STACK 132 October Issue

100 / 120

Steve Tilston
Truth To Tell
English folk singer-songwriter-
guitarist Tilston has been recording
outstanding albums since the early
'70s while quietly flying under the
radar outside of the UK.
The recent release of Al Pacino's
new movie Danny Collins, inspired
by the true story of a musician
(Tilston) who receives a letter of
encouragement from John Lennon
34 years after it was posted, will
no doubt raise the musician's
profile while drawing attention to
his brilliant new release.
Featuring 10- and 6-string
acoustic guitars, double bass and
autoharps, Tilston sings of his early
days in London, the passing of old
friends and global destruction.
(Planet/MGM) Billy Pinnell
Moving Pictures
Picture This
Some great bands are unfairly
forgotten. Moving Pictures should
have been massive. Sure, they
had a huge debut album, but their
success was overshadowed by
one song, and then some record
company dramas prevented that
song from becoming a smash hit
internationally. In a terrific new
tune, Traveller’s Tales, Alex Smith
sings about “a dream snatched
from thin air.” Thirty-four years
after their debut, the band has
reformed to reinvent its songs
acoustically. Works a treat, with
Smith in fine voice and Andy
Thompson’s sax adding vibrant
colour, and it shows that there’s
much more to Moving Pictures
than just What About Me?
(Liberation) Jeff Jenkins
Ronnie Earl & the
Broadcasters
Father's Day
This new album from veteran
blues guitarist Earl and his long
time band The Broadcasters
(bass, drums, keyboards, horns)
differs from earlier releases
in that it features vocals on all
but one track. Singers Michael
Ledbetter and Diane Blue shine
on a repertoire that is very much
a tribute to Chicago blues guitar
icons Otis Rush and Magic Sam,
while B.B. King and Fats Domino
are also referenced.
Earl's intense, soulful playing on
the jazz standard Moanin' (the
only instrumental) and the title
track (dedicated to his father, a
Holocaust survivor who died in
2014) will take your breath away.
(Only Blues) Billy Pinnell
Flour
Morbid Thoughts
Cheeky move, naming the first
song Puberty Blues. But then,
Melbourne quartet Flour don’t
shy from the past: their debut
album channels the punky
1990s melodicism of bands like
Superchunk, The Meanies and
Samiam. Lead single Lonely Girl
edges closer to Nirvana, and Tom
Lyngcoln (Harmony, The Nation
Blue) records Morbid Thoughts
with bracing noisiness. Shouted
vocals and squealing guitars wait
around every corner of these
rough-cut anthems. Nothing new,
but it’s a densely hooky assault
landed with perfect aim.
(Poison City) DougWallen
Tam Vantage
Life In High Definition
Melbourne may have an
abundance of jangly pop bands
continuing the legacy of Flying
Nun Records, but not many
possess the Kinks-worthy wryness
of Tam Vantage. His quietly acidic
lyrics on songs like Sympathy
and The Boy Who Always Wins
are a delight, while the music
bridges the gaps between The
Chills, Robyn Hitchcock and classic
John Hughes soundtracks. It’s
throwback guitar-pop delivered
with a dawdling, sun-baked air, as
if merely out for a summer stroll.
(Lost & Lonesome/Rocket)
DougWallen
Larry Gus
I Need New Eyes
Greek singer/producer Larry Gus
injects his textured electronic
bounce (think Animal Collective)
with a bold multi-cultural sweep.
While more subdued than 2013’s
Years Not Living, his new LP again
merges his delicate singing and
rhythmic jumpiness. Taking the
Personal Away has flashes of an
old-school Nintendo soundtrack,
while Nazgonya channels giddy
Afropop, and other tracks approach
jazz. There’s a real warmth to it all,
and the pulsing ballad Belong to
Love proves a low-key gem amid
the more danceable bits.
(DFA/PIAS/Liberator)
DougWallen
visit REVIEWS MUSIC
100 OCTOBER 2015
STREAMYOUR FAVOURITE ALBUMS AT JBHI-FI NOW... NOW!
Terrible Truths Terrible Truths
There aren’t many bands in Australia pursuing the
sound Terrible Truths are: tight, rhythmic post-punk
smeared with melody. Half a decade after the
band’s formation, the now Melbourne-based trio
are finally releasing an album. It’s just 23 minutes
long, and while it doesn’t quite bottle the locked-on
intensity of their live show, it’s triumphant in other
ways. The songs thread together the dual vocals (whether harmonies or
call-and-response) of guitarist Rani Rose and bassist Stacey Wilson, as
drummer Joe Alexander keeps the pace alternately loping and exploratory.
The dub-licked Don Juan is almost radio-friendly (at least community
radio), Lift Weights matches its danceable bob to serrated guitar, and the
murkily poppy Mixed Feelings will appeal to Sleater-Kinney fans. Wilson
has had plenty of bands to her name (including Rites Wild and Regional
Curse), but what sets Terrible Truths apart is the constant interaction
with Rose and Alexander; yet her bass lines are arguably the central
instrumental here, pulling along each stormy outburst while the guitar
slithers overtop with woozy uncertainty. Anyone who loved Iceage’s
first couple of albums or remembers Love Is All should gravitate to this
album’s blend of prickliness and desperation.
(Bedroom Suck/Rocket) DougWallen