STACK Magazine April 2015 Issue 126

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098 APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi
Scorpions
Return to Forever
Despite releasing their debut
Lonesome Crow in 1972,
Scorpions are celebrating their
50th Anniversary this year with
their eighteenth studio album
Return to Forever. This release is
interesting in that the band has
looked into the vaults and dusted
off some old ideas from the ‘80s
that weren’t completed at the
time. Some of these unfinished
songs date as far back as the
Blackout period, all the way to
the underrated Humanity: Hour
1 sessions from 2007. Return to
Forever doesn’t break the mould
or push boundaries, but it does
prove that rock – much like the
Scorpions – will never age.
(Sony Music) Simon Lukic
Paul Weller Saturns Pattern
Astrologers well may muse on the mystical impact of Saturn's 28-year orbit on
a 56-year-old; astronomers might recognise the hexagon on the cover of Paul
Weller's 12th solo album as the shape of clouds at the ringed planet's
north pole. But to each note of cosmic mystery, the answer is the same:
He's the Modfather, mate. The laws of the universe are his to interpret.
The former Jam and Style Council leader effectively retired from linear sense
with 2008's 22 Dreams, the first in a series of panoramic-psychedelic studio
concoctions with co-writer/programmer/producer Simon Dine. Wake Up the
Nation and Sonik Kicks continued to give a wide berth to the earnest acoustic
comfort zone an elder statesman with Wildwood on his resume might be
excused for calling home. His Saturn sojourn is another step into the abstract,
wherein heartfelt lyrics from the wise end of a rock icon's journey are only as
important as that squoodgy sound parting his hair during the acid-rain guitar solo.
The magic carpet intro of White Sky explodes into a lovely squall of overdriven
guitars before returning to the morphing space debris that forms a background
canvas to the album's wilful eclecticism. Going My Way starts like a Robbie
Williams piano pleaser, before lurching into a jaunty Sgt. Pepper flashback. Pick
it Up traverses from soul funk groove to full-fledged Space Invaders battle over
six escalating minutes. The glam-blues epic In the Car… sounds like Sonny Terry
and Brownie McGhee joined the Glitter Band, and is that a Chinese fiddle in the
rainy neon blur of These City Streets ? It all adds up to another phase of liberation
for an artist who's learned to take his universe as it comes. "I really don't get
anxious/ I leave it up to fate," he sings in what would might have been a less
cryptic title track: I'm Where I Should Be. (Warner) Michael Dwyer
The Staple Singers
Freedom Highway Complete
Reissued on the 50th anniversary
of the original album's release, this
extraordinary listening experience
– recorded live at Chicago's New
Nazareth Church on April 9th
1965 – captures a church service
by this acclaimed gospel group
weeks after the historic March
21-25 voting rights march from
Selma to Birmingham, Alabama.
Pops Staples’ bluesy guitar, the
raw, soaring voice of his daughter
Mavis, the harmonies of her sister
Cleo and brother Purvis, the choir,
the band, Pops' between-song
patter and testifying, ambient noise
from the congregation, coughing,
shifting in the pews, and random
shouting, puts the listener right in
the church. (Sony Music) Billy Pinnell
Dwight Yoakam
Second Hand Heart
Dwight Yoakam’s trademark
cowboy hat, cowboy boots,
tight, tight jeans and distinctive
hillbilly honky-tonkin’ sound
have remained a constant since
launching his career, nearly 30
years ago. A multi-Grammy
award winner, he has sold over
25 million records and continues
to be one of the bigger names in
country. He has stayed true to his
roots, playing by his own rules,
and Yoakam fans couldn’t be
disappointed with this new batch
of original songs plus a rocking
version of Man of Constant
Sorrow as one of two covers. This
is familiar Yoakam from years past
playing it as fun and refreshing as
ever. (Warner) Denise Hylands
Psycroptic
Psycroptic
Self-titled albums often signify
a new chapter for a band. For
Psycroptic, their sixth album
proves the Tasmanians still have
something fresh to offer after 16
years.There is a move to a more
thrash metal approach in the
guitars, where the riffs are more
direct and crisp. This has flowed
into the arrangements, which
are stripped down and more
economical. Psycroptic also
highlights the extraordinary
talents of guitarist Joe Haley.
His brother Dave deservedly
gets many kudos for his
drumming prowess, but Joe’s
unassuming six string virtuosity
truly shines here.
(EVP/Rocket) Simon Lukic
Gallows
Desolation Sounds
Losing a frontman is a cause for
concern for any band, but when
British band Gallows lost Frank
Carter in 2011 it was hard to
fathom the four-piece without their
fiery mouthpiece. They lucked out
when Alexisonfire vocalist/guitarist
Wade MacNeil stepped i,n and
have stoically refused to look back
since. With a steely resolve and
massive musical chops, MacNeil
has helped carve a whole new
identity for Gallows. Desolation
Sounds is incredibly grim but
still somehow rather grandiose.
Creamy production ensures even
the thickest riffs and most grating
vocals are extremely palatable.
Tasty. (CookingVinyl/Caroline/
Universal) Emily Kelly
The Heartache State
The Heartache State
Nick Barker is one of our most
underrated songwriters. Sure,
he might have made some
missteps – “Bad decisions are
mighty good prisons,” he sings
here – but his Replacements-
like rock is whip-smart. On
his first album in six years,
he confesses, “I was never
any good at being alone." So
this is a band album, with The
Heartache State featuring long-
time collaborator Justin Garner.
Barker addresses his career in
Clockstar: “Time is tickin’ and
they ain’t giving out any more,”
but he believes, “I got one more
in me.” Indeed, he has. And The
Heartache State is a great place
to be. (MGM) Jeff Jenkins
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