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094 MAY 2015 JB Hi-Fi
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Quarters
"Didn’t these bastards release an album only yesterday?”
Yes, is the answer to that, and at the rate these lads
create sonic joy expect another three just before
Christmas, no doubt. So what do we have to explore on
this new four-track EP; punk, country, swamp, pop? This
time it’s a loungey journey through each exactly timed
10min, 10sec offering. Actually, "lounge" is probably too explicit; the opener The
River is more like a folk stroll through a cocktail bar in Vegas, circa ’68. Infinite
Rise offers off-beat French-pop-bubblegum treats with an aura of silly grins and
floppy hats in sunshine, yet as it creeps along the tone becomes almost sinister
in that Residents-meets-Ween, nursery rhyme with a hidden butcher’s knife way.
Then there’s God Is in the Rhythm, a ‘50s slow-dance ballad with Lennon flair and
humour alongside the psychotic, hypnotic spell. But the best is saved till last with
the true psychedelic wonder that is Lonely Steel Sheet Flyer. Anton Newcombe
meets The Shadows, they start drinking at noon and wind up ordering pizza while
watching a VHS of Floyd at Pompeii. Buy two and give one to a friend whose life is
in need of spark, joy and inspiration. (Remote Control/Inertia) Chris Murray
Miles Away
Tide
Surely one of the most hotly
anticipated local heavy releases
of the year, Miles Away’s new
effort Tide will not leave fans
wanting. Calling on friends
from all corners of the globe –
including members of Defeater,
Fear Like Us, Cleave and Bane –
Tide was conceptualised largely
over email. Given that fact, it’s
surprisingly cohesive, and a
testament to a shared vision
amongst like-minded musicians.
Entitlement and Port of Call hark
back to the band’s formative
years while Terra Incognita is
some of their most progressive
material to date. Sonically
satisfying at every turn.
(Resist/CookingVinyl/Universal)
Emily Kelly
Roisin Murphy
Hairless Toys
Now on her third solo album,
ex-Moloko frontwoman Roisin
Murphy is still charting new
waters. Helmed by producer
Eddie Stevens, Hairless Toys
specialises in disembodied
disco but veers into arty rock
and electro-pop. Many songs
stretch past six minutes, with
Exploitation topping nine,
and Murphy brings as much
simmering emotion to the
marathon dance cuts as she
does to the diffuse ballads.
The arrangements are fluid
yet unpredictable, absorbing
a vast range of genre cues.
All club-ready pop should carve
out room to explore this way.
(PIAS/Liberation/Universal)
DougWallen
Joe Bonamassa
Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks
One of the world's finest
guitarists pays tribute to his heroes
Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf
in this performance at Red Rocks
Amphitheatre, backed by his road
band which is augmented by a
dynamic horn section. Each of
the two sets begin with vintage
footage of these blues titans in
concert, before the Bonamassa band
takes over. Muddy Waters' covers
including I Can't Be Satisfied and You
Shook Me precede classic Howlin'
Wolf songs such as Spoonful and
Killing Floor, the concert concluding
with Bonamassa songs that do not
sound out of place next to these
vaunted classics.
(Only Blues) Billy Pinnell
Billie Holiday
The Centennial Collection
Billie Holiday was the first
popular jazz singer to draw upon
the tragic events of her life, giving
an audience the impression she
had lived through what she was
singing. While she didn't have
the power of singers like Ella
Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan,
she did have a gift for doing
more with her voice than anyone
before her – with the exception
of Louis Armstrong, her idol.
This collection celebrating the
100th birthday of Billie Holiday is
the perfect introduction to one of
the premier interpretative singers
in the history of recorded sound.
(Sony) Billy Pinnell
Stan Walker
Truth and Soul
Every modern artist seems to
succumb to the covers album
concept, finding fame via the
familiar. Stan Walker, Australian
Idol’s final winner in 2009, released
an album called Inventing Myself
in 2013, but he plays it safe here.
He could have gone deep, but he
treads a predictable path, tackling
some obvious soul classics. There
are some highlights (I’ll Be There
with Samantha Jade showcases
two fine singers), but you can’t
escape the fact that this is merely
quality karaoke. There’s no doubt
that Walker can sing. Here’s hoping
that for his next album a change is
gonna come.
(Sony) Jeff Jenkins
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My Morning Jacket
The Waterfall
This seventh album from the
feel-good maestros delves even
further into the Christopher
Cross landscapes of wind-in-the-
hair abandon and boating shoes.
Not a bad thing, no matter how
dangerously close to a feeling of
religious righteousness it skates
(opener, Believe , a case in point).
Jim James is on a mission, plain
and simple: cement a legacy of
songs to last the test of time,
evoking James Taylor, Glen
Campbell, et al; the type of stuff
truck drivers listen to when sad,
and lovers enjoy when smitten.
It’s working; Get the Point is a
prime example, which conjures
emotions to rival all model
peers… perhaps to a fault.
(EMI/Universal) Chris Murray