Usher - Looking 4 Myself

The latest offering from Usher gets Liana Gow-Killingbeck a bit hot under the collar: 

For his seventh studio album, Looking 4 Myself, Usher embarks on quite an adventure! Dabbling into a wider range of styles than with his previous records (undoubtedly due to working with quite a number of different and versatile artists), Usher has certainly fashioned an album which by all means showcases his eager experimentation, his self exploration, and of course, his downright im-freakin-pressive vocal abilities.

Though this album is quite lengthy (18 tracks, yikes), it is still pretty good fun. I myself have no shame in getting my party booty on to the delights of the RnB genre, and Usher has sorta been a guilty pleasure of mine since he won me over with Confessions in 2004 (I mean COME ON, you’ve got to admit Yeah is a top track to busta move to on the D-floor after a few shots).

READ MORE...

Romance Was Born - The Miraculous Mundane pre-Collection

Bobbysix's resident fashion expert, Liana Gow-Killingbeck, casts her eye on the latest offering from Romance Was Born:

Yeah, so I’m pretty sure whatever’s going on inside the brains of Romance Was Born duo Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett is exceedingly brilliant. I sometimes wonder if they constantly observe the world through a pair of Luna Lovegood’s Spectrespecs, watching life whirl in magic and colour and fantasy. It's as if they are being kind enough to share these vivid visions with us regular folk through their clothing.

Over the past few years Romance Was Born has become quite renowned for their deliciously theatrical designs, and once again, they’ve failed to disappoint. Their recently released pre-collection 2012 lookbook, The Miraculous Mundane, is oh-so-tasty, and relevantly so, as the inspiration for this collection draws from none other than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Kawinkydink!

 Melbourne based artist Stephan Bush is the creative genius behind the digital prints which have made this collection so sweetly salient. The swirling, rainbow shift dresses are totally Ab-Fab darling, and look as if they've just stepped off an Austin Powers set or something. The space-like bubble dresses are very Violet Beauregarde (for obvious reasons), and I’m thinking the vibrant, printed silk pieces will be a definite hit due to the raging demand of quality graphics in the everyday fashionista’s wardrobe.

As for that acid green psychedelic print, aye carumba! It makes my iTunes visualiser totally giddy with jealousy. Gotta get me on that good ship lollipop!

Review by Liana Gow-Killingbeck. See the pre-Collection 12 lookbook at Oyster. 

Lover - White Magick collection

Liana Gow-Killingbeck falls a little in love with the new White Magick collection:

Purity. Elegance. Magnificence.

If I were to ever find a man crazy enough to walk me down the aisle, then there is a good chance I would want to do it in one of these amazing pieces. They even included a jumpsuit among the dresses in this collection, and after working for Hussy, I must say I am definitely partial to a decent jumpsuit.

I have always enjoyed the Lover label, particularly their denim. They introduced me to my favourite Aussie model Tallulah Morton and their presence in the early Russh mags was somewhat iconic (and being a long time reader, Russh's influences have totally rubbed off on me).

Though their dresses are usually a smidge too feminine for my personal taste, I usually find a piece in each collection of theirs I would happily trade an arm and a leg for (though, if I were missing those limbs, I would probably look more like the corpse bride than I originally intended).

This stunning collection debuted exclusively last week in their delightful flagship store in the Strand, Sydney. If you are in Sydney, DO pop by and see it.

Review by Liana Gow-Killingbeck. Images courtesy of Oyster. See more of them on Liana's blog, where this review first appeared.

Grimes - Visions

Liana Gow-Killingbeck gets movin' to the sweet sounds of Grimes:

The first time I heard the new Grimes album was a tad embarrassing. I decided I was going to listen to Canadian Claire Boucher’s third record, Visions, in the car whilst driving to the beach, you know, because there’s something rather awesome about cruising around town, windows down, to yummy new tunes. What I didn’t realise was the effect this bewitching record would have upon me and my poor, unsuspecting limbs.

As a dancer, I can’t help but react physically to music that captivates me, and Visions succeeded to do just that. Consequently, I found myself whipping out some crazy D-moves all the way into town; shoulder popping, head rolling, finger clicking fun, and boy did my imagination run wild (I envisioned myself dancing on the moon attired in alfoil with loads of aliens and robots surrounding me – quite a normal reaction, I’m sure).

This was fine until I realised that the car full of teenagers driving adjacent to me found my wacky physical interpretations to be just as amusing as the energetic songs themselves. Whooops-a-daisy.

READ MORE...

The Cribs - In the Belly of the Brazen Bull

Liana Gow-Killingbeck reviews the latest offering from The Cribs:

I’d been waiting for quite a while to get my paws on some fresh material by the English trio (and brothers), The Cribs. I’m pretty sure I played their previous record, Ignore the Ignorant, a little bit too much in the past because even my CD player got sick of it and decided to spit it out, craving something new. So you can’t really blame my ears for being rather overzealous as I began to listen to the band’s 5th studio album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull.

With the loss of guitar legend Johnny Marr, this album is perhaps a little less impressive than its precursor, but still extremely head-bop worthy nonetheless - with a brilliant ending to boot - and it radiates an expected garage and lo-fi rock vibe that will undoubtedly be well received by the band’s loyal cluster of indie followers. The opening track Glitters Like Gold is catchy and fun, and will suck listeners in like a tasty chocolate milkshake through one of those radical twisted straws.

To be honest though, my interest started to wane after the first few songs, as I felt like I couldn’t really grasp onto something distinguishable. That’s until I heard Back to the Bolthole, which, with its punky heaviness, is definitely the standout track on the album. Then, immediately juxtaposed with the record's softest song, I Should Have Helped, I found myself responding rather emotionally, but in a good, gloomy sort of way.

To finish, The Cribs fused the final four tracks together to create a suite that left me feeling uplifted and, well, pretty darn satisfied. Though some may consider this closing to be a smidge longwinded, I appreciated the way the songs had been interwoven as I could clearly differentiate the feelings of each of them individually, as well as holistically. I could follow the flow of the music easily; the sharp marching drum beats of Stalagmites, through the harmonic dreaminess of Like a Gift Giver and Butterflies, to the ringing finality of Arena Rock Encore with Full Cast. Oh, delight!

The brothers even apologise for the lengthy time it took them to release this beastly album, as they chant “Sorry that it’s taken years” repeatedly in the last song. Well, apology accepted boys, because I believe In the Belly of the Brazen Bull was totally worth the wait.

Review by Liana Gow-Killingbeck. Have a look at her excellent fashion blog here.