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David Gilmour
Rattle That Lock
David Gilmour’s last solo album, On an Island, was
released nine years ago. After an extended hiatus,
the guitarist returned to the studio last year to work
on what was purportedly Pink Floyd’s last album,
The Endless River , a record compiled in most part
from music the band recorded during the Division
Bell sessions. This was clearly the creative impetus Gilmour needed, and a
year later he delivered his fourth solo project. His latest long player, Rattle
That Lock, is a collection of ten tracks themed around the duration of a
single day. Opener 5am piles Gilmour’s trademark delay into an emotive
entrée, while the infectious groove of the title track lifts the tempo before
the searching beauty of A Boat Lies Waiting drifts back into bewitching
ambience. Dancing Night in Front of Me is The Kinks’ village English, and
In Any Tongue and Today are quintessential Pink Floyd. Outside of the
jazz-infused The Girl in the Yellow Dress, Gilmour rarely ventures past the
ground he is most familiar with, but that is by no means a bad thing.
Paul Jones
Parkway Drive
Ire
Truthfully, Parkway Drive can do
no wrong at this stage. It feels like
the Byron Bay boys have come
to this realisation after what can
only be described as a steady and
exponential incline over the past
decade; thus, they’ve deliberately
decided to push a few buttons
on their fifth release. “Whenever
there was gamble to take, we
took the biggest one we could,”
confirms frontman Winston
McCall, and boy is he true to his
word. The singing, rapping, piano
and string sections will catch some
fans off guard, and the romantic
Spanish guitar at the album’s
close? No one saw that coming.
Emily Kelly
Delaney Davidson
Lucky Guy
Although he's picked up country
music awards, there's always been
blues and '50s outsider-pop in
Davidson's catalogue. They come
through on this stripped-back,
direct and often abrasive album
that is strapped together by a taut
trio and Davidson's compelling
voice. There are guitars strung
with barbed wire ( Eastbound),
stomping pop (Something's Wrong,
the Beatlesque Tell It To You) and
sneering rock’n’roll delinquency
(the moody You Don't Want Me
Around and Five Bucks ), while the
spirit of Chess and Alligator blues is
channeled through the gritty cover
of Dorsey Dixon's country classic
Wreck on the Highway and the Bo
Diddley-cum-glam of Black Bo.
Graham Reid
visit REVIEWS MUSIC
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Jimmy Barnes
Best Of The Soul Years
Jimmy Barnes is an Australian instituion whose career as a
recording artist and live performer has continued unabated since
we first discovered him in Cold Chisel in the mid-seventies. His
latest release – 16 soul/R&B classics culled from three albums he's released over
the past 25 years – cements his position as one of music's great vocal interpreters.
Chain of Fools, Hold On, I'm Coming and River Deep Mountain Highare among many
standouts, along with two new recordings: Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour and
Mustang Sally. Billy Pinnell
Dave Rawlings Machine
Nashville Obsolete
In Dave Rawlings Machine, Rawlings steps forward to take the lead
while still supported by long-time musical companion Gillian Welch.
Having recorded, played and written with Welch for near on 20 years,
the pair are a songwriting force keeping country music real and traditionally true. The
second album from the Machine features seven new songs recorded on analogue tape
at Woodland Sound Studios (Nashville), produced by Rawlings and featuring the likes
of Willie Watson on vocals/guitars and Punch Brother Paul Kowert on bass. Great
songs and impeccable, distinctive Rawlings guitar; it doesn’t get much better than this.
Denise Hylands
Girl Band
Holding Hands With James
Here's how you subvert expectation: Call yourself Girl Band and
give your debut album a cute title like Holding Hands With James...
then deliver atonal noisecore, aggressive thrash and declamatory
lyrics over lo-fi sonics. This all-male Dublin four-piece might sound like they have
emerged in the post-punks days alongside The Fall, Chrome, Pere Ubu and clank'n'grind
experimentalists, but here they are bringing their challenging but always surprising
sound to the 21st century. Some still might not be ready for these nine scouring non-pop
pieces in 39 bruising minutes, but they are impossible to ignore. Graham Reid
Ghost Meliora
A band’s music often takes a backseat when the image that surrounds
them becomes the focal point. Ghost intrigued many when they first
appeared in 2008: the masks, cryptic interviews and the manner in
which their music mirrored '60s/'70s proto-metal gave them a lot
of attention. They struck hard with Opus Eponymous, but the follow
up Infestissumam didn’t deliver the knockout punch. Meliora offers more riffs, and the
harder approach is welcomed. It may not be their definitive offering, but Ghost is getting
close. Meliora will satisfy the faithful and should silence any doubters. Simon Lukic
Buddy Guy
Born to Play Guitar
In his eightieth year, guitarist/singer Buddy Guy − a prime influence
on countless rock players, notably Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and
particularly Jimmy Page − pays homage to his inspirations on this
powerful collection of blues/rock songs. The autobiographical title track, Flesh and Bone,
is a dedication to B.B. King, on which he's joined by Van Morrison; and the poignant,
acoustic Come Back Muddy is a tribute to Muddy Waters, the man who shaped Guy's
career. Both offer examples of Guy's passionate, energetic guitar style. Other guests
include harmonica virtuoso Kim Wilson and ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons.
Billy Pinnell
Kurt Vile
B'lieve I'm Goin’ Down
Vile's previous Walkin' on a Pretty Daze captured an audience for its
benign tripped-out vibe and although this isn't as strong, he should
consolidate his fanbase with these slightly ambling, sometimes
downbeat songs which also have flashes of humour (check Dust Bunnies) and their
accomplished diversity. He further explores finger-picking folk (the drawling That's
Life Tho, Stand Inside), faux-country (I'm An Outlaw) and off-kilter ballads (Life Like
This ). The weariness here means this won't grip immediately, but as he says on Wild
Imagination − which sounds like a demo − “Give it some time.“ Graham Reid
52 SEPTEMBER 2015