STACK NZ Magazine April 2015 Issue 61

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52 APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi
Alabama Shakes
Sound & Color
Bringing a rock’n’roll swagger to old school soul and
blues, the debut album from this Athens, Georgia,
quartet blew the critics away in 2012. Now comes
the tricky second LP. Recorded in Nashville with
guitar wizard Blake Mills (Norah Jones, Dixie Chicks)
Sound & Color actually sounds rawer in places than
their first album, with their trademark garage R’n’B spiced up with a juicy
dose of psychedelic funk; at times they sound almost like early Funkadelic.
It doesn’t always come off – still not sure about the space grooves of
Gemini or the Black Keys-esque stutter of Don’t Wanna Fight – but when
they hit the sweet spot, like on the gorgeous funk shimmer of Guess Who
or bruising ballads like Miss You and Gimme All Your Love, Alabama Shakes
are unstoppable. And while singer/guitarist Brittany Howard frequently
deploys an almost Prince-like falsetto for many of their funkier excursions,
the gleeful punk thrash of The Greatest and the Hammond organ-soaked
chug of Shoegaze shows she hasn't lost her rock’n’roll heart. John Ferguson
Halestorm
Into the Wildlife
Halestorm have certainly come a
long way in a short time and Into
the Wildlife will certainly propel
the band further. The group
rocks hard in a distinctly ’80s
manner, but modern touches
distance them from retro acts
such as The Answer. Vocalist
Lzzy Hale is the drawing card as
she spits and croons her way
through tales of loss and anger.
Hale gives Halestorm an edge
and – much like Pat Benatar
and Joan Jett before her – one
that’s tough yet feminine.
Extreme metal fans will finds
this tame, but modern rockers
who enjoy Motley Crue and
Ozzy Osbourne’s last handful of
albums should check this out.
Simon Lukic
Nadine Shah
Fast Food
The British songstress’s first
album Love Your Dum and
Mad was one of best debuts
of 2013, a beguiling suite of
gothic exotica that recalled
P.J Harvey and Nick Cave.
Her sophomore release is cut
from the same cloth, with her
rich and seductive voice once
again weaving a glorious spell.
However, unlike her more
minimalist debut, the sound is
fuller his time around, with Shah
and collaborator/producer Ben
Hillier matching her hypnotic
voice with melodic soundscapes
and sinuous post-punk rhythms.
Don't let the title fool you – this
is a feast that's worth savouring.
John Ferguson
Wire
Wire
Although you wouldn’t have
guessed it from last year’s live
shows, the seminal art-punks
seem much happier chappies
these days and their 13th studio
album LP is probably the warmest
they’ve sounded in years. If their
last LP Change Become Us (2013)
was built on song sketches dating
back to 1980, here they seem
intent on recapturing the sweet,
melodic tones of Outdoor Miner,
the closest thing they probably
ever got to writing a pop hit back
in 1978. Songs like In Manchester,
Burning Bridges and Swallow
boast hummable hooks and
choruses, while bassist Graham
Lewis's vocals sounds positively
soothing on most of the songs.
John Ferguson
Drenge
Undertow
They’re back! A couple months shy
of two years since their blazing
self-titled debut, UK’s two brothers
of deep rock offer up a more layered
approach to losing one’s self in darker
grooves. It’s all psyche-meets-cocky-
mud with Never Awake, while Then
We Can Do What We Want is like
QOTSA covering the Ramones, in the
best possible way. Their swagger is
no more evident than on The Snake,
a track not afraid to embrace smart
musicianship and deliver with a
firebrand instead of that ‘please play
me on radio, sir?’ attitude. A fan of
anything mentioned above, with a
dose of Jeff The Brotherhood, Thin
Lizzy (and a touch of Kurt)? Then
you’re going to adore the crap outta
this.
Chris Murray
Young Fathers
White Men are Black Men Too
Just months after taking home the
Mercury Prize, this Scottish hip hop
trio are back with a new album.
It says a lot about their urgency,
productivity and creativity. Far from
basking in acclaim, they’re adding to
their already impressive discography
with an even more incisive record.
It draws from their adventurous hip
hop origins, but with a stronger rock
and pop leaning. Rain or Shine, for
instance, is driven by a rhythmic
break, dissonant organ stabs and fast
paced lyrics. Overall the tempos are
higher, and so are the stakes it feels;
Young Fathers deliver an enjoyable
but uncompromising succession
of avant-pop compositions and
experimental rap sounds.
SimonWinkler
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Van Morrison
Duets: Re-Working the
Catalogue
For his 35th studio album,
Morrison revisits 16 songs from
his vast catalogue (avoiding
popular hits in favour of lesser
known songs), mostly from post-
1980 releases. Using a variety of
musicians and fresh arrangements,
he shares vocals with artists who
inspired his earliest recordings,
like Bobby Womack, Taj
Mahal and Mavis Staples, plus
contemporaries such as Chris
Farlowe, Steve Winwood and
Georgie Fame (and on Whatever
Happened to P.J. Proby – yes – P.J.
Proby). And Mark Knopfler and
Mick Hucknall are outstanding on
the Veedon Fleeces song Streets
of Arklow.
Billy Pinnell