STACK July 2016 Issue 141

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Direct Hit Wasted Mind
“F-ck you! Get pumped!” It’s the
staccato catch cry of Milwaukee-
based punx Direct Hit and it
says all you need to know about
this reckless brand of unhinged
pure punk. The new Fat Wreck
Chords signing have revealed an
ambitious little concept album that
could happily serve as a chaotic
soundtrack to Thompson’s opus
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.
Creating an album documenting
“identity, consciousness and
relativity” seems a bold endeavour
for a meagre pop punk ensemble
but it feels like an organic
transition from 2013’s excellent
Brainless God LP. Here’s hoping
the band’s relentless touring
schedule points them southwards
in the near future, as these brief
bangers would surely make for
one killer live show.
(FatWreck/Shock) Emily Kelly
visit MUSIC REVIEWS
16 JULY 2016
MUSIC
Blood Orange
Freetown Sound
Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes is a
generously gifted artist who’s
shared much of his talent over
the years; there’s been numerous
bands and music projects,
collaborative tracks with friends,
and writing credits for other artists.
Each release has given a new
perspective on Dev’s craft, and
his skill in producing R&B, punk,
dance and funk. Freetown Sound
however is offered as perhaps
the most intimate insight yet: a
personal history of the artist, and
uncompromising explorations of
identity and social politics. Across
the 17 tracks are subtle soul
ballads and irresistible grooves.
It’s all passionate and compelling:
a portrait of the artist as fearless
navigator of new frontiers in
modern culture.
(Domino/EMI) SimonWinkler
Orb Birth
Orb come from rich local stock.
Geelong descendants whose
previous bands have toured the
world and met critical acclaim,
Orb’s Zak Olsen, Jamie Harmer,
and Daff Gravolin started with
doom and evolved into something
brighter, crunchier, and catchier.
The gut-stomping chug of
Sabbath’s hard rock binds to a
frankly rude degree of rhythm,
prizing pop riffs over speed or
shock value. It’d be all too easy for
Orb to descend into the glowering
black morass of doom, but as
self-confessed charlatans, they
bring the best of all worlds to Birth
without a care for purism. Leaning
on inspiration from the tropes of
fantasy to something as mundane
as waiting in the Centrelink office,
Birth is an exceptional record in all
senses.
(Remote Control) Jake Cleland
Diesel
Americana
Fifty years after he was born in
America, Mark Lizotte – AKA
Diesel – returns to where it all
began to pay tribute to his heroes.
And it sounds like he’s having a
ball – just check out his rollicking
cover of Buddy Holly’s Rave On.
He also tackles Springsteen’s
Born To Run, Johnny Cash’s Ring
Of Fire, James Taylor’s Fire And
Rain and Tom Petty’s Here Comes
My Girl. He also extends the
Americana concept to Canada,
covering Joni Mitchell’s The Circle
Game, The Band’s Rag Mama
Rag and Neil Young’s Don’t Let It
Bring You Down. Diesel’s eternally
youthful voice and soulful guitar
playing has delivered a classic
covers collection.
(Liberation) Jeff Jenkins
Descendents
Hypercaffium Spazzinate
There’s been no shortage of
Descendents impersonators since
the original released their much-
adored Cool To Be You album 12
years ago, but my gosh it’s nice to
have them back to prove why the
original is still the best. With their
special brand of adolescent pop
now firmly cemented in the annals
of punk rock pop culture, there’s
a warmth to these new tracks like
old friends returned to reminisce
about old times. Heartfelt one
moment and offensively bratty
the next, Hypercaffium Spazzinate
runs the gamut of moody, manic
punk rock. And with drummer,
founding member and technical
mastermind Bill Stevenson at the
helm, you can bet it’s perfectly
produced. One of the year’s ‘must
purchase’ albums.
(Epitaph/Warner) Emily Kelly
Margo Price
Midwest Farmer's Daughter
Margo Price’s debut solo album
has got Nashville in a spin. After
record company rejection she
caught the ear of Jack White
who released it on his Third Man
Records label. Comparable to
a modern day Loretta Lynn in
both sound and attitude, this is
genuine, old school, honky tonkin’
country. These are heartbreaking
autobiographical songs about
losing the family farm, the death
of a child, the seedy side of Music
City and her troubles with men
and the bottle, and to top it off,
she sold her wedding ring and car
to foot the bill for recording this
gem at Sun Studios, Memphis.
May her star shine bright.
(Third Man Records)
Denise Hylands
Stonefield
As Above, So Below
Consider the twin channels of woolly amp feedback
a four-second warning. Sister hits with storm
force, cymbals singing and bass, guitar and keys
lumbering as Amy Findlay pitches her wail into the
maelstrom. What the devil is she on about? Who
cares? Dream ratchets up the fuzz and wah-wah
and the second album by rural Victoria's heaviest psych-rock sisterhood
has already pulverised literal comprehension. Yes, the four Findlay siblings
are locked in perpetual homage to the acid rock age, but their chemistry is
all their own and their tunes are built to bulldoze the flashbacks that nag at
the edges of a monstrous sound, laid down in cahoots with Spiderbait's
Kram and producer John Lee. For every phased-out pump and grunter
like Eyes there's a crafty arrangement like Love, where Sarah's sideways
piano tugs a counterpoint to Hannah's sweetly stabbing lead guitar. Holly's
bass is a feature of the slo-mo space truckin' respite, Midnight, and brings
ballast to the requisite Middle-Eastern flourishes of Lonely. In the trippy
sludge finale of Eagle, the hum of pure electricity rises to claim the final
victory like a force of nature bigger than rock itself.
(Wunderkind/Mushroom) Michael Dwyer