STACK #157 Nov 2017

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Mondo Rock The Complete Anthology In the glory days of Australian pub rock, Mondo Rock stood out because they weren’t afraid to be soft and sophisticated. Sure, they could rock out like everyone else – check out No Time , Baby Wants To Rock and Aliens Walk Among Us – but guitarist Eric McCusker had a knack for crafting timeless pop, with classics such as State Of The Heart , Come Said The Boy , Chemistry and Summer of ’81 , while singer Ross Wilson delivered perverse pop pleasures like Mondo Sexo and The Modern Bop . This two-CD, 30-song collection shows that Mondo Rock should have conquered the world. This is primo Mondo. (Bloodlines/Mushroom) Jeff Jenkins Polaris The Mortal Coil Hype? Pfft, what’s that? On The Mortal Coil , Sydney metalcore band Polaris will have you thinking you’re listening to 10-year veterans. Solemn cuts In Somnus Veritas and Dusk To Day do their best to slow the tempo but the dizzying peaks of the opening tracks leave you pining for more of that whirring energy. Most interesting is the tug-o-war between guitarists Rick Schneider and Ryan Siew – I like to imagine it as an epic, skyward battle between Goku and Vegeta, or the final fight between Voldemort and Harry. Either way, the dual riffs add an extra dimension to the record, almost as if there was a third vocalist. Polaris aren’t just holding a light to the bands that now define the Australian metalcore scene; they’ve grabbed the torch off them, ready to lead a new generation fist first into the moshpit. (Resist/CookingVinyl) Tim Lambert

Mavis Staples If All I Was Was Black

I can only imagine how singer Mavis Staples must have felt in early August when Neo-Nazis marched with swastika flags in Charlottesville, Virginia, as a young woman was murdered. Mavis, now 78, and in her eighth decade of singing, began performing in her father's gospel group The Staple Singers as a child during which she saw the ugly side of racist America. This album, her third collaboration with songwriter/ producer and Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy, consists of 10 songs about contemporary America today. “Nothing has changed," Mavis sings. "There's evil in the world; they lie." God bless Mavis Staples. (CookingVinyl) Billy Pinnell

Weezer Pacific Daydream Picture this: Rivers Cuomo in a Hawaiian shirt, piña colada in hand, singing songs on a beach at the end of the world. The Californian group’s 11th studio album started off, in planning, as the elusive The Black Album (as described by Cuomo during interviews for 2016's The White Album ), but somewhere along the way it became

a little more tropical and Pacific Daydream was born. While the vibe has definitely shifted from its Grammy-nominated preceder, Pacific Daydream is still undoubtedly a Weezer record – led, as ever, by Cuomo’s songwriting knack. There are feel good moments throughout the 10-track effort, whether it‘s Beach Boys ’ plucky, throwback bass, the nonchalant whistling harmonies on Feels Like Summer or the ridiculousness of the timpani and guiro that ring out through Sweet Mary . On the surface, Weezer have created a cloudless, upbeat record, but further listening leaves you wondering what the quartet are trying to escape from. Happy Hour offers some bleak context: "I need Happy Hour/ On sad days," Cuomo hums. "I think I can stay here for the rest of my life/ Please don't make me go home." They say every holiday has to come to an end eventually; at least we will have Weezer forever. (Atlantic/Warner)Tim Lambert

Lee Ann Womack The Lonely, The Lonesome & the Gone Lee Ann Womack is a well respected and awarded American country singer with a career spanning 20 plus years, known for her neo-traditionalist and pop country sounds. On her ninth studio album, she sidesteps Nashville and takes her producer husband Frank Liddell and band back to her roots of East Texas. Shacking up at the legendary SugarHill Recording studio in Houston, Womack offers up a country blues vibe that is loose and live. She blends country, soul, gospel and blues on 11 co-writes and three covers, reliving George Jones, Harlan Howard and Lefty Frizzell. Soulful and real is howWomack sounds her best. (ATO/PIAS) Denise Hylands

Fanny Lumsden Real Class Act

The Cactus Channel Stay A While Melbourne’s rock and electronic acts might define the city for most onlookers, but anyone who’s seen the likes of Saskwatch, The Bamboos, and indeed The Cactus Channel knows how strong the city’s got it for funk and soul. Stay AWhile is the Channel’s third album and might be their most accessible: Lewis Coleman’s vocals give what were previously elaborate instrumental tracks something to grab the casual ear, but they’re no afterthought. Twisting and drawing his syllables out over tracks that range from groovy to ghoulish, it’s a whole new adventure for the band. While these parts would be impressive on their own, Stay AWhile is

Fanny Lumsden is a real country gal; having grown up in rural NSW, she sings about it proud and true. With her alt-country sounds of rollicking good times and heartfelt realities, she offers a vibrant, fresh take on country music. Her songs reflect the thousands of miles travelled with her band touring small country towns, and her upbringing in bucolic Australia. This crowdfunded sophomore album has already debuted at #1 on the ARIA Country Album charts, making it the very first independent release to do so… now that’s saying something. With go-to producer Matt Fell and an incredibly talented band of musicians, Lumsden proves herself to be a real class act. (Independent) Denise Hylands

much more than the sum. (Hopestreet Recordings) Jake Cleland

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