Fresh Finds: Class Of 2025 – Aussie Acts To Add To Your Playlist

Carley Hall, Journalist

Carley Hall

Carley Hall is a Gold Coast-based writer who loves spinning a good yarn. She’s worked in print news rooms for more than a decade and now juggles young family life with a busy career in research communication, promoting all types of science from the dire and necessary to the weird and wonderful.

When she’s not doing all of the above, she’s dancing around her living room trying to brainwash her kids into liking her taste in music or getting out to see some gigs. Carley likes the heavy stuff most, but if it’s got hooky melodies, clever lyrics or off-kilter beats nothing is off limits.

Reviews / Album
Album Review: Young Lions - Burn
It's a neat production effort but a bit more dark to counteract the light would make it a watertight debut.
Reviews / Album
Album Review: Kelly Clarkson - Wrapped In Red
There’s no denying Clarkson’s powerhouse vocal and it’s put to good work with classics like White Christmas and Baby It’s Cold Outside, with fresh tracks Under The Tree and Please Come Home For Christmas catering to the sad and lonely. Thank goodness.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Boy & Bear, Battleships, Dustin Tebbutt
Their strict policy on no encores materialises when they wind things up with Golden Jubilee and Feeding Line, leaving the many happy faces and a fine flagbearer for Australian music in their wake.
Reviews / Album
Album Review: St. Lucia - When The Night
The closing title track is the raciest and ends things on a high. A promising debut which satisfies the senses.
Features / Music
Eskimo Joe
Brand New Day
"We played at the oldest working theatre in Australia last night and it had a haunted bathroom, so every time you went for a wee, like, midstream you’d get really scared. Everyone was putting off going for a wee all night.”
Reviews / Album
Album Review: Darren Middleton - Translations
His voice mixes croon and everyman storytelling and it’s prominent in the more blissed out Failing Now. A variety of pace and structure keeps things fresh throughout this engrossing debut.
Reviews / Album
Album Review: Cage The Elephant - Melophobia
Another great offering, but with more slow-burning material.
Reviews / Live
Live Review: Devin Townsend Project, Toehider
Before taking off, Townsend leaps into the pit to literally shake everybody’s hands, a rare gesture that should wipe tonight’s “fuck-ups” from his mind. They certainly never appeared in ours.
Features / Music
Coming To Blows
“There’s no one in Brisbane, and no one I really know of in Australia, that’s doing the sort of stuff we do."
Reviews / Album
Album Review: We Came As Romans - Tracing Back Roots
For the true ball-buster of the bunch, look no further than Present, Future, And Past. Filthy stuff.
Reviews / Album
Album Review: The Stillsons - Never Go Your Way
It won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s worth taking a sip.
Reviews / Album
Album Review: Helm - Vol 3... Panthalassa
Gold Coast progressive chuggers Helm have smoothed out their rough-around-the-edges sound over the past five years, resulting in their multi-faceted and well-constructed third opus
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