STACK #203 Sep 2021

REVIEWS MUSIC

FEATURE ARTIST

Ngaiire 3

Mykki Blanco Broken Hearts And Beauty Sleep A major theme of Broken Hearts and Beauty Sleep , Mykki Blanco’s second full-length album, is all the forms love can take. Romantic love, a fan’s love, self-love, fleeting love. A dreamy clatter of instruments and voices, the album draws on new and old friends to bring out all these different facets: Blood Orange on woozy highlight It's Not My Choice , Kari Faux with the pure attitude of Summer Fling , Bruno Ribeiro on showtunes-y Want From Me , Big Freedia’s raw power on That’s Folks . But even when Mykki goes solo like on vibrating interlude F**k Your Choices , it’s clear who’s the captain of this ship. A glamorous good time. (Transgressive/PIAS) Jake Cleland Alligator Records 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music To celebrate their 50th anniversary, world – have released a 3-CD, 58- song compilation that spans their journey from Hound Dog Taylor's first release to the emergence of a new generation of blues stars that include singer Shemekia Copeland and 22-year-old Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram (the latter described by Guitar World Magazine as "the future of the blues; one of the most exciting young guitarists in years"). James Cotton, Albert Collins, Koko Taylor, Roy Buchanan, Son Seals, our own Dave Hole, Johnny Winter, Professor Longhair, Lonnie Mack are just a few of the legendary performers represented on this release, a must-hear collection for life-long blues fans and those who have just discovered the scene. (Alligator) Billy Pinnell Alligator Records – the most successful blues label in the

Children Collide Time Itself In late-2019, Aurora – this Johnny Mackay vehicle’s first single in seven-plus years – hurtled towards us like a mega-comet ablaze, promising great things from Time Itself : the first Children Collide album in nearly a decade. Returning from his psych-pop project Fascinator, the enigmatic Mackay has admitted his favourite thing about one of this album’s singles, Uh Oh , is getting to sing these lyrics: “Like an emu

Papua New Guinea-born Ngaiire is a woman with an untouchable talent – someone who possesses a gift that has long captivated those in her orbit. The now Sydney-based artist has reached a new peak recording across her two homes, her sound shape- shifting in the most spectacular of ways. Her statements are always political – and this is a crucial element to who Ngaiire is as a performer, for as her career evolves so too does her clarity, bluntness and eloquence. Gestating over three years whilst Ngaiire also turned her focus to motherhood, her spellbinding vision only continues to get clearer. And if you’re not up to date as it stands, it’s best you start paying attention with this jaw-droppingly special release. (Dot Dash/Remote Control) Holly Pereira

scratching ‘round in the outback of my mind” (after rhyming “boo-boo” with “voodoo”, mind you). This standout track also features an anthemic, Seven Nation Army -saluting riff. New bassist Chelsea Wheatley flexes during the face-melting Turrets : an explosive, arena-ready slow burn that’s elevated by suspenseful dynamics and choruses that cry out for a stadium chant-along (“All I want is someone I can believe in”). Wait, is that theremin? We’re not worthy. An escalating riff intros SPS (“Self Preservation Society”) with some urgency before accusations are hurled: “Ya never cared about women’s rights... people of colour... queer culture...” Elsewhere: Trampoline conjures Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds ; Funeral For A Ghost ’s soft-loud structure is trademark Children Collide; and Mind Spider ’s sinewy guitar solo truly embodies the song’s title. Alongside Mackay’s magnetism, supple, mind-melting riffs and dank bass define the Children Collide sound. Bombastic but never vacuous, Time Itself glances sideways at Blur, The Beatles, The Stooges and Pond. We had seriously forgotten just how much we need Children Collide in our lives. (SpinningTop Records) Bryget Chrisfield

Amyl & the Sniffers Comfort To Me

Luke Hemmings When Facing The Things We Turn Away From With his first steps solo, 5SOS lead singer Luke Hemmings offers a soothing reflection on heartbreak and healing, his voice melting over harmonies while reaching to articulate his faults and trepidations. It’s impossible not to draw comparisons to the current, blossoming crop of alt-pop: floating guitars at the forefront, rolling drums, and gentle nods to Fleetwood Mac throughout, from tambourine to lilting guitar. It’s music that belongs on a dark bar's jukebox at 2AM, when the drinks start to go to your head and you just want to sway to the beat. Nowadays solo artists are given more room to experiment and grow, as we saw with Harry Styles’ step back to the '70s, Fine Line . Hemmings is following at pace. This is a solid leap into the unknown by the Australian singer – a soft promise of more to come. (Sony) Jacqui Picone

Charley Crockett Music City USA Charley Crockett is the man behind his guitar – a genuine Texan. He sings and plays in his own style, steeped in the heritage of country music, while reviving and staying true to its originators. He’s survived the life of a travelling musician – no money, petty crime, open heart surgery, a pandemic, and long-distance rides in a van – to get to where he is. Music City USA is his 10th album in six years, recorded with producer Mark Neil who brings that old school, '60s, classic country-of- the-era sound to Charley’s songs. If you like true, real deal country, there’s no one doing it quite like Crockett. (ThirtyTigers/Cooking Vinyl) Denise Hylands

Melbourne punk outfit Amyl &The Sniffers have never struggled to make music that blows the cobwebs out of your brain and makes you feel a little bit feral. New record Comfort To Me follows the premise but also shows a band who've refined their ability to produce, increasingly, the best punk offerings in the country. Brimming with restless energy, this is an album born from endless lockdowns, from forced stillness. Lead as usual by driving basslines and Amy Taylor’s instantly recognisable, staccato-punch vocals, it only takes a couple of tracks before you’re seized with an unrelenting desire to kick a door down. Frenzied without pause for breath or reprieve, the record gives exactly what is promised: endless rolling chaos, something to dance to, an assurance there's a mosh pit somewhere on the horizon – in short, it gives comfort to me. (B2B) Jacqui Picone

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