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MUSIC REVIEWS

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Camp Cope Running With the Hurricane

Camp Cope have never struggled to make beautiful, soaring music. They have an innate ability to dig under your skin and touch your soul with a gentle, reassuring hand, and that talent is clearer than ever before on new record Running With the Hurricane . Georgia Maq’s voice is sublime; clear and towering, it takes pride of place at the forefront of the album, leading unrivalled basslines in a waltz through ruminations of chaos and calm. It’s music to scream in your bedroom, to shout until you’re hoarse and exhausted because it just feels so damn freeing to do so. An early contender for album of the year, Running With the Hurricane is an immaculate offering from the Melbourne trio, proving once more that they’re always the band to watch. (Poison City) Jacqui Picone

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Methyl Ethel Are You Haunted? Immersive and all-consuming, Methyl Ethel’s sonic universe doesn’t necessarily even require words. But a study of Jake Webb’s trademark abstract lyrics – sometimes tricky to decipher due to unconventional phrasing and clipped, syllable-separating enunciation (eg. “Who's that per-son that ca-nnot be put/ In-to a categ-ry?...”) – will delight attentive listeners. There’s also an omniscience to Webb’s vocal delivery, which glides over instrumentation adding otherworldly atmosphere rather than just an individual’s perspective. Gently cascading piano melodies and stately chords act as recurring motifs throughout

Methyl Ethel’s fourth and latest album. Mid-song, One and Beat – which explores Webb’s “relationship to music and audiences” – mutates into chaotic, instrumental demolition before veering towards industrial, Depeche Mode territory. And when the complex, genre-fluid standout track Castigat Ridendo Mores – a Latin phrase which translates as, “he corrects customs through ridicule” – strips back to piano outro, we can’t believe we’re not actually levitating. Elsewhere: that euphoric synth breakdown during pulsing latest single Proof (feat. Stella Donnelly) demands arms- swaying-overhead action and Matters channels earthquake anxiety into a hyperactive, pogo-worthy banger. However even this record’s most moreish, MGMT-level joyous moments are sprinkled with irresistible melancholy (see: Kids on Holiday , which bemoans the heavy burden placed on Generation Greta to save our planet). Like an aura, Are You Haunted? can be felt as well as heard. (Future Classic) Bryget Chrisfield

Helen Shanahan Canvas

Hoodoo Gurus Chariot of the Gods

Beth Hart A Tribute to Led Zeppelin

Gang Of Youths angel in realtime.

Perth’s Helen Shanahan is not comfortable being the centre of attention. “I’m in the spotlight,” she sings in the opening track of her second album, “like a deer in the headlights.” But if there’s any justice in this pop world, Shanahan will have to get used to it, because she is a superb singer-songwriter. Produced by America’s Brad Jones (Missy Higgins, Bob Evans, Melody Pool), Shanahan is working with a broad palette, and beneath the pop sheen is genuine depth and darkness. The title track is a brutal piece of folk-pop, telling the tale of that first crushing heartbreak. “I was your blank canvas, you painted what you wanted on me,” Shanahan sings. “Oh, how I learned to be used.” Then there’s the glorious simplicity of Under the Maple Tree. Poetic and damn near perfect. (MGM) Jeff Jenkins

The first Hoodoo Gurus album in 12 years starts with a scene-setter called Early Opener. It’s as if the Gurus are sound-checking at your local pub: the drums are pounding, the guitars are cranking, the hooks are huge. The Gurus get the business done; they always do. “Time has moved on,” Dave Faulkner notes in the powerful ballad Was I Supposed to Care? But more than 40 years after they formed, the Gurus remain the ultimate crowd-pleasers. Even when they’re tackling some dark themes – and there are plenty on this record – they can’t help but put a smile on your face. They rank alongside Mental As Anything as our greatest good-time band. “I like to remember, look back at the times we had,” Faulkner reflects in My Imaginary Friend . And Chariot of the Gods sits comfortably in the Gurus’ classic catalogue. (BigTime/EMI) Jeff Jenkins

No rock singer in their right mind would record an album of Led Zeppelin covers in the knowledge they'd more than likely be compared to Robert Plant. Well, Beth Hart has done so, and to my ears it's a triumph. Backed by top-shelf session musicians, Beth is totally convincing on songs that cover a wide gambit of influences that inhabit so many Page/Plant compositions. Traversing rock songs such as Whole Lotta Love and Black Dog, explorations of Eastern music ( Kashmir ), folk ( The Rain Song ) blues/rock ( I'm Gonna Leave You, When The Levee Breaks ), and the inevitable Stairway To Heaven , this great singer nails the nuance and the power of each and every song. (Planet/MGM) Billy Pinnell

A stunning exploration into the loss of a father, angel in realtime. is a beautiful and searingly honest record from Gang of Youths. Marked by their knack for twisting melancholic, rapturous lyrics around joyful, serene melodies, this album is another stirring and unique release from one of the best Australian bands out. Gang of Youths have never shied away from explorations of deep grief, and what it means to heal from emotional wounds. Exposing raw nerves to the world and holding tight to your hand through the seemingly impossible recovery, they make every moment feel like a personal conversation between friends who are processing the pain together. angel in realtime. is a masterpiece of fear, grief, forgiveness, identity, family, and above all: love. (Sony) Jacqui Picone

90 MARCH 2022

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