it’s no jk. Ok?

Reality trolls

The evolution of reality TV has become something of an arms race, as showrunners have scrambled to find the next scandalising twist to pull in viewers in an increasingly crowded genre. Many reality shows are now discussed in terms of “narratives” with careful editing used to amplify storylines in a way not too dissimilar to a soap opera. And as with any good yarn, there are heroes and there are villains. Positioning a reality star as a baddie makes for great telly, but it’s also the source of this fandom’s toxicity. As producers have gone to greater and greater lengths to manipulate and edit character development, positioning some reality stars as the rankest, most inhuman bullies, it has pegged them as fair game for online retribution, and within the great echo chambers of social media, this can result in truly shocking examples of widespread abuse. Often this is inspired by a misguided sense of vigilante justice, a simple case of bad sorts getting their karmic comeuppance. However, what is often overlooked is the devastating toll this can take on the very real, thinking, feeling people on the receiving end. Some are forced to leave social

The biggest fan

A perfect storm of entitled superiority, competitiveness and die-hard pedantry combine in superfans who believe their love of [insert pop culture reference of your choice here] is greater and therefore more valid than anyone else’s. This manifests in a possessive, Alpha-level aggression towards any who dare challenge the top wonk’s reign as the biggest, bestest, most committed devotee. Newcomers perceived to be jumping on a bandwagon are also in the firing line, because the biggest fan was into their ultimate passion “before it was cool”. This form of toxic fandom could be best described as broad-spectrum, as it can be found thriving across all manner of genres, art forms, formats and mediums, although true juggernaut franchises — Harry Potter, Star Wars,

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NEWS

media, driven into digital hiding by the sheer weight of the hate being directed at them. In other instances, the results have been far graver. The suicides of two former Love Island contestants in the past year, Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon, have been linked to online trolling and the pressures of fame in the reality TV zeitgeist, highlighting the corrosive effect reality celebrity, and the intense fandom it draws, can have on mental health.

The minions

Sometimes, toxic devotion can be weaponised, both intentionally and by accident, by wayward celebs. This form of fandom is perhaps the most established. Screaming hoards willing to defend their idol at any cost have been around since Elvis and The Beatles. The tools now at their disposal is where the toxicity level has risen in recent years. The slightest perceived slur against a celebrity with this kind of following can provoke a swift and usually wildly disproportionate response via social media. Take for example, the “ratty facial hair” fiasco of 2017, in which Aussie radio host Ash London used less than flattering terms to describe former One Directioner Louis Tomlinson’s attempt at growing a beard. London was subjected to a high-pressure torrent of abuse and threats, demanding apologies for the “disrespect” she had shown the hallowed pop twink. London went to ground, setting her socials to private, and this is where the barrage may have been subdued had it not been for Tomlinson’s own input. Ominously tweeting, “Probs best to stay private for a bit longer love!” along with a middle finger emoji, this was the green light for the Tomlinson faithful to really pile on. And all this, for one off the cuff comment, which is really all it takes to set off this powder keg variety of toxic fan.

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june

Balance of power Catfish & The Bottlemen’s Van McCann and Johnny Bond tell Anthony Carew about the crowd’s going “apeshit” in the rain during their 2016/17 Falls stint, and finding The Balance.

“When we came out for what, a 20-minute set, they were just goin’ fuckin’ nuts.”

hen Catfish & The Bottlemen say they can’t wait to come back to Australia, it’s not just lip service. For the increasingly huge Brit rockers, their previous local tours have brought good times, wild shows and sweet memories. “Every time we get there it just feels like a holiday,” says guitarist Johnny ‘Bondy’ Bond. “A holiday with gigs attached to it. Great gigs.” “There was one festival we did, Falls [in 2016/7], in Byron Bay, and it got rained out,” recounts frontman Van McCann. “Just as we were about to walk on stage, we got told we can’t go on, because there was this torrential rain, comin’ right through the roof, onto drums and onto microphones and everything. So, we head back to the dressing room, and after half an hour we got a tap on the shoulder, sayin’, ‘The crowd’s still there.’ They’d stayed there the whole time. It was like they got even wilder. As the weather got worse, they started enjoying it more. When we came out for what, a 20-minute set, they were just goin’ fuckin’ nuts.” “They were already as wet and a muddy as they were gonna get,” Bond chips in, “so they just went apeshit, sliding down the hill in the mud. There was this crazy atmosphere in the air.” For McCann, there’s also a personal connection. “Australian shows always mean so much to us,” he offers. “My folks got married over there, so it’s always a big thing to be able to ring home and be like, ‘Guess what, we’ve sold out Perth,’ or Sydney, or wherever it is.” It’s a similar thrill to when Catfish & The Bottlemen get to play “back home”, McCann enthuses. “The [shows] close to where we all grew up, that’s always big. There was one [show] we played where it was 15 minutes away from my grandad’s house, up in Liverpool Arena. To do that for the family, with all of them there, that was amazing.” “I remember when we got announced, last year, in Newcastle,” Bond offers, of his own hometown. “Doing a big outdoor one up there, aside from the guestlist being an absolute nightmare, once that was sorted, it was great. I’d look down the River Tyne, and know that I was playing for family and friends.” Their latest Australian tour follows the release of the third Catfish & The Bottlemen LP, The Balance. The album builds on the sound minted on their 2014 debut, The Balcony, and polished on their second record, 2016’s The Ride: big riffs, rock’n’roll swagger, and a sound seemingly built to fill stadiums. With Jacknife Lee serving as its producer, The Balance was recorded in Grouse Lodge, a rural studio located in the Irish Midlands. “We knew we wanted to record it somewhere freezin’, ‘cause we made the last one out in LA,” McCann says, with a laugh. The band lived at the studio, literally, while making the record. That didn’t feel entirely new: “We’ve never, like, live lived together, like, in a home, where we’ve gone out together

to do the weekly shop,” McCann says, “but we’ve spent so much time together on the road.” Still, living in the studio together did cement a bond between them and colour the resulting record. “It was a nice experience, to have that isolation,” says Bond. “It made the days have a certain nice quality, where you were either recording or just sat around chatting for hours. There was no Wi-Fi signal, no want or need for it. There was a beautiful simplicity to that, and it was an experience that bought us all closer together.” “[We were] engulfed in it the whole time,” McCann says. “Our bedrooms were above the studios, so every day when you woke up, on your way to breakfast or whatever, you’d pass the studio, and get excited first thing. I think you can hear that excitement on the songs... We were just havin’ a laugh making it. There was never some bit where it was like, uhh, bangin’ our head up against a wall, can’t come up with something. The first thought that everyone was comin’ up with is what you’re hearing. “Recording is always a fun thing for us, because you know what’s coming at the end of it. You know you’re gonna get to play those songs for the people, live. You know you’re gonna get out there. So, you know how with [Bob Dylan’s] Blonde On Blonde you can hear the band’re havin’ a good time, they’re enjoying themselves, I think that [this] album sounds like one o’ those, to us. We sit around and listen to it and laugh our heads off about it.” Unlike a self-effacing indie-rock outfit, Catfish & The Bottlemen are genuinely ambitious, openly harbouring biggest-band-inthe-world dreams. “I don’t know why we’ve always been so ambitious, it’s just always felt natural to us,” McCann offers. “There’s always that feeling where, like, you’re going to America for the first time. And you’re lookin’ ‘round, thinkin’: ‘Wait, we’re out here making music, and the reason that we got put on this plane was that song?’ The ambition comes from that. Like, you do something you’ve always dreamt of doing, and, then, there’s something else you see, like, there’s this arena across the road, and wouldn’t it be great to come back and do that? With what we’re doing, there’s so much to be ambitious about.”

The Balance (Island) is out now. Catfish & The Bottlemen tour from 19 Jul.

Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.

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Music

Ferris wheels and backpacks Demetri Martin tells Hannah Story he’s too old to care if he’s labelled a “one-liner comedian” or, the greatest comedy slur of all, “a prop comic”.

emetri Martin has a straightforward explanation for why it’s taken him eight years to return to Australia: he’s “been domesticated mostly”. After last touring here in 2011, he married designer Rachael Beame in 2012. Over the intervening years, he dropped two Netflix specials, Live (At The Time) and The Overthinker, and directed his first film, 2016’s Dean. “I got married and we got a house and we fixed up the house and then had two children and I’m finally leaving — just temporarily,” he laughs. He says that now his kids are older, he can afford to tour more than just a few days at a time across the States, as far afield as Australia and New Zealand with his new material, Wandering Mind. “My kids are still young, but I think that we can all handle it as a family. We’ll see how it goes. “I’m excited for all of it. Some of the travel I’m dreading a little bit, but I’m trying to get the books that I have wanted to read, and I like to draw a lot, so I think, ‘Ok, let me treat it as much as I can as sort of a getaway.’” When he’s on tour in other cities, Martin likes to visit museums and used bookstores, and to people watch. “I’m a big people watcher so usually I can hit a cafe or something [and] grab a notebook, because it’s often an opportunity — just jokes will arrive.” While he thinks he should “do probably some more outdoor stuff”, he says he feels guilty sightseeing without Beame. “I feel a certain guilt, ‘cause I’m the one travelling and my wife can’t go, and she’s the better traveller than I am. It makes me sometimes feel bad if I do things that she would’ve wanted to do but then I get to do them alone. “Maybe that’s why subconsciously I do things that she doesn’t like. She hates used bookstores, ‘cause it’s usually just the same space — it’ll be kinda musty and weird old dudes just walking around. Just like old record stores are kinda the same thing: she’s like, ‘You know what, can we go somewhere else?’” Martin, while a prolific stand-up, whose Dr Earnest Parrot Presents Demetri Martin won MICF’s Barry Award for most outstanding show in 2006, might be familiar to some as The Daily Show’s so-called ‘Youth Correspondent’ from 2005 to 2008. Now 45 years old, married with kids, he is still sometimes perceived as young: “Sometimes people are surprised that I’m as old as I am, which is sort of a compliment — that’s fine.” But he does notice that “folks are ageing along with me, so it seems like I’m keeping some of my fans”.

That idea of youthfulness may be attributed to his style of comedy, a mishmash of rapid-fire jokes, puns, drawings and music, delivered in an almost deadpan tone. Despite having released books, directed for film, and written and performed for television, does he ever feel pigeonholed as a oneliner comedian? “I see myself as a one-liner comedian. Sometimes my wife teases me — she’s not in showbiz but she’ll say, ‘Yeah, I don’t know if you’re thinking of yourself as that.’ But no, that’s what I wanted to be, that’s what I am. “None of that bothers me. Even prop [comic] — I don’t know if anybody calls me a prop comedian, but when I was starting out in New York, this was 20 years ago now and I’m sure it’s still this way, but in the States, prop comedy, that can be a pejorative. Like, ‘Oh, you’re a prop comic.’ So if somebody wanted to give me a hard time because I have this easel and all this business, it’s props. But even then now I’m older I don’t care, I mean, whatever.” For Martin the future for him lies, hopefully, in directing more films. “I think that’s just a very exciting medium to try to make comedy in and tell stories in.” He has two new movies ideas outlined, one of which he hopes to write when he gets back home to California. “I can’t really do it on airplanes. I thought, ‘Oh, I could write this movie while I’m touring,’ but I need to keep my head in stand-up.”

thought into how he presents his shows. “Because I liked how [The Overthinker] came out, I’m now thinking differently than I have in a while about how to present stuff, staging, maybe certain sort of audio cues, a little bit more than what I usually do, which is just flip through some drawings. I usually keep it very analogue and very easy to control because it’s much more portable, but I’m finding ways even to fiddle with that, which

“I’ve come to terms with the fact that maybe I’m in a different wing of the whole comedy thing.”

That’s partly because the show is constantly evolving while he’s on tour, Martin more open to improvising now — “It feels much more spontaneous than I was probably eight years ago” — and writing new jokes while in the air. “I’ve done a lot of the tour already so for me my shows in Australia and New Zealand are nicely positioned because I should have weeded out a lot of the garbage by the time I get there.” After experimenting with the postproduction side of things by incorporating voiceover in last year’s special, The Overthinker, Martin says he’s now putting a lot of

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has so far been pretty fun.” And every night before the show Martin prepares the drawing component afresh: “In each city I get a new pad and I make adjustments.” We wonder if Martin feels any sense that he needs to confront the changing political climate in the United States with his comedy, even as a self-described “oneliner comedian”. He speaks of a “world that’s gotten worse”. “I mean since I started it does feel tangibly much worse than it used to be, but I don’t know if it’s also just because I’m older and I’m a parent and I’m worried...”

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Comedy

Martin lands on the fact that he has the freedom to do whatever he wants with his stand-up — hence the combination of so many disparate elements — but that he, like any comedian, is limited by “how we’re funny and what we’re drawn to, and, I think, what inspires us”. “I just discovered quickly that I’m not a political comedian because I’m not inspired by it. My favourite comedians are authentic, whoever they are. My friends who do political comedy, I think the ones who are good at it, they’re being authentic because that’s what they think about and that’s how they’re funny. For better or worse, the best I have to offer are jokes about ferris wheels and backpacks and stuff like that.” Still, Martin says we need political comics “now more than we have in my lifetime”. “But on the other hand, if that was the only kind of comedy we were seeing and hearing, it seems like it would be pretty exhausting. I’ve come to terms with the fact that maybe I’m in a different wing of the whole comedy thing, where I’m more of a distraction and maybe less relevant, as they say with a capital R. That’s fine.”

Demetri Martin tours from 4 Jun.

Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.

Maybe tomorrow

I was finishing the lyrics and everything, I realised that I was talking to this kid, and all the things that I wanted for him — and not just what I wanted out of my relationship but what I wanted to instil in this human being.” Returning to university in 2016 to train to become a therapist, Van Etten began learning

Sharon Van Etten speaks to Hannah Story about the way motherhood shaped her latest album, Remind Me Tomorrow.

“T

Pic: Ryan Pfluger

blues and rockabilly, and styled with the gorgeous trim-

mings of the 1950s, the sound certainly is from a pre-digital age. But talking on the phone before their tour, Tammi Savoy confirms this isn’t a heritage or museum piece. “A lot people say to me, ‘I think you were born in the wrong era,’ but I honestly think that I’m not. I think the fact that I am born in this era, I do appreciate all the women that made it possible for me to do what I can do today. Because back then

ing in the present, while others reach deep

plans for the future.

She’s telling us about the sense of

Van Etten says reflecting back on her

optimism that seems to flow through her lat-

life in that way made her realise that she’s

est album, Remind Me Tomorrow, released in

“at peace with most of [her] past”, which has

January this year. She thinks the hopefulness

in turn brought a sense of immediacy to

of the new album comes down to her “trying

her music. “Whenever I look too far ahead I get anxious, whenever I look too far in the past I get

“Before I had a kid it was easier to bitch

sad, and whenever I’m at the most calm in my

about what was going on in the world and

life it’s because I’m present. And I try to write

in politics, and I was thinking about human

that way.”

nature and things like that. But now I’m just

There’s also a sense of humour to much

trying to be a good role model for my son, and

of Van Etten’s lyrics, which isn’t often spoken

live in this world that can be so negative and

about, critics instead focusing on her confes-

try to still be myself.”

sional mode or the specificity of her imagery.

She speaks in an almost airy way — while

Sure, Van Etten conjures pictures with her

she’s precise with her answers, her voice kind

writing — but sometimes those images are

of seems to float along, stopping abruptly

quite funny. “I think I insert [humour] here or there, just

She says that some of the songs on

to remind people that I don’t take myself too

Remind Me Tomorrow started off as love

seriously. But I also try to write in a way that it’s

songs, but their meaning transmuted as her

kind of normal talk, things that I’ll actually say,

life changed — she started work on the album

words in my vocabulary. I’m not pulling out

before she was pregnant, but didn’t finish it

a thesaurus. “I’m just trying to perfect the way I speak

“Stay originally was meant to be a love

in my writing, if that makes sense. I like com-

song to my partner,” she explains. “But when

edy, I like romance, I like drama — I like all

things were very different, and a lot of the things that I do now

relate to what I’m doing. So I don’t. Some-

I wouldn’t be doing if it weren’t for the people who helped

times it’s hard choosing what songs to sing.”

paved the way. I feel like if I would have been born back then it would have been extremely tough.”

The tension between choosing songs that represent a time, but also still speak to

Savoy’s approach is energetic and refreshing, making

Savoy as a contemporary woman, is one that

sure that material from the past remains relevant. Her pro-

is settled with a simple test when she and her

cess of selecting work is key to this - all about celebrating the

husband go through old records at home.

triumphs of the past rather than just revisiting for no particular reason.

“We go through and we listen to songs together, and if I feel something from it, then

“A lot of the songs that I do, are more obscure songs that

that’s what I’m going to go with,” Savoy says.

didn’t really get a lot of appreciation when they first came

“Some stations do have songs on there, but

out. And a lot of people now don’t really know a lot about

a lot of the old obscure songs come from

these songs, so I like to reintroduce these songs to people.

records, and if I find something I like then I try

I’m glad that I’m able, and that’s why I feel like I’m born in

to look it up and find it, but sometimes you

the right era because I feel like I’m able to pay homage to

can’t find it. It also makes it hard to try and

the people before me and bring it out now so that more peo-

sing the songs because you have to find the

ple can appreciate it. Back then people couldn’t, but it can

lyrics, so I have to listen really closely because

be done now, so I’m glad that I can help make that happen,

often you can’t find the lyrics online. A lot of

you know.”

the older songs don’t have the lyrics there,

Particularly important for Savoy is making sure that the music will make sense for listeners now, which could be something of a gamble, as Savoy works with material people may

She explains that some therapeutic styles don’t address people’s pasts, focusing on liv-

people’s experiences to help them make

until after her son was born.

a band out of time. Dedicated to old school American soul,

a role in your life and in moving forward.”

already,” Sharon Van Etten begins.

when she’s made her point.

t’s easy to see Tammi Savoy & The Chris Casello Combo as

got intrigued by the idea of how the past plays

into and linger in people’s memories, or use

in 2017.

In the lead up to her Bello Winter Music appearance and Australian tour, Tammi Savoy tells Liz Giuffre that while she loves singing songs from the 1950s, she doesn’t feel like she belongs in another era: “I feel like if I would have been born back then it would have been extremely tough.”

the way your past influences your present: “I

he world is a dark enough place

to be positive” since the birth of her first son

Time travel

about how different styles of therapy approach

have missed before, potentially because a sound or theme was a bit ahead of its time or not in fashion at its release.

only the newer songs. So I guess there is a lot of work to what I do,” she exclaims. Confession time - has she ever just made up lyrics that she can’t quite make out? “Oh, umm, sometimes! Sometimes it’s

“I know that can be kind of risky, because nowadays

not very clear so I’m like, ‘It sounds like this,

people want to do the songs that people knew a long time

so that’s what it’s going to be,’ and it works,”

ago, and you know, more familiar music, but I just want to do

she laughs.

something different. Because some of the topics from some of the songs from back then were kind of crazy, because it was a different time. They still went through the same things but things were different, and sometimes I don’t want to choose a certain song because it might say something in there that I might not want to really say today, because it doesn’t really

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Tammi Savoy and The Chris Casello Combo tour from 5 Jul.

aspects of the human condition. So I try to remind people that I’m funny too.” That hopeful lens from the record extends to Van Etten’s latest shows — she’ll be touring Australia in June with sets at major festivals like Vivid LIVE and Dark Mofo — where she’s made the decision to ditch some of her darker material, because she found that she couldn’t “be ok” and keep performing songs so mired to her past self. “On the new tour I’ve taken out all of the songs that I feel like are negative and I’m focusing on the songs that are more positive. I just feel like in the past I got through breakups and dark times by writing and they helped me out of those moments, but after a while I realised that I couldn’t keep performing those songs anymore and be ok. “I’m glad they exist for other people but I found it hard playing some of those songs night after night and not having it affect me emotionally on a daily basis.” Van Etten says she’s “excited” to return for her third Australian tour this year: “I like being exposed to new music and new people.” She reminisces on her first trip Down Under for Falls Festival in 2012, reflecting that visiting Australia is a world away from her life at home in New York, and soon to be Los Angeles. “I was just kinda bright-eyed and bushytailed and people were showing me the ropes. We went to Tasmania and Byron Bay and I got to see the Mona and I got to go to Manly Beach. And it’s just super diverse and really beautiful and a weird parallel universe compared to here.”

Sharon Van Etten tours from 1 Jun.

More authentically you The latest album from English songwriter Lucy Rose is beautiful but intense. She tells Carley Hall that it will grow on you like beer, wine and olives.

t’s early for English singer Lucy Rose (“It’s 7:30am, it’s pretty much the middle of night”) when The Music speaks to her, and today, in the weeks before the release of her fourth album, she’s contemplating a whole other seismic shift in her daily existence. “I’m moving house. I’m leaving London after 13 years and moving to Brighton. On the same day my album is released. Do you think that’s a good idea? It’s time for a change. And I can come back if I hate it, it’s not like it’s that far. I’m moving 50 minutes down the road for goodness sake and I’m like, ‘Oh God.’ I’m pretty worried about coffee. I’ve got the most amazing coffee shop around the corner of my house now, and I had thought, ‘Geez, maybe I just won’t go.’” Rose’s thoughts, questions and anxious ruminating unravel in our chat in a breathy, warm tone. It’s the sort of conversation that is natural and easy, but an awful lot of ground is covered as these intense musings arise and collide, one after the other. Her tendency towards contemplation could very well explain the complexity and depth of No Words Left, an album that Rose herself confirms as “the different one”, and it is — with its lyrically tense, transfixing melodies and intriguing instrumentation, it’s a distinct shift in sound at nearly a decade into her career of making powerful yet approachable folk/indie-rock gems. What’s inspired this newfound intensity? “I don’t know, I feel like after every record you’re like, ‘Yeah this is me, I’ve really found myself on this one,’”

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Music

Rose laughs. “And then six months later you’re like, ‘Oh God, it was all a lie.’ You’re always excited about a new record and you somehow want to think it’s more authentically you. I guess I don’t know where it’s come from. It’s just the nature of things and curiosity for trying something else. “I think this one has turned out the way it has is for a multitude of reasons. Touring without a drummer because I can’t afford to take a band with me, having freedom to play outside of rhythm, has been liberating. Doing more stuff on the guitar has led me to being the master of my own pace on this record. I’ve just been able to reach that point where I’m like, ‘Fuck it, if they don’t like it, I don’t care.’” The sonic shift has seen Rose incorporate some sax and strings with her sighing but forceful vocal, making for a beautiful and often unsettling listen. Musically, it’s diverse. Lyrically, it’s intense. Lead single Solo(w) laments, “But I can’t help it when I am so low/Pretending like I have a purpose/Well, now that’s long gone/Something’s missing/When I am solo, so low, solo, so low.” “The content of the songs, I don’t know why I wrote about what I did — it just sort of happened,” Rose explains. “I spend every waking minute of my day analysing every feeling that I have, which isn’t necessarily a good thing but I think it’s led to the album having an introspective view on everyday feelings. The whole thing has been a bit of a surprise, really. “I would presume that I should know how to talk about my emotions by now. And because of my music I give myself the impression that I do. And I can’t; I can somehow do it in a few lyrics, but if you sat down and tried to talk to me about it, I wouldn’t be able to make much sense of it. “It’s an intense thing, the album. You could put it on the list of things that you don’t like at first but you grow to love. Like beer, wine and olives.”

Lucy Rose tours from 4 Jun.

Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.

As Melbourne punks Clowns reignite the ‘nature versus nurture’ scientific debate regulating human behaviour on new album Nature/Nurture, frontman Stevie Williams tells Steve Bell about the band’s ongoing desire to do whatever they want.

The laws of nature

or years now Melbourne punks Clowns have been recognised around the world for the abrasive power and intensity of both their riotous live shows and their equally raucous recordings. On fourth album Nature/Nurture though, a whole new dimension to the five-piece has been uncovered, now visible through the chaos. On the sonic front there’s a steadfast determination not to be pigeonholed as the band examine just how far they can stretch their sound within the tight constructs of the punk genre. This is offset by a newfound willingness to lyrically explore concepts and topics which work the cerebral as hard as their music hits the physical. It’s a brave and potentially risky move but one they’ve handled with typical aplomb. All the facets that first made them so beloved by their rabid fanbase are still abundant but now augmented by this new sense of artistic ambition — primarily manifesting in the eternal ‘nature versus nature’ behavioural debate which conceptually ties the album together — that offsets their usual unruly aesthetic perfectly. “We just wrote a couple of songs, not really sure what we were doing but knowing that we wanted to make another record, and then the idea just kinda surfaced to call the record Nature/Nurture and to have each

about the world that they hold strongly but there are always exceptions to those rules and ways in which they contradict them. It’s getting pretty cryptic at this point, but I guess it’s just a study of the human condition in our own little twisted adolescentpunk kinda way.” Williams concedes that while strong lyrics are always aspirational for any decent band, they aren’t always imperative in punk music. “I love all kinds of music, so I definitely wanted to make this record seem like something which finds us lyrically on top of our game,” he reflects. “And being our fourth record and how much of the creative process we’ve put into this band collectively — but also all our other side projects and stuff — we’re definitely at the point now where we really want to challenge ourselves, and bring stuff out that does really make you think. “But at the same time I love adolescent music — I love [Descendents’ 1982 classic] Milo Goes To College, that’s one of my favourite records, and I love all that early Silverchair stuff — and I think that really plays a part too in the Clowns aesthetic. Certainly it’s nostalgic but it speaks to a more adolescent side. “Plus I think with this record too being a particularly strong batch of songs lyrically — in terms of Clowns back catalogue I focused a lot harder on the lyrics on this one — but it does have an adolescent side to it. Like on the song Prick the final line of that one is, “. but he’s such a prick!” and I can’t imagine too many scholars will be quoting me on that down the track, or that too many people will be using vernacular like that in their university theses. “But also at the same time with Prick I’m taking a bit of an irreverent, light-hearted swing at dickheads, and it does have a pretty strong message behind it even if the words are just things you’d hear any old schmuck use down at the pub. “The tone of that song has a theme that runs much deeper than just skin level, and that’s what we were trying to do over the entire record — if anyone just wants to listen to it once, it has great listenability. But the more you listen and start to scratch below the surface, you discover that it’s a real study on humankind with genuine substance.” On recent single I Wanna Feel Again — a moving exploration of mental health issues — Clowns even throw vulnerability into the mix, although it too ends up a typical Clowns noisefest eventually. “I think that’s our first emo song, and probably our last emo song,” Williams laughs. “It was good to

open up a more vulnerable side in the lyrics, which we’ve probably neglected in the past. I was stoked with how that song came out, and I guess for anyone following the lyrics if it speaks to them and encourages them to speak out or get something better in their lives then I’m really glad we did choose to be a bit more vulnerable than the usual ‘tough guy’ machismo thing we do.” And while Clowns’ third album Lucid Again (2017) did take some different musical tangents, Nature/Nurture is even more experimental in nature, which the vocalist explains was the plan all along. “It’s definitely conscious,” Williams offers. “We always want to be forever growing as a band and forever experimenting with new sounds, and continue to mix the genre of punk with all kinds of wacky instruments and wacky genres because punk music is just so awesome and we don’t want to be confined to

just one area of punk and paint ourselves into a corner. “Like just because our first record [2013’s I’m Not Right] was a The Bronx-style punk record doesn’t mean that we can’t do a seven-minute long synth-laden sitar-punk track — we want to be able to leave the door swinging and do whatever we want. “And just from my own observations the best bands are the ones that continue to reinvent themselves and make records that sound fresh and interesting, and they’re not making the same record over and over again. For us it’s a calculated effort to keep things interesting.”

Clowns tour from 1 Jun.

Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.

“I guess it’s just a study of the human condition in our own little twisted adolescent-punk kinda way.” side of the record represent those two separate ideas,” explains frontman Stevie Williams. “We also knew we wanted to have the two songs on there called Nature and Nurture, and I guess the aim as well was to make songs which juxtapose and contradict each other with their messages and ideologies, songs which ideologically clash heads but at the same time are clearly part of the same record and pieces of the puzzle that make up the sounds and messages. “At the end of the day it just becomes a symbol of what we all are internally, an amalgamation of nature and nurture intertwined into one massive juxtaposition with opinions. “We’re a mess of contradictions and that’s kinda the idea — everyone’s got views

Pic: Ian Laidlaw

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Dungeons & Dragons & Aussies & artists More and more, Dungeons & Dragons seems to be becoming a spectator sport — even right here in Australia. Joel Burrows looks at the burgeoning creative industry surrounding tabletop gaming.

ungeons & Dragons is a game in which you can fight owlbears, save mermaids, or even fall in love with a gnome. It’s shocking to no one that this game has risen in popularity in recent years. However, it may surprise some of you to discover that this game has spawned a completely new genre of fiction. That’s right, Dungeons & Dragons podcasts, recordings and performances have become so ubiquitous that you can now unpack their tropes and conventions. Don’t believe us? Then roll a DC 15 Insight check! Or, you know, just keep reading the article. From CollegeHumour’s Fantasy High getting millions of views to Critical Role crowdfunding millions of dollars to animate their adventures, the Dungeons & Dragons genre is everywhere. Even HarmonQuest, another popular title from Rick & Morty/Community creator Dan Harmon, has been renewed for its third season. All of these shows star excellent improv, gripping dice rolls, and stories that fans can’t get enough of.

Part two: on the other hand.

Part one: if it ain’t broke... Both Roll For Intelligence and Dragon Friends have many of the same elements that you’d find in a regular game of Dungeons & Dragons. They both have Dungeon Masters, describing the world and conducting the story. They both have players, pretending to be characters inside this universe. They both have dice, which decide the fate of the characters and whether their actions succeed or fail. However, using the language of Dungeons & Dragons to create a story isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, both Roll For Intelligence and Dragon Friends use this very language to their advantage. One of the most unique elements found in Dungeons & Dragons, and the shows adopting its mechanics, is the use of improvised dialogue and plot. You see, Dungeons & Dragons doesn’t follow a script. The characters are reacting to problems in real time and making it up as they go. This lack of structure can lead to the performers tailoring each story to the interests of the audience. As Morgan Little, the previous producer for Roll For Intelligence, told The Music, “If something really resonates with the audience, we can do more with that. There’s no huge hurry to push on.”

Both Dragon Friends and Roll For Intelligence have an edge that separates them from most of their competitors. And this edge isn’t rooted in the mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons. Rather, what separates these shows is their use of Aussie vernacular and their local sense of humour. Roll For Intelligence originally advertised itself as an adventure where “hordes of hoons with goons” attacked Canberra. And remember that pelican from Dragon Friends? Later in the program, he refers to Bobby Pancake as “a real loose unit”. Both of these shows embrace modern Australianisms and cheeky banter with open arms. It’s refreshing to have fantasy characters sounding like they’re not from Game Of Thrones. It’s great to have one’s voice represented in the media. Dragon Friends and Roll For Intelligence feel organic because of their ‘loose unit’ inflections, not in spite of them. They both feel authentic and special. To be clear, neither of these shows are solely successful because of these vocal shenanigans. However, they certainly haven’t hurt getting the audience and their bums into seats.

Part three: the end (of the article) is nigh

“It’s refreshing to have fantasy characters sounding like they’re not from Game Of Thrones.”

But it isn’t just US creators getting in on the action. Australia has its own thriving Dungeons & Dragons scene with some of the best storytellers in the biz. Two of our favourite performance troops are the Canberra-based Roll For Intelligence and Sydney’s Dragon Friends. And even though these live podcasters don’t have Critical Roll’s budget or HarmonQuest’s star power, in some respects they more than make up for it. Want to know why? Well then, buckle up your d20s and your old spell scrolls. Because we, my friends, are going on an adventure. An adventure of critical thinking.

This tailoring of content can definitely be seen throughout the adventures in Dungeon Friends. During the first episode of season five, David Harmon, the show’s Dungeon Master, forgets the word for “mug” and admits he was instead thinking about a Flintstones-esque pelican. The live audience belly laughs at this and halfling rogue Bobby Pancake (portrayed by Simon Greiner) demands that his drink comes in a giant aquatic seabird. Naturally, his wish comes true. The pelican becomes the star of the episode. Dungeon Friends is a better show for embracing its mistakes, the audience’s feedback and the mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons.

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Wow. What an adventure of critical thinking that was. Not only were there multiple discussions about pelicans, but you read about some series to Google or revisit. However, this isn’t to say that Roll For Intelligence and Dragon Friends are the only two shows in existence. There’s a plethora of Aussie Dungeons & Dragons content waiting for you. Yes, my friend, it’s out there. It’s hiding in the depth of the iTunes charts. It’s being performed in your local. All it takes to discover them is the tiniest bit of research. Or, you know, a DC 10 Investigation check.

Dragon Friends is on the second Tuesday of every month at Giant Dwarf. Roll For Intelligence is on the second Friday of every month at Smiths Alternative.

Pure joy Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt tell Daniel Cribb that Nancy & Beth is a “confusing and intriguing” experience.

“P

unk vaudeville” is about as concise a description you’ll get of Nancy & Beth from the sum of its parts, Hollywood talent Megan Mullally of Will & Grace fame and indie-rocker Stephanie Hunt. The duo is in New York rehearsing for an upcoming show when they answer the phone in the back of car. Despite performing together since 2012, the duo are yet to find the perfect way to sum up the experience that is Nancy & Beth. “Now, you can’t compare this band to any other band,” Mullally enthuses. “Sometimes we call it our travelling tent show, sometimes we call it punk vaudeville. It’s different from anything else. And it’s a band, not a show. I mean, it is a show, it’s a performance, but it’s very much a band.” While they’re still touring 2017’s Nancy & Beth LP, which will bring them to Australia for a run of headline shows in June, they are quick to reveal they’ve completed production on a follow-up. “It kind of surpassed our wildest expectations, I think is the first thing I would say,” Mullally offers, with an affirmative “Mmm-hmm” from Hunt. “We’re really excited about it,” Mullally adds, but they’re not releasing it until 2020, “because we’re using this touring season to build up a little bit more.because we think it’s so strong”. Mullally was last slated to visit Australia with her husband, Parks And Recreation’s Nick Offerman, in 2016, but had to withdraw last minute due to filming commitments alongside Bryan Cranston and James Franco in Why Him?. “Ohhh, that is why,” Mullally says. “Yeah, I was shooting a movie. I’ve been telling the other journalists that I was sick, but in fact I was shooting that movie. Oops,” she laughs. It’s no coincidence that Offerman’s upcoming Australian stand-up dates are around Nancy & Beth’s tour. “We had our tour together and he said, ‘Well, why don’t I do some dates over there too?’ I was like, ‘Great! Bring home the bacon,’” Mullally tells. “We planned the entire tour so we’re never playing on the same night.” Live clips of Nancy & Beth in action are mesmerising, with Mullally choreographing intriguing dance moves to a mix of genres, all layered with captivating harmonies. “I think it’s a compelling dynamic for audiences to see Stephanie and I together,” she says. “You kind of think, ‘Huh, what’s that all about?’” “It’s a little confusing and intriguing,” Hunt adds. With a 30-year age gap between the two and a mixed setlist (Gucci Mane, Rufus Wainwright and Doris Day, just to name a few), Mullally notes there’s “a timelessness factor to the whole thing”.

“It’s kind of like time doesn’t exist, almost like your time travelling through all of the songs. We like to move, we dress the same and we dance the same, so it’s like the same, but different. “It’s totally impromptu, it’s not scripted in any way, but it’s not like any other band that I’m aware of.” Hunt is an established talent in her own right, founding The Ghost Songs with The Black Angels’ Alex Maas and Christian Bland, and starring in Friday Night Lights, Californication and more. Yet she approaches Nancy & Beth differently to other projects she’s been involved with in the past. “Sometimes when you’re singing your own songs and performing them there’s a certain amount of ego that comes into it that I’m not a huge fan of, or the songs are slightly melancholic, which is great, but as a performer, it’s not always fun to sing,” Hunt explains. “Not that we don’t do sad songs in Nancy & Beth, but sad songs that you’ve written about yourself can feel a little bit masochistic at times. “So, it’s really nice to be able to celebrate all these genres from all these different eras and there’s not really any other place that you can do that except for Nancy & Beth on the stage and you have to be either Megan or I, so it’s pretty small ratio of probability and it’s really an honour to be able to do it.” It’s certainly not a project they thought would take them to venues such as Sydney Opera House, which Mullally describes as a real honour. “I feel like the audiences in Australia are really suited for this band, I really do,” she says. “I feel like people are going to respond so well to what we do.” Hunt adds: “We look at each other and think ‘What?’ almost every day that it’s actually a thing because we didn’t really set out with ambitions.” That easygoing formation and progression are what Mullally attributes in part to their success. “We didn’t have ulterior motives,” she says. “We’re doing it for just the pure joy of doing it. I think that’s what translates to the audience. “It’s very celebratory, but it’s very pure. It’s like two little girls playing, and I think that the audience picks up on that almost immediately and that’s why they’re so on board.”

Nancy & Beth tour from 6 Jun

Pic: Emily Shur

“It’s not like any other band that I’m aware of.”

Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.

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The Music

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june

Sounds more free and fluid

Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.

time to notch up their second record with touring band member and long-time producer, Wade Keighran, Novak admits he and Pajak had to push past the inevitable internal pressures of second album syndrome. “We hit a few roadblocks, and a lot of it was to do with trying to find the next single or writing songs that fit a specific purpose,” Novak explains. “As soon as we stopped doing that and went back to writing songs as if it was fun or they were what we wanted to do, it became easier. “John was talking about it the other day and he said, ‘Dude, I think we wrote over 100 songs for the album.’ We tried writing pop songs, punk songs, R&B songs, electronic songs — all this stuff. I think it’s what we had to do to find what made sense and what we could pull off when

“No matter what we do or how crazy and experimental we get... it still sounds like our band.”

Working day jobs, moving back in with the olds, and second album syndrome — Polish Club experienced it all while recording their latest record. But singer David Novak assures Carley Hall that there’s always fun to be had. Feature pic by Tommy Thoms.

haotic live shows around the globe, a run of releases that have been loved and lauded, and soulful rock that inspires hoarse singing from sweaty mosh pits: that’s Polish Club. Their 2018 hit Clarity even scored a slot in last year’s triple j Hottest 100. By all appearances, the Sydney duo are living the high life. But the reality for any modern band is not quite the heady lifestyle of old. The newfound joys of contract work are keeping singer David Novak busy after wrapping up the recording of their forthcoming second album Iguana. It’s the same for drummer John-Henry Pajak, who has worked at his fulltime day job throughout Polish Club’s existence. Novak says it is what it is — a way to allow this hard-working, fun-loving band to keep at it. “My job isn’t super glamorous but it’s got free booze,” he laughs. “It’s minimum investment for long-term gain. I just dive in and put out fires and then I’m out. It just allows us to reinvest anything we make into the band for touring and albums, which is a necessity. “John has worked full-time most of the time we’ve been in the band. I don’t know how. He’s a graphic designer and works stupid hours and goes straight from work to a photo shoot and [to] do a bunch of ads and stuff for the

band. Being what it is, it’s not a sustainable machine for mental health and not conducive to creativity. It’s really hard to monetise a creative passion. But we all make it work. “I also broke up with a long-term girlfriend last year and found myself going, ‘I don’t want to pay $350 a week for a place that I’m gonna be away from with shows and touring.’ So I bit the bullet, and fortunately my mum is a musician and my dad is a wannabe musician, and were totally understanding and open to me coming back home and eating all their food and using their washing machine.” Despite living without the cliched rockstar charms in their everyday lives, Polish Club have kept themselves close to the good times since their self-titled debut EP dropped in 2015. A soulful slant amid basic but boisterous drums and guitar was all that was needed to prick the ears of listeners who welcomed some cheeky rock among the indie onslaught. In 2017, their first LP Alright Already garnered critical esteem with an ARIA nomination for Best Rock Album. With the band’s fanbase growing, thanks in part to their face-melting live shows, it seems like it might be difficult to maintain a skyward trajectory. When it came

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added to the context of this band and what people expect from us, but also what we can get away with, how far away from expectations can we go without it being totally disingenuous and having change for the sake of it. “It was a nightmare, to be completely honest. Because after spending so long trying to come up with new ideas and rehash old ideas with the perspective of what is actually valuable and what makes sense, it was like, ‘These are all the songs and I don’t know what I like anymore because I just hate everything.’ The process became not fun anymore, and so to that end you just kind of have to go into the studio, and it was only towards the end we had two big sessions where the bulk of the album was done. “It made us realise that no matter what we do or how crazy and experimental we get, it’s got my voice and guitar on it and John’s drums and our songwriting, and it still sounds like our band. So we were a lot less precious about trying to find one thing that we could latch onto, and the result is that it sounds more free and fluid.” It would be completely reasonable after such an intense process for some cracks to appear in the band, let alone one made up of two longtime friends. Bands with more members can bounce frustrations off each other, and solo artists often go to war with themselves. A duo has the danger of becoming make or break, but Novak said he and Pajak rarely cracked the shits with each other. “And if we do, it never comes from an emotional thing — it’s always something logical or a difference of opinion, so it’s very easy to talk that out,” he says. “There’s usually a consensus that forms and we’re all going for the same end result, and our tastes are not that disparate from each other. We don’t really come to disagreements where it stops us from progressing — the only thing that stops both of us is not feeling productive as a unit. It’s just us against ourselves. “Otherwise it’s true love, what can I say? We do it because it’s fun — I mean, why else would you do it? We’re not rich, we’re not famous, we’re doing it because it’s fun for us, and fortunately it’s fun for other people. “We’re incredibly lucky, because every time we’re vibing or being stupid on stage or with a cover, it’s always elicited a positive reaction from people on the outside. Long may that continue — rather than having to think about what this is and why we’re doing it.”

Iguana (Island) is out this month. Polish Club tour from 8 Jun.

Something to kill time before #BIGSOUND19

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june

Album Reviews

Every band can stop now, the album of the year is here. The Beautiful Monument are about to shut down the industry with their sensational new album, I’m The Reaper. Angstridden anthems, powerful ballads, techno-laced alt-rock, synthesised depths, beauty and brains — this is the band with a gift that keeps on giving — finding words to do this album justice is difficult, this is a release you simply must listen to to fully understand. That, indeed, is the unmatchable power The Beautiful Monument have compared to their contemporaries. Their raw songwriting talent and natural prowess for multi-textured instrumentation have been so well refined, every note does the talking and pulls heavy on your heartstrings. There’s just something that TBM simply get. Heck, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was being reviewed by an angsty teen, but it’s true; The Beautiful Monument are an everyman band whose powerful renditions of love, loss, and every melancholic experience out there are best explained with riveting rhythms and powerful lyrics. Though there’s only seven notes in the scale, The Beautiful Monument have put them together in sequences that crash through tales of life’s afflictions and adventures with a creative manipulation that gifts each track with a standalone character and no evidence of a mess made. Raw, clever, concise, distinctive, this is a band who have an unprecedented talent for their craft. Like a really great film you watch over and over again, with every listen you’ll discover new, wonderful elements that keep the magic inspired. Opener Give Up

The Beautiful Monument

I’m The Reaper Greyscale Records

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is an almighty banger as it breaks down the gates of the powerful album, while Deceiver, slightly gentler, is stunning and heart-breaking in its lyrics. Stay, with its synth intro, is unbearably beautiful, and Cursed is the kind of angst-ridden track that’ll make you curl in a vulnerable ball of emotions. Standout track Kintsugi plays with punkrock undertones without The Beautiful Monument running dry on ideas for their signature sound, and shows off some very impressive drum runs to boot. If there’s a track by an Aussie band that stands to be an anthem exemplary of a resilient spirit, it’s this song. The feels are real, all of them, from elated drifting on gritty guitars to angry throwdowns, to soaring sensations of hope in some truly powerful vocals. Listen carefully and heavy plodding on piano keys add some earthy tones to the tracks, not only rounding out their depth of character, but pushing home a point that nothing in life, or this band, is one-dimensional. Major-minor shifts, bends and breaks in sound and emotion, there’s so much to unpack in I’m The Reaper, and The Beautiful Monument prove they are indeed a beautiful fixture in the Australian music scene. The melodic lovechild of Flyleaf, In Flames and Sleeping With Sirens after a scientifically improbable threesome, this album is a major contestant for heavy release of the year and should win all the awards. Anna Rose

Emeli Sande

Baroness

Bruce Springsteen

Silversun Pickups

EMI

Abraxan Hymns / Cooking Vinyl

Columbia / Sony

New Machine Recordings / Warner

HHHH

With Real Life, Emeli Sande presents 11 tracks to uplift and inspire. Her third album, this four-time BRIT Award winner again provides an antidote to all that ails at the moment, with tracks like the catchy Extraordinary Being presenting upbeat, unreserved joy — with some disco-era strings for good measure. The whole album works on a pop/soul bent. The title tune adds a gospel chorus to provide depth, while opener Human draws on a kind of late-night electro palate — all held together by Sande’s powerful vocals and a gorgeous soundscape.

Gold & Grey is perhaps less cohesive than records past, and the psychedelic flourishes found on the magnificent Dave Fridmannproduced Purple are missing. That said, the album is still bursting with fist-pumping passages of inspired riffage, and there’s lots of detail to explore. Gold & Grey ultimately feels, for better or worse, like a Baroness album still in development phase — a dynamic exercise in feeling in the dark for their boundaries and mapping their current potential. It’s looser, shaggier, and perhaps grittier around the edges, but their dedication to size and scope hasn’t diminished.

The man affectionately known as “The Boss” returns with the wonderful Western Stars, his first solo album since 2005’s Devils & Dust. Taking influence from Californian pop of the ‘70s, Western Stars finds the New Jersey troubadour returning to his roots with a collection of songs steeped in classic Americana. This is a record with a strong focus on Springsteen’s character-driven, everyman lyrics, with themes of community, hope and heartache flowing through the 13 tracks. It’s another incredible chapter in the career of Springsteen and further proof he’s the greatest American singer-songwriter alive.

Liz Giuffre

Matt MacMaster

Tobias Handke

Widow’s Weeds, the fifth studio album from the LA alt-rockers, Silversun Pickups, is an utterly unimaginative and forgettable release. A little instrumental extension with some strings is about the only interesting thing in It Doesn’t Matter Why. Any movement from the path of mundane is distinctive. Take vocalist Brian Aubert as he breaks into Freakazoid — the record has been so bland up until this point that when Aubert drifts higher up the octave, you’re acutely aware of the change. Ultimately Widow’s Weeds is like eating stale crackers — dry and uninspiring.

Real Life

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Gold & Grey

Western Stars

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Album Reviews

Widow’s Weeds

Anna Rose

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Kate Tempest

The Book Of Traps And Lessons

Hatchie

Polish Club

The Saboteurs

Ivy League

Island / Universal

Third Man / [PIAS]

Iguana

Keepsake

Help Us Stranger

HHHH

HHH½

Although The Book Of Traps And Lessons is bleaker than an abandoned warehouse at twilight, it’s lit by lyrically vivid scenes, compelling the listener to stop and absorb every detail. Tempest’s South London accent is brought to the fore by a backdrop of little more than ethereal drones, faint arpeggio (Lessons) and ghostly piano on I Trap You. A beat doesn’t materialise until Firesmoke. Drawbacks? It’s chorus-less, and could use a thematic centrepoint, as the album tends to wander around gloomy scenes without any direction until People’s Faces.

Hatchie is retro in the sense that her influences — Cocteau Twins, The Sundays and Kylie, for her music is pop at heart — are obvious, but the spirit of her music is focused on the right here, right now. Bright, glossy and optimistic, her sound wraps up even her feelings of uncertainty and vulnerability in an aura of beauty. Her confidence in omitting early singles is justified by the many sharply written songs here. Keepsake is a shining example of how pop music can be dynamic, singular and surprising, and like the title suggests, something worth holding onto.

While the concept of the power trio is all well and good, there really is just something killer about a hard-rockin’ duo isn’t there? Sydney’s Polish Club, a gruesome twosome of guitar and drums, have returned for their second album, Iguana. And it’s a bloody good time for the most part. Reminiscent of The Colour And The Shape-era Foo Fighters and Death From Above 1979, Iguana will be an easy sell for anyone who likes a good fuzztone or a blown-out larynx. When even the most average of songs inevitably offers an unexpected monster-riff or sick tempo change, it’s hard to call ‘em sellouts.

Christopher H James

Donald Finlayson

Two Door Cinema Club

Bench Press

Gena Rose Bruce

Art Of Fighting

Dot Dash / Remote Control

Remote Control

HHH

HHHH

The narrative surrounding Gena Rose Bruce’s debut album has the singer holed up at Warrnambool, in south-west Victoria, writing songs following the demise of a toxic relationship. It’s perhaps inevitable there’d be a touch of emo to the results. But the album is also, implicitly, a testament to collaboration and creativity as paths back from the mire. Musician Jade Imagine helps elevate several tracks above the level of dirge; note the spangly guitars and pops of bass that answer The Way You Make Love’s dark, obsessive lust.

Twelve years since their last album was released, Art Of Fighting have come out of hibernation and delivered a superb record that oozes charm and quality from end to end. Luna Low is chock-full of all that was great about the ‘90s — Recovery, Au Go Go Records and flannel shirts. Sure, the three Brown(e)’s and one Frew are older and greyer, but they show on Luna Low they are still master songwriters and performers. If there is such a thing as a coming-of-age album for 40-somethings that happily ignores the what-ifs, then this has to be it.

Tim Kroenert

Adam Wilding

Fiction / Caroline

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False Alarm

Prolifica Inc. / [PIAS]

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False Alarm, a glitzy slab of retro-futurist pop from Two Door Cinema Club, is a relatively rare animal. As a pop record, it’s MO is colour and sound. Yet it’s pushing back against maximalism, while still milking as much as it can out of the studio to make it sound full, vibrant and as on-brand as early ‘00s Kitsune Records alum can be without resorting to volume. This one’s all about validation, with characters pleading to either be recognised, liked, or for their partner to quit being self-absorbed. It can get a little broad, but it’s all wrapped up in such a catchy package it’s easy to move past the didacticism and get to the good stuff.

Not The Past, Can’t Be The Future

Can’t Make You Love Me

Poison City Records

HHHH No gain, all pain, Bench Press’ second fulllength album retains all the frantic aggression of their self-titled debut but strips things down so those grainy nuances seep through, bordering on sludgy. The balance here is beautiful, you’ll miss nothing and really enjoy the subliminal dissection Bench Press offers. This is an enigma of a release that, clean cut as it seems, still manages to penetrate the eardrums and leave a suitably filthy residue. Anna Rose

Matt MacMaster

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Album Reviews

Spectacular as it was to witness The Saboteurs perform new material live on their recent (and first-ever) Australian tour, it takes the studio recording of their brand new album, Help Us Stranger, to really appreciate the melodic nuances, timeless influences, and eccentric genius of vocalist and guitarist Jack White. The Saboteurs are more than White, of course, and his band of very merry men have been visited by the ghosts of blues-rock and ‘60s pop greats in this release; there’s something new to discover with each listen. Anna Rose

Luna Low

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SCREENABILITY Filmmakers with disability. Provocative world cinema. Sydney Film Festival welcomes back the Screenability program, presented in partnership with Create NSW, with disability and their provocative

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Wicked The hit Broadway musical Wicked cackles on a broomstick into the Gold Coast this month. Aussie musical theatre star Samantha Dodemaide, pictured, stars as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch Of The West, in a far cry from her breakthrough role as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz, while Gold Coast local Emily Monsma takes on Glinda, the Good Witch. The musical unravels their unlikely friendship, with Glinda reflecting on their common history in the wake of Elphabaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demise in The Wizard Of Oz. The musical looks back on the pair growing up from university mates into rivals, as they navigate dramatically different perspectives, a shared love interest, the corruption of the Wizard himself, and Elphabaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s increasingly wicked misdeeds.

Wicked runs from 25 Jun at HOTA.

The best of The Arts in June

Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow Pinder Prize-winning comic Sam Taunton, pictured, MCs the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow in Brisbane, getting the laughs rolling for an impressive roster of comics from Australia and abroad: Matt Okine, Nick Cody, Steph Tisdell and Lloyd Langford. From 8 Jun at Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse

Intimate Antipathies Luke Carman drops essay collection Intimate Antipathies this month through Giramondo Publishing, in which he squares up against arts administrators, meets Gerald Murnane at a golf club in regional Victoria, and muses on being a writer in his hometown of Western Sydney.

Out 1 Jun

West End Film Festival The West End Film Festival includes an official competition of shorts, with five screenings of officially selected and curated short films, like Thomas José Field’s A Rare Breed about a chicken breeder and mystery flick To The Sea by Emily Dynes. From 29 Jun at Boundary St Markets

The Finders Keepers Satiate your urge to nest when design market The Finders Keepers returns to Brisbane Showgrounds this month, offering over 200 stalls of bespoke wares from local artists, including Washpool Skin Wellness, pictured, Life Apparel Co, Eggpicnic and Common Stitch. Pic by Samee Lapham.

From 21 Jun at Brisbane Showgrounds

Spartacus and Jewels As part of QPAC’s International Series, Moscow’s revered Bolshoi Ballet perform two of their lush ballets exclusively in Queensland this month: Yuri Grigorovich’s Roman epic Spartacus, pictured, and George Balanchine’s dazzling three-act Jewels; accompanied by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Pic by Damir Yusupov.

From 26 Jun at Lyric Theatre, QPAC

Tosca Opera Queensland premiere a new production of Giacomo Puccini’s 1900 opera Tosca, updated to take place in 1970s Italy, against a backdrop of political and religious tensions, including labour strikes, political assassinations and religious factions attempting to influence government. From 13 Jun at Lyric Theatre, QPAC

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La Silhouette

Dolly Diamond

Reuben Kaye

Queer as fuck cabaret

“Queer communities fight and enter into battle through celebration, using parties and costumes and singing and dancing and movement to fight back.” — Daniel Gough

Performers Dolly Diamond and Reuben Kaye, and Daniel Gough, director of La Silhouette, talk to Maxim Boon about keeping cabaret subversive.

ince the emergence of modern cabaret as an art form, birthed in the smoky salons of 1880s Paris, it’s been the medium of choice for the open-minded. A place where poets, performers and radical thinkers could find kindred spirits, cabaret clubs offered a spotlight for forms of expression that broke new ground and pushed boundaries, both creatively and culturally. Free of the stuffy heritage and rigid elitism of theatre, opera and ballet, cabaret was not only a more accessible form of entertainment, it was unpredictable, unexpected, and totally of the moment. But more than this, cabaret celebrated otherness, so it’s little wonder that it has been a mainstay for queer artists for more than a century. Today, it clearly continues to hold that magnetism for queer performers; cabaret features heavily on the program of this year’s MELT: Festival Of Queer Arts And Culture. One of the fest’s biggest headliners is revered cabaret legend and drag star Dolly Diamond. The alter-ego of British-born comedian Michael Dalton, Diamond first sauntered onto stage 18 years ago, and has been a fixture on Australia’s cabaret circuit since 2009. In 2017, she was appointed the Artistic Director of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival. She says it’s the spontaneity of cabaret that makes it such a perfect fit for drag artists. “You know, I’ve done musicals and other stage shows over the years, and Ioved them of course, but you have to deliver the same performance night after night. And I think that’s a bit like working in a bank, I just find it way too boring,” she explains. “But I think the most important thing about cabaret for

me is that you get to break down that fourth wall, because I really rely on an audience to give back as much as I’m giving them.” At the heart of her performances is a classic variety of high camp comedy. It’s a style of outrageous clowning that is perfect for audience interaction, she says. “I love that element of the unknown, you know, because at my shows I often have no idea what the audience are going to do, or even what I’m going to do. I love improvising, and I just think cabaret allows for that in such an exciting way.” The direct connection it can make to its audience, and the blurred division between the stage and audience, makes cabaret uniquely intimate. In some cases, as with Diamond, this allows for a more whipsmart comic dynamic. But for other artists it offers more sensuous opportunities. Reuben Kaye is a performer for whom hedonism is the principal tool of his trade. The master raconteur’s stage persona is a mix of scandalising glamour and devil-may-care inhibition. “What you see on stage is definitely still me, but a heightened version of me — three or four martinis in, right in the middle of a fantastic story. But likewise, it’s still incredibly real and incredibly raw because it can be. That’s what this type of performance gives you,” he says. “For me, cabaret is commentary on and reaction to the world through a queer lens. And by ‘queer’ I don’t necessarily mean particularly gay, per se, but twisting something, adjusting it, rearranging it to give a new perspective.” In the past, artists like Kaye, while certainly heralded within their own communities, nonetheless subverted the cultural sta-

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tus quo, and were often disregarded as fringe performers. In recent years, queer culture has become more recognised and mainstreamed, which has seen a “radical shift” in the status of queer artists. “It’s an amazing moment in history that what I do is recognised around the world. I’m in a very privileged position that simply would not have been possible, even ten years ago,” Kaye says. “But that doesn’t mean what I do, and other artists like me do, has lost any of its sting. When I first started, maybe six years ago, I thought this act would end up being completely passØ — the transgression of it, the risk of being a man in this job, wearing make-up, talking about sexual liberation, making jokes about masculinity — I thought it would become really bland. But six years on, there’s still risk in it. There’s still something exciting that people want to see, so as along as that’s the case, I’ll keep going, I’ll keep putting the slap on.” Cabaret may be a perfect vehicle for artistic trailblazers, but it also represents a chronicle of queer history. Brisbane’s SUI Ensemble are channelling both these qualities for their latest show, La Silhouette. Via an immersive experience that invites the audience to inhabit the world of the performers, this experimental production charts Brisbane’s LGBTQIA+ heritage. The show’s director, Daniel Gough, chose a cabaret club as La Silhouette’s setting. “The interesting thing about cabaret, is that it allows you to tell a lot of short stories, and tell them in a number of ways. And I think that’s pertinent to queer culture and the queer psyche because queer people have a lot of parts to themselves — social personas,

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private personas, sometimes drag personas or gender personas. So cabaret is a perfect reflection of that,” he says. “There are those historical and academic reasons about why queer culture chimes so well with cabaret, but ultimately for this project, it just felt right — as theatre makers we landed in the cabaret environment very quickly.” But exploring queer history is inevitably a story of persecution and prejudice, and these bleaker qualities may perhaps seem at odds with the thrill and comedy of cabaret. Gough insists the darker parts of Brisbane’s queer past aren’t something to shy away from. “We are talking about a culture in a society that had to happen outside the public eye, which is, by the way, the same place where a lot of crime happened, where a lot of corruption happened. So queer spaces and those kinds of illicit criminal spaces were often shared. But queer communities fight and enter into battle through celebration, using parties and costumes and singing and dancing and movement to fight back. It’s how we express pride. So there is a darkness to parts of this story, but it’s also a story about people who want to express themselves, and the best way to fight against a society that doesn’t want that is to do it anyway.” Dolly Diamond’s Bl*nkety Bl*nks is on 29 Jun at Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse. La Silhouette runs from 27 Jun at Turbine Studio, Brisbane Powerhouse. Reuben Kaye plays 4 Jul at Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse.

A lot to Wyatt home about Wongutha-Yamatji actor and playwright Meyne Wyatt speaks to Hannah Story about finding healing in the writing process of his debut play, City Of Gold.

ongutha-Yamatji man Meyne Wyatt grew up on country in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, before moving to Sydney to study at NIDA. He’s since embarked on an accomplished stage and screen career, earning theatre accolades, starring in Redfern Now, and becoming the first Indigenous main cast member on Neighbours in 2014. Wyatt also featured in STC’s King Lear in 2015, mere months after his father passed away from throat cancer. Wyatt brings his debut play City Of Gold to Queensland Theatre and Sydney’s Griffin Theatre — and there are some parallels between the work and his own life. The production, in which he also stars, is billed as following young Indigenous man and budding actor, Breythe, as he returns home to Kalgoorlie in the wake of his father’s death. For Wyatt though, the play is only “semi-autobiographical”. “I’m an actor, so there’s a character in the play that is an actor, who lives in Sydney and then he goes back to Kalgoorlie,” Wyatt begins. “The character’s father dies, and my father died in 2015. So there’s all of those parallels with myself and the play. Just exploring what happens once someone passes away in your family and having to deal with the funeral and having to deal with the family, I think mostly that’s the semi-autobiographical nature of the play.” An actor with a score of credits, including his film debut in 2012’s The Sapphires and the 2018 TV spin-off series, Mystery Road, Wyatt says he knew he always wanted to write at some point in his career. “I always thought it was gonna be maybe a little bit later when I was further down the track, but I decided at one point, when is a good time to write something? So I just started to do it while I was in the midst of doing other things, acting in other productions, other shows, TV and films and stuff like that.” He started writing City Of Gold about a year and a half after his father’s death, but he didn’t land on the intimate subject matter straight away. He went into the process writing about something “that was away from myself”, but admits, “I read it back and I particularly didn’t think it was very good.” So he took the advice often bestowed on new writers: write what you know. “I went back to the drawing board and just went, ‘Ok, well, what’s happened in my

life that I wanna talk about?’ I think stuff that was more truthful to me and stuff that I experienced was just better in the end.” That honest way of writing helped people to connect with the work — “people seemed to respond to the material” — even as it was, for him as a playwright, a “cathar-

“I forced the door open so that people could see that I was an actor, not just an Indigenous actor.”

tic experience”: “I think this had become a sort of healing process in a way. It was a cathartic experience writing the play. I think there were certain things I divulge in, that I haven’t been shy from writing about, because I think it ended up helping me go through the grieving process.” Still, it’s not meant to be a study of his own grief. Instead, Wyatt describes it as “a play about a family going through grief set in Kalgoorlie and dealing with the contemporary social climate of Australia today and what that means for Indigenous Australia and non-Indigenous Australia”. Wyatt says that he drew upon experiences from his life — whether racism at school, or upon entering the creative arts industry in Sydney — to write about those social issues. He notes that when he was starting out as an actor he’d only be considered for certain roles, a subject that he explores in City Of Gold. “Especially when I first graduated from acting school when I came into the industry, there were certain roles that I’d only be seen for and auditioned for and the roles that I ended up getting. “I think that they were a reflection of my identity, but I think that I had to push some of those boundaries and make sure I forced the door open so that people could see that I was an actor, not just an Indigenous actor.” Ultimately, Wyatt’s goal with the work isn’t proscriptive — there’s no direct message, he says, he simply wants to spark difficult conversations for his audience. “I think there’s a conversation about change in the play — I think my question to an audience is, ‘What do you think about that?’ I think that this is a play that I’m sure people will make direct questions from the play, like ‘Oh, what can I do?’ or ‘What is he saying here?’ but I feel like you take out what you get from the play and what I’m talking about. “Some of those things, I address them because it’s just what happens and this is real life and I’m trying not to shy away from the dirtiness of that.”

City Of Gold plays from 29 Jun at Billie Brown Theatre.

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Sea N Sound Festival Not a fan of the colder weather? How about a sea change? Sea N SoundÂ Festival, which aims to showcase the best of the Sunshine Coast, is set to return to Mooloolaba this month with a line-up that includes Amy Shark, Busby Marou, Ali Barter, I Know Leopard, pictured, Didirri and more. With craft beer, cider, gourmet food and Mooloolabaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous seafood also on offer, head to The Wharf Tavern on 8 Jun to get among the action.

Here comes the sun

The winter solstice approacheth! On 22 Jun the Earth tilts ever so slightly back towards the sun to give us back precious minutes of daylight. It’s a primeval excuse to party, but the longest night of the year also means the shortest day to prepare. Best be ready.

Bump in the night Lauren Baxter takes a look at how to get the most out of the longest night of the year. Illustration by Felicity Case-Mejia.

he longest night of the year can only mean one thing: Night King begone, it’s time to throw an outrageous party. But why not get on brand and make it a solstice soiree? After all, it falls on a Saturday this year. Your guests will love that s-s-sibilance. Don’t know where to start? We’re here to help. Embrace your inner druid, throw off the shackles of your mortal being and fall deep down our midwinter rabbit hole. We promise YULE have a great time. Drinks, finger food and themed puns provided.

Food for thought

While Yule celebrations in the Northern Hemisphere might be strongly linked to traditional Christmas feasting, we’re in no way advocates for a Christmas in July-style meal here. Get your abhorrent jumper out of my face, Susan. But you know, in the spirit of warming the cockles and getting into the merriment (not because we are alcoholics or anything), we recommend copious amounts of mulled wine (recipe yonder &gt;) and a hot, spicy ale called wassail. On the food front, cooking up a thick slab of meat-on-the-bone seems appropriate. Or maybe a suckling pig. Get primal, baby.

The naked truth There’s a bunch of midwinter traditions from around the world, but nothing that quite screams solstice party like getting your kit off. Every year, the otherworldly delight that is Tasmania’s Dark Mofo honours the winter solstice with a bare-naked romp in Hobart’s River Derwent. It’s normally a brisk one degree Celsius but that’s all part of the fun. Something, something, health benefits, something. In the spirit of honouring tradition, we hereby declare it’s not an official solstice party without some good ol’ fashioned skinny dipping. Sorry, we don’t make the rules. Not near a body of water? No worries! Invest in a paddling pool; fun for the whole family.

Come on baby light my fire

Kramp my style

Cut the cackle

Rise and shine

A seance baby. WICCA WICCA WHAT. It’s an attempt to contact the dead. We’re not really sold on the whole idea to be honest (SHUN THE NON-BELIEVER), but it seems like a fun time. Turn it into a drinking game, play a prank on your most gullible mate, watch the hilarity unfold. Iranian, Celtic, and Germanic traditions say the solstice is when all kinds of evil spirits come out to play — and not the alcoholic kind. But hey! It’s a party. As long as they are down, the more the merrier we say.

Whatever you end up doing this winter solstice, there’s no better way to end the night than by watching the sunrise. The point of all this death symbolism isn’t to freak you out... It’s to embody rebirth, or so we’re told, and nothing really says rebirth like the dawn of a new day. Whether you’re stumbling out of a club, going on an early morning hike and putting us all to shame, or surrounded by mates at the solstice party of the century, feel the wholesome solar energy surge through you. Oh wait, nope, that was vomit. The hangover is setting in.

One quick google of winter solstice party ideas and you’ll be smacked in the face with wholesome pinterest boards about making candles and lanterns and shit. And while that might be suitable mood lighting for the unfolding shenanigans, it’s go big or go home here. Burnt offerings have a long and crispy past but we don’t have time for a history lesson now so just light a bonfire and trust us. Besides, after all the skinny-dipping escapades doesn’t cosying up by those roaring flames sound just delightful? Crowdsource some marshmallows, construct a wicker man (instructions yonder &gt;), listen to the words of our lord and saviour, Jim Morrison.

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In our extensive research to help you plan the best party, like, ever, we came across the “half-goat, half-demon” creature that is Krampus. Central European folklore suggests this weird dude comes out at Christmas time to eat bad children. And while we’re all for that scenario, the origins of Krampus actually come from an ancient pagan ritual where town folk dressed up as the mythical creature and paraded through the streets to disperse winter’s ghosts. With that in mind, we reckon we’ve got a two birds scenario here. Get your guests to dress up like Krampus to both dispel those ghastly ghouls and scare small children. It’s win-win!

We didn’t start the fire

Mull it over

Maybe all men are created equal, but their wicker simulacrums can make no such claim. Most definitely not a cultist Sam Wall answers your burning questions about flaming statues.

Jess Dale’s mulled wine must-do’s.

hought to have once been receptacles for human sacrifices to mighty Taranis (praise him), wicker men these days are mostly associated with doing drugs in the desert and Nick Cage screaming about bees. That doesn’t mean, however, that they can’t still play a versatile part of your neo-pagan rituals. Most recent batch of backyard tommies not as plump as previous years’? Wicker man. Bone-

sick of winter and hoping the Celtic pantheon will put the spurs in spring? Wicker man. Solstice fire feast just needs a dazzling centrepiece? You guessed it — wicker man. But building a giant, flaming keg on legs is surprisingly difficult, and there are fewer YouTube tutorials on the subject than you’d think. Learn from my mistakes to turn your fizzling effigy into a blazing manneq-win.

hat better bevvy could there be to warm yourself with during the solstice than mulled

wine? Whether you believe that this tasty tipple was originally sank by posties who travelled through the freezing Scandinavian countryside or by the Romans, who used it to prep their bodies for the winter, what matters most is that centuries on, the recipes and good times remain. You can find a heap of recipes online but here are our hots tips for your hot wine.

Balsa Bob

Materials: balsa wood assorted craft pack, Tarzan’s Grip epoxy adhesive Balsa seems like a home run really. It’s strong but lightweight, kind of fuzzy even. If that sounds to you like a combination of adjectives that should add up to a perfectly serviceable temporary structure which will also fire the fuck up then, friend, you’re as dumb as I am. To be fair, Balsa Bob’s failure to ignite and thus ensure the gods’ favour on my crops might actually be because I made him a bit thicc. There was a lot of Bob to love and my wee little bonfire just wasn’t up to the task. Verdict: 4/10

Sloooow it down It’s time to bust out the crock pot and get

Chris Pine

Materials: popsicle sticks, Tarzan’s Grip epoxy adhesive This bloke was called Chris Pine because I had no idea popsicle sticks are most commonly made of Baltic birch. Birch tends to come apart in strips when it breaks, instead of fragmenting and firing splinters into your tongue. It also lights up a treat. Having learned from Bob, Chris was a tall, skinny thing with a wide stance you could really pack some kindling into. Having skipped leg day though, his gangly pins gave out pretty quick. If you’re going to build one of these things on the scale of ‘divine tribute’ you want it to last the full hour.

cooking. While traditionally you would prepare your mulled wine on the stovetop, we figure that if you’ve got the technology make the most of it and get your recipe stewing in the slow cooker. And there’s the bonus that it’ll keep warm while you go burn some effigies.

Verdict: 6/10

Tas Mania

Materials: 4mm Tasmanian oak dowel, cotton twine Tas definitely looked the part, like the Blair Witch and the creeper from the first True Detective had a crafternoon together. I 100% thought he was going to turn into a stack of twigs the second that string copped a lick of flame though. The trick is to use way too much of it. Get it seriously snarled in there. The twine becomes kindling instead of a liability if there’s enough of it. The oak was nice and solid so he stayed upright long enough to light up and he even gave off a pretty inoffensive scent. Just the ticket. Verdict: 9/10

The price is right Here’s some excellent news: you definitely don’t need to raid the cellar for a bottle of wine. If you’ve got a random bottle of

Termignitor Materials: pipe cleaners While not technically ‘wood’, pipe cleaners are cheap, readily available, and flammable as all get out. They come in all the colours for added personal flair and the wire skeleton creates a satisfying Terminator effect as the fuzz goes up. Thing is, they’re flimsy. Even if you got enough together to weave yourself a proper wicker man, you’d have to rope the thing to a tree or burn it lying down. The smoke was cancer black too. On second thought, don’t build your offerings out of pipe cleaners. Nonsense idea.

red leftover from your last get together, this is the perfect chance to bust it out because the spices will cover a multitude of untasty tannins.

Verdict: 3/10

Pre-made

Materials: ? This thing went UP. Those little overall things were more polyester than anything else, which gave the flames a cheeky boost up to that straw hair/cushion head situation and that was that. Tribute made, gods appeased, back home in time for supper. Minus two points because I’ll be damned if store bought’s getting top prize after the amount ‘epoxy adhesive’ I got on me. And less two more because burning the thing’s weirdly expressive face made me super uncomfortable.

Don’t skimp on the decorations Make things even easier for yourself and get your mates to do the decorating. Cut up a heap of fruit — think apples, oranges, lemons — and chuck it on a plate with spices like cinnamon sticks and star anise and everyone

Verdict: 6/10

can create their own custom cups.

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This month’s highlights Jazz trance In the air tonight

Mansionair. Pic: Jess Gleeson

Indie electronic trio Mansionair are heading around the country this month before they jet over to the States to support Carly Rae Jepsen. Catch them at Woolly Mammoth this 15 & 16 Jun.

Bill Frisell

Influential jazz guitarist Bill Frisell is heading Down Under this month for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. He’s bringing the show up to the Sunshine State for a one-off gig at Brisbane Powerhouse on 5 Jun.

Tia for two If free music is your jam, don’t miss Tia Gostelow this month back home after an extensive European tour. Gostelow will perform at the free outdoor concert series The Sound Society in South Bank on 1 Jun.

The Juan for me

The Original Wailers

In the mood for a tasty mix of world music and club beats? Tijuana Cartel hit up The Northern this 22 Jun to bring the party to Byron.

Is this love? Tijuana Cartel

Reggae royalty, The Original Wailers are bringing all the Bob Marley classics to Oz, including a stint at Eatons Hill Hotel. Going down 6 Jun, the band carry on Marley’s message of love and unity to ensure his music will live forever.

Mother knows best Tia Gostelow

Don’t miss this massive double header when Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers are joined by Murder By Death. Playing Crowbar this 14 Jun, it’s going to get loud. Real loud. Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers. Pic: Katie Hovland

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“Big Pineapple Festival feels like it’s found a solid place on the festival circuit”

Festival

@ Pineapple Fields. Photos by Bianca Holderness.

The Big Pineapple Festival returned for another sold out year, with performers like PNAU, Peking Duk, Vera Blue and Tkay

Maidza up the pointy end of the bill with plenty of strong locals in the lead-up including Tones & I, Stand Atlantic, Rakeem Miles and more.

Maggie Rogers @ The Tivoli. Photos by Bianca Holderness.

Rakeem Miles

Big Pineapple

Peking Duk

Vera Blue

– Carley Hall

Maggie Rogers stormed through Brisbane with

an energetic show where

she seemingly didn’t stop moving the whole time, all the while seeking a connection with the audience.

“It’s Maggie’s world and we’re just living in it.” – Lauren Baxter

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the best and the worst of the month’s zeitgeist

The lashes Front

Back

Confused and horny?

Taiwan makes history

John Wick rules

Shoeys are cooked

So stuffed up

Fuck the Sun

With the rise of the music-

Taiwan became the first

Film distributor Lionsgate

We need to stop demand-

Winter is no longer coming

The way The Herald Sun

loving Albo to Labor leader

country in Asia to legalise

announced last month that

ing touring international

– RIP Game Of Thrones – it is

reported the murder of

(hell yeah), people have

same-sex marriage last

there will be a John Wick:

artists drink booze from

HERE. The change of season

Melbourne woman Court-

been trying to congratulate

month. The Taiwan High

Chapter 4, much to the

their shoes, not only

means that it’s finally chilly,

ney Herron as a ‘Party Twist’

him on Twitter. Except they

Court had moved that a ban

relief of Wick/Keanu Reeves

because it is vile, but

day and night, and everyone

was revolting; Herron is the

keep congratulating the

on same-sex marriage had

stans everywhere. John

because we don’t need the

around us is contagious.

20th woman in Australia

wrong man – @AlboMP is

“no rational basis” two years

Wick: Chapter 3, in cinemas

world knowing about our

Look at the person next to

to die violently this year.

who you’re looking for.

ago, prompting the land-

now, is already the highest-

secret shame. Can’t we just

you – they’re full of germs,

The violence needs to stop,

@Albo is an Italian porn

mark vote in parliament,

grossing film in the sexy

agree to keep shoeys at the

because it’s flu season, baby.

and language around this

artist. Easy mistake.

66-27, on 17 May.

assassin franchise.

grassroots punk gigs where

God help us.

reporting needs to change..

they belong?

The final thought

Words by Maxim Boon

America and Australia are two political peas in a pod

id anyone else feel a strong sense of deja vu on the night of 18 May, as the results rolled in for the Federal Election? It had been billed as the unlosable vote; a Labor shoe-in that would see the nation flip the bird to a chaotic Liberal administration riven by in-fighting, leadership spills, unpopular policies and pandering to a conservative minority. The outcome of

The Music

•

the day was so thoroughly assured, or so it was thought, that Sportsbet dished out more than $5 million to those who had placed a wager on a Labor landslide, hours before the ballots had been counted. Exit polls had also promised Bill Shorten would be our next PM, but as the evening progressed, that red wave turned out to be a blood bath. Senator Penny Wong, one of the resident pollies on the ABC’s election coverage, was a barometer of disappointment, as her bright-eyed confidence slowly ebbed away, becoming a grimace of disbelief. As the nation’s most trusted political analyst, Antony Green, called the victory for Scott Morrison, an unthinkable result came to pass. But perhaps Wong, Shorten, and the rest of the Labor faithful would have been a little less blindsided if they had cast their minds back just a few years to the American presidential upset when Donald Trump snatched the title of Leader Of The Free World. The parallels between the two elections are uncanny. Firstly, Australia’s two top pollies are dead ringers for their American counterparts. Shorten, like Clinton, an experienced political pro who had strong policy agendas but an almost total lack of charisma and likeability. Morrison, like Trump, a populist firebrand with an almost myopic devotion to big business and a thinly veiled contempt for issues like climate change and equality.

•

The End

Just as it was in America, the Liberal’s campaign was marked by snafus and slip-ups – although none quite so drastic as “Pussy Grab-gate”. Dodging questions about same-sex marriage and climate change, while attempting to squirm out of inconvenient allegiances with right winghardliners, Morrison’s almost indefensible positions seemed destined for political ruin. This assumption was reflected in the polls, which declared the nation had a clear preference for progressive laws that tackled social, financial and ecological disadvantage. Those polls ultimately proved to be unreliable, just as they had when similar polling predicted a Clinton victory in 2016. As the dust has settled on the shock Liberal victory, the influence of Clive Palmer’s wall-to-wall United Australia Party advertising – $50 million worth, which failed to secure Palmer a single seat – seems to be the source of Labor’s undoing. In fact, the tsunami of anti-Labor propaganda that Palmer unleashed is not so dissimilar from the Russian-spurred #FakeNews flood that so damaged the Democrats in the American election. So, this begs the question, will the result of the Australian Federal election provoke the same scale of social division, legislative atrophy and anti-progressive isolation that we’ve witnessed in America since Trump’s inauguration? We’re all about to find out.

An Australian Hip Hop Documentary @burngently

#burngently

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The Music (Brisbane) June 2019 Issue

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