STACK #219 January 2023

FEATURE MUSIC

Dropkick Murphys, This Machine Still Kills Fascists INNUMBERS 0: Number of albums the band had recorded without lead singer Al Barr since their 1998 debut, before the creation of This Machine Still Kills Fascists (Barr was on hiatus from the group to care for his elderly mother)

Darren Hayes, Homosexual INREVIEW “An album of defiance, liberation and celebration… Twenty-one years after Savage Garden split, Darren Hayes remains one of our most vital pop artists; Homosexual is a thrilling neo-nostalgic trip.” JJ

to myself, and then one day, when I’m brave enough, I will see it and understand. Songs can make sense of the world.” ZKR

Credit: Isaac Brown

Ozzy Osbourne, Patient Number 9 INNUMBERS 7: Number of world charts on which Patient Number 9 debuted at number one 3: Number of album’s songs on which late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins appears 0: Number of times Black Sabbath co-founder and guitarist Tommy Iommi had appeared on a solo Ozzy record before his contributions to Patient Number 9

Credit: Lindsay Adler

Dean Lewis, The Hardest Love INCONVO “My purpose in life, I feel, is to become great at something. I want to be really good at one thing in my life. And I'm bad at a lot of things! But I feel like one thing that I keep improving on is: songwriting, songwriting, songwriting.” ZKR

Credit: Dave Stauble

11: Number of album tracks (out of 11) comprised of lyrics written – but unused – by late Americana folk icon Woody Guthrie 1943: Year in which Guthrie first affixed a ‘This Machine Kills Fascists’ label to the front of his acoustic guitar The Chats, Get F-cked INREVIEW “Everything we adore The Chats for is here in abundance: urgent, bananas, fast-and-furious riffs; Aussie-as lyrics delivered with over-enunciated ocker accent (e.g. “Ticket inspec-DUH!”); and a rhythm section seemingly hellbent on promoting stage diving.” BC

Credit: Sean Loaney

Credit: Ross Halfin

Bruce Springsteen, Only the Strong Survive INNUMBERS

Gang of Youths, angel in realtime. INREVIEW “Exposing raw nerves to the world and holding tight to your hand through the seemingly impossible recovery, they make every moment feel like a personal conversation between friends processing the pain together… a masterpiece of fear, grief, forgiveness, identity, family and, above all, love.” JP

1: Number of cover albums Springsteen had created before Only the Strong Survive (2006’s We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions )

Credit: Luke Henery

Parkway Drive, Darker Still INCONVO: WINSTON MCCALL

Credit: Danny Clinch

“I’m not a singer. I’m a lyricist, a writer, a character and a storyteller. What you see on stage, the character is me, but there are many, many facets that I want to bring to our music…My goal is to take people into worlds, into the Parkway world – take them down different wormholes that we can exist in.” ZKR

Credit: Ed Cook

4: Number of appearances Springsteen made on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to play the album’s tracks (in a mini-residency across three consecutive nights) 17: Number of world charts on which the album landed in the top three Beyonce, RENAISSANCE INREVIEW “An absolute cornucopia of ideas: dangerously droning synth bass which cracks into R’n’B ’90s realness, reggaeton drums which slip into lithe Afrobeat, bewitching harmonies aplenty… Renaissance pays homage to the history of Black music while concurrently finding reinvention and escape.” ZKR

Luke Combs, Growin’ Up INNUMBERS 8: Number of shows Luke Combs will play in Australia during his August tour 13: Number of consecutive number ones on the Billboard Country chart Combs has achieved, including Doin’ This from Growin’ Up 2: Number of ARIA charts on which Growin’ Up debuted at number one (Albums, and Country Albums)

Credit: Dave LePage

Lykke Li, EYEYE INNUMBERS

90: Number of dollars (AUD) the handheld drum microphone which Lykki Li used to record her EYEYE vocals (all recorded in Li’s LA bedroom) cost her to buy 6: Number of album tracks (out of eight) which Li wrote in collab with producer/songwriter/musician Björn Yttling (bassist with Peter Bjorn and John) 7: Number of looping short films Li shot with acclaimed interdisciplinary filmmaker Theo Lindquist, which complete the EYEYE audio-visual experience

Credit: Jeremy Cowart

Harry Styles, Harry’s House INREVIEW “ Harry’s House is life in beautiful, unabashed motion…

Credit: Mason Poole

Meg Mac, Matter of Time INCONVO

from the LCD Soundsystem-level heartwrenching Love of My Life to the brilliant Cinema , a squidgy little chunk of funk with pops of harmony and noodly electric guitar.” ZKR

“When people ask how you come up with lyrics and ideas, you say, ‘I have no idea’ or ‘it comes out of nowhere’. But now I believe it has to come from somewhere. I can sing things I’m too afraid to admit

Credit: Theo Lindquist

Credit: Lillie Eiger

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