STACK #162 April 2018

MUSIC REVIEWS

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DMA's For Now

Hinds I Don't Run Summer may be over but

Well, 50 years of American music has been strip-mined to the point of boredom, so it’s not unreasonable that revisiting the UK’s cultural history would offer a richer vein. Madchester, baggy, whatever references you want to throw out at DMA’s, there’s no doubt their love runs deeper than the tracksuited surface. For Now is exquisite nonsense. For Now is unabashed pop joy. The studied swells and jangling guitars tumble together into a blissful wave. Soft enough for the headphones, energetic enough to hint at something more, it could go from floor from festival just by turning up the volume. Pulling out lyrics would be perverse; taken together, For Now is a sweet pill. (IOHYOU) Jake Cleland

Spanish indie rockers Hinds are here to inject some sunshine into your life, with sophomore album I Don’t Run . Soberland cuts straight to the chase with its gorgeously layered vocals, while Linda is a glorious slow- burner that shows off the band’s versatility. Meanwhile, Tester is full of wit and cheek – two traits the band possess in spades. The album ends with the acoustic Ma Nuit , something of a curveball for the normally frenetic band. What makes Hinds instantly loveable is their pairing of infectious tunes with an unabashed honesty – a winning formula that will continue to see them conquer the world. (Pod/Inertia) Holly Pereira

I'm Talking Bear Witness (Expanded Reissue Edition) The tragedy of I’mTalking is that they made just one album. But, then again, sometimes the best pop acts burn brightly before burning out. I’mTalking were like a NewYork band stuck in mid-'80s Melbourne, creating cosmopolitan art-pop in the glory days of pub rock. Forming in 1983, they evolved from experimental

funk outfit Essendon Airport, led by left-of-centre pop genius Robert Goodge. He wanted a band with two lead singers, like his heroes Chic, and I’mTalking introduced the world to Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne. It made for a potent pop act, though Ceberano later confessed they were “bitter rivals.” Bear Witness , produced in NewYork by Scritti Politti drummer Fred Maher, was released in 1986, but I’mTalking broke up the following year, in July – the same month Countdown ended. This remastered version gathers the band’s six singles: Trust Me, Lead The Way, Do You Wanna Be, Holy Word, How Can It Be and their cover of Rose Royce’s Love Don’t Live Here Anymore. More than three decades later, the songs still sound sophisticated, and Bear Witness ranks alongside Stephen Cummings’ Senso as the era’s finest example of dance-pop. (Bloodlines/Mushroom) Jeff Jenkins

Casey Barnes The Good Life

Billy Ray Cyrus Thin Line

Courtney Marie Andrews May Your Kindness Remain All’s good with the future of country-folk music with artists like Courtney Marie Andrews around – she's definitely one of the new generation. Comparisons to Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris are evident, but her sound is distinctly her own. Wow, what a voice: one that sings with such sincerity and emotion, that you can feel the empathy. And she can write a song too. Every track tells a heartfelt story, with a genuine depth and understanding of people’s struggles in everyday life and love. Recorded over eight days in a rented house-cum-studio in L.A., this album was produced by Mark Howard (Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan). Take notice, people… (Fat Possum/Inertia) Denise Hylands

Joshua Hedley Mr. Jukebox Joshua Hedley plays real country music – let’s get that straight. A fiddle player from a young age, he moved to Nashville and quickly built a reputation clocking up weekly gigs at Robert’s Western World, singing and playing country classics – literally a human jukebox of songs. He’s played with Justin Townes Earle, Jonny Fritz, Margo Price and more, and lucky for us, the time has come for him to step up and start writing his own songs. This is his long-awaited debut album on Jack White’s Third Man Records, and with it he delivers his authentic, '60s, honky tonk sound. The voice, the songs and the music are unashamedly real deal classic country: think George & Merle. (Third Man Records) Denise Hylands

You’ve quit the rat race and decided on a seachange – welcome to The Good Life , Casey Barnes’ new album, which confirms he’s a definite country contender. “I want to get under country skies,” he declares in Ain’t Coming Home . There’s a relentlessly upbeat spirit to this record. It’s contemporary country, with an Aussie edge; the guitars are cranking – credit to producers Michael Paynter and Michael Delorenzis for keeping them front and centre. But Barnes also knows how to deliver a genuinely affecting ballad – check out Set Sail . Here’s hoping he gets a crack at the US market because he’s got the goods. (Xelon) Jeff Jenkins

Part love letter to iconic country cuts (beefing up Kristofferson’s Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again) , strutting over Don Williams’ Tulsa Time ) and part original heart-baring, Thin Line finds some real beauty between some questionable politics. Surely Billy Ray would be the first to tell you he isn’t perfect, but he takes – and spreads – delight in the fundamentals: hope, charity, forgiveness, and ripping licks. Yes, that is Joe Perry in the credits, along with Bryan Adams and even Miley. If your country colours don’t run, Thin Line was made for you. (Sony) Jake Cleland

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APRIL 2018

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