STACK #151 May 2017

MUSIC NEWS

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of what the spirit of the records was, particularly the second and third. The second one was really the result of the first being so huge, and feeling like, man, I just want to make music for fun without the pressure… you feel that brattiness on that record. The third was the result of a super painful breakup. This record, it feels like it’s right on the surface…

chasm,” Crow says. “If I had a crystal ball… I don’t know how long humanity is going to be able to sustain this way of living, or if it’s going to have to get a lot worse before it ultimately changes.” (The person hollering “Roller skaters!” on that track is Jeff Trott: “I’m from a really small

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SHERYL CROW

INTERVIEW

town, so we used to roller skate a lot; it’s where you went and hooked up with people – they’d get on the mic, “Roller skaters, let’s dance.”) Love Will Save The Day is the most moving ballad you’ll have heard in ages, and features the breathy chords of a harmonium. “That song was the result of a really tragic situation with

T here are a few little identifiers that make a song distinctly 'Sheryl Crow', and you can find the major one on the title track of the folk- rock-blues icon’s new album, Be Myself . It’s the way she bends the ends of her phrases: they swing up, almost like an Australian inflection, or they curve down, like she’s finishing a spoken sentence. It’s such an innate style, in fact, that Crow doesn’t even realise she does it. “That is funny,” she laughs. “I remember doing a master class at Dartmouth, and one of the things we were talking about was what creates [a vocalist’s] original sound – a lot of the time it’s the intervals they choose. I’m completely not conscious of doing that.” You can hear those conversational bends through Crow’s past nine albums, and in preparation for her tenth, she says she revisited them – but only a few. “I can safely say I never listen to my records – that would be torture,” she smiles. “But I wanted to remind myself

there [are] so many things weighing on everybody’s minds here [in America].” Utilising the talents of Jeff Trott – Crow’s producer, whom she’s known for 23 years and describes as her “musical husband” – the musician’s latest album does engage with current

Be Myself by Sheryl Crow is out now via Warner.

socio-political issues (just check out the video for the single Halfway There featuring Gary Clark Jr., and notice which political leader’s bobble head is the only one not bobbing). Woo Woo is a cheeky feminist anthem; the awesome knocking cowbell and sweet glock of Grow Up make it sound like a Sky Ferreira hit; and Roller Skate questions whether the lack of human connection in kids’ lives might affect them badly in the long run. “[Technology] may keep us connected but it also creates a massive

this young boy – he was 14 – who committed suicide,” Crow explains. “His parents, they’re a couple that I’ve met. It was one of those things that really made me stop and think how difficult it must be growing up in this day and age. It’s already hard to grow up, but to have the pressures that these kids have now… that song was inspired by this idea that you’re never alone – even when you’re so convinced that you’re alone, you’re never really alone. It just takes someone reminding you of that.” ZKR

INTERVIEW

BAD//DREEMS A lex Cameron has a special skill whereby if you ask him

a definite DMA’s feel to it – was conceived while on tour in 2015. “I can distinctly remember,” he says, “that we were in Brisbane at the Woolly Mammoth soundcheck. Ben just started playing those opening chords you hear, and then one by one every member of the band joined in, and we all just seemed to play the right thing. It was a chance [for me] to play a bit of guitar that was a bit psychedelic and random. I’m really looking forward to playing it live because it’s one of my favourites.” Another blue-chip cut is the excellent Nice Guy , the message behind which Cameron doesn’t hesitate to explain. “It’s basically about the problem with male aggression, and domestic violence, and poor behaviour by men, which is a big thing in the world that needs to be changed,” he says. “It’s often excused by people around those guys, you know: ‘He’s a nice guy.’ I think it’s a very terrible thing that’s been engrained in our culture for a long time.” ZKR

naked, start dancing, and then have your nose start spontaneously bleeding. “I don’t think he completed the take because he burst out laughing. But it worked: after that he did the next take, and that was the take.” For concerned fans: Cameron doesn’t usually get random

for [opener Johnny Irony ] and he wasn’t really in the zone,” Cameron explains. “He was struggling with it, even though it’s a pretty up-tempo track. With any takes in the

about any particular teeny detail in one of Bad//Dreems’ tracks, he can tell you where he was when it spawned in the band’s brain. “I mean, I have a terrible memory for a lot of things – the important, day-to-day things,” he says. “But in terms of music and melody, I can kind of remember things easily. I guess because I’m always thinking about songwriting… I'm always going back to writing in my head.” It makes talking about the band’s excellent second album Gutful extremely easy; there are no vagaries about inspiration or motivation, just nail-on-head explanations – and at the time of our conversation, the guitarist is at a surgeon’s conference in Auckland. Funnily enough, the first thing we hear on Gutful is body horror-related: it’s vocalist Ben Marwe, asking incredulously “Are you bleeding?” "Well, Ben was doing the vocals

Gutful by Bad//Dreems is out now via Ivy League.

studio sometimes, you’re trying to link the actual work and energy of a particular time and place, and you’ve got to get into the mindset. So I thought I’d try and inspire him.” And the way to inspire Ben is, apparently, strip

nosebleeds, but “considering the subject matter of that song it was kind of appropriate.” Utilising Cameron’s magical mental compass, he reveals that stand-out track 1000 Miles Away – a guitar-heavy romp with

TOURING 08/06 - 17/06

Read the full interview online at stack.net.au

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MAY 2017

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