STACK NZ Oct #78

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Drive-By Truckers American Band

Tove Lo Lady Wood

Whether or not Donald Trump makes it to the White House, his rise – and the divisions in US society he is fostering – is working wonders in reawakening the political consciousness of a host of US bands. And the fiery new album from these Southern rockers is one of the best examples of this yet. Although there has always been a political element to their work, with American Band the Drive-By Truckers have delivered a furious state-of-the-nation broadside against the injustice they see around them, from racial tensions (the accordian-flavoured What It Means ) to corrupt evangelists (the joyful bar-room boogie of Kinky Hypocrites ). It might just be their best album yet. John Ferguson

This is one of those rare cases in music when the album title actually gives you insight into the content on the disc – it’s evocative ( Cool Girl ), suggestive ( Influence ), and insane(ly good). Lady Wood most notably features the aforementioned single Cool Girl , which doesn’t get any less haunting following consecutive listens – especially once you find out that the track was inspired by events in the similarly mind- bending Gone Girl. With the Swedish singer also featuring on a collab with Aussie DJ Flume on Say It earlier this year, you can expect to hear some of ol' Harley's influence in Tove Lo's latest. Old Habits die hard – it’s a great new release. Alesha Kolbe

Bon Iver 22, A Million

Before the fame, the headlining world tours, Grammy wins and parties with Kanye and Jay-Z, there was Justin Vernon, playing obscure bars in his hometown of Wisconsin with wide-eyed questions of the world and dreams of stardom. What happens when you reach the peaks of fame, have all your

questions answered, and find they aren’t the answers you’re looking for? That is where the 35-year-old multi-instrumentalist finds himself on 22, A Million , his third and most decisive album as Bon Iver. Questioning losses of love, faith and morality, it's a record set up on binaries: suffering and redemption, pain and love, sacrosanctity and ambiguity. With it, Vernon delivers his most diverse and experimental record to date. “Are you going to look for confirmation?” Vernon howls in the dramatic opener 22 (OVER S ∞∞ N) , setting the tone of the record’s struggle with the singer’s self- confidence – something he has always fought with. Not since Radiohead’s Kid A or Kanye West’s Yeezus have we heard an album that disregards your expectations while pulling you closer to the artist’s intimate, grand purpose. Holy yet sacrilegious, grandiose while humble, relentlessly vulnerable. Tim Lambert

MUSIC

Pixies Head Carrier God, this album starts well. So well, you’d be excused for thinking the title-track opener was a forgotten cut that may have fallen off Doolittle or Surfer Rosa with that trademark fuzz, indie-beat and off-kilter vocal delivery with anger and aggression that infects the mind and causes a nostalgic smile. Baal’s Back certainly has a great bunch of shouting from Mr Francis and sharp guitar harmonics too, yet the rest of the album lacks that, well, dangerous spark. Having no Kim, perhaps, can account for that. More like a Frank Black solo with music that sounds like the Pixies, rather than that jolt of electric fear and wonder you know so well, and should demand. Still, it’s better than a swift kick to the nuts. Chris Murray

The Beat Bounce Technically, this is the first

Beth Hart Fire On The Floor Among the great singers of her generation, Beth Hart's new album – the most musically varied of her two-decade career – was recorded in three days with an all- star band that included guitarists Waddy Wachtel, Michael Landau and Dean Parks, drummer Rick Marotta and keyboardist Ivan Neville. Gritty, soulful and totally believable, Hart runs the gamut of genre, jazz on Coca Cola , a nod to Billie Holiday, salsa (the horn- driven Let's Get Together ) blues on Love Is A Lie and the revealing title track: "Love is a fever and it's burning me alive..." Billy Pinnell

Darkthrone Arctic Thunder After a three-year absence,

album from the Ranking Roger- led The Beat in more than 30 years, although his estranged co-founder Dave Wakeling would probably disagree (an album from his English Beat is also in the pipeline). Leading aside the messy divorce – and we haven’t even mentioned original members Andy Cox and Dave Steele, who went on to form Fine Young Cannibals – Bounce offers a jolly skip down memory lane, a most agreeable blend of clipped ska rhythms and jangly pop. The lyrics don’t bear close scrutiny, but Roger is in fine voice throughout and his son Ranking Junior adds a grittier new urban dimension to their sound. Over to you now, Dave… John Ferguson

Norway’s most contentious heavy metal band return with another studio album. Starting as a thrash metal act in the late '80s and then navigating their sound through the annals of death metal and black metal styles, the last decade has seen Fenriz and Nocturnal Culto settle on a traditional heavy metal format. This time around, Arctic Thunder takes Darkthrone’s sound back to the origins of extreme metal, recalling the style of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. Arctic Thunder finds the duo mining the past to great affect, so kick back and enjoy the ride. Simon Lukic

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