STACK #139 May 2016

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Luca Brasi If This Is All We're Going To Be The third LP from the quaint Tassie punks will take you back to those roadtrips you never had as a teen. Think of it as the soundtrack to one step short of a motivational, Rocky -esque montage playing in the biopic of your life – perhaps during, say, your ‘motorbike building’ stage, or even your ‘quick day trip to Luna Park with pals’ stage. Aeroplane is the perfect opener, and must certainly have been at least a 10-hour flight to sound that good, while Drop Out will remind you of grungy magazines you used to read on your single bed while you listened to Green Day. (Poison City) Alesha Kolbe

Amon Amarth Jomsviking

Does it matter if you know what to expect from Amon Amarth before you’ve even hit play? I’ve always found it perplexing how musicians are taken to task for not growing as artists and are then trashed when the new direction fails miserably. Amon Amarth aren’t in the business of changing, and thank Odin for that. On Jomsviking , the band delivers another Viking-inspired, melodic death metal album with hooks sharp enough to lop your head clean off your shoulders. Jomsviking is also a concept album – the band’s first, which gives the album a solid narrative for the music to navigate through. (Metal Blade/Sony) Simon Lukic

PUP The Dream Is Over Ladies and gentlemen, we have the album of the year so far. You never really expect something resembling pop punk with shrill, pointy vocals to be so commanding and angry but PUP have managed to squeeze more vitriol into one pop album than we could’ve possibly anticipated. Apparently the release is

named for a remark doctors made to vocalist Stefan Babcock after an examination of his vocal chords. Hearing the pained refrains that he hits on this album, it’s not surprising that medical professionals tried to intervene regarding the manner in which he’s expressing his disdain. Medical opinions aside (who needs ‘em?) the anger seething through this album makes this hotly anticipated follow-up so much more satisfying. These Canadians have stepped the tempo and tantrum up a notch, as is immediately apparent in opener If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You . DVP cements the pace and goddamn, discontent has never sounded so sensational. (Side One Dummy) Emily Kelly

MUSIC

Motörhead Clean Your Clock On December 20, 2015, the world lost an icon: the one and only Lemmy Kilmister. Clean Your Clock is the first Motörhead release since Lemmy’s passing and a timely reminder of his legendary status. Recorded in Munich, Germany during November 20-21 of last year, it features one of the band’s final performances. Motörhead were in ferocious form, but there are moments when the fragility of Lemmy’s health concerns can be heard. Clean Your Clock will be difficult for some, but it ultimately crystallises the talent, wit and determination that was Lemmy. Available in various audio

The Living End Shift Twenty-two years of playing

Holy F-ck Congrats

Saosin Along The Shadow It must be difficult to pick up the pen and write again after a seven-year hiatus. Even harder perhaps when there is a world of expectation upon you, the media is haphazardly throwing around words like ‘resurrection’, and your frontman has returned to the fold for the first time since 2003. Lucky then that Along The Shadow is a triumphant homecoming for Green, whose instantly recognisable vocals drive the album into bold new territory somewhere between melodic hardcore and hulking metalcore. There is a serenity in this album, a simplicity which must surely be the result of an original lineup reuniting again like a long dismantled Voltron. Welcome back, Saosin. (Epitaph) Emily Kelly

Suicide meets Blixa Bargeld in a nightclub of doom; yes, that’s what this is, kids. An electronic noodle through sexy nightmares, ‘80s video game soundtracks and those ‘snap, crackle and pops’ that inspire deviancy. The best of Silver Apples on a date with Liars, Xed Eyes will have you salivating, while Acidic reveals a small disco door in the floor leading to even sassier shenanigans. Impossible to not have the muscles twitching and the smile broadening; "Holy f-ck" indeed must be the listener’s automatic response, not the moniker – right? Get onto it! (Inertia) Chris Murray

seriously intense music (to varying critical and commercial success) hasn’t dampened the torch one molecule; that unmistakable raw and middle-fingered energy is still front and centre in The Living End's latest. Except, they’ve dropped the ‘Clash meets Stray Cats’ style pigeonhole; this is instead a dark, angry and furious record dripping with sweat, regret and a pain you have to punch through. Old school Australian rock, modern moods and frank authenticity fall from lead singer Cheney’s lips. Life As We Know It is a highlight amongst solid work that will see ample airplay and deserved success. Nice one! (Dew Process) Chris Murray

and visual formats. (UDR) Simon Lukic

MAY 2016

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