Our latest reviews
Two Greeks by John Charalambous
This thoroughly entertaining novel is a meditation on fatherhood, family and forbearance. We are in Melbourne in 1974, a time before ‘no-fault divorce’, and the Stylianou family are living under the thumb of their eccentric, domineering father Harry, the first…
Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman
[[francisco]]A few months ago I read an extraordinary article in The New Yorker entitled ‘The Wave: A Tragedy in Mexico’. It was a personal history that novelist Francisco Goldman (pictured left) had written about the death of his…
Wish You Were Here by Graham Swift
Wish You Were Here is the story of Jack Luxton, whose little brother, Tom, has just been killed in the war in Iraq. Jack runs a seaside caravan park with his wife, Ellie. His family have a complicated and sad…
Rome: A Cultural History by Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes is Australia’s – and perhaps the world’s – most famous art critic. He’s famous for his combination of erudition and accessibility, resulting in a series of terrifically readable books, with The Shock of the New (1980, his third…
Codes & Keys by Death Cab for Cutie
Codes & Keys sees this Washington four-piece (and indie favourites) DCFC extend their sonic palette, moving closer to the electronic territories explored by main man Ben Gibbard’s side project, The Postal Service. It would seem married life has done much…
She Was a Boy by Yael Naim
French-Israeli singer-songwriter Yael Naim is all the best kinds of hyphens. With a healthy amount of Camille-type whimsy and an international touch, She Was a Boy will transport you immediately to the quirky, enchanting France you find in movies.
This…
Queen of the Minor Key by Eilen Jewell
I can’t get enough of rockabilly’s influence on musicians, and Eilen Jewell’s new album is enough to make your hair break out in victory rolls.
The title track, with its amazing guitar work, is an injection of pure fun. The…
Bruckner Motets
I have always felt that Anton Bruckner hasnever quite been given the attention hedeserves from the classical music public.Hopefully this new recording of motets willchange that perception. This is the choralsinging equivalent of performing a high-wire routine without a net…
Mad Rush: Solo Piano Music of Philip Glass
Whitwell has been featuredon a number of ABCClassics recordings in thepast, including the Classic100 Piano, but this is hersolo debut. The opening track on this disc isthe first movement from Glassworks – a workPhilip Glass intended to be more ‘Walkmansuitable’than…
Per La Vergine Maria
I picked this up havingbeen so impressed withConcerto Italiano’s highlyacclaimed recording ofmotets by Melani(OP30431). Melani, acomposer fortunately recovered fromoblivion by Alessandrini and his ensemble, isfeatured again – alongside Monteverdi,Bencini, Soler, Scarlatti and others – in thiscollection of music devoted to…
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