STACK #219 January 2023

JACQUI PICONE The 1975, Being Funny in a Foreign Language Our esteemed music reviewers have sifted through their STACK submissions and chosen their top two records of 2022, from the pool of titles they've reviewed for us over the course of the last 12 months. CREAM '22 CROP of the FEATURE MUSIC On The 1975’s fifth record, the

Cheshire four-piece look to showcase a beautifully produced collection of imaginative cuts. Meandering and hazy melodies, clipped guitars and

JEFF JENKINS Midnight Oil, Resist

immortalising her mother through song, she also showcases the inherited vocal prowess of her own children for the first time on album number ten. Björk exists in a league (and fungal underworld rave) of her own. Listening to her music can change the way we view the world." HONOURABLE MENTION JackWhite, Fear of the Dawn HOLLY PEREIRA Dry Cleaning, Stumpwork "After their triumphant 2021 debut, London post-punk poets Dry Cleaning return musical palette and the scope of their wry observations to reflect on the human condition in insightful new ways... HONOURABLE MENTION Aldous Harding, Warm Chris with Stumpwork , broadening their

wailing saxophones are all engulfed by lead singer Matty Healy’s half-murmured, half shouted lyrical work, which is – as always – shamelessly self-reflective. HONOURABLE MENTION Gang of Youths, angel in realtime. BILLY PINNELL The McNaMarr Project, Run with Me

"Thank God for Midnight Oil... Forty years after

the classic 10 to 1 , [the band] are still delivering songs for the head and the heart, ‘standing up to those who sell fear’, making the

listener think and dance. It’s a potent mix, and no one does it as eloquently or as powerfully as Midnight Oil.” HONOURABLE MENTION Thornbird, Thornbird BRYGET CHRISFIELD Björk, Fossora "A goosebump

"Andrea Marr and John McNamara are soul singers in the truest sense of the word. Whether singing in harmony or swapping lead vocal lines, they capture the spirit of artists such

inducing addition to Björk’s already extraordinary legacy, Fossora represents three generations of her bloodline: as well as

as Sharon Jones, Tina Turner, [and] Otis Redding... Their deep understanding of the genre finds them swapping from soul ballads and slow blues to gospel, funk, and brass arrangements... their voices in perfect sync."

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