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o La Tengo
tuff Like That There
they ever wanted to give up their day job, Yo
a Tengo would make an ace covers band. From
ontributing to tribute albums for artists as diverse
s Bob Dylan and our own Chris Knox, to their annual
ilgrimage to a local radio station to gleefully trash
pop classics, the New Jersey trio have shown they
can cover just about anything. In celebration of their 30th anniversary this
month, Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew (plus former member
Dave Schramm) have revisited the concept of their 1990 Fakebook album
with another glorious and largely unplugged collection of covers and reworked
versions of their own material. Although it includes a wonderful take on The
Cure's classic Friday I’m In Love – imagine Nico and The Velvet Underground at
their sweetest – the emphasis is mainly on less familiar material. Among the
other many standouts are countrified versions of R’n'B rarities from Darlene
McCrea ( My Heart’s Not In It) and George Clinton’s pre-Funkadelic outfit The
Parliaments (I Can Feel The Ice Melt), while snug new takes on old band
favourites like The Ballad Of Red Buckets and Deeper IntoThe Movies will
help appease their more traditional indie fans worried that it is all a little too
country for comfort. John Ferguson
Also Spinning
Lamb of God
VII: Sturm Und Drang
VII: Sturm Und Drang is everything you’d expect from Lamb of God.
Fuelled by vocalist Randy Blythe’s 2010 legal battles in the Czech
Republic – where he was accused (and then acquitted) of causing
intentional bodily harm to a fan at one of the band's shows – it showcases Lamb of God’s
consistency. They have always been able to lock down some impressive technical riffs
and deliver them with devastating panache, and musically the band is in top form here.
Simon Lukic
AhoriBuzz Into The Sunshine
Not quite the weather for it, but Aaron Tokona's Kiwi-funked
rhythms will certainly bring a little warmth to a winter gathering.
Fans of Fat Freddy’s Drop will feel right at home with epic old school
grooves like Turnaround and Glitter In The Gutter, but the real gems
on this double EP are the remixes, in particular the title track and Sugar, which are
given the acoustic treatment: Anika Moa and Anna Coddington with the former, and
Ben King (Goldenhorse) and Jason Peters on the latter, and offer chilled out, insightful
takes on the originals. Ian Marriott
Ezra Furman
Perpetual Motion People
To listen to this Chicago artist is to enter a wonderful musical world
of divergent personalities. Although his default setting remains the
wide-eyed pop of Jonathan Richman, Perpetual Motion Machinetakes
in everything from garage rock to glam, doo-wop to novelty tunes, and
much, much more in between. Highlights include the Violent Femmes-flavoured heartache
of Hour Of The Deepest Need, the soaring Spector-ish pop of Lousy Connection, and Pot
Holes, which sort of sounds like Sha Na Na tackling the theme from the Benny Hill Show.
Utterly bonkers and utterly marvellous – prepare to be amazed. John Ferguson
MUSIC REVIEWS
46 AUGUST 2015 JB Hi-Fi
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