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REVIEWS
MUSIC
The Big Moon
Love In The
4th Dimension
With Catherine Marks (Foals, Wolf
Alice) producing alongside lead
singer Juliette Jackson, The Big
Moon’s debut was always going to
be a compelling record of indie-
rock anthems. Straight out of the
cannon is
Sucker
which features a
gloriously melodic guitar alongside
Jackson’s enticing vocal. The band’s
strength lies in their undeniable
knack for great pop hooks paired
with some seriously dreamy guitar
riffs and a tight rhythm section.
They can also do thoughtful and
restrained, delivering the goods via
the wonderfully bitter
Cupid
which
erupts into some rather spectacular
noise.
Formidable
impresses with its
empowering message, while closing
track
The End
manages to reference
The Wizard of Oz
while lamenting a
paramour. Here’s to women in rock:
we salute you.
(Caroline) Holly Pereira
Father John Misty
Pure Comedy
Josh Tillman continues to satirise
the concept of being an entertainer
with this, his third album under
the moniker Father John Misty.
While
I Love You, Honeybear
was
a portrait of Tillman’s marriage,
Pure Comedy
is full of political
rhetoric. Now backed by stunning
orchestral arrangements, Tillman’s
sound possesses a new, profound
quality. Highlights include
Leaving
LA
, a 13-minute insight into
Tillman’s career and easily the most
transparent we’ve ever heard him.
His comedic timing is razor sharp,
delivering iconic lines like “The
dying man takes his final breath, but
first checks his news feed to see
what he’s about to miss”(
Ballad Of
The Dying Man
). While we may not
always think to turn to him for words
of wisdom, Tillman is proving to be a
voice of reason, here to stay.
(Sub Pop) Holly Pereira
The New Pornographers
Whiteout Conditions
The Canadian stalwarts are back
with their seventh album, bringing
their rousing choruses and infectious
sound to thrilling new heights. The
magnetic trio of Neko Case, Kathryn
Calder and A.C. Newman lead the
band, guaranteeing you'll never hear
the same sound twice – an exciting
prospect. This quality, along with
a newfound Krautrock influence,
revitalises the band’s classic sound
while offering something new to
veteran fans.
Second Sleep
and
Juke
impress with their sonic
experimentation, while
We’ve Been
Here Before
mesmerises with its
sparse arrangement. There’s a lot to
be said for the consistent delivery of
strong albums which still manage to
be inventive with each release; for
The New Pornographers, this skill
has become their defining feature.
(Concord/Caroline)
Holly Pereira
Future Islands
The Far Field
If there’s a more soothing record
to enter the alt-mainstream
this year, show your hand now.
While kinetic frontman Samuel T.
Herring threw the band into the
international spotlight back in 2013
after their captivating
Letterman
performance, on record, Future
Islands are considerably more
reserved. On paper that’s an
unlikely statement: sprightly bass
lines dance around wails of noise
and Herring’s gravelly delivery, but
it’s mixed so tightly together that
The Far Field
becomes almost
hymn-like. Which is suitable; the
record is predominantly hopeful
and empathetic, optimistic in a
time that offers plenty of reasons
for pessimism. These sneakily
seductive earworms will envelop
you like a womb – shutting out all
the bad, keeping in all the good.
(4AD/Remote Control)
Jake Cleland
Ali Barter
A Suitable Girl
Since at least 2013’s
Run You
Down
, Ali Barter’s music has
always had a feminist edge, but
the lead-in to
A Suitable Girl
has remodelled the malleable
Melbourne songwriter as
a contemporary riot grrrl.
Invoking the fist-swinging
riffs and lyrical bluntness of
alt-rockers like L7 and Veruca
Salt,
A Suitable Girl
is Barter
uncaged. Part of that delivery is
weighing the conflict between
love and frustration: for every
blazing riposte like
Girlie Bits
there’s a smouldering love
song like
Please Stay
; for every
beguiling stomper like
Delilah
there’s a tender cut like
Tokyo
.
Of all the guises Barter’s tried
on, this one suits her best.
(Inertia)
Jake Cleland
ANOHNI
Paradise EP
Hopelessness
was the debut
solo album from ANOHNI
last year; it's an impassioned,
uncompromising, sorrowful
and ecstatic work created in
collaboration with electronic
producers Hudson Mohawke and
Oneohtrix Point Never. Anthemic
electronic tracks provided the
backdrop to reflections on
subjects such as climate change,
conflict and control. It was a call
for radical action that echoes in
this new companion EP.
Paradise
interrogates those themes further,
examining interconnectedness
and personal responsibility for
the fate of the world. Cavernous
bass, uneasy beats, and tense
melodies underline the urgency of
ANOHNI's message.
(Secretly Canadian/Remote
Control) SimonWinkler
Little Dragon
Season High
Sweden may be known for its
midnight sun, but if you sit by the
window and stare outside on any
given day there’s a good chance
the skies will be grey. The rain will
fall, and maybe a gloom might even
descend. So for years, over many
albums, Gothenberg fourpiece
Little Dragon have sought to create
their own source of light in their
shared studio with ever more
luminous music. On
Season High
Little Dragon push further upward
- beyond the clouds - into realms of
pure imagination. Talking about the
album the band have mentioned
the importance of escapism and
feelings and experiences that
elevate the spirit. As always, the
productions and performances
shine, offering an inspired mix of
experimental pop, electronic soul,
and inventive club tracks.
(Because
Music/Warner) SimonWinkler
The Smith Street Band
More Scared Of You Than You
Are Of Me
Melbourne quartet The Smith
Street Band have delivered
another album about being ‘sad
weird dudes’, and realising that
it’s OK, because you aren’t the
only one feeling that way.
Shine
in
particular has that classic Smithies
build-up and
Birthdays
broaches
new territory with a synth-laden
bridge. Lyrically, frontman Wil
Wagner has always expressed
himself with the approachable,
misanthropic familiarity of a
long-time mate. Whether he is
tackling social anxiety (
Passiona
),
submissive relationships (
25
), or
unrequited love (
Song For You
),
his lyrics are agonizingly real,
and that’s the most appealing
thing about TSSB.
(Pool House
Records)Tim Lambert