Mac McNaughton, Journalist

Voices has enough bite to leave a mark but isn’t as menacing as one might hope.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘punk-pop’ tag applied to bolshy Perth quartet I, Said The Sparrow – there’s little punk about their debut, seemingly cobbled together from unwanted bits of Neon Trees and Good Charlotte albums.

Mac McNaughton expects an assassination attempt on Tony Abbott in 2014.

UK X-Factor progeny Leona Lewis’ festive offering wraps a mix of seasonal standards and originals.

The band themselves offer much to get excited about, but not enough has been committed to this mostly predictable record.

Rae & Christian’s return is slinky, sexy and very, very cool.

Christmas albums are rightfully dreaded, like the arrival of Drunk Aunty Beryl at lunchtime. But Wilde Winter Songbook shocks and delights by being slightly tipsy and in great spirits.

The pomposity of recent albums may have alienated many, but the OTT spectacle allowed for an irresistible reconnection.

Rather than simply boring in its lack of ideas, Baptized drowns you in an acrid stench of money.