Following up on two well received EPs, Melbourne rockers Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have now released their debut LP, Hope Downs. Preceded by dynamite single, “Talking Straight”, the album contains a spry 10 tracks that trend similar indie rock ground to one another. A great bassline propels “An Air Conditioned Man” whereas “Bellarine” ruminates that it “feels like rum is taking all my time…I never did my best”. “How Long” simply repeats the line “what are you running from” while your foot bounces up and down to the beat.
Through the album, there is not a lot to distinguish one track from another other than how much it gets the listener nodding their head. Tracks like “Sister’s Jeans” and “Cappuccino City” are catchy with nice guitar lines but don’t particularly go anywhere. This will certainly appeal to fans of Supergrass, The View and Spoon. Good summer rock record for the beach.
7/10
Courtney Barnett’s 2015 debut, Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit was a big hit with both critics and fans. Tracks like “Elevator Operator” and “Pedestrian at Best” treated audiences to Barnett’s witty banter mixed with early 90s guitar sound. Many tours later, plus a well-received effort with Kurt Vile, Barnett releases sophomore effort Tell Me How You Really Feel. After listening to the attention weary album, the title comes off more of an inward question than an outward one for the Melbourne artist.
Released last fall, Sticky Fingers, the biography of Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner sent shockwaves through the publishing community. Wenner randomly ran into author Joe Hagan and asked him to work on his biography which eventually Hagan did after much deliberation. At over 500 pages, Sticky Fingers is well researched with many facts but mostly focusing on what a terrible person Wenner is. Tawdry tales of sex, drugs and not as much rock and roll as would have been expected; politics plays a bigger role throughout the book. Almost shockingly in the Afterword, Hagan notes that Wenner is “one of the great magazine editors of my lifetime”. Touching on Wenner’s personal life but putting it in greater context of the times or the publishing business would have been more interesting than all the tiresome stories that appear here. 6/10
The Sri Lankan born, Canadian based author Michael Odjaante is most famous for his book The English Patient which won the Booker Prize in 1992. In total he has published seven books including the recently released Warlight. Published in 2011, The Cat’s Table is his sixth book and tells the story of a young boy who travels from Sri Lanka to England aboard a ship called Oronsay. His travelling companions are Ramadhin and Cassius along with his aunt and cousin. The book switches between the boat and what happens to the characters after their journey. It’s a fascinating book with beautiful passages throughout including a wonderfully described scene at an art gallery many years later. 7.5/10
Steve Martin started his entertainment career doing card tricks at Disneyland as a young boy then worked his way all the way up to touring arenas in the late 70s. Born Standing Up is about the growth of both Martin as a person and his comedy act. A quick read, it touches on both philosophy and self-improvement strategies that many self-help books promote (working hard, letting go of what’s not working, dedicating time to your craft, research, etc). Born Standing Up is an entertaining account of Martin’s rise through touring comedy before walking away completely. 7/10
The Light Appears 