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By Jacob Pumphrey. Meet our mates, White Bleaches. Hailing from the great coastal town of Torquay, they're a four-piece garage-psych band that has quickly become one of our favourites. I got to sit down with the band to talk all things #tourlife, recording and life back home. Hope you enjoy. This is our first time catching up (shame on us I know) can you fill us in with who we’ve got in the band? Haha all good nice to catch up with you guys! Well. there is Ant who sings and plays guitar, Ty plays lead, Hughey on bass and our newest addition Max on the skins! Who am I talking to? Ant. You guys are based in Melbourne yeah? Are you all from that way? We are actually based on the surf coast, Torquay / Jan Juc to be exact. I'm originally from Melbs but the band started in Jan. Ah, Torquay what a beautiful spot, where are you right now? Mate its gods country! We are just on the plane atm off to Byron for our show at the northern tonight. Weather is looking good! so keen to mack on the beach for a few hours and work on the basey! Is it ice cold or 40 degrees down there? I think today's 40, yesterday was a warm 10 degrees. How’d you all meet / how’d the band come about? All the guys knew each other from around town but we started playing music when I moved down about 9 years ago.. We had another band before this then recruited a new drummer and started White Bleaches. I met ty at work and he was super into metal at the time. Pretty sure he had flying V and everything. It was really hard at the start because we all wanted to play guitar so we had a band of 4 guitarists. When we finally got a gig we all switched instruments every song. It was weird. You dropped us a couple of copies of the newest vinyl a few months back (cheers) - How long have you guys been working on this one? No worries! From recording to release it was a year..but some of the songs on there are like 5 years old and some were written a few weeks before recording. Spit it out was the first time we played it as a band and recorded it in about 5 goes. Where’d you guys record? We record at my folks' place on the Mornington Peninsula. It's an epic little getaway spot we always record at because we are shut off from home and any distractions. How long did it take in total? We recorded the base layers in one weekend then spent time over about 6 months to add all the layers, we figured out this stuff takes a while when everyone's working full time so just did it at a leisurely pace ha.  Who are your biggest influences at the moment/who influenced the album sound? We used to have heaps of influences from all the garage bands in Aus mostly and especially bands from Austin and California. But these days it's just a mix of everything, anything that makes us amped to write and record again. Has this changed much over the years? Is there anyone that stayed consistent? Brian Jonestown will never change It feels like a little while to us, but maybe we’re just impatient... Did it come out on time as planned or were there a few hiccups? Yeah, fair call we just didn't realise how long it would actually take with all the planning and stuff and the time it takes to get the mixes right. Next album will be way quicker just need to find some songs somewhere. Your body of work is starting to look nice and stacked - it had to feel nice to get a full length out? Oh yeah, it was the biggest relief for us after sitting on these songs for so long. Any wise words for any eager newcomers dreaming of getting a full length out? Yeah, don't fool around with too many EPs or seven inches. People's attention span is dwindling these days. Just get the album out ASAP! Then do another one. The tour kicks off tonight in Byron - you guys are playing with our mates The Violent Monks - do you know them? Yeah, they're from Lorne absolute legends! Have you guys played together before? Nah we haven't! We planned on doing this show this time last year haha things just took a little longer than expected. Can't wait to share the stage tonight though its gonna be dooope! I hope your livers are well trained - do you get pretty wild on tour or keep it PG? Nah we have fun for sure, we don't get out that often these days soo.. How do you guys cope with the tour aftermath? Tell the boss we had a quiet one and drink heaps of coffee. What does home life look like for you? Have you guys got full-time work or uni etc? Yeah, All full time working for the man it's sick. Where are you on to from here? Back to Melbs to play at the old bar. Our favourite venue in Melbourne.  Any big plans for the summer music or otherwise? Naaaah hopefully play a gig or two, but just cruising sounds good to me as well. That's all, folks. Make sure to get to one of their last few gigs on tour, or get around their repeat-worthy music here:

Spendtime Palace is the quintessential Southern Californian beach band who, may we say, are absolutely nailing it. With Thrills' very own Jacob Pumphrey (also known as Miniskirt drummer) being long-time friends with the guys, we managed to steal a slice of what little free time that they had on their most recent tour to hang out for an afternoon and get a quick interview for you - the boys talk to us about wrangling celebrity film clip directors, touring breakdowns and their take on Australian music. All in their favourite pieces of our new collection.

Metallica and Slipknot are touring the world and TOOL just dropped a new album – Welcome to 2000 and f*^kin 1, people. From film to music to little plastic discs, we revisited the glory years to cover all things un-important from the soon to be recognised real era of cringe. So from Rage Against the Machine to jeans with the fluoro seams, I'm looking back on what's worth rehashing for the meme generation and what we should probably bury in the flip-phone graveyard.

Whales migrate. Ducks and all sorts of birds migrate. Everyone knows that. What people might not know is that the animals that make up the Australian music industry also migrate. Once a year, early every October, they assemble en mass in Brisbane for the annual Big Sound Music Conference. The migration isn’t due to climate or breeding, although both become factors. The primary reason is to view artists with folder arms, execute a reverse crowd formation (where the room is busiest at the back and spacious at the front), send nods to each other and select the next crop of Australian musicians that’ll saturate Triple J and the youth of Australia’s taste.

Spring is well and truly in full swing and we figured it’s probably time to let you know which shows we’ll be trying to get to this September. For those that missed King Street Crawl last weekend, click here for all the jealousy and “you blew its” you’ll ever need. Spring is usually the start of all things music in Australia as the weather begins to warm up and everybody crawls out of the winter hibernation that is Netflix, chocolate and foods covered in gravy. Luckily for all of us the hardworking folk in the music industry didn’t achieve nothing all winter and are here to help shake you out of your slumber, this Spring won’t disappoint I promise with some the country’s heaviest hitters touring new records through-out some of our favourite venues.

When we landed in Sydney on Saturday afternoon the weather was terrible, cold, windy, sad and grey. Waking up Sunday morning, King Street was a completely different scene. Newtown was dressed in its Sunday best as we walked through those pain in the ass small streets - that I will never for the life of me understand why you would ever own a car if you lived on - and everything was looking pretty quiet.

We have introduced you to the brotherly noise factory that is Flying Machine before, but since then they have been busy and we figured it was about time for an update. I first met the 2 of them (Gory and Christian Wright) about 4 years ago in their hometown, Byron Bay. 6 months later I found myself sharing a van with them for a 2 and a half month road trip across Europe. They were playing in a different band at the time but the seed for Flying Machine had been planted and I watched it grow like a Jack and the Beanstalk monster in the back of that van over the next few months.

Well, here we are again, friends. The dust has settled and we've successfully nursed our heads back to health after another massive Thrills party. Last Thursday night was our Annual Unofficial Pre-Festival Kickoff Party in Byron Bay and it certainly did not disappoint. Throughout the night we (and surrounding neighbourhoods) were serenaded by good mates, BAD//DREEMS, Mini Skirt, Bed Club and No Parade who conjured up the line-up of our dreams. It truly was the marriage of our favourite things; great Australian live music, booze, friends and a whole lot of antics. A huge shout-out to our friends at the Byron Bay Brewery and Jameson for making it a night to remember, or not. We couldn't have done it without ya. 

The countdown is on for our Annual Unofficial Festival Kickoff Party! What better way to get all g'd up than by listening to our latest Spotify playlist, curated by our party headliners Bad//Dreems. Bad//Dreems have quickly become a favourite of ours, here at Thrills HQ. Whether you can make it to the party or not, here's some fresh music to blast this festival season.   Follow us on Spotify.  

Well folks it’s upon us, that thing you swore you’d never do again but stole your parents credit card and booked Splendour tickets before you’d even read the lineup, for those who still haven’t – don’t worry it’s a good one. Splendour is one of, if not the biggest event on the Australian festival calendar - right in the middle of Australian winter what better option do you have then to pack your things, flip off your boss and head North to beautiful (mostly) sunny Byron Bay.

We don’t have the secret to make your worst hangovers disappear, but we think this might be able to help you. There’s nothing quite like aimlessly wandering down a street full of vendors all selling the most delicious food in those moments when you are feeling a little fragile and everything is a little bit of a struggle.

By James Adams You might pick up that I write very favourably in each month's article and this is no different. The thing is, I choose who we feature and I’m not going to write about anything or anyone I don’t like. If it’s featured, I think it’s good. That’s the short version of every article so if you’re short of time, just see the band name and register it as ‘GOOD/GREAT’. If you have 5 minutes, then welcome to another bias bragging article about another band I love and get to cross paths with. I’ve been a fan of Bad//Dreems since their first single in 2014, ‘My Only Friend’. I met Alex Cameron, a shared name in Australian music and one of the band's songwriters, around the same time I was introduced to their music. He came to a Kasabian show as a guest of the support band that I was shooting, The Delta Riggs. He seemed lovely, individual and completely composed. Shortly after our first meeting, I arranged to link up with the band while both in New York City. We met up, but Alex was nowhere to be seen. He’d sent the whole band along with their guitar tech/additional guitarist (at the time), Ali Wells, to play his parts. I found this to be nuts. Who knocks back a trip to New York City with your band for the first time and instead chooses to stay at home and study? Camo does. Anyway, the band and I became fast friends and still are to this day. Something I’ve learnt is that, when a favourite band requests your company and services while they record a new album, you know you’re lucky to be doing what you love (brag). Bad//Dreems hit me up to photograph some of their album recording process in their home town of Adelaide, earlier this year. I obliged and linked up with the band, engineer/producer Burke Reid and Co-producer Jack Ladder, whose real name is Tim Rogers (not Tim Rogers from You Am I who co-incidentally did co-write a song on this album). This is a mess of names. I’ve got some parents to complain to. We all hunkered down in a professional home studio during a South Australian heat-wave, to hide from the 40 degree days and witness and capture Bad//Dreems recording their third album. I’ll be clear here. Previously calling myself a ‘fan’ is an understatement. I know all their songs and this shit is righttttt up my alley. So, I was about 10/10 excited to see the magic happen first hand. My first 2 days in the studio saw the team putting the finishing touches on 2 beautiful, slow-burning pieces of music that beg the question of "where did the sentiment come from"? What happened to inspire this emotive songwriting? I wasn’t going to ask them that and ruin the vibe, so let’s make up our own minds there. I’ll say it was free to air reality TV that inspired it. In fact, I became so engrossed in two particular songs, that it slipped my mind - that Bad//Dreems' speciality isn’t their beautiful ballads alone, it’s their fast-paced, honesty-laden fireballs of energy that clench the fist of every listener. Day 3 saw the team move onto one such song that has literally been stuck in my head, ever since. Which is hard to deal with, as it’s not released yet so I’m unable to thrash it out of my head or hear it at all. I can only try to remember, but surely fuck-up its lyrics while humming along to its unforgivingly catchy melody. The wait to being reunited with the song again is torture. I’ve noticed bands experiment with different variations of creative stimulants while recording. The first record is usually a booze fest and the second album is generally a little more calculated, incorporating substances to enhance focus. The third album seems to be when a clearer head is desired. Maybe it’s the curiosity of what a clear head will produce, maybe it’s knowing what had hindered the process in the past. Maybe it’s pressure. There is never a good time to release a weak record and with Bad//Dreems’ once unique and trailblazing sound seemingly being adopted by a new wave of rock bands around Australia, it’s plain to see that the competitive landscape is more evident than ever. With singer, Ben Marwe, expecting his first child and each band member under their own personal pressures of full-time professional life, album three was destined to be a relatively sober affair - with the exception of a handful of knock-off beers, supplied by a 'surprise' Young Henry’s delivery. (Thanks). Focus was key and abundant. Fuelled by Bahn Mi and Vietnamese (strong AF) iced coffees, the heat wave never stood a chance at stalling the process. Calming crosswords in the shade would occupy whoever wouldn’t be in the live room, exploding raw energy through the blisteringly loud amps. Ali Wells, guitar-tech and lead guitar fill-in turned full-time member, struck his first chords recorded for the band in a monumental win for the man, and the team. After multiple high-energy fast-paced takes, the band would pile into the control room to take stock, take notes, make jokes, then fire up the energy for more. More tweaking, more improvements, more energyyyyy. Parts would be ticked off, songs would be finished and days would fly by. As I got comfortable it was time to leave with a vault of photos and a head full of hooks. Flying home I was convinced this album would change the game. I’ve felt this feeling before and have been wrong, but I know how I felt and I know what I like. Maybe I’ll continue to be amazed when the public doesn’t feel the way I feel about a particular song. Maybe it’s nostalgia, or remembering what a certain song looked like at a point in time, which made me feel more deeply for that particular tune, but I’m glad I feel it, even if everyone else doesn’t. That's how a good band captures you. As I said, I’m lucky. But aren’t we all. The band just released Double Dreaming; the first single from the album and it's packed with everything you’ve come to know and unfairly expect from the band. The curse of consistent songwriting, you can’t drop the ball, and they haven’t. Social commentary, deep metaphors, historical references, musical references, sing-alongs, fast-paced wordplay that paints a twisted picture in your mind and just as you think you understand what they’re getting at, the image is wiped with the next line that paints a different picture and leaves you trying to keep up with what the fuck they’re on about. By song's end, you think you understand, but the next listen leaves a different impression on you and you’re back to the drawing board. Thankfully, the tune is welcome in my head, over and over, making plenty of time to make sense of it my way, as I doubt we’ll ever truly know what was going on in their minds when writing this one. With a new single we see a new tour. When the album comes out, we’ll see an even bigger tour. If this music sits well with you, I implore you to catch Bad//Dreems live. It’ll seal the deal. It’ll be true love. You like love right? Then don’t be a prude, be proactive and chase this big, bad bitch down for a horny roll in the hay. You won’t regret it.

So Rocketman is out and with the box office success of Bohemian Rhapsody and the steady stream of 60s and 70s superstars falling off the perch, we can expect a few more to come in the future. So how does Rocket Man compare among the list of other notable biopics and why does it work?

Meet Leroy Francis. Not just a good friend of ours, but a charming multi-instrumentalist from Sydney. We sat down with Leroy to ask him a few q's about his past, present and future. Get to know him here: Nat: So you’re the poster boi for our 'Intoxicated Dreams' campaign - But you’re not a model, are you Roy? You’re a musician. Tell us a little bit about you. Leroy: I’m, not even a model citizen… I sling beers in a bar, watch films from dusk til dawn, spend the days trying to write music and repeat it all again. Nat: Can you tell me a little bit about how you got in to music and a little bit about your musical journey so far? Leroy: I got in a lot of trouble at school so I was assigned to a school councillor who happened to be a music teacher. She got me in to music as a way of getting out some energy. I played with my mates in a band called Cabins which was doing ok for a bit but we fucked around too much and all got habits that stopped us from progressing. That’s when I moved to NYC. Nat: And that’s how the new band (Leroy Francis) came about? Leroy: Yeah. I spent a few months in a studio in NYC where The Strokes recorded “Is This It”. There was a black out for 2 weeks while I was in there, so I lived in total darkness for that time, just trying to play drums as much as I could to stop me from being spooked. When I moved back to Australia I moved in to a shed in Camden and continued to record songs. I released those puppies and then got all my favourite musicians together to play them live. Nat: What are you listening to at the moment? And what inspires you, musically? Leroy: I never listen to music that is similar to the music I make. Mostly I juggle between early noughties stuff like, 'Dancing in the Moonlight' (Toploader’s version) and punk like, Death Grips. Inspiration-wise, I get a lot of ideas from film soundtracks and scores. Nat: What are you into outside of music? Leroy: I’m a film buff. I like literature, but my eyes are giving up on me so reading has become more and more of a chore. Horror films in particular I think are the best. If a film can make you terrified to be alone in house with locked doors, then you know it’s good baby. Nat: Nice. Me too. Ok, so you’re pretty well known for breaking bones and serious injuries. What’s the deal? Leroy: A lot of people think I’m unlucky. But hey, I’m part of the 1% of people who survive after being hit by a bus. So you do the math, babe. I guess I spend a lot of time out of the house and have a reckless and self destructive streak. Mix that with stupidity, and you get yourself some decent injuries. Nat: What’s next for the band? Future plans are to just repeat what I’ve done already, but in quicker succession. As well as touring. I plan to have another record out this year. Get amongst Leroy's playlist below: Follow us on Spotify for more.