STACK #180 Oct 2019

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Dyson Stringer Cloher Dyson Stringer Cloher Dyson Stringer Cloher might sound like a law firm, but it’s actually a Melbourne indie supergroup – Mia Dyson, Liz Stringer and Jen Cloher. Their self-titled debut has a fabulous slacker-pop vibe, punctuated by exquisite harmonies: check out the achingly beautiful Can’t Take Back . The album opens with an ode to their inspiration: “Falling Joys, The Clouds – a killer double bill, ’91 – never heard guitars so loud …You kicked the door wide open, so I could walk on to that stage.” Now, nearly three decades later, these three artists are inspiring a new generation. Supergroups don’t always work, but this is a winner. (Milk! Records) Jeff Jenkins

Ali Barter Hello, I'm Doing My Best 2017’s A Suitable Girl felt like a breakthrough for Ali Barter after a decade of diligent work. Jacked up on pop-punk fizz and vinegar, Barter wore confidence well, driving its blunt force assault with the force of personality. Here, the project is still revitalising '90s alt-rock (big guitars, bigger drums, and bass lines that curl around the listener like marionette strings) but Barter allows more of her sombre and contemplative past work new space to live. If A Suitable Girl was Barter breaking new ground, Hello, I’m Doing My Best is her planting the flag.

Underground Lovers A Left Turn A Left Turn ? Melbourne’s Underground Lovers have always followed their own GPS. They’ve continually been on the fringes of the Australian music party – the slightly awkward but eternally cool kids in the corner. Their 10th album opens with a song called Feels Like Yesterday , a reminder that it’s 27 years since the Underground Lovers won the ARIA Award

for Best NewTalent. Second song, Bells , is the archetypal Undies track, a hypnotic piece of pulsating electro pop. Vincent Giarrusso and guitarist Glenn Bennie continue to create stunning soundscapes – it’s one of the more remarkable partnerships in Australian music. And Philippa Nihill’s vocals are the perfect counterpoint to Giarrusso’s voice: she’s dreamy, he’s dark and direct. The result is thrilling. This is a wonderfully immersive experience. Produced by long-time collaborator Wayne Connolly – who also helmed the band’s most acclaimed album, 1992’s Leaves Me Blind – A Left Turn shifts seamlessly from the stark electronica of Soft Animal to the gloriously anthemic Seven Day Weekend . The record concludes with a track called Rocky Endings , but the strength of these songs shows there’s a lot of wear left in these Undies. (Rubber) Jeff Jenkins

(Inertia/PIAS) Jake Cleland

Angel Olsen All Mirrors

Boy & Bear Suck On Light The darkest hour is just before the dawn. After two chart-topping albums, Boy & Bear seemed to disappear. It turns out that singer Dave Hosking was battling a crippling illness, which left him fatigued and distressed. “I was in a real dire state,” he reveals on the title track of the band’s first album in four years. “I was in the most awkward of ways.” Then, on the aptly titled Hold Your Nerve , he confides, “I was not right … it left me broke.” But from the depths of despair, Boy & Bear have delivered a life-affirming album. “Something inside me is changing,” Hosking declares in Suck On Light , an anthem of recovery. “Stirring up the life in

Allah-Las LAHS The title of Allah-Las' fourth LP

Kim Gordon No Home Record

references a common misspelling of their band name, and LAHS – with its mellifluous melodies and outstanding musicianship throughout – is their best yet. Opener Holding Pattern sashays in with bohemian Spill The Wine vibes before Simon & Garfunkel-esque harmonies take flight. After winking at S-S-S-Single Bed 's cheeky guitar riff, Keeping Dry ushers in a vocal melody that snorts Eric Clapton's Cocaine . It's multilingual, too: Japanese spoken-word infiltrates Royal Blues , and Prazer EmTe Conhecer (Nice To Meet You) – sung in Portuguese by drummer Matt Correia – could be Girls On The Avenue ’s classy, Southern-European cousin sauntering across mosaic pavements aprés boozy lunch. This sophisticated collection of itinerant tunes is best served poolside with cocktails and canapés. (Mexican Summer/Rocket) Bryget Chrisfield

Three years on from her ground breaking record My Woman , Angel Olsen returns with the cinematic All Mirrors , the latest documentation of the acclaimed songwriter’s life, laments and loves. There’s plenty of growth between the two records, personally and even more so musically, with Olsen making further forays into strings and synths for some truly show- stopping moments – one of which hits you in the first six minutes of the album on opening track Lark . The tenderness that characterised Olsen’s early work is still present too, with Endgame a delicately stirring penultimate track. On All Mirrors , Olsen surpasses our expectations, producing a record of great emotional depth and soul.

As one of the most recognisable bassists in music, Kim Gordon’s legacy was already truly cemented prior to No Home Record , her debut solo release. The album is a powerful artistic statement, with Gordon exploring industrial sounds and spoken word manifestos with fierce intent. Air BnB and Murdered Out are frenzied electric shocks to the system, while Cookie Butter and Get Yr Life Back are executed with immaculate control via Gordon’s distinctive vocal. Here we have Gordon reasserting herself as a daring and uncompromising artist, confirming once and for all that she is one of the most vital artists of our generation. (Matador Records/Remote Control) Holly Pereira

me.” Welcome back. (Island/Universal) Jeff Jenkins

(Jagjaguwar) Holly Pereira

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OCTOBER 2019

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