STACK #253 November 2025

FEATURE MUSIC

THIS MONTH?

SLASH Live At The S.E.R.P.E.N.T Festival ROCKET Duff McKagan is not the only Guns N’ Roses the Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado on July 17, 2024, and finds the guitarist celebrating the blues and rock, paying tribute to Elmore James, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, and Bob Dylan. Includes a new Slash original, Metal Chestnut . member to release a live album this month. Slash’s live set was recorded at

THE SMITH STREET BAND Once I Was Wild ROCKET

Melbourne’s The Smith Street Band have been a great success story since they started in 2010, with four Top 40

albums, including the 2020 chart-topper Don’t Waste Your Anger . Their seventh album finds them in fine rocking form, with singer Wil Wagner explaining that the title track is about “being innocent, stupid and free”. He sings: “Youth is wasted on the young, drink is wasted on the drunk. Nothing’s ever loud enough to properly drown the demons out.” Yep, nothing’s ever loud enough. But The Smith Street Band give it a good crack. Crank this one up.

I f you’re thinking about the perfect Christmas gift for someone who appreciates quality rock music, may I suggest you purchase The Jimi Hendrix Expe rience’s Bold As Love deluxe box set, available as either a five-vinyl LP plus Blu-ray or four-CD plus Blu-ray set? The expansive box set includes the original stereo and mono mixes of the entire 13-song Axis: Bold As Love album, originally released in 1967, in addition to 40 alternative versions, unreleased studio takes, demos, live tracks and television appearances, many of which have never seen the light of day. Jimi Hendrix was the quint essential rock guitarist. Hendrix defined his music’s instrument, expanding the possibilities of the amplified six-string guitar. As Charlie Parker was to the saxophone, so was Jimi Hendrix to the electric guitar. Hendrix was eager to collabo rate with other musicians, having jammed with John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell. Miles Davis and Sly Stone were also keen to swap ideas with him. However, after recording only one more studio album, Hendrix died in 1970 at the age of 27. THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE Bold As Love SONY BIL Y’S PICK

AUSSIE RELEASES

SOMBR I Barely Know Her INERTIA

Sombr – the recording name for 20-year-old American Shane Boose – broke big this year via TikTok and was

nominated for ‘Best New Artist’ at the MTV Awards. His debut album, I Barely Know Her , features the Top 10 hits Back to Friends , Undressed, and 12 to 12 . Sombr will be in Australia next month for The Late Nights & Young Romance Tour. SPLIT ENZ ENZcyclopedia Volumes One & Two INERTIA Split Enz moved to Australia 50 years ago and ended up show in Melbourne, and with their wacky haircuts and colourful clothes, they struggled to fit into the pub rock scene. This new collection features their first two albums – 1975’s Mental Notes and 1976’s Second Thoughts , plus the 1979 compilation of early singles and demos, as well as some live tracks and remixes. A fascinating insight into the beginning of the Enz. becoming a major band. But success didn’t come easily. They were booed at their first

HATCHIE Liquorice SECRETLY CANADIAN

STELLA DONNELLY Love and Fortune ROCKET

Harriette Pilbeam – who records under the name of Hatchie – rediscovers her joy of making music on her

Stella Donnelly’s third album includes a song called Feel It Change . And the record represents some significant changes

third album, which follows 2019’s Keepsake and 2022’s Giving the World Away . The dream-pop queen says: “Ultimately, the inspiration for the album came from living a very simple life and having time to reconnect with myself and be alone with my thoughts.” The Brisbane bred, Melbourne-based artist revisited her favourite romantic movies and created an album that floats and shimmers like a classic ’90s shoegaze record.

in the Perth artist’s world. She’s now based in Melbourne, she’s signed to a new label, and she’s emerged from a break-up. “I love you, baby,” she sings, “but I’m scared to be near you.” Fortunately, amidst the heartache, Donnelly didn’t turn her back on music. “These songs wouldn’t leave me alone,” she says. “Like seagulls, they screamed at me when I rode to work, they pecked at me while I wrote essays, and they stole my chips the second I thought I was happier without music.”

Coming in DECEMBER

OLIVIA RODRIGO Live from Glastonbury (Dec 5) ALISON WONDERLAND Ghost World (Dec 5) PINK FLOYD Wish You Were Here 50 (Dec 12)

Radio legend Billy Pinnell presents Billy Pinnell’s Musical Moments on YouTube.

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