STACK #137 Mar 2016

MUSIC REVIEWS

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JOHNNY TOOK DMA'S

INTERVIEW

J ohnny Took is adamant the DMA’s are still emerging from the nest, despite the Sydney trio having travelled all over the world twice over on the strength of their EP. “You’re not even like a real band until you release an album anyway,”

he retorts. “You’ve got to prove that you’ve done some work, you know. And you can only reach a certain feeling off an EP. I think we milked that one pretty hard: two years.” The EP, self-titled and featuring the band’s breakout hit Delete , was indeed released two years ago this month. For the band’s debut album Hills End , a couple of those tracks have been reworked – Delete , most significantly, has had the warmth of a string section added. “If we were going to put these tracks on the album

Hills End

by DMA's is out now through I OH YOU/ Mushroom.

La’s fable wherein lead songwriter Lee Mavers refused to produce a second album because the original ‘60s mixing desk the label painstakingly sought for him didn’t have “original ‘60s dust on it.” “I think it was that he’s a psycho,

C ourtney Barnett is always truckin' to the strum of her own guitar, and the new Milk! Records compilation album Good For You is another example of that impetus. It comprises six new songs from six artists on Barnett's label: Jen Cloher, Fraser A. Gorman, Ouch My Face, the East Brunswick All Girls Choir, The Finks and of course Barnett herself. Its release is accompanied by a tour traversing the capital cities throughout MILK! RECORDS feel. For whoever listens to it, for some reason that tune resonated with them. The concepts we talk about are concepts that everyone can relate to. And that’s kind of a big part, for me, as a songwriter: I like to write about stuff that anyone in the world can relate to.” we just like to put noisy guitars over it, you know. Good pop melodies. It’s not rocket science.” The album is very full, but dynamic – there’s definitely space but it exists around O’Dell’s voice, which is earnest and sensitive but also pretty chav. Took believes it’s a style they fell into naturally, and that its vulnerability is instinctive. “I think that’s the whole reason I got into music,” he says. “I think that’s the way lots of people get into music, because of how it makes you

we wanted to bring something new to them,” Took says. The new ones, though, are brilliant: Melbourne isn’t about Melbourne at all but anxiety and depression, and its last few bars speed up to a frenetic pace while singer Tommy O’Dell slurs through the line “I will give you what you need” (“That song was always meant to end in complete chaos,” says Took). In The Moment is the gem of the record; with a Jane Says saunter and a La’s production feel, I ask if Johnny (who produced much of the album) ever tries to adhere to a specific style when it comes to that stage of the game, and bring up the old

he’s a perfectionist, and nothing would actually make him happy,” says Took, adding that The La’s are “one of [his] favourite bands ever.” “But I never really thought of it like that to be honest. The gear that we had when Blown Away was recorded, it was really basic, hey; it was pretty sh-t microphones and pre-amps and whatnot. I was kind of surprised with the way some of those turned out.” But it’s about the songs’ inner kernels for these boys, rather than the effects they (love to) spread on afterwards. “We’ll focus on the song and as long as the melody and the lyrics are there, production-wise

MUSIC

STEEL PANTHER T he glam-rock guys with the monstrous hair have released a new album of live tracks, featuring one fresh one ( Then You Came In ) and a bunch of comedic banter recorded between the other tracks. Innuendo, straight-up profanity and smug solos abound.

WHAT'S THE STORY? We have a look back at the fascinating tales behind some of our favourite album covers.

S et up at for 5am on a Sunday morning, the cover shoot is captained by photographer Brian Cannon and conducted in Berwick Street, part of London’s Soho district, an area at the time known for its record shops. The two men in the photo were supposed to be Noel and Liam This month: Oasis' (What's The Story) Morning Glory? , the British band's second album of swaggering rock, released in October 1995.

this month; check milkrecords.com.au for all the details

and be sure to get your hands on this superb release.

Gallagher but the pair fail to show up after a big night out. Consequently, the two passing figures in the frame are Brian Cannon himself and London DJ Sean Rowley. In the background, album producer Owen Morris can be seen holding the album’s master tapes above his head. Shot on film, the design cost comes in at £25,000. Although the cover is criticised for being too accessible by the British music media, the general public love it, and the album, with its iconic artwork, becomes synonymous with the Britpop movement.

Good For You by the Milk! Records crew is out now through Milk! Records.

Live From Lexxi's Mom's Garage by Steel Panther is out now through Inertia.

MARCH 2016

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