STACK September 2017 Issue 155

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044 SEPTEMBER 2017
visit MUSIC REVIEWS
The Bronx V
Whether performing as their
Mariachi alter egos or the original
iteration of the band, authenticity
has always shone through The
Bronx's work. On the Los Angeles
group's fifth album V, Dave Hidalgo
Jr’s (replacing Jorma Vik on drums)
first double-kick on opener Night
Drop At The Glue Factory, is an
unadulterated reminder of the power
the five-piece possess; it rings in
your ears and continues through
the succeeding, equally riotous
Stranger Danger. Side Effects and
album closer Kingsize create the
perfect middle zone between The
Bronx and their Mariachi personas
– singer Matt Caughtran’s signature
clean vocal receives centre stage
on the record's slower tracks. Older
and wiser with a wider scope of
the world around them, The Bronx
have never shied away from a fight
before, and V is no exception.
(CookingVinyl)Tim Lambert
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Memphis... Yes, I'm Ready
Triple Grammy Award-winner and
one of the greatest singers on
the planet, Dee Dee Bridgewater,
returned to Memphis – the city
of her birth – to record her new
album at Willie Mitchell's historic
Royal Studios. The record's 13
tracks were all originally
recorded at the iconic Studios by
some of the greatest soul, blues
and R&B singers of all time.
Tracks include The Thrill Is Gone
(B.B. King), I Can't Stand The
Rain (Ann Peebles), Try A Little
Tenderness (Otis Redding), Going
Down Slow (Bobby "Blue" Bland),
B.A.B.Y. (Carla Thomas), and Can't
Get Next To You (Al Green).
One of 2017's outstanding
releases.
(Sony) Billy Pinnell
he National Sleep Well Beast
he National have been making concise, thoroughly
hought-out albums for a long time now – from their
001 self-titled debut, through 2007's breakthrough
oxer, up to 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me . On Sleep Well
east – their seventh studio album – the Cincinnati band
ave adopted more of an ‘anything goes’ approach to
xperimenting/expanding their sound; The System Only
Dreams In Total Darkness ’ guitar solo (yes, a guitar solo in a song by The National)
or the opening electronic shift of lead single Guilty Party lead the changes.
Lyrically, frontman Matt Berninger’s vocals remain direct. Particularly in the self-
medicating I’ll Still Destroy You to the self-deprecating Walk It Back, Berninger
delivers sullen political and autobiographical commentary. “I better cut this off,
don’t wanna f-ck it up” he mumbles on the latter, in his deepest baritone. On Day
I Die he moans “I get a little punchy on the vodka like my great-uncle Valentine
Jester did” – a glum but rewarding reference all the way back to Val Jester from
2005’s Alligator, answering long lingering questions about the origins of the former
track's narrative. If I told you The National’s seventh album was full of dejected,
beautiful songs, would you be surprised? Probably not. Would I be surprised that,
after your first listen, this was your favourite album by the band? Absolutely not –
SWB is a towering achievement. (Remote Control)Tim Lambert
Son Little New Magic
There’s always something old about
magic – ancient rites, vintage curses,
decrepit beauty and what have you.
That’s the Americana acoustic guitar,
jazz double bass, hand-slapped drums
and analogue breakbeat accents to
Aaron Livingston's (Son Little) sound.
What makes his magic new is eclectic
and carefully assembled details which
are given space to breathe: hooting
whistles layered just so, strange organ
and synth voices, quivering electronic
garnishes that ripple through the air like
a sigh. Acoustic percussion is tucked
between the layers of these unusual
arrangements (unusual even in the
small things, like Livingston taking
the lowest part in a harmony while his
back-up singers ring high), and despite
the r’n’b sensibilities, you feel like
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is crouching
just behind the wall. Listen to this on
headphones so you can hear every little
drop going into the potion cauldron.
(CookingVinyl) Zoë Radas
Linda Ronstadt
Simple Dreams: 40th
Anniversary Edition
Linda Ronstadt was the first lady
of alternative country, performing
from the mid-'60s to 2011 when
she retired due to illness. Simple
Dreams, her eighth album – which
won a Grammy in '77, sold three
million copies that year alone,
and has never since been out of
print – is 40 years old this year; to
celebrate, it has been re-released
fully remastered with the addition
of three bonus live tracks. With
her remarkable voice, Ronstadt
sings songs by Roy Orbison (Blue
Bayou ), Jagger/Richards (Tumbling
Dice) and Buddy Holly (It’s So
Easy) amongst others, in her
beautifully unique style. Ronstadt
rarely wrote songs herself. She
didn’t need to – she had an ability
to make any song her own.
(Warner) Denise Hylands
Van Morrison
Roll With The Punches
Van Morrison's affection for the
blues, R&B, gospel and jazz
music which he first heard on his
parents' record player growing up
in Belfast is palpable on his latest
release; Roll With The Punches
comprises five self-written
songs and 10 covers of songs by
legendary artists who inspired him
to become a performer.
Highlights include soulful
interpretations of Sam Cooke's
Bring It On Home To Me featuring
a Jeff Beck guitar solo, duets
with Georgie Fame (Count
Basie's Goin' To Chicago) and
Chris Farlowe (T-Bone Walker's
Stormy Monday and Ray Charles'
Lonely Avenue), and a rousing
arrangement of Ruth Brown's hit
Teardrops From My Eyes.
(Caroline) Billy Pinnell
Willie Watson
Folksinger Vol. 2
Willie Watson is a modern day
folksinger. A solo performer since
parting ways with Old Crow
Medicine Show, he has continued
the revival of old time music with his
unique performances and
evocative old-style vocals, while
his masterful guitar and banjo
musicianship show respect to his
musical passion. Folksinger Vol.
2 is a continuation of its Vol. 1
predecessor; there are no original
songs, but it's a carefully curated
collection of old and sometimes
forgotten blues, gospel, and
Appalachian folk songs.
This time Watson is joined by the
gospel sounds of The Fairfield Four,
good friend Gillian Welch, Old Crow
Medicine Show’s Morgan Jahnig,
Punch Brothers' Paul Kowert, and
producer Dave Rawlings. Old songs,
for modern times.
(Acony Records) Denise Hylands