92 / 120
F
ull of well-paced
alt-rock tracks
that are at once
big, imaginative, detailed
and surreal in a lot of
ways, Kurt Vile’s new
release
B’lieve I’m Goin
Down
still has its Adidas
hi-tops firmly in the
western desert (which, as
Jesse Hughes tells us, is
the best). Although he’s
wont to talk down his
piano skills, Vile’s
experiments with the
instrument are as
refreshing as Meg White’s
drumming was when we
first heard it: it’s definite
stuff, no drifting around,
because he’s got his guitar
for that if he wants to do it
(he does). The keys
arpeggios are bright-faced
and the chords are
deliberate, particularly on
stand-outs
Stand Inside
and
Life Like This
, while
That’s Life, Tho
has a
stranger gait – it’s
unbelievably beautiful and
manages to realistically
embrace the fact that
even happy things are sad
(because memory and
nostalgia are inherently
sad?). He’s clearly an
excellent songwriter and a
super compelling guitarist,
but secretly, the best part
might be the odd upwards
inflections that sometimes
pop out of Vile’s calm
voice, a la Lou Reed, like a
piece of a sing-song
conversation. The vocals
also aren’t fogged with
reverb, an effect Vile
used heavily for 2013’s
Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze
.
As a follow-up,
B’lieve I’m
Goin Down
is perfect
parts familiar and new –
it’s smarter, more
intricate, but has these
thoughtful little ponds of
space you can sit and
bathe in. Absolutely
first-rate.
(Remote Control)
Zoë Radas
ED’s JAMS
MUSIC
KURT VILE
b’lieve i’m
goin down
Have You In My Wilderness
is further evidence of Julia
Holter’s singular skill as a writer and musician. There’s
something timeless, classic, yet utterly unique in the
structure and arrangement of each track that defies
easy description. There’s power - and restraint - in
the performances, underscoring the emotional effect
of the lyrics that explore subjects of love, trust, and
balance in relationships. As always with Julia Holter’s
albums,
Have You In My Wilderness
is packed with
ideas and sounds that reveal themselves over multiple
listens, an endlessly rewarding collection of ballads.
(Domino/EMI) Simon Winkler
JULIA HOLTER
Have you in my
wilderness
The studious
manner in
which Sydney
five-piece Boy
& Bear recorded
Limit Of Love
– by rehearsing
every track until
it was in Ironman
shape and then
recording, rather
than muddling through multiple layers and
edits – has saturated the whole record with
immediacy and real heart. The rhythm section is
tight as a pickle jar and that gives the other guys
– particularly vocalist Dave Hosking and keys
player Jon Hart – room to rubato. It’s great to
hear the edge come from unique qualities in the
harmonies, guitar tones and cool organs/synths
rather than a slushy open hi-hat (
A Thousand
Faces
is a nice example of this balance). Single
Walk The Wire
shows off the utterly symbiotic
relationship between these musicians as well as
Hosking’s unflappable voice, with its little end-
of-phrase bends;
Breakdown Slow
is a divine
lapsteel stroll; and my favourite is
Just Dumb
,
which includes Air-esque bass, plaintive piano, a
tiny delectable guitar riff in your left headphone,
and an inspired, gently wheeling melody that
sticks.
(Universal) Zoë Radas
Boy & Bear
limit of love
Beach Slang are undoubtedly
the new band to watch in 2015.
Having established an enviable
amount of buzz around their
initial EPs, the band’s first album
is obviously anticipated but also
such an odd carbon copy of their
former releases that it’s at times
hard to differentiate the two. Not to
detract from the inherent innovation
and attractiveness of their sound.
It’s sultry summer nights set to
breathless vocals, spread across
romantic, fuzzed out indie punk and
it’s really, really great.
(Cooking Vinyl) Emily Kelly
Beach slang
the things we
do to find
people like us
STACK
Picks
Life Like This; That’s Life,
Tho; Pretty Pimpin; Lost My
Head There
092
jbhifi.com.auOCTOBER
2015