WAXX LYRICAL MEDIA CENTRE:
A love letter to music – written by those who listen closely.
COLUMNS
Column
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.
Reviews
Spider-Man: Brand New Day: My Spidey Spark Is Back
Rebecca Gisborne returns to the Spider-Verse with Brand New Day, finding plenty to enjoy in Tom Holland’s more mature Peter Parker, an expanded Marvel cast and a franchise that may have rediscovered its spark.
Record Of The Month Deep Dives
Laid Bare: Inside James’ Strange, Tender Masterpiece
Everybody knows 'Laid'. Far fewer know Laid. We go beyond James’ immortal title track to discover the strange, intimate Brian Eno-produced album hiding behind the hit.
Album Reviews
Ed O’Brien Finds His Wings on Blue Morpho
In his first ever review for Waxx Lyrical, Rhys Mackenzie takes on Ed O’Brien’s Blue Morpho, a meditative, textured journey through crisis, nature, spirituality and quiet transformation.
Reviews
Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend Under the Stars
Annette Geneva heads to Suffragette Records in Hobart for a star-lit first listen to Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend, an intimate, strange and quietly devastating return.
Album Reviews
Budjerah’s Gentleman: Style, Restraint and the Search for Individuality
Budjerah’s debut album Gentleman is a classy, carefully considered blend of contemporary R&B, gospel and ’90s foundations, carried by a marvellous voice and plenty of style. Bernard Zuel asks whether the individuality can now catch up with the polish.
Column
Forever Five: Tania Doko (Bachelor Girl)
Bachelor Girl’s Tania Doko reveals the five albums she can’t live without, spanning Donny Hathaway’s soul, John Farnham’s warmth, Robyn’s emotional pop, Chris Stapleton’s country grit and Sam Fender’s urgency.
Jonesing For This One
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.
Forever Five
Forever Five: Pinky Beecroft (Machine Gun Fellatio)
Five albums Pinky Beecroft can't live without.
Film Reviews
Mile End Kicks: Main Character Syndrome, Bad Decisions and the Strange Humiliation of Becoming Yourself
Chandler Levack’s Mile End Kicks is a funny, painfully familiar coming-of-age story about music obsession, youthful entitlement and the awkward gap between who we are and who we think we’re becoming.
Album Reviews
Thirty Years Down the Wrong Road: Modest Mouse Keep Moving Through the Maze
Thirty years in, Modest Mouse are still following the crooked road. An Eraser and a Maze is messy, haunted, funny and stubbornly alive.
Reviews
Snocaps Album Review: Where Waxahatchee, P.S. Eliot and MJ Lenderman Meet
Snocaps’ self-titled debut is where Katie and Allison Crutchfield, MJ Lenderman and Brad Cook turn indie folklore into something beautifully human.
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: Blake Scott (The Peep Tempel)
Five albums Blake Scott (The Peep Tempel) 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: 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.
Annette Geneva
MJ Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks and the Fine Art of Falling Too Hard
For Annette Geneva, MJ Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks is less a record to review than one to obsess over. This month’s Written In Reverb is an unabashed love letter to its crooked humour, glorious guitars and irresistible imperfections.
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
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.
Matt Jones
Jonesing For This One: Matthew Sweet, Girlfriend
A chance discovery at a suburban video store leads Matt Jones to Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend, a ’90s power-pop gem featuring some extraordinary guitar work.
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: Portishead – Third
Matt Jones returns to make the case for Portishead’s Third, the darker, stranger and more adventurous album hiding in the enormous shadow of Dummy.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.