WAXX LYRICAL MEDIA CENTRE:
A love letter to music – written by those who listen closely.
COLUMNS
Album Reviews
Putting The Camera Down: Courtney Barnett’s Creature of Habit
Less observational, more internal, Courtney Barnett’s Creature of Habit captures the sound of trying to break your own patterns while still trapped inside them.
BZ Reviews
RAYE and the Art of Beautiful Overload
A deep dive into RAYE’s This Music May Contain Hope — a sprawling, divisive, and dazzling album that turns excess into expression and chaos into something truly compelling.
Album Reviews
Glory Feels Alive: Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers Hit Their Stride
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers don’t sound like a band finding their footing anymore — they sound fully alive.
Live Reviews + Photos
It’s My Party and I’ll Burn It Down If I Want To: Meg Mac at Brisbane Powerhouse
Meg Mac transforms Brisbane Powerhouse into a theatrical, deeply personal ‘party’ — a bold, vulnerable show that proves she’s ready for something much bigger.
Written In Reverb
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...
Live Reviews + Photos
Manchester-by-the-Harbour: DMA’S Turn the Metro Into a Northern Dream
DMA’S turn the Metro Theatre into a sweat-soaked, Manchester-tinged dream, celebrating Hills End with a crowd that sings every word like it’s their own.
Record Of The Month Deep Dives
Counting Crows' August & Everything After: The Sound of Uncertainty
August and Everything After didn't arrive with swagger. It arrived with uncertainty. In this Waxx Lyrical deep dive, we explore the stories, songs and emotional honesty that transformed Counting Crows' debut into one of the defining albums of the 1990s.
Album Reviews
Disco, Occasionally. Hooks, Rarely: Harry Styles Comes Up Short
Harry Styles returns with Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally — polished, precise, and frustratingly short on actual songs. A stylish pop record that forgets the fun.
Forever Five
Forever Five: Paul Dempsey
Paul Dempsey selects the five albums he can't live without.
Live Reviews + Photos
When Music Finds You: Felicity Urquhart & Josh Cunningham at Lefty’s
Sometimes the best nights are the ones you don’t plan. Neil heads to Lefty’s Music Hall with no expectations and leaves completely won over by Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham.
Live Reviews + Photos
Where Stillness Speaks: Blanco White at The Triffid
Blanco White bring their immersive, genre-blurring sound to The Triffid, trading peaks for atmosphere in a restrained, hypnotic set that holds the room in quiet awe.
Forever Five
Forever Five: Simon Day (Ratcat)
Waxx Lyrical's Forever Five with Simon Day of Ratcat — 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: Timothy Carroll (Holy Holy)
Forever Five: Timothy Carroll (Holy Holy)—five albums he can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Nic McKenzie (Deep Sea Arcade)
Forever Five: Nic McKenzie of Deep Sea Arcade—five albums he can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Jack Ladder
Forever Five: Jack Ladder—five albums he can't live without 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: Matthew Caws (Nada Surf)
Forever Five: Matthew Caws (Nada Surf)—five albums he can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Isabella Manfredi
Forever Five: Isabella Manfredi—five albums she can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Liam Finn
Forever Five: Liam Finn—five albums he can't live without can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Meg Washington
Forever Five: Meg Washington—five albums she can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Georgia Davies of The Last Dinner Party
Forever Five: Georgia Davies of The Last Dinner Party—five albums she can't live without.
Waxx Lyrical
Forever Five: Ben Lee
Forever Five: Ben Lee—five albums he can't live without can't live without.
Annette Geneva
Phoebe Bridgers, Ryan Adams, and the Songs That Keep Emotional Receipts
Annette Geneva unpacks Phoebe Bridgers’ Stranger in the Alps, Ryan Adams, complicated fandom, and the songs that keep emotional receipts long after the people attached to them have changed.
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
Twenty Years Wide Awake: A Love Letter to Bright Eyes’ I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
Bright Eyes’ I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning album cover, used for Annette Geneva’s Written In Reverb column on the beloved 2005 indie-folk record.
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.
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.
Matt Jones
Jonesing For This One: Chris Whitley – Living with the Law
Matt Jones returns with Jonesing For This One to revisit Chris Whitley’s Living with the Law, an overlooked 1991 gem of blues, folk and rock.
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: The Chills, Submarine Bells
Matt Jones heads across the Tasman for the latest Jonesing For This One, revisiting The Chills' Submarine Bells — a New Zealand masterpiece filled with dazzling lyrics, gorgeous melodies, and one of the greatest hidden gems of the '90s.
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: INXS, Welcome To Wherever You Are
Matt Jones revisits INXS’ overlooked 1992 album Welcome to Wherever You Are and makes the case for it as the band’s boldest, most adventurous, and perhaps most underrated release. A forgotten gem from one of Australia’s greatest bands.
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
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.
Ben Preece
Heat Seeker : The Atomic Beau Project, 'GHOSTS'
The Atomic Beau Project's new single 'Ghosts' is a short, focused masterclass in utter badassery and spookiness.
Ben Preece
Heat Seeker : The Buoys, 'Red Flags'
Spotlight on 'Red Flags', the new single from Sydney all-female indie rockers, The Buoys. For lovers of Best Coast and early Wolf Alice.
Ben Preece
The Last Dinner Party Serve Delicious Debut Single.
IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THESE EARS CAN STILL HEAR A #TUNE when stumbling upon one. The Last Dinner Party's most excellent debut single 'Nothing Matters' popped up randomly on my streaming platform of choice and, upon doing a little research doesn't seem like these ears are exactly taste making after all - their trajectory is already well on its way! I call this exercise of releasing this kind of debut single "to pull a Wet Leg" - that doesn't mean it shares anything more with Wet Leg than an...
Ben Preece
Heat Seeker : Mardi Lumsden, 'Never Have I Ever'
Brisbane singer, musician and writer Mardi Lumsden returns with a sparkly new single, 'Never Have I Ever'.
Ben Preece
Heat Seeker: Feign Jima, 'Ballerina Baby'
Naarm / Melbourne vocalist Feign Jima gets the Spotlight treatement for her exquisite single, 'Ballerina Baby'.
Ben Preece
Heat Seeker : Winifred, 'Fixed On You'
Hailing from Townsville, Winifred has talent of inimitable proportions and has quickly has quickly stacked up the accolades.
Ben Preece
Heat Seeker : Rose Rogers, 'Headlights'
So far criminally-underrated, Brisbane singer and musician Rose Rogers returns with one of her finest singles to date, 'Headlights.'
Ben Preece
Heat Seeker: The Terrys
Gerringong band The Terrys are the latest and greatest addition to Australia's surf indie scene.