STACK #155 Sep 2017

MUSIC REVIEWS

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The Bronx V Whether performing as their Mariachi alter egos or the original iteration of the band, authenticity has always shone through The Bronx's work. On the Los Angeles group's fifth album V , Dave Hidalgo Jr’s (replacing Jorma Vik on drums) first double-kick on opener Night Drop At The Glue Factory , is an unadulterated reminder of the power the five-piece possess; it rings in your ears and continues through the succeeding, equally riotous Stranger Danger . Side Effects and album closer Kingsize create the perfect middle zone between The Bronx and their Mariachi personas – singer Matt Caughtran’s signature clean vocal receives centre stage on the record's slower tracks. Older and wiser with a wider scope of the world around them, The Bronx have never shied away from a fight

Willie Watson Folksinger Vol. 2 Willie Watson is a modern day folksinger. A solo performer since parting ways with Old Crow Medicine Show, he has continued the revival of old time music with his unique performances and evocative old-style vocals, while his masterful guitar and banjo musicianship show respect to his musical passion. Folksinger Vol. 2 is a continuation of its Vol. 1 predecessor; there are no original songs, but it's a carefully curated collection of old and sometimes forgotten blues, gospel, and Appalachian folk songs. This time Watson is joined by the gospel sounds of The Fairfield Four, good friend Gillian Welch, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Morgan Jahnig, Punch Brothers' Paul Kowert, and producer Dave Rawlings. Old songs, for modern times. (Acony Records) Denise Hylands

The National Sleep Well Beast The National have been making concise, thoroughly thought-out albums for a long time now – from their 2001 self-titled debut, through 2007's breakthrough Boxer , up to 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me . On Sleep Well Beast – their seventh studio album – the Cincinnati band have adopted more of an ‘anything goes’ approach to experimenting/expanding their sound; The System Only

Dreams In Total Darkness ’ guitar solo (yes, a guitar solo in a song by The National) or the opening electronic shift of lead single Guilty Party lead the changes. Lyrically, frontman Matt Berninger’s vocals remain direct. Particularly in the self- medicating I’ll Still Destroy You to the self-deprecating Walk It Back , Berninger delivers sullen political and autobiographical commentary. “I better cut this off, don’t wanna f-ck it up” he mumbles on the latter, in his deepest baritone. On Day I Die he moans “I get a little punchy on the vodka like my great-uncle Valentine Jester did” – a glum but rewarding reference all the way back to Val Jester from 2005’s Alligator , answering long lingering questions about the origins of the former track's narrative. If I told you The National’s seventh album was full of dejected, beautiful songs, would you be surprised? Probably not. Would I be surprised that, after your first listen, this was your favourite album by the band? Absolutely not – SWB is a towering achievement. (Remote Control)Tim Lambert

before, and V is no exception. (CookingVinyl)Tim Lambert

Linda Ronstadt Simple Dreams: 40th Anniversary Edition

Son Little New Magic There’s always something old about magic – ancient rites, vintage curses, decrepit beauty and what have you. That’s the Americana acoustic guitar, jazz double bass, hand-slapped drums and analogue breakbeat accents to Aaron Livingston's (Son Little) sound. What makes his magic new is eclectic and carefully assembled details which are given space to breathe: hooting whistles layered just so, strange organ and synth voices, quivering electronic garnishes that ripple through the air like a sigh. Acoustic percussion is tucked between the layers of these unusual arrangements (unusual even in the small things, like Livingston taking the lowest part in a harmony while his back-up singers ring high), and despite the r’n’b sensibilities, you feel like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is crouching just behind the wall. Listen to this on headphones so you can hear every little drop going into the potion cauldron. (CookingVinyl) Zoë Radas

Van Morrison Roll With The Punches Van Morrison's affection for the blues, R&B, gospel and jazz music which he first heard on his parents' record player growing up in Belfast is palpable on his latest release; Roll With The Punches comprises five self-written songs and 10 covers of songs by legendary artists who inspired him interpretations of Sam Cooke's Bring It On Home To Me featuring a Jeff Beck guitar solo, duets with Georgie Fame (Count Basie's Goin' To Chicago ) and Chris Farlowe (T-Bone Walker's Stormy Monday and Ray Charles' Lonely Avenue ), and a rousing arrangement of Ruth Brown's hit to become a performer. Highlights include soulful

Dee Dee Bridgewater Memphis... Yes, I'm Ready Triple Grammy Award-winner and one of the greatest singers on the planet, Dee Dee Bridgewater, returned to Memphis – the city of her birth – to record her new album at Willie Mitchell's historic Royal Studios. The record's 13 tracks were all originally recorded at the iconic Studios by some of the greatest soul, blues and R&B singers of all time. Tracks include The Thrill Is Gone (B.B. King), I Can't Stand The Rain (Ann Peebles), Try A Little Tenderness (Otis Redding), Going Down Slow (Bobby "Blue" Bland), B.A.B.Y. (Carla Thomas), and Can't

Linda Ronstadt was the first lady of alternative country, performing from the mid-'60s to 2011 when she retired due to illness. Simple Dreams , her eighth album – which won a Grammy in '77, sold three million copies that year alone, and has never since been out of print – is 40 years old this year; to celebrate, it has been re-released fully remastered with the addition of three bonus live tracks. With her remarkable voice, Ronstadt sings songs by Roy Orbison ( Blue Bayou ), Jagger/Richards ( Tumbling Dice ) and Buddy Holly ( It’s So Easy ) amongst others, in her beautifully unique style. Ronstadt rarely wrote songs herself. She didn’t need to – she had an ability

Get Next To You (Al Green). One of 2017's outstanding releases. (Sony) Billy Pinnell

Teardrops From My Eyes . (Caroline) Billy Pinnell

to make any song her own. (Warner) Denise Hylands

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SEPTEMBER 2017

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