STACK #179 Sept 2019

MUSIC

REVIEWS

Alex Cameron Miami Memory While 2017’s Forced Witness

Sui Zhen Losing, Linda "Imagine you are falling. But there is no ground." Filmmaker and writer Hito Steyerl talks about life and art in the internet age. It's easy to get vertigo as days scroll before our eyes in one long endless feed – easy to get lost as well in screen-based distractions and virtual spaces, even if we do have Google Maps. Losing, Linda is an album, but alongside Sui Zhen's Living Memory website it's also a guide for crossing the data streams and information clouds where we leave traces of ourselves behind. The scope of Sui Zhen's work is vast, and intimate. Losing, Linda "examines loss on multiple levels – from the death of our loved ones, to our widespread societal tendency to disappear within the ones and zeroes of modern life's tech-driven rush." Sui Zhen finds a more human pace in these songs. Bossa nova rhythms, melancholic dance beats, and synth-led melodies echo memories of earlier decades just as they map new pathways through pop. (Dot Dash) SimonWinkler Summer Flake Seasons Change On Seasons Change , Adelaide-via- Melbourne musician Stephanie Crase rounds out a trilogy of heart-wrenching albums under her Summer Flake moniker. Driven by striking guitars and Crase’s sweet yet assured vocal, Summer Flake songs are fraught with feelings of malaise and anxiety as they chronicle periods of growth. Heaven Knows captures these feelings best, serving as a cornerstone of the album. Try Me Now on the other hand is cutting in its delivery, while You’re A Star provides a satisfying journey that comes full circle upon reaching its climax. While Crase taps into universal emotions and moods, she does so in a way that feels uniquely her own, a talent that is worth repeated listens.

spawned tiresome arguments over how much of the loathsome subject matter was Alex Cameron, The Man vs Alex Cameron, The Persona, it was no doubt singularly confronting. Lyrically, Miami Memory is no less invested in the rust on society’s chrome facade. Musically, it’s likewise less glossy: still foregrounding Cameron’s whisper- crooning and business associate Roy Molloy’s moonlit sax stylings, Miami Memory roughens the edges in a way that suggests both still yearn for the backstreets and messy buroughs. Operating in a grand tradition of romantic putrefaction, Miami Memory knows that while Times Square’s all cleaned up, the

Sampa The Great The Return This one's for the history books. In 2019, after years of anticipation, Sampa The Great releases her landmark debut album. It's an arrival, a statement of intent. And it's also, of course, The Return . Sampa The Great first landed with The Great Mixtape back in 2015, an unforgettable introduction filled with soul, jazz, funk and blues. Each song felt like a thrilling

discovery, revealing the craft of a dedicated student and pioneering spirit. So it was again with AMP-winning follow-up Birds and the BEE9 . Final Form , released only a couple of months ago, was the first signal of what to expect from Sampa's official debut. The single struck like lightning; thrilling horn stabs, thunderous drum breaks, and Sampa's unmistakable vocals: "Young veteran, new classic." The Return is the sound of a globe-traveling artist finding home within herself. Songs explore themes of freedom, expression, heritage and displacement. It celebrates the power of pure poetry, and moves with ease across styles and traditions, spanning neo-soul, classic hip hop, gospel, and spiritual jazz. (NinjaTune) SimonWinkler

grime is in the heart. (Secretly Canadian) Jake Cleland

Devendra Banhart Ma Devendra Banhart leans further into his experimental inclinations on Ma , the Venezuelan-American songwriter’s tenth record. Possessing a warmth and charm that is immediate, Banhart’s vocals are feather-light but heavy with emotion, a juxtaposition that flows naturally from the worldly themes Banhart explores through his buoyant, often playful compositions. Utilising English, Spanish and Portuguese languages, Banhart tells 13 distinct tales that are rich with instrumental texture and narrative detail. There are plenty of stirring moments on the record, from the gloriously evocative Love Song to the delicate longing on closing track Will I See You Tonigh t, a duet with Vashti Bunya. Ma serves as a perfect summation of Banhart’s exquisite talent and joins a canon of dynamic yet considered musical output. (Nonesuch) Holly Pereira

Charli XCX Charli Charli Aitchison recently tweeted “I’ve been kinda a chart flop recently but… honestly, I’m iconic.” It’s true: at a time when top-tier pop acts are finally recovering from a few awkward years, Charli XCX has been more consistent and self-assured than just about anyone. And self-titling an album is a sure sign: navigating anxiety and broken hearts, Charli is galaxy- huge in its ambitions to capture the fraughtness and precarity of slamming into your upper 20s at the same time that the world is going through a catastrophic crisis. If global warming is going to heat up the globe, at least 1999 is a worthy song for the forever-summer. (Atlantic/Warner) Jake Cleland

Bag Raiders Horizons

We, in this generation, entomb our one-hit wonders in memes, giving them new life beyond the hollow rememberings available to past eras. And so nine years after Shooting Stars , two years after its memetic revival, Bag Raiders are back to cement their spot in the present. The bad news? There’s no Shooting Stars Pt. II Redux here. The good news? The Sydney duo have compiled a record of nu-disco that breathes vivid life back into the genre. Twelve exquisite tracks prove that Horizons is no rush job to capitalise on hype, but carefully formed over the past few years of releases. Constantly delightful, Horizons shows Bag Raiders have lots left to give. (Island/Universal) Jake Cleland

(Rice Is Nice) Holly Pereira

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