STACK January 2017 Issue 147

64 / 68

The xx I See You
Buoyed by the success of Jamie
xx’s In Colour , London three-piece
The xx have set out to expand on
Jamie's sample-laden production
– opening track Dangerous makes
a quick job of that. Vocalists Oliver
Sim and Romy Madley Croft’s
crestfallen tones still hit me like
an arrow through the heart; Say
Something Loving expresses a
forlorn sensation only The xx could
articulate; A Violent Noise is, how
do I put it... near perfect. On On
Hold, Sim and Madley Croft sing
about the naivety of love and their
changing view of the subject.
The difference between I See You
and 2012’s Coexist is Jamie xx’s
production; the inspired beats give
every song a brimming optimism.
A welcome, extroverted side to
the band we haven’t seen before.
(YoungTurks/Remote Control)
Tim Lambert
visit
12 JANUARY 2017
MUSIC REVIEWS
Dropkick Murphys 11 Short
Stories Of Pain & Glory
After almost two decades of the
Boston group’s bagpipe-driven,
beer-punk shout-a-longs, you either
love Dropkick Murphys or simply
don’t understand them. Personally,
11 Short Stories Of Pain & Glory
makes me more patriotic of my Irish
heritage than kissing the blarney
stone on St. Patricks Day. Opening
with the tin whistles of The Fureys’
The Lonesome Boatman, this could
be the most Irish the group have
ever sounded, and when Al Barr’s
vocals begin in Rebels With A Cause
it feels like a sonic pint of Guinness
has been slid down the bar into my
hand. Bagpipes, pub anthems, fast
paced drums and mosh-inducing riffs
litter the record. I’ll even overlook the
sextet's version of You’ll Never Walk
Alone (Everton > Liverpool) because
it is the best track on the album.
(Warner)Tim Lambert
Code Orange
Forever
Pittsburgh’s rough and tumble
rockers Code Orange knocked
the ball outta the park with their
last LP I Am King. In their quest
to create an inventive and unique
sound of their own, Forever makes
perfect contact at times, with the
occasional miss being comfortably
attributed – admirably – to their
ambition alone. “When you feel
settled in, I want it to just f-ck
you again,” drummer/vocalist
Jami Morgan has said, describing
the group's unique and at times
uncomfortable tracklisting. With
Kurt Ballou at the helm at GodCity
studios, Forever is lent a polished
form of fury, and is an important
step forward for one of the finest in
the game.
(Warner) Emily Kelly
The Band
The Last Waltz
On November 25th, 1976, the
founding members of The Band
performed live for the last time.
It was decided that a farewell
concert would be staged with
guests that included Muddy
Waters, Eric Clapton, Neil Young,
Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Dr. John,
Paul Butterfield, and Ringo Starr
among many others.
Director Martin Scorsese
documented the project, and The
Last Waltz is now considered to be
among the greatest concert films
ever made.
This new release includes the
pairing of the audio and video for
the first time. Outtakes include
rehearsals and performances not
featured in the original film.
(Warner) Billy Pinnell
ick Harvey Intoxicated Women
Here comes another love, a marvellous love,”
ophia Brous coos in The Eyes To Cry, the standout
rack on Mick Harvey’s new album Intoxicated
omen: “It is the love of your life.” There’s no
oubt that Harvey, the erstwhile Bad Seed, has
deep and abiding love for the genre-busting
renchman Serge Gainsbourg. This is the fourth and
final instalment in a remarkable series of tribute albums, which started
in 1995 with Intoxicated Man and then delivered Pink Elephants (1997)
and DeliriumTremens (2016). These are sophisticated, sensual songs,
with a sense of humour. Baby Teeth, Wolfy Teeth – featuring Harvey’s
son, Solomon, on vocals – sounds both childlike and menacing; the ever-
impressive Jess Ribeiro pops up on two tracks, Prévert’s Song and The
Drowned One; while Harvey enlists German singer Andrea Schroeder to
revisit Gainsbourg’s biggest hit, Je T’aime … Moi Non Plus, turning it into
a German duet, Ich Liebe Dich … Ich Dich Auch Nicht, after Nick Cave and
Anita Lane tackled the song on Pink Elephants. Harvey and Schroeder
also generate some melodramatic magic in God Smokes Havanas – when
Harvey intones, “I know it, darling, take my hand," it’s an invitation too
intoxicating to refuse.
(Mute/PIAS) Jeff Jenkins
Coldcut Only Heaven
Matt Black and Jonathan More
have spent the last 30 years
putting paid to the myth of
originals vs. covers. Building on
catalogues of samples pilfered
from funk obscurities to Disney
staples, Coldcut are owed a debt
by everyone fromThe Avalanches
to Girl Talk. Remixing has always
been at its height when it can
offer commentary beyond just
a good beat, and that’s what
this EP shoots for. Lyrics pour
from collaborator Roots Manuva,
diagnosing the modern ill of an
oversaturated and untrustworthy
media, the signal:noise ratio turned
backwards and upside down. If
you found the Situationists too
dry and can see the appeal of
scratching your brain mid-boogie,
Only Heaven provides the itch.
(Inertia) Jake Cleland
Various
Spurts! Punk And Post-Punk
From The '70s And Beyond
Compilations like these have a
tendency to uselessly rehash the
canon, reiterating the tired history
that, yes, Richard Hell and Television
and The Ramones and the Buzzcocks
were all bands worth listening to.
And while Spurts! includes their cuts
too, it’s also far more vast. This is a
sprawling introduction to the past
fifty years of punk, from the Velvet
Underground’s proto stylings through
the '70s legends and all the way up
to Eddy Current Suppression Ring,
Royal Headache, and the Smith
Street Band. Lamentably, it falls prey
to punk’s tendency to forget women:
notable cuts fromThe Rezillos, Patti
Smith, and The Slits appear, sure, but
no Bikini Kill, X-Ray Spex, or Siouxsie
to be seen. Nevertheless, it’s a
succinct intro to punk’s bibliography.
(Warner) Jake Cleland