Record review: Ball Park Music – Puddinghead (2014, LP)

April 17, 2014 / Paul McBride / 1 Comment

In some ways it seems that Brisbane indie-pop five-piece Ball Park Music have had a meteoric rise since their 2011 debut Happiness And Surrounding Suburbs. In reality the hard yards put in on tour up and down the country and a song-writing craft of a quality well above the average Australian pop bands plying their trade right now have put the band in the position they’re now in. This third album sees them moving increasingly away from the punchy, upbeat mood of their debut, as singer Sam Cromack’s lyrics explore darker topics, especially on ‘Everything Is Shit Except My Friendship With You’ and ‘Struggle Street’; the addition of organ and choral touches on the latter providing a particularly Gothic feel. Dark is contrasted with light at several other points, although hopefully Cromack is being sarcastic with his claim on third track ‘A Good Life Is The Best Revenge’, because we all know that’s not true. There are new sounds too; the first half of ‘Cocaine Lion’ could almost be called shoegaze, before breaking out into a resplendent pulse of ’90s alt-rock, while ‘Teenager Pie’ is a lazy, lounge-y track that ambles along at a hazy pace despite another set of dark lyrics. There’s an undeniable tail-off towards the end, with ‘Polly Screw My Head Back On’ and Girls From High School’ being a fairly dull finish, but Ball Park Music should probably dust off their formal gear and ready their acceptance speeches; this album is going to win awards. (Stop Start)

Record review: The Love Junkies – Flight Test (2014, EP)

April 17, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

Perth trio The Love Junkies have been busy blowing eardrums up and down the country for the past couple of years with their sweat-drenched, everything-up-to-eleven live shows. Their 2013 debut album Maybelene was an impressively pulsating mix of grunge riffs, alt-rock face-melting and bluesy jams, and this five-track home-recorded EP continues in a similar vein – to a point. You’d be forgiven for thinking the band had gone soft with a mellow space-rock 90-second intro and the poppy opening minute of single ‘Chemical Motivation’, before the point in the song long-time fans have come to expect and love; when singer-guitarist Mitch McDonald lets rip with a throaty scream that would peel wallpaper and probably knock out a donkey at ten paces. ‘Storm Troopers’, penned by bassist Robbie Rumble, is an introspective shoegaze-y affair that never fully kicks into gear and ‘Gloria To My Dysphoria’ is a somewhat solemn, slow-burning psychedelic epic. Closer ‘Blowing On The Devil’s Strumpet’ gets closest to the vein-busting screamo found on Maybelene, and just when you think McDonald’s voice can’t hold out, he goes for another couple of verses. This is another fine release from one of Australia’s best and most promising young rock bands.

Record review: The Hold Steady – Teeth Dreams (2014, LP)

April 17, 2014 / Paul McBride / 1 Comment

It’s been four years since The Hold Steady’s last album; a long time between drinks for a band often called one of America’s hardest working. The departure of keyboardist Franz Nicolay after 2008’s excellent Stay Positive left 2010’s Heaven Is Whenever sounding like a band re-grouping and consolidating their position rather than taking on a new lease of life. The breathing space Nicolay left has since been filled by the addition of former Lucero guitarist Steve Selvidge, resulting in a fatter twin lead guitar sound, but the flair and dynamism the moustachioed keyboardist took with him is still sorely missed on this sixth album from the New York via Minneapolis rockers. That being said, all the usual stories of booze-soaked lost souls “waking up with that American sadness” – as Craig Finn sings on ‘On With The Business’ – are present and correct, and the singer-guitarist’s lyrics provide more depth and ideas in a single verse than many contemporaries do on an entire album. The reason why Teeth Dreams won’t be remembered as a classic Hold Steady album is that each song melts into the one before and the one after with no real discernible difference in sound. There’s nothing of the standard of ‘Stuck Between Stations’ or ‘Sequestered In Memphis’, and even the attempt at an attention-grabbing, riff-laden opener ‘I Hope This Whole Thing Didn’t Frighten You’ wouldn’t qualify as a B-side on some of the quintet’s earlier work. Indeed, many long-time Hold Steady fans will be left with the nagging feeling that perhaps Nicolay left at exactly the right time.

Record review: Eagulls – Eagulls (2014, LP)

April 15, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

Holy Ian Curtis: this ain’t no sunny pop record. English post-punk up-and-comers Eagulls have already gained a metaphoric mountain of music press attention since their 2009 formation; a situation that can be potentially favourable or fatal to a band yet to release their debut album. Thankfully the quintet seems to have dealt with the pressure of expectation well, as this self-titled ten-track collection is a solid and confident effort. All angry, bleak disillusionment and despair carried off with stark vocal arrangements, chugging bass-lines and apocalyptic guitars, this is an absorbing album that grabs you by the lapels and doesn’t let you go until it’s battered your eardrums to within an inch of their life and left your spirit just a little bit crushed. The blistering ‘Yellow Eyes’ and ‘Amber Veins’ are highlights, as is closer ‘Soulless Youth’, which could explain the basis of most of the lyrical content throughout. Singer George Mitchell rants and caterwauls with the best of them as his band recalls the sounds of Savages, Joy Division and Iceage, and it’s all topped off with flawless production. While there’s not much variety and the album is a little exhausting to listen to from start to finish, this is an important and promising addition to the post-punk genre. (Popfrenzy)

Record review: Pixies – Indie Cindy (2014, LP)

April 15, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

At first glance, the first full-length release in 23 years from alt-rock legends the Pixies is as welcome as it is peculiar. It’s welcome because, well, it’s the damn Pixies. It’s peculiar because all of this material was previously released in EP form, and iconic founding bassist Kim Deal is no longer around; and it’s the second of these points that influences the outcome most. ‘What Goes Boom’ is a heavy start that announces the band’s return in no uncertain terms, while ‘Magdalena 318’ and ‘Silver Snail’ allow Francis Black to show the light and dark sides of his song-writing. Unfortunately, for each decent track there are three or four stinkers, with the ridiculous ‘Snakes’ and flaccid ‘Andro Queen’ being the worst offenders. The lack of those beautifully simple Deal bass-lines like on ‘Gigantic’ or ‘Debaser’ is a devastating loss, although it could be argued it’s unfair to compare this release to music made in the early ’90s, and the album is being released to support Record Store Day after all. Almost everyone will want Indie Cindy to be a killer, but some bands like The Clash and The Replacements were never the same after dropping original members, and unfortunately the same rule applies here. (Pixiesmusic / [PIAS] Australia)

Record review: Cloud Nothings – Here And Nowhere Else (2014, LP)

April 11, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

Cleveland, Ohio trio Cloud Nothings broke through in no uncertain terms with 2012’s Steve Albini-produced Attack On Memory, which established them as an exciting new addition to the pop-punk and noise-rock scenes. Having dropped out of college to work full-time as a musician, singer-guitarist and founding member Dylan Baldi has never looked back, and this fourth album will further cement his band’s position, although there’s a feeling that it’s just another step towards something even better, rather than a musical pinnacle in itself. Baldi’s songs are as abrasive as his previous work, while simultaneously being unable to shake off a recurring pop element, making much of the eight tracks present here as catchy as they are urgent. Opener ‘Now Here In’ starts at breakneck speed, and the seven tracks which follow don’t let up the pace, with ‘Giving Into Seeing’ being a particularly frenetic effort. Guitarist Joe Boyer has departed since Attack On Memory, leaving Baldi to cover both lead and rhythm guitar duties, but the sound isn’t thinner as a result. John Congleton (Modest Mouse, St. Vincent, The Walkmen) takes over production duties, and doesn’t smooth out any of the band’s viciousness, urgency, or – at times – savage scratchiness, with a result that isn’t dissimilar to some of Husker Du’s better work. There’s no obvious radio-friendly material though, and Baldi frequently unleashes throat-destroying screams that would cause lesser men to faint, but with this album Cloud Nothings have further confirmed that they’re the real deal. (Carpark)

Record review: Steel Panther – All You Can Eat (2014, LP)

April 3, 2014April 3, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

Listening to Steel Panther’s albums from their 2003 debut to this fourth effort gives you the distinct feeling that the Los Angeles heavy metal fraudsters started what was meant to be a short-term joke and have somehow managed to keep it going this far. All bit-part players before hitting it big with Steel Panther, the quartet clearly realise the need to outdo themselves, be even more shocking, and consequently more pathetically boneheaded with every new release. Sometimes their attempts at comedy set to rock music are compared to Spinal Tap, but the difference is that with Spinal Tap, the jokes were always on them, and funny. The entire Steel Panther comedy formula can be summed up thus: degrading women = cheap laughs. Each member displays considerable musical chops once again, with guitarist Satchel being a particularly impressive shredder, but vacant attempts at glam metal like ‘Gloryhole’ and ‘She’s On The Rag’ fall way short of even matching their previous levels of song craft. “There was so much love on your face, I couldn’t see the tears,” sings Michael Starr on ‘Bukkake Tears’; at which point you realise this is a fifty year-old man grabbing his last chance at stardom with these words, and a creeping feeling of desperation sets in for the rest of the album. Oh yeah, and all this misogynistic crap – spoof or not – stopped being amusing a very long time ago; say about 1989. (Open E/Kobalt)

Record review: Howler – World Of Joy (2014, LP)

March 28, 2014June 8, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

Howler frontman Jordan Gatesmith is clearly and openly obsessed with ’80s college-rock legends and fellow Minneapolis natives The Replacements. Their 2012 debut America Give Up was littered with references to Paul Westerberg’s lyrics and sound, and while the eclecticism and snideness evident on that album compared to Westerberg’s 1987 mixed bag Pleased To Meet Me, this follow up has devolved into something more like the scratchy and patchy Hootenanny of 1983; with even the cover being almost identical. Fifty percent of the personnel has changed since their debut, and while there’s some good stuff here, much of the album feels contrived and lacklustre; and perhaps missing an ingredient or two that would inject a little excitement. The cascading guitars during the first few seconds of opener ‘Al’s Corral’ sound promising before some unimaginative vocal phrasing render it underwhelming. There’s thrashy punk rock brashness on ‘Drip’, ‘Louise’ and ‘In The Red’, while the title track is a fairly forgettable spurt of downbeat lo-fi post-punk. There’s a distinct tail-off towards the end too, with the pop-tinged ‘Indictment’ and folky ‘Aphorismic Wasteland Blues’. ‘Here’s The Itch That Creeps Through My Skull’ is interesting as it veers into lovelorn ballad territory, while single ‘Don’t Wanna’ is the most Replacements-esque track here and benefits as a result. “You don’t have to listen to me if you don’t want to,” Gatesmith sings, which is pretty reassuring by this stage in proceedings; proving that as a songwriter, he has a long way to go before matching his hero’s standards. (Rough Trade)

Record review: Metronomy – Love Letters (2014, LP)

March 28, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

The best thing about Metronomy’s 2011 breakthrough The English Riviera was that founder and chief songwriter Joseph Mount allowed what began as a fairly obscure solo electronic act to finally blossom into a full-blown band. The result was an album of exquisite and visionary pop that turned the quartet into an international concern, and once again it’s when Mount relinquishes control on Love Letters that the resulting sounds are most exciting. After three tracks of beeps, clicks and pseudo-baroque synth tickling it finally happens in exuberant and celebratory fashion on the sing-along title track, followed by the laid-back ‘Month of Sundays’ and creepily noir-ish ‘Boy Racers’. The mood doesn’t last throughout the second half of the album, and despite ‘Reservoir’ offering somewhat of a lifeline, the end comes in rather limp fashion with the plodding ‘Never Wanted’. Eclecticism has always been a large part of Metronomy’s appeal, but Love Letters is an album of two halves, and only one of them is in any way memorable.

Record review: Band of Skulls – Himalayan (2014, LP)

March 28, 2014 / Paul McBride / 4 Comments

The argument over whether rock ‘n’ roll is or isn’t dead or dying is one that is regurgitated every couple of years, but thankfully groups like Band of Skulls prove it isn’t at all necessary to be desperately searching for the next saviour of the form. The English trio has been making straight-up rock with garage and blues hints since 2008, and shown a pleasing progression over the course of their three albums; from the fresh but scattered Baby Darling Doll Face Honey to the the harder, more polished Sweet Sour and now this third effort, which is also the first to be produced by Nick Launay (Arcade Fire, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds). Radio-friendly singles ‘Asleep At The Wheel’ and ‘Nightmares’ stay rooted in familiar territory, while others tiptoe down unfamiliar alleyways, like the rockabilly-tinged ‘I Feel Like Ten Men, Nine Dead And One Dying’, darkly Gothic ‘Toreador’ and lighters-in-the-air anthem ‘You Are All That I Am Not’. Bassist Emma Richardson’s vocals on ‘Cold Sweat’ are grand and graceful enough to make the song come off like a Bond film theme, and she ultimately steals the show over the course of twelve songs. While there’s no stand-out killer of a track, it’s satisfying to know there are still bands like Band of Skulls making rock music and winning fans the old-fashioned way; by putting in the hard yards on tour and getting a little bit better with each release.

Record review: The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream (2014, LP)

March 22, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel doesn’t get anywhere near the amount of recognition he deserves. The Philadelphia native’s visionary songwriting over the course of his band’s three albums is the perfect example of a musician single-mindedly ploughing his own furrow, with the finished product benefiting as a consequence.

2011’s Slave Ambient was a momentous and enthralling release which spawned over two years of touring for Granduciel and his three bandmates; out of which sprung this follow-up. Like Slave Ambient, the indie-rockers’ third album repeatedly slip in and out of focus, while maintaining the yearning for forward momentum present in all of his work, as on nine-minute opener ‘Under The Pressure’. Six minutes of unashamedly expansive guitar rock evoke images of the open road in the vein of Bob Seger or Jackson Browne, before over three minutes of shimmering, hazy instrumental psychedelia leaves the road altogether and drifts along in the breeze; making the clearest reference to the album title thus far.

Given the album took two years to record, the pace inevitably shifts; as on melancholy piano ballad ‘Suffering’, while – like a dream sequence in a sci-fi film – chilling instrumental track ‘The Haunting Idle’ divides the layers of hazy textures spread over the road-weary ‘Eyes To The Wind’ and the point at which the muscular momentum is picked up again on the excellent ‘Burning’. You get the feeling that Granduciel could probably bust out a solo with the best of them, but he’s too clever to let something as showy as that detract from the mood and rolling rhythms that make this such an absorbing release from beginning to end. (Secretly Canadian)

Record review: Foster The People – Supermodel (2014, LP)

March 20, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

Californian indie-pop trio Foster The People just about cornered the hipster music market with their 2011 debut Torches. It was a decent album of dance-infused pop tracks and spawned five singles, including the ubiquitous ‘Pumped Up Kicks’; a deceptively dangerous little pop tune that lost its charm after being played incessantly on every radio station in existence. Now it’s time for the so-called difficult second album, and it’s one that frontman Mark Foster has gone on record as saying is closer to his vision of the band’s sound than Torches. “I’m bored of the game, and too tired to rage,” he sings on first single ‘Coming Of Age’, and unfortunately by that early stage, the listener is too; such is the lack of ideas present on the first three tracks. Maybe the off-the-charts catchiness of parts of Torches have increased expectation on this album to be similar in execution, but the simple fact is there is very little to like here, besides a few slick guitar riffs here and there. Mid-album efforts ‘Nevermind’ and ‘The Angelic Welcome of Mr. Jones’ are cringeworthy pseudo-choral nonsense, and sound like they are probably leftovers from Foster’s soundtrack work. The low point is ‘Best Friend’, which grates like ’80s cheese-pop dorks Level 42 crossed with a bad case of food poisoning. There’s no ‘Pumped Up Kicks’, or even a ‘Helena Beat’, and while the variety of sounds have increased, the result isn’t in any way improved for it. Foster The People are going to have to work very hard to recover from this. (Columbia)

Record review: Elbow – The Take Off and Landing of Everything (2014, LP)

March 20, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

In a recent interview Elbow frontman Guy Garvey said that the name of the alt-rock quintet’s sixth studio album is “born from our love for space rock, prog, Primal Scream and Spiritualised.” One listen to the title track later and it’s clear to see why that statement makes perfect sense; everything about it is as grand and weighty as anything the band have done so far. Making music with big, sweeping themes makes sense for Elbow right now, as they deal with the highs and lows of family life and growing old, as on single ‘Fly Boy Blue/Lunette’ and ‘Charge’. Despite the fact the majority of this album was written during a difficult break-up for Garvey, he manages to keep his melancholia in check for the most part, although he walks a fine line on ‘This Blue World’ and ‘My Sad Captains’. Ultimately, the song-writing is as strong as ever, and long-time fans will delight in the loss, remorse, joy and redemption that are part and parcel of any Elbow release.

Record review: Trust – Joyland (2014, LP)

March 15, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

The music project called Trust was formed in 2010 by Canadians Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski, who – having been signed to Toronto’s Arts & Crafts label – put out a 2012 debut album of dark electronica which received a series of good reviews, including a pretty decent one from Pitchfork. Since then, Postepski left to pursue her involvement with electronic trio Austra, leaving Alfons to make Trust’s second album by himself. The result is a twelve song collection that will inspire nothing but an intensely jaw-breaking series of yawns, or perhaps the idea that maybe listening to Nickelback’s latest album isn’t such a bad alternative. There’s no point even analysing each song or pointing out high or low points; the entire record is one big homogeneous dull mess of beeps and blunt clicks that’s the musical equivalent of a spilled tub of yoghurt on a dirty pavement; you’ll have no interest in picking out the less shitty bits. One thing that Joyland achieves and must be admired is its ability to evoke a feeling of such utter indifference to every song; that and its lack of a single shred of memorable musicality in any form whatsoever. I’ve just listened to the full album twice in a row and I can’t remember a single second, other than the feeling that I’d rather be doing possibly anything else in the world other than listening to these songs. Alfons himself describes the album as “an eruption of guts, eels and joy”, but this album is about as joyless as music comes. (Create/Control)

Record review: Dead Shades – Garage à Trois (2014, EP)

March 6, 2014March 7, 2014 / Paul McBride / Leave a comment

Dead Shades’ bio lists their interests as “playing shows, drinking shandies, talking shit”, but it should probably have “making hard-rocking garage EPs that punch you in the face then buy you a beer” on that list. Garage à Trois (see what they did there) is one of the first genuinely exciting releases of a year that has been more than a bit thin on the ground in terms of quality new records thus far. The Brisbane trio’s second EP may only be fifteen minutes long, but it manages to pack enough of a punch in that time to warrant repeated listens. Opener ‘Spring Hill’ – named for the band’s home suburb – gets straight into the garage rock riffs and barrels along at a frantic pace before singer-guitarist Brian L’Huillier shreds heavily with a savage and scratchy solo; a common element in the band’s songs. ‘Killing Me’ and ‘I Need You’ are more measured but still rock with a slow-burning intensity; a comparison could be made with Band of Skulls without the sheen that makes them less appealing to lovers of the DIY aesthetic of garage-rock. There’s also an element of the late ’60s power trios like Cream and Taste about everything the band does, whether intentional or not, although the spaghetti western flavour of closer ‘Ain’t Easy’ takes the sound in a new direction just as the EP comes to a close. Cheesy title aside, Garage à Trois is an accomplished and engrossing release. (Bird Fire)

Paul McBride

Music Journalist | Brisbane, Australia

Record Reviews