STACK NZ Jun #63

MUSIC

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Algiers Algiers

Tremonti Cauterize

With Cauterize, guitarist Mark Tremonti hopes to capitalise on the success of his debut All I Was. That album focused on his heavier ideas, and riffs that didn’t fit the framework of either Creed or Alter Bridge (his two other, better known entities). Cauterize is reminiscent of Metallica circa The Black Album , with a little … And Justice For All thrown in for good measure. Cauterize, though, is no thrash album and little here will alienate his wider fan base. The centrepiece of the release is Tremonti’s guitar work and Cauterize shows just how much he has grown as a player over the years. Simon Lukic

Out of the torn traditions of America's gospel'n'blues Deep South but shot through with post- punk fury, this trio take a hammer to politics, religion and race but couch it in blood-stirring music. Here are terrifying soundscapes ( Claudette ), desperate spooked- out soul driven by guitar grit and throbbing bass ( And When You Fall , But She Was Not Flying ), worldweary aching ( Games ) and pistol whipped blues ( Blood ). Algiers let the ghosts of the past rise up (the angry swamp spirit of Old Girl ) with a dangerous, dark and determined rage. These guys are dead serious. And extraordinary. Graham Reid

Leon Bridges Coming Home

If the Harry Highpants slacks, patent leather loafers and non-ironic cardigan don’t tell you where Leon Bridges lives, check out the song titles. Yep, they’re on the front cover, which means we’re heading back to the classics. Percy Sledge and Sam Cooke are obvious touchstones within the first 30 seconds of Coming Home , an unapologetically vintage-styled immersion in the sweet spot where gospel dips its hip to soul. The kid from Fort Worth has all it takes, sliding his fine-grit tenor around soulful pleas to this lady or that while his band – skinny black ties and Ray-Bans almost visible though the reverb – echo against the naked bricks. In Lisa Sawyer , the grandson of a preacher man bolsters conviction with a potted family tree harking back to ‘63 (mmmm, ‘63). The clincher is River , an almost acapella hymn clearly recorded around a single microphone. Kid can dance, too, they say. Watch out. Michael Dwyer

Torres Sprinter For her second album, Brooklyn- based Mackenzie Scott, AKA Torres, shreds her past and soul on nine gripping songs; some are throbbing with love but latent menace ( Son You Are No Island ), some compelling for quiet intimacy (the seven minute-plus closer The Exchange about a child given up for adoption) and others furious synth'n'guitar-rock, close to poetically revealing Patti Smith and howling Nirvana. Lyrically these songs peel back layers in imagery which is religious, sexual and literary but she also tells stories (two running parallel on A Proper Polish Welcome ) and possesses a rare honesty. One of the year's best. Graham Reid

Leftfield Alternative Light Source

Mark Seymour & he Undertow Mayday What is home? That’s the question Mark Seymour ponders on his ninth solo album, and third with The Undertow. This is the story of modern Australia, where it’s “one rule for the filthy rich, another one for the weak", the nation is filled with "celebrities and sycophants", desperate people seek asylum, shock jocks are “screamin’”, and musicians are searching for meaning. This is as good as any album Seymour has made. The Undertow might lack numbers, but they’re capable of delivering both power and poignancy. One of the many special things about this is that it showcases both sides of Seymour – it’s strident and sensitive, and both qualities sit comfortably alongside each other. Jeff Jenkins

The Fall Sub-Lingual Tablet

This is apparently the 31st studio LP from Mark E Smith’s seminal outfit, but it could really have been recorded anytime over the last 20 years or so. There’s some memorable motorik-infused riffing ( Dedication Not Medication , the epic Auto-Chip 14-15 ), an obscure garage cover ( Stout Man , a rewrite of The Stooges’s Cock In My Pocket ), a dash of tribal rhythms ( Junger Cloth ) and the occasional glimpse of a melody ( Black Door ). Of course, there's also some shapeless jams, but this incarnation of The Fall is the longest serving and for the most part they provide a suitably steely musical setting for the splenetic rants of music’s grumpiest old man. John Ferguson

Now down to lone member Neil Barnes, seminal English dance act Leftfield return with their first album in a decade and a half. It’s flooded with frazzled warmth and features guest vocals from TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, Poliça’s Channy Leaneagh and Sleaford Mods. The sheer strength of the vocal tracks, like the terse spoken-word of Head and Shoulders and the La Roux- esque Bilocation , actually make Dark Matters and the title track feel like instrumental filler by comparison. But despite its lulls, this is still a worthy comeback. DougWallen

JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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