STACK #159 Jan 2018

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Porches The House Porches’ Aaron Maine occupies a similar sentimental ground as 2015 breakthrough Shamir Bailey. Both work in the realm of snappy but introverted synth-pop, but where Bailey starts parties, Maine is more likely to soundtrack the day after one, where the memories of dancefloors from 14 hours ago flicker behind the eyelids, as elusive as proper sleep. The House , Porches’ third album, cloaks itself in the trappings of rug cutters – deluxe melodies, vocal hooks, 4/4 digital drums – but finds more comfort in moments fascination with tonight being the last and only night is a lie; there’s always another morning to look forward to. (Domino) Jake Cleland of reflection than adrenaline. The House knows that pop’s

The Go! Team Semicircle The Go! Team’s relentless

cheerfulness has outlasted and outshone every post-C86 band to come out of the UK in the aughts. But then, in spite of the playground chant vocals, The Go! Team were never really twee. Now back with a full band, founder Ian Parton makes the most of the scope, drawing on '60s rock psychedelia and funk and soul stabs. This is an ecstatic riot, swinging from pastoral folk to bratty rap- pop in one part, self-sampled plunderphonic blasts to Ravi Shankar drone in another. A much-needed shot in the arm going into the new year. (RedEye/MGM) Jake Cleland

Tiny Little Houses Idiot Proverbs “Do you like books and your music with hooks?” singer Caleb Karvountzis asks in Short Hair , a track on Tiny Little Houses’ debut album. If you do, chances are you’ll dig this Melbourne band. Produced by Steve Schram (Paul Kelly, San Cisco), the sound is bold and bright, with hooks that’ll have you humming all day. Able to swing from deep to dumb – from

the sublime to the ridiculous is only one step – this is music for misfits, where dreams don’t match reality and you’re dealing with twentysomething dilemmas. Check out Entitled Generation, where the protagonist is “25 and still not living out of home/ Got two degrees and I’m stuck working on the phones.” Clever and confident, Tiny Little Houses also ignore the proverb that states “Don’t bite the hand that feeds,” with Karvountzis spitting his contempt: “Don’t you know the industry is fake, it’s filled with sycophantic phoneys with less money than brains.” Gloriously ’90s, this album will have you fondly recalling Fountains of Wayne and Hole, and, closer to home, Jebediah and Klinger. Only time will tell whether Tiny Little Houses are more Weezer than Wheatus, but a good beginning. (Ivy League) Jeff Jenkins

Neil Young & Promise Of The Real The Visitor Young is on a creative roll. His fourth album in three years, and the second studio release with Promise Of The Real, is his most musically diverse effort in decades. Young's ongoing preparedness to criticise political injustices is apparent from the opening song Already Great , a response to Donald Trump's declaration to 'Make America Great Again.' Other standout tracks include the rocking tale of betrayal Stand Tall , Carnival with its Latin feel, the bluesy Diggin' a Hole , the funky Fly By Night Deal , and the anthemic Children Of Destiny , which was recorded with a 56-piece orchestra. Neil Young, long may you run. (Warner) Billy Pinnell

Van Morrison Versatile Hot on the heels of his previous album – which mixed new compositions with songs from blues and R’n’B artists that influenced his own sound – Van Morrison has released another collection that combines material from the Great American Songbook with half a dozen of his own songs, three previously recorded. Jazz standards Let's Get Lost , A Foggy Day, They Can't Take That Away From Me and I Get A Kick Out Of You sit aside show tunes The Party's Over and Makin' Whoopee , while pop evergreens Unchained Melody and I Left My Heart In San Francisco give Morrison the opportunity to revisit the music that originally inspired him to sing. (Caroline) Billy Pinnell

Andrea Marr Natural Andrea Marr’s new album opens with a track titled Force Of Nature . The horns are blazing, the drums are pounding, and Marr’s vocal is soaring – “I can’t hide these feelings racing inside of me, a hurricane of emotion.” Nine of the eleven cuts here are originals, and Marr brings plenty of sass to her covers of Aretha’s Rock Steady and Marva “Soul Sister #1” Whitney’s What Do I Have To Do. The gospel gem Grateful shows serious songwriting smarts. And props to Marr’s eight-piece band, The Funky Hitmen. Melbourne’s soul scene is surging, and Natural shows that Andrea Marr is at the forefront. (Only Blues) Jeff Jenkins

Cold Chisel Live Tapes Vol 4: The Last Stand Of The Sydney Entertainment Centre Don Walker once said: “Rock ’n’ roll, in its essentials, is a pure force. It’s a primary colour.” In December 1983, Cold Chisel played the final show of their final tour – the wonderfully named 'The Last Stand' – at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, which had opened seven months earlier. Thirty-two years later, Chisel returned for the venue’s “Last Stand” (the Entertainment Centre has been bulldozed to make way for an apartment block). Recorded over two nights, Chisel farewelled the venue in fine style, with 32 songs. Every album is represented, and the band is blistering. Chisel remain a pure force. (Universal) Jeff Jenkins

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JANUARY 2018

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