STACK May 2016 Issue 139

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Sticking a 'PLS DO NOT DISTURB UNLESS DEADLINE-RELATED' sign to
the side of my headphones has proven an inelegant but effective way to
ensure I got every single sparkly release that I wanted packed into this
issue. I probably missed out on several hilarious office YouTube sessions but look,
it's the price I pay to make sure you're delivered sterling interviews including
Beth Orton, Foy Vance and The Living End, plus myriad excellent reviews such as
Modern Baseball, Mossy, Sahara Beck, Cate Le Bon, Luca Brasi, Charles Bradley,
PUP and Olympia. You're welcome, dolls! Zoë Radas (Music Editor)
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One of the brightest jewels
in Australia's crown of
distinguished composers and
lyricists, Paul Dempsey, has
returned. Strange Loop is a
collection of evocative tracks
which display clandestine wit,
reflections on the weirdness
in the mundane, and an
exploration of relationships
between certain pairs of
characters – even if they are
denizens of the one body.
Intimate and radiant, Strange
Loop is a must-listen.
PAUL
DEMPSEY MELODY
POOL
Strange Loop
by Paul Dempsey
is out May 13 via
EMI.
03
NEWS MUSIC
MUSIC L istening to her phenomenal
new album Deep Dark Savage
Heart , you could certainly paint
Melody Pool with the 'old soul'
brush – her vocal timbre is that
of a veteran, her lyrics full of
lacerating beauty, and her chord
choices inspired. But in person
the folk-pop singer-songwriter
is as cute, sprightly and totally
charming as a 23-year-old could
be – even if she enjoys looking
forward to being an elderly witch.
“I think I really need to appreciate
my youth more because I see all
these middle-aged, older women
who have amazing style, and
I’m like – God. I can’t wait to be
that age,” she laughs. “I’m going
to have all the floaty smocks
and things.” Pool shouldn’t hold
her breath to get there because
by all evidence, she’s going to
pack a ton of punch into those
intervening years. Deep Dark
Savage Heart chronicles the
emotional growth the musician
has encountered between her last
album and now: “I totally feel like
they’re still relevant,” she says of
the tracks on 2013’s acclaimed
The Hurting Scene , “it’s just that
especially when I play them live,
they become more nostalgic. I
still connect with them, and they
were an important part of my life
at that stage. But I’ve grown into
myself, and I’m learning who I am.”
Perhaps most symbolic of that
point is the fact you can no longer
detect the slight American twang
at the corners of Pool’s vocals (“I
think recently I’ve been singing
more like I speak”), but more so
is the lyrical delivery and melodic
decisions that Pool has crafted into
these musical potions. Richard
is a cinematic masterpiece with
tremolo guitar lines and a Twin
Peaks vibe ("When my boyfriend
heard that song he said it sounds
like it could be in a Tarantino film”);
Old Enough includes Celtic-like
strings plus the pairing of organ
with gentle guitar that sounds
like a radar pinging off points on a
mountainscape, looking for a path;
Southern Nightshade features
diving harmonies, a cello moving
up from below like an unholy voice,
and that Greek guitar technique
of flicking the string quickly to
create a single trembling note.
Pool says she often looks to ‘world
music’ for inspiration. “I listen
to a lot of Indian music, because
their melodies are so unusual
and beautiful; these strange,
high pitches. And they use a
lot of notes to their chords that
Western musicians wouldn’t
think of, really.” Atonal, I suggest.
“Yes! I’m really bad at music
theory,” she smiles. “Brad
[Jones, Pool's producer from
Nashville] and the girls would talk
about all their technical bullsh-t
and I’d be saying, ‘Cool, do the
plucky thing.’” She’s referring
to City Lights, a great example
of the exceptional string
arrangements from “the girls”
Hayley-Jane Ayres (violin) and
Madeline Beckers (cello). “I’m
a really lazy songwriter,” Pool
promises. “I’ll get my acoustic
and play it, and then just terribly
explain what I can hear in my
head to all the musicians, who
try and decipher what the f-ck
I’m talking about.” We definitely
think they got it, girl. Melody
is touring our major cities this
month, beginning in Melbourne
on May 13 – check melodypool.
for details.
Deep Dark
Savage Heart by
Melody Pool is out
now via Liberation.
She is also touring
this month - check
for dates.
INTERVIEW
Cate Le Bon