WAXX LYRICAL MEDIA CENTRE:
A love letter to music – written by those who listen closely.
COLUMNS
Album Reviews
Hilary Duff – luck… or something: Growing Up Without the Script
Hilary Duff returns with Luck… or Something, a reflective and emotionally raw album exploring adulthood, relationships, and the quiet realities of growing up.
Live Reviews + Photos
Soul That Won’t Sit Still: Jalen Ngonda Live in Sydney
Jalen Ngonda brings timeless soul to a packed Enmore Theatre, winning over a new generation with vintage grooves, soaring vocals and undeniable feeling.
Album Reviews
Mitski's Nothing’s About To Happen To Me: Eleven Songs for the Space Between People
Mitski’s Nothing’s About To Happen To Me — a 30-minute study in control, connection, and the quiet ache of being alone together.
Album Reviews
Jill Scott’s To Whom This May Concern Is A Righteous Return: The Times Suit Her
To Whom This May Concern, Jill Scott’s first album in over a decade, is a confident, joyous act of resistance for troubled times.
News
Counting Crows Expand Australia Tour with New Brisbane Show at Fortitude Music Hall
Counting Crows are back in Australia this April with an exciting addition to their tour. In light of the recent demise of Bluesfest, the band has announced a new show in Brisbane at the Fortitude Music Hall on Saturday, 4 April 2026. This comes as part of their The Complete Sweets! Australia Tour , which celebrates more than 30 years of their music career. Fans across the country can look forward to a mix of sing-along anthems, deep cuts, and timeless rock and roll performed live at iconic...
Waxxing Lyrical
Top 5 Geese Songs To Hear Now
Annette celebrates her birthday by ranking her five favourite songs from Geese, plus her top live performances, following the band’s first Australian tour.
Live Reviews + Photos
Pulp in Brisbane: Common People and Timely Rain
Pulp return to Brisbane for the first time since 1998, delivering a sharp, rain-soaked Riverstage performance where ‘Common People’ meets perfectly timed drizzle and Britpop nostalgia feels vividly alive.
Forever Five
Forever Five: Murray Cook
Waxx Lyrical's Forever Five with Murray Cook of the OG Wiggles — five albums he can't live without.
Jonesing For This One
Jonesing For This One: Alexandra Saviour, Belladonna of Sadness
Matt Jones returns with Jonesing For This One, spotlighting Alexandra Saviour’s Belladonna of Sadness — a smoky, cinematic debut best enjoyed front to back.
Forever Five
Forever Five: Butch Walker
Waxx Lyrical's Forever Five with Butch Walker — five albums he can't live without.
Album Reviews
New Found Glory's Listen Up!: Sharpened, Resilient, and Built for the Pit
Annette reviews New Found Glory’s Listen Up!, exploring its sharpened pop punk energy.
Written In Reverb
The Space Between Years: Butch Walker’s Peachtree Battle & the Shape of Losing a Parent
Butch Walker’s Peachtree Battle — an EP written in the shadow of losing a father.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Kris Schroeder
Waxx Lyrical's Forever Five with Kris Schroeder — five albums he can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Lachlan Rose (Cousin Tony's Brand New Firebird)
Five albums Lachlan Rose (Cousin Tony's Brand New Firebird) can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Mama Kin
Waxx Lyrical's Forever Five with Mama Kin — five albums she can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Steve Kilbey (The Church)
Five albums Steve Kilbey (The Church) can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Bad//Dreems
Waxx Lyrical's Forever Five: Five albums Bad//Dreems can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Blake Scott (The Peep Tempel)
Five albums Blake Scott (The Peep Tempel) can't live without.
Annette Geneva
The Dead Weather’s Horehound: Swamp Gospel for the Unprepared
Written In Reverb: Annette Geneva descends into Horehound — a dark, immersive exploration of power, desire, and identity...
Annette Geneva
How Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American Taught Us to Feel Loudly
A love letter to Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American — emo’s most generous masterpiece,.
Annette Geneva
Spoon's Gimme Fiction: The Album That Rearranged Me
Annette Geneva reflects on Spoon’s Gimme Fiction — a cult classic that still burns. Not a love letter, but a thank-you note to its lasting impact.
Annette Geneva
The Space Between Years: Butch Walker’s Peachtree Battle & the Shape of Losing a Parent
Butch Walker’s Peachtree Battle — an EP written in the shadow of losing a father.
Annette Geneva
On DMA’S The Glow, Sydney, and the Beautiful Stupidity of Wanting More
For AusMusicMonth, Annette Geneva writes a luminous Written In Reverb essay on DMA’S The Glow.
Annette Geneva
Still Bleeding Softly: 10 Years of Sufjan Stevens' Carrie & Lowell
Annette Geneva explores Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell in Written In Reverb: a moving look at grief, memory, and the album’s lasting emotional power.
Annette Geneva
How Manchester Orchestra Taught Us to Sit With Discomfort
A Written In Reverb essay on Manchester Orchestra’s debut, exploring discomfort, vulnerability, and why I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child still matters.
Annette Geneva
Neon on Skin, Needle Down: A Love Letter To Metric's 'Fantasies'
Through Annette Geneva’s lens, 2009 comes alive again — neon-lit nights, sticky dance floors, and Metric’s Fantasies pulsing through it all.
Annette Geneva
Still Listening: Frightened Rabbit’s Painting Of A Panic Attack
Annette Geneva's Written In Reverb is a personal column about the records that resonate through time—haunting, healing, and holding us when we need them most. In this first instalment, she writes a love letter to Frightened Rabbit’s Painting of a Panic Attack and the echoes left behind by Scott Hutchison’s voice.
Matt Jones
Jonesing For This One: Alexandra Saviour, Belladonna of Sadness
Matt Jones returns with Jonesing For This One, spotlighting Alexandra Saviour’s Belladonna of Sadness — a smoky, cinematic debut best enjoyed front to back.
Matt Jones
Jonesing For This One: Crowded House – Temple of Low Men
Matt Jones launches his new Waxx Lyrical column Jonesing For This One by revisiting Crowded House’s Temple of Low Men.
Matt Jones
Jonesing For This One: Midnight Oil's Earth And Sun And Moon
Matt Jones revisits Midnight Oil’s Earth and Sun and Moon in the wake of Rob Hirst’s passing — a nostalgic, heartfelt tribute to one of the band’s most underrated albums.
Matt Jones
Jonesing For This One: James Iha’s Let It Come Down
Matt Jones returns with Jonesing For This One, spotlighting James Iha’s Let It Come Down — a sunny, surprising solo album that rewards time and repeat listens.
Ben Preece
Prince’s Psychedelic Gamble: The Legacy of Around the World in a Day
At the height of his powers, Prince swerved left—dropping a psychedelic curveball and telling the label to hold the singles. Forty years on, it still feels like a risk only he could pull off.
Ben Preece
The Long Hard Road to Wildflowers and How Tom Petty Learned to Let Go
A deep dive into Tom Petty’s most vulnerable album, Wildflowers, its lost songs, and the story behind the music that listens back.
Ben Preece
Abi Muir’s ‘On One Knee’ Flips Heartbreak Into a Power Play
Abi Muir isn’t just healing — she’s headlining her own emotional comeback.
Ben Preece
Begin Again, Again: J Mahon’s Long Road to Right Now
J Mahon opens up from Berlin about shedding old identities, staying clean, and writing hundreds of songs in search of something real.
Ben Preece
Introducing betNwa: Charli XCX meets Tyler, The Creator With A Guitar-Pedal Fetish
betNwa is the musical project of Brisbane-based transfem artist home recordist & regular Waxx Lyrical Love Letter columnist, Bette Benjamin
Ben Preece
Heat Seeker: HOL!DAY, 'Call On My Brothers'
Something of a men's mental health anthem, the song might be the best thing Dave Grohl never recorded.
Ben Preece
Emily Ulman Finds Her Voice Again on ‘Mountains Mountains Mountains’
Emily Ulman’s ‘Mountains Mountains Mountains’ is a quiet triumph — a return that doesn’t beg to be heard, but deserves to be felt.
Ben Preece
A Reclamation of Self: Ladi Abundance Breathes New Life into Music
Ladi Abundance returns with 'Breathe, It's Just A Human'—a soulful slow-burn rooted in healing, motherhood, and self-reclamation.
Ben Preece
Guy Dent: All About Fun, Music, and a Little Chaos
Guy Dent is an unconventional Brisbane musician, blending a clear love for music’s iconic hits of the past with his own unique flair.
Ben Preece
Introducing Rocket Frog, Brisbane's Newest Agents Of Punk Rock
A new band seemingly subscribing to living in Brisbane, recently released a couple of choice singles in as many months.
Ben Preece
Jangle, Joy and Hanging On: Meet The Tullamarines
Following the breakout success of ‘Running On Empty’, The Tullamarines lean into self-doubt, sunny guitars, and cathartic honesty on 'Lying', their most addictive track yet.
Ben Preece
Morgan Saint: In Her Own Rhythm
NYC-bred indie pop auteur Morgan Saint is carving her own niche in the city's underground. We spoke to her about her new album & her process
Ben Preece
LT's 'Real Life = No Fun': The Ultimate Summer Anthem
Discover the story behind LT's latest jam 'Real Life = No Fun', the ultimate summer anthem.
Ben Preece
Ayla Offers Stunning New Single From Recently Announced Debut Album
Ayla is the singer's singer and one of the country's most understated writers.