STACK July 2016 Issue 141

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08 JULY 2016
MUSIC
ABOVE & BEYOND
continued
In another stunning achievement befitting the Grammy
Award-winning group, English progressive trance
trio Above & Beyond have reimagined the best of their
oeuvre into the most sweeping, cinematic collection
of orchestra-wrapped pieces you’re likely to find this
side of a Zimmer soundtrack. Acoustic II includes rich
arrangements from the celebrated We Are All We Need
(2015), and is out now via Central Station/Universal.
Emma Louise doesn’t let go lightly. The past is a departure lounge echoing eternal
in All We Ask Is Time. Talk Baby Talk and West End Kids find old flames still
burning from NewYork to her hometown of Brisbane, with an intensity of emotion
only amplified by her close-mic'd whisper. Dido/ Ladyhawke/ Goldfrapp producer
Pascal Gabriel brings a muted, creamy texture and copious alluring detail to songs
of anxious surrender (Underflow) and blissful transcendence (Illuminate). But it's
the singer's multi-layered voice that delivers the killer melodic punches, and the
kind of muted soul that makes Shut the Door the smouldering highlight here.
(Liberation) Michael Dwyer
STACK Picks
Shut The Door, Underflow,
Illuminate
EMMA LOUISE SUPERCRY
Photo credit: Dean Hammer
Instrumental, electronic post-jazz outfit
Badbadnotgood have experimented
with vocalists before – they released an
entire album’s worth of tracks with Wu-
Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah last year,
the critically acclaimed Sour Soul – but
this time they’re spreading their curious,
Canadian tentacles out further than
ever before. Their brand new record IV
features some gobsmacking singers
and rappers: Mick Jenkins, Samuel
Herring from Future Islands, beloved
producer Kaytranada, and fellowToronto
native Charlotte Day Wilson. Always
curious and exploratory, these tracks
are absolute caramel in a bun – out via
Inertia, you can get IV on July 8.
BADBADNOTGOOD
THE AVALANCHES
Remember all that time you spent
listening to the microscopic
details studded through Since I Left
You? This month you get to do it all
again, with a brand new collection of
frankly rudely beautiful songs from
everyone's favourite recluses, The
Avalanches. Wildflower contains all of
the contemplative space, sh-t hot beats
and innovative sampling we adored 16
years ago. There are even some sonic
particles you might recognise from
the previous album, in a really cute
throwback for the die-hards.
Wildflower is out July 8 via EMI.