Conor Herbert

Australia, New York

Freelance Music Journalist at Freelance

screenwriter + hip hop fanatic // bylines on @pilerats, @djbooth, @lnwyco + @musicdotjunkee // @central_sauce creative collective

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Articles

‎Conor Herbert’s profile • Letterboxd

Aug 28, 2024 | letterboxd.com | Conor Herbert

All ★★★ ★★★½ ★★★½ ★★★½ More ★★★ If God wants to have mercy on their souls, that's up to him, but I'd shoot to kill! A new and curious lease on the things Schrader has been prodding at for years: religion, middle America, show-business. Touch is far removed from Dutch Calvinism, with Arnold's unhinged traditionalist going up against Walken's slippery evangelist. The opportunity posed by Ulrich's Juvenal, a former monk imbued with hands that heal, puts them in a pitched battle for their own...
Reintroducing, RiTchie

Apr 17, 2024 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

Image credit: Patrick DriscollRiTchie arrives on sparkling synthesiser trills and disorienting groans, all loud confidence and invulnerability. It’s RiTchie Valens, his powerful debut single, that heralds the arrival of a well-heeled emcee, with RiTchie deigning to take a break from his quiet excellence to put the competition in its place.
Sarah Levins Takes Flight

Dec 11, 2023 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

Image credit: SuppliedThings are looking up for Sarah Levins. That’s, at least in part, what the singer-songwriter’s debut is all about. North Birds, in title and tone, calls to mind a soaring sense of belonging, capturing Sarah and her tight-knit collaborators in full flight. It’s the perilous lift of that first ascent, the arrival of an artist already formed, lifted on six-string swells and gifted with agile turns and sharp sight.
Running Out Of Time with Romanie

Nov 19, 2023 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

Image credit: Marcus ColbynRomanie has arrived — and it’s been a long, weird trip. The Melbourne-based, Belgium-born singer-songwriter has burst forth with one of the best debuts of the year, but you’d probably have no idea if you asked her about it. “I've always been such an impostor,” she excitedly admits.
The Folky Folklore of Lady Apple Tree

Sep 17, 2023 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

Image credit: Jacob BollHaylie Hostetter is a wanderer. When she gets on the line, she’s tearing through the Californian heat in a tour van, somewhere between Ojai and San Francisco. “The show was great,” she enthuses, taking a moment to ask drummer Pierce to turn the stereo down a smidge. “We played it at Deer Lodge, which is an old cabin-style venue.
There’s a By Storm Coming

Aug 2, 2023 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

In the wake of Stepa J. Groggs’ death, Nathaniel Ritchie and Parker Corey are moving on from Injury Reserve with one last look in the rearview — and the debut of their new duo, By Storm Image credit: Parker CoreyInjury Reserve was always more than a mantle.
Dolce Blue’s Sweet Melancholy

Jul 31, 2023 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

Image credit: Nick ValentiniDolce Blue have always been drawn to the intoxicating mix of sorrow and wist. It’s an emotion that takes centre stage on not only their new sophomore record, Sweet Melancholy, but their mantle itself.
Jacob Check into Hospital

Jul 31, 2023 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

Image credit: Teel StudiosJacob are on the road again. It’s a familiar feeling, but lead singer Ruairi isn’t sure they’ll ever fully adjust. “We have this kind of dynamic: we're all annoyed at each other all the time, but in a fun way,” he says, lighthearted. In the background, the other members of Jacob — Andrew, Jamie, Stuart, and Kristian — laugh along in agreement. “We have not been getting the right mix of sleep and relaxation, it's just been full on,” he explains.
Sentimental Slinging

Jul 13, 2023 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

On their long-awaited debut record, Sentimentalism, Naarm five-piece The Slingers craft melancholy ‘motel pop’ that speaks to this strange age of loneliness A few years ago, in a huge warehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne, I wandered onto a busy set.
Sputnik Sweetheart Are Changing

Jul 13, 2023 | pilerats.com | Conor Herbert

Image credit: Claire WarrenIt’s mid-morning sometime in early June, and I can’t seem to keep warm… still, it could be worse. “I'm in chilly Canberra, out in the middle of nowhere in Hume, in a little Harry Potter office underneath the staircase,” says Malcolm Newey, lively in spite of it. He says he’s “doing the thing,” that offhand remark betraying the nature of his job — being a member of Sputnik Sweetheart, one of the country’s most exciting indie rock outfits.