STACK #161 Mar 2018

MUSIC REVIEWS

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The Breeders All Nerve Good things come to those who wait – a decade in this case. Reforming in 2013 for a 20th anniversary Last Splash tour (featuring that particular album’s line-up), The Breeders got on well enough to concoct these 11 tunes. Joy of joys, it’s très Breeders – the sibling Deal harmonies (at their lullaby-like sweetest on Dawn: Making an Effort ), rumbling bass ( Metagoth ), feedback squeals (opener Nervous Mary ) and stop- start dynamics (first single Wait In The Car ). Six of the 11 tracks are in and out of your ears in less than three minutes, but why faff around when you’ve mastered short, sharp, indie-pop bliss? There’s nothing as show-stopping as Cannonball , but after a few listens All Nerve will still blow fans away. (Remote Control) Amy Flower

David Byrne American Utopia

David Byrne’s motivations at this point in the game seem as obtuse as his records. One thing seems clear: he is not happy with the present. Although pipped to the post on twentyteens techno-loathing by his godchildren Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem, Byrne’s take is as idiosyncratic as only he can be. American Utopia pushes the boundaries of what, on paper, is considered good taste – dance- punk pushes up against trance, and loungey disco guitars curl around Byrne’s gravelly-in-its- old-age yelp – but in a way that sounds genuinely new. If this is Byrne’s vision of what the radio sounds like in an ideal world, let’s give him the keys to the airwaves. (Nonesuch/Warner) Jake Cleland

Ian Moss Ian Moss Ian Moss’s new album features a song called Broadway. A slow-burning gem about missing a loved one while on tour, it’s an instant classic, as good as anything Moss has ever done. “The years fall away so quickly now,” he sings. “I’ve all the fortune and the fame. Oh, but I’d leave it all to yesterday just

to be with you again.” Moss addresses the passing of time on this album (his first in nine years) and co-wrote every song aside from the poignant My Suffering , written by his Chisel bandmate Steve Prestwich, who died in 2011. Other highlights include Down Along The Track , which sounds like a sequel to Bow River ; I’m Not Your Only Man , which starts out tough but then features the album’s sweetest melody; and opening track If Another Day , which you know is an Ian Moss song as soon as you hear the first chord. Moss might not be prolific – since Chisel’s Last Stand , Jimmy Barnes has released 16 studio albums; this is Moss’s seventh – and you won’t see him popping up on TV talk shows. He prefers to let his music do the talking, and when it’s this good, you won’t hear any complaints. This is his finest solo album. (Bloodlines/Mushroom) Jeff Jenkins

Joan Baez Whistle Down The Wind Joan Baez – one of the most influential women in the history of popular music, and acclaimed for the purity of her three-octave voice – was at the vanguard of the early '60s civil rights movement in addition to playing an important role in the rise of Bob Dylan, by recording his songs and sharing concert bills with him. Her first new album in a decade is sensitively produced by Joe Henry (who contributes two songs) and ranks with her best work. Included are compositions by TomWaits, Josh Ritter, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Eliza Gilkyson and a powerful anti-gun song, The President Sang Amazing Grace , by the relatively unknown Zoe Mulford. (Planet/MGM) Billy Pinnell

Buffy Sainte-Marie Medicine Songs Born in Canada of Cree Indian parents, Buffy Sainte-Marie is revered for decades of activism on behalf of Native Americans, but is best known for having written Until It's Time For You To Go, Universal Soldier, and Up Where We Belong . In her 77th year she's as fearless as ever, releasing a new modern day protest album that includes new songs and career-defining numbers like Soldier Blue and Universal Soldier , one of the first anti-Vietnam war anthems. Fusing folk with world music, indie rock and hip-hop, she gets stuck into war-supporting billionaires and politicians ( The War Racket ) and predatory energy companies ( The Priests Of The Golden Bull ), while still hoping for better times ( Carry it On ). (Planet/MGM) Billy Pinnell

Tribulation Down Below

Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society Grimmest Hits Ozzy Osbourne’s famed guitarist Zakk Wylde may be back in the fold, but it hasn’t stopped him moving forward with his own band. Grimmest Hits finds Wylde doing what he does best: mixing stomping metal anthems with lighter, more reflective, acoustic-driven moments. His current fanbase will enjoy this, but those of us who first heard him on Osbourne’s No Rest For The Wicked back in 1988 will miss the fire and guitar histrionics he brought to the table on his recording debut. It's business as usual for Wylde – and if you liked his last few albums, you will certainly appreciate Grimmest Hits . (Spinefarm Records/ Caroline) Simon Lukic

Sweden’s Tribulation made a stylistic change in 2013. Having released an impressive but far from groundbreaking debut titled The Horror , the band shifted gears from death metal to a more progressive sound, placing greater emphasis on melody rather than bludgeoning riffs. As expected, it split their fan base. Down Below continues the pattern, but this time the arrangements are more to the point and the melodies more pronounced, making for an instant connection. Tribulation are still dark and unsettling, but their ability to manipulate light and shade is their stong point, making them sound like no other band at the moment. (Century Media/EMI) Simon Lukic

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MARCH 2018

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