109 / 116
TV on the Radio
Seeds
This will be the band’s best-selling record to date, and probably the worst reviewed. From the ashes
of a musically challenging indie outfit winning over post-punk Gen X/Y crossovers with
Desperate
Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
(2004) and the incredible
Return to Cookie Mountain
(2006), which no doubt
had Radiohead feeling threatened, it’s been arguably a different sound since then. Not a bad one,
just not THAT one – the one that made you feel the wonder of the unknown in a creatively terrifying
and sexy way, rather than soaking up interplanetary sunshine with a herbal tea and a MacBook Pro.
There’s reasons for this, particularly here, as it’s the first recordings since losing a comrade. Hope and
awe are the go here; commercially friendly, musically accomplished and when listened as an entire
album, pretty satisfying. There’s the electro-pop fury of
Happy Idiot,
the old TVOTR promise of obtuse
greatness with
Careful of You
and the close-your-eyes-and-you’d-swear-it-was-the-Foo-Fighters
in
Could You.
Then Test Pilot pops out of the speakers and you rush over thinking another (really
ordinary) band has hijacked the stereo. It’s a conundrum of wanting to like this album more than it
deserves; but you wouldn’t listen in the car – unless you drive a Prius.
EMI/Universal
Captain Beefheart
Sun, Zoom and Spark: 1970-1972
The original enigma, our beloved Captain knew no peer. With or without
his Magic Band, it was clear Mr Don Van Vliet was cut from a husky cloth
so strange, tribal and pure, it terrified as equally as it stunned. For the
uninitiated, think TomWaits jamming with Frank Zappa and the Wiggles, in a strip club, in
Haiti. Here in glorious re-mastership are three of the kookiest albums he ever made:
Lick my
Decals Off, Baby, The Spotlight Kid
and
Clear Spot,
plus a disc of unreleased extras. Yeah, 51
tracks of madness and beauty that highlighted an artist running free. Small children will love
it too, trust us.
Rhino/Warner
Trust Punks
Discipline
The Urban Dictionary defines the band’s moniker as,‘a person between the
ages of 17–25 who lives off their parent’s money, yet maintains they live a
punk lifestyle’. It’s safe to assume these guys spend most of the time in the
garage making sweet tunes to be having any lifestyle at all. The five young
NZ lads have released this astounding debut, conjuring every forgotten joy
when you first heard Steve Albini, Trail of Dead, or just about all the cool stuff from Flying Nun.
Angsty, honest and gutsy-geek.
Gordian Knot
will take your head off, nicely. More please!
Spunk/Caroline/Universal
Jerry Lee Lewis
Rock’n’Roll Time
Jerry Lee Lewis is 79 and dangerous. They done made ‘em different back
then, particularly when you consider he’s probably smashing a piano in a
juke joint as you read this. With ‘pals’ on board to help out including Keith
Richards, Ron Wood, Neil Young and Daniel Lanois (amongst others), it’s
refreshing it doesn’t sound like a Sting record; they’re here to back-up The Killer and do
what they’re told. Listen to
Little Queenie
with the two Stones, if unsure… or better still,
the psycho-country honk sprinkled with alternate lyrics on Cash’s
Folsom Prison Blues
(with
Robbie Robertson). See, told ya’.
Caroline/Universal
Ex Cops
Dagger
“Pop will eat itself,” coined an old band that stamped the ethos on
their collective foreheads. Thing is, it’s an insatiable beast with a
bottomless gut. Ex Cops, a NYC duo who probably cue-up for gelato at
all hours wearing thongs in the cold, aren’t afraid of getting fat on the
popular trends of today. They flaunt it. Executive produced by Smashing
Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan (though you’d be hard-pressed to find his DNA anywhere), the
album feels like the older sister of Taylor Swift fantasising about the star quarterback’s
arse. Consequently, they’re destined to be huge. You’ve been warned.
Create Control/Universal
Jeff Jenkins
is a poor player but a great listener.
Cold Chisel
Live Tapes Vol. 2
Live at Bombay Rock April 27, 1979
Jimmy Barnes infamously described Cold Chisel’s second album:
“
Breakfast At Sweethearts
stunk and you can spell that f-u-#-k-e-d.” The
songs were strong; the band simply didn’t dig the lifeless sound. Now,
live albums don’t have much currency these days, but this is a cracker – all energy and
urgency, the way
Sweethearts
should have sounded. There’s even a seven-minute version
of
Wild Thing
. Sadly, the Sweethearts café in Kings Cross is no longer there. It’s now a
McDonald’s. And Bombay Rock is also just a memory. But Chisel’s
Sweethearts
album has
come to life.
Universal
Mike Brady
Bloodlines
Think you know Mike ‘
Up There Cazaly
’ Brady? Think again.
Bloodlines
shows there’s much more to Brady than one classic footy song. The
Melbourne singer-songwriter pays tribute to his Irish roots, with these
sad songs – check out the heartbreaking
Say It While You Can
and
A
Song of Whispered Sighs
. “It’s like a tear that never dries.” But the sound is so stirring
and vibrant, the result is life-affirming. Irish music is a tremendous way to tell a story, and
Brady inhabits these characters, bringing them to life. Like Russell Morris’s
Sharkmouth
,
this is a career-defining album.
Fullmoon/MGM
Chris Murray
loves pop culture and loves to share.
Paul Kelly Presents
The Merri Soul Sessions
It can’t be easy being Paul Kelly. You’re the nation’s poet laureate. Your songs are
studied in high schools. Journalists scour your lyrics, eager to quote your wit and
wisdom. “Don’t you feel the pressure?” Linda Bull asks in the opening track here,
Smells Like Rain
, a portent of things to come. But Kelly has never been afraid of a
career left-turn, whether it’s breaking up The Messengers, doing a reggae record, or
now doing an Aussie soul album, where he takes a back seat and showcases singers
such as Vika and Linda Bull, Clairy Browne, Kira Puru and Dan Sultan. As Linda sings,
“I do believe there’s gonna be a change.” But the more things change … This still
sounds like a classic Paul Kelly album (even if it was originally conceived as a series
of seven-inch singles). Not enough is made of Kelly’s brilliant band – drummer Peter
Luscombe, bassist Bill McDonald, guitarist Ash Naylor, and Cam Bruce on piano and
organ (with Kelly on rhythm guitar). They bring the requisite class and lightness of
touch to make these songs sound magical.
Gawdaggie/Universal
Click on ‘similar artists’ onTv on the Radio’s page on JB Hi-Fi Now to hearTomVek, Deerhoof, Broken Social Scene and more
Emma Donovan and the PutBacks
Dawn
Melbourne is enjoying a soul revival. Emma Donovan is originally from
northern NSW but she’s hooked up with Melbourne’s The PutBacks to
deliver a great Aussie soul record. The band whips up some mighty
grooves, but props to producers Bob Knob and Tristan Ludowyk for
allowing her voice to shine. And unlike many contemporaries, Donovan isn’t reliant on
cheesy covers – she wrote all the songs with bassist Mick Meagher. Indeed,
Dawn
is aptly
titled. This is the start of big things. “Take me to the top, baby,” Donovan sings, “where I
need to be.”
Hope St Recordings/ Rocket
Christine Anu
Island Christmas
It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid. Most seasonal offerings
come with extra cheese, but Christine Anu’s first Christmas album is a
sweet treat. A mix of standards (including an exquisite reading of
Silent
Night
), she also covers Paul Kelly’s classic
How To Make Gravy
and Joni
Mitchell’s
River
, and has a stab at writing a new Australian Yuletide song,
Island Christmas
:
“It’s Christmas in the land of the Dreamtime, Southern Cross twinkling up in the sky.” Australia
doesn’t have a great tradition of Christmas albums, but this album works.
Social Family Records/ EMI/Universal
DECEMBER 2014
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