Meet Fezwitch

Fezwitch is a local collage and street artist. Lately he has been creating ‘Melbourne blocks’ which are A5 sized screen prints of trams and hook turns on vintage Melways paper. Aptly there is also a screen print of the word ‘Milk Bar’ using iconic milk bar signage typography.

The pieces are currently on display and available at Manchester Press, so make sure to keep an eye out for them next time you’re there grabbing a coffee. In the meantime we asked the enigmatic Fezwitch some questions to get to know him a little bit more. [read more]

Bento box fashion

Bento is a local clothing brand by Samantha Hardman, who launched the label in 2010 after having difficulty finding what she wanted in stores. As the name suggests, the ethos behind Bento can be likened to that of a bento box. “You can have everything you need with only about seven items. You don’t have to have these enormous wardrobes overflowing with absolutely nothing you can wear” says Hardman. [read more]

Meet Christopher Boots

Christopher Boots is a lighting designer and, well, his impressive lighting creations will have you no longer wanting to use boring, old light bulbs. [read more]

Pom pom parade

Melbourne designer Stephanie Marks likes finding new uses for things, whether it’s turning pom poms into jackets or gloves into hats. [read more].

For the love of animals

Fionnbharr Pfeiffer put his studies on hold to fashion taxidermy animals into adornments such as rings, headwear and necklaces. Now working on his first collection that includes everything from sparrow bowties to rat head rings, Fionnbharr talks to Milk Bar about his unusual calling. [read more]

Interview with the ballerina: Alice Topp talks Romeo and Juliet

The Australian Ballet Company’s Romeo and Juliet is shaping up to be one of the year’s must-see productions, as the classic love story is re-interpreted through contemporary dance. [read more]

Milk Bar’s guide to Melbourne Spring Fashion Week

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) is back for its 17th year this week, and as always there is plenty to see and do at the week-long fashion fest. These are our picks of the pretty, pouty bunch. [read more]

A touch of old world glamour

In case you didn’t know, a fanantique is a “devotee of objects renowned for their workmanship and age”, and Fanantique boutique in Brighton falls nothing short of this definition. Stepping inside, you are instantly transported to a world of vintage inspired home wares and fashion. [read more]

That special kinda jewellery

Most of us wear jewellery, or have worn it at some point in our lives. Sometimes it’s worn as an accessory, other times out of habit. Then there’s the ‘special’ kind of jewellery that is usually accompanied with a vivid memory or story and worn for its sentimental value.

Claire McArdle is a Melbourne jewellery designer who creates jewellery with the intention of instilling significance in it for the wearer. [read more]

Let’s have a Burst Apart-y

I am thankful that I didn’t have to wait long to hear The Antlers’ latest album Burst Apart. After only discovering the band’s previous album Hospice in February, I couldn’t contain myself. Like a lot of other people, I spent countless hours immersing myself in the story and shedding a few tears and ~FeELing~ things and shedding more tears. So when I found out that they were going to release a follow up to Hospice  in only a matter of months, I thanked the heavens above to say the very least. Here, I’m just going to share my thoughts about the album rather than review it because I’m the worst at describing music. So here we go.

While Burst Apart isn’t a ‘Hospice: Part 2′, like some were expecting,  in some ways it’s still a continuation of the story without the songs being bound by an over-arching theme. Things are different on Burst Apart and I like to think of the songs on this album as a collection of short stories (you can read what the songs are about here). If they had created another concept album then it would have more or less meant that every single one of their records would have to be concepts so I think the band made the correct decision by not doing so.

In interviews, lead singer and lyricist, Peter Silberman has indicated that he wanted to sing less on this record. Case in point, when the band played in Melbourne earlier this year and Silberman forgot the words to a song, he exclaimed with a smile on his face, “These songs have a lot of fucking words”. So there are less lyrics; however, they are still as thoughtful and carefully written as they are on Hospice.

What’s emphasised on this record is how things sound and if you’ve listened to some of The Antlers’ earlier stuff, one thing you will notice is how much Silberman’s voice has grown on songs such as I Don’t Want Love and Rolled Together where his soaring falsetto is something to behold. On a side note, what’s funny is that I remember reading how Silberman never intended to be a singer as he thought of himself as more of a guitarist, and it was only because The Antlers started off as a solo project that he was left with no option. There is the inclusion of an instrumental song in Tiptoe and on many of the songs there are long, drawn out instrumental parts. Sonically, the songs are a lot more complex and layered as can be heard on the song Parentheses with its drum loop and unusual yet pleasant sounding cacophony of sounds.

The pop and electronic sensibilities of the songs contribute to the light hearted and upbeat feeling of the album. However, the final song Putting The Dog To Sleep sees the band revisiting the success that their previous album thrives on and what the band does so well – pulling at your heart strings. With lyrics like ‘prove to me I’m not going to die alone, I don’t think so’ it’s hard to not feel some sort of affection for the band: it’s a song that makes me go ‘Y U DO THIS TO ME??’. Also like many of the band’s songs, it builds up to one of those scintillating endings whereby you hear an explosion of sounds that makes everything in the world seem… right.

To tie what I’ve written in with the image above, The Antlers are a band that have come to mean a lot to me, lame I know. I wanted to hear more from them after Hospice because I didn’t want to leave this world – a place in which there’s an unnerving beauty in sadness – that they had created and continue to create with Burst Apart, although this time around things are a little more joyous (at least in my mind anyway!).

I will leave you with some of my favourite interviews I have read where The Antlers speak about their latest album:

• Lifting the Black Cloud: An Interview with Peter Silberman of The Antlers
• Letting go for Burst Apart
• Interview: The Antlers