Best Albums of 2022
2022 was a big year in music, and in our opinion SURG members have impeccable taste. Keen to discover some epic albums you may have missed last year (and their spotlight tracks)? Keep on reading. Could We Be More – Kokoroko Reviewer: Jonathan Chalouhi Whether it’s funky rhythms to danc
MIDNIGHT OIL’S 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 IS A BRILLIANTLY UNIQUE CRY FOR JUSTICE
The Oil’s countdown to midnight remains relevant 40 years on – only saved from being depressingly so by its electrifying rallying urgency, writes Aidan Elwig Pollock. 3,000 bodies had turned the Luna Park Big Top into a steaming, dank pit – a far cry from the late September post-rain cooln
Why Julia Jacklin’s PRE-PLEASURE was one of 2022’s best albums
Kat Porritt-Fraser celebrates a cathartic musical highlight from the past year. Julia Jacklin has the kind of voice that makes you pause what you’re doing to listen in. PRE-PLEASURE has a similar quality as an album – if you resist listening closely, if you’re not ready to open your emotional
RETROSPECTIVE: Electric Light Orchestra’s Out of the Blue deserves a place in the pantheon of double albums
The Birmingham band’s explosive seventh album is an oft-overlooked classic, writes Alex Glase. The double record, so often derided for its looseness and filler, allows an artist room to breathe and experiment with musical convention. Lists of the best double albums ever recorded have a few usual s
ALBUM REVIEW: The Minions 2 Soundtrack isn’t as good (or as bad) as you’ve heard
It’s being lauded as the greatest soundtrack in years, but the tie-in album for Illumination’s latest family blockbuster is a mixed bag at best. How did we get here? That was the question that immediately sprang to mind when the tracklist for the Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack
The Best and Worst Albums of Q2 2022
Good 90s revivalism, bad 90s revivalism, and songs about pizza. Matthew Forbes spotlights some of the standout releases of the last few months. After a string of fantastic albums in the first three months of the year, the second quarter of 2022 has been a little less impressive. Of course, there’s
Album Review: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever takes a dark turn with Endless Rooms
Australian band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever released their third studio album on May 6 2022 with labels Ivy League and Sub Pop. Their latest release ‘Endless Rooms’, is their biggest one to date, packed with 12 songs and an evolution of their sound into more ethereal and political territorie
Album Review: I’ve walked through 13 rooms of Harry’s House, and I adore them
With an easy charisma and suave disposition, Harry Styles has given us an introspective record that takes a modern day visit into 80s techno-infused pop-funk. The album sweeps through vignettes of his life and gravitates around the pull of desire, growing up and what he considers to be ‘home’. H
FRESH MUSIC FRIDAY: KHALID, COTERIE AND KEHLANI
Welcome back to Fresh Music Friday! This week, Sophie, Christine and Kaela give us the low-down on new releases from Khalid, Coterie and Kehlani. SKYLINE – KHALID Sophie: I usually live for Khalid, but for this one it’s like I kept waiting for the bass to drop and it never came. I don
Fresh music friday: the kid laroi, the lazy eyes, and dulcie
WELCOME BACK TO FRESH MUSIC FRIDAY! THIS WEEK CHRISTINE, ALEX AND KATARINA ARE GIVING YOU THE RUNDOWN ON THE NEWEST TRACKS FROM THREE HOMEGROWN ARTISTS - THE KID LAROI, THE LAZY EYES, AND DULCIE.