STACK #126 Apr 2016

MUSIC

RPM

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R EVOLUTIONS P ER M ONTH

Belters, Must-Hears, Assorted Musical Wonders and Other Curiosities

Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly

I n 1960, American author Harper Lee released her book To Kill a Mockingbird (later adapted into a famous film starring Gergory Peck), which depicted a racially motivated miscarriage of justice in the southeastern United States. In 2015, in the wake of events in Ferguson, Missouri, Kendrick Lamar releases To Pimp a Butterfly. But forget agit-political flag-waving; this album masterfully weaves the personal with the political, and juxtaposes the richness of black cultural history against an armoury of contemporary sounds. A scratch of vinyl opens Wesley’s Theory (produced by Flying Lotus, and featuring P-Funk legend George Clinton and bass ace Thundercat), followed by the echoing refrain that “every nigger is a star,” immediately invoking Sly and the Family Stone and the landmark There’s a Riot Goin’ On . Lamar’s use of live jazz instrumentation throughout

much of the album (Terrace Martin on sax, acclaimed pianist Robert Glasper,

with his incisive flow and uniquely shaped vocal style flourishing in the cavalcade of styles and ideas, where others might struggle. The character in the woozy These Walls reflects “I remember you was conflicted/ mis-using your influence/ I was the same/ abusing my power/ full of resentment/ resentment that turned into a deep depression.” As Butterfly progresses, the line repeats to reveal more of the narrator’s state of mind. To hear the culmination, you’ll have to get this album; a defining statement for 2015. Jonathan Alley

and Thundercat on bass) not only provides a languid fluidity and sense of adventure, it also invokes the idea of jazz as an original, pure, rich expression of black America in the arts, just like hip hop. For example, on For Free? he plays with hip hop’s lyrical cliches as a ticked-off woman relays a shopping list of demands before Lamar retorts with a snipey “This di*k ain’t free”; it sounds faux gangsta, until he dives into a devastating semi-spoken litany of black oppression. It encapsulates much of To Pimp a

Butterfly : vaguely dirty, but addressing sexual politics and consumerism via highy skilled social commentary. Lamar’s rhymes sail head and

Nutshell Verdict Third album from West Coast rapper smashes images of contemporary US against personal and political black history.

STACK Picks For Free These Walls

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shoulders over his contemporaries, his

The Eels Live at Royal Albert Hall

It wasn’t mopey Kurt, or Eddie from the gloomy north, but a sprightly slip of a girl from the US bible belt who encapsulated the brutal subtext of the grunge revolution when she said “We like our pain and we’re selling it.” The raw rape reportage of Me and a Gun was a calling Tori Amos Little Earthquakes (reissue)

The fifth album for The Very Best – – the ongoing collaboration between London The Very Best Makes a King

production wunderkinds Radioclit and Malawian vocalist Esau Mwamwaya – is a wholly authentic musical exercise. The atmospheric opener Nkhondo takes us to the wilds of the African plain, while the chant-along refrain of Hear Me might just be anthemic. Let Go sounds like The Clash’s Straight to Hell played by One Giant Leap, while the acapella Bilimankhwe is simply a joy. Far more than another ‘world music experiment’, it’s a sincere and passionate dive into vibrant musical expression. Pokey LaFarge plays old time music with a real time attitude. The jazz/ragtime/bluegrass influences in his joyous blend of American roots is overt, but it’s no throwback. Times Pokey LaFarge Something in the Water

card that gave Tori Amos an unforgettable voice overnight, and while she’s been guilty of the occasional impenetrable metaphor on

”What a dump.” Nobody does deadpan like Mark Oliver “E” Everett. He’s being ironic, of course, when he casts his jaundiced eye over the sumptuous interior of London’s Royal Albert Hall. It’s not so easy to tell when he describes the evening ahead as “sweet, soft, bummer rock,” but that’s probably as good a pigeonhole as you’ll find for the American pop philosopher’s unflinching outlook on life, love and loss. Much of this show, recorded on a single date last June, revolves around the 11th Eels album, 2014’s The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett – but flashbacks go back as far as 2000’s Daisies of the Galaxy , including the “next level bummer” of It’s a Motherf---er and the actually rather gay I Like Birds . The gags about John Lennon and the strictly out-of-bounds RAH pipe organ might make more sense on the DVD version, but from blissful overture to surprise finale, this is one delightfully vivid bummer of an evening. Michael Dwyer

her subsequent 13-odd albums, the naked purging of this 1992 debut still brings shivers. Silent All These Years , These Precious Things and Crucify aren’t so much sung as unleashed from decades of fear, to strike a curiously resonant note with young women (go figure) in particular. The dam burst pretty good: no less than 18 B-sides are appended here, including her canny take on Smells Like Teen Spirit and five live solo piano tracks. Also out there: her follow-up of ‘94, Under the Pink . Michael Dwyer

past are echoed in his songs, but his themes are timeless; this rich, infectious music fuelled

by brass, harp, banjo, riverboat harmony and La Farge’s storytelling lilt, never sounds less than 100% authentic.

APRIL 2015 JB HI-FI www.jbhifi.com.au/music

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