STACK #184 Feb 2020

REVIEWS MUSIC

Bombay Bicycle Club Everything Else Has Gone Wrong Britain’s beloved indie rockers mend the hearts broken over their 2016 hiatus with a brand- new album. Everything Else Has Gone Wrong is a delightfully poppy and exuberant record, a testament to the band’s now thirteen-year career. We’re treated to an early anthem in the form of Is It Real which boasts blissful harmonies and a guitar riff that demands to be sung back. The band never let up in terms of energy across the record, with primary songwriter Jack Steadman’s insights more uplifting than ever. Everything may have gone wrong, but it feels right to have Bombay Bicycle Club back and at the top of the game. (Mmm... Records/Caroline) Holly Pereira

King Krule Man Alive! Archy Marshall, better known as King Krule, has cultivated a sound so distinctly his own that it’s immediately apparent who you’re listening to from the opening bars of any song. There’s always an underlying menace to Marshall’s production, a dread accentuated by menacing bass lines, pained vocals and dissonant guitars that make forays into post-punk territory. All this angst is however counterbalanced by delicate moments of electronica, distant saxophones and Marshall’s fury turning into a croon. The perfect meeting point of these contrasting sides is Perfecto Miserable which is equal parts beautiful and haunting. It’s these nuances that encapsulate King Krule and make Man Alive! Marshall’s most compelling record to date. (XL Recordings/Remote Control) Holly Pereira

Best Coast Always Tomorrow "Slivers of joy peep through, but only when you let them. So why don’t you just let them?" asks Bethany Cosentino on Graceless Kids . For a decade now Cosentino has been broadcasting these slivers of joy with bandmate Bobb Bruno. Their debut Crazy For You was the first in a series of power-pop and melodic rock classics, including their youth-focused Best Kids

in 2018. Songs chronicled the band's journey, stories of friendship, romance, and everything that gets in the way. 2020 is the start of a new decade, and Always Tomorrow is the sound of fresh starts and widening horizons. The band's punk exuberance and glam energy shine, with lyrics that reflect peace with the passage of time: “Everything has changed/ I like it this way, I’d like for it to stay.” Bethany shares her hard won wisdom from ten years of growth. These are jams to say farewell to the 2010s and anthems for the promise of a better tomorrow. (Concord) SimonWinkler

Mike Zito & Friends A Tribute To Chuck Berry

Stone Temple Pilots Perdida

Agnes Obel Myopia On her last album, Citizen of Glass , Agnes Obel explored the idea of humans as transparent creatures: open in their online lives, completely visible for all to see. To make this album the Danish prodigy layered as many as 250 string parts, and used an arcane synthesiser called the Trautonium. “It’s huge and it can electrocute people,” Agnes noted at

After Elvis, only Chuck Berry had more influence on the form and development of rock and roll. Would we have a Beatles or a Rolling Stones without him? By putting together this 20-track tribute album, singer/guitarist/ producer Mike Zito hoped to introduce Berry's music to younger fans who may not be familiar with his classic songs. So, among a bunch of seasoned musicians such as Walter Trout ( Johnny B. Goode ) and Robben Ford ( You Never Can Tell ), there are some surprise guests that include Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick (who reinvents Downtown Train ) and Sonny Landreth (who brings a calypso Cuban feel via his pedal steel guitar to Havana Moon ), while Rock And Roll Music is re- imagined by slide guitarist Joanna Connor. Timeless music respectfully

Stone Temple Pilots – one of the most successful rock bands of the 1990's – have released their first acoustic album Perdida , named for a Spanish word for 'loss'. While many fans may have thought the album's melancholic tone reflects the band's state of mind after the 2015 death of singer Scott Weiland and his replacement Chester Bennington two years later, new singer Jeff Gutt (who wrote most of the lyrics) revealed that only one song, I Didn't KnowThe Time , refers to those twin tragedies. What's so impressive about these songs are the thoughtful and varied arrangements that feature flute, saxophone and piano solos; the title track has a flamenco feel; and Miles Away , a waltz, includes a celtic fiddle solo. The band is touring Australia in April with Bush and Live. (Warner) Billy Pinnell

the time. Citizen of Glass perfectly reflected the scale and scope of Agnes' work. On the one hand, intimate. On the other hand: immense, dangerous. Again with Obel’s fourth album Myopia we experience an artist whose work is utterly unique. Talking to journalist Tim Peacock, Agnes explains the making of single Island of Doom : "The song is made up of pitched-down piano and cello pizzicato and vocals; all choirs are pitched down and up." The song addresses loss: "In my experience, when someone close to you dies it is simply impossible to comprehend that you can’t ever talk to them or reach them somehow ever again. They are in many ways still alive because in your consciousness nothing has changed, they’re still there with everyone else you know.” Among the many themes, Agnes describes Myopia as embodying one of trust and doubt: "Can you trust yourself or not? Can you trust your own judgments? Can you trust that you will do the right thing? Can you trust your instincts and what you are feeling? Or are your feelings skewed?” There’s nothing uncertain, though, about the precision and skill of Obel’s craft. Myopia is a clear-sighted and balanced work of beauty. (Deutsche Grammophon/ABC) SimonWinkler

presented by talented artists. (Only Blues) Billy Pinnell

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