STACK #153 Jul 2017

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Raised by Eagles I Must be Somewhere

Major Leagues Good Love Think Best Coast meets Pavement and you’ll get Major Leagues, Brisbane’s much loved lo-fi quartet who have released their much anticipated debut album Good Love . Across 12 tracks the band pair catchy hooks, breezy guitar lines and bittersweet lyrics guaranteed to win the heart of every indie music lover, while showing off their impressive skill as musicians. A track like It Was Always You would be a perfect addition to the soundtrack of film starring Michael Cera, while closing track HowWill The Heart Know? is equal parts melancholy and uplifting. Good Love is an album to cherish and the perfect entry point to a band who have big

After two acclaimed indie albums, Melbourne roots rockers Raised By Eagles have signed a record deal and delivered a swaggeringly assured third album. Fronted by two fine singers and guitarists – Luke Sinclair and Nick O’Mara (with production duties handled by Nick’s cousin, Melbourne guitar legend Shane O’Mara) – the sound is classic Americana: no gadgets,

Tex, Don and Charlie You Don’t Know Lonely

A pattern seems to be emerging here. Tex Perkins, Don Walker and Charlie Owen released their first album together, Sad But True, in 1993. The follow- up, All Is Forgiven, arrived in 2005, and now comes their third offering, so it looks like we’re getting an album every 12 years. “I’ve never been a company

man,” Walker declares at the start of the record. Indeed, he’s always been a beautiful contrarian. This collaboration is also a great outfit for Perkins, who’s like the Jack Thompson or Russell Crowe of the rock world, possessing a voice with perfect pitch and resonance. It’s a storyteller’s voice, and these are gripping stories. It’s not a cheery record, even if the closing cut is a slice of Aussie gospel called How Good Is Life. The men in these songs are not necessarily bad, but they’re not entirely good, either. A Man In Conflict With Nature tells the tale of a guy who gets lucky at the greyhounds, but then finds himself with no money for a taxi home after squandering his winnings on “three hookers and some sushi”. You Don’t Know Lonely is compelling from go to whoa – or woe, you could say. Can’t wait for the fourth album, in 2029. (Emi/Universal) Jeff Jenkins

no studio trickery, just real musicians playing real good songs on real instruments.

Sounds almost revolutionary in 2017. Get this one on vinyl and file next to Ryan Adams, Jason Isbell and The Dingoes. Yep, it’s that good. I Must Be Somewhere: Raised By Eagles have arrived.

things ahead of them. (Pop Frenzy/Inertia) Holly Pereira

ABC/Universal Jeff Jenkins

Steve Earle So You Want to be an Outlaw Steve Earle promised his next album would be country, and here it is: loaded with twanging pedal steel, swinging fiddle and Earle playing a ’66 Fender Telecaster, channeling Waylon Jennings, to whom this album is dedicated. With his highly talented band The Dukes, he pays homage to the country outlaws who’ve been his longtime inspiration. Joined by Willie Nelson, Johnny Bush and Miranda Lambert, songs range from dealing with his recent divorce, to honouring his good friend, the late Guy Clark. A deluxe issue features songs by Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver and Jennings. Keeping the 'outlaw' in country...

Josh Pyke The Best Of, B-Sides & Rarities

Tommy Emmanuel Live! At the Ryman In February 2016, Tommy Emmanuel fulfilled a life-long dream, playing his first solo show at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. Inspired by Nashville guitar legends Chet Atkins and Merle Travis, Emmanuel has achieved world-wide recognition for his complex finger-style acoustic guitar technique, captured magnificently on this recording. Among original songs are inventive arrangements of compositions by Travis, Doc Watson, Merle Haggard, in addition to Classical Gas, Over The Rainbow, and a Beatles medley that includes While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Emmanuel adds vocals here and there, while Nashville guitarists Steve Wariner and John Knowles make cameo appearances. (Sony) Billy Pinnell

Grinspoon Guide to Better Living

They were young, they were loud and they were brash. Grinspoon – Phil Jamieson, Pat Davern, Joe Hansen and Kristian Hopes – were alive on arrival when they landed with their debut album in 1997. The self-help title was just one example of the band’s sense of humour – the record also included a song called DC x 3 , which stood for 'Dead Cat 3 Times'. Filled with five singles, Guide To Better Living is a post- grunge classic – all manic energy and monstrous riffs. The 20th anniversary edition expands the original 16-song offering to 49 tracks, with B-sides, an unreleased song, plus the band live at legendary NY venue C.B.G.B, and the 1997 Falls Festival. Just Ace! (Universal) Jeff Jenkins

It’s a big year for Sydney’s Josh Pyke – he’s turning 40, celebrating the 10th anniversary of his debut album, and releasing his first compilation. This generous, 40-track collection, including two new songs, shows how prolific and consistent Pyke has been. A melody master, it’s astonishing that he’s had just two Top 40 singles – Memories & Dust and Lines On Palms – though all five studio albums have cracked the Top 10. Pyke’s folk-tinged suburban stories are like a cool breeze on a summer’s day – you can’t help but smile. If you’re yet to buy a Josh Pyke album, this is

the perfect place to start. (Ivy League/Universal) Jeff Jenkins

(Warner Music) Denise Hylands

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JULY 2017

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