Guides
Playlist: tracks that capture the spirit of a cross-desert journeyA run from Adelaide to Alice Springs demands more than a pile of highway favourites. This cross-desert journey playlist pairs widescreen guitar hooks with…When a church became a recording roomThe Honeycombs were a Southend-on-Sea rock and beat band whose sound was built from sharp guitar, handclaps and one unruly prop: empty bottles. Their 1964…The best rock lyrics that paint a picture of small-town lifeRock’s best small-town songs treat the main street like a character. A shop sign, factory whistle or familiar face carries as much weight as the melody,…Why the Rock Community Should Embrace DIY Recording in Unusual SpacesRock culture has always been built as much around bedrooms, garages and borrowed rehearsal rooms as around commercial studios. That instinct matters now:…Review: Dust on the Radio and the sound of bluegrass rockDust on the Radio is a new album that blends rock with bluegrass influences, and it arrives with dirt under its nails. Newcastle four-piece Juniper Freight…The Most Controversial Album Covers in Rock History and Their StoriesAlbum artwork has always been more than packaging. A striking sleeve can establish a band’s identity before the first note plays, while an offensive or…How a Pet Dog Became a Band’s Mascot and Shaped Its SoundPicture a four-piece rehearsing in Brunswick, Melbourne, with a kelpie rescue named Rusty asleep beneath the drum riser. When the singer belts the final…Playlist: Essential Rock for a Day Spent at the RacetrackA day at the racetrack needs a soundtrack with movement in its bones. The right mix should carry you from the first coffee at the gate to the final lap,…Why Scarecrow Still Calls Down the HighwayMidnight Oil’s Scarecrow arrived in 1993 with chiming guitars, sharp lyrics and a view of Australia that felt both unfamiliar and inevitable. Why a 1993 album…When the Guitar Takes the LeadThe forgotten art of the rock guitar solo as a narrative device is not a lost technique so much as an undervalued way of storytelling. A guitar solo can alter…