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REVIEWS
MUSIC
Papa Roach
Crooked Teeth
While nu-metal is widely regarded
as a blemish on the musical canon,
there’s no getting past the fact
that it’s yielded some of the best
workout music of the modern age.
Themes of weakness ultimately
trumped by perseverance set to
furious rhythms, and borrowing
the aspirational self-beliefs of hip
hop and the pummel of heavy
metal, have embedded genre
icons like Papa Roach in well-worn
gym playlists. On
Crooked Teeth
,
they sweat with the best. Whether
working in-house or with guest
vocalists Skylar Grey (familiar to
rap and nu-metal fans for collabs
with Fort Minor and Diddy) and
Machine Gun Kelly, Papa Roach’s
ninth album is an unstoppable
force.
(CookingVinyl) Jake Cleland
House Vs. Hurricane
Filth
They may not be back on a
permanent basis but post-hardcore
outfit House Vs. Hurricane have
returned with
Filth,
a savage
reminder of how they took
post-hardcore into the Australian
mainstream. It's the first taste of
new material since 2012’s genre-
defining
Crooked Teeth
, and they've
matured – now husbands, fathers
and business owners. Musically
though (and this is a good thing)
HVH are their same pit-crushing
punks you remember. The title track
is vintage HVH, unrelenting and
unforgiving;
Greasepoint
’s clean
vocals add necessary balance to
an otherwise savage onslaught of
sound; and
Braindead
doesn’t drop
below 150km per hour. The thing
I really love about this record is
the band’s less is more approach,
refusing to be sucked into the over-
production that many of their peers
fall for.
(UNFD)Tim Lambert
alt-J
RELAXER.
If the English trio’s intentions were to 'out alt-J’
themselves, they have succeeded – immerse
yourself in 40 minutes of a meticulously curated,
effortlessly poised soundscape, thanks to these
supremely talented aural architects. Before you
even have a chance to notice, you’ll be half way
through
RELAXER.
– the record begins with the
subtle hypnotism of opener
3WW
, then comes the rousing, ever-building
brass climax of
In Cold Blood
, and it's followed by the painstaking detail
of
House Of The Rising Sun
. The latter, made famous in 1964 by The
Animals, is hardly a cover – the original has been torn down and rebuilt
from its desperate core with the help of a 20-piece symphony. The Bee
Gees-esque falsetto on the electro-gothic
Deadcrush
will leave you short
of breath singing along; thankfully low-key number
Adeline
follows it. Not
often do records peak in their final moments, but like a hike up a densely
jagged mountain range, the album's zenith appears in its conclusion – the
concise and crushing crescendo of finale
Pleader
.
(Liberation)Tim Lambert
Underground Lovers
Staring At You Staring At Me
Underground Lovers’ eighth album
features a song called
The Rerun
,
but the Undies (what a gloriously
Aussie name for a sophisticated
band!) are not trading on past
glories. No midlife crisis here;
the six-piece remain vibrant,
delivering thrilling, unpredictable
soundscapes on a distinctly
Melbourne album. Indeed, the
working title was
Melbournism
,
and the opening cut,
St Kilda
Regret
, is a footy song of sorts.
“I love my team,” Philippa Nihill
declares, “but not after what
they’ve done to me.” That said,
Underground Lovers have never
quite fitted into the local scene;
they have always made music for
the world. And they do it brilliantly.
(Rubber) Jeff Jenkins
Helen Shanahan
Every Little Sting
You might not know the name
but Perth’s Helen Shanahan is as
good as it gets when it comes
to confessional songwriting.
“I wasn’t born to be wild,”
she admits in opening cut,
Camouflaged
. Indeed, Shanahan is
an unlikely pop star, with her debut
album documenting a battle with
anxiety – “Paper thin,” she sings,
“oh, how I wish I could throw it
all in.” American producer Brad
Jones (Missy Higgins, Melody
Pool) provides a pop sheen, but
scratch the surface and you’ll
discover genuine depth. File next
to Lisa Loeb, Sarah McLachlan and
Aimee Mann;
Every Little Sting
is one of this year’s great adult
contemporary albums.
(MGM) Jeff Jenkins
DragonForce
Reaching Into Infinity
DragonForce turned heads when
they released their debut
Valley Of
The Damned
in 2003. Immediate
virtuosos, the band got a lot of
attention for the insane tempos
at which they performed – I’m
talking
fast
, like 220bpm, which
perplexed many. As a result,
DragonForce quickly stood out
amongst their power metal
contemporaries. Come to think of
it, they were the only power metal
band to cross over, appealing to
both Machine Head and Trivium
fans as well those into Helloween
or Iron Maiden.
Reaching Into
Infinity
is their seventh studio
album and it’s business as usual;
There are no real surprises, just
a solid DragonForce album from
beginning to end.
(Sony) Simon Lukic
Pallbearer
Heartless
Pallbearer continue to excel
within the doom metal field.
Their third studio album
Heartless
may be a little more polished and
smoother around the edges than
its predecessors, but its power is
never lacking – huge riffs merge
with delicate melodies to create
a sound that is all-encompassing.
Pallbearer let their music do the
talking, and it’s that attitude that
makes the band so downright cool.
Doom metal may not be the most
cheerful genre in the world, but
it is cathartic, and Pallbearer are
certainly that. Far from heartless,
Pallbearer’s latest effort is all soul.
(Nuclear Blast/Caroline)
Simon Lukic