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096 AUGUST 2015 JB Hi-Fi
Visconti and Woodmansey’s
Holy Holy The Man Who
Sold the World Live in London
Drummer Woody Woodmansey
and bassist Tony Visconti were half
Bowie’s band on 1970 album The
Man Who Sold the World, so you
can't call Holy Holy merely a tribute
act. The strange proggy bridge
between Space Oddity and Hunky
Dory wasn’t toured then, so the
pent-up affection is electric between
the guys and a squad of Ziggy’s
children (members of Spandau, Soft
Cell and more). A second disc of later
material is more patchy, but there’s
no denying the sense of occasion.
Bowiemania peaked as ACMI
opened the David Bowie Is exhibition
in July, and Melbourne came within
a false eyelash of seeing this show.
This is a lot better than sulking.
(POSSUM) Michael Dwyer
eaf Wish Pain
fter eight years of slept-on albums and repeated
atuses, Melbourne quartet Deaf Wish have
gned to Sub Pop to release their best record yet.
ain showcases all the invigorating noise-punk
u’d expect, but there’s much more happening
o. The Whip opens the LP at a dirge-like
ce before hitting a series of short outbursts
punctuated by the twanging Sunset’s Fool and dreamily driving On. Dead
Air is saturated Kraut-psych, powering through six minutes of riotous
jamming and then an eerie dispersal. All four band members contribute
singing (or screaming), but these varied tracks hang together perfectly.
Sarah Hardiman’s simmering vocal cool recalls Kim Gordon on They
Know and Sex Witch; many of the album’s gnarled, surreal guitar threads
nod to Sonic Youth as a whole. But beyond the undeniable influence of
milestones like The Stooges and Husker Du, Deaf Wish tap into veins
more melodic and volatile. The closing Calypso could pass for a Kurt Vile
tune with its daydreaming vocal drawl, and other tracks are immediately
accessible despite showers of splintered distortion. A devastating brute of
an album with surprising subtlety throughout. (Sub Pop/Inertia) DougWallen
The Rubens
Hoops
It’s the difficult second album
for The Rubens – except, it
doesn’t sound overly difficult.
The record opens with a song
called Hallelujah. Fortunately,
it’s not another cover of
the Leonard Cohen classic;
instead, it’s a punchy rock
track, which sets the scene for
an album that’s swaggeringly
self-assured. It sounds like
the heavy touring behind their
debut has added a muscular
edge to The Rubens, though
the soulful, piano-driven Hold
Me Back could easily become
the album’s biggest hit. No
sophomore jinx here. As the
title suggests, they shoot,
they score.
(Ivy League/Mushroom)
Jeff Jenkins
Baby et Lulu
Album Deux
Francophile Aussie chanteuses
Abby Dobson and Lara Goodridge
have cornered a rich niche with their
French chamber-pop ensemble. Their
close, seductive harmonies embrace
a saucy and bodice-ripping catalogue
on Album Deux; it ranges from the
joie de vivre of Charles Aznavour
and Camille to the devastating
melancholy of Serge Gainsbourg's Je
Suis Venu te Dire Que Je M'en Vais.
Goodridge mines that vein to steamy
effect on her own Les Mots; Dobson
leads the Piaf-styled heels-up of C'est
le Top and the desolate chanson of
Adieu. The emotional extremes are
matched by an ensemble versatile
enough to swing a squeezebox down
the Champs Elysees one minute,
then crumble in a dejected corner of
the Pere Lachaise with Sonny Bono's
Bang Bang. (MGM)
Michael Dwyer
Jess Ribeiro
Kill It Yourself
No stranger to a stage, nor
owning tales to share when
upon it, Jess Ribeiro is fast
becoming Darwin’s answer to
Bill Callahan via Nick Cave on
the way to Neil Young’s bosom.
Elongated, sparse and direct
orchestral accompaniments –
care of none other than Mick
Harvey – never hurt anyone; thus
here it elevates Ribeiro’s unique
niche into dark, almost Doors
territory on Run Rabbit Run.
The creeping terror and threat
that is Born to Ride immediately
attached to Rivers on Fire offers
sensory landscapes to conjure
an Eastwood western of the
highest order, with a touch of
Morphineesque sax. A gem: you
need it.
(Remote Control) Chris Murray
The Babe Rainbow
The Babe Rainbow EP
A dizzying samba of loungey/
smooth pop greets upon firing
up Love Forever, the type that
offers déja vu as you’ll swear
you already know it intimately.
Psyche rhythms abound on
Secret Enchanted Broccoli
Forest (as you’d expect) and it’s
now clear this Byron trio aren’t
hiding their ’60s flower-power
ethos. That they do it so well,
with a mastery of light and
shade mixed with a sunset
groove, is testament to 'less
is more' when you have the
power. And yes, they indeed
have the power. Expect to be
queuing up to see them live
sometime soon.
(Remote Control) Chris Murray
The Jungle Giants
Speakerzoid
If you only know The Jungle
Giants from their irritatingly
catchy single Every Kind of
Way, the Brisbane quartet’s
second album may surprise
you. Sure, there are plenty of
hummable hooks and cheeky
self-awareness – see the
“Here comes the drop” line in
Lemon Myrtle. But tracks like
Kooky Eyes add more muscle
to their tinny bubblegum,
while Tambourine veers closer
to lurid, Beatles-y psych.
Memorable hooks pop up
everywhere, but what keeps
the band appealing are their
sudden flights of fancy and a
rubbery dynamic variety.
(Amplifire) DougWallen
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