STACK NZ May #73

REVIEWS 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 and visual formats. Simon Lukic

The Living End Shift

Pacific Heights The Stillness The title says it all, really: rather than the banging anthems of his old outfit Shapeshifter, Devin Abram’s second outing as Pacific Heights is wrapped in lush, plush electronica. The beats haven’t been forgotten entirely, but for the most

Twenty-two years of playing 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 deserves to be a hit. Nice one! Chris Murray

part they take second place to Abram’s plangent, ambient soundscapes and suitably ethereal vocals from some rising young stars of the New Zealand music scene. As well as the sultry shimmer of the first single Airborne , jazz singer Deanne Krieg brings her lovely, cool vocal tones to two further tracks, Realm and Breath and Bone , while Drax Project’s Shaan Singh shines on the gorgeous peaks and troughs of the gently pulsing epic So Love . Kudos, too, for the other two featured vocalists – newcomer Jen Turner on the celestial grooves of Drained and singer- songwriter Louis Baker on the haunting second single Buried By The Burden – while the soothing, chilled beats of Ibanaka make it probably the pick of the instrumental tracks. All in all, an elegant and rather blissful box of delights. John Ferguson

MUSIC

Olympia Self Talk

Melody Pool Deep Dark Savage Heart In this crazy modern world we are swamped by music – most of it meaningless. But some of it is genuine and timeless. Melody Pool is special. You sense she could have taken the pop path to fame, but she’s chosen a different road; as she declares on her second album, “I’m not trivial.” As the title suggests, Deep Dark Savage Heart is not always easy listening. But there are some truly beautiful moments, and the album provides a window to this musician's soul. The standout song, Black Dog , is like a page ripped from her diary: “People often say there’s no time in a day,” she sings, “but there’s way too much time for me. I’m empty and aching, my whole world is shaking, and the black dog has sat at my feet.” Jeff Jenkins

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Nonagon Infinity

Car Seat Headrest Teen Of Denial

Now with a major label behind her, Olympia has the resources to delve into further nuances at which her earlier records only hinted. Self Talk is luxurious; where previous releases hinged on the strength of her voice and somber guitar lines, here she incorporates a swath of analogue and synthesized instruments to pile up moments of simmering tension and swirling balladry, spanning cheeky nods to adolescence and refreshing takes on universal themes. Taking cues from literary figures as much as her rock ancestors, Self Talk is big on feeling, huge on impact, and a crucial demonstration of what Olympia can do given the means. Jake Cleland

Fresh and jarring in the best kind of way, CSH seem to capture every indie metaphor without buying into the ‘too cool for school’ cliché. Drugs with Friends is slacker humour with panache that’d cause Jonathan Richman to punch the air, while The Cars-inspired Just What I Needed/Not Just What I Needed licks Neil Young’s gumboot with love and respect. Will Toledo (think Beck, a lot) is the genius behind the moniker and this is the first album he's recorded in a traditional studio, as most of his previous vocals were done in the back of a car (hence the name). Clearly it’s a small matter of time before we’ll see his legacy catapulted to serious heights. Chris Murray

Another hour, another King Gizzard album, but of course. Here, kids, the concept is that you can loop the entire nine-track release and you’ll never hear the joins; an endless jam if you will. Brilliant, I tells ya! With sweat flyin’ off the needle, Robot Stop opens to an urgent flurry of multi-instrumental madness. We continue down this jagged road throughout Big Fig Wasp until single Gamma Knife out-psyches any wizard likely to float by. Not until People- Vultures (track four) does the energy let up, but even that’s only for a mere 30 seconds, and once again we’re thrust into a spiralling vortex of colour and overwhelming passion for immersion. This band is not human… clearly. Hats off! Chris Murray

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