STACK #138 Apr 2016

MUSIC REVIEWS

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SANTANA

Santana (1969) The debut which introduced Latin-infused jazz- rock to the audience which hadn't been there for the band's stunning debut at Woodstock earlier that month. Prepared the ground for the equally impressive follow-up a year later, Abraxas. Both essential. Caravanserai (1972) Because it followed three great albums which established the vigorous Santana sound, this controversial departure into jazz and more meditative explorations was widely derided at the time. But it has stood the test of time. It announced a new direction Santana would continue to explore, sometimes with mixed results. Moonflower (1977) Initially this double album credited to the Santana band seems like an odd mix of new studio tracks and live hits, but the meld mostly works. He's on the money with his singular sound and style, and they even scored a hit single with their version of Carlos Santana’s new album Santana IV finds him re-united with most of the original band. Graham Reid recommends some essential early albums by the band or from his own solo catalogue. Although his guru got many writing credits (presumably so Carlos could flick him some royalty money), this double album outing under his adopted spiritual name Devadip Carlos Santana found him with stellar jazz players from Miles Davis' band (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Tony Williams) and others on a free-flowing, relaxed and sometimes expansive piece. Essential, but a different Santana. And also... There have been any number of Santana band and solo compilations, but the band collection Santana's Greatest Hits is the one to find. It draws from those first three “Woodstock era” albums. the Zombies' She's Not There . The Swing Of Delight (1980)

Lontalius I'll Forget 17 The processed vocals and minimalist beats of the opening track on the debut album fromWellington teenager Eddie Johnston – aka Lontalius – suggests we’re in for a tasteful but safe collection of modern pop: after all, he first came to attention with his YouTube cover versions of chart hits. But after a minute or so, A Feeling So Sweet glides

gracefully into a languid acoustic jangle and it soon becomes clear that Lontalius is coming from a much more organic place than the plastic pap that dominates the charts. While the hushed electronic grooves of All I Wanna Say wouldn’t sound out of place on commercial radio, I’ll Forget 17 is mainly about chiming guitars and lovelorn melodies, no more so on dreamily melancholic tracks such as Kick In The Head , Glow and It’s Not Love . He may not have been a classmate of Lorde’s (as some early media reports had it), but this young singer-songwriter is clearly a talent to watch. (Inertia) Graham Reid

MUSIC

Yeasayer Amen & Goodbye Yeasayer never shy from a challenge. The NewYork outfit have spent several albums inventing and reinventing new modes of operation and musical expression. From their early expansive psych-pop jams to abstract electronic and deconstructed dance music, very few songs have trodden the same path twice. The making of Amen & Goodbye took Yeasayer from their home in the city to the Catskill mountains and back again: an intensely creative process beset with obstacles, such as studio invasions from goats or the time when rain damaged a large portion of their recorded work. The resulting songs here are among their most adventurous to date, blending the analogue with the digital, the spiritual with the physical and chemical. Lullabies for end times and experimental pop forms for the next world. (Create Control) SimonWinkler

Violent Soho WACO You get the feeling Violent Soho are never going to fall into the trap of trying to please some chimerical public demographic, because they are what they eat. Getting chummy with FIDLAR’s Zac Carper comes as naturally to the four-piece as the unabashed voice-flinging Luke Boerdam displays in the middle portion of HowTo Taste , or the serene last few bars of the album, on stand-out Low ; it’s like Shivasana at the end of yoga, where you just lie there and feel your body breathing, and what’s come before is as much a work-out of the emotions as, if you like to hurl yourself around to the most solid of indie pop rock, your body. Boerdam has described WACO as the “older sister” to 2013’s Hungry Ghost ; its gallivanting spirit and quieter twists definitely show an assured but ever-inquisitive growing up. (I OHYOU/Mushroom) Zoë Radas

For more interviews, reviews and overviews from Graham Reid visit www.elsewhere.co.nz

APRIL 2016

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