STACK #152 Jun 2017

REVIEWS MUSIC

Underground Lovers Staring At You Staring At Me Underground Lovers’ eighth album features a song called The Rerun , but the Undies (what a gloriously Aussie name for a sophisticated band!) are not trading on past glories. No midlife crisis here; the six-piece remain vibrant, delivering thrilling, unpredictable soundscapes on a distinctly Melbourne album. Indeed, the working title was Melbournism , and the opening cut, St Kilda Regret , is a footy song of sorts. “I love my team,” Philippa Nihill declares, “but not after what they’ve done to me.” That said, Underground Lovers have never quite fitted into the local scene; they have always made music for the world. And they do it brilliantly. (Rubber) Jeff Jenkins

Helen Shanahan Every Little Sting

You might not know the name but Perth’s Helen Shanahan is as good as it gets when it comes to confessional songwriting. “I wasn’t born to be wild,” she admits in opening cut, Camouflaged . Indeed, Shanahan is an unlikely pop star, with her debut album documenting a battle with anxiety – “Paper thin,” she sings, “oh, how I wish I could throw it all in.” American producer Brad Jones (Missy Higgins, Melody Pool) provides a pop sheen, but scratch the surface and you’ll discover genuine depth. File next to Lisa Loeb, Sarah McLachlan and Aimee Mann; Every Little Sting is one of this year’s great adult

alt-J RELAXER. If the English trio’s intentions were to 'out alt-J’ themselves, they have succeeded – immerse yourself in 40 minutes of a meticulously curated, effortlessly poised soundscape, thanks to these supremely talented aural architects. Before you even have a chance to notice, you’ll be half way through RELAXER. – the record begins with the

subtle hypnotism of opener 3WW , then comes the rousing, ever-building brass climax of In Cold Blood , and it's followed by the painstaking detail of House Of The Rising Sun . The latter, made famous in 1964 by The Animals, is hardly a cover – the original has been torn down and rebuilt from its desperate core with the help of a 20-piece symphony. The Bee Gees-esque falsetto on the electro-gothic Deadcrush will leave you short of breath singing along; thankfully low-key number Adeline follows it. Not often do records peak in their final moments, but like a hike up a densely jagged mountain range, the album's zenith appears in its conclusion – the concise and crushing crescendo of finale Pleader . (Liberation)Tim Lambert

contemporary albums. (MGM) Jeff Jenkins

DragonForce Reaching Into Infinity

Papa Roach Crooked Teeth

House Vs. Hurricane Filth They may not be back on a permanent basis but post-hardcore outfit House Vs. Hurricane have post-hardcore into the Australian mainstream. It's the first taste of new material since 2012’s genre- defining Crooked Teeth , and they've matured – now husbands, fathers and business owners. Musically though (and this is a good thing) HVH are their same pit-crushing punks you remember. The title track is vintage HVH, unrelenting and unforgiving; Greasepoint ’s clean vocals add necessary balance to an otherwise savage onslaught of sound; and Braindead doesn’t drop below 150km per hour. The thing I really love about this record is the band’s less is more approach, refusing to be sucked into the over- production that many of their peers fall for. (UNFD)Tim Lambert returned with Filth, a savage reminder of how they took

Pallbearer Heartless Pallbearer continue to excel within the doom metal field.

DragonForce turned heads when they released their debut Valley Of The Damned in 2003. Immediate virtuosos, the band got a lot of attention for the insane tempos at which they performed – I’m talking fast , like 220bpm, which perplexed many. As a result, DragonForce quickly stood out amongst their power metal contemporaries. Come to think of it, they were the only power metal band to cross over, appealing to both Machine Head and Trivium fans as well those into Helloween or Iron Maiden. Reaching Into Infinity is their seventh studio album and it’s business as usual; There are no real surprises, just a solid DragonForce album from beginning to end. (Sony) Simon Lukic

While nu-metal is widely regarded as a blemish on the musical canon, there’s no getting past the fact that it’s yielded some of the best workout music of the modern age. Themes of weakness ultimately trumped by perseverance set to furious rhythms, and borrowing the aspirational self-beliefs of hip hop and the pummel of heavy metal, have embedded genre icons like Papa Roach in well-worn gym playlists. On Crooked Teeth , they sweat with the best. Whether working in-house or with guest vocalists Skylar Grey (familiar to rap and nu-metal fans for collabs with Fort Minor and Diddy) and Machine Gun Kelly, Papa Roach’s ninth album is an unstoppable force. (CookingVinyl) Jake Cleland

Their third studio album Heartless may be a little more polished and smoother around the edges than its predecessors, but its power is never lacking – huge riffs merge with delicate melodies to create a sound that is all-encompassing. Pallbearer let their music do the talking, and it’s that attitude that makes the band so downright cool. Doom metal may not be the most cheerful genre in the world, but it is cathartic, and Pallbearer are certainly that. Far from heartless, Pallbearer’s latest effort is all soul. (Nuclear Blast/Caroline) Simon Lukic

19