STACK #190 Aug 2020

MUSIC REVIEWS

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Fontaines D.C. A Hero's Death

Cut Copy Freeze, Melt Where 2017’s Haiku From Zero focused on the disorienting dazzle of modernity, Freeze, Melt takes a relatively inward turn. The nervous and restless energy is gone, replaced by fully encompassing and more reflective walls of sound. Despite the relative nudge towards calmness, Freeze, Melt is deceptively loud and busy, conjuring all the claustrophobia of being stuck and hurting for freedom. It weaves from one beautiful contemplative track to the next, and in places where old Cut Copy might have led to an epic breakdown and release of tension, instead the tension continues to mount. It’s a stunning inversion of energy for a band most known for their dance-it-out hits, but shows they’re not afraid to find new territory. (Cutter Records/The Orchard) Jake Cleland

Bully SUGAREGG After two acclaimed records, Bully’s Alicia Bognanno rewrites her story and gains a newfound clarity among the distortion and fuzz. A previously buried jubilation transforms the band’s sound, with Bognanno's voice sounding revitalised and more impassioned than ever. An early highlight on the album is Every Tradition , a necessary addition to the feminist music canon that has Bognanno claiming the right over her body and rejecting motherhood. Self- awareness underscores much of the album’s lyrics, with songs such as You frank acknowledgements of one’s limitations, and Not Ashamed an urgent assertion. SUGAREGG is a record of catharsis and brutal honesty, powerful both in its volume and message. (Sub Pop) Holly Pereira

Jess Cornelius The Distance Following her searing debut EP from her new home of Los Angeles, former Melburnian and Teeth & Tongue frontwoman Jess Cornelius reveals her staggering debut album. Distance reconciles with life in the face of the unknown as Cornelius grapples with love, loss and identity via her starkly confessional lyrics. Against a backdrop of rich rock and roll textures and atmospheric '80s synths, Cornelius enlists in an all-star cast of LA-based musicians including world famous whistler Molly Lewis on Here Goes Nothing and harpist Molly Lattimore on Born Again . Cornelius masterfully produces a snapshot of her life in a time of great upheaval, astutely observing the people and world around her all while rediscovering

Colter Wall Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs Saddle up and ride the prairie with Colter Wall, a real deal singing cowpoke hailing from Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. Wall’s dusty baritone voice leads the way, sounding like he’s already lived a full lifetime on the range (he’s only 25). On his self-produced third album of cowboy tracks and Western tales, he preserves and revives the songs of the Wild West with a tip of the hat to artists like Marty Robbins and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. With classic country sounds of steel and acoustic guitars, fiddle, and a sure and steady rhythm, Wall sings with sincere and intense conviction songs old and new. Enjoy the ride. (ThirtyTigers) Denise Hylands Opener I Don't Belong ("... to anyone...") reads as a Declaration of Independence as Fontaines D.C. fearlessly reveal their softer side on album #2. There's still ample anthems with riffs as dense as quicksand sinkholes, however (e.g. the punchy stand-out title track with repeated chant/promise: "Life ain't always empty..."). Very much a vehicle for The Gospel According To Grian Chatten, A Hero's Death intersperses body-slamming peaks with moments of moody introspection before instrumentation pares right back to illuminate penultimate track, the sweetly-sung Sunny . We're then encouraged to make peace with the struggle ("Just appreciate the grey") throughout closing statement, No . If this Irish quintet's brutal debut Dogrel charged straight through the guts of the mosh, A Hero's Death levitates, dealing well-timed sucker-punches from on high. (Partisan/Liberator) Bryget Chrisfield

herself. (PartTime Records/ Remote Control Records) Holly Pereira

Corb Lund Agricultural Tragic Canadian Corb Lund isn’t

Bright Eyes Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was In Bright Eyes’ 25-year history, the band, and in particular its founder Conor Oberst, have become synonymous with sincere, straight-from-the-heart indie rock. It’s certainly hard to listen to Bright Eyes without acknowledging the band’s impact and recognising that they have changed the lives of many. Their latest release comes nine years since The People’s Key ; the band sound reinvigorated but not lacking Oberst’s idiosyncratic lyricism, particularly evidenced on Dance and Sing when he implores “You got to change like your life’s depending on it”. On Down In The Weeds , Oberst and co. have produced another rousing, vital record that might just be known as their most accomplished work to date. (Dead Oceans/Inertia) Holly Pereira

Katherine Jenkins Cinema Paradiso While Welsh-born singer

pretending to be anything else but true to his heritage when he puts on his cowboy hat. And when he sings, it’s from experience of a long family lineage of ranchers and rodeo folk. So, believe him when he sings his tales of ranching, riding, drinking and horses, as well as some sage advice about grizzly bears, all told with an inherent humour and swagger. This is his 10th album in a career of 25 years singing country music along with his band the Hurtin’ Albertans. Lund is a modern day cowboy with a classic yet contemporary sound of rockin’ twang. An agricultural tragic, he definitely is. (NewWest Records) Denise Hylands

Katherine Jenkins may be the biggest-selling classical artist of the century, she has continued to broaden her audience by alternating recordings of operatic arias with popular songs, musical theatre, and on her latest release, unforgettable songs from some of the world's best-loved movies. Highlights – and there are plenty of them – include Katherine's heartfelt renditions of When You Wish Upon a Star ( Pinocchio ), Somewhere/ Tonight ( West Side Story ), Moon River ( Breakfast At Tiffany's ), Never Love Again ( A Star Is Born ) O Danny Boy ( Memphis Belle ), The Rose , and Singin' In The Rain . (Decca) Billy Pinnell

26 AUGUST 2020

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