Front Line Assembly (Featuring Jimmy Urine) – ‘Rock Me Amadeus’

February 16, 2019

‘Rock Me Amadeus’ should need no introduction to anyone of a certain age. A massive hit for Austrian artist Johannes “Falco” Hölzel, it’s a bold, synth-drenched electrofunk track which in many ways paved the way for the sound of contemporary funk. Falco himself was tragically killed in 1998, in a road accident in the Dominican Republic. His other hits included ‘Der Kommissar’, ‘Jeanny’, and ‘Vienna Calling’, but it was ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ which was his signature piece, and has become a de facto Austrian national anthem, even featuring as part of the Eurovision Song Contest when it was held in Vienna in 2015.

SHIM – ‘Crucified’

February 16, 2019

Shimon Moore, aka SHIM, was the longtime frontman and co-founder of Australia’s Sick Puppies, and as such was the face of a group which refused to be put in a box: their music was an amalgamation of alt-rock, punk, emo, molten metal, throwback grunge, all delivered with a soaring balladry. Now SHIM is going it alone, and his output is no less fiery, and no less stylistically diverse. ‘Crucified’ shows his fans that although he’s left Sick Puppies, he’s still the same SHIM he always was.

Avril Lavigne’s ‘Head Above Water’ Is Tribute To Singer’s Battle With Lyme Disease – And Her Victory Anthem

February 14, 2019

‘Head Above Water’ is the first album from Avril Lavigne since her self-titled release in 2013, and the first since her diagnosis with Lyme Disease in 2014. It’s also the first album she’s released on BMG, where she’s now recognised as a “Legacy Artist” at the tender age of 34; given she’s been a recording artist for almost half her age, it’s not a bad place to be.