review

Record review: Jen Cloher – In Blood Memory (2013, LP)

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Back with her third record after four years tending to ailing parents in New Zealand, Melbourne singer-songwriter Jen Cloher is moving away from her indie-folk roots, towards a sound that is rockier, more immediate, and ultimately better than anything she has done before. Recorded in six days and with a title taken from the autobiography of dance choreographer Martha Graham, the crowd-funded In Blood Memory sees her dabble in lo-fi guitar distortion, single-mindedness, and stark honesty throughout, and showcases an artist who has returned to recording with a fresh, energetic approach to her music. Opener ‘Mount Beauty’ wastes no time getting among the riffs, with rough and raw production evident from the start, and the seven-minute ‘Name In Lights’ burns more slowly before building to a big finish. The country-rock lead lines of ‘David Bowie Eyes’ and ‘Toothless Tiger’ are a charming match to Cloher’s voice, which flits between coarse and gentle throughout the album, depending on the mood. ‘Needs’ is dark and brooding, and closer ‘Hold My Hand’ directly references Cloher’s mother’s descent into Alzheimer’s disease, and the confusion and pain that comes with it. Despite the often heavy subject matter, this is a triumphant return for a singer-songwriter who must be considered one of the best in the country at what she does. While it seems like forever ago, Cloher’s 2006 debut was nominated for an ARIA award, and the quality of In Blood Memory surely makes it worthy of the same. (Milk! Records)

Record review: The National – Trouble Will Find Me (2013, LP)

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The National

Ohio natives The National are back with their sixth album, and are set to continue on the upward trajectory that they have been on since the release of their 2001 debut. With each album they have grown and honed their song-writing talents, so far peaking with 2010’s High Violet, but the self-produced Trouble Will Find Me looks set to take the band’s reputation even further.

Around the time of High Violet being released, somebody wrote a description of the band’s music that has always stuck with me. It was on a YouTube or forum comment, and went along the lines of “this band sound like a group of melancholy cowboys sitting around a camp fire after a funeral.” Cowboys they aren’t, but melancholy they certainly are; and on Trouble Will Find Me they strip back their emotions to their leanest forms yet. Anyone expecting any major sonic shift by the quintet will be disappointed, but if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Opener ‘I Should Live In Salt’ is a gentle and beguiling start, with singer Matt Berninger repeating the haunting line “you should know me better than that.” Lead single ‘Demons’ follows, led by Berninger’s wonderfully rich baritone, and sees him exclaiming “when I walk into a room, I do not light it up… fuck!” Blink and you’ll miss the uncharacteristic expletive.

Berninger seemingly goes through a range of moods throughout the album; sounding desperately fragile on ‘Don’t Swallow The Cap’ and ‘Fireproof’, more defiant on ‘Sea of Love’, and stirringly intense on ‘Heavenfaced’. ‘I Need My Girl’ is a late-album highlight; a sparsely melodic ballad with excellent guitar work by Bryce Dessner.

Cameos by Sufjan Stevens, Sharon van Etten, and St. Vincent largely go unnoticed, but add interesting footnotes to another exhilarating album by The National. Trouble Will Find Me won’t cheer you up on rainy day, but it’s still a mighty fine album.

TROUBLE WILL FIND ME IS OUT NOW

Record review: Black Star Riders – All Hell Breaks Loose (2013, LP)

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black star riders

When the most recent Thin Lizzy line-up came together in 2010 – twenty-four years after the death of founder and songwriter Phil Lynott – it was at a time when the band’s future was uncertain at best. However, with original drummer Brian Downey back on board, the Ricky Warwick-fronted version of the group brought a new lease of life to Lizzy’s songs, and earned rave reviews from fans new and old. Finding themselves bursting at the seams with new material, yet thinking it inappropriate to release anything under the Thin Lizzy moniker, the band formed Black Star Riders. With no chance of the Lizzy legacy being harmed, the pressure was off, and the resulting album is a solid collection of classic rock songs; all twin lead guitars and big choruses. Second track ‘Bound For Glory’ is the most Thin Lizzy-esque song on show, with Scott Gorham’s guitar lines and Warwick’s Lynott-like vocals sounding like a lot of the band’s late ’70s output, while ‘Kingdom of the Lost’ adds a Celtic flavour, in a nod to Lizzy’s Irish roots. The title track could have been plucked from Thunder And Lightning, and the customary extended rock jam comes at the end of closer ‘Blues Ain’t So Bad’. How much mileage this band has remains to be seen, as all members are involved in other projects and Scott Gorham is in his sixties, but if this is to be the final chapter of a legendary band’s career that began in 1969, it’s a fittingly good one. (Nuclear Blast)

Record review: The Red Paintings – The Revolution Is Never Coming (2013, LP)

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Red Paintings

Orchestral art rock: three words that don’t exactly get the fires of primitive musical lust burning deep in the loins of the average punter wanting temporary escape from the humdrum routine of daily drudgery. In large part a complex form of music, the very suggestion of it evokes images of groups of misguided, over-educated tragics plucking lutes and banging on whale bones while dressed as failed auditionees from the latest Lord Of The Rings movie.

HOWEVER: for every rule an exception, and here it comes in the form of Los Angeles via Brisbane conceptual outfit The Red Paintings.

For all intents and purposes, The Red Paintings consists of one man: singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Trash McSweeney (not an Irish garbage collector), whose sprawling and sometimes twisted visions are the basis for his band’s songs. On tour, the group is a five-piece, expanded to include orchestral, choral, and performance art elements into their act, with musical influences as diverse as Mogwai, Muse, and Japanese art rock group Envy.

The range of musical ideas on The Revolution is Never Coming is quite simply, staggering, and will have your head in a spin if you can stand the pace. From the delicate piano and strings of opener ‘Vampires’, to the crushing metal bawling of second track ‘Dead Children’, and the fairy-folk flitterings of ‘Dead Adult’ (noticing a pattern here?) the scope is mind boggling.

‘Easps’ begins with what sounds like something out of the Richard Burton-narrated version of War of the Worlds, as some sort of alien invasion is described, before a sudden blast of heavy alt-rock is unleashed. ‘The Fall of Rome’ follows in a similar vein; all heavily distorted guitars and strings, as does ‘Street’. Listening to this album through is like descending into some dark dream, spiralling out of control and with no end in sight.

‘Hong Kong’ lulls you into a false sense of low-tempo relaxation before once again unleashing a torrent of devastation, and closer ‘Revolution’ begins with a nightmarishly scratchy violin before the sounds of bloody stabbing death and brutal guitars take over, along with some heavy cussin’ and a tirade against religion.

The Revolution is Never Coming: allow yourself to slide deep into the belly of the beast – it’s quite the ride.

Record review: Buchanan – Human Spring (2013, LP)

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Buchanan

Having been around for four years and with two EPs under their belts, it’s time for Melbourne indie-pop band Buchanan to drop their debut album. Lead by Josh Simons, the band put touring on hold, virtually dropping off the radar in recent months to make this record, aided with production by Catherine Marks (Foals, Interpol) and mastering by Geoff Pesche (LCD Soundsystem, Radiohead). While it’s clear the band are trying to make the type of anthemic, atmospheric pop carried off so expertly by the likes of The Temper Trap and Two Door Cinema Club, most of the tracks fall so disappointingly short. Listening to the opening trio of ‘Act Natural’, ‘Par Avion’, and ‘The Punch’ is an exercise in waiting for the good stuff to start, before fourth song ‘Temptation’ ups the quality slightly by being one of the darker tunes on the album. Penultimate song ‘The Few’ has shades of Empire of the Sun, making it one of the more tolerable efforts, and closer ‘An All Clear?’ finishes the album on a strong note. The title track – also the lead single – is a slightly more ambitious affair than anything else one the album; all grandiose strings and soaring choruses, and sounds great in parts, although the majority of the tunes on Human Spring sound like they’d be most at home on the soundtrack of a crappy rom-com, making this one of the more forgettable releases of recent months. (Independent)

Record review: Surfer Blood – Pythons (2013, LP)

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Let’s get this straight from the start: I’m a BIG fan of Surfer Blood. For me, they fill a hole that exists somewhere between when Weezer stopped being the coolest indie band around, The Strokes got lazy with their output, and the Pavement reunion died on its arse with an indifferent shrug of the shoulders. The Florida quartet have only been knocking around since 2009, but in that time they have put out an outstanding debut album in Astro Coast in 2010, and a short but solid EP in 2011’s Tarot Classics.

Frontman John-Paul Pitts claimed he unwittingly became part of the lo-fi movement by virtue of his band recording their debut album on less-than-adequate equipment in his apartment. Keen to avoid being pigeon-holed as part of a movement he felt no connection to, Pitts made sure Tarot Classics was as crisp a recording as they come. Satisfyingly, Pythons has elements of both these records; although recording was crammed into a hectic eight-week period, leaving no room for experimentation, but with plenty of guitars lathered over everything the band does.

With ten tracks of around three minutes each, this could be the most perfectly-rounded guitar pop record of recent months. Opener and single ‘Demon Dance’ is classic Surfer Blood; all dual guitars, snappy choruses, and pleading lyrics. ‘Gravity’ is more Tarot Classics than Astro Coast, and gets amongst the catchiness with a much greater sense of urgency.

‘I Was Wrong’ sees Pitts in an uncharacteristically brooding mode, channelling his inner Morissey, which is followed by ‘Squeezing Blood’; a possibly dark tale masquerading as a melodic, infectiously upbeat Beach Boys-esque track.

‘Blair Witch’ isn’t as scary as it sounds, being one of the lighter tracks on the album, with Pitts declaring “the more I see love, the more I need love.” ‘Needles and Pins’ isn’t a cover of that song, but is fairly dreary all the same, while final track ‘Prom Song’ could be a talented Wheatus for the twenty-first century, and a nice way to finish the album.

Surfer Blood have always flown a bit under the radar, but if there’s at least one big single on this album, it should be enough to see them do well, although Surfer Blood don’t seem to be the type of band who would be comfortable getting “big”.

Live review: Local Natives + New Gods + Texture Like Sun – The Zoo, Brisbane – 19th May 2013

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Local Natives have been wowing fans up and down the country of late, and hot on the heels of their second album Hummingbird, they’re in town with the aim of doing the same to Brisbane. Drawing favourable comparisons to Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, the quartet are well-known for their multiple harmonies and classy song-writing. The Zoo’s stage awaits their talents.

First up for tonight’s gig is Melbourne indie-folk duo Texture Like Sun, who provide an understated but increasingly attention-grabbing performance with a series of ominously-haunting piano melodies and soaring vocals. Their song ‘One Great Prize’ is a good starting point for checking these guys out, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Texture Like Sun

Texture Like Sun

The second support for tonight is Melbourne indie-rock quintet New Gods, who will possibly forever be described as featuring former members of Little Red; that once omnipotent but ultimately substance-free band of pop-lite not-quite-pretty boys who released a couple of chart-bothering tunes a couple of years ago. I immediately have flashbacks of a tragic night at The Hi-Fi in Brisbane, watching baying hordes of over-privileged teenage girls try to levitate their virginities in the general direction of any or all of the relatively unskilled band members, as the objects of their affections alternate between blushing under the swell of pheromone-fuelled adulation and jostling each other for a slice of the limelight and pick of the skirts.

Thankfully, New Gods aren’t like any of that – for the most part – and as I write a quick note by which to remember their set, a satisfying rhythm falls across the paper: “The little boys from Little Red… have become men and learned to shred.” While elements of dreamy pop inevitably slip into their set from time to time, they are at their best when guitarists Adrian Beltrame and Dominic Byrne let rip with the riffs, which they do really well; although writing a song about Bill Hicks and throwing your guitar gently and politely to the ground with an “I’ll-fix-it-later” look on your face doth not a rock star make. Next time, I want to be picking shards of your fretboard out of my eyeballs (with bleeding fingers) for a month, if you please.

New Gods

New Gods

And so: California’s Local Natives. When Hummingbird came out earlier in the year, I was quick to hassle people in relation to its greatness, claiming it to be one of the albums of 2013 already; and I stand by that. Top-notch tuneage seeps from every pore of that record – it’s a exquisitely crafted piece of work that will still sound great when we’re all just a bump in the graveyard grass. Alas, this is a review of a live show, not an album.

I was recently chatting to a friend about seeing Wild Beasts at Laneway Festival in 2010, and how totally disappointed we were with their show, especially considering they had just released such a top album in Two Dancers. It was tame in almost every sense of the word; all the right songs were there, played to perfection, but where was the performance? Every ‘T’ was crossed and ‘I’ dotted in terms of how the songs sounded, but where was the heart? Where was the soul? The audience engagement? It was as fun as being in your bedroom with their record playing in the background, and a couple of hundred random people along for the ride. The same could be said for tonight’s show.

Local Natives

Local Natives

“Hello, how are you? This is our last night in Australia, and we have a lot of songs for you tonight,” offers Kelsey Acer to a half-filled Zoo, before the band kick into ‘You & I’, with plenty of exaggerated arm-swinging on the down strum, and a range of well-practised facial expressions to show just how serious this band takes itself. As with Wild Beasts, the songs are all there; and are replicated in a note-perfect manner, including ‘Ceilings’, ‘Mt. Washington’, ‘Airplanes’, ‘Colombia’, and the sublime ‘Heavy Feet’, but despite unquestionably great musicianship and a fine range of facial hair, there’s something missing from this show that leaves me feeling – dare I say it – bored.

A mid-set cover of Talking Heads’ ‘Warning Sign’ provides some relief from the earnestness, and when it’s time for an encore The Zoo’s audience doesn’t exactly put up a fight to get the band back on-stage. Watching them pick up their instruments and strike up another couple of indifferent chords is enough for me, and I’m down the stairs to freedom in a matter of seconds. Disappointing.

Record review: Jinja Safari – Jinja Safari (2013, LP)

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Upon hitting the play button on the new Jinja Safari album, I experienced a dark and awful moment in which I thought I had somehow stumbled upon a Paul Simon album circa 1990. Desperately scrambling to find the stop button, I spilt my coffee over a book I’d borrowed from a friend, burnt my thumb with the hot liquid, and suffered a mild panic attack brought on by the thought that I was voluntarily listening to Paul Simon. Thankfully the faux-world-music-jungle-drum vibes of opener ‘Apple’ quickly melted away (and the book soon dried off quite nicely), leaving nothing but an album of catchy indie pop and a moderately throbbing thumb. The Sydney quintet’s second full length album comes with the pressure of high expectation, on the back of a couple of solid EPs, a well-received album in 2011, and a reputation for a killer live show. ‘Oh Benzo!’ has a funky bass-line and a catchy chorus that should get crowds singing along when played lived, while ‘Harrison’ displays the band’s Indian influences with a short sitar interlude. Single ‘Plagiarist’ has received heavy radio rotation in recent weeks, making it the most recognisable track; its upbeat melodies and vocal harmonies are simply infectious, and later track ‘Source of the Nile’ has Himalayan percussion accompanying another melodic vocal performance and breezy guitars. It could be argued that some songs blur into each other without any real noticeable difference, but overall this album is a quality melting pot of global pop influences. (Island/Universal)

Record review: A Cartoon Graveyard – The Men Who Stole Your Horse Are In The Woods With My Friend (2013, LP)

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cartoon grave

In the Replacements’ song ‘Alex Chilton’, Paul Westerberg declares his love of a certain under-appreciated band of ’70s power-pop pioneers by declaring “I never travel far, without a little Big Star,” before letting loose with a melodic guitar solo that could have come straight from the fingers of Chilton himself. A quick listen to the debut album from Brisbane indie-pop trio A Cartoon Graveyard reveals that they too have surely studied at the college of Chilton: the ridiculously titled The Men Who Stole Your Horse Are In The Woods With My Friend is full of ’70s pop melodies, catchy choruses, lo-fi riffs, and enough goofy lyrics to put even the most snobby music fan at ease.

Despite being recorded in a DIY home studio, this independently-released album has impressive range and sounds great. Opener ‘Over Water’ is a catchy mix of scratchy guitar riffs and a busy rhythm section, and is followed by perhaps the best song on the album – and certainly the most Big Star-esque – ‘Speaks Volumes’; a track that could be lifted straight from #1 Record. There’s something about this song that speaks of lost times and musical eras gone by that’s pretty special.

Showing that they don’t take themselves too seriously is lead single ‘Wayne The Atom’; a quirky, sci-fi tinged track with nonsensical lyrics like “Microwaves are in your head, you woke to find the pilot dead” before some uncharacteristically heavy riffing in the final third of the song.

Elsewhere, there’s an interesting instrumental Spanish guitar track in ‘Carlotta Valdes’ (possibly named for an unseen character in Hitchcock’s Vertigo), and the gothic theatrics of ‘Any Day Now’.

While the album runs out of steam slightly towards the end, there are enough ideas and pop hooks on show here to make this an ear-catching release. Well played, sirs.

Review score: 8.0 out of 10.

THE MEN WHO STOLE YOUR HORSE ARE IN THE WOODS WITH MY FRIEND IS OUT NOW. A CARTOON GRAVEYARD PLAY BLACK BEAR LODGE, BRISBANE ON JUNE 19.

Live review: The Bronx + DZ Deathrays + Spitfireliar – The Hi-Fi, Brisbane – 7th May 2013

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IMG_3532

It’s Tuesday night in West End and The Hi-Fi is heaving. Not long after the doors are opened, it’s nigh-on impossible to get near the bar, the area in front of the stage is rapidly becoming an elbow-room-free zone, and the steps linking the two are filled with lines of people who always seem to be fighting the current. It’s time for this Brisbane audience to drain their beers and ready their eardrums – The Bronx don’t do things softly.

After a quick and heavy set by local lads Spitfireliar, including their song ‘I Want To Eat Natalie Portman’s Poo’, Brisbane thrash duo made-good DZ Deathrays take to the stage. It is immediately clear that Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley have become one hell of a musically tight pairing; made possible by the almost constant touring across North America, Europe, and Australia of late. What’s also clear as their set progresses is how much of a monster shredder Parsons now is; those local music fans who still consider DZ an offshoot of Velociraptor must realise that there was no way an indie-pop band was ever going to contain this guy’s riffs. ‘Cops Capacity’, ‘No Sleep’, ‘The Mess Up’, and a finale of ‘Dollar Chills’ sound great, and a couple of new (unnamed) songs are trialled with plenty of screamo gusto.

It’s almost eleven o’clock by the time Los Angeles quintet The Bronx take to the stage to the boom of a spaghetti western track that sounds like it could be a tune by their alter egos Mariachi El Bronx. If you were choosing a traditional frontman’s look, it wouldn’t be that of singer Matt Caughthran, but the day he realised he has a voice powerful enough to topple regimes must have been a momentously life-changing occasion. As ‘White Tar’ sends the audience into a frenzy, Caughthran announces “Brisbane is the favourite town of the motherfuckin’ Bronx; the first place we ever touched down in Australia,” before scolding the audience for not selling out the venue, climbing along the railing, crowd-surfing back to the stage, catching a random hurled garment with his forehead, before finally announcing “We have come home to Brisbane, make some noise motherfuckers!”

‘Too Many Devils’ is introduced as being “for all the chicas,” before Caughthran kindly informs the by-now sweaty and elated crowd that “after tonight you will be born again, and everything else will pale in comparison to seeing The Bronx.” ‘Six Days A Week’ and a massive ‘Youth Wasted’ sound fantastic, as the energy level doesn’t let up despite the obvious expenditure on stage.

Unlike many hardcore and punk bands, The Bronx have a backbone of solid musicianship, talent, and top tunes; they come across as the type of band who could be just as successful as a calypso/bluegrass/sea-shanty/whatever group if they set their minds to it. For now, their rock show will do just nicely. What a great night.

Record review: Van Dyke Parks – Songs Cycled (2013, LP)

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With a career spanning several decades and many genres of music, he defies classification. Of course he is most well-known for his work with The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson (describing himself as a victim of Wilson’s buffoonery), but the fact he has worked with artists as diverse as Rufus Wainwright and Skrillex is often overlooked. All hail, it’s the return of living legend Van Dyke Parks with his first album since 1995.

It’s been forty-five years since his debut album Song Cycle, and his work has been ineffectively described as eccentric, quirky, or quaint ever since. The fact that, at seventy, he looks like a university professor has probably encouraged such descriptions, but there’s so much more to Parks than meets the eye. Songs Cycled is a beautiful mix of classical ballads, psychedelia, piano tinkling, and fantastical child-like lyrical landscapes that paint visual pictures with grace and style.

Opener ‘Dreaming of Paris’ could be the soundtrack for a Disney film set in the French capital, although is apparently about the US bombing of Baghdad, while ‘Hold Back Time’ follows in a similar vein. The grandiose ‘Wall Street’ was written by Parks as a tribute to the people who jumped to their deaths from the Twin Towers as they burned; a dark story hidden behind a typically quirky (there’s that word again) track.

There are a couple of fine covers on which Parks pays homage to his musical favourites, including ‘Sassafras’ by Billy Edd Wheeler, and ‘Aquarium’ by Camille Saint-Saens, and while this album should be appreciated by music-lovers the world over, it probably won’t be. Van Dyke Parks doesn’t fit into any pigeon-hole, and while that makes his music inaccessible to a lot of people, it’s also what makes him great.

SONGS CYCLED IS OUT NOW VIA BELLA UNION

Live review: Matt & Kim + Citizen Kay + Tiger Beams – The Zoo, Brisbane – 9th May 2013

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Matt & Kim

Matt & Kim

Tonight’s show at The Zoo would be one of duos, with no less than three of them performing for the listening and viewing pleasure of Brisbane’s music-loving public. Call it a Groovin’ The Moo sideshow or whatever you like; one thing that can be guaranteed when seeing Matt & Kim is rock-solid, class A entertainment; and tonight would be no different.

First up is well-known Brisbane duo Tiger Beams, consisting of local soul brother Jeremy Neale on guitar/vocals and his Velociraptor partner-in-crime Jesse Hawkins on vocals/drums, seemingly taking part in a how-many-bands-can-you-be-in-at-once competition (and undoubtedly winning). Their set is messy and charming in equal amounts, and culminates with Hawkins announcing “we’ve never played this last song live before and we’re quite drunk – a good combination,” before taking to the stage front and centre for a ridiculous (and in many ways, brilliant) electronic number featuring robot dancing and intergalactic synth loops.

Citizen Kay

Citizen Kay

Next up is Citizen Kay from Canberra; a young artist whose music has been described as hip-hop, but in reality consists of so much more. The singer runs through a highly energetic set of fantastic rap/dance/pop tunes with a socially-conscious heart, including the excellent ‘When I Was Up’ and ‘Free Doom’ (or was that ‘Freedom’?), including lines about Malcolm X and JFK: nice. ‘Villain’ is a groovy rap track that allows the drummer to flaunt his considerable skills, but it’s Kay’s stage presence, charisma, and endless grin that holds the audience in the palm of his hand for the length of the set. Well played, young sir.

And so, it’s time for Matt & Kim, who bounce onto the stage in a a flurry of flashing lights, bubbles, and screams, have a quick dance on the bass drum and various parts of the stage, then exclaim “we’ve been hanging out over by the Kangaroo Point cliffs, and we’ve learned that there are no rules in Brisbane; you can do whatever the fuck you want!” Cue colossal screams and the audience is theirs. The punchy ‘Overexposed’ follows before Matt introduces Kim as “my partner-in-crime and my partner in sex,” with Kim responding with “You are gonna fuck tonight Matt – our foreplay is me telling you I’m gonna fuck the shit out of you tonight!” as the audience eats up every word.

‘Silver Tiles’ is next, and is introduced as “pretty much the first song we ever wrote”, followed by ‘Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare’ as the crowd bounces in unison, before the slower ‘Turn This Boat Around’ follows Kim standing on the drums slapping her ass in the general direction of the audience.

At this point handfuls of balloons and cock rings are flung into the audience to add to the manic party vibe, before ‘Now’ and a cover of ’90s Dutch Euro-pop anthem ‘Better Off Alone’ by Alice Deejay sees an outbreak of bare-breasted crowd-surfing by one girl and a lightning-quick grab for iPhone cameras by the entire rest of the audience (I was too slow, damn it). Matt confesses to having “missed a couple of notes when that bra came off”, before Kim delights us by confessing “every night I juice myself up here playing the drums.”

By now everybody is exhausted but exhilarated, so an encore of ‘Lessons Learned’ fits perfectly, with Kim suggesting “If you sing along with me on this song, you will get laid tonight.” While the truth to this claim can’t possibly be confirmed, one thing is certain: Matt & Kim are one of the best live acts around right now, and every member of the audience left The Zoo feeling better than when they arrived.

Record review: Andrew Stockdale – Keep Moving (2013, EP)

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Andrew Stockdale

In a recent interview Brisbane rocker Andrew Stockdale suggested that while Wolfmother has been put on the back burner in favour of solo ventures, fans can rest assured that the band will possibly get back together “when the time is right”. For now, Stockdale is performing under his own name, and has released this four-track EP that precedes an album of the same name to be released later this year. If you’re expecting the change of moniker to bring a shift in sound and style for the singer/guitarist, then think again, as the overall feel is one of big rock riffs, monster choruses, and raw production. It’s Stockdale’s trademark ’70s hard rock sound that is the main ingredient in the sixteen-minute, four track EP. Opener ‘Long Way To Go’ begins with a riff that could have been lifted directly from Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti (listen to ‘Custard Pie’ off that album and try to spot the difference) and second track ‘Keep Moving’ is heavy on riffs in the vein of Stockdale’s buddy Slash, with lyrics that could describe Stockdale’s career outlook since the demise of Wolfmother, while closer ‘Everyday Drone’ is an interesting mid-tempo track that features a neat harmonica riff but ventures a little too closely to Oasis territory for comfort. While it seems odd for Stockdale to release an EP and album so close together and with the same name, if the quality is generally this good it shouldn’t be a problem. (Universal)

Record review: The Growl – What Would Christ Do? (2013, LP)

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Growl_WWCD_Cover_Web

While they may not be a household name by any stretch of the imagination, Fremantle six-piece The Growl have been building quite a following and reputation for themselves with tours across Australia and the United States supporting psych-rock brothers-in-arms Tame Impala. Many Australian fans will have first come into contact with the band on that tour, and subsequently noticed connections with Pond (in which singer Cameron Avery is the drummer) and The Chemist (also featuring keys player James Ireland). With this much musical foundation, things can only go right… right?

Upon listening to What Would Christ Do?, the first things you will notice about The Growl (apart from the brilliantly ballsy album title) are Avery’s gravelly growl of a singing voice, the bizarre and epic mishmash of junkyard sci-fi rock sounds, and the unholy monster of a noise the band’s dual drummers put out. Combine these elements with the basis of an extremely strong blues-rock/garage outfit seemingly battering the life out of any piece of equipment they find lying around, wandering soulful vocals and nightmarish lyrics, and you get What Would Christ Do?

An early album highlight is second track and single ‘Cleaver Lever’. Pounding drums and bass provide a solid backbone to Avery’s wolfish howl and dark, menacing lyrics about a “bullet in the chamber of my gun.” The excellent ‘Liarbird’ is a much more soulful affair, without losing any of the power present in other tracks, while their cover of traditional gospel song ‘John The Revelator’ is a potent blast of dirty blues and heavy riffs in suitably grand fashion.

‘Niywtlwoe’ (standing for ‘not if you were the last woman on earth’) is a nightmarish squall of science-fiction noise that clatters and churns and could well be the soundtrack to some twisted robot apocalypse or dark futuristic fantasy.

It’s not a stretch to say that What Would Christ Do? is every bit as good as Tame Impala’s last record, and the brash, unique style is something to be celebrated. To top it off, The Growl are also a damn fine live band. What would Christ do? Buy a copy.

WHAT WOULD CHRIST DO? IS OUT NOW VIA MGM.

Record review: Iggy & The Stooges – Ready to Die (2013, LP)

/ Paul McBride / Leave a comment

Never one to shy away from controversy, Iggy Pop is now 66 and appears on his band’s latest album cover semi-naked and strapped up with explosives in a gunman’s crosshairs; not the most tasteful of artistic choices given recent events in the US. Thankfully, music-wise, the influential frontman is nowhere near being ready to die, and still puts as much of his heart and soul into his music and performance as he did when The Stooges formed in the mid-sixties. Incredibly, this is only the band’s fifth album in that time, and it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from the proto-punk pioneers. Opener ‘Burn’ is dark and sludgy and sets the tone for what follows. “You’re taking over as the world turns, I’m on fire with a reptile, burn burn,” grumbles Pop, who’s in a pretty miserable mood throughout the whole album. ‘Gun’ sees him ranting “If I had a f**king gun, I could shoot at everyone” with typical Pop venom over a barrage of buzz-saw guitars, and ‘DD’s’ is a pretty ridiculous ditty about – you guessed it – massive breasts, reaffirming Pop’s determination to never grow up. Guitarist James Williamson is on top form throughout, having only picked up a guitar again in 2009 after a twenty year career in the electronics industry. There are a couple of clunky ballads to offer a bit of variety to the sounds on offer, including the downbeat ‘Beat That Guy’ on which Williamson solos like it’s 1975 all over again, and overall this album will feel very familiar to fans of The Stooges. (Fat Possum)