STACK #138 Apr 2016

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals Call It What It Is The reunion of any band after nine years would seem to signify a return to familiar, if not nostalgic territory but Ben Harper is mostly right-on when he says he and his band are "here to forge new ground." When Sex Was Dirty is a suitably filthy fuzz-rock workout for starters. Deeper and Deeper is steeped in Tom Petty harmony. Things get more predictable in the agitated slide blues and seething social comment of the title track, which posits that "it's a crime to be black" and "what it is" out there in America "is murder". There's shades of John Lee Hooker, reggae and a cheeky grinder called Pink Balloons . Whatever can he be thinking of? Mostly there's 11 good reasons to do what these guys do: hit the road. (Caroline) Michael Dwyer

Tonight Alive Limitless

Tonight Alive’s guiding light and fearless leader Jenna McDougall always had the vocal capacity to lead the band in whichever direction they so desired. She's lent Tonight Alive strong but saccharine vocals to their pop punk sound to great effect over the last two albums but it’s unsurprising to hear now that the punk is all but a footnote in their latest album. Their new, supremely polished, mainstream rock sound works but it also robs them of that scrappy charm which made them so endearing. RIP the unique depths they may have explored if they hadn’t aimed so predictably for arena rock. (Sony) Emily Kelly

The Dandy Warhols Distortland

If you were ever to be jealous of a band’s projected lifestyle, these cats would be atop the short list. “Rules be damned, we have all our own sh-t and we’re cool, man!” was clearly the mandate from Courtney T.T. as The Dandys promptly drove their magic bus through valleys

of LCD Soundsystem, all the while looking like nonchalant elders and confusing their tired peers. Catcher in the Rye will warm your heart and loins in equally pleasurable measure, as will the hard-edged tech of Semper Fidelis – the kind of track Class-A sales rely on for mass consumption in basement parties across the world. But it’s STYGGO that ticks every Dandy box with a bouncy and infectious gusto, all the while oozing an effortless panache. Pity summer’s ended as this is the track you want with an elbow out the window cruising a vast sunset into Smilesville. How can they keep on doing it!? An amazingly trippy, arrogantly fun and reflective record – further proving not only does this band not care, they don’t f-cking need to. Hats off! (CookingVinyl) Chris Murray

MUSIC

Elliphant Living Life Golden Providing the kind of music not out of place on, perhaps, an angsty teen flick soundtrack – especially in a timelapse montage – Elliphant is growing on the music scene like a proverbial mighty oak from the tiniest of acorns. Perhaps you may know her better by her actual name – Ellinor Miranda Salome Olovsdotter – but you probably don’t. Her latest, Living Life Golden , is a true homage to her beginnings, with tracks like Step Down and Hit and Run really bringing the beat back. Keep an eye out for the Major Lazer collab. And remember, an elephant never forgets. (Sony) Alesha Kolbe

Primal Scream Chaosmosis Opener Trippin' On Your Love will scare you, be warned. Let’s put that aside and forget we ever heard it, yeah? Cool. Ahem: (Feeling Like A) Demon Again is a quiet, beat-driven, late night drive in a rain-soaked taxi – a grower, albeit a derivative and smart bait choice for millennials. Taking a leaf from Goodbye Johnny comes the slow dance groove of I Can Change , a minimalist samba- style heartbreaker cementing B. Gillespie’s love of strong cheese most rare. Then there’s Bobby singing alongside acoustic guitar as though he’s about to check a fob watch and pick some flowers!? This album is odd, off script and schizophrenic at best… the jury is out, perhaps it’s just a ‘passing thing’? (Warner) Chris Murray

Mogwai Atomic Scotland’s finest/darkest offer up some reworked magic from their unreleased soundtrack to an artsy doco on all things that go BANG! which screened on the BBC last year. It’s certainly nuclear to say the least; soundscapes of molten steel cascading down rivers of death, which every now and then offer some glimmer of hope, usually dashed with quiet beauty which doesn’t care. Bitterness Centrifuge (ha!), as an example track title kinda’ says it all… it’s so f-cking dark you’ll need a torch to see your own growing smile in the mirror; just the way we like it! (Rock Action Records) Chris Murray

The 1975 I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It So it’s 1986; Duran Duran’s shine is waning, yet Scritti Polliti and MJ are doing just fine. There’s a lot of keyboards being played by kids on Saturday afternoons in Brashs stores before catching a screening of Ferris Bueller … yes, it’s the world of The 1975 (oh, the irony!). Having spent a lot of time in Cheshire, northwest England where these guys reside, it all makes sense; it’s such a sh-thole one must catch the happy butterflies before they get hit by a passing goods train. Music to listen to with your bestie, in a onsie, on a Sundee in front of the TV. Actually it’s pretty cool, but just not Jack Ladder cool. (Sony) Chris Murray

APRIL 2016

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