STACK September 2016 Issue 143

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Georgia Fields
Astral Debris
“Where are we now?”
It’s a fair question following
the death of David Bowie. It’s
also relevant to Georgia Fields’
career, as the Melbourne singer
has taken six years to follow her
impressive debut. Bowie has
been an obvious influence on this
new set and her cover of Where
Are We Now? is a fitting tribute.
Astral Debris, part cosmic, part
personal, is compelling from start
to finish – props to producer Tim
Shiel – with Fields swinging from
playful (We’re Foolish Things)
to poignant (A Sisyphean Grail).
She also skillfully spices things
up – check out her ode to oral sex,
Open Orange.
(MGM) Jeff Jenkins
Opeth Sorceress
And so the evolution continues.
Having cut their teeth as a
progressive death metal band,
Opeth’s audacious move to
exclude all extreme metal traits
from their sound has given
them new pastures to explore.
Sorceress will not placate Opeth’s
diehard fanbase, but it will satisfy
those into the retro prog vibe
of Heritage/Pale Communion.
Moreso than ever, the music has
a medieval feel to it a la early
Rainbow – which shouldn’t come
as a surprise, given guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore is a huge
influence on band leader Mikael
Åkerfeldt. Sorceress finds Opeth
in a reflective mood, making for a
poignant listening experience.
(Caroline/Nuclear Blast)
Simon Lukic
Fates Warning
Theories Of Flight
Fates Warning, alongside
Queensryche and DreamTheater,
are progressive metal royalty.
Unlike their contemporaries,
Fates Warning never became a
commercial hit, but their ability
to evolve as a band has always
been admired. Theories Of Flight
takes their sound to new heights
and long-time fans will definitely
like what they hear. Vocalist Ray
Adler gives his all, and his heartfelt
delivery imbues Theories Of Flight
with a personality not felt on many
progressive metal albums. While
technical, Fates Warning always
had the ability to avoid sounding
clinical, and this human touch
gives Theories Of Flight a timeless
quality.
(EMI/Inside Out) Simon Lukic
Felix Riebl
Paper Doors
The sun never sets on this empire.
The Cat Empire frontman Felix
Riebl follows the Melbourne
band's recent number one album
with his second solo album,
his first since 2011’s Into The
Rain. Not that it’s a purely solo
affair – the highlights are three
stunning duets, with Riebl’s Chris
Martin-like vocal complemented
by Martha Wainwright (In Your
Arms), Katy Steele (Wasting Time)
and Tinpan Orange’s Emily Lubitz
(Snowflakes). The result is quieter
and more intimate than The Cat
Empire, but no less powerful,
and the female vocals elevate the
record to glorious heights. Here’s
to more Riebl solo offerings.
(My Shore Productions/Kobalt)
Jeff Jenkins
Against Me!
Shape Shift With Me
Few stories in modern day punk
rock are more compelling than
that of Laura Jane Grace. The
transgender punk rock renegade
has been creating compelling
commentary on raging against the
norm for a long time now. Against
Me!’s first few albums still remain
unrivalled in their raucousness; the
singer seems to have settled in her
skin since previous LP Transgender
Dysphoria Blues. Shape Shift With
Me feels slightly less furious,
despite grappling with sex, drugs
and the heartbreak of a failed
marriage in the face of identity crisis.
The riveting and deeply introspective
lyrics are set against a backdrop
of more mid-paced rock this time
around, but with no less soul and
heart than any of their previous
seven albums. (TotalTreble/
CookingVinyl) Emily Kelly
Ceres
Drag It Down On You
Melbourne four-piece Ceres have
been finding their feet for a while
now. Since forming in 2012,
their heartfelt, deeply melodic
musings have been winning over
the romantic in all of us, slowly
but surely. Drag It Down On You
seems to be the culmination of
their previous releases, swelling
in together to create one of the
year’s best local records.There’s a
deeply nostalgic vibe at play with
this LP, with layered, memorable,
'90s emo rock hooks that seem
destined to have huge rooms
swaying with satisfaction. Drag
It Down On You will sit perfectly
alongside Jimmy Eat World and
Get Up Kids in your music library,
ready to be the soundtrack to life’s
sweetest moments.
(CookingVinyl) Emily Kelly
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20 SEPTEMBER 2016
MUSIC REVIEWS
David Brent & Foregone Conclusion
Life On The Road
Parody albums are a hit ’n’ miss affair. But when
taken, to quote Kirk Lazarus, to 'full retard’ – as
does Gervais’ David Brent (performing here with
his band, Foregone Conclusion) – you just may
have a winner. With song titles such as Slough (a
Britpop ballad), Thank F-ck it’s Friday (Alice Cooper-
style FM rock gold) and Please Don’t Make Fun of the Disabled (“Whether
mental in the head, or mental in the legs, it doesn’t mean their sorrow
doesn’t show”), you get the idea pretty quickly. Paris Nights pushes the
boundaries of bad taste even further as a farewell ballad to an ex-love
who’s dying of AIDS, but when you’re David Brent you have a license to
kill. Taken to the hilt – that point where you’re unsure of whether Gervais
is actually demonstrating that he can, perhaps, sing as well as be funny –
is in fact the uneasy genius at play here. You won’t have it on repeat, but
as a document of comedic dedication with a serious guffaw on certain
tracks like Native American and the afore-mentioned song on the less
fortunate, you’ll kinda feel happy to have this alongside your Spinal Tap
and Steel Panther albums. (ABC/Universal) Chris Murray