STACK #265 November 2026

MUSIC PREVIEWS

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WHAT’S OUT

Whether it’s a voyage of musical discovery or a sonic reacquaintance with a favourite band or artist, check out these fresh releases heading to JB this month.

ROYAL BLOOD Dead Company WARNER MUSIC

This is the fifth album for UK rock duo Royal Blood, who have had three Top 10 albums in Australia. It’s the band’s most

powerful record to date. “After putting the Royal Blood engine in neutral for a couple of years, we’ve been building up the revs and are playing faster and harder than ever,” they say. “Written and recorded with the stage in mind, we cannot wait to play it live for years to come.”

EDITOR’S PICK

SHERYL CROW Pick You Up Old Green Barn Productions/Thirty Tigers Thirty years after Powderfinger’s

BRYAN ADAMS How’s It Goin’ BAD RECORDS

KINGS OF LEON O My Beloved LOVE TAP RECORDS, LLC

Oh, Canada. Bryan Adams’ 17th studio album is a love letter to his home country. After writing a song for

Studio album number ten finds this American

band in a reflective mood. Singer Caleb Followill has called it an “emotional love letter to family”, focusing on “gratitude and appreciation”. Stripped-back and superb.

THE CHURCH Lacuna COOKING VINYL

breakthrough hit Pick You Up , Sheryl Crow has released her 13th studio album, Pick You Up . But the title track is not a Powderfinger cover. It’s Crow’s classic cruisy sound – bright and breezy but with plenty of bite. “I hope these songs feel like a soothing moisturiser on our chapped hearts,” she says.

the documentary Canada’s Wild Eastern Edge , the songs started flowing. “After doing so much research, I was inspired to start writing more songs about Canada,” Bryan says. A highlight is the protest song 51st State .

“I don’t have a reason,” Steve Kilbey sings on The Church’s new album, “I don’t keep the score.” For those who do like to keep track of such things, this is the band’s 28th studio album and it comes 45 years after their debut. Of course, there have been many changes along the way, but The Church – Kilbey, Tim Powles, Ian Haug, Ashley Naylor, and Jeffrey Cain - remain one of our most compelling and captivating groups. Kilbey calls the new record “intense, forlorn, and exultant”. And it’s also epic, with 17 tracks, all of which are three minutes or more. Recorded in Austin, Texas, it swings from psychedelic dreampop to twisted Americana. It’s quite the trip.

JAMES BLUNT Airplane Mode EAST WEST RECORDS

LA ROUX Old Flames VERTIGO

TAKE THAT Dreamers EMI UK

England’s James Blunt has never been afraid to send himself up. When a fan said, “I must be one of only two who genuinely likes every James

English electro act La Roux (aka Elly Jackson) has had two Top 40

England’s biggest boy band has made it to album number ten.

albums and singles in Australia, including the 2009 smash hit Bulletproof . The first La Roux album in more than six years documents the disintegration of a long-term relationship. Elly explains the record “says things how they are: how I am and who I am”. RAMMSTEIN Rammstein: Live in Mexico UNIVERSAL Germany’s Rammstein have been rocking since 1994 – with an unchanged lineup. This is the band’s fourth official live album, following 2017’s Rammstein: Paris . Recorded over three nights in October 2022, it captures the band playing for nearly 200,000 fans. There is also a concert film.

There have been some changes along the way, with the group now a trio – Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen - following the departure of Robbie Williams and Jason Orange. From the pop art cover to the classic pop sound, this is a fan-pleasing collection. Hopefully the Dreamers tour will make it Down Under. U2 Carnaval de Luz ISLAND UK Any U2 album is an event. The band’s sweet 16th Experience . And the album comes 50 years after the four members first played together. The final track, Torn , stands as a poignant tribute to Dolly Parton – it was the American superstar’s final recording before her passing in August. And Brian Eno co-wrote and played synth on three tracks. By the way, the album title translates as “Carnival of Light”. studio album is their first featuring new material since 2017’s Songs of

Blunt song; the other person being him”, the artist replied, “Nope, you’re on your own.” But he is particularly proud of his eighth studio album. “Somewhere back there I lost my way,” he believes. “But then I found it again in a studio in Banbury [in the UK].” The result is a return to the sensitive, acoustic pop that served him so well in the early 2000s.

JOAN OSBORNE Relish Reimagined BROTHER MISTER PRODUCTIONS

Joan Osborne’s Relish – with the classic single One of Us – remains one of the great debut albums of the ’90s. It was nominated for seven Grammys, including ‘Album of the Year’. Thirty-one years later, Joan has delivered a jazz-tinged reworking of the record – “with a jazz musician’s ear for space and surprise”.

64 NOVEMBER 2026

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