STACK May 2016 Issue 139

98 / 101

visit MUSIC REVIEWS
20 MAY 2016
MUSIC
Motörhead
Clean Your Clock
On December 20, 2015, the world
lost an icon: the one and only
Lemmy Kilmister. Clean Your Clock
is the first Motörhead release
since Lemmy’s passing and a
timely reminder of his legendary
status. Recorded in Munich,
Germany during November 20-21
of last year, it features one of
the band’s final performances.
Motörhead were in ferocious form,
but there are moments when
the fragility of Lemmy’s health
concerns can be heard. Clean Your
Clock will be difficult for some, but
it ultimately crystallises the talent,
wit and determination that was
Lemmy. Available in various audio
and visual formats.
(UDR) Simon Lukic
The Living End
Shift
Twenty-two years of playing
seriously intense music (to varying
critical and commercial success)
hasn’t dampened the torch one
molecule; that unmistakable raw
and middle-fingered energy is
still front and centre in The Living
End's latest. Except, they’ve
dropped the ‘Clash meets Stray
Cats’ style pigeonhole; this is
instead a dark, angry and furious
record dripping with sweat, regret
and a pain you have to punch
through. Old school Australian
rock, modern moods and frank
authenticity fall from lead singer
Cheney’s lips. Life As We Know It
is a highlight amongst solid work
that will see ample airplay and
deserved success. Nice one!
(Dew Process) Chris Murray
PUP The Dream Is Over
Ladies and gentlemen, we have the album
of the year so far. You never really expect
something resembling pop punk with shrill,
pointy vocals to be so commanding and angry
but PUP have managed to squeeze more
vitriol into one pop album than we could’ve
possibly anticipated. Apparently the release is
named for a remark doctors made to vocalist Stefan Babcock after an
examination of his vocal chords. Hearing the pained refrains that he
hits on this album, it’s not surprising that medical professionals tried to
intervene regarding the manner in which he’s expressing his disdain.
Medical opinions aside (who needs ‘em?) the anger seething through
this album makes this hotly anticipated follow-up so much more
satisfying. These Canadians have stepped the tempo and tantrum
up a notch, as is immediately apparent in opener If This Tour Doesn’t
Kill You . DVP cements the pace and goddamn, discontent has never
sounded so sensational. (Side One Dummy) Emily Kelly
Holy F-ck
Congrats
Suicide meets Blixa Bargeld in
a nightclub of doom; yes, that’s
what this is, kids. An electronic
noodle through sexy nightmares,
‘80s video game soundtracks and
those ‘snap, crackle and pops’
that inspire deviancy. The best of
Silver Apples on a date with Liars,
Xed Eyes will have you salivating,
while Acidic reveals a small disco
door in the floor leading to even
sassier shenanigans. Impossible
to not have the muscles twitching
and the smile broadening; "Holy
f-ck" indeed must be the listener’s
automatic response, not the
moniker – right? Get onto it!
(Inertia) Chris Murray
Amon Amarth
Jomsviking
Does it matter if you know what to
expect from Amon Amarth before
you’ve even hit play? I’ve always
found it perplexing how musicians
are taken to task for not growing
as artists and are then trashed
when the new direction
fails miserably. Amon Amarth
aren’t in the business of
changing, and thank Odin for
that. On Jomsviking, the band
delivers another Viking-inspired,
melodic death metal album with
hooks sharp enough to lop your
head clean off your shoulders.
Jomsviking is also a concept
album – the band’s first, which
gives the album a solid narrative
for the music to navigate through.
(Metal Blade/Sony)
Simon Lukic
DOWNLOAD THE
FREE
STACK
APP FOR EXTRA CONTENT
stack.net.au/stack-app
Saosin Along The Shadow
It must be difficult to pick up
the pen and write again after a
seven-year hiatus. Even harder
perhaps when there is a world of
expectation upon you, the media
is haphazardly throwing around
words like ‘resurrection’, and
your frontman has returned to
the fold for the first time since
2003. Lucky then that Along
The Shadow is a triumphant
homecoming for Green, whose
instantly recognisable vocals
drive the album into bold new
territory somewhere between
melodic hardcore and hulking
metalcore. There is a serenity
in this album, a simplicity which
must surely be the result of an
original lineup reuniting again like a
long dismantled Voltron. Welcome
back, Saosin.
(Epitaph) Emily Kelly
Luca Brasi
If This Is All We're Going
To Be
The third LP from the quaint
Tassie punks will take you back
to those roadtrips you never
had as a teen. Think of it as the
soundtrack to one step short
of a motivational, Rocky-esque
montage playing in the biopic of
your life – perhaps during, say,
your ‘motorbike building’ stage,
or even your ‘quick day trip
to Luna Park with pals’ stage.
Aeroplane is the perfect opener,
and must certainly have been at
least a 10-hour flight to sound
that good, while Drop Out will
remind you of grungy magazines
you used to read on your single
bed while you listened to Green
Day. (Poison City) Alesha Kolbe