STACK #158 Dec 2017

MUSIC REVIEWS

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The Church Man Woman Life Death Infinity “I gotta get a handle on you,” Steve Kilbey sings in Another Century , the opening cut on The Church’s new album. But 26 albums into their career, it’s still impossible to pigeonhole the Sydney group – they remain mystifying and magical. Hardcore fans lament the loss of Marty Willson-Piper, but to these ears, Powderfinger’s Ian Haug nails the classic Church guitar sound. This year’s fine documentary Something Quite Peculiar showed Kilbey as part David Brent part Spinal Tap, but there’s no doubt he’s a masterful musician. This record arrived with little fanfare, but along with 2014’s Further/ Deeper , it shows that Kilbey and The Church remain a potent force. (MGM) Jeff Jenkins

Margo Price All American Made

Leon Russell On A Distant Shore

Willie Nelson And The Boys Willie's Stash Vol. 2 There’s no stopping Willie Nelson. At 84 years of age he continues to play and record – and dig into his archives, to bring us these little gems. This is the second volume of Willie’s Stash ; the first, December Days , was a collection of collaborations with his sister Bobby Nelson. Vol. 2 highlights the talents of Nelson's sons Lukas and Micah, who surprisingly (or not so) sound a lot like their dad. Recorded during the sessions for his 2012 album Heroes , these are golden moments. A collection of country classics featuring songs by some of the best (Hank Williams, Snow, Locklin, Cochran), this is good time honky tonk. (Sony) Denise Hylands

Margo Price carries the torch for the new generation of real deal women country singers. Like the greats – Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn – she writes it and sings it like it is. Third Man Records snapped her up when no one else would, and she has gone on to wow Nashville and beyond. Her second album was born while travelling America, songs written between highways, hotel rooms and all-night diners; songs that reflect life on the road, a not-so-pretty America, its politics, wild women, and gender inequality. Recorded in Memphis, Tennessee at Sam Phillips Recording studio with guests fromWillie Nelson to The McCrary Sisters, All American Made is a truly soulful country gem. (Third Man) Denise Hylands

Leon Russell's four-decade career – as session musician, producer, arranger and accompanist for Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones, assembler of the band for Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen album, and releasing more than 40 albums of his own – came to an end in November 2016. His final album On A Distant Shore is a more than fitting farewell. Even though the title track has Russell anticipating the inevitable (“I'm waiting here for my time to come”) he left us in great form with a bunch of new songs and re-workings of his three best known compositions, This Masquerade , Hummingbird and A Song For You . (Planet/MGM) Billy Pinnell

Xenoula Xenoula Everyone is hallucinating all of the time. The words on the page, the window behind you, the conversation you just overheard, are sensory inputs used by the brain to make a version of reality. But what if it were different? Xenoula's debut self-titled album could be the answer. It's a full-length exercise in curiosity and imagination, exploring the world through music. Romy Xeno's record blends memories of her childhood in South Africa with impressions of Europe and experiences in the UK; all were recorded and documented in a peaceful studio in the north of Wales with friend and producer Sam Dust (AKA LA Priest, one half of Soft Hair). Songs are biographical and mythical in content, filled with both recognisable and unfamiliar styles. The spacious synth-pop of Caramello , for instance, leads to the haunting percussive interlude Dawn Bunny , which in turn guides us to the subtle bossa shuffle and tropical dub-pop of She Ghosts . (Domino/EMI) SimonWinkler

U2 Songs Of Experience On Songs Of Experience U2 daub colour across an ever-unrolling canvas, pausing occasionally to give sections more detail and using The Edge’s signature guitar tone sparingly. Opener Love Is All We Have Left offers a sweet, whirring bonhomie something like Owl City’s Fireflies with little electronic mumblings bobbing up through the layers, and its dual vocalists – Automaton Bono and Human Bono – eventually come together to sing in unison in a neat, symbolic return to home base. Two cuts in the middle of the tracklist, Red Flag Day and The Showman (Little More Better) , reveal the band's freshest ideas – on the former they reclaim some of that syncopated Sunday Bloody Sunday rhythm and chutzpah, and the latter has a jaunty Bernard Fanning/Beach Boys feel with acoustic guitar and a super cute chorus. It’s these moments that are most successful – when you feel as if, inbetween hollering across the globe, they’ve still got something to say directly into your ear. (Universal) Zoë Radas

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Who Built The Moon? Well I’ll tell you who built it according to Gallagher the Elder: a ringmaster goliath many thousands of feet tall, who has cobwebs circling around his boots like low pressure systems and a gargantuan keychain dangling with stars. (The Younger says the answer is “Keith” – source: Liam’s recent AMA.) All of the tracks on Who Built The Moon? evoke this sort of celestial feel; gut string-taut violins swoop amongst beautifully full and thick drums on impressive opener Fort Knox , the galloping hi-hat on She Taught Me HowTo Fly is very Joy Division, and the nautical If Love Is The Law features romantic accordion and timpani. There’s a Finn brothers vibe to many of the melodies, and a general evocation of Sgt Pepper’s most dreamy moments across the whole. It’s terribly unabashed and full of hope – Noel might not be the primo wit of the Gallaghers, but he’s definitely the most vulnerable, and that’s a powerful thing. (Caroline) Zoë Radas

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