STACK NZ Jul #75

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Good Charlotte Youth Authority

Bat For Lashes The Bride

Everybody put up your hands, it’s Madden season – and thankfully we aren’t talking about the game, either. Youth Authority is Good Charlotte's sixth studio album, and though it’s the first in as many years, it’s truly the GC of old. 40 Oz. Dream is an awakening to the modern world we live in, where your mum's "taking selfies” and “rappers are singing”. Also worth a spin is Makeshift Love just to hear the phrase “triage in my living room” uttered in song, and they’ve even got Sleeping WIth Sirens' frontman Kellin Quinn to feature on the stand-out Keep Swingin’ . A four-year hiatus hasn’t damaged their ability to ignite the angst- fuelled teen in the best of us. Alesha Kolbe

Don’t get too blissed-out by the autoharp trills and churchy swells of I Do . Natasha Khan's bride is destined for horror in this spooky song cycle exploring the bond of love beyond death. Thunder cracks over the eerie premonition of Joe's Dream . Electro cadences grow ominous and visions macabre in In God's House . The car crash of Honeymoon Alone rips open the twilight zone between waking nightmare ( Never Forgive The Angels ) and dreams of eternal romance ( Close Encounters ). Turns out time's a great healer, but Khan's trademark choral creepiness and darker turns of tune are so compelling that the chirpy piano ending is a bit of a let down. Michael Dwyer

Peter Garrett A Version Of Now It’s a hell of a story: Lead singer of one of

Australia's biggest bands Midnight Oil quits to pursue a political career. He gets embroiled in one of the nastiest leadership battles in history and his opponents constantly throw old lyrics at him, accusing him of hypocrisy and selling out, all as

he claims to not miss his musical life. That’s the only lie Peter Garrett told, because there’s no hiding the joy in his voice on this comeback record, his first solo album. “I’m back,” he declares in opening track, Tall Trees . “I’m coming ’round for a second look.” With no regrets: “I saw the best of men and I saw the worst,” he reports in I’d Do It Again . “I got my hands dirty, I had a go.” You’d forgive Garrett if he were battered and bruised and bitter. But there are no recriminations. He remains a beautiful dreamer in a minefield. “The sound of the times is the sigh of indifference,” he laments. “Dreams are broken, mended and they scatter.” Older, wiser, but still a believer – and still capable of delivering anthems with ripper, real words ringing in your ears. “It still matters to me,” Garrett sings. “I hope it matters to you.” Jeff Jenkins

MUSIC

Descendents Hypercaffium Spazzinate There’s been no shortage of

Badbadnotgood IV

Ace Frehley Origins Vol. 1 Ace Frehley, the original space man and illustrious KISS guitarist, returns with an album of cover tunes that pay respect to his influences. Joining Frehley is a formidable cast of characters that will interest many. Slash features on the Thin Lizzy classic Emerald , while Lita Ford lends her talents to Wild Thing . Rob Zombie’s six- stringer John 5 and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready play on the KISS songs Parasite and Cold Gin respectively, giving Origins Vol. 1 a familiarity that fans will enjoy. The most notable collaboration is with KISS frontman Paul Stanley on the Free hit Fire And Water ; the two haven’t appeared on an album since 1998 and it makes for a nostalgic highlight. Simon Lukic

Jeff Beck Loud Hailer

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

Acclaimed guitarist Jeff Beck steps out of his comfort zone with the release of his first new album in six years. Frustrated at not being able to verbalise his opinions on the world issues he felt strongly about, Beck recruited singer Rosie Bones (who lends her voice to nine of the 11 songs) and guitarist Carmen Vandenburg of the London band Bones to write these tracks and their lyrics with him. Titles such as the intense The Revolution Will Be Televised , and the reflective ballad Scared For The Children , needed to be sung. The album is rounded out by two signature Beck instrumentals. Billy Pinnell

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. Emily Kelly

exploratory, these tracks are absolute caramel in a bun. Zoë Radas

JULY 2016

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