STACK #227 September 2023

REVIEWS MUSIC

FEATURE ARTIST

Animal Collective Isn’t it Now? Experimental rock innovators Animal Collective up the ante of 2022’s Time Skiffs with Isn’t it Now? , which takes the title of the Baltimore four-piece’s longest record to date (clocking in at 64 minutes). Isn’t It Now? takes listeners on a sonic odyssey of epic proportions, with early highlight Genie’s Open building steadily before unveiling its magic, combining hypnotic vocals with ethereal instrumentation that bubbles away gently. Any review of the record would be remiss to omit mention of 21-minute lead single Defeat, a meditative number which charms with its delicate grace. Twelve albums in, Animal Collective prove they still have plenty of tricks up their sleeves – Isn’t it Now? is the most ambitious album of their career. (Domino) Holly Pereira

Polaris Fatalism Brutal, unrelenting, and reminiscent of the Australian metalcore you grew up screaming in your bedroom, Polaris’ third record is an exceptionally produced collection which draws you deeper and deeper into its murky depths, while never allowing you to stop moving. This band have never been afraid of sending riffs crashing like gargantuan waves to shore, and Fatalism leaves the listener with barely any reprieve. Consistently raising your heart rate above any healthy level, Jamie Hails’ crisp, booming vocals guide you through the turmoil – not gently, but at a chaotic pace. An incredibly bittersweet release that stands as guitarist Ryan Siew’s final work with the band – the musician passed away suddenly in June this year – Fatalism is heavy, scorching, and ready for crushing pits. Polaris stand tall, as always, as one of Australia’s premiere heavy acts. (Resist/Cooking Vinyl) Jacqui Picone

Ro í s í n Murphy Hit Parade If you follow Róisín Murphy on social media, you already know that the former Moloko vocalist is next level kooky. She has always embraced oddness, but it just has to be said that this album’s cover art – Róisín as a shiny, muticoloured striped latex roly-poly toy – takes the biscuit. Produced in collaboration with the so-hot-right-now DJ

Koze (Róisín having previously featured on a pair of the German producer/DJ’s 2018 Knock Knock album tracks), Hit Parade serves disco, breakbeats, cosmic funk, and soul. The record opens with a brief gee-up monologue – ”Come on, I’m ready like a rock steady Freddy… Let’s have it!” – before opener What Not to Do contemplates ”whether we get on it/ Or we don’t” over a whirring, pulsating beat with crisp percussive accents (it’s obvious Koze fixated over every single minute detail). During lead single CooCool – a downtempo disco jam built from a ’70s soul sample (Mike James Kirkland’s Together ) – Róisín coaxes, ”Embrace your inner child/ Go buck wild.” Funky guitar glides peacefully through The Universe , a sailing song. Then thanks to Hurtz So Bad ’s vibratory bass and ascending beat, we gain admission to a seedy-but-exclusive afterhours club. Throughout the smooth, pulsing You Knew – which navigates a painful realisation that someone’s been careless with your heart – Róisín’s vocals sound like they’re bubbling underwater. For peak-rave detour Can’t Replicate , which accompanied the Chanel AW23 runway show, Róisín gives icy femme fatale – a true vocal chameleon. She actually lives in Ibiza, with her partner and two kids, and Róisín’s sixth album has every aspect of Balearic island life covered: from chillouts to sunset chasing, raves to recoveries and everything in-between. (Ninja Tune) Bryget Chrisfield

FEATURE ARTIST

Slowdive everything is alive Slowdive follow their

Fleetwood Mac Rumours Live

The Chemical Brothers For That Beautiful Feeling

When guitarist Bob Welch left Fleetwood Mac in 1974 shortly

”Nobody does it better/ Makes me feel bad for the rest…” – don’t be at all surprised if these lyrics from Carly Simon’s classic James Bond power ballad spring to mind as soon as you press play on The Chemical Brothers’ stonking tenth record, which will make you fall in love with electronic

triumphant 2017 reformation with atmospheric fifth record, everything is alive . Following shoegaze conventions, the album title and all song titles are in lowercase; it’s a formatting choice that contrasts with the work’s instrumental arrangements, which are maximal in their impact. What initially began as a purely electronic record has turned into Slowdive’s most accessible and immediate offering yet, from the pulsating synths of opener shanty to the shimmering pop of alife – but the Reading act’s unmistakable, reverb-drenched guitars still have the leading role, and Rachel Goswell’s haunting vocal remains affecting 34 years into the band’s career. everything is alive is the shoegaze titans at their most inventive and inspiring. (Dead Oceans) Holly Pereira

after they’d signed a new recording contract, bandleader Mick Fleetwood experienced a sliding doors moment when, by chance, he heard an album by an unknown LA band, Buckingham Nicks. Co-leader and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham agreed to take the spot Fleetwood offered on the condition his music partner, singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks, would also be included. Longtime band members Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie lucked out big time when their new bandmates turned out to be gifted performers, musicians, and songwriters. Two years later their Fleetwood Mac album topped the charts, followed in ’77 by Rumours (more than 40 million copies sold). This new double album recorded in LA in August ’77 features raunchy versions of songs from both of these timeless albums and is a must for Mac fans. (Rhino) Billy Pinnell

dance music all over again. A vocal sample from Second Layer’s Courts or Wars elevates No Reason , which also features rapid-fire snare rolls that would make Beyoncé herself scurry obediently into formation. And just in case you’re not already fully immersed – ”WOO!” This track’s repeated hollers absolutely insist you forget everything that’s wrong with the world to instead focus on the pure, mindful enjoyment of pulling shapes. ”WHO’S gonna take the weight?/ WHO’S gonna take the blame?” – The Weight ’s repeated lyrical queries just beg to be playfully mouthed to your mates while you collectively lose your shit on the dance floor. Skipping Like a Stone (feat. Beck – squee! Match-made-in-musical-heaven alert!) is built atop spinning sounds that quite possibly realign the grey matter. Our first taste of this record, The Darkness That You Fear , smoothly interpolates two different voices, like a pair of hovering guardian angels – ”And the darkness/ That you fear/ Will disappear (I’ll be lovin’ you/ Yes, I will)” – as shimmering, metallic accents evoke distant wind chimes before booty-shaking bongos enhance the tail end of this blissful, danceable scene. For That Beautiful Feeling is perfectly suitable for dance floor meditation: it will stop you in your tracks then hit you right in the feels. Pure escapism has never sounded so mind-blowing. (EMI) Bryget Chrisfield

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