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Photo by Josh Nai In just two years, Melbourne post-punk band sleepazoid have gone from a new project born out of a relocation to one of Australia's most promising emerging bands. Formed in 2024, the five-piece quickly found momentum after an early writing session produced their debut single, ‘RATS’. What followed was a rapid rise: a self-recorded debut EP, running with the dogs, support slots with Faye Webster across Australia, appearances at Bigsound, and a growing audience

Photo by Jordan Matyka Chiminyo, the London-based drummer, producer, and performer, does not limit his interpretation of jazz to the traditional expectations of the genre. While jazz figureheads John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and Miles Davis, formed Chiminyo's earliest musical influences, other inspirations span from Flying Lotus to Jorge Ben Jor. Chiminyo and his collaborators’ take on jazz is subtle. Instead of centering saxophones and solos, jazz influences how they i

Photo by Alexa Viscius / Courtesy of Polyvinyl Records Few bands have left a mark on emo and math rock quite like American Football. Formed in Urbana, Illinois in 1997 by Mike Kinsella, Steve Holmes and Steve Lamos, the band’s original run lasted only a few years, but their 1999 self-titled debut album would go on to become one of the defining records of the Midwest emo movement. Its intricate guitar work, open emotional honesty and quiet suburban atmosphere resonated far bey

Photo by Kristina Pedersen Ever since emerging from the aftermath of Ought in 2021, Cola have built a sound defined by restraint, tension, and emotional precision. The Montreal trio – vocalist and guitarist Tim Darcy, bassist Ben Stidworthy, and drummer Evan Cartwright – make music that feels deceptively minimal on the surface, yet deeply immersive underneath. Across Deep in View and The Gloss, they refined that balance into something distinct: wiry post-punk threaded with wa

The Rions; Image courtesy of TwntyThree Music The Rions are an indie-rock band hailing all the way from the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Amongst a scene that is known to produce bands that hold both a local intimacy and a global resonance, The Rions are quickly becoming one of Australia’s major success stories. Since meeting at a Year 7 talent show, to releasing their first album, Everything Every Single Day (2025), the group has been nominated for Australia’s Best New Artist

Photo by Kaavya Guhan On a warm Friday evening in May, a queue gradually began to form outside of Islington Assembly Hall, eager to see The Rions. Many fans could be seen wearing T-shirts of the band, and as the time for them to appear on stage became closer, the anticipation became increasingly more evident. ‘I'm so excited for this’, I overheard from one fan, ‘I know all the words’. Photo by Pat O'Hara With a great Australian spirit, the crowd, many of whom were from Austr

Photo by Charlie Hardy Established in 2015 by high school friends Josh Williams (bass and vocals) and Stephen Sacco (guitar and vocals), Sydney-based alt-rock band Crocodylus soon expanded to include longtime friends Mikel Salvador (drums and vocals) and Nick Meadows (keys, saxophone, and percussion). Drawing inspiration from some of the defining rock bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s , Crocodylus’ self-proclaimed ‘shit garage rock’ was met with early praise from The AU Review, who

Photo by Christopher Velazquez Maggie Masumi is navigating two parallel creative paths, each feeding into the other in subtle but distinct ways. As a solo artist under the name ‘Masumi’, her work leans inward and is shaped by instinct, space, and a growing curiosity for songwriting. Her debut EP ‘Gratitude,’ released in March 2025, marked a first step into that world, built from self-recorded experiments and moments of immediacy. Since then, she’s continued to expand her rea

Photo by Alex Page From making a PowerPoint to convince her parents to buy a drum kit to earning Grammy nominations and being named Writer-Producer of the Year at the Music Producers Guild Awards, Steph Marziano has carved out a path defined as much by instinct and connection as it is by technical skill. Originally from Philadelphia and now semi-based in East London, Marziano’s journey has taken her from studio intern to one of the most in-demand session-directing producers w

Ee Old Train 2002 by Marla Aufmuth Few bands from the late '90s indie underground have found a second life quite like Korea Girl. Formed in San Jose in 1996, the band carved out a sound shaped as much by instinct as influence, drawing from records like Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted while standing apart from the heavier guitar music dominating their local scene. Though short-lived, their self-titled release went on to be named Album of the Year by Santa Clara University’s K