STACK June 2017 Issue 152

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18 JUNE 2017
visit MUSIC REVIEWS
London Grammar
Truth Is A Beautiful Thing
Realistically, London Grammar’s
Hannah Reid could be singing
utter nonsense and she'd still emit
a serenity on par with that of a
northern Queensland rainforest
waterfall. Thankfully, the English
trio’s second record Truth Is A
Beautiful Thing is packed with
message and meaning; it’s a more
personal, reflective album than
2013’s It Can Wait, featuring the
group's trademark sumptuous,
enveloping sound, and fronted
by lead vocalist Reid’s beautifully
ambient voice. You’ll cruise
through the record’s 11 tracks,
with NewYear’s belter Rooting For
You only a taste of the goodies
in store. Keep an eye out for the
poppy production on Big Picture ,
and beware the hook on Wild Eyed
– it’s one of the most intoxicating
you’ll hear all year.
(Dew Process) Alesha Kolbe
Bernard Fanning Brutal Dawn
After the Civil Dusk comes the Brutal Dawn.
Bernard Fanning’s fourth solo album is filled with
questions: “Will you lay down beside me and put
your skin on mine?” he proposes in opening cut,
Shed My Skin; “How many times can we say we’ve
hit the bottom and still find a way further down?”
he wonders in How Many Times?; “How’d we end
up here like souvenirs from another time?” he ponders in Fighting For
Air; and in the break-up ballad In The Ten Years Gone, he asks, poignantly,
“With all the thinking that you’ve done, did the answers ever come?”
Fanning is joined by some special guests, including Rob Hirst, Clare
Bowditch and Wolfmother’s Ian Peres, but his vocal remains the star of
the show, bringing his poetry to life. Song for song, Brutal Dawn doesn’t
quite match the magic of its predecessor, though In The Ten Years Gone
and Somewhere Along The Way, alone, are worth the price of admission.
For latecomers, Somewhere Along The Way is an exquisite entry point.
With its shuffling beat, it recalls Crosby Stills Nash &Young, with Fanning
singing, “Pleased to meet you, I hope our paths cross again.”
(Dew Process) Jeff Jenkins
Jason Isbell
The Nashville Sound
Since Jason Isbell parted ways
with Drive-By Truckers in 2007, his
star has continued to rise as a solo
artist, being hailed as one of the
most respected and celebrated
songwriters of his generation.
Reuniting with his band The 400
Unit and Grammy-decorated
producer Dave Cobb to record
at the legendary RCA Nashville
Studio A, these songs reflect on
topics from the current cultural
and political climate in America, to
Isbell's experience of fatherhood
and how it's affected his view of
the world. Isbell’s writing is loaded
with true feeling and honesty,
painting pictures of real people
and real life. Another exceptional
release.
(Spunk) Denise Hylands
Old Crow Medicine Show
50 Years Of Blonde On Blonde
(Live)
In 2016, Ketch Secor, founding
member of Old Crow Medicine
Show, was approached with a
request by the Country Music
Hall Of Fame; they asked him to
help the Hall celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the making of Bob
Dylan's Blonde On Blonde album
in Nashville, where Bob recorded
what many believe to be his
masterwork.
Huge Dylan fans, OCMS – while
mostly sticking close to the original
arrangements – add a freshness to
timeless songs such as Just Like
AWoman, I Want You , Absolutely
Sweet Marie, Sad-Eyed Lady Of
The Lowlands, and Visions Of
Johanna.
(Billy Pinnell) Sony
Justin Townes Earle
Kids On The Street
Justin Townes Earle – yes, son of
Steve and carrier of the Van Zandt
name – has had a lot to live up to,
musically speaking. He’s paved
his way as a solo artist with his
own distinctive style of blending
old sounds of blues, folk and
country, and in his effortless way,
making them his own. Recording
this album outside of Nashville for
the first time, he teamed up with
producer Mike Mogos (MWard) to
record in Omaha, Nebraska. He's
living a happier life these days;
recently married and expecting his
first child, there’s a new outlook
present in songs of Nashville days
past, love, and family. JTE offers
everything you would expect and
more.
(NewWest Records/Warner)
Denise Hylands
Pete Murray Camacho
Camacho is a strange title for
Pete Murray’s sixth album.
Google it and you’ll find
references to a wrestler, a
footballer and a cigar. Maybe
the mighty Murray is the
Camacho man? His career
has certainly been a triumph.
Cast your mind back to 2003,
Murray’s breakthrough year,
when Charlton Hill and David
Franj also released albums.
Similarly talented, they
disappeared without trace,
whereas Murray managed
to connect with the masses,
selling more than one million
records. He traverses new
territory here, adding some hip
beats to his cruisy, sensitive
sound. “It’s been such a long
ride,” he sings. And it ain’t over
yet. (Sony) Jeff Jenkins
Roger Waters
Is This The Life We Really
Want?
After listening to Roger Waters'
first studio album in nearly 25
years, the question he poses in
the title will almost certainly be
answered with an emphatic NO!
Holding up a mirror to what's
going on around us has
inspired some of Waters' most
powerful and insightful songs;
there's no disguising his views
on the current US President, with
lyrics such as "a president with
no f-cking brains", "There's a mad
dog pulling at the chain", "fear
keeps us all in line, fear of all these
foreigners" and the Trumpian sound
bite "CNN is bad, I won, I
won!" - he's pulling no punches.
Sensitively produced by Nigel
Godrich (Radiohead, U2), this is
rock music at its highest
level. (Sony) Billy Pinnell