art rock | Snapshots and Needle Drops

SS&ND Reviews: This is All Yours – Alt-J

November 4, 2014 by snapshotsandneedledrops

They say a band’s sophomore album is the hardest. In this age of music, if your first release flops– that’s it. In Greg Kot’s book Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music— my all time favourite book about music– he references Joni Mitchell’s remarks on how, when she was signed, record companies offered multi-album deals. Joni’s first contract gave her something like eight albums. Mitchell claims this allowed her to grow naturally as an artist, hone her writing and musicality. […]

Categories: Album Review, Alternative, art rock, British, Dreamwave, Electronic, Experimental, folktronica, Indie, indietronica, New Wave, Rock, Sample, synth rock • Tags: album review, Alt-J, art rock, Indie Rock, music, photography, Rock, This is All Yours

Night of Triffids

October 14, 2014 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Nightfest, Floriade, Canberra, ACT Has anyone read The Night Circus? Author Erin Morgenstern depicts a magical world, hidden in plain view of Victorian England. Her writing illustrates a traveling, black-tented circus that only opens at night. Using magic (unbeknownst to the naïve and stunned 19th century English), the Night Circus travels around, creating a phantasmagorical oasis from whatever frosted barley fields it pops up from. This was what Nightfest was like; a temporary mix of flora and illumination coming together to […]

Categories: Alternative, art rock, Dreamwave, Indie, Pop • Tags: ACT, Australia, Canberra, dreamwave, Erin Morgenstern, festival, Floriade, indie pop, music, Night Fest, night photography, photography, The Night Circus

Sing With Me Whale

July 7, 2014 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Whale! Port Stephens, NSW, Australia I had mixed reviews the first time I heard this song: loved it to start, but then found the constant repetition off-putting. I brushed it aside as a non-starter for Snapshots– only to have it slowly invade my subconscious over the next two weeks. Now it plays all the time– both in my head and in my apartment. I’ve found it ideal for hanging laundry, preparing lunch, cleaning out the cupboards… This lo-fi track “Whale” […]

Categories: art rock, Indie, Lo-fi, Rock • Tags: Australia, fisherman, indie music, Indie Rock, lo-fi, music, NSW, photography, yellow ostrich

Top Drops 2013

January 7, 2014 by snapshotsandneedledrops

As promised in last week’s Top Shots 2013, I have painstakingly culled my precious music selections from the past year and whittled down a top ten list for 2013’s Needle Drops. It was no simple task. I hummed and hawed, listened and relistened, made lists and reversed them and eventually came up with the following. Am I obsessive? Probably. Did I put too much time into this? Most likely. Am I happy with the results? Yes… I think so… Yeah…………. […]

Categories: 80s, Acoustic, Alternative, art rock, Australian, British, Canadian, Cover, Dance, Dreamwave, Electronic, Electropop, Experimental, Folk, Indie, Kiwi, Lists, Playlists, Pop, Rock, singer-songwriter, Soul, Synthpop • Tags: alternative, Australian, best of, Canadian, indie, Kiwi, music, music lovers, photography, top ten

Slow Blow

December 4, 2013 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Sydney reflections Sorry guys and gals, Snapshots and Needle Drops has been taking a brief and unintentional hiatus. Fortunately, I’ve been taking loads of Snapshots-worthy pics and Emily is on deck waiting to publish another stellar post next week. The photo above was taken the night I ran Sydney’s City2Surf. To read about my amazing time in that that epic race, click here. Wolf Alice is a relatively new north-London band who released their debut EP this past October. This song […]

Categories: Alternative, art rock, British, Dreamwave, Experimental, Indie, Post-Punk, Unreleased • Tags: album release, alternative, art rock, British, dreamwave, experimental, indie, music, photography, Sydney, travel

Boom, she clack-clack

October 29, 2013 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Waiting for my connection, just my water and I, at Heathrow At the moment, I live with two kids on a South Australian farm. There are many advantages to this rural life: running with the farm dogs past fields of crops, relaxed hours, daily fresh eggs, playing hide and seek in the canola flowers, picturesque sunsets. But for all its advantages, living on a farm does not easily loan itself to tracking down new music. The kids have literally been […]

Categories: Alternative, art rock, Dreamwave, Indie, Jazz, Nu Jazz, Pop, Rock, World • Tags: alternative, art rock, farm, indie, jazz, Malaysian, music, photography, pop, Rock, Zee Avi

Osh-itimmissing-eaga 2013

July 22, 2013 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Osheaga 2013 is less than two weeks away. That, along with missing Just for Laughs, Jazz Fest, the new food trucks (street meat!!) and hikes up to Mile End for St Viateur bagels is enough to make anyone severely nostalgic for Montreal summer days and nights. Fortunately, I am very happy in my Australian life and will only feel slight pangs of jealousy when you all start increasingly posting about this epic indie festival. Like previous years, Osheaga 2013 features […]

Categories: Alternative, art rock, British, Canadian, Concert Pics, Dance, Dreamwave, Electronic, Electropop, Experimental, Folk, French, Funk, Hip Hop, Indie, Instrumental, Lists, New Wave, Playlists, Pop, Post-Punk, Rap, Rock, singer-songwriter, Soul, Synthpop • Tags: 2013, concert, festival, folk, Montreal, music, music festival, Osheaga, photography

Dissolve Me

June 10, 2013 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Temple of Kukulkan, Chichén Itzá, Mexico All week I’ve been thinking up a completely, mindblowingly awesome post- it didn’t happen. Sorry kids, time has once again escaped me, as it has done so frequently since moving to Australia. This photo was taken on an amazing trip to the Yucatan peninsula. The history major in me was on an all-time high as we explored some of the most significant sights of the Mayan civilization: Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Cobá and Tulum. I’m sure […]

Categories: Alternative, art rock, British, Experimental, Indie, New Wave, Psychedelic, Rock • Tags: alternative, art rock, British, experimental, History, indie, Mayans, Mexico, music, new wave, photography, psychedelic, Rock, ruins, temples, travel

Snapshots and Needle Drops

Music meets international photography.

Category Archives: art rock