STACK #148 Feb 2017

MUSIC NEWS

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The Menzingers After The Party

Dune Rats The Kids Will Know It's Bullsh-t Who's Scott Green? Couldn’t tell you. Who’s got sweet suburban- stoner tunes? Dune Rats, that’s who. Produced by FIDLAR frontman Zachary Carper, The Kids Will Know It’s Bullsh-t is LA surfers meets Brisbane punks. Lyrically, The Dunies don’t stretch themselves too far. Does it really matter though, when frontman Danny Beusa chants "My brother bought us a six pack” (6 Pack) over chocky power chords? Buzz-kill and current single Scott Green are rowdy fun, although live is where these ones will really shine. Braindead will bring your steering wheel drummer fingers out and Bullsh-t will leave you craving a weekend tinnie. To quote someone famous, “Do yourself a favour". (Warner)Tim Lambert Meat Wave The Incessant Dayum, this is one seductive cocktail of punk rock influences. Heavy on fizz and way stronger than you were prepared for, sipping at Meat Wave’s newie The Incessant makes you feel rather dark and dangerous. Legendary engineer Steve Albini has lent his considerable talents to make this concoction of Hot Snakes meets Radioactivity meets The Breeders sound nice and dishevelled without losing the crisp percussion or incessant, angular riffage. Delivering such an inspired new album just two years after their previous, impressive effort Delusion Moon suggests Meat Wave have no shortage of ideas or initiative. Keep an eye on this band. (Side One Dummy/Cooking Vinyl) Emily Kelly

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors’ mission is to decontextualise and reassemble, resulting in records that blend the cut-and-paste sensibilities of hip hop and mash-up culture with conventional songwriting, underpinned by Dave Longstreth’s vocals. Bandmembers have come and gone but Longstreth remains at the front, this time leaning hard on the boyband crooning that’s always existed in his voice. The absence of Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian’s vocals are felt strongly, but the ghost of the former lingers in Longstreth’s heartbreak songs, and record highlights Up In Hudson and Little Bubble . That the album is self-titled suggests a return to first principles – it’s a hard reboot that promises this franchise has got life left in it yet. (Domino) Jake Cleland

Japandroids Near To The Wild Heart Of Life The poetic nonsense that made Japandroids’ first two albums so exquisitely inscrutable is gone on Near To The Wild Heart Of Life . In its place is naked pop lyricism about bars and cars and last calls and long nights that only furthers their goal of becoming the pop-punk Bruce Springsteens. Some things stay the same: drummer David Prowse is still there, wailing on the tubs and whoa-ohing on the mics, and North American highways still set the scene for King’s search for meaning. But musically, they broaden way out: around their usual power chord barrage is everything from country jangle to synth-rock. If Celebration Rock mirrored the optimism of its time, Wild Heart mirrors the mood of its era too: more sombrr, searching, and finding

There’s something in Menzingers singer Tom May’s familiar vocals that just feels like home. Like the sound of your bestie screaming their lungs out next to you at a gig, they’re carefree and totally joyous in their lack of restraint. The band's fifth full length After the Party feels fabulously fresh, and these Scranton locals still manage to create memorable melodies with ridiculous ease; it’s only the sentiment behind the album that feels just a little worn and well- used at this point. “This album is us saying ‘We don’t have to grow up and get boring’", May has explained. “We can have a good time doing what we love”. (Epitaph) Emily Kelly

hope in small victories. (Inertia) Jake Cleland

Run The Jewels RTJ3 The hip hop collaboration of Atlanta legend Killer Mike and Brooklyn production wizard/rapper Jaime “El-P” Meline shows no sign of slowing down. Their latest record is raging against the machine, the establishment and anybody else that gets in their way. El-P’s production is more ambitious than ever before; it’s more layered than the first two records and hits every peak and pit perfectly. Stand-out details include the pinball drumbeat in Call Tickerton and the percussion in Legend Has It – speaking of, if the bass line on the latter wasn’t spawned from the deepest pits of hell, we need to redefine pure evil. Closer Kill Your Masters is a parting shot, a middle finger to everyone and a rallying call to all Jewel Runners: run ‘em. (Sony)Tim Lambert

Sepultura Machine Messiah Despite my fandom, my interest in Sepultura post- Chaos AD has fallen dramatically. Machine Messiah has changed things. The defining factor lies in guitarist Andreas Kisser putting in the hard yards to not only deliver memorable guitar solos – which are exceptional by the way – but much-improved riffs that add to better songs. Another surprise is Derrick Green’s vocals, which for the first time, are definitely more hit than miss. As always there is a fair amount of experimentation and the tribal influences aren’t too far away, but Sepultura has hit a creative peak with Machine Messiah . It’s not 1991, but Sepultura have found their mojo

Kreator Gods Of Violence

A new Kreator album will always be of interest to me, but it also arrives with a lack of excitement because I know what to expect. The truth is, Gods Of Violence is interchangeable with any of its predecessors, be it Phantom Antichrist , Hordes Of Chaos or Enemy Of God . 2001’s Violent Revolution reenergised the band and it appears that Kreator has been rewriting said album over and over again. Gods Of Violence has all the qualities many admire in the band – the riffs, the melody and Mille Petrozza’s acid filled vocal attack – but it’s hardly inspired. Gods Of Violence is solid; no more, no less. (Nuclear Blast/Caroline) Simon Lukic

again and it’s impressive. (Nuclear Blast/Caroline) Simon Lukic

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